midwest thoughts

occasional musings from the heartland, removed from distractions like mountains, seacoasts, and any elevation of the land -- flat other than the several glacial ravines that run through the area.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Grinch strikes again

What's wrong with this photo?

President Bush at the White House, 12/21/07, AP photo by Charles Dharapak

A smiling President, a week before he vetoes a military spending bill that includes pay raises for active duty service members, increased support for returning veterans of the Iraq War, and other benefits for those who've served the country. And why? Because it exposes the Iraqi government to suits by those who suffered under previous Iraqi regimes, notably that of Saddam Hussein. Must protect those we've put in power--and their financial resources--at all costs. Even if those costs were paid for with the blood of American military. It's not as if, of course, anyone in the administration has any personal stake in any of this. Nor any sitting member of Congress, for that matter.

Happy holidays, vets.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Another Holiday Desecrated by Christians


Well, the holiday is here again, and, again, fundamentalist Christians are doing their damndest to turn a seasonal holiday into a religious one. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is even airing a commercial urging us all to remember that the we need to simply 'celebrate Christ's birth' and settle in with our families. Guess the non-Christians don't count in the Huckster's vision of the United States. It was pretty clear before this commercial that that was the case, but he's made it solid as he pitches, presumably sincerely, his message to the fundamentalist Christian voting base; if you managed to miss this cringing ad, catch it at http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2007/12/17/huckabees-christmas-card-to-the-voters/
Dennis Kucinich looks better and better all the time!



Meanwhile, we celebrate the traditional holiday, the solstice, with visits to good friends, various parties, and with family. Here are a couple of photos of Ginger, my 95 1/2 year old mother, recently, as we visited with her in her assisted living quarters here in Columbus--it's a relief to have her five minutes away, rather than the eight hours drive it was to visit her in northern Virginia--what a good idea it was to arrange to have her move here three years ago! Now we can visit several times a week, and, just as importantly, monitor her health care and medications.


Ginger Woods


Ginger with Ann


Ginger with middle son

Very busy with the Limbo play project, which has mushroomed into a major task, coming on top of the Heckart plays; will be awash with readings for the next few months! Details on both at two sites: http://limboplays.blogspot.com and http://heckartdrama.blogspot.com

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