May 31, 2018--You Say You Want A Revolution . . .

. . . Well, you know.

At breakfast the other morning John asked, "Have you heard anything about the Revolution?"

"God knows," Rona said, "There's good reason why there should be one."

"We're living in a second Gilded Age," John said. "What with 1 percent of the population owning 40 percent of the nation's wealth. That should be enough to get one going." 

Rona said, "Did you see the long piece in this weekend's New York Times about CEO compensation? Among other things, company by company, it calculated how many years workers earning average salaries would have to work to earn as much as their CEO makes in just one year."

"I did see that," I said.

John indicated he had as well and how outrageous the data were.

"My memory isn't perfect," Rona said, "So, John can you look the article up on your smartphone? I remember the title, 'Want To Make Money Like A CEO?'"

He did and cited some of the statistics--

At Walmart, for example, the world's largest employer, the median salary for workers is a paltry $19,177. Last year the CEO received $22.2 million in compensation. This means it would take average employees more than 1,000 years to earn what the CEO earns in 12 months.

"Unbelievable," Rona said.

Listen to this one," John said, "At Time Warner median compensation is a hefty $75,217 but since the CEO makes $49 million it would take typical employees 651 years to earn that."

Now I said, "Unbelievable. From the Times I remember the earnings numbers for a company I never heard of, where things are even more unequal. And that's saying a lot."

"Maybe Live Nation?" John said. "They are in the concert and ticketing business and the CEO last year made a whopping $70.6 million while the median salary there was $24,406. That means the workers have to live and work 2,893 years to earn that much."

"They should live and be well," I said, feeling my blood at full boil. 

"So, you asked about the Revolution," Rona said, sounding ironic. "Numbers like these should make everyone but CEOs crazy and take to the streets in anger to protest and, who knows, revolt."

"I hate to sound cynical," I said, "But who's more likely to make a revolution--Bernie's people or Trump's?"

We sat in silence for a few minutes not wanting to answer since we knew what we were feeling and it didn't make us happy.

August 11, 2015--Michele, Ma Belle

Knowing my obsession with Michele Bachmann and her pray-away-the-gay husband, knowing how disappointed I am that she is not running for president this time around, knowing that with the exception of Donald TRUMP the current candidates are not that funny (I only made it through an hour-and-a-half of last week's two-hour debate), my Virginia brother and sister-in-law sent me a piece from Salon about how Michele is gleeful about the nuclear deal the Obama administration recently struck with Iran because it foretells the beginning of End Times.

As Salon reported, in an interview on the evangelical radio show, Understanding the Times (get it--the Times), Michele Bachmann gushed that we should all feel very "privileged to live" in the End Times which are rapidly approaching "now that Obama's negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran."

She claimed that this accord fulfills the biblical prophecy from Zechariah 12:3--"On that day, when all the nations of the earth are against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves."

The End Times are upon us, Michele revealed and "heaven's armies" are now advancing the cause. "The prophets longed to live this day. You and I are privileged to live in it."

The host of the show, Jan Markell, agreed. There "are consequences to doing things like this against God's covenant land [Israel], there are horrible consequences. You throw in other things such as the Supreme Court decision back in late June [about same-sex marriage] and a lot of other things--judgement is not just coming, judgment is already here."

It is only senators like Chuck Schumer," Bachmann sighed, who can forestall "God's wrath."

Here's where I get confused--

She cites Schumer (my mother used to call him Chuck Schmoozer) as the only one standing in the way of God's wrath, but aren't evangelicals looking forward to the End Times? Isn't that an essential step toward the emergence of the Antichrist (I know, he's already here in the person of Barack Obama), his reign, the Millennium, and ultimately the desired Last Judgement? So what's her problem? She should be ecstatic (etymologically literally) rather than bent out of political shape.

There's a solution--Michele, ma belle, it's not too late. The race is not over. In fact, no one is all that happy with the current field. The poll-topper, Donald TRUMP, has his theology all mixed up. When asked about his church going he admitted he doesn't attend that often. "When I go," he said, "I eat the little cracker." And though he's not impressed with the sacramental wine, he did admit he drinks "my little wine."

Think about how you could take him on. The discourse you two could engage in. For the rest of us, the two of you debating is almost too much to hope for.

Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble.

August 23, 2013--Wonderful Feeling, Wonderful Day!

Rona was reading about the overprescription of antidepressants. How in general one in ten use them, but for women in their 40s and 50s the percentage soars to one in four. And then for patients 65 or older, the number increases to almost half the population, with women again having them prescribed at much higher rates than men.

Perhaps worse, there is clear evidence that doctors are too quick to take out their prescription pads to set patients on the path to drug dependence. Six out of seven of older women who began taking Zoloft or Paxil did not fit the criteria for their use by the psychiatrists' bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

It is claimed that this overuse is in part because of all the ads on TV and in women's magazines pushing these drugs so that when people see their doctors they ask for them. Busy doctors are then too quick and willing to write script so they can race along to the next patient.

Reading this report to me from the New York Times, Rona confessed, "Though I'm not prone to depression I do sometimes wake up on the wrong side of the bed."

"I love that idiom--wrong side of the bed." I wonder where it comes from."

"You and your idioms," she said, "I'm being serious."

"Sorry. I thought I was as well."

"What I wanted to share is how I am, non-medically, trying to deal with my tendency toward morning grumpiness."

"By?"

"By putting a smile on my face." I looked at her skeptically. "Really, I'm finding that by doing this I am orienting myself in a more positive direction. This may sound simplistic, but it seems to be working."

"Putting a smile on your face--which makes sense to me since, as you know, I'm a bit of a behaviorist--comes from that song, doesn't it, It's Almost Like Being in Love?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"What's that?"

"Maybe singing an uplifting song mornings, not just trying to smile."

"Sort of the Power of Positive Singing?"

"Exactly! I'm not wanting to compare myself to people who have bigger problems than waking up not feeling good. There are many who are deeply troubled and can be helped with the proper use of meds. But for those of us fortunately less afflicted, maybe singing a simple song of a certain kind during the day could be helpful."

"Perhaps Zip-a Dee-Doo-Dah," I said, "from Disney's Song of the South would qualify?"

With that, we both began to sing--

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah by Song Of The South
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my what a wonderful day!
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

Mister Bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actch'll
Ev'rything is satisfactch'll
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

This did put smiles on our faces and made us feel lighter-spirited.

"It worked for me," I gushed. "And before going to bed?" which would be in an hour or so, "What might we sing then to insure happy dreams?"

"How about this from the Beatles?" 

Sweetly Rona sang--

Now it's time to say good night
Good night, sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night, sleep tight

Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you 

Close your eyes and I'll close mine
Good night, sleep tight
Now the moon begins to shine
Good night, sleep tight

Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you

Close your eyes and I'll close mine
Good night, sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night, sleep tight

Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you

Good night
Good night everybody
Everybody everywhere good night

"By the way," I said, yawning, "The wrong side of the bed is the left side because in Roman times, the left, or sinister side was considered to be dangerous and even evil."

"This is not an example of the power of positive anything." 

Rona was right--it was getting late. 

With a shy look I asked, "Can we go to bed now?"