A NEW FEATURE. Items first posted here that contain material dealing
primarily with my campaign for the 36th CD will be repeated for political
junkies at a separate web site. The site address is:
http://spirit-in-sky-paul-2.blogspot.com/2011/06/higher-and-higher.html
ENJOY!
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GIVE YOUR ATTENTION to the interesting style of the page heading. Do you
NOT find it a bit un-settling; the DOUBLE-MEANING of the PS... PALM SPRINGS/PAUL SERVELLE...hm-m...
(With this post, Sky Papa is jumping forward to Monday/tomorrow). The
attempt is to get out the gate quickly in the race for the 36th CD.
OKAY SMARTY, quick like a bunny...TELL ME: WHAT DATE IS THIS?
(From the reminder below, I TOLD YOU it is SUNDAY. SO.) WHAT DATE?
(NO Cheating by checking a 'near-by' calendar. Either.)
TOMORROW will be roughly 30 days left to 'escrow-closing'. (No, Little
Woman, not closing on a home next to yours on Blue-Spruce Xmas-tree Lane.
"Christopher Robin come out of those woods and get Tigger & Piglet to
help solve this riddle. And you, Mr. Pooh_bear, get your hand out of
that honey pot. That DOES NOT HELP the 'Situation' one bit." Lordy, lordy,
Sky Papa is getting much too grey in his whiskers to finish this quiz.
(CALL AN ELDER...if you have one, or know where to look to find one. HINT:
SENIOR CENTER!) "Good Hunting", the MOVIE...WON'T HELP YOU! Just playin'
with you...hehehe...
FEAR NOT MATES...there was red in them 'thar skies last evenin' So,
delight in this Sunday morning. REST TODAY. Give thanks to HIM/HER that
are the MOST DESERVING. Give YOUR TIME to those you love. And for Pete
sakes, even SHARE A STORY with THEM. Tomorrow will soon enough come,
once again...with it's only Reality. For Me, Sky Papa it will be...
30 days of downward counting. WILL the Show Close before the Curtain
has even Risen? Only Time Will Tell It's Story.
FOR THOSE OF US (Sky Papa included)'WHO' require some Rule or Goal (even
on the Sabbath) HERE IS ONE: 'WALK-AWAY...LAUGHING' hehehe...hahaha...
(Me be thinkin' thatz a good on'. (:,}
(1st post VIDEO "Jenny Jenny" Jan. 29, 2012.)
THE POWER OF Rock & Roll could literally send a pre-teen like Sky Papa
into a frenzy dancing just like Little Richard.
{A little back-story. I am: Paul J. Servelle. Like yesterday (it seems), I
was in small camp ground located in La Honda, CA (in the foothills of the
NOW Silicon Valley). Me & the family would go to this same camp ground often
in the early '50s. On one Sunday, the day started out as normal. We usually arrived
some Friday evening and would immediately set-up the Salvation Surplus Army tent.
(It weighed a ton; very heavy canvas.) Soon, mom would have dinner ready. (Not
hardly gourmet but always gobbled up like we had gone all week without eating. YUM.)
By late Sunday morning, me & my two sisters were exhausted but mellow. And, THEN.
The out-door, small, wooden dance pavilion had something 'new' installed. A JUTE-BOX.
Us kids ran like crazy to see what toons it carried. Oh, lordy...It had, Little Richard (among other hitz in it); this one, "Jenny Jenny" ...We kids bopped are
selves silly...Go...Go...Go faster; WE DID. OVER & OVER Jenny we played on the
box until we Dropped. END back-story.) WHAT the heck...IT WAS THE MOST FUN THING
WE DID THAT SUNDAY. (No-way was it 'normal'.) BELIEVE ME...
CATZ CRADLE
More and more my dreams turn to children...
i YEARN-to-LEARN all they can teach me...
THEY do not speak in riddles; nor hide their
true meaning in a code of innuendo,
SO why must i...?
WHAT would they teach me...if i was to ask
them about this 'so-called logic' i learned in my
'School of Education'.
Socrates was a Man. All men R Mortal. Therefore...
Socrates is a Man. Q.E.D.
AS I most always do, i turn to my own.
FIRST, from 'Doc-on-Board': "YOU must begin by
acknowledging that ALL your so-called, education,
both formal and informal, is from that cultural waste-land
called TV.
YOU have been forced fed. SO, right-back at U".
WHAT is a Dad to do...when he realizes he has raised a
"Cat-in-the-cradle"; a son just like him.
Who was it but me, who taught him to answer a question
with another question...how frustrating is that!
NEXT UP, Ms Kelli, my spirit-in-sky:
"Dad, i am just 13 and u know, i have only enough time 4 ME."
(But what about me, i want to ' Shout Out'...)
Already on- her-way-out,
she shouts over her shoulder, " GOOGLE IT".
NOT MUCH HELP, i might suggest, but gotta luv her,
she is likely to always remain my little,
& youngest, baby.
SO MUCH for the notion that 'out-of-the-mouth-of babies'
...or....maybe not...Perhaps it was my question that
was ill advised or...JUST PLAIN STUPID.
And, can it possibly be true that my children R babies no
longer...'cept to Me. This could turn out to be searching...
for a 'baby in a hay-stack'...
OH LORDY, now what have i begun..
.just askin'..."Hey, CAT IN THE HAT! can you throw
us a fish or 'WHAT' else have you.
"Please you kids, take it easy...on your Daddy".
(1st post this POEM Jan. 28, 2012.)
Must Sky Papa tell you 'WHO' wrote it? SORRY. NO CAN DO. THAT. NOW.
{A Post Perspective: I am: Paul Servelle. Sometimes I act
like a kid. (A Big One...i know.) But, i also have a Big Heart.
SO. It all kind of balances out/in THE END.}
LITTLE HAWK SPEAKS
Nobody Knows.
When everything is lost,
You don't run to your father.
For fear, for hatred,
There is always a reason.
In continuance you flee,
To the one life form,
That no matter the situation,
Trust is found at almost all times.
Why is the mother more trustworthy.
Nobody knows.
Even if you never met your mother,
You would still run,
To who you learned to be your mother.
And if your mother isn't there,
Even her family's side is more appealing.
Why is the mother more trustworthy.
Nobody knows.
Even if the creator was to whisper,
The answer to all questions,
Right into your ear.
You wouldn’t believe for fear of the truth,
And run to your mother.
Why is the mother more trustworthy.
Nobody knows.
(1st post this POEM, was written by a young man with 'blood-of-a-hawk';
Jan. 28, 2012.)
{I am: Paul J. Servelle. I offer-up, here, what little I know re: the Poem
above. 'Tho the identity of the author is, indeed, very close to my heart,
he knows not that it is here published and, I did not secure his permission.
For now, let it & him speak through its beauty which is, I believe, trans-formative.)
(1st post VIDEO 'Sky is Crying' Jan. 28, 2012.)
Song by Stevie Ray Vaughn goes out to my 'baby' bro, John Charles Z. on his birthday. Wooo Hooo...Big John
(1st post this VIDEO IRON LADY Jan. 27, 2012.)
OOPS...MY BAD! THIS VIDEO IS BY IRON MAIDEN!!!
WORLD SERIES MEMORIES
Just returned home to Palm Springs from a 1,000 mile road trip spread over the
past 72 hours. For reasons not entirely clear, I had to be in San Francisco for Wednesday’s opening game of this year’s World Series between the SF Giants and the team from Texas.
Now, it is true that the Giants have not WON a world series since coming from NY in 1958. As a 15 year old, at that time, I saw them play in the old Seal Stadium. THEN
located downtown on 16th and Bryant across from the old Hamm’s brewery.
LATER, I end up living in SF while attending SF State. During that same period (circa early 1960s, I saw many Giants games in Candlestick Park. It was my good
fortune to be there when Willie McCovey had his 1st major league at bat. A left-handed batter, Mr. McCovey was one larger-than-life figure. But even so,
his bat looked twice the size of what others were using. His swing was like a
golf swing.
He hit the ball so far over the right field fence...it disappeared. BELIEVE IT!
But as much as I liked the 'City-by-the-Bay', I had to move on. By the ‘70s I no longer paid any attention to how my boy-hood heroes were doing. Even though they made it into the series four times over the intervening years, I never really gave them much thought.
I saw them on TV this year (2010) and I got caught in the 'Bay-Area' fever. I have never even seen their new stadium with McCovey’s 'cove'. I definitely got hooked as they worked themselves up through the play off. And the City itself was calling me, too. I have no money but I had to return to my personal 'Field of Dreams'.
My friend, the 'Cactus-Man', agreed to ride shot gun; another friend, Mikey, has a home near the new park and although he wasn’t going to be in town, he said me and
the 'Cactus-Man' could stay there. (Quite a guy that Mikey!) SO.
Tuesday morning we headed north; 500 miles and 12 hours later we’re there. The whole town was in a frenzy. Wednesday was Game One. We couldn’t afford tickets ($400 to stand up; $1,800 to sit down.) But what a scene! After the Giants batted in the 4th,
Sky Papa & the 'Cactus-Man' headed home. We caught the Muni (of course, conveniently located immediately adjacent to the ball park). In a matter of minutes we were home to watch the last innings on Mikey's large, flat-screen TV. Unbelievable. Oh, my!
But something even stronger was going on. The City seduced me with my own memories.
And, I let it! All the way. Back to the best year of my life.
And, rest assured, I have had a life time of blessing: present at the births of all four of my children; loving and supportive parents; siblings; relatives, wonderful friends and an adventured filled life.
That single best year began in the spring of ’64; and the story-tale continued through the spring of ’65. The beginning and end points are easy: Spring of ’64 I turned 21 and went all over the City on an all night binge.
(Accompanied on this male ritual by D. Sanchez; one of my two room-mates in a house we shared out in the in-appropriately named 'Sun-set' District located, STILL,out near the SF Zoo.)
Spring of ’65 I earned by BA from SF State. (Neither bitter nor sweet 'memories'. NOT THEN. NOT NOW. Re: Graduation.) 'Tho, only two-days ago (1/25/2012), it paid
minor benefit at the "Rocky's Pawn Shop", located-here in Palm Springs. Sky Papa
pawned his SF State graduation 'Class of '65' ring. One could say, the ring came
in quite handy. INDEED. But it was the time, in-between, that was unbelievably magical.
I had waited, not always patiently, 21 years to fine my life’s love. And, in the fall of ’64 it happened! Love at it’s first blooming and all consuming. Played out in what I believe to be the most romantic city of all. The City of Seven Hills.
Exquisite in its intimacy and subtle in its ambiance. And fun and playfulness: Cable Cars and endless variety of places to explore. Little eaters on every corner. And Sour Dough bread 'to-die-for'. The fog rolling in...to draw you together. In a very
mysterious way, two become one.
On this trip (October 2011), I rode the cable car and had an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista Club. I love SF and the memories it evokes in me. They warm me and refresh me. Next visit I hope (and yes, pray) to have Kelly, Gavin and, (perhaps,
WHO knows me better than 'you'?)...PLEASE, join me.
{Some of you may have received this story last year; before I knew it would become part of a collection of my stories. I wish to thank Verdell W. from EPA for reminding me to look for it…and through God’s grace and guidance, I found one version to build upon. Some version of this story has been kicking around since at least 9pm 10/29/10 when one carried this date and time.}
TODAY’S OXYMORON: THE WISE-MEN OF WALL STREET
(1st posted 9/24/2008 11:14 AM PDT on MyDesert.com)
Repeat post Jan. 26, 2012)
{I am: Paul J. Servelle. I offer-up these explanatory comments,
this evening 1/26/2012. Although written some 40 months ago, it
seems to me that the conditions described THEN are essentially
unchanged as those NOW confronting our Nation. One might even
suggest they are eerily similar.}
The only way we can avoid total darkness from sweeping across the globe,
we are told by the wise-men of Wall Street,is for tax-payers to hand-over
a trillion dollars with no questions asked.
The appearance of ‘the three-wise men of finance’ before congressional
committees this week has an eerie resemblance to “The War of the Worlds”.
Seldom has such hysteria been generated over such nonsense.
Common sense, coming mostly from Americans on Main Street, is recognizing
the ridiculousness of these claims. Instead, common sense argues that the
real crisis is to be found outside the halls of Wall Street. It is to be
found in the realities of problems confronting real people across the country.
Real problems are to be found in: (1) the growing numbers of delinquencies
and foreclosures: (2) the increasing levels of unemployment; (3) the stag-
nation in GDP; and (4) the decline in consumer confidence.
Most Americans already understand what most policy-makers do not. Real
problems demand ‘real’ solutions. The most urgent step necessary to stem
the crisis is to get cash into the hands of consumers. (Consumer spending
being about 70 percent of GDP.)
The source of the Main Street crisis is housing; the solution of the crisis
on Main Street is housing as well. Households urgently need liquidity. The
quickest and best fix is a moratorium on mortgage payments.
Congress should place an immediate 90 day moratorium on all mortgage payments
coming due across the country. This single action would have the immediate beneficial consequences.
First, it would inject liquidity into the system when and where it is so
desperately needed. Second, consumers would immediately begin a spree of
spending that would induce secondary and tertiary rounds of additional
spending.
This spending in turn would induce production and jobs; the classic
'pump-priming' effects of Keynesian economics that produced prosperity in the
1960s. Ultimately, it needs to be remembered that borrowing and investment
follow, not lead, consumer spending.
(1st post Freedom Flag VIDEO Jan. 26, 2012.)
Written by K'naan a singer for Somalian Freedom.
WHILE PRESIDENT OBAMA was given his State-of-the-Union, a Navy Seal Operation
was happen in K'naan's home-land where there is no Peace or Freedom.
(1st post Stayin Alive Jan. 26, 2012.)
MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT SKY PAPA KNOWS ARE BARELY...
CONSENSUS CAPITALISM
Middle of the road voters need a new economic paradigm.
The old choices:
more or less government
tax the rich or give them bigger tax breaks; and
“grab-what-you-can-capitalism”
These are 'Quick-fixes’ and they never did work. And, in a
quick-fix nation (like our own) doing something to fix the
economy is problematic.
OK folks, here’s the problem with the economy
Putting aside speculation on the weather, perhaps the most
talked about and least understood topic of discussion among
ordinary Americans is the economy.
One’s perspective is a direct reflection of one’s circumstance.
As Ronnie Reagan famously remarked, “A recession is when
your neighbor is unemployed; a depression is when you are!”
Of course, if the number of unemployed in the neighborhood
increases, other area homeowners are the first to notice.
Cosmetic yard maintenance is the first sign. Economic anxiety
heightens along with weeds left unattended.
Consumer confidence data attempts to track changes in the level
of anxiety about which direction the economy is headed; anxiety
increases as the economy heads south.
Here-in is the real trouble.
Increasing anxiety generates behaviors that cause…
the economy to go further south.
(1st post this Essay Jan. 26, 2012)
ANOTHER PART OF THE PROBLEM: What Consensus???
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AS ESSENTIAL
UNDERPINNINGS OF PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY...
AS PART OF MY PLEDGE TO HAVE FULL-DISCLOSURE & TRANSPARENCY DURING THIS CAMPAIGN,
ABOVE IS MY CURRENT HEALTH REGIME. (I VISITED DR. FORELAND today 1/25/2012.)
I am: Paul J. Servelle.
I offer-up these explanatory comments on Jan. 25, 2012.
(This story, as is the case with nearly all of my stories, is biographical.
My motivation for repeating it is the unusual response it received.
Some of you, my dear readers, actually sent me notes to encourage
me to continue to speak with the voice that I was THEN beginning
to find was…well, me. Grabbing on tightly to this modicum of
encouragement, I have continued pursuing that which is so
elusive: finding more of ‘my own’ story.)
SUPERMAN HAD NOTHING ON ME
(by Paul Servelle on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 5:45pm. PST)
Old habits never die. SO. We might as well try to form some new
ones. My oldest habit is to always find a way to make it my job
to find a fix and save the day.
Early on, I came to believe, it is was my place to anticipate all problems and have a ‘solution’ for every deviation carefully cataloged for an easy fix. And, in this way, I would be indispensable to everyone. As critical to the success (…failures not permitted ) of everything as humanly possible. Superman had nothing, at all to do with it. (Well, except maybe for flying around and the blocking of bullets.)
But, damn, the world is all ‘screwed-up’ and totally unpredictable.
With little success to encourage my habit, it remained, stubbornly my job to try and fix it.
Today (circa September 2010), I was to pick the kids up from school at 3pm, drive them a half block to their dentist’s office for their regular 6 month check-up. I was sound asleep on the couch at home when I ‘jumped awake‘.
Two minutes after 3pm. For my Parkinson’s, I take pills 4 times a day. They are a sedative and I have grown aware of their effect and how to manage them. After taking them, rest for an hour (use a timer to wake back up). It was 12:15 when I laid down; surely I wouldn’t need the timer to wake up; I had nearly three hours.
Off I rush; at 3:15, I arrive at the dentist’s office. Kelly and Gavin are both in chairs getting their check-ups. All in order and orderly. Except, my old habit. I had let them down; they can’t ever count on me; etc.
I come home and go straight to my bed to both beat myself up and feel sorry for myself.
Then I decided to look at this whole thing differently.
After all, hadn’t I spent all this time and all these years, teaching them, a little at a time, how to do things
for and by themselves. Isn’t that exactly what they did.
Like I said before, Superman had nothing on me.
HAVE A BEAUTIFUL WEDNESDAY!
(1st post this VIDEO Jan. 25, 2012.)
BACK IN 9/15/2010, my fellow graduate of Ravenswood High School (E. Palo Alto, CA.; Class of '61) Djovida D. Djovida graciously shared this wisdom with me:
"Memories are all we get to take with us."
MY INITIAL REACTION (7:30pm. PST) TO THE 'State-of-the-Union' as recited by President Obama.
(1st post VIDEO Coasters' circa 1955 song; Jan. 24, 2012.)
"Yakety Yak".
THIS CAME OVER THE WIRE JUST YESTERDAY...Aretha Franklin breaks-off engagement.
(Give yourself extra points if you know the Big Fella behind the 'white-rimmed-
sunglasses'; Hint: it is NOT C.C. Ryder.)
(1st post Freeway of Love VIDEO, Jan. 24, 2012.)
Never you mind Miss Franklin; plenty of fish still to fry!
(1st post Pink Cadillac VIDEO Jan. 25, 2012.)
The Boss needs to return it to Aretha immediately after saying so long
to Clarence. (Who is NOW in Heaven and therefore out of harms way.) RIP Big Man.
I am: Paul J. Servelle.
I offer up this explanatory note at noon PST; today
is Jan. 24, 2012.
{In the brief soliloquy below, I made by first attempt to address
the loss of my young family on July 16, 1975. We were headed west
across Nevada in our 1972 VW-camper/bus. Our family on that fateful
day were: our kids’ mom, & my wife, ‘Liza’: 29; Nicole: 6; Sarah:
6 months; and, me: 32. Our vehicle was stationary and parked off the
adjacent 4-land Inter-state highway. Time: shortly after noon. Each
of us inside the bus. Bomb-like ‘fire-ball’ erupted when a fast-moving
semi-truck-and-trailer veered off highway and struck our van near the
left-rear fender. The force of that single blow was such as to leave
me the only one to escape the resulting infernal.}
OUR HEARTS, SOULS AND LOSS INNOCENTS
Remember the teeter-tot we sat on together. Me,
you and our so beautiful children that late mornin'.
Mom and Cole, snuggled together as one-child;
slid mid-way on your side of the totter...
freeze frame...
Me at the very end of mine, gaining no weigh from
tiny Sara. I surround her with my free hand.
"Move forward just a little more Elisabeth“…my heart
wonders if she hears my prayer?
“That's it.." I say aloud, as we become airborne
on this magic carpet. (We are just west of our destiny
that Nevada morning.) I hear through my tears, Joan
Baez singin/sayin/prayin (in “Diamonds and Rust”),
“...I could have died right then and there.” While all
around me there are explosions and FIRE! I beg to the
red sky of that morning. “PLEASE somebody help me…“,
and then it was eerily QUIET.
Little remains tangible from that July 16th day. Court
documents documenting what can NOT be documented;
in only three dimensions. And some soundless footage
from home movies I made…so poorly.
Photographs that have long been searched for only clues;
givin' up hope for answers. ONE FOOT-NOTE: Joan Baez
wrote Diamonds and Rust in 1975...whether in July remains,
to this day, unknown to me.
And now with a tenacity and stubbornness that give new
meaning to the bull-pigheadedness of an aging Taurus, I cling
to my Memories...even those that provoke more questions than
answers. So, I repeat:
“When you took my key to drive that fateful day, did you
fully realize, how you were the only one who had used it to
open my heart? And, did you know, it was the only one I
had ever really wanted to keep open. BELIEVE IT.
(1st post this time warp VIDEO Jan. 23, 2012.)
Sky Papa was THEN in Wash.,DC. Serving as an economic advisory person to a
(then) US Senator in the Wash.,DC. office of the said Senator. ALSO AT THAT TIME,
Sky Papa's alter-ego was a Post-Doc. at a Wash., DC based 'Think-Tank'. Wooo Hooo...
Call this rather brief period, "BIG/PIG HEADED".
A FEW OF THE BOOKS that Sky Papa read this past summer. Desert summers are way
too hot (105 - 115 degrees) to do much else!
WHILE SKY Papa's alter-ego sat around last night lamenting, that for him (a die-
in-the-wool 9er fan), week-end TV football was in the deep freeze! NOTHING TO
WATCH. Nada!!! A virtual 'waste-land'. No doubt about it. Not until MARCH MADNESS...re-runs return. (Trust me, Sky Papa, it is not a pretty site to see
such an old fart, 'cry-in-his-beer'.)
BUT, Sky Papa knows it is NOW 34 DAYS & COUNTING DOWN. SO. Look through all
this 'stuff' on the old guy's computer. Oh,... WHATZ THIS?
GOAL: TO FIND A GOVERNING MAJORITY
American presidential politics: what will it take to once again have a President elected with a governing “majority”?
Which Presidents had it; and why?
Reagan had it…personality
Nixon had it…polarizing of Vietnam
FDR had it…government leads
LBJ had it…but lost it
Ike had it…slow and steady
Politics revolves around the art of compromise. Any middle child knows that living in community involves finding ways to balance needs and make things work rather than demanding to get one's way. Our political system has tried to kill the idea of compromise because many now believe those who disagree to be idiots, godless or downright evil. It boils down to this, why compromise with people who are foolish or evil?
Politics involves the art of compromise. The political news media and recent campaigns have little use for non-polarizing language. Is political cooperation dead? I hope not
Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of many of England's Orthodox Jews, identifies a negative phenomenon he calls "narrow casting." Sacks explains that those who narrow cast use communication technologies such as the internet or talk radio to address only people who agree with the message being presented. This high tech preaching to the choir polarizes the audience because interaction with those who disagree is purely voluntary.
Narrow casting radicalizes the audience, reduces the sense of a broader community and often does so by demonizing those not listening to a given radio program or viewing a politically charged web page. Benjamin Barber explains that modern technology has made it easier for groups such as neo-Nazi's to target an audience without having to engage in debate over their material. Modern communication devices allow any group to tailor their message only to like-minded people
6 Planks for the Unity Movement
If each of us assumes that we are not the sole repository of governmental wisdom, then the appeal of centrism grows. I have tried to put together a 6 plank platform that reflects the combined wisdom of conservatives, liberals and moderates. Therefore, it is likely either to please no one or to be productive and give voters something around which to rally.
1. Return to Pay as You Go: All non-emergency spending increases or tax cuts need to be paid for by corresponding tax increases or spending cuts. This will force the legislative branch and voters alike to discuss what are and are not national priorities.
2. Set a Goal to Balance the Budget: During recessions this may be difficult to achieve, but if the national debt grows at 3% per year and the economy at 4% per year it is sustainable. In good years, a balanced budget or surplus would allow for shoring up Social Security and Medicare while giving the nation greater control over long term interest rates. Low interest rates are key because affordable capital is important to a capitalist society.
3. Use Market Forces and Tort Reform to Better Control Health Costs: Allowing for prescription drugs from Canada to compete with the same drugs in the U.S. will let the free market push drug costs down. Also, Medicare, Medicaid and the U.S. military can negotiate harder for lower drug prices. Such lower prices are good for almost every sector of the society. An attorney I know always says, "Everyone loves tort reform until they have been wronged." He is correct, but still some moderate form of tort reform is needed so long as it has a safeguard against allowing corporations to literally get off cheap for despicable deeds.
4. Increase Government Investment in People: Under pay as you go rules, this would require cuts in inefficient government in order to pay for government programs such as an expanded Pell Grant program, a more robust Peace Corps and an effective dose of preventative medicine. A leaner government can do things to enhance U.S. competitiveness in a global market.
5. Require Competency for Government Appointments: The days of patronage will never end. The days of appointing horse breeders to run FEMA need to end. Basic competency is a reasonable thing to ask of government officials.
6. Develop an Energy Policy that Addresses Green Concerns and National Security Issues: Finding a way to cut foreign oil consumption through more efficient cars and new forms of fuel is more than sane. Somehow it has not been a political priority since 2001. That needs to change.
post-script from Sky Papa: "Maybe, just maybe, this old fella may be on to
something worth hearing." SO. Stay tuned.
This 'Position-Paper' from: the 'WHO' campaign for Congress in the 36th CD.
Getting ready for lift-off. YOU BETTER WATCH OUT...YOU BETTER NOT CRY...HE WILL
SEE YOU AROUND TOWN.
THIS POST AT 12:01am PST Palm Springs, CA. Jan. 23, 2012.
WITHOUT THE ACTUAL EVENTS COVERED IN THIS POST (which was written shortly
AFTER the real activities described there-in)...most likely, TODAY, Sky Papa WOULD NOT BE ALIVE.
This past week, Monday (5/9/2011) through Friday (5/13/2011), for me, was dominated by a heart attack. My first.
It started on Monday afternoon. Pain in center of chest but to the right of the serum. Tingly sensation in both forearms. Acute pain in the lower, back side of my head. And perspiration flowing freely everywhere on my body.
First reaction, denial. Heart burn from something I had eaten. Laid down on couch and commenced Yoga like deep-breathing. Not as easy to do when it is real and not practice. But I know from past experience that it will help if I can keep with it. Long & slow inhale with mouth closed. Long & slow exhale releasing air from mouth. Easy to summarize but not easy when you are in full “flee” automatic response mode.
Oh, it’s working, keep at it. Inhale, long & slow… Coming back.
Give what just happened a name. If it has a name, it is not unknown.
Get up and pray there will be no more.
By Tuesday 3am, I knew I was in the grip of something. About one hour and fifteen minute intervals since the first episode. I have been expecting adult on-set of diabetes for the past two decades. Both my father and my Uncle Louie had adult on-set. I figured that time had come for me. I believed that I was having a diabetic episode of some kind.
Tuesday I had committed to take both kids to school and pick them up after.
Their mom was already out of the area taking a course required for renewing her certification as an Occupational Therapist.
Getting them to school was relatively easy. But there was no denying it was getting worse rapidly. I went to my neighborhood market to get food. I picked up lots of sweets. Cupcakes and candies. I ate a couple cupcakes and felt better…ah, diabetes is the culprit. Now time to pick up kids. Gavin first. Back to get Kelly. Get her to the condo with Gavin. Now 4pm and I am popping candy every couple of minutes.
Off to a free standing (not attached to a hospital) emergence room.
I pass an EKG but it still doesn’t seem right. Order an ambulance an off to the emergence room at the near by hospital. Time 4:45pm. As I am being admitted, the heart attack finally begins.
Everyone in that emergency room become one. Their full attention and total commitment is to not let the heart attack win. In the next 72 hours, I was able to witness what is possible if we commit to it. Was I special? No. I live on social security; I have no private pension or retirement benefits. I, do have, Medicare AND Medical.
Earlier today (2pm), I walked out of the hospital and drove myself home. I picked up 5 new prescription…total cost, $10. I have 5 stents where arteries use to be blocked.
I have no incisions or stitches. I was never put to sleep. I no longer have swollen extremities. I have no new debt to worry over.
Tonight, I sleep peacefully in my bed with my son in his room. Tomorrow, my daughter will join us and sleep over. A miracle, no doubt. We, Americans, can afford to make this miracle happen for all of us.
(1st post this Rawhide Riot VIDEO Jan. 22, 2012.)
BLUES BROTHERS at what they did best.
THE “BURNING BRUSH”
Real estate ‘hustlers’ and ‘hash-slingers’. Their area
of primary responsibility is to “Keep-those-doggies-
moving“. (And that, certainly includes…’come hell or
high water’.) INDEED.
Not much more than ranch-hands for hire. Of course,
among the lowly ‘cow-pokes’, one need not be ‘a Marshal
Dillon’ to see there are ‘real’ gun-slingers, bandits and
ropes for an occasional hanging or two.
Or however, this ‘story-teller’ wishes to tell it. SO.
Location: somewhere with rolling sage brush in abundance.
At the beginning: sparsely populated but mostly native-
American. (The slightly older ‘WyteGye’ telling…
this version, will soon send in some other pale-faces.
For of course, that is when these battles about WHO owns
the LAND truly begins.) NOW. Let Sky Papa pick-up the
narrative of this story.
In the unsettled western states of our early nation, they
came. SUDDENLY. Emerging (sometime) before the
“Burning Bush” has even been set on fire. (Here, Sky Papa
must ‘fast-forward’ past the full-wagons crossing;
the pale-faces, the painted-faces, the life and deaths
just to survive. Past the arrivals to spaces not fit for any-
One to settled. But, they tried. Miraculously, some did.
Keep going. Some said they must. SO.
They did. THEN. PAST. Late;18th, 19th, 20th …and NOW.
Acres and acres of dreams shattered and abandoned.
Some say it is a ‘crying shame’. (Sky Papa says, ‘You
got that right’.) Some see the opportunity to be…
WHAT; WHO; WHERE & WHY? Sky Papa has NO EASY
FIX TO OFFER IN A TIMELY, SAFE & FULL PROOF WAY.
Everyone must play the hand they have been dealt. Some
are ‘born cheaters’. TO THEM…
remember THY Heaven’s Door (Think, “Knock-knock-
knocking at Heaven’s Door” ; you choose your ‘Chapter &
Verse’ for guidance.) This is not to deny or point any finger.
Those without blame…go ahead and find your stone.
(1st post this preachy story -- after all
it is Sunday; Jan. 22, 2012.)
COOLIN YER JETS
Occasionally even the rich & famous must also do it.
So it came to pass, here in this their favored retreat
from whatever might hail them.
In something like a ‘Hurrican’ (that Ruben Carter swore
he had nothing to do with it), the air and sky over our
own golf course covered Valley, was gray with fury.
Palm fonds blew with such furor that all folks became
one as they collectively dove for some/any cover. Seems
that even are one percent families can not buy-off Nature’s
Hazards.
A former President of our great nation was forced to leave
his golf game half finished (‘Tho he still seems to relish the
‘perks’ of his former status). A several car contingent of
Non-Secret Service vehicles swept right-on-to-the- immaculately
tendered golf course. (Designed by the surprisingly absent,
and still called, Jack: 'the Golden Bear'.)
This NOW health-guru could not just ‘walk-the-talk’. Lordy,
lordy…how would that play in Peoria? (Sky Papa truly wonders
if ’Arnie’ was even able to make his arrival safely in his private
Jet.)
Now his army will be cut from the scheduled Pro-Am event.
(Sorry, Charlie…) NOW. No crying behind the locked gates where
you stay while in the Wells of Native Americans. Throw back a
few shots of Tequila and suck those fresh lemons. Ah-h…isn’t
that better. YOU BET IT IS.
Locals like me, Sky Papa wish you stay in your seclusion. The
public roads will be largely impassible. The Wind that blew in,
came from out north of Palm Springs in an area called Windy
Point. (True. BELIEVE IT.) They will likely be out-an-about
tonight, but hey, they know which WAY-the-WIND blows!
And, about those COOLIN YER JETS, please no JET TAKE OFFS
tomorrow before, say 10am. Sky Papa has trouble hearing Mass
at St. Theresa Catholic Church (on Ramon very near the PS Air
Port). Combined with a little head-ache, it can be murder. Can’t it?
(1st post this very short story Jan. 21, 2012.)
Sky Papa truly sorry 1st round of tourney was blown off schedule. Have
hope for better weather tomorrow. Also Faith never hurts either.
(1st post VIDEO "Blowing in the Wind" Jan. 21, 2012.)
This song by Peter, Paul & Mary, Sky Papa dedicates to those who are NOW
among the one percent but back THEN puffed with the Magic Dragon. May Peace
empower the faithful.
YIKESssss...IS SKY PAPA waiting for an INVITATION to join in the...RACE for
the congressional office in the 36th CD...now Occupied by One PERCENT (by WHATZ her LAST NAME NOW; Hint: rhymes with BACK. Like, 'Oh,my aching ...')
JUST FIVE WEEKS to gather up FOLKS (the other 99%) to SUPPORT a NPP candidate (Hey,
that COULD BE ME!!!)
WHILE LOOKING for a decidedly 'Older-gentleman' wearing 'TWO RED tennis-shoes'
WHO is HUNTING for YOU to sign HIS PETITION,
HERE is something for you to consider:
SKY PAPA is dedicated to reaching out to his fellow Americans to bring about fundamental change in the ways things are done in Washington, D.C.
Fundamental change:
to replace derisiveness with cooperation.
Fundamental change:
to seek common ground rather than focusing on our differences.
Fundamental change:
to build bridges to all people, both in this country and abroad, not tear them down,
Fundamental change:
to use diplomacy first but have a thoughtful Plan B.
Fundamental change:
to encourage behavior that will be good for the environment.
Fundamental change:
to make access to real health care reform a reality not a slogan.
SKY PAPA BELIEVES HE JUST MADE HIS FIRST PLEDGE TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS 36th CD.
BELIEVE IT!!!
******************************************************************************
I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare...
(1st post VIDEO dedicated to Frankie Valli Jan. 21, 2012.)
Oh, what a night; WELCOME to our Valley. (Mr. Valli could you
sequester Sky Papa a pair of tickets to see you in your concert HERE in CV?)
(1st post VIDEO "You turn me on...the radio" Jan. 21, 2012.)
Dedicated to the girls of the heart-land who share their dreams.
BRAIN SEQUESTERED
...why do they feel this way?
State the obvious conclusion
...and be off 180 degrees.
No, it is Not a Brain that is
missing; nor is the Time
committed to usage!
"Oh, my" ...is how a bored
_pooh-bear might express it.
We could, perhaps and
perhaps not, get a more
grown-up impression.
From Christopher Robin were he
not presently, at school,
learning all about the Rule
that is Golden.
Ones Brain, can be an
Extraordinary tool of
exploration and Discovery.
BRAIN: is it always...
preferred to be working?
If so, does this not
violate the Laws of
Nature and the work-
rules of once powerful
Unions!
Horses can rest
standing-up and
fields can be left fallow.
Even the Sun takes
well deserved Time-out.
In turn, the Moon...
has it's moment.
It is more than High Noon
to Champion
BRAIN BREAK!!!
Nature's way to
spread-out and deliver
every day to us.
BORED SCARED-CROWS
...why do they feel this way?
(1st post this POEM Jan. 21, 2012.)
Ever have a night when you can't turn 'IT' off?
(For Sky Papa, " Oh, what a night, is this ONE"!)
Stories, Lies and Cyberspace
(This Essay is a re-post from Friday, July 29, 2011.)
the sleek and the slippery, the punks and the cheats,
argues that runaway sub-prime lending was one of several “red flags” policymakers might have heeded in advance of the financial crisis.
Buyers with questionable credit, and the financial institutions that issued them mortgages, have received a lion's share of blame for the financial crisis, which was presaged by widespread defaults on sub-prime mortgages and a collapse in mortgage-backed securities.
According to the "Wall Street Journal", the firms draw a distinction between what they’re doing now and what took place during the run-up to the sub-prime crisis. They’re requiring higher down payments than banks would, and seem to believe they’re lending to borrowers who pose less risk than those who defaulted in large numbers a few years ago.
In catering to borrowers with imperfect credit, the firms' behavior is reminiscent of that of Ally Financial, which has been deliberately courting used car buyers with sub-prime loans despite concerns about risk.
Last week, the WSJ reported that the federal government will likely stop backing mortgage loans above a certain size in October.
ADDENDUM: 1/21/2012. From Sky Papa: Yak-yak...Don't talk back...WHY NOT; after
all are these not the same 'sleek and the slippery, the punks and the cheats'.
Better get used to this, the 1 percent NEVER WANT THEIR 'GOOD-THING' TO COME
TO AN END. In the end, the other 99% will have to 'Take em There'.
Time to RIP-IT-UP...& HAVE A BALL TONIGHT!
(1st post VIDEO a 'shaking-it-up' Elvis Jan. 20, 2012.)
Sky Papa is getting pretty shook-up himself.
ONLY 34 DAYS LEFT and COUNTING DOWN.
(Sky Papa has a natural advantage in shaking having Parkinson's; he takes a
prescribed medication 4 times daily. SO. Give Papa plenty of room to roll-in!)
Our 'ADRIFT' Boys;
on the afternoon of April 1, 1984 - one day before his 45th birthday - Gaye was shot and killed by the Reverend Marvin Gay. (Quote by Marvin Gaye. "There are still times I feel unhappy and I must smile, and there are times I want to cry and I must laugh... people rarely see the real Marvin Gaye"
Networks covered the murder of John Lennon in December 1980. His son Jean was five years old at the time of his father’s death. A commentator then said,"...but men are behaving as they've always been."
Here-in, is the problem. A profoundly untrue assertion is used to facilitate reaching a predetermined conclusion. Very early on, unknowingly or uncaring, school site officials decide "boys" are disrupting the normal pace and need to be pulled aside so as not to disrupt their predetermined pace. Whatever the form of these pull out, every boy, girl and teacher have been alerted that there is something out of place.
Enter prescriptions to fix the problem. Label it ADHD (Attention Deficit, Hyper-active Disorder). Do girls get so labeled so soon. What about environmental toxins (plastic containers). Behavior changes are easily quantified and emasculation evidence is measurable and growing. Throw in peer parenting. unmotivated and underachieving become more and more common place. And no signs of abating.
It is widely accepted that the left brain contain areas which allow the development of language, logic and fine motor skills. These areas begin to grow in functionality in girls as they approach three years old. For boys, these same areas begin to show growth in boys between 5 and 6 years old.In the schools, keeping ages the same by grade, will quickly reveal differences in readiness. If boys are held back they are “labeled”. If they march ahead with their age cohorts they become disruptive and ADHD candidates. The treatment with prescriptions can often make it impossible to stay still and the controversy continues.
Puberty in boys is being disrupted; it is blocking the action of testosterone and other androgens. These disruptions go right to the brain and act to reduce motivation and sustained and purposeful action. The pesticides causing this brain reaction are still in common use.
Is it any wonder that our boys seem 'ADRIFT'?
(1st post this Essay Jan. 20, 2012.)
ONE of many UNDER-Reported problems confronting parents in our 99 - 1 percent
America.
(1st post VIDEO "The World Gone Mad" Jan. 19, 2012.)
Sky Papa agrees; how about you.
EAT LESS…MOVE MORE
Was supposed to be the ‘take-away’ at the first-ever,
Clinton Foundation Conference, “Health Matters”, held
in Indian Wells, yesterday.
It was with some interest that I read the coverage in today’s,
The Desert Sun. (Jan. 18, 2012.) I must, however, report that
I find the whole-thing…well, ‘Odd’.
I speak not of any of the presenters, celebrities participating
(or only reported as being seen), the invited attendees, the
‘look-key looks’, sponsors (and their representatives) nor
the various media-types providing the event coverage. No,
it is the ‘them’ they collectively represent. I am moved to view
this ‘whole-thing’ through the prism of a ’Occupy-Golf-Club’
Event. And, WHO attended; was it not, the 1%.
Would not the other 99% love to EAT HEALTHY? Would they
not like to attend and just ‘Jet-in’. (Not, just, ’the King’, Mr.
Arnold Palmer.)
The other 99%. How many have little, if anything, to eat?
How many are pushed-to move from the ’shadows’ where
they just try to get by?
If you do not also feel this to be ‘Odd’…give me another name
for it.
(This dispatch from the desk of Sky Papa; NPP candidate for
Congress in the 36th. CD)
(1st post THIS DISPATCH Jan. 18, 2012.)
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...
I dream of things that never were and ask why not."
Sky Papa is always moved by this oft-repeated quotation credited to RFK.
"TRUTH...ISN'T."
-MARK TWAINE
Loving THY NEIGHBOR
This minimal video shows the 'red tennies' that Sky Papa typically wears;
almost everywhere! Here (in this tiny/baby video) leaving the race track at
Del Mar. Sky Papa would have you believe that he made money this day. BELIEVE IT!!!