Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Redwoods.

My Grandson Bradley just spent two weeks in Nevada and California. He reports that he travelled the coast of California.

I am jealous. Route 1 up, and down, the coast of California has got to be one of my favorite roads in the whole world. If not my very favorite.

When he reported that he saw the Coastal Redwoods, I remembered.

It is difficult to describe seeing the Redwoods for the first time, or the second time, or even the third or more times. Just thinking about them now I want to go visit again. Yes it is time for a Redwoods fix.

Some people want a drug fix, I want a California coast road and Redwoods fix!

Seeing, standing next to and touching a Redwood is a very sobering experience. Knowing that that tree was there long before your grandparents and even their grandparents were born, and that it will still be there long after you and all of your grandchildren and their grandchildren are gone seriously humbles you.

In a way they are time travellers.

They are awe inspiring.

They are silence personified.

Their size and stature and color are unbelievable.

I love them.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Party or Country?

Let's see, Who could I possibly be thinking about? Partisanship ahead of Patriotism every time. Let me give you a couple more clues, if you need them! Extreme in the extreme, NO compromise, no attempt to comprehend the facts, scorns science. Got it yet? Of course you have.

There is NO attempt at compromise at all. Even George W Bush met with Ted Kennedy and met him halfway on education, And he met up with Harry Reid and Joe Biden to  fight AIDS, TB, Malaria and ignorance. Richard Lugar too!! And it happened. Not anymore. Richard Lugar was forced out because he was too ready to compromise. Too moderate. A big no no in todays Republican party.

Obama is ready to compromise, maybe too ready. He praises businessmen, and women, including Warren Buffet. He hosted Steve Job's widow. What do the Republicans do? They speak contemptuously of Liberals, of Unions, they call public schools factories, they mock community organisers, they demonize schools, Social Security and every other public enterprise including firefighters, police, libraries, family planning, health care, anything to help your neigbors ,you name it they hate it and would destroy it. They see compromise as evil.

But compromise is oil and is needed to keep the gears of progress turning. Without the oil of compromise we will seize up. The Republican Party seems to be determined that will happen.

What happened to the balance that we enjoyed for the last 100 years? Both parties could talk, they could discuss, come together, compromise, we were the same country, one people, we fought against tryanny and oppression together. Now the Republican Party and especially the Tea Party are determined to have no compromise, no discussions of any kind.
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We need to vote out these our way or no way "politicians", these politicians who even give politicians a bad name! A government of compromise is the way to go. Certainly it is way ahead of no government as the Republicans seem to prefer.