Win win for Obama

Sorry, but I can't help but make an observation regarding all the hoopla over the fiscal cliff the nation is fast approaching (by the way, don't take it lightly.  If we do in fact go over the cliff, there's going to be hell to pay in the form of higher taxes for everyone).

So here's the way I see it.  Obama can't lose.  If the republicans give in to his demand that the wealthiest people in the nation pay higher taxes, well, Obama--and the rest of us except the very rich-- win.  But if he doesn't give in and over we go, then the republicans look like a bunch of shmucks willing to throw the middle class and elderly under the bus.  They--and the rest of us--lose big time which you can be sure the democrats will exploit during the 2014 Congressional elections.

Don't you just love politics???

Another great Sunday morning

I've posted many pictures of Brooke & Courtney playing 'scientist'.  They love to experiment with various substances to see what they can do.

This morning we made Gak.  Gak is a silly putty-type substance that can be made with the right combination of Borax, Elmer's Glue and water.  For effect you add food coloring.

The result is a great deal of fun.  From there they go to an old standby--vinegar and baking soda.  Courtney especially loves doing this to watch the resulting eruption.

Kids love to learn.  It's as natural as eating.  But when I was in grade school, science was reading a chapter from a book, answering questions, reading more, answering more questions, etc.

Today grade-school science is often hands-on experimentation.   That's the way it should be.

It's science that's going to save the world--not religion or politics.

Where were you?

Like you,  I can recall where I was and what I was doing when certain events occurred.  The first such event for me was the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

This past Tuesday I spent some time discussing a similar situation with several residents of Lockwood Lodge at Newtown Masonicare.

The folks I was talking to are all in their 80s and 90s so most of them remember Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor which took place 71 years ago today.

Busy Week

Monday-Babysit Nicholas all day, pick Cole up from school.
Tuesday-Volunteer day at Masonicare in Newtown
Wednesday-Nicholas all day, pick Cole up from school.
Thursday-Volunteer luncheon, get girls off bus and stay through dinner.
Friday-pick boys up from school and keep overnight into Saturday.
Saturday-girls come over in afternoon, stay overnight and all day Sunday.
Sunday-girls all day
Monday-See above..................

Starting to order Christmas presents for grand children over internet.  Order early for sure delivery.

Guest Blogger-"Why I did not vote for Romney"

The following post is from a guest blogger who appears here from time to time.  The opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of the keeper of this blog spot (that would me moi).  Anyone wishing to counter with a blog of their own may do so by contacting me at george.stockwell@gmail.com.  I reserve the right to publish or not any responses.

12/2/12

Why I did not vote for Romney

Let me start by stating that I am a registered Republican and have been since I was old enough to vote - primarily because my parents were. Let me also state that I am a liberal Republican or conservative Democrat (read middle of the road voter) and have voted fairly equally between Republicans and Democrats over the years.

When the primary season started a long time ago, I thought Mitt Romney was a sensible and intelligent man especially compared to those he was running against.  And coming from the business world, he might possibly be someone who would take a different approach to governing.

However, that was not to be.

Right away the Democrats and liberal media called him a flip- flopper. That little bit of nastiness was initially lost on me but he ultimately showed himself to blow with the wind in an effort to please all of the relatively extreme factions of what now make up the Republican Party. That was a losing proposition.

The Republican Party has become one of extremely conservative and uninformed and just plain nutty ideas. They have allowed the fringe overrun and paint the party as unbending, unforgiving and unintelligent.

Examples:

1)    Mitch McConnell started 2008 by flatly stating that his only goal over the next four years was to get rid of Obama. There was not one word about the economic meltdown created during the Bush years and voters struggles with losing jobs and homes.

2)    Sarah Palin started out OK but turned into Joe Six-pack’s mouth piece spouting religion and demeaning any who didn’t believe her ideas, plus leaving Alaska in the lurch when she quit her day job as governor.

3)    Michelle Bachman was just plain off the wall with her many inaccurate pronouncements about what the US wants/needs and her wild religious beliefs.

4)    Rush Limbaugh, the self appointed representative of the Republican Party, was allowed to run rough shod over anyone who disagreed with him (that’s most of us, Rush).

5)    Grover Norquist, a God damned lobbyist, was allowed to browbeat 95-98% of Republicans in Congress into signing a pledge not to raise taxes for any reason (a lobbyist mind you) with threats of ruining their careers if they didn’t sign.

6)    Tod Aikin tried to define some rape as legitimate.

7)    Senator Richard Mourdock said that rape is God’s will.

8)    The Tea party thinks that just cutting spending will solve all our problems, overlooking the fact that they too are making use of that money with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

9)    The Republicans have pounded us about the need to open oil reserves in pristine areas of Alaska. Turns out that the US will be the number one producer of oil in the world by 2020, beating out even Saudi Arabia. We may need more refineries, but if that’s the issue, say so. We should be putting much of that money into making cars that average 40 mpg.

10) “The only way to resolve the deficit crises is to cut spending”. That’s part of it, but cutting spending does not raise the money needed to pay off the dept. However, Republican rhetoric seems to point to helping the super rich (less that 10% of the voting public) with their tax burden as their primary goal outside of getting rid of Obama.

11) The NRA (of which I’m a proud life member) has been wailing that Obama will take away our guns. He didn’t in the first 4 years and has little chance of doing in the next 4.

Note to the NRA: Let’s not make this fight over the right to own guns/clips that can fire 100 rounds a minute. Our founders didn’t have this type of weapon in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment. I personally believe they fall into the category of machine guns which are illegal.

12) Republicans have been the only ones who have conjured up a myriad of ways to require voters to have ID’s. Many seem specifically designed to make it difficult or impossible for the voting poor (mostly Democrats) to vote. Certainly a National voter ID system can be produced that wouldn’t create the present problems.

13) Since 9/11, the Religious Right (Christians only need apply) has been pushing have to have their very conservative views foisted on the rest of the population and are using The Republican Party to do it. This includes wanting to control what women can and can’t do with their own bodies.

14) Donald Trump is using his own money to chase the idea that Obama isn’t an American. The Donald was still at it even after the election.

I’m hard pressed to believe that the vast majority of traditional Republicans believe those folks referenced above represent their real values. I, for one, am thoroughly disappointed in the Republican Party.

A final comment: This is not to say that I believe the Democrats are fault free either. But they seem to be much more sensitive to the majority needs in this country.

So, there you have it. This is why I couldn’t vote for Mitt Romney.

Ken Mackenzie

Happy December

It's December already.  The days will continue to get shorter bottoming out on the 21st, winter solstice.  And then every day thereafter gets a little longer.  That's the good news.

For more about the month of December, click here.

Web site updated

My web site has been updated and it's up and running again.  Check it out:

http://georgeswebpage.com

Back to Reality

Our family vacation to Florida is over.  We had a great time and with the exception of travel delays due to the bad weather, everything went well.

The only thing I would change is my decision to fly in and out of La Guardia airport.  I don't know about the other terminals but the JetBlue terminal is dirty, crowded, poorly managed, confusing to navigate and generally qualifies as a blight in NY.

I won't be using it again.

Otherwise, it's back to FL in January for a week or so.  Hope we don't return to snow but since this is New England, well.........

The end of a long day

Brooke and Cole watch a movie while Courtney and Nicholas play on the iPad in grammy and grampy's bed after a long, busy day.  One more day of vacation at the beach and possibly the zoo and then it's back home...and colder weather.

Dinner, Beach & Workout--A busy week

It's been a busy week so far here in Naples.  Dinner, nap, workout and beach activities have kept us hopping.  Tomorrow it's off to old Naples with Sandi's niece.

Happy Thanksgiving from Naples

Well, they're all here.  Now there are 10 of us for the next 5 days.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Naples Clouds

Here's my first of several pictures to follow of our time in Naples, FL (click on image to enlarge).  I love looking at different cloud formations and I'm beginning to accumulate quite a portfolio of them.

Taking pictures of clouds is tricky.  The lighting has to be just right.  If it's too sunny, the brightness obscures the cloud or clouds.

On the other hand, if there isn't enough light, you lose detail.  My level of expertise is in its infancy so I rely on photo managing software like PhotoShop Elements that makes corrections for me.

I think this one turned out pretty well.

Kids are coming in tomorrow so look for many more pictures.  When we return home I'll transfer everything to my website.

Putting off 'the soft life'

Remember my previous post where I  explained how I caved in to buying a generator?  Well it's back to square one.

It seems that when I ordered the generator thinking there was one in inventory, it turned out the web site information was incorrect and there is now a backlog with deliveries expected to resume at the end of December or early next year.

Based on that, I cancelled the order in hopes of finding one around here that will serve the purpose.

I will resume that search when we get back from Florida on the 27th.  We leave Friday the 16th.

The next few blogs will therefore be from sunny Naples, FL.  Pictures will be included.

On getting soft....

I used to more or less laugh at people who went out and spent a bunch of money on a portable generator for the few times--if that--that electrical service was disrupted. 

I used to think, "What's wrong with people these days?  Is it so hard to read instead of watch TV, use bottled water or keep a wood fire going? Has this nation gotten so soft we can't endure a little hardship for a little while?" 

That's what I 'used' to think.  Now I see things differently.  We just experienced the 3rd prolonged power outage in just 2 years.  While we were extremely lucky for the first two since we didn't lose power, we weren't so lucky this time around. 

During Hurricane Sandy, we were out just 3 days.  Three short (actually quite long) days.  Plus we had ample heat and water.  But, as evidenced by a blog I wrote on November 3rd, it was far from pleasant.  The amount of food alone that we needed to throw away  was unacceptable.

There's one more thing:  Everything I've read about climate patterns and weather trends points to this kind of thing becoming the norm--not the exception.

Soooo....with all of that as background, we did it.  We bought a portable generator.  It hasn't arrived yet and there are other costs besides the actual cost of the machine.  We have to hire an electrician to wire it correctly so we don't hurt ourselves or someone working on the lines.  But it's my guess that it will be worth it.  Plus from a practical point of view, suppose when it comes time for us to buy a house requiring a little less work, someone sees this house and another almost its equal but we have the generator and they don't.  Which house will they buy?

I guess I'm getting soft. 

And the winner is...the status quo!

The good news:  President Obama returns to office and Linda McMahon returns to the charming world of entertainment wrestling.

The bad news: Nothing much has changed.  We have a democratic president & senate and a far right conservative House. 

Don't expect much to happen--unless voters get fed up with the House's obstructionist stance and dump many or all of them in the midterm 2014 congressional elections.

One final observation and then I'm done with politics (for a while):  This past election season was marked by some very troubling tendencies.  I've never seen so much hostility, acrimony and hatred as I did these past several years.  You can't lay it all on differences in political philosophy.  There's an under current of very dark motives (pun intended).

We have a long way to go in this country.

My Official Endorsements

Here they are--what you all have been waiting for-my official endorsements. 

For President of the United States:   Barack Obama-yeah, yeah, I know, the republicans are always whining that he blames Bush too much for the mess he inherited but let's face it, he did in fact walk into office when this country was on the brink of utter collapse.  People need to remember that.

I was very disappointed in Obama's effort to bring about health care reform at such a critical time but that to me is his only blip.

In the area of foreign policy he can't be faulted.  This country is safer now than it's ever been.  Romney's foreign policy:  let's see, what bank should I deal with today, the one I use in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands?  Or...how many factories should I open in China today? 

Romney is clueless.  He's a rich businessman (good for him.  I'd like to be rich too) but utterly unprepared to be a president. 

For Connecticut's U.S. Senator:  This is such a no-brainer it's unbelievable. Chris Murphy--in spite of his missed meetings--is absolutely the better qualified. 

Linda McMahon is a self-serving weasel whose agenda is to make herself and her rich peers even richer and more powerful.   She isn't in the least bit interested in the problems of the middle class, or the elderly, or students, or the poor.  She's trying to buy a senate seat--simple as that.

Send her back to the wrestling ring where she belongs.

For the 5th Congressional District which is the post Chris Murphy vacated:  Elizabeth Esty.  Quite frankly I don't know that much about her but it's enough for me to know that her opponent, Andrew Roraback,  is a Tea Party republican.  As far as I'm concerned, the Tea Party is one of the most dangerous, destructive movements in the country today.  They may have served a purpose at one time--dumping tea in Boston Harbor--but today they are just a bunch of seriously misinformed obstructionists.

Whatever your choice may be, get out there and vote. It's your right.  It's your duty.

It's all about routines

Now that the hurricane has passed and electricity and cable have been fully restored, it seems like a good time for a little reflection.

 This is a story about routines. Those day-to-day habits we develop without a second thought.

Here’s a partial description of my old--or usual--routine:

Get up on my own at about 6:30 A.M.  

Take shower, brush teeth, shave if I’m going somewhere.

Put in eye drops get dressed & go downstairs.

Pour coffee which is already brewed and waiting for me.

Turn on some morning TV program—whichever one I can stand at any given time.

If it’s cold, get the fire going in the wood stove.

Wake up my computer and check emails and Facebook.

At about 7:15 pour Sandi’s coffee, get a cup of cereal and bring it up to her.

From that point on, depending on the plan,  the rest of the day unfolds as it has for a number of years.

Since Hurricane Sandy paid us a visit, here’s what my “New Routine” looked like for the past, mercifully over, 4 days:

Get up on my own at 6:30.

Put in eye drops and get dressed.

Pour remaining water from bucket into toilet to flush.

Go downstairs & get fire going.

Go on porch and light gas grill.

While grill is warming up, pour water from 5-gallon container into large pan.  Put pan on grill to warm up.

Pour cold coffee from Dunkin Donuts Box of Joe into saucepan and put on stove to warm.

Take three buckets that once held chlorine tablets and joint compound and fill with pool water for flushing toilets.

Try to log on to internet with iPad using AT&T cell service to see what’s going on.

If AT&T is up—which is a very big if—wait for data to load.  If it isn’t up, turn on portable radio and listen to KC101 for news.

By the time all of that is done, coffee and water are sufficiently hot and Sandi is up on her own.

Have coffee, listen to news, discuss what more needs to be done.  If power is on at Sandi’s office, she goes to work.

Use now hot water to clean up dishes left over from day before or morning use.

Go upstairs, pour water into 4 oz. Dixie cup, brush teeth.  Pour a little more water on face cloth and wash face.  Later on we go to son’s house where a generator will enable us to shower.

Use rest of water in bucket to flush.

Gather all buckets and refill from swimming pool. 

Check supply of propane in tank for gas grill.

Spend rest of day preparing to do it all over again.

Here it comes

Here comes Sandy.  Woke up this morning at about 6 o'clock to the loud ringing of my wind chimes. 

I thought I had done everything I needed to but they were a noisy reminder that I had forgotten something.  When it gets lighter I'll take a walk around outside and make sure I haven't forgotten anything else.

There are reports of power outages already in sections of CT so here we go!

Sad Commentary-2nd Edition

Judging by recent reports and remarks made by various people, it's looking more like this race is boiling down to race. 

That's a very sad situation.  We have a very, very long way to go in this country.

Here we go again

Donald Trump is at it again.  This time he's offered the president a $5 million donation of his choice if he would produce a variety of documents, i.e. passports, birth certificates, diplomas, etc.

This time he's gone over the edge.  He's nothing more than a racist gas bag who doesn't deserve one nano second of attention. 

The only reason I even know about this is because once you've turned on the morning news, you're bombarded by this sort of crap.

Clearly, the lesson is to not watch morning news shows. 

Happy Halloween

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You keep knocking on your own front door.

9. You remove your false teeth to change your appearance.

8. You ask for soft high fiber candy only.

 7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.

6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,'  And you're not wearing a mask.

5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' And you can't remember the rest.

4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.

3. You have to carefully choose a costume that doesn't dislodge your hairpiece.

 2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

And the number one reason Seniors should not go Trick Or Treating...
*
*
*
1. You keep having to go home to pee.

No matter, have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN anyway.

I'll take today

I wouldn't want there to be a particular day where the weather never changes.  I like the occasional surprises Mother Nature throws at us.

Nevertheless, if I was forced to pick such a day, it would be today.  Beautiful puffy clouds in otherwise sunny skies, warm temperatures, trees in full color...What's not to like?  Sure beats sleet and ice.

Politics in an election year

The political ads this year have been among the nastiest I've ever seen.  I, and I'm sure everyone else, can't wait for this election to be over.

What's so hard about being civil?  I don't get it.

Yet another birthday

Cole celebrated his 5th birthday yesterday (10/13) at Chucky Cheese's in Danbury.  The last time I was at a Chucky Cheese's was many years ago in Waterbury.  The place was a dump.  I'm happy to report Danbury's Chucky Cheese's is much nicer.  Plus the food looked fairly edible although I didn't have any pizza or cake.

It certainly would seem to be the place to be.  Besides all the kids there for Cole there were a great many for other parties or just playing.  In a word it was a zoo...but we all had a great time.

Yet more to like about grand parenting.

Joe Gets It Done

Nice work, Joe.  You made it crystal clear that Paul Ryan is a lying little weasel.  Now your running mate has to step up. 

Give him a few lessons on how to develop a backbone. 

Raise taxes? Why?

Sooooo...Mitt Romney vows not to raise taxes.  Of course he's not going to raise taxes.  He doesn't have to.  He's already paying about half the tax rate as the rest of us.  It's a win win for him...unless Obama wakes up and calls him on it.

Come on, Mr. President.  You can do better.

The Jersey Boys

Remember Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?  Probably not but it doesn't matter.  Their music is just as good today as it was 40 years ago.

We saw the play Jersey Boys yesterday at the Shubert Theater in New Haven.  It was a great performance.  If you happen to see that it's being performed in a theater around you, go see it. 

Happy birthday, Sandi Stockwell

Happy birthday, Sandi, the year of which shall remain a secret except to say welcome to the world of Medicare and numerous discounts.

Will the real Mitt Romney stand up?

Without question last night's debate was not Barack Obama's finest hour.  He managed to let Mitt Romney slip away from so many lies he looked like Mercury.

For the next debate Obama's got to get much tougher.  He's got to call Romney on his elitist attitude toward all people and his right wing position on the issues.  What people saw Wednesday night was a guy who did so many flip-flops that he made me dizzy.

Obama needs to focus on that or Romney's going to be the next president--God help us all!

The Note!

Some of you might remember a time or two in high school when you thought you might get away with penning a note in  your parents' name to either permit you to do something or excuse you for something you didn't do. 

It seems the art of note writing is getting an early start these days as witnessed by 6-year-old Courtney's effort to convince me her mother has given me permission to allow Courtney and her sister to watch 10 TV shows and have ice cream for dinner. 

I of course fell for it completely!