Tent Cities

A friend here in the mountains called me this morning and related a story he'd seen on television the other day. A story about tent cities in Sacramento. After explaining that he was channel surfing and just happened to catch the story (and normally does not watch Oprah), he then reiterated the story of the tent city emerging next to the river in Sacramento. A 'community' of the homeless, the jobless, and other victims of hard times, or themselves, or the predatory bankers, or the boogie man. Everybody has a story. The place is growing by 50 tents a day. With the publicity the story has gotten recently, I'm sure it's going to swell.
By coincidence I was watching Larry King last night hosted by Ali Velshi, the CNN money man who has been telling people to ride out the stock market throughout the 7,000 point downfall. He was interviewing Kevin Johnson about, you guessed it, the tent city. I think several of the residents were former clients of Ali, back when they had money... and the real loser is, yes, Sacramento.
I know it's said that any publicity is good publicity, but in this case I respectfully disagree. I could be wrong though; yesterday I watched a story on Detroit property prices, where houses, nice houses, are selling for $10,000 and less. Since then I've been thinking about Detroit real estate. Today, they interviewed a Detroit newsman about the story and, according to him, the nightmare started there about five years ago with automaker layoffs that continue to this day and the property prices that have fallen and now reflect just 10% of what they were. Can you imagine?
Listening to the newsman, I could feel his personal shock and disbelief as he described the residents waiting and waiting and waiting, and yet still no bottom is approaching to their deteriorating world.
And so back to the tent city... let's say, hypothetically, that the tent city grows by 50 tents a day for 5 years.....that's 91,250 tents. Other than the obvious, now would be a good time to invest in canvas, or maybe porta-potties.
I have read a little of the Great Depression and these tent cities were common back then. I remember reading stories about the Federal Government battling the residents over squatting in certain places. Sacramento might eventually have those type of problems; if one were going to squat in a tent, Sacramento would be a lot better climate-wise than other places. The place could be a magnet for the needy. What an opportunity, the whole hippy movement could re-emerge from the city in the valley where the two rivers meet. That probably sounds good to the people who have already met the boogie man and predatory banker, but those that are still in pocket probably aren't so enthusiastic about living in a loser magnet city.
I can't wait to return.

Grand Theft Auto 4

Coinciding with oil reaching another record high of $123 a barrel today, the new video game 'Grand Theft Auto 4' generates $500 million in sales in it's first 1/2 week. That's half a BILLION in three and a half days in video game sales.
At the same time Myamar loses 100 thousand plus people in a cyclone (hurricane), and a good portion of Asia's rice crop is destroyed or threatened, unfotunately and coincidently, the week after experts predict world food shortages. Yet there is still $500,000,000 paid for this one new video game in 3 and a 1/2 days worth of sales. I underline this point because I wonder what the total game sales will in a week, month, year?
Now, I'm no Reverend Wright, and I won't claim to know anything about the divine plan, or how God really thinks. I'm not even going to claim there is a GOD, but supposing there is... then what the hell would you guess the Almighty is going to think upon her appraisal of the current state of affairs: "Things can't be that damn bad" or "How bad can it get"? Might depend on how many shares of Microsoft God owns.
Half a billion in retail sales has to be good for the stimulus package. Let me do a little research on that game and see if the money is going to China....
And just back from Google... Xbox is Microsoft. There you are; the rich get richer. And using theological criteria of appraisal for logic, God has to own a piece of Microsoft, otherwise no way in hell they could have that kind of success. Anyway, if the world falls apart, Americans don't think they care. They're stealing cars on the computer, and getting life's lessons from the perverted wisdom of Wall Street, graphic designers and the thrills of cyberspace.
What are life's lessons? I would guess for every life they are different. In America, where the vast majority of the now living population did not experience the Great Depression, where Baby Boomers have lived their entire lives in what, for the most part, was the expanding economy of the richest nation on earth, the lessons of life already learned may not apply to the world of the future. A world with a shrinking economy and the comforts and luxuries of yesteryear gone.
In a shrinking world, new lessons of life may be necessary to learn and, for Americans, it won't be easy. A world where property depreciates and today's pleasures can't be paid for with tommorrow's equity. How the hell are Americans going to pay for all those $35K SUVs, and put gas into them all $5 a gallon, if we can't refinance our homes every 3 to 5 years? That's why SUV sales are down in the billions and my Jeep has 235 thousand miles. Lessons learned.
A world where people go hungry. Everybody I know that has ever 'starved', afterward they could never be rich enough. Being hungry for food to sustain life, survive, must leave a long and lasting impression/fear. Today's native born Americans, for the most part, have never known real hunger. And the mass production of food depends on fuel and petrol chemicals and the weather. Absurd, Americans hungry! Not in our lifetimes. Hopefully.
Furthermore, in America (in our lifetimes) opportunity has always been available. Why save, just go make more money. Buy it on credit, pay for it with future money. Future money may not be available in the future. Opportunity may disappear. If you can't afford it now, forget it. Learn the value of a dollar and save. Damn, am I talking to the past, or what? I'm talking to the future, too. Too bad I can't afford to save. Anyway, I just thought the juxtaposition of current world conditions and video sales might explain why I think when the Almighty shows up she might be a little bitchy. Half a billion dollars. I wish I could afford that game and see what I'm missing.

The Danger...

.......I wrote of on Jan. 28 in an E titled, "It's not about race", looms closer on the horizon today. In that e I asked," Will they( Obama supporters) accept a defeat if non-black voters do not support the Senator and then claim, "It's not about race"? It would now appear non-black voters are supporting the Senator in at least enough numbers to give him the nomination.

Now I worry that Senator Obama could win the majority of delegates and the popular vote, and then lose because of the "super delegates", thus, igniting deeply held feelings of racial inequity that would result in rioting and social unrest. Possibly civil war.

IF I was a Black American and Sen. Obama was the popular vote and delegate winner, and then somehow was not the candidate, I would question everything about America . And regardless of the visible, initial reactions, the designation of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee without a clear cut victory would be a devisive disaster for the nation; An alienating action to Black Americans that would set race relations back fifty years.

It's obvious The Clinton campaign is not going to concede. On the contrary, the more the nomination appears to slip from Hillary's hands, the nastier she and Bill become ! Is she enough of a stateswoman to gracefully bow out for the good of the party and the election of a Democrat? HELL NO....... But would the Clintons and the Party pull some political, backdoor, curveball in order to win the nomination for Hillary, even at the expense of the nations race relations? That's what "Florida and Michigan recounts", and "super delegates" sound like, to me. That would be dangerous to the nation as as whole.

An additional danger is if the campaign continues to be ugly and escalates any further then it already should not have, the democrats will weaken themselves to the point McBush could win. Now thats dangerous.

But, when political strategists theorize one candidates supporters will be so turned off by the other candidates nomination that they will not vote, or switch affiliation and vote Republican, I believe it could be much worse: I dare say it, "If Sen.Obama goes into the convention with the most delegates, He damn well better come out the nominee".

Or we can play "Burning down the House". In other words, Black America is supporting Senator Obama in the 90+ percentiles, should by some hook or crook Hillary Clinton get the nomination, and Black America see it as a robbery, I can almost see Oprah throwing Molotav cocktails! After the Gore\2001 robbery and eight years of Bush, I may want to join the revolution. (can't bite the hand that feeds me).

I'll repeat my words of Jan28;

The Obama campaign promises to illustrate how tolerant, mature, evolved, and hypocritical we are as a nation. And I dare say it now: It is about race, and a myriad of other qualities that have nothing to do with race, but, should Senator Obama lose, "race" will then be a major issue. If he wins: History marches on, he's the first, there will be others.

In the coming months, America will learn something about her people: They don't live in a Grey World.

Red state, Blue state, Revealing me and you state.

In the now infamous words of the Reverend Wright, " Hillary Clinton will never know what it's like to be a black man in a society and culture controlled by rich white men." Neither does anybody else whom isn't a black man, I would imagine, BUT, the Reverend seems to know of a frustration, or anger, or power hidden deep within the unsatisfied souls of his delegation. Watch the congregation as they nod and agree with his words.They seem to know what the Reverend is speaking of. These are affluent Blacks whom lack for nothing, yet they share the Reverends feelings. And in the event that Senator Obama should get cheated out of the nomination for President, those feelings will become dangerous. It will be like a war cry to revolt against a society and culture controlled by rich white men.

It's Not About Race

It was raining here earlier. My mother called and she told me that it was snowing where she lives. She's forty miles from me. I was glad it wasn't snowing here. Rain is warmer.
After her call, it took ten minutes; the drops in the sky start to float and the world is transformed to an indistinct grey. All becomes the same, linked and inherent to the snow; the grey world. White-grey, grey-green, cloud-grey, frosted-grey. Grey pictures, black and white in color (I've included some from the perch). All is grey. All is related.

I see that Senator Obama won the South Carolina Primary Saturday. That is not surprising. But something must be or I wouldn't have brought it up. After the victory, I believe during the Senators victory speech, the chant in the background was "It's not about race." I don't think the Senator was comfortable with that... either. The Senator has tried hard to keep 'race' a non-issue. That is why I was surprised at the chant. Especially considering the overwhelming (80%) black support for Senator Obama in South Carolina. It was that support that won the state; Senator Obama only won about 25% of the white vote.
The victory doesn't bother me. Senator Obama is as appealing as any of the candidates. What bothers me is the chant. It was a lie: It was about race in South Carolina. It was about race when Oprah jumped into politics and endorsed Senator Obama. It was about race when those Obama supporters stood and chanted "It's not about race", or why else would they chant a denial to something that it wasn't about? And that is the bothersome part. Why deny the obvious?
Does America, or at least the South Carolina Obama supporter, fear the acknowledgment that we are still a racially divided natio (are we?)? I think what the South Carolina chanters were trying to express is the quality of Senator Obama's candidacy. That they were willing to vote for him for reason other then his being black. So will they accept a non racially bias defeat if non-black voters do not support the Senator and then claim that it's not about race?
I understand how voting for someone other than a white male (ie. a black male), is appealing to the 'black voter'. I could understand females supporting a female. Chinese supporting a Chinese, Catholics supporting Catholics etc. It is a credit and corroboration to the authenticity of Senator Obama's campaign that he can pull enough of the 'others' to be victorious. 'Others' being non-black voters. But let us not deny the obvious, so that when it doesn't favor our candidate, we aren't surprised, and possibly angry. Race is an everyday, major issue, and America being above it is the corresponding issue.
It's about gender too. It's about religion as well. Senator Kennedy jumped on the Obama band wagon today so now it's about the 'Kennedy' thing equally. Hell, it's about every dog and pony show you can think of, so don't try to tell me it's not about race. 80% is 80%. If Senator Obama does that well with any other segment of the population then it won't be about race.
The Obama campaign promises to illustrate not just how tolerant, mature, and evolved, but also how hypocritical we are as a nation. And I dare say it now- It is about race, and a myriad of other qualities that have nothing to do with race, but should Senator Obama lose, then 'race' will be a major issue. If he wins then history marches on; he's the first, there will be others. In the coming months, America will learn something about herself: we don't live in a grey world.

Red state, blue state,
Revealing me and you's state,
The State of affairs is nobody cares.
Just because they chant it, doesn't make it true.

Tomorrow, or maybe the next day, the blue of the sky will bust through the upper part of the grey world. The evergreens will be green in the sunlight. The yellow snowplow will reveal the shiny, wet, black pavement of my road. The white snow on the red skin of the Madrone tree will melt and reveal the colors of the world. red where it's red, white, black, green and dirty some places. It will all be there. UNDENIABLY!
The light of the truth, the grey, formless, who ya' gonna call gone, and all the colors of the world will return.
Be ready for it

Educate, Educate, Educate!

Change we can believe in... Could I get a definitive explanation of what the term "change" means, so as to see if I can believe in it?
America will have a $726 billion trade deficit this year. Sixty three percent of it will be for oil. Oil.
The greatest transfer of wealth from one part of the world to another, circa 1970's: Thirty years later the transfer is still happening. Are we giving it all away? Yes. That's the impression I'm getting. That and America's wealth is being stolen by crooked politicians immersed in special interests.
Oil interests. Industrial interests. Defense and Weaponry interests. Poppy Interests. Growing up... wasn't 'special interests' just another term for bribe? Buying influence is Bribery. The practice is rampant in Washington; time to remove the Lobbyists.
Except, it could be America isn't really owned by Americans. Maybe... foreign interests and assets have bought our leaders and our sovereignty. In a country\world driven by profits, maybe the 1% of the American people who control 80% of the world's wealth don't necessarily have an affinity with being American first, and ultimately don't care about our well being as a nation or a society. That would help to explain our current state of affairs.
As Americans transfer their wealth for oil and cheap labor, the orchestrators of this tragedy, (those that profit the most) very well could be nation-less. Their only interest in America being to plunder her, ultimately making The American worker cheap labor, or possibly indentured labor, working for taxes and war debt. The dollar buys less, American labor is cheaper... Your wage doesn't change but everything is more expensive: Standards of living adjusted downward. Does it make you feel better to know the average Chinese is better off?
Somebody made money on the current mortgage crisis, does it offset your losses? Obviously the people don't 'run' America anymore, or George wouldn't be President. And it's not enough to have him rule for eight years, now he wants to lock us into Iraq for decades with long term commitments.
I don't want their oil; give me my Two Trillion back. How many mortgages would that buy here in America? Instead of destroying and rebuilding a country in the Middle East? And for what? I wasn't willing to spend Two Trillion dollars for Iraqi Democracy!
If the Iraqi people want democracy....let them fight and pay for it. Freedom isn't Free, remember? Teach them 'United we Stand'. Let them protect themselves! And foot the bill. I keep hearing, "we must win this war!" I thought this war was won?! While too many lose so much, a few steal more than they could ever spend for reasonable survival. A couple of trillion would go a long way towards fixing some of America's problems.
Oil Interests who profit in the transfer of wealth must not continue to dictate foreign policy and bankrupt the country.
The Problem is the same one we should have tackled in the Seventies. Oil. Greed. Windfall profits.
Alternative Fuel Sources...develop them, use them, sell them for a profit to the rest of the world!
Back to the 70s!