Politics Not As Usual---Brown Defeats Coakley in Massachusetts

The word just came from across the big pond  that Republican Scott Brown pulled out a totally unexpected "stunner of a victory" for the Senate seat that was vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. Democrat Martha Coakley who was expected to walk away easily with a win in the traditionally "blue State" lost by a margin (as of this writing) of  seven points.  The large margin surprised even the pundits. Perhaps it was Patrick Kennedy going all out to support her and calling her "Marsha" over and over...he had obviously been watching re-runs of "The Brady Bunch."  Perhaps it was the fact that Coakley had not marshalled her forces early enough since Brown was a dark horse anyway and she was considered a "shoo-in". Perhaps it was that Brown just had that aquiline Kennedy-esque good look. Perhaps it was that the down-home blue collar image of Brown played well in an economy that is hitting the working class with great force. But perhaps the pitch that got the batter to walk was when Coakley said that Curt Schilling was a Yankee fan. (This would be Schilling, the pitcher for the champion Boston Red Sox.) The people of Massachusetts can forgive most things, but they won't forgive someone impugning their beloved Red Sox. Never.

For whatever reason , the greatest surprise comes from the fact that Brown bounced from a thirty point deficit and then won by a good-sized margin in a State that has been bluer than the creatures on "Avatar" for decades.

What exactly does this victory mean? Interestingly enough, a lot of Democrats that were polled said that it was their way to send a message to Washington that they were not happy with the health care bill. Others said that it was cap and trade and the unchecked spending and bank bailouts.Then there are the independents voters. This was a huge group of Obama supporters who voted Republican this time around. They were the wild card vote. With disffected Democrats and hacked-off Independents, it was not going to be a good day for Coakley. It wasn't so much that the constituency of Massachusetts was enamored of the handsome, truck-driving, former Cosmo pin-up Brown. It was just that they had fallen out of love with what was going on in Washington and they found a way to send the message back to the politicos...and they did it loudly and clearly: "Enough is enough." The Democrats point the finger at Coakley but honestly, she did not stand a chance. She was standing on the landfill that is made up of bank bailouts, a sinking economy and a health care bill that is as cryptic as ancient hieroglyphics. It was not a pleasant place for a Democrat to be staking a claim. Not even a last minute impassioned speech by the President himself was much of a help.

If the Democrats want to keep the boat afloat in the 2010 election, they will have to harness and manage the great wave of populism that is crashing on the shore of this country. Intellectualism and elitism and the government overspending  isn't playing in Arkansas where a single mom can't get a job at the local Dairy Queen.  (Hell, it's apparently not even playing in the intellectual, liberal and elite blue state of Massachusetts.)

The truth of the matter is that this vote...is not a rejection of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party...it's a rejection of both parties. In  a strange way, change is coming to Washington, but not in a way that Obama or the Democrats ever thought possible.

Will Obama execute a course correction as Clinton did in the 1990's when the Republicans came back in and shook up Washington?  He will have to if he wants to go forward with his dreams of change for America. It's still early on in the game and I want to give this brilliant and thoughtful man the benefit of the doubt.

But the tea got dumped in the harbour tonight. There was no whooping, no face paint, no drama. It was done quietly ...but it still sounded like a muffled roar.

And if you are wondering who the Republicans are going to run for the "big seat" one day...you've just seen him win in Massachusetts.  You heard it here first. 


(By the way, Martha Coakley gave one of the most gracious concession speeches I have ever heard.)

Merry Christmas from England to America

I write this from the quiet and dark of my living room in the wee hours of Christmas morning. It still isn't Christmas in America, but it will be soon. Through the panes of glass in the window I can see a light orange haze in the sky from city lights far away and the trees by the river are silhouetted against it. This is my favorite time. It's a time when I think I am the only person still  up so late... on the lane, in the town, in the whole country. Most times, I am.  It's a sacred time, a time to enjoy the quiet  and on Christmas it is even more special. I know there are children tucked in their beds just blocks from me waiting for Christmas morning. It has an anticipatory air, this night. It always has. I love this feeling.

You may have noticed that my blogs have been fewer and that the latest offerings have not been as political in nature. I felt incredibly discouraged with the passage of the Lisbon Treaty which just steamrolled its way through the remaining countries. We have been sold a bill of goods regarding "global warming", with a slick rhetoric that is choking small emerging countries and is lining the pockets of the elitists. We are passing a health care bill that has more holes in it than a rusty sieve. The government (and I do include the Bush administration, too) has invaded every aspect of our private lives and is about to invade even more. No one is watching as our civil liberties are being gradually eliminated. We are slowly being anesthetized to the truth. The people brave enough to say, "Wait a minute....you can't do that....what about....."  are called  crazy or a "conspiracy theorist" just as they were called "unpatriotic" in the Bush administration. The rhetoric changes but nothing else does. Everything has been done so gently, so "in the name of protecting us against the foreign invaders" that we signed over our very lives without questioning anything. In the mundane world, it appears a bleak scene, really. I live in a beautiful contradictory country that has lost most of its civil liberties and is so politically correct it is no longer upholding justice. It is because I this that I see what is coming for America if Americans do not wake up. 

I made the realization long ago that politics is not going to change the world we live in. The only thing that will work is that we go higher. And I mean Source..the All-that-is-All. I have espoused a spirituality that is all my own by studying most major religions and  concluding that one thing is true: God is Love. But I don't believe you need an intermediary to commune with God. God's love is not for sale, not to be bartered or traded. God's love isn't just for one group. God is for the sinner and the saint, the harridan and the heretic, the fundamentalist and yes, even the flaky. God's love is there for everyone. And yet, there are still wars being fought in the name of God all over the world with one group attempting to convince another through force and/or will to accept the omniscience of their God.

Still, I wrote my blog because I was so incensed with what I was seeing and experiencing. But I knew that it was just an exercise in futility and a way to vent frustration. The only way to address change is not through government, not through institutions and not through politics...it is through changing ourselves and our holographic perception of the universe. Small actions lead to big changes.

What do you do in your own life to invade the privacy of others? What do you do in your own life to perpetrate malice? What do you do in your own life to invade the boundaries of another? What do you do in your own life to hurt others? What do you do to spread gossip and hearsay? What do you do to pit one person against another? What we do to each other, we are doing to the country and to the world. We are all interconnected.

My wish this Christmas is for all of us to find peace in our lives. For us to maintain the balance inside of us as the world continues its careening toward its fate. If we change our peception of the world, it begins to change, too. My wish this Christmas is for all of us to find out what really matters. For us to know that who you know isn't as important as the truth of who you are.  That having one loyal friend who stands by you is a lot more important than a stadium filled with those that would turn against you in a pinch. That taking a stand and living by your own code of ethics, no matter how "flaky" someone thinks you are is a lot better than selling your soul for the sake of conformity and a half-life filled with the superficial. Well-behaved women rarely make history, I say. Conformity rarely breeds genius. And if no one understands the road you have chosen to take, your business is to keep walking toward the sun and not let the naysayers and the gossips and the fearmongers interfere with your destiny. If what you have chosen to do is to scale fish for a living, do it with joy and gusto. Every task in the world is needed and in the future, a fishmonger is going to be more needed than another bureaucrat. If what you have chosen to do in this world is simply "be", then do that and do it shamelessly.  No one can never understand the full story of a human being, except for the human that has experienced it. And to attempt to judge anyone is not just wrong, it's often a way to simply address the shadow in ourselves that we have not wanted to see.

And please...never tell anyone malicious gossip about them and most especially a friend....because anything that is worthless is not worth repeating. It only serves to fan the flames of ignorance. And in this world, more ignorance is not needed. What is needed in this world is enlightenment...we've had enough of endarkenment. It's time to stop the madness.

I lost my aunt to cancer last week. She was like a mother to me. She and her sister (still living) helped to raise me, my brothers and my niece and nephew. They never married. They had a very quiet simple life. They were sometimes the brunt of talk simply because they lived a life apart. They lived with their parents. The "spinsters" who never married.  The truth is that they both were stunning looking women (see above)  and my grandfather, in his hardline patriarchal stance, never allowed them to be with the young men they chose. It was very sad.  So, they embarked on a life of caring for others. If they were bitter, they did not show it. They just rolled up their sleeves and got on with life. They took care of my grandparents until they died, each in their 90's.  They were middle-aged by then. They lived in the same house my grandfather built brick-by-brick with  his own hands. My aunts told me that it was "the girls" meaning them and their sister who dug under the house with shovels to build a basement. Why? "Because we wanted a basement. So dad told us if we wanted one, we had to dig it out ourselves. So we did." I picture these girls in the 1940's  in their dungarees with their hair in brightly coloured scarves....armed with pickaxes and shovels taking on my grandfather's challenge. That's the kind of women we have in our family. We may cry our eyes out, but never interpret that as a sign of weakness. 

My two aunts never owned a car. They walked wherever they went or went with family and/or obliging friends who drove. They went to church religiously. They prayed the rosary. But what a lot of people didn't know was that they were also open-minded, witty and they they read constantly. People were always bringing them newspapers, books and magazines.  And if I came home from somewhere with a Hindu tome or a book of Sufi poetry or a Jewish prayer book, they wanted to read it. They were avid listeners of Coast to Coast Radio, a late night talk radio show that discusses paranormal topics from UFO's to free energy. They used to tell me stories of things they had witnessed during their lives. Things that were unexplainable.  They towed  the Roman Catholic line, but in their own small ways,  they were free-thinkers. It was probably because of them, more than anything, that I had the courage to venture out into the world ro see what was out there and why I never did go back there to live. There is a sad irony in that. I love them so. I always will. They walked their own path within the confines of a society that chokes the lives of most women. And in never marrying, like their counterparts, they experienced a much greater freedom. They really did have the last laugh.  I see the same valiant spirit in my daughter.

My wish this Christmas is that there will be a time in the near future when every human on the planet will wake up on Christmas morning (no matter what religion they practice if at all---and even if  they have no concept of Christmas in their culture---so perhaps saying on December 25th would be best) and they are living fearless, joyful, unbounded lives, with bellies full of food and living in a house that radiates love and respect and kindness and filled lots of great books for uncensored learning. I am far from perfect and I have made some huge mistakes in my life (from which I have learned great lessons), I am far from having all the answers and I will be the first to tell you that---but I have enjoyed this journey,  and  I have attempted to be loyal to my friends and to help when I could help and to be quiet when discretion was the better part of valor.

This season and this next year will test our valor. We are moving into one of the hardest years in recent history.  It's time to truly assess our lives and make the changes that need to be made. I say this, most of all, to myself.  It's time to think about how we would sustain our future if it were to be changed radically in the blink of an eye. Because it might well be. 

Wherever you are.....I wish you a very politically incorrect...Merry Christmas.

Let peace reign on earth...but most of all let it start by reigning in our hearts.

There Are People You Think Will Live Forever...

and they will...even if it is only in our hearts.

The X Factor: How Cowell's Mod Squad Got Ripped

Yes. I admit it. I am a closet watcher of  reality talent (or no talent) shows. I am happy knowing that for one hour a week,  I can start in August watching X-Factor (Britain's version of "American Idol") and then sail into "American Idol" in January and just about when that is finished there is "Britain's Got Talent" and then "America's Got Talent". Then, a few more weeks after that, after a late summer breather, "X-Factor" starts up and the cycle starts again.. Whether it is "rigged" or not, a mega-cheesefest or not, does not matter. It is super-duper escapism. This might be an indication that I should get a life. It's a guilty pleasure of mine...and probably downright shameful.

And this past week, the new winner of the "X-Factor" was "crowned" to much pomp and pageantry as usual. Because I am now a "self-proclaimed expert" on these silly shows, I had to admit that the talent in this year's X-Factor was the best ever and that for the very first time, it actually bypassed any grouping on "American Idol". I thought it would be a "breakout" year in which some  real talent would be lauded and recognized. In X-Factor, each judge is given a group to mentor (not like "Idol"). There are four judges: Louis Walsh (an Irish manager and producer responsible for the scrummy boys of "Westlife"), Danii Minogue (lesser known sister of Kyle Minogue), Cheyl Cole (wife of footballer Ashley Cole and member of the girl band, "Girls Aloud") and Simon (no last name or introduction needed.)  Walsh had the "groups" (two or more in a group singing together), Minogue had the "girls" (up to 25 years), Cole had the "boys" (up to 25 years) and Cowell had the "over 25s" (anyone over the age of 25, male or female...and yes, that means any age.).

The excitement and the talent, I felt, was all pooled this year in Cowell's group...the "over 25's". I call them "Cowell's Mod Squad." A force to be reckoned with, or so I thought. I forgot that it is mostly little girls that vote in this country. This group had three powerful, amazing, talented vocalists and/or performers....Jamie Archer, Danyl Johnson and Olly Murs. These three men were multi-talented entertainers. They didn't just stand up there and sing, they danced, they moved and they _knew their music_.  And the stuff started to fly....the judges began ganging up on Cowell,( the favored winner with his outstanding group) and did it by trashing Danyl that had been the odds on favorite. He was called "cocky" and then Minogue blatantly made a ridiculous remark about his sexual orientation (which of course had nothing to do with his talent or his performance). It was a cheap shot and it derailed Johnson. It threw him off his game. He was devastated. He did bounce back eventually, but the catty remarks by the other judges and the pounding from the press did not stop. Jamie Archer also kept turning in stellar performances, but he did not fit the "clean cut mold". He was in his early 30's, a club singer and wore a giant Afro which he refused to trim. He could belt out rock like no one's business. Archer and Danyl lasted until the last few weeks. When Danyl was voted off, everyone was stunned. He was called the "best singer" in the competition. The only one left standing out of the three that I thought had the "X-Factor" and in Cowell's group was Olly Murs.

Murs looked like a throwback to the '50's crooner, gorgeous, blond and resembling Heath Ledger. He was also "an entertainer" in that he did not have a balladeer's voice, but he could still belt it out...and most importantly, he could dance and get the audience moving. He was, overall, the one that I would pay to go see in concert. He would be worth the price of admission. In the final, it was to be Olly Murs and 18 year-old Joe McElderry left standing. There was no doubt who had the real "X-Factor".

As usual, however, the British viewers of "X-Factor" most of whom are teens (apparently) as they keep voting the same sort of boy in...every year...rallied behind  the baby-faced, dimpled, Joe McElderry who does not dance, stands at the microphone and sings ballads. He has a great voice, definitely, but he is as bland as cold English porridge. I can picture him in a West End musical or a Little Theatre revival of "The Fantasticks" in Oxnard, but not packing stadiums or making me want to get up and dance.

It doesn't bode well that every male winner of the X-Factor has shot into obscurity. Leon Jackson, winner in 2007, also voted in by the "teenies" made one forgettable album and was dropped by his label last year. The runner-up, however, Rhydian Roberts (who really should have won) is releasing his second album this year. It seems that the runners-up fare better.

I hope so...because I'd like to see more of second-place Olly Murs....and Danyl Johnson....and Jamie Archer. Cowell's group was formidable. They deserved to win the top three spots. Only Olly Murs managed to stay until the end before McElderry took the prize.

It turns out the that "X-Factor" isn't about the X-Factor at all. It's about what young silly girls in Britain think is "soooo cute." Shame, really.

You can look at the videos and decide for yourself. I'm busy getting ready for "American Idol".  :)

----

This is the Audition video that wowed the nation and placed Danyl Johnson as the odds-on favorite to win the whole thing...not to be missed:



Jamie Archer:



Danyl Johnson (performing in the actual show):



Here is Olly Murs (in the final where he chose one of his favorites...this is retro-fabulous):



And after viewing the previous contestants...take a look at the winner, Joe McElderry...lovely boy...but well........

The Jedward Factor

I could not post about the "X-Factor 2009" without saying something about the phenomenon that came to be known as "Jedward" by the press and fans alike. John and Edward Grimes of Dublin, Ireland are twins and managed to stay in the X-Factor competition for weeks and weeks, despite the fact that they could not sing and they bopped around on stage as if on sugar highs. Simon Cowell hated them, then warmed to them (when he realized that they were sparking controversy and bringing in big ratings). People tuned in to see if they would make it through yet another show, singing off-key and dancing like mating squirrels. And the hair...the hair...not since the Beatles had so much hair-talk hit the (h)airwaves.

The controversy ensued because these two teenagers stayed in while others that were much more talented were voted off. Mentored by Louis Walsh, who has managed successful boy bands, they kept coming back week after week and the tabloids were filled with stories about them. Young girls went mad for them. They don't smoke, they don't drink and they don't have girlfriends. And alas, they can't sing, or dance either. But they still give a good show. And to be honest, as annoying as they are in public, the word is that they are "really nice" young men. They come from a deeply religious Irish-Catholic family (which translates into...Give them a few years.) The truth is that we kept watching these two, like one would watch a train wreck. It isn't pleasant, but we find it fascinating. They were like two wind-up toys that never stopped talking and talking very fast. They never stop talking. Did I say they never stop talking?

Jedward. John and Edward Grimes. The Ant and Dec for the younger set. We haven't heard the last of them yet as Louis Walsh has big plans for them. Not as singers, but as TV presenters or as children's show hosts. Oh, the five minutes of fame. Jedward might get five minutes more.



And to be fair to the boys and Mother Ireland...here is their best performance (even when a crazed guy from the audience attempts to foil their act they continued..yes, someone jumps on stage mid-performance, watch for it):

Chag Sameach! Happy Chanukah!

Often, when I write the things that do, I get frustrated at what I see is a very bleak world. And I allow myself to believe that the world that we live in is real.  But in truth, quantum mechanics is teaching us that the world we live in is simply a hologram, an extension of our minds and what our minds create within the hologram. Quantum mechanics is also teaching us that we are all interconnected...that what I experience here...is also affecting someone who may be living around the world from me.

When I write, I see myself buying into the hopelessness of a world devoid of soul. And that's not the truth of who we are and what we are meant to be. We are divine beings experiencing a mortal life.

Chanukah is known as the "Festival of Lights" and people assume that it is because of the traditional lighting of the chanukiah for eight nights. But the symbolism of this ritual is so much more.

Chanukah is here to remind us of our own divine spark, of that inside us which is unable to be extinguished. Just as the oil which was only to last a short while burned for eight days...so must the Light inside us continue to burn during the trials that are facing us economically, emotionally and spiritually.

Chanukah is a celebration of hope....in a world that appears to be devoid of light. But the Light is there. It lives inside each one of us, no matter where we are...and no matter how difficult our challenges may be.

At sundown, I will be lighting the menorah as I will for the next eight nights. I will pray for peace, I will pray for my family and my friends and all those who suffer to awaken from the dream wherever they may be...and I will pray that the Light inside our hearts will become stronger, not because it is not already, but because our human eyes are blinded to its strength and beauty. If we only knew what we contained!

There is hope. There is always hope in the Light that is eternal. There is always hope in the Light that we are.

Working on New Posts

I am finally back online. My laptop was not working and when it was fixed, my keystrokes were extremely slow. Thanks to a an online anonymous computer whiz, I got it to work.

I'll have new postings in the next few days.

Thank you.

Lord Monckton, Expert on Climate Change Decries the Climate Treaty Which He States Will Lead to New World Order

 Lord Monckton, one of the most erudite speakers on global climate change decried the upcoming Cliimate Treaty as an instrument that will cripple wealthy countries by having them pay "climate reparations" to less affected countries while countries like India and China will simply refuse to sign anything. In an impassioned speech in St Paul, Minnesota (see below),  Lord Monckton who has long admired the U.S. Constitution  believes that signing the Treaty will further erode the sovereignty of the United States. He has repeatedly asked Al Gore for a debate on climate change and has not been heeded.

In this heated debate on global warming which has now adroitly been coined as "global climate chnage"  by the powers that be who figured out the globe may not be warming up after all...there is so much information being suppressed. Yes, we are undergoing climate change. But it is not only because of human mass consumption and waste.Lord Monckton has been reviled for his passionate belief that the global agenda is being served up to us on a plate and that we are not being told the whole truth.

We are undergoing climate change,yes, but exactly what is truly happening? A segment of Lord Monckton's speech follows (the rest of the speech can be found on YouTube.)

The Elves Are Taking Longer Than I Thought

The computer elves are still working on my computer. So, I thought I would just share a picture of my constant companion and very clever dog named Annie. I love this pooch. She, along with her sister (though we are doubting that relationship) Wilma were brought over by some animal rescuers on the ferry from Ireland. The dogs had been badly abused and no one would take both of them. They had been de-barked. Wilma died last year and I thought the bottom had fallen out of my world as Wilma never left me alone. But Annie stepped in like a champion and though she is not as clingy to me as Wilma was, she will do anything for a bit of liver pate. Annie's favorite pastime is looking out the window and barking (silently) at the squirrels. At night, she pretends to chase badgers. Basically, she runs in the direction of the scent and then quickly runs back if she thinks she is near to one. Really brave, huh?

Halloween is coming. We used to have an owl made of thatch on our rooftop. Apparently, it was the trademark of the thatcher who did our roof. What it did was designate our house as the "spooky house" on the lane. The "spooky house with the owl on the roof".  Well, that old owl blew down a few years ago and now we are just the " house with the silent barking dog" on the lane. So, here is a picture of the spooky dog with the luminous eyes who buries her Schmakos in the curtains.

Annie makes me laugh and keeps my feet warm when I write. It's cold in England now. The frost is on the pumpkin. Watch out for the hobgoblins...or the politicos in Washington...both can be quite scary.

The Elves Are Working on My LapTop

My laptop had a corrupted file and is being serviced. So, in a few days I will have a new posting. See how I am  not sitting on the sofa and writing?  Thank you.

Humpty Dumpty is Bad...but a Terrifying Ad for Kids is Okay...?

In my previous posting, I talked about how the BBC in another one of its insane ploys of political correctness, changed the traditional Humpty-Dumpty nursery rhyme so that it had a happy ending. That's like changing "Hamlet" so that his father is resurrected, he saves Ophelia from drowning, marries her, and then he gets a real job as an insurance broker. After all, being the Prince of Denmark isn't achievable for most children, right? We can't let them grow up thinking they can become Princes of Denmark...they might be scarred for life.

Well, it is ridiculous how there was such a brou-ha-ha at the BBC over a fictional egg falling off a wall and breaking and yet, this week, a frightening government advertisement touting the dangers of CO2 and geared toward children made its debut. In it, evil people (humans) are destroying the earth because they leave lights on and drive cars. This leads to flooding and drowning puppies and crying bunnies....all of which are illustrated quite graphically.  Kids are now going to now live in the dark and prohibit their parents from driving anywhere to save Rover from drowning in the upcoming superstorms. All of which are going to be caused by humans who are very wasteful. There is no mention of the fact that weather is cyclical, that solar activity has something to do with what is happening and that the earth is cooling not warming.  Before you think I am  saying there are no earth changes happening, yes they are happening. Of that, there is no doubt. But putting the blame solely on CO2 emissions without looking at other causes as well just so Al Gore can keep his ridiculous medal and save face is being extremely irresponsible. There is a solar maximum occurring and no one in the media is talking about this. The weather on the other planets in the solar system are also cooling and changing and no one drives Tahoes on Mars.  We have not treated the earth with respect, of that there is no doubt. But just blaming everything on old Mrs Mitchell driving her coughing and spitting Ford Pinto (because she lost her retirement in the economic meltdown) is not examining all the scientific facts and theories that are out there. It is happening because the magnetic pole is shifting. Even a few degrees will be enough to change the climate. Our true north is no longer in the Arctic. There is also increased underwater volanic activity in the area. If you notice, in the Northern parts of America and Europe, there was almost no summer this year. It is snowing in October this year. That does not look like "warming". Is anyone considering other views/facts/information?

The fact is, we cannot continue to live as we have. We need to adapt to these weather patterns no matter what or whom is responsible. The earth changes are happening and they are happening rapidly. Whatever is causing the changes, they are here. These weather patterns are affecting crops. Food prices have increased dramatically here in the UK. We need to live more simply, grow more of our own food, live in community, and above all, we need to be prepared for emergencies. And while we are busy shopping and gossiping about our neighbor, and making sure that we have each newfangled techno-posh gadget ---the world is literally wobbling on its axis and getting ready to exhale. I see the changes, but they aren't only for the reasons that Al Gore espouses while his mansion has the largest carbon footprint in Virginia. And by the way, calling his minions on Irish journalist Phelim MacAleer who attempted to question him was downright cowardly. He didn't answer the questions McAleer posed. Nine errors have been found in Gore's film, posited McAleer. He wanted Gore to address these errors at a recent press conference. McAleer was not being rude. But a very defensive Gore had McAleer's mike turned off and he was dragged out of the room. Nice move, Mr Gore. If someone asks you some hard questions, just haul them off. I used to like Al Gore until he began to believe his own press. He is the Tony Blair of environmentalists. I'd rather support someone who gets in the dirt and really walks his talk,like Conrad Feather,a friend of my daughter's and a Phd student at St Andrews University. He founded his own NGO while still a student and lives and works in the Amazonias of Peru with the indigeneous tribes, helping to protect their dwindling resources and advocating for sustainability. He has been honored a lot for his work including the St Andrews Award,the Environmental Defense Fund and the Whitley Award (Sting and Trudy's Foundation.)

Back to the UK ad.....

Scaring kids this way about the environment is just propoganda. Wouldn't this money be put to better use to teach kids to garden, to learn to wildcraft, to learn to honor the earth instead of sitting them in front of the TV and computer all day? What if we decided to give our kids handcrafted gifts this Christmas? Or asked them to contribute their Christmas money to help buy a water pump for clean water for a village in Uganda? Or taught them about fair trade? Or how about going on a nature walk or assembling a nature table? Or turning off the TV which sits in our house as the "All-Seeing Eye" and as a babysitter and instead read a book on wildlife together? How about sitting with your child to brainstorm solutions to what is happening on the earth and what you can do together as a family to do your part? How about starting there instead of showing them an ad with a puppy drowning? Action, not fear. Fear paralyzes. (Oh wait, that must be the point! To pass other laws while we aren't looking....)

I remember the only time as a child when my mother decided we were going to say a prayer before bed. "Now I lay me down to sleep...I pray the Lord my soul to keep...If I should DIE before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." I remember exactly where we knelt. I was terrified. I didn't sleep that night in case I died in my sleep. It was horrible. I prayed the next day, that we never, ever, ever prayed before sleep again and if we did that we wouldn't use the "DIE" prayer. God heard me. My mom was too tired to pray again before sleep. Reading a story like the one in this ad would probably keep a child awake a lot longer.

I'll talk more about earth changes in another posting. Till then, I implore the Labour government to stop brainwashing our kids...and use the money to teach them to live with the changes that are upon us. It doesn't have to be "Hippies Vs. Grey Suits". Lots of moms on the right are going back to traditional crafts (mostly because they never left them) and understand that we are also in for a bumpy ride. I am an advocate of Steiner education which teaches not only academic subjects but handcrafting and wildcrafting. Kids keeps a garden as part of the curriculum...and they have done this as part of their schooling since its founding in the 1920's. It's non-denominational and yeah, there are a lot of Birkenstockians there. I should know, that's where I sent my daughter. I no longer own batiked anything. I promise.

And by the way, I have a dog...I love her. She will be on the Ark even before the food or my non-GMO seeds or even my treasured books. That's for sure.

Here's the clip:

BBC Makes Humpty Dumpty...Happy

Remember this?

"Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall...
All the kings horses and all the king's men
Could not put Humpty-Dumpty together again."

That is the childhood nursery rhyme which has been passed down for hundreds of years from a time when there were men who actually served the King and didn't have him waiting around for his mother to retire. Apparently, the BBC has decided to doctor the age-old nursery rhyme. As a final line the BBC inserted, "Made Humpty-Dumpty happy again." Although the BBC insisted that it was a "creative" move and only that, it is apparent that now nursery rhymes are not immune to the P.C. Police.

I heard this nursery rhyme as a child as did my mother and probably her mother before that. I saw pictures of that poor EggMan shattered by his garden wall and never thought anything of it. It wasn't that I was an unfeeling child (quite the contrary). I figured that if an egg fell off a wall and broke, it wasn't such a big deal. A little bit of Elmer's glue and some ingenuity would bring him back to life.

Listening to the demise of an EggMan did not traumatize me. What did traumatize me was having a housekeeper that cursed like a sailor and chased my brothers and I and my best friend all around the house with a broom if she was in a bad mood. Which was often. Once, my brother asked if he could possibly have a bowl of oatmeal and she barked at him and produced a mixing bowl out of the cupboard, dumped a full round canister of  "Quaker Oats" oatmeal into the bowl, put tap water in it and gave him a mixing spoon and made him eat it until he threw up. When my parents came home, she was ever so supercilious and smiled until her face hurt. It was gothic. My parents never believed us. My brother still can't see oatmeal without becoming nauseous. And I hate sweeping. In the end, she was fired because she robbed my parents blind....took heirloom jewelry, clothes and everything else she could get her hands on. It wasn't pretty. A broken egg in a nursery rhyme to me as a child? A walk in the park.

Political correct behavior is also eliminating competition among children. I played softball one summer because three of my best friends wanted to do something on vacation. I was awful. To add insult to injury, they broke the four of us up and put us each on a different team. Not only did I close my eyes when the ball was thrown my way, I couldn't outrun a slug. There were no ribbons for "Participation" or "Miss-Nice-Baseball-Girl-Even Though-She-Can't-Play-Worth-a-Hoot". The summer couldn't be over fast enough. But the good part was that I saw my friends every day and we would laugh because none of us were any good and we were relegated to the outfield. I carried a book in my glove so I could read while I waited for a ball to come my way. We joked and yelled at each other and developed crushes on some of the other sixth graders from the public school who came to see us play...very badly. I survived that summer and never played softball again, but I wasn't traumatized, it was just a rite of passage. I knew I wasn't an athlete and I never would be. I didn't cry about it or feel terrible. It was just the truth and I knew it. Most kids know their real interests and strengths by the time they hit puberty. I wasn't going to be the next Ted Williams. I just wanted to hang out with my friends and get a cool baseball cap.

In high school, I did competitive speaking. I didn't win a lot when I started as the competitors in the other schools were older and more polished. But I kept at it. And the glee that I felt when I finally won as a senior was one of the highlights of my life. But if I had not won...I doubt that I would have believed that I was somehow "unworthy". I had learned to lose graciously by that time and had an appreciation for a victory. Losing had made me work harder and longer. Kids have a way of grieving quickly and then pushing on or letting it go. Would that it was that easy as an adult. The insecurity in a child comes from abuse or neglect from crazy families, or bullies or from horrid strangers and not from losing a game or hearing about Humpty-Dumpty falling off a wall.

We are eliminating our rites of passage (not that we had many as it was). We are attempting to get children to think that life does not have roadblocks, that all is smooth sailing and that there aren't occurrences in life that are difficult or challenging. That's not helping children, it is hindering them because it robs them of the ability to learn from mistakes and most of all to persevere. We are setting them up to live in a bubble of false hope. And because getting around obstacles takes creativity...we are robbing them of that ability, too, in a way.

Back then--- after being chased by a maniacal, broom-wielding, aggressive, cursing crook of a housekeeper, I figured Humpty-Dumptywas just a whiner. I still think he is. Someone hand the guy some glue and a therapist. If not, I'll be forced to chase him around his wall with a broom. It will not be pretty.

Are We Human or Are We Dancer?

Well, which one is it? I know which one I am, do you?

Liz Jones Says All American Women are Stupid (Not that She Knows Any)

Liz Jones And Her Horse (She's the one on the right, by the way)---->

In her column called "Jones Moans" (and moan is basically all she has done and gotten paid for it) in the Daily Mail of London on October 8, 2009,  Liz Jones noted a "Twitter" from Serena Williams who asked, " Uh, can anyone tell me what time it is, like say, if I was in New York?" Basically, that translates into: "I'm not in New York now, what time is it there?" We don't know which time zone Ms Williams was in and she apparently needed the correct time in New York. I travel and have often found myself somewhere not knowing what time it is back home. Liz Jones reported on this comment. It must have been a really slow news day and she had to fill up her column with more inane remarks. The ever erudite (not) Ms Jones responded: "You see, I told you all American women are stupid." That's all American women are stupid. And it was in bold-face and large letters in her weekly column. Serena Williams and all American women are stupid. How many tennis championships can you win, Ms Jones? None. Normally, I would let something like this slide, but for years I have seen her columns in the Daily Mail and just thought, "How on earth can this insanely untalented, superficial whining woman have a column when so many women with real brains and talent are underpaid and overworked?" She has taken whacks out of Americans for years but this time she went too far. This woman has all of the South of England farming community in an uproar with her posturing and now she is, apparently, taking her vitriol abroad. Well, this American broad isn't taking it.

Let me set the story for you. Ms Jones has a column in "You" magazine, a supplement in the Daily Mail which she writes weekly. But she also has "Jones Moans" and whatever other column inches are given to her when they need to fill empty space with even emptier information. This is not Anna Quindlen material, okay? (Who, is American and...you guessed it... a stupid American woman who won the Pulitzer for her columns). In her "Liz Jones' Diary" (how original) which has none of the wit and charm of Helen Fielding's former column, "Bridget Jones's Diary.",  she has chronicled her boring life and peppered it with exposes of other people and the many designer labels she wears. Presumably to get more freebies from the designers. At the time I moved here, she was writing about her so-called newly married life. She would report on her husband, who at different times was messy, an idiot and everything in between. And honestly, he probably was. Every minutiae of their life was written down so that we were all but flies on their bedroom wall. How desperate are you when you have to cull all but the necessities of your husband to make a story? I read it because it was like watching a train wreck. I couldn't believe that she was getting paid for writing this. There was no deep self-observation, no sense of some inner light going off with her experiences. It was just a vapid account of  a marriage that was going South and fast. She then was "surprised" when she caught him having an affair. I felt awful for her, but when she kept writing about him and taking him back and then writing disparagingly about him ad nauseum, it was "Enough already!" from most Brits and me, too. She was then even more surprised when the husband left her. How dare he leave her when she made all the money and supported him? Surely he couldn't have a better life than the one he was privileged to share with her? By the time it was over, I was rooting for the unfaithful, free-loading husband. (Well, not really, but he stuck it out for a long time.) He was probably happier living under a bridge with a packet of crisps than having to deal with his whole existence splayed out for all to read. Listen, we all have had our moments of marriage hell, but we work it out, or we go to counselling or we pray---whatever we do---if not, we leave it for later, after the divorce and  maybe make it into a novel or a self-help book. That's what brilliant American women do. Like Nora Ephron. Who on earth could stand being dissected every week in such a public forum? (Well, aside from Paris Hilton, no one.)

I think that Ms Jones' fancies herself to be sort of a "Carrie Bradshaw" trotting about in Manolos and writing about her personal life like Carrie does in "Sex in the City." But Carrie Bradshaw (though a fictional character) had endearing qualities. She may have loved her Jimmy Choos, but she had loyal friends, was always kind and extremely polite and never, ever wrote about her personal life in specifics. Carrie Bradshaw liked women. She enjoyed her friendships immensely. She knew that a date was for an evening,  but a girl-friend was a sister and forever. Liz Jones sees women as only racks to model clothing and competition for the two available men on the planet that might (given a few stiff drinks) might want to date her. Liz Jones, you are not Carrie Bradshaw. Not even close. But hey, cheer up, I hear there might be men on another galaxy who have never read your column or know who you are yet. Carrie Bradshaw had grace and style, something that you are sorely lacking despite your wardrobes full of gorgeous clothes. All the expensive clothing in the world and the signatures of every designer on earth cannot buy a woman a sense of  decorum and grace. That's where women like you get it absolutely wrong. No dress will ever make a woman beautiful, if she isn't just beautiful inside, too. And Sarah Jessica Parker (who played Carrie) is a multi-millionaire not just because of her acting and producing, but because she is kind and down-to-earth. But in your books, apparently, she's just another stupid American woman....just like Madonna, Oprah, Michelle Obama, Sandra Day O'Connor, Hillary Clinton and my daughter (who graduated from St Andrews and Oxford and whose writing as been compared to Cormac McCarthy--with not one mention of a handbag in anything she writes). But that's okay because she's in really good company with all those stupid American women.

Once, after her divorce, Jones went on a very public date with an American guy (nothing she ever does is private) and of course she wrote about it. Because the American man didn't want to go to bed with her after the first date, or even make a play for her, she was offended. I was shocked. What? Are you nuts, lady? As a stupid American woman, I can tell you that he was just being polite and a gentlemen. That's how most American men are raised, Ms Jones. The ones that count, anyway. Or, guess what? Maybe he didn't want to be fodder for your column either. Or maybe (gasp, brace yourself) he found you amazingly annoying like the rest of us!

Wait folks, there's more....the saga continued. After her husband left her, she decided to leave London for a brand new and genteel life in the country in a manor house with a barn filled with rescued horses and animals. She moves to Dorset or Somerset or Exmoor (it has been reported as being all of these at different times...you'll see later why she won't tell us exactly where she is) and begins her "charmed country life" by herself. There she is, with a beautiful home in one of the most beautiful places in England with hundreds of acres and what does she do? She then writes and moans and groans about how she misses her ex- husband (that she chased off resoundingly) and now her only friends are stray cats and her horses. Jones goes on and on about how she can't find the right cheese which she could get in London so easily or that she is the youngest member of the local drama society and everyone else is ancient and toothless. Not exactly the most endearing things the townspeople want to read. With all the beauty that surrounds her, all the possible things that most ordinary people dream of acquiring, she is still not happy. Meanwhile, most families are struggling to make ends meet in some two-up, two-down house with a postage-stamp sized garden. This is why people do not like Ms Jones' unending complaints.

She didn't stop there. Jones then begins to write about the fact that the local pub in the small village where she lives...doesn't have good food. She talks about how the local village people are "so backward" and how she misses her shopping sprees. She complains about $400 dollar shoes she can't find in the country when the local farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Then, she begins to go on and on about how ungrateful they are to her because after all she is responsible for hiring so many people in the area. Let's get real here. You are Liz Jones, writer of questionable talent, wannabe celebrity and shopaholic. You are not IBM moving into the local office park.

Then, she complains about how there are no single men in the country. Moans and groans that she will never find anyone. Eventually she does. He is married. So, she writes about her fantasies about this married man and has the audacity to meet this man's wife for lunch and then describes the whole thing in her column. Jones describes in detail how excited she is to get a text from him and then the ensuing message (which she also reports) which bascially tells her something like: "Please stop writing about me in your column, it has upset my wife." She had never gone out with this guy, had only entertained fantasies about him, written about him publicly and then is so "gutted" because he isn't interested. You were making a play for a married man in a small village and it was clear to the locals who he was (you all but gave it away) and then you have the gall to be upset? How stupid is that? You write about how backward the locals are and you wonder why you aren't liked? How stupid is that?

A few weeks later, after she has written all about her "backward life" in the country and taken potshots at everyone she can, she is "horrified" that someone shoots up her mailbox at the gate to her property. Her caretaker has found gunshot dents in her mailbox. Oh, no, what is Miz Liz to do? She then, of course, reports on this new and frightening occurrence in her charmed life. Does anyone care? Not anymore. She's hacked off everyone in the village anyway. Frankly, I'm sure the farmers were upset that they missed shooting the box off completely.

Rachel Johnson the editor of "The Lady" wrote a fantastic open letter to Jones after her mailbox was pelleted with buckshot. About how she should have integrated into country life in a way that was not so offensive to the locals. She called her the "Marie Antoinette of Exmoor" and wrote in part how she invited Liz Jones to a party to introduce her to local people and she simply didn't think anyone was "attractive" enough to bother with. She also said that after her writing so scathingly about her life in the country, "Liz, forget the drive-by shooting, I'm surprised that you are still standing at all."

Last weekend, someone pelted her house with eggs. I actually felt a bit sorry for her. But not after what she said today about American women. I will provide the eggs for anyone if they just call me. Free range, of course. This is what she wrote in her column last weekend: " I wish I had never moved to Exmoor. I wish I had stayed in my centrally heated house and spent my money in Prada rather than the feed merchant in my village." And then: " I had thought that if I employed enough local students, jobs and internships, spent £350 on a cashmere blanket in a Dulverton gift shop for my sister's Christmas present, bought all my beauty products and candles in there, too, that people would like me and accept me." Someone, get the violins. Yes, she really felt if she dropped a ton of money in a small town that they would be ever in her debt. Even a stupid American woman knows that is not what you do. Building friendships is not about throwing money around and paying people off. It's not about coming with your pockets full like Daddy (Dame) Warbucks and  waiting for everyone to ingratiate themselves to you.  It's about small gestures of kindness and going out of your way to do "small things with great love" (Mother Teresa). It isn't about being a snob and telling off the farmers because they are busy killing the animals that they have killed for centuries. I'm vegetarian and even I know that.  This is how they survive in the country, Ms Jones. Dropping a few thousand pounds each week in a local economy does not give you the clout to write disparagingly about its people even if they are absolutely whang-doodly. Which they are not. Maybe it's because this stupid American woman grew up in a small town in rural Texas where every bit of your life is scrutinized and deconstructed. You learn to be careful of every thing you say and do. And even after a lifetime of training, I still get it wrong.

So, Jones has  hacked off the locals, hacked off ex-husbands and now only Americans are left. She can now spew her venom on the only group that is left and is politically okay to trounce, right? This woman probably doesn't even know an American woman. Stupid American woman me. Never mind that I have an M.A. and still hope to read for a Ph.d. That stands for Doctor of Philosophy not Prada, Horchow and Dolce. Oh wait, if  it has nothing to do with designer anything,  you wouldn't be interested.  But even without a degree or any education, I know hundreds of American women who are incredibly intelligent, thoughtful and resourceful and could run circles round you. Women entrepreneurs who built businesses from nothing. Unsung mothers who stand in protests to make sure that the sons they sent off to war to die are not forgotten. In America, a dream of a better life is not just for the Asprey-toters  like you. A dream of a better life is for all women who dare to dream it. And the sisterhood in America has always been a strong one. Don't mess with us.

I also happen to live in the country in a small town here in England.. As an American woman I wasn't as stupid as you were to blab publicly of whatever I thought of the town I lived in or the people who populated it, I was a guest in their territory and I knew it. Yes, it was irritating that they didn't have the things I had gotten used to back home, having lived in the city. But one moves because one wants to experience a different life. It's not easy, but if I had wanted easy, I would have stayed home. Whatever I thought about the things I found to be difficult,  I had the wherewithal to keep my views quiet or to share them with my American friends  who were too far away to care. Well, except for that awful sculpture at the local library. But no one likes that. Even though I didn't say much, I was treated quite abysmally as an outsider. But not by the locals or the old guard who were quite nice to me. Funnily enough, it was by predatory jealous women who were mean-spirited , superficial climbers and name-droppers like you--- the shallow tinny-voiced nouveau riche et declasse who look with disdain on everyone else because they think a Barbour coat and a country house makes a true countrywoman. You just try too hard and that in itself says a lot about where you came from.  People who have means in the country (or elsehwere in England), don’t need to flaunt it and make sure that "the little people" are reminded of the pecking order. This isn't 16th century England. The countryside is no longer populated by serfs to do your bidding. Perhaps you have not learned that? I was lucky to have met lovely British women who became friends and thankfully, I didn't judge all British women as being crass, undignified, shallow and superficial man-crazed harridans like you. If you were the only British woman I had met, I would have been extremely disappointed. And, honestly, I would rather sit down in a cozy council house kitchen  in Dulverton with an aging pensioner who has great stories and a well-earned life experience than to be in a  cocktail party with all the ridiculous wannabes and poseurs in the city, my dear. Money has bought you  Chanel, but it has not bought you character.

Women have it hard enough as it is. Alienating a nation (while you go to New York to empty our shops regularly) of women is not exactly the way to make friends. So as you wrote last week: "I feel I'm being attacked from every angle."  Ms Jones, you have attacked everyone from every angle. Are we supposed to just say nothing while you prattle on incessantly about your victimhood? Darfur is a serious situation, Ms Jones. But some buckshot through a mailbox of a woman that has been very disrespectful and just plain exhausting is not a cause for national alarm. So now you have Exmoor and American women thinking you are a spoiled twat. And you brought this upon yourself.

And by the way, Ms Jones, had you moved to my childhood home in Texas, and written what you did about our town, your mailbox would have been shot clear off its post and someone would have given you a horse for free to watch you ride clear out of town. Consider yourself lucky. Very, very lucky. There is only one stupid woman I can see in this whole situation and she is, thankfully, not American.

Ms. Jones, she is you

(PS....If you are a stupid American woman, or anyone who supports stupid American women, please write with your comments to the woman who thinks she knows everything:  lizjones@you.co.uk  )

Sexy? Or Just Plain Dangerous?

Don't these look like the cartoon shoes that Natasha in  "Rocky and Bullwinkle" wore? I had to do a double take because I thought that was exactly what these were. They aren't. They are actually real shoes used in the recent catwalk show of noted designer, Alexander McQueen.

His theme was animals and partly based on Darwin's "Origin of the Species". All the models wore these 12 inch (!) heels in the show and when seen all together going down the catwalk, they resembled "hooves."  (You know that Posh went right out and bought these in every colour.)

But what I want to ask is, "Why?" Why are shoes becoming so outrageous? Why are heels so high that they are making women's feet bleed and become disfigured?  Why is it that women will torture themselves as slaves to fashion buying dozens of pairs each year simply to be in pain when they are worn? Beautiful shoes yes, but  incredibly painful shoes they are as well.

When I see shoes like these and shoes with extremely high heels which are so very much in vogue, I keep thinking of the centuries of footbinding that Chinese women endured for the sake of beauty. From the 10th century until the 20th century, the feet of the women of wealthier castes in China were bound. It is estimated that 2 billion women's feet were bound during that time period. Their feet were broken and then wrapped so that the bones could fuse with a very high arch and produce a foot that was only 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. The women would sway when they walked and this was considered "sexy" to men.  Are women in the world any better today? No, they aren't. And most of the choices in footwear are being dictated by men who don't have to wear the same fashions they design.

Granted, McQueen really is an artiste of a dress designer. He is flamboyant with his vivid colours and his designs are more at home as theatre pieces than wearable fashions for the everyday working girl  in say, Boise, Idaho. He likes to tell his "catwalk" stories and put phantasmic costumes on his models to illuminate his dreams and fantasies. The problem? You'll see some form of this same shoe at Target next year. It will be interesting to see how it is transformed into that shoe for the Boise girl. Maybe the heels will be made out of soldered pitchfork tines.

I don't own a pair of super-high heels. I injured my foot in a fall over a decade ago. I think that was a mixed blessing.   I figure that being sexy is more about what is between my ears than what is on my feet. I dated a lot of  men from Mars (and even a few men  from Venus) and none of them ever noticed or cared what shoes I was wearing.

So, Mr McQueen and Mr Choo and Mr Blahnik....I'm taking my money and will  buy a sensible pair of  J.P Tod brogues and walk comfortably over to Borders.  I'll take a book over a Manolo Blahnik anytime.

McQueen's models looking like reindeer...caught in the headlights

And then...there is....Boris.........

Johnson....Boris Johnson. The most eccentric, outspoken Mayor  London has ever known...or perhaps experienced is more like it. Johnson is a full blown experience. No one thought he would win the mayoral post, but he did and he did it (as Sinatra would sing) his way. He is incredibly witty and always says what's on his mind. He tore up the Conservative Party this week with his comments where he declared that Cameron should push for a referendum regardless of the results of the E.U. votes in other countries "especially if we are faced with the prospect of Tony Blair suddenly pupating into an intergalactic spokesman for Europe."  The crowd  went wild with laughter.

But Johnson is not stopping at being the Lord Mayor. Just how ambitious is Johnson? Well, the rumour is that he also would like to be Prime Minister one day. On this go-round? That's not for certain. While Cameron is always dressed to the nines, Johnson looks like he just rolled out of bed and picked his clothes for the day in the dark. Ironically, it is Johnson with his messy hair and tie in a twist all the time that comes from a patrician background. Cameron does not.

Johnson was handsome as a student and ended up marrying the "prettiest girl at Oxford", Allegra Mostyn-Owen. In typical Johnson fashion, he showed up at the wedding in the wrong clothes and had to borrow a suit from someone else. It was his political ambition that eventually came between the couple and they divorced.  He has been controversial, for example, stating that he wanted illegal immigrants to be granted amnesty to stay in the UK. This is not what the Conservatives want to hear. He contended that if the thousands of illegal immigrants were allowed to stay, they would pay taxes and pay into the system.  Last night, he got into a match of words with Jeremy Paxson on his noted talk show attempting to nail the BBC commentator on his reputed £1 million dollar salary (which the taxpayer funds). Johnson made a point that he only earned £140,000. Paxson was upset and the BBC ended up editing the offensive remarks.

Johnson has always been a super-achiever. He served as President of the prestigious Oxford Union while he was a student there. But he was also a contemporary of Cameron and Osbourne (possibly the next Chancellor of the Exchequer should the Tories win) and all were members of the famous or infamous Bullingdon Club. It's rather like "Skull and Bones" at Yale but without the ghoulishness. They mostly just got drunk, ate good food and caroused on the streets of Oxford overturning tables and being general nuisances. Like all good future politicians should be. He has made no bones of the fact that he does want to be Prime Minister one day.

In this picture of the Bullingdon Club of Oxford, you can spot  both men who want to be Prime Minister. You can see Boris Johnson with the very yellow hair sitting on the step and at 10 o'clock from him is David Cameron. This was taken in 1987.

Johnson cares little for decorum and niceties. He is a straightshooter and people like him because of that.

Johnson doesn't fit the mold of a politician and that is precisely why if I were Cameron, I would be looking behind me for a shock of bleached yellow hair who might just catch up and possibly pass me in the next stretch. We always look for the "wild card" in the election and Johnson may be the one holding it.

Cameron: Will He Keep His Promise of a Referendum?

One of my acquaintances said that the only reason I liked David Cameron was because I thought he was "cute." Once again, in one fell swoop, I was supposed to be put in my place...the blonde head cheerleader who "voted for the cute guy." The patriarchy is alive and well and just can't stand the girls who grow up to be women who have a thought that might be their own. Didn't the idea of voting for the "cute guy" go out with Kennedy and the last remnant of my mom's era? Not that I would have turned Obama down for the prom. He's a looker and a charmer. But to say I like David Cameron politically, is rather like saying I liked John Kerry. I liked John Kerry simply because he was not GW.  In the last election, I wanted the right woman for the job, but her husband wouldn't keep quiet. And after that, the wind went quite out of my sails for either party candidate. In a way, it is like that here in the UK with the great possibility that Cameron may indeed be elected Prime Minister in the next election. I like Cameron simply because he is not Gordon Brown. Nigel Farage is more my cup of tea, but a third party candidate of any kind has as much chance as the Libertarians do in the United States. Nil to nothing. But I still hope.

So, in that context, I give my report on Cameron. Is he cute? Yes, but I've given my heart away to "cute" only to find that "cute" can be as mean as a bat out of hell. Cute doesn't always convey substance, either. Though I must say that the word is  that Cameron is very devoted to his family and a "nice" guy.  How substantial is Cameron? That's the important point. And more importantly the pressing issue is: Will Cameron step up to the plate to allow England to vote to ratify or oppose the Lisbon Treaty?

David Cameron is  squirming a bit  at the moment because he promised (yes, promised)  that if elected he would call for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty...but only if  it had not been ratified by all the other countries and therefore, not in use at the time of his election. The Irish were knocked down completely by the well-oiled European Union machine. There are only two countries left to vote: Poland and the Czech Republic. The Poles are considered to be already in the "yes" camp so that leaves the Czechs to make the final decision. The word is that the Czech President is not an admirer of  theTreaty. The Czechs have a constitutional court and if the court says that the Treaty is not in keeping with its laws then Cameron will be in the clear.

Why do I keep writing about this subject of the Lisbon Treaty? Because so many people do not understand exactly what the European Union is about nor what it will mean to the governance of the United Kingdom and to the rest of the world.  It is so important for the world, especially Americans to understand.  Did you study about World War II in school? Remember that guy with the little mustache? The one that wanted to unify Europe into one global superstate that would control the rest of the nations?  You do?  Well, this is sort of the resurrection of that idea but it's all being done without any sort of huge conflict or armaments.  It is being done supposedly in the "greatest interest of all of Europe" and it's being done with the greatest weapon of all: money. The European Union will become a  governing body that will determine the future of all its nations and it will do it without full democratic representation. It will be up to the Union to decide which countries to support and which countries to oppose. The autonomy of each European nation to speak for itself will be eradicated.

Cameron made a comment the day before yesterday that was perplexing. He said that even if it was ratified by all other countries, "the Tories would not let it rest there." Uh....Earth to Dave...come in Dave...if the constitution is ratified it's a done deal. Neither the Tories nor the Big Man himself can overturn it or pick and choose which parts of the constitution will be enforced in the UK and which ones won't work in Britain. Dave, sweetheart, we're in and there is no getting out after it is ratified.

To add insult to injury, Tony Blair has been hand-picked to possibly be emperor...oh, excuse me...President of the European Union. That's rather like appointing Benedict Arnold as Speaker of the House. Why? Because if he does take the rein of the E.U., he will then be responsible for enforcing the very law that took away the British people their self-rule. Treason? I think so. It's ironic, too, isn't it? Blair was given the most resounding "Goodbye" and left the front door of Downing Street a few years ago and he will now be camping again in the back garden and peering into the windows as the Camerons sit down to dinner. (Now that's a bit frightening.)  Or maybe he will just build another house behind 10 Downing as he seems to have erected and collected a lot of real estate during and since he left office..

The European Union was founded simply to be a "union for trade". It was founded so that the different countries in Europe could enjoy free trade among themselves. It was never intended for it to morph into a full-blown governing body that would control all the European states. Or was it? Some argue that that was the long-term and clandestine plan

Cameron is side-stepping this Lisbon Treaty  issue. It is a sticky one. He wants to be seen favourably by the E.U. but does not want to appear too moderate from a Conservative standpoint. Sound familiar? He is waffling on issues rather than taking a sure stand. Cameron must be courageous and act in the best interest of the nation. Cameron desperately wants the job of Prime Minister. He used to be ahead in the polls, but his inability to be clear on the Lisbon Treaty issue has not served him well. Constituents don't like "wishy-washy". They want and need strength and conviction and this is who they generally support. Cameron will be speaking tomorrow on the final day of the Conservative Party meeting. It will be the last general meeting until the election. He will probably look "cute" but I'm guessing he will have to employ the "bat out of hell mean" to take a decisive stand against the raging machine that is rolling over all of Europe.

The Tories have historically stood for less bureaucracy,  a strong democracy and the right of a nation to rule itself. The Lisbon Treaty will virtually wipe all that away.

Think the little man with the tiny mustache didn't get his way? Think again.

Anne Frank: Her Only Moving Picture Image Is Found...View it Here

The only known surviving image of Anne Frank in a moving picture was apparently found and is now being shown at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. I visited the house where the family was hidden and eventually discovered by the Nazis a few years ago and found it to be a very deeply emotional experience.

In this very brief 20 second film clip, little Anne is leaning out of her window to get a good glimpse of her neighbor who was getting married. You can see her little bobbed head craning to get the best view possible. It's quite humbling to see the peaceful setting, the people going about their daily lives (just as we do now) never knowing their fate. In a few months these streets would be filled with marching soldiers and their homes looted and most being marched off to their sure deaths.

See it here:

Ahmadinejad is...Jewish? (Ssssh...it's a secret)

<------Ahmadinejad Holds Up His Papers Before his Election

It has come to light that the vitriolic and hate-filled war-mongering of the Iranian President toward the State of Israel is quite similar in  origin as that of  his predecessor, Adolf Hitler. Apparently, Hitler's mother was Jewish...and it has now been reported that Ahmadinejad's parents changed their name from "Sabourijian" which is Jewish. It means "weaver of the Sabour" which is weaver of the "tallit " in Persian or the Jewish shawl that is used  in Hebraic ceremony and prayer.  The family converted to Islam apparently after his birth. The suffix of "jian" attached to his birth name is a giveaway...."jian" signifies a practicing Jew. His birth name is also one of the official Jewish names that is registered at the Ministry of the Interior in Iran. Oh  Mr. Weaver! How tightly woven are your lies.

Ahmadinejad's family most likely converted to avoid persecution as so many Jews have had to do....to escape the "auto da fe" of the Catholic church during the Inquisition and the pogroms of the Russians and the ovens of the Nazis. Go back in history and the Jew has been the scapegoat for any and all of the world's ills for thousands of years. It's always the Jews who are to blame, isn't it? I even had one well-meaning friend ask me, "Don't you think they bring it upon themselves....by being so outspoken and so aggresive and so concerned about money?"  Mind you, she said this knowing that I was Jewish.  Ever seen a bunch of Texans at Wal-Mart at 6 am the Friday after Thanksgiving? Think aggression and bargaining is a Jewish trait? Honey, when you have people with torches following you for thousands of years, you eventually learn to speak up, defend yourself or die.  And let me tell you, there are a lot of poor Israelis and  also a lot of poor Jews all over the world. The diaspora is not just on Fifth Avenue and in Beverly Hills. That is one of the greatest misconceptions about the Jewish people. Did you know there are Jews in Ethiopia?  Yes, African Jews. Jews being starved and persecuted in the Ukraine? Jews in India living in poverty?  Most people don't. They like Judd Apatow movies or Joan Rivers and they think they know the whole story. And there are also gracious, genteel and  low-key Jewish people who pride themselves on decorum and good taste and enjoy keeping under the radar. There are Jews of every nationality, every disposition, hair colour, eye colour, body type and manner in the world.  There are black Jews and white Jews and brown Jews and red Jews and yellow Jews. That's right, Native American and Chinese Jews. You cannot classify them into one big stereotypical lump anymore than you can say all Mexicans love hot food. The father of my one child could eat chili till his face turned purple and he was as American as "Wonder Bread" (albeit another offspring of  heritage denying Jews) and I despise hot food.

In the area where I grew up, there are scads of Mexican-American people of Spanish heritage with Sephardic Jewish last names who consider themselves to be good "Roman Catholics."  Their heritage is all but lost to history. They have no idea that their ancestry is Jewish.  Why? Because their ancestors were persecuted by the Catholic Church that chased them out of Spain in 1492 (yes, guess who funded Columbus' voyage? The Jews were expelled and had to find new places to go). and pushed them into England, the Netherlands, the Canary Islands and eventually into Mexico. But the Inquisition was always on their tails and Jews were being burned at the stake in the name of Jesus and the Catholic Church until the 1840's in Mexico. Why didn't they teach me that in cathechism class? Where did the persecuted families go? They moved into South Texas and New Mexico and they still live there on land that was originally deeded to their families by the King of Spain. Did the King know who he was selling to? No, because he gave the land to Carvajal who was a "secret Jew" or "crypto-Jew" and he in turn helped persecuted families in Mexico escape to the North for safety. These families who moved North were lucky.  I have heard Mexican-Americans denounce their Jewish heritage just as Ahmedinejad does, simply out of the fear that still lies in their cellular memory....if I own up to my ancestry, I may be exterminated.  If you have a Mexican name that is the name of an animal or bird, you most probably have Jewish ancestry. Many names were changed over to animals or bird names to conceal obvious Jewish names. The Montemayor family founded the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and they were Jewish. Thousands of  Jews in Mexico, many of them landowners or merchants simply  became "conversos" to save their businesses and the lives of their children. And many chose to simply forget their Jewishness feeling that it was the only way to keep their families and posterity safe from further persecution.

I knew a man who was Mexican-American and was as anti-Semitic as they came. He was born and raised in the area where I grew up. He kept insisting that his ancestors were "pure" that is, that they had no Jewish blood because he had an ancient document that testified to this. Of course, he never spoke of the fact that most well-to-do families purchased these documents called "limpieza de la sangre" (pure blood) from officials during the Inquisition for a goodly sum.  It was simply ridiculous. His last name? I won't say, but it was the name of an animal and on the records of the Inquisition of a very Jewish family. And his family? As brilliant and creative and educated as they came. So, it wasn't out of academic ignorance that this heritage was denied. (And by the way, animal/bird names are not the only indicators of Jewish ancestry among Hispanic-Americans. There are also hundreds of other very unassuming and common Hispanic names on the Inquisition death lists that are marked as Jewish.)

But what about the Palestinian question? The Israelis are depicted as bullies. The truth of the matter is that I have gone to Israel.  I've sat with my friends there. They showed me the country. Their children go to school with Palestinian children and are friends. The parents attempt to work together. Israelis are not allowed to go to Palestine because they will be killed. That's it. What's wrong with this picture?  The people of both sides want peace. Their governments draw the lines. It's always politics and politicians not always the will of the people. The Israelis have given in over and over to Palestinian demands and still, it is not enough. They took the hardscrabble desert that they were given through the Balfour agreement (they did not take the land) and then proceeded to make this harsh desert with nothing on it into a fruitful and arable land and a major metropolitan country filled with commerce and farms It is one of the most beautiful things to see. Now, are they supposed to just leave?  To leave all the billions of dollars and blood, sweat and tears they put in to make this land what it is?  No, they need to find a way to solve the problem so that everyone wins. There has to be a working peace among these two countries in our lifetime.

I digressed.....

Ahmadinejad's diatribe on the non-existence of the Holocaust and the damnation of the Jewish state takes on new meaning when seen in the light of his possible ancestry. It is so disturbing at times to see that throughout history some of the most ardent persecutors of the Jewish people have been those who have denied their own lineage. This, in turn, is often used by non-Jews to point the finger back at the Jews themselves. It is quite Machiavellian, actually. Divide them and they will eliminate themselves. It's never worked with the Jewish people. And it never will. There is something in the DNA, some encoding that will never allow that to happen. Something in the spirit and in the soul of the Jew that will continue to overcome no matter what. The Jews believe that they are chosen of G-d, not to sit quietly and bask in their place of G-d's favour but to roll up their sleeves for "tikkun olam" ( to repair the world) and this they will do, despite denials, persecution and derision.

No doubt (as one Iranian professor in the UK observed)Ahmadinejad's diatribe gets louder simply to deny his roots and therefore, stop the possible usurping of his position of prominence. It's not exactly the kind of news that the Jewish community looks forward to hearing...the prime Holocaust-denier of this century and the prime enemy of the State of Israel...is one of the tribe. Yikes.

It might just be that this revelation may stir his hatred even further. That's entirely possible given his history.

I don't think there is a need to be setting an extra place at next spring's Passover Seder. Well, maybe for Elijah...but not for this guy. Not anytime soon.

Oh...no...she can't possibly be....60?!

Twiggy in Her Teens Circa 1968--->

This is how I know time is passing.....and much too quickly.

I picked up a copy of "The Lady" which is one of the longest published magazines for in England. "The Lady" has been known to be a magazine for the "older settled set" and that would mean pensioners and ladies avec cheveaux bleu. It used to cost under a pound and would have interesting articles on museums and recipes and places to go in your orthopedic shoes. Ads in it would be for stairlifts and cushions for bunions. It also had short stories, most of which told of rural life and always had a happy ending. Not that I wear orthopedic shoes or have blue hair, but I would often pick it up because it was like reading a magazine that reminded me of  1950's Great Britain, the Great Wars and marmite. It was staid and solid and well....predictable. But the face of "old ladies" in Great Britain is changing...and it looks like "The Lady" is following suit.

The magazine has been taken over by Rachel Johnson  who is Boris Johnson's sister (that would be the current unorthodox and outspoken mayor of London.)  Gone are the short stories with happy endings and the ads for vinyl mattress covers. She has hired her London literati friends to write for the magazine and I am not exactly sure now what little old ladies on zimmer frames will read. Most of the models in the pages are now doing yoga, look about 30 and there isn't a bunion brace in sight. There are articles on mobile phone safety and keeping fit. Not that the old magazine didn't do that. Except that "keeping fit" usually meant walking to the pub at a brisk pace not putting on meditation music and doing the "downward dog" pose.  And mobile phone safety? Most of the readers of the magazine before this re-vamp didn't even own a cell phone....never mind....on to the matter at hand...

When I spotted the current magazine yesterday at my local newsagent, I was shocked to see the cover model. It was Twiggy....and Twiggy was turning....gulp...60!  My Twigs, my childhood idol was going to be the big 6-0. It was more than I could bear, The icon of 60's fashion was turning 60 herself.

Twiggy Lawson was a waif-like teen when she was photographed and became the the "New Face of 1966" by the Daily Mail of London.&nsp; Called "Twigs" by a friend of her brothers, the name stuck and morphed into "Twiggy" who became, the poster child of the Carnaby Street fashion scene...that scene that took in Biba, Mary Quant and the psychedelic colours of Peter Max. Twiggy was the first "supermodel". Her image was marketed and shuffled about onto everything possible from lunchboxes to labels. She was on hundreds of fashion magazine covers and everyone wanted to have that "Twiggy" look. That usually meant eating absolutely nothing and wearing two pairs of false eyelashes (on top) and then applying bottom lashes one by one. After that, you had to heap on gobs of mascara. I could read about it, but you couldn't wear mascara to Catholic school., though I did experiment at home.  Most girls ended up looking like badgers, not beauty queens. Twiggy, however, did not diet nor was she anorexic (like most fashion models of today). She was just scrawny and could actually eat like a horse and not gain weight. (Yes, the kind of girl we really, really loved, huh?) 

Nevertheless, I was in mad friend love with the Twigster. I knew that we could be the best of buddies, if I could just somehow meet her. Of course, that would be next to impossible since I lived in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and she lived...well...in London. My dad was hard-pressed to be convinced to drive me to my best friend's house, and that was just across town...he was not driving me to London. So, instead I gobbled up anything the teen mags had to say and clipped photos of her and studied her looks so that I could shop for patterns and fabrics that a local seamstress could sew up for me. That's right, from age 10 through 12, I could be found with my nose in Seventeen magazine, checking out Twiggy's new styles so I could reproduce them. I was hardly a "waif", my Latin genes would have to be spliced and diced to have had any protruding bones except for my knuckles, but I was still attempting to fool myself and be fairly groovy.  So, I wore my Texan-made faux Carnaby clothes and carried my Twiggy lunchbox and played with my Twiggy doll by Mattel.  When Twiggy wore a lime green and sunburst orange block print dress with tights that had one orange leg and one lime green one then so did I. I'm sure the nuns wanted to expel me when they saw that, but they pretended not to notice.  I even carried a photo of Twiggy in my wallet. When one of my friends saw it and asked who the girl was, I said, "Why...that's my sister...." I so wanted to have a sister and I thought she would be perfect...but most of all, I was too embarrassed to say that I had clipped it off a Mattel box. That was soooo not groovy. 

Twiggy wasn't a flash in the pan. She moved on from fashion modelling to movies and musicals. She was very successful on the stage, winning two Golden Globes and even a Tony nomination and starred with a fellow Texan, Tommy Tune. Eventually, she settled down into family life and in the last few years emerged as a spokesperson for Marks and Spencer as well as selling books on fashion.  She has just been hired as the "Face of Olay" beauty products in the UK and is currently a subject for a retrospective on her life at the National Portrait Gallery in London. She is well-spoken, gracious, and still delightfully unpretentious.

To me, there has never been and never will be a "supermodel" like Twiggy. Why? Because she was a pixie. She was young and unaffected and just charming. She sort of fell into modelling serendipitously and realized that it was all one big game and she played it well but most importantly, she never took herself too seriously. She wasn't snobbish and never got into any of the drug scene that is was (and is still) prevalent in the fashion world. She stayed true to herself.  She was also bright and knew that she would have to broaden her horizons and eventually move on. And she did so quite successfully.

I cannot believe how quickly the years have passed. But the Twigster is in very good form and not looking like a pretty pixie anymore. She's become a beautiful woman and is aging with grace as we all should. No longer a waif, but still someone to emulate.

"The Lady" mag is certainly undergoing a face-lift and the next generation of "aging sages" are not going to be sporting blue hair, unless it's spiked or in a mohawk. They aren't going to play canasta and queue for the blue plate specials. And Twiggy still a cover girl at 60? There is hope for all of us. And let's not forget our contemporary, Madonna, who is dancing the nights away with her post-divorce boyfriend and he's young enough to be her son. Oh, don't go dismissing us and relegating us to the punch bowl table,yet. It's a different era and we are very different women than our mothers.

So.....

Happy Birthday, Twiggy! To me you will always be Sweet Sixteen!

Twiggy at 60

Need Money for a Brothel? Just Ask the Folks at Acorn

When I viewed this on a major news program, I was gobsmacked. Was this sort of thing really going on?  I hear the pundits rant and rave but to watch something as blatant as this go on and have it documented was a bit eye-popping. Then, after watching it, I kicked myself....for not marching over into one of their offices and asking for a home loan ...for say....plastic surgery. The lovely lady at the desk would say, "One second....let me find a code....you need a code to apply...hmmm....let's put it down as  "Exterior Renovation" because you are renovating an exterior...we won't put down that it's yours...oh and we might be able to get extra money under "Historical Refurbishment" because you aren't a spring chicken, honey." Done!

The premise? What happens when two twenty-something independent journalists posing as a young couple approaches Acorn to ask for money to open a brothel and to bring underage girls from El Salvador to work for them?  See for yourself...and go get money at Acorn now before some ridiculous investigation closes all the offices...sheesh. :)

The First Lady That Went to Venus---I Love Her Already

Miyuki Hatoyama is the new first lady of Japan...and I have not yet met her, but I'm sure she is my kind of gal. The elections were held this past weekend and her husband, Yukio Hatoyama who is called, "The Alien" because of his hair and large eyes was elected handily. Which sounds like a match made in heaven, or perhaps...Andromeda? Hmm.

According to Reuters, the first lady has had a colorful and interesting past. She was an actress,an interior designer and a writer of cookbooks. But the most interesting thing about Ms. Hatoyama is her spiritual life. She says that she was taken on board a triangular-shaped UFO and flown to Venus. This was written in her book (which was published last year) and entitled: Very Strange Things I have Encountered. She also insists that Tom Cruise was Japanese in a past life. (Well, of course, no wonder he played such a great samurai. I thought it was his acting, but it was just his past life. Does that disqualify him from an Emmy?) She says they were together in that life and that when she meets him (she prophesies that she will make a movie with him) he will recognize her and she will say to him, "Long time, no see." I'm more concerned about Katie's reaction. Will they draw swords and fight for Tom? Or will they just march over to the Scientology Center and get audited? Will John Travolta mediate? I can't wait for the "E True Hollywood Story".

Ms Hatoyama says that her ex-husband told her her UFO experience was "just a dream." But her present husband, she says, is much more understanding. He said, "Oh, that's great!" Now, that's a keeper in my book. And frankly, you can't help but love a country that will still vote for a man that is called "The Alien" who has a wife who swears she went to Venus and says she "eats the sun" in the morning for energy. That beats Tang and sausages and it's a lot less calories. It must work for her as she is a young-looking woman in her 60's. Do you think Obama would have been elected if Michelle told the papers that she saw a little green man in a cornfield in Iowa during the caucuses? Hardly. People are still talking about Jimmy Carter's admission that he saw a flying saucer. Oh, but the Japanese...they are absolutely open to just about anything.

What did it look like on Venus? "It was beautiful and very green..." she said.

Apparently, they don't have lightbulbs or cars on Venus...or maybe they were all outlawed by the cronies in the E.U....in their other past lives... as big government Venusians.

A first lady that thinks outside the box...okay, well, perhaps, outside the solar system....now that's a kindred spirit.

I love Miyuki. She's my new BFF*.

(*Best Friend Forever)

Support the "Buy-Cott" of Whole Foods---Shop at Whole Foods Market

Sometimes, I just don't get it. This whole health care reform debate is getting out of hand....on all sides.

John Mackey, the owner of "Whole Foods Market" wrote an Op-Ed piece for the "Wall Street Journal" in which he criticized the Obama Health Plan and instead, shared his views on what worked and worked effectively as a health care plan for his company. It was well-written, it made a lot of sense, it gave an alternative idea (instead of just hammering away without something better.) It was, in my opinion, a fine piece written by a man who had spent his career being extremely fair and generous to his employees and living in the most ecologically and fair way possible. His shops are filled with organic produce, fair trade items and healthy alternatives to what are on most grocery shelves in America. Whole Foods Market was my grocery stop and shop for many years when I lived in America, as I have been a vegetarian for most of my adult life now and my daughter has been a vegetarian since birth.

I doubt that Mr Mackey himself knew the vitriol that his well-thought out piece would provoke. It began a liberal backlash that ended up with a campaign to "boycott Whole Foods Market" because its owner did not support the health care bill. And this outlines the insanity of what the debates over health care have turned into...a basic barroom free-for-all. The supporters of the gigantic and befuddling health care bill are taking no prisoners and that is madness....absolute madness.

Here is a man who has stood for the highest principles of hiring and providing a good work environment and health benefits for his employees. You go into Whole Foods and you are greeted with workers who truly care about you and about their shops. Why? Because they know they work in an organization that cares about them. Mr. Mackey has been stellar in how he has conducted his business. He really should be an example to other businessmen across the globe. You don't have to import cheap goods from sweatshops or cheap pesticide-laden foods and treat your workers like chattel so that you can make a profit. He proves that you can treat your workers fairly, work with local farmers fairly, sell healthy non-sprayed produce and products that help others become self-sufficient and still be successful. It's about spreading the wealth and the health in a way that also benefits capitalism. Wow! Is that possible? Yes! Yes! Yes! Capitalism that helps everyone.

Boycott Whole Foods? No, no, no. How backward is it to boycott one of the few companies in America that is providing the care that health care reform bill advocates are championing? And why boycott the organization that actually holds up the standard for clean food and good health? To counteract this, an enterprising woman in Texas has organized a counter-protest...a "buy-cott". She is asking people to start shopping more at Whole Foods Market and especially asking people who have never been in its doors to do so. That's probably ridiculous, too....but it is working. Sales are up and the boycott is being eclipsed by the "buy-cott."

The irony of this whole situation is that most of the people who (until this "buy-cott" anyway) shopped at Whole Foods were liberals, Democrats, environmentalists, DeadHeads who now drive BMW's, Woodstockians, Madonna's macro crowd, Gwyneth's Goop Crowd, tree-huggers and alternative-types and people who cared about their health, fair trade and good food and organics. (And that would be me and most of my friends, by the way...and we all fit into one of the above categories.) So, Mackey basically spoke out knowing that he was probably going to offend his biggest market base. He was brave enough to speak out, to speak his truth and now, he is being dragged behind the organic produce truck.

He has a right to say what he wants to say without having to worry that his business will disappear, doesn't he? Whether we agree with him or not? Isn't that the American way? If he was a crook, that would be different. But he is an ethical man who runs an ethical business. Put the crooks away, not the people who care about making the world a better place. The health care bill supporters are barking up the wrong date palm tree.

Someone actually wrote..."....but he's in it for the money....it's all about just business..." I do believe that is how it works. Our country was built on the backs of small businesses that grew into larger businesses. Usually businesspersons are in it for the business and the money. Unless a person is independently wealthy, he/she usually has to care about the money so that he/she can turn a bit of a profit and live. Now, what a person does with the profit is another story. And John Mackey has been generous and shared his bounty. For that, he deserves our commendation, not our wrath.

Buy, buy, buy at Whole Foods Market. Support John Mackey and his workers. They are a a great example of a caring and ethical business model. This not a liberal or conservative issue...it's about how fairness and justice can co-exist with profit and people.


(You can read Mr. Mackey's controversial article and make up your own mind at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html)

The End of the Light Bulb...The Dim-Watts of the E.U. Strike Again

I spent the better part of the afternoon ordering light bulbs. That's right...ordering incandescent pearl light bulbs. The kind that you use in lamps. As of tomorrow, September 1st, they are going to be outlawed by the E.U. You will be able to buy the clear ones but only until 2012. Then, those will be outlawed, too. So, now, any electrician or small shop that has a few light bulbs and continues to sell them will no doubt be snitched upon (by the neighborhood children that are being paid by the government to snitch) and hauled off to court and treated like heroin dealers. Oh, no, wait...heroin dealers are okay with the E.U. as they don't hurt the environment. (My attempt at humor in an otherwise humorless day.) So, here we go again, there will now be "lightbulb enforcers" coming to our houses...to add to the five hundred other "enforcers" we have. I am waiting for someone to come measure my bum and decide it's much too large and outlaw that, too. According to environmentalists we can save 15 million tons of carbon dioxide every year by banning the incandescent bulb. That is a tiny bit of the 4 billion tons that the E.U. produces every year. Well, we have to start somewhere, says the E.U. How about outlawing all the airplanes that the E.U. Parliament travels in all over the world? That's a better start and that has a bigger carbon footprint.

Oh, but these new bulbs will be energy efficient and so much better. Will they be better? If you flip a switch to turn on a light in the room and you only need it for a few minutes, it takes a lot more energy to power up that dim bulb. A regular light bulb would go on immediately, you could get what you wanted and shut it right off. They do not give off the same amount of light either. Even after warming a CFL light for ten minutes, it's still relatively dark and green. Artists and illustrators are not going to enjoy this at all.

Just in case the swine flu vaccine doesn't get us, these lights will do their best to continue the pollution of our health. The flourescent lights flicker at a very low level and they can trigger epileptic fits,migraine headaches and also contribute to skin disorders. They also deplete the body of energy. This has been known for at least three decades. I remember being in university when Reagan was President, and a fellow student showed me an article where she had been interviewed by a magazine because she was "allergic" to flourescent lighting. It made her really ill. When I was working at a college a few years ago, the parents of a student who wanted to enroll at the college actually came in and paid for all the flourescent lights to be changed in the main building where her courses were to be taken so that the student could be allowed to attend. The flourescent lights also made her ill. They also have been known to weaken the immune system. Never mind the mercury-filled tubes...where are we going to dispose of them properly? How green is that? Has anybody thought about that? No. Has anyone thought about all the lamps that will have to be thrown away because they will not accomodate the new bulbs? No. No one has. It's just another half-thought-out way to regulate our lives.

Shopping for light bulbs would seem simple right? I did mine on the internet since the shops have been out of bulbs for months. It's not easy. The UK does not have one uniform screw-in light bulb as we do in the USA. Screw-in and different sizes and watts is what we have in the USA, pretty simple, right? Well, in the UK they have screw-in and bayonet fittings. They have lamps that take the above or the smaller golfball sized bulbs, also in screw-in or bayonet. They have opal and pearl and clear. They have small screw-ins and large screw-ins. They have small bayonets and or large and others in between. I came home a few years ago with two lovely lamps and found out when I got home that they took an obscure light bulb that gave off only 15 watts and had such a strange fitting that it took three days of research to figure out what kind of bulb it used. Useless lovely lamps I have now. A candle gives off more light. You get the idea, there is nothing uniform and easy in this country. It's like making your way through an electrical maze. And once my "cache" of incandescent bulbs are gone, I will have to toss out all the lamps.

Aesthetically,I am sure that to a lot of people light bulbs make no difference. But I have this thing about the "good lighting". When I lived in Australia, I was aghast that people just lit their homes with one bare bulb in a socket in the middle of a room. (Okay, well, it was in the Australian bush, where mood lighting is for "tall poppies from the city", but still.) It looked like prison lighting. Lamps just give off a warm and cozy glow especially when it is dark and cold outside. Overhead bulbs bulbs just contribute to the feeling of overall nausea. It's bad enough living in a country that is dark for most of the year. When you take away incandescence, you might as well live in a cave. Mood lighting? Let's hope candles aren't banned or you will find yourself making love to someone that looks a bit like an aging Martian.

Technologically, we are supposed to move forward. Every invention usually has us moving forward, improving and perfecting an old technology. So, why are we replacing perfectly good technology with something that has not been effective and may be hazardous to our health? I believe that we do need to conserve our natural resources, don't get me wrong here, but replacing a cheap bulb that has worked for decades with something inferior and possibly toxic is just madness. There is even talk that the manufacturers had a talk with the E.U. bosses and pushed this bill so that they could off-load this awful technology and re-coup their money as no one wanted these awful lights.

Now, that's the only "green" that the E.U. really cares about. We can change our light bulbs, recycle our trash...but they are still living the high life with payouts and sweet deals from big corporations and carbon footprints the size of boardroom dinosaurs. There is nothing ethical or environmental about that. They don't care if the planet goes to hell in a recycled handbasket. And that's what is sad about this whole situation.

If Only All Men Were This Penitent

Some woman in Virginia got her husband to stand on a corner near the Tyson's Corner Mall (a huge suburb of Washington,DC) with a sign that read "I Cheated and This is my Punishment."

That woman should be nominated for a prize.

She got her husband to do what every wife of a cheating husband would want. He apparently was found sending "intimate photos of himself" to someone. That made me shudder. Looking at the poor sod, it can hardly be called "art" since he isn't exactly George Clooney. It's amazing to me how even really homely men think they are mega-virile Apollos ...I mean, he sent photos of himself and his privates to someone who actually enjoyed receiving them? I can't imagine who is more deluded or desperate. That's gutsy for a guy who looks a bit like Barney Fife. (But perhaps his recipient looked like Thelma Lou?) To be honest, he appears to regret what he did. He doesn't look a bit happy. It must have worked. Or perhaps he was just too hot standing the sun.

The echoes of "Well, what do you want me to do to make it up to you?" must be echoed millions of times across America when a man has been caught in some sordid affair. Most American men actually do try to do something. They buy presents, they buy flowers, they go to counselling, they attempt to make up for their gross indiscretions. (Well, usually they do. If the boat has sailed, they just pack up and go and I've known a few men who have done that, too.) I would have liked to have seen a sandwich board on John Edwards (can't even think of a nice word to call him fathering a child with someone else as his wife is battling breast cancer) or Mark Sanford who took off to Argentina instead of taking care of state business. In England, however, men have affairs with little remorse. They jump beds like changing socks. Then, they scream and deny, deny, deny. even if the wife is standing there with the bill from Motel On-The-Fly (three hours for £40) and a pair of cheap synthetic knickers that glow in the dark which she found when she was searching the car for her sunglasses. "I got them in the Daily Mail as an offer along with six hyacinth bulbs for spring planting, you ***!" Yes, the screamer who tries to put the blame on the woman is the worst. He gets louder and louder as his guilt gets larger and larger. And foul-mouthed? Never in my life have I heard what I have heard here. No, folks, the polite England of Jane Austen is just in the movies.

The worst part? The secrecy. The secrecy that surrounds this poisonous situation that is eats away at the wife who wants to say something but doesn't. Like John Edwards' wife. She was quiet for a long time and she was criticized for this. Obviously the critics don't know what goes on in the pathology of a wronged wife. One of the things that the feminist movement has not been able to address is that women are still being violated and that women still blame themselves. Women bear the pain of betrayal quite alone out of embarrassment. Never mind that he is a cad who needs conquest to prove his manhood. And of course, the husband never tells anyone what he did. His family and friends haven't a clue as to why the wife isn't cooking meals or ironing his shirts or going over for Sunday dinner or visiting anymore. "What an odd woman...we thought she was such a nice person," they say and cluck cluck to their friends. Well, she actually is a nice person, and a very kind person...or she was... but she is unfortunately, married to a complete stranger who is not a nice person. So, she refuses to cook for a stranger to whom she is invisible. And "Miss Glow in the Dark Knickers" is welcome to iron his shirts if she wants. Women love to do things for the people who cherish them. That's a very simple thing that men should learn. Most don't get it. There's the rub. And embarking on an affair is the best way to tank a sinking ship of a marriage. It's not the best way to show a wife you really love her. That probably sounds like relationship kindergarten...but most guys here have not made it past that grade emotionally. (Not most straight men anyway.)

It would be great for the Brits to learn from this American guy who wanted to save his marriage enough to humiliate himself....after he resoundingly humiliated her. I hope they work it out. This guy deserves a chance after that.

There are still some good British men here. I've heard stories of a few...myths abound. I've met one or two. But most Brits wouldn't stand on a corner with a sandwich board. But of course, if they did, it would prove a giant road hazard as most of the corners in the country would be totally filled with guys vying for space...but then again, they would be laughing, drinking beer, waving and attempting to flag down other women to keep in reserve with their phone numbers on their sandwich boards. Just in case the wifey won't take them back.

Both British and American wives should go on strike...for a respectful love that has some meaning. Now that's an issue worth supporting.

Requiem for a Statesman: Edward Moore Kennedy 1932-2009

Band of Brothers in Happier Times: Ted, Jack and Bobby Kennedy in 1958, two years before Jack's election to the Presidency of the United States

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Early this morning, word reached us in England of the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts after a battle with brain cancer. Gone was one of the most notable senators in contemporary American history. Despite a personal life that, until his marriage to his present wife Victoria, was chaotic and controversial, he devoted his life tirelessly to helping the oppressed and the underprivileged. His death comes on the heels of the passing of his beloved sister, Eunice Shriver, who as the founder of "Special Olympics" established an organization that has highlighted and honoured the talents of special needs children everywhere. Whatever one may think of the politics and/or the personalities of the Kennedy clan, they were a force to be reckoned with and American politics were forever changed with their contributions. The death of the last remaining Kennedy patriarch has been met with a mixture of feelings. No one would have believed that it would have been "little baby Teddy," who would have been the one to be the politician and statesman with such a long and dogged career. He defied his detractors and despite the continuing tragedies and excesses in his extended family and in his own life, he never let that interfere with his one passion and that was service to his constituency and to the country. He often championed bi-partisan causes which at times was maddening to the Democrats. But this led to admiration by conservatives and liberals alike and he had friends on both sides of the aisle.

In Britain, however, the newspapers have not been at all kind. They have been scathing, actually and feel that Kennedy should not be eulogized with such high praise. He was long known as a supporter of the Irish nationalist agenda and once demanded that "Ulster protestants" opposed to a united Ireland "go back to Britain". The headlines were quite harsh some calling him "a bully" and there is certainly no love lost between Great Britain and the senator. His issues with his lack of propriety with women and with drink has also been skewered publicly and upon his death, every minutiae of his life was opened for scrutiny and judgment. This is rather bold since almost every day I have been living here, the newspaper is filled with another lurid story about a politician who has once again been caught in some back alley crime or compromising situation.

Despite it all, I still believe that Kennedy's death has marked the end of an era in America. He played hard (much too hard as some say) but he was still a statesman in the old and grand sense of the word. There aren't any left like that. It is obvious that he suffered his own inner demons. It is obvious by his personal foibles that he was plagued with guilt and acted out accordingly. We can only guess the extent of the pain that drove him to such excesses. And if anyone believes that this man felt he was absolved of his sins, one only needs to know the soul of an Irish Catholic and the depth of Catholic guilt. I am sure he died feeling deep regret. In the Senate, however, he had a reputation as one of the hardest workers and it was known that if you were meeting with the senator, you had better be prepared because he would be. He championed a cause and stuck with it until the end. In this pursuit, he was tenacious and revered. He was especially loved for the little things...reading to students every week in a school in Washington, DC...pushing through citizenship for a father who had lost his son in Iraq...establishing small health care centers for those that could not afford insurance...he helped poor farmworkers....he tirelessly championed the disenfranchised. It was touching to hear the hundreds of stories of the people lining the streets of Boston and the Cape, stories from regular folk who had been helped by Ted Kennedy without any front page stories, or a need for publicity. He just gave because he genuinely cared about those who had been oppressed. That's why he was so loved. That's why people in America overlooked his indiscretions. Thousands of people lined the streets to pay their last respects. I couldn't imagine anyone doing that for a politician here in the UK. Not any working politician today, anyway. The next and younger Kennedy generation is distinguished by outstanding public service and not by the old-time politics of the previous dynasty which had begun with Joe Kennedy, Sr. They have, for the most part, been exemplary in the same championing of the underrepresented as Senator Kennedy. What I always admired about the Kennedy clan is that they took their vast wealth and gave back and instilled this in all their children. In this way, they very much embrace the best of what is American.

The harsh reality was not as idealized as Jackie Kennedy had wished in the early days of Jack's presidency. The days when hopes were still high and her "Arthur" was newly crowned "king"...but with the death of Ted Kennedy, the sun has finally set on the dream that was once Camelot. If there is another mythology to be lived by the third and fourth generation Kennedys, it will have to be named something else. And that myth may well be told. Only time will tell.

Why Go to a Horror Film? If You Need a Good Scare....

Just click on the following:


http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Apathetic Youth in UK---I'll Let An Englishwoman Speak

Graduates at University of California, Davis---->

I have often attempted to outline the differences between England and America. I end up, at times, sounding like I am not being fair, or worse, that I am somehow not seeing the big picture. I see it the way I see it and I contrast what I see here to what I know of America. One of the most difficult things to witness is the extreme apathy among many (not all, mind you) British children. And more than that, the apathy of most of their parents. At times, I don't even think it can be classified as "apathy". It's just the inability of the Brit to envision and support the idea that their children can, indeed, surpass them educationally and even financially. A higher education here is just not emphasized like it is in America. Lots of talented children never believe they can aim higher. So, it was refreshing to hear an Englishwoman echo my own views in a recent column in The Mail. It's one thing when an outsider (me) with her own prejudices waxes on the subject of the youth in the UK.

TOO APATHETIC TO REACH FOR THE TOP

A colleague newly returned from a four-year stint in America cannot believe what has happened to Britain in that time.

She can't comprehend the endless reality shows which dominate our television channels.

She is bemused by the widespread lack of manners and depressed by the fixation of the young on being famous.

She is most upset, however, at what she perceives to be a lack of aspiration.

In America it is not done to look as if you're not trying. Although it is also cool to want to be rich and famous, it is universally recognized that to do so you first need an education. While there is always the chance that osmeone will get a ticket to celebrity via Simon Cowell on "American Idol", they are much more likely to achieve the American dream the old-fashioned way---through sheer hard graft.

No wonder the No. 1 mass-market fiction book in the U.S. at the moment is by a former high school English teacher who has had a 40-year career as a writer. Meanwhile, the British bookschart is topped by Katie Price, aka Jordan, famour for fake breasts. Read it and weep. Actually, don't read it. Just weep.

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I am very proud to say that my daughter is a graduate of both Oxford University and St Andrews University.I raised her as single parent. My nephew just graduated from Texas A&M University. Both my daughter and he finished with high marks. My three remaining nieces are clever, top students in high school...they are not wondering how they will be famous...but they are wondering about which university they might attend. Their parents are busy figuring out how they are doing to pay for it. In their hometown, which is located in one of the poorest counties in America, there are dozens of bright, talented children whose parents know that higher education is not an option, it is a mandate. The conversation is "when you go to university" not "if you go to university." Many of the students in this area have gone on to some of the best universities in the nation. And they did not all get in on "underrepresented minority" clauses...they got in because they had outstanding academic and personal achievement records. Parents put their children's education above everything. That's why it bothers me to hear the "whine and complain" stories of the Brits that their education "costs too much". Most university educations here cost 1/4 of what an American education costs. Or worse, the complaints that education is "for the elite" or "not for regular folk". If one of the poorest counties in America can turn out excellent graduates who go on to top universities....enough said. It's all about the instilling of aspiration. And frankly, that doesn't fall on the child, it falls on the parents with the support of teachers. And I emphasize support of teachers because a teacher cannot singularly undo the damage of a parent who is just ignoring their child's welfare. Don't get me wrong here, I know of lovely children in the UK, too...well-behaved children whose parents are conscientious and caring. But too many are just not encouraged enough to do better.

To American children, "American Idol" is a fantasy, but a college education is a doorway to something more lasting and real. And American parents instill this in them from a very young age. Education is the key, the way out and American children know this as a fact, not a fantasy.

The Brits trash Americans, calling them "ignorant" and "uneducated". In truth, American children are more likely to go on to university and more likely to understand that TV is TV and their ticket out of obscurity isn't a stint on "Big Brother". It's a university degree. Yes, today, even degreed pupils are having trouble finding work in this economy, but it would be a lot worse if they had not had any education at all. My father used to tell me that "no matter what, you can lose everything, your home, your job...but no one can ever take away your education." He was right.

And in America, there are no governmental "nets", you work hard or you fall and pick yourself up by your bootstraps and try again. That's why we are a resilient country. Ironically, that's also how the British made it through the Great Wars. That's how it used to be here. What happened? I think that parents here should be chastised for not instilling aspiration in their children. Why doesn't the E.U. pass a ban on parental apathy contributing to their children's lack of ambition? Now, that would be a useful law...but that might breed independence, self-sufficiency, the end of the nanny state and a desire to question authority and that is not what the E.U. aspires for any one of its members. Why that might mean...self-rule! Fancy that?

And by the way, my daughter, my nephew, my nieces are all Hispanic-Americans of Mexican descent...Latinos...or whatever other word the census uses to describe them. They are considered an "ethnic minority" in the United States. And my nephew and nieces grew up in a town that is 99 percent Hispanic. According to sociologists, success is near to an impossibility with those stats. So, good parenting and good role models do defy demographics. The students in the two adjoining towns where my family has been raised, have gone on to Harvard, Harvard Law, Harvard Medical, University of Michigan, Stanford, Brown, Yale, University of Texas, Princeton and Georgetown to name a few. All may not make it into the Ivy League (almost equivalent of Cambridge or Oxford) , but they make it into other highly competitive schools. And they do not first attend high-priced boarding schools or public (private in America) schools. No "Etonians" or even "Dana Hall" girls in the bunch. So, please don't tell me that parenting doesn't make a difference and that poverty defines someone's future. It helps to have teachers that raise the bar and hold the vision for their students, too and they do have those. Good parenting trumps poverty and social class anytime. I know it and I've seen it done in America and in my hometown over and over. No excuses, Great Britain, stop your whining. You even have programs to help you and your children, we don't in America. We do it mostly on our own. As Brits, you should strive to do the very best for your children and that doesn't mean buying them everything you didn't have. It just means giving them the aspiration, the dream and the vision to do better for themselves. That doesn't count one penny...or a starring role in "X Factor."

I'll just let Ms Parsons' column speak for itself...and rest my case....for now.

Postscript: On September 8, 2009 President Obama spoke about education to the children of America. He spoke of Jazmin Perez of Roma, Texas who overcame poverty to attend Brown (an Ivy League school) and is now on her way to becoming a doctor. She is one of the students that I was referring to in the above blog. My sister-in-law, who is incredibly gifted herself, teaches at this school as do her sisters. Two of my nieces go to school there. Roma has always been a school that has stuck to its old-fashioned values of hard work, fair play and lots of creativity. Its teachers are devoted to their work. I am so happy that this student was mentioned in Obama's speech. The one thing that was not correct in his speech was that he said she came from an area where "no one goes to college." That's not true. Many students go on to college.  Maybe not to Brown or Harvard, but they do attend with the encouragement of teachers and parents. Jasmine is not an exception in the area, she is one of many amazing success stories to come out of that school and neighboring schools in the same county. It's not about money or huge budgets, it's about having parents, teachers and a community to support your dreams. Well done!

Fascism is on the March in Europe---Is Anybody Watching? Does Anyone Care? The Irish Continue Their Stand

Fascism-a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)

When I talk to my friends in America about the political situation and the encroachment of our human and civil liberties here in England by the E.U., they don't quite understand the severe implications of exactly what is happening. Isn't the E.U. a good thing for England? Isn't the concentration of power in one huge nation-state with one supporting the other a good thing? No, it isn't. It isn't anymore a good thing than having England telling the ragtag American Minutemen in the colonies how best to run their towns and how much taxes they would have to pay to the Crown without even having proper representation. Most Americans don't know(and don't care) about the looming situation in Europe and with the mandates of the E.U. The members of the European Parliament are simply ignoring the will of the people and barrelling through with their own policies. Americans are still quite insular about England and about European politics in general. Right now, America is bleeding under the economic recession and is not exactly paying attention to anything that is not domestic policy. While I can understand that, it's important to still be aware of the bigger picture. Ultimately, what happens here will also affect America. I don't know if all Americans "get it". The Brits continue to believe that Americans are all "ignorant and bullish". I disagree.


At the moment, the Brits are not doing such a handy job of understanding what is happening in their own country either. Or, basically, they don't give a whit. If the happenings in Brussels were a reality show, instead of "Big Brother" (which is a big hit here) and perhaps was instead a show called "Big Brother Is For Real and He Wants Your Country"? That might actually gain some attention from folks here. At least, it would make big stars out of Barroso and Sarkozy. That certainly would be the only way to get most people to take notice...make it a show, preferably produced by Simon Cowell. Give a guy here a remote, some beer, and a dim woman who thinks Plato is an Italian dish... and to hell with politics and Brussels. Just keep passing the beer mate.


In some ways, what is happening in Europe reeks of the same sort of wave of insanity that swept through Europe in the 30's and 40's and we know how that ended up. All happened while America was asleep. When we were finally roped into the war, it was almost too late and we were thrown into a global situation that was almost unstoppable in its power. What is going on in Brussels is much more clandestine. It is much more subtle and therefore more lethal. Why? Because this form of government takeover is not happening with tanks, it is happening with rhetoric and meetings in boardrooms. Therefore, it is much more "acceptable".


There are no bombs dropping, no one is getting killed, and yet the invasion of countries is happening and it is more powerful than before. It is being done right out on the open and because it is being done this way, no one is objecting. It's rather like seeing a posh shoplifter at Neiman-Marcus. People don't shoplift at Neiman's (and not get caught anyway) and certainly not if they are wearing Zac Posen's newest frock, carrying a Chanel handbag and wearing Christian Louboutin stilettos. They simply slip that overpriced Princese Tam-Tam half-slip into their Anya Hindmarch shopping bag and top it off with a lesser-priced La Perla while you watch aghast. But when they turn and smile at you from behind their Dolce and Gabbana glasses and wave and walk off, you are left wondering if indeed you just witnessed what you witnessed. It's done with such sheer gall and aplomb, you are convinced you are dreaming and you do nothing. You continue to shop. The E.U. operates in the same way. What they do is also done with the adroitness and finesse of arrogant entitlement and strangling bills get passed and referendums are never called and you are left wondering, "Wait..did they just do such a bold bad thing as that?" They did, they do, they will...until someone says, "Enough." The Irish had the courage to say "Enough". But the E.U. did not like that response.

I keep hammering away at this issue because it is so incredibly important to the world. It isn't just about the E.U. and how it silences its opposition. It is how it is playing God with the future of Europe. Take note, please....take note.

There is a little newspaper that is being published to attempt to inform the Irish. It is very, very grassroots. I ask that you support them. Support Ireland. Go to http://www.sovereignindependent.org/ and donate to the cause for sovereignty. The Irish already voted "No", but the E.U. would not respect their vote. (See previous posting.)

Ireland is a country that has historically been aligned with the United States and has contributed greatly to our heritage through its immigrants in manpower, arts, culture and politics. They need our help.

Please take a look at this clip...to understand perhaps a bit more of exactly what is transpiring and why it is so imperative to be informed:

Nigel Farage and Daniel Hannan: Two Men Who Stood Up For the Brits and Stood Up to Gordon Brown and the Steamroller of the E.U. (Please view)

>

"No Means No!" Support Ireland's Vote Against Lisbon Treaty and E.U. Constitution

( Jubilant Irish campaigners celebrate after the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty in 2008.)

Last year, Ireland voted against the Lisbon Treaty....thereby, sending a clear message to the E.U..."No interference from Brussels in our country's affairs."

They infuriated the Parliament leaders who have imposed a SECOND vote....on October 2nd. Can you imagine having a referendum on an issue and that issue is resoundingly defeated....and then a governing body says, "Oh...no....we need to do it again because we don't like the results"?

Excuse me....Ireland voted....they voted, "NO". That was their decision...no to the Lisbon Treaty and the plus gros chats in Brussels. Why is the Lisbon Treaty frightening? Because it puts the power in the hands of the elite who are totally divorced from what is happening in County Cork or Colchester, or Copenhagen or Chartres or any neighborhood near its constituents. The European Parliament has some of the most corrupt politicians on the planet. Some were leaders under the most oppressive regimes in Europe. They basically just traded their military uniforms for an astronomical (by old Eastern bloc standards--well, come to think of it, Western standards, too) and lots of perks. It is, in essence, the E.U. is hoping to form a "super-state" of centralized power and control.

Even Sarkozy of France said that if the European people were to be given the opportunity to vote for the Lisbon Treaty, it would not pass. It puts the power of a whole group of nations in the hands of the few. It is daunting. A member of the UKIP (United Kingdom Independent Party) stated that 1,000 or more separate issues come up for vote on a weekly basis, most of which are not even read by the members. Members get paid for daily attendance, but most of them do "S.O.S.O" which means "Sign Off and Sod Off" (sign-in to get paid and then leave for the day.) Being a member of the E.U. Parliament is extremely lucrative. And if you tow the line and vote in the way that benefits "the superstate" you are richly rewarded. Ireland put a spanner in the works last year when it voted "no" and I was thrilled when they did it. I thought it was a done deal.

I suppose, however, that I am thinking like an American...where a "no" vote means "no" and not "let's try it again after we pour a lot of money into a scare campaign, line the pockets of politicians who can deliver votes for us and basically, threaten little Ireland with economic annihilation if they don't get on the train."

Don't get on the train, Ireland. Don't let them railroad you into submission. Vote for your sovereignty. Vote your conscience. Vote for the future of all of the Europeans who have chosen to stay awake and are aware of what is really going on.

78 degrees? In Texas, too? You've Got to be Kidding!

I just heard that a utility company in America has asked everyone to keep their thermostats at 78 degrees during the day. I'm sure that the other utility companies will soon follow suit. It's all about not leaving "carbon footprints". I am all for taking care of the environment. I am all for using cloth nappies and not paper nappies. I am all for recycling and cycling. I am all for using less water (dropping a brick in the tank) and I would even go to compostable toilets if need be (though they are most unattractive and a bit rank.) I've been buying wonderful vintage clothing for years, long before Kate Moss made it "trendy". I rarely buy plastic if I can buy the same thing in a re-usable form. If I can buy a beautiful burnished antique table that has been used and loved by someone else, I would rather buy that than some table that was made of pressed wood and hauled all the way from China. (I've been to China and the factories are guilty of human rights abuses.)


I raised my daughter on Waldorf education principles and that meant: no plastics, no Barbies, nothing that was not made naturally and organically. Her first doll was a bearded wood-sprite named "Norman" who was handknit of wool and stuffed with cotton. He looked a little like a rabbi wearing a pointed green hat. Never mind, she loved him. I was "green" starting in the late 70's when "green" used to just be the colour you turned when you ate a very bad burrito.

However, I have to admit that using those gawdawful toxic mercury filled swirly lightbulbs that make everything in the room look puce is a bit of a stretch for me. The E.U. ordered us here in the UK to begin to only use these bulbs. How are they enforcing it? They are removing ALL other types of lightbulbs...right off the shelves. That's it, no vote. Gone. We had no choice. Has anybody looked into the toxic effects not only of the mercury bulbs when they are dropped, but the effects of flourescent light on the immune system? No, apparently not. I'd rather use candles, thank you. Let's go back to candles. But, I'm sure that would cause "fires" and that would be outlawed. too. Kerosene? Moonlight? Fireflies in a jar? The E.U. Parliament would find a way to find these dangerous or harmful, too.

Seventy-eight degrees? I draw the line. I can happily leave the thermostat on at 78 degrees....if I live in Maine. Or Michigan. Or the Arctic Circle. Or even when I live in England which has two days over 80 degrees out of the year. No problem. It's bearable.

I draw the line, however, in Texas. I lived with my mother this past year in Texas for three months....and it was from January through March. Those are supposed to be cooler months. Not in Texas. Because of the cornucopia of medicines that she is taking, her body temperature is really low. She insisted on keeping the thermostat at 78 degrees. I was so uncomfortable in Texas with the thermostat at that level that I was miserable. I even cried once because my mother was so militant about keeping it at that level or higher. I even used a fan in my room but all it did was move the hot air around in circles. It was unbearable. I don't think that the utility companies in the North have a clue as to how horrific 78 degrees indoors with the sun unrelentingly beating down on a roof in Texas (which by the way lasts for about ten months out of the year) feels like.

Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld when Elaine goes to Florida with Jerry to visit his parents? And they refuse to turn on the air conditioning and Elaine is begging them? Well, it happened to me while I was in Texas. One of my best friends came over and started begging my mother to lower the thermostat. My mother cheerfully....refused. It was one of the shortest visits on record at my house.

You realize that there soon will be a law prohibiting you from keeping your thermostat lower than 78 degrees. That will be the next move. There will be a thermostat police.

I would like to ask the utility bosses to come spend a day in July or August at my mother's house. If the heat doesn't drive them to raise their blood pressure, her insistence on being right all the time, will. But I would warn them not to answer the door as it might be Hades' who heard that there is a hotter place than hell at mom's and he wants to move in. My mom, of course, will be most hospitable. She is, after all, a Texan and she would love to have someone else to boss around.

As for myself...I will wear underwear made of recycled paper, I'll pound my clothes on a rock and not use the clothes washer, I'll even wash my hair just once a week and take tin cans and make hoop earrings out of them if the "Environmental Police" want....but please....leave the air conditioning in Texas and the South and Midwest alone.

Report from the Kingdom of Over-Taxation: Have a Nice View from your House? Higher Tax for You

Let's file this under....."Absolutely outrageous ways to extract more taxes out of the middle and upper middle class." I am gobsmacked at how this country finds ways to tax its citizens so that it can support its march into the E.U. and its socialist agenda.

Local town councils (that would be the equivalent of the county commissioners in America) levy taxes on their towns or regions. Recently,

they secretly sent out council paid "snoops" to look around their towns and counties to see who it was that had "nice views" from their house. They had detailed checklists: you will be taxed extra if you have a patio, off-street parking or conservatory. These are called "value significant features". Do you have a garage? More taxes. Do you live in a cul-de-sac? Higher taxes. Do you have a lovely tree in your front yard? Higher taxes. Swimming pool? Ding. Do you live in a cardboard box next to the railroad? Oh, that's a higher tax rate because it's close to public transportation...I suppose then....if you live near a train station, a bus station or an interstellar rocket base...even if it is in a port-a-loo...you will be taxed at a higher band rate.

Property taxes exist everywhere. Your house has to be assessed...but to charge £600 ($1000 US) and upwards for a nice view? The government has gone bitty-bonkers!

They go into great detail on these forms. If you have a view of a golf course, hills, a field or a river, then each feature will be assessed separately. Do you have a full view? Or a partial view? Are you near the 18th hole or the 10th hole? Do you have a view of a few scrubby hills or a majestic mountaintop? (Not that there are a lot of those here---but just in case.) Is your river view a stream that bubbles up from a gap in a dried-out field or is it deep and surrounded by lilies and fronds and pretty reeds? Mucho tax-o. So far, 100,000 houses have been assessed to have "scenic views," and therefore, will be taxed higher than average.

This is life under the Labour government of Gordon Brown. The idea that some person came onto the property to snoop around the house without being invited upsets me. The idea that they came onto personal property to decide how much to raise my taxes, based on how pretty my view is (atop the number of bedrooms which I am already being taxed on, and the size of my house) bothers me more. It feels incredibly invasive. Basically, under the Labour government, you are taxed unmercifully if you are successful, pay your own way in the world and are attempting to carve out a decent living, minding your own business. We are taxed into the mud so that we cannot get "too uppity". We are taxed and tariffed without referendums. We are constantly reminded....that we have no real sovereignty over our economic lives....none. The middle class and "upper-middles-squeaking- monetarily-into the upper class" is disappearing in Great Britain. It's only been in the last few centuries that the British have come out from under the thumb of the monarchy. They are used to being governed by a minority which is why it is so easy at this juncture to continue to take more and more rights away from them....they are anaesthetized to it. As an American, I see it so clearly, but it is not so visible to most.

The Labour government just keeps steamrolling along with its more "Big Brother" policies and no one even looks. "What's the point?" That's the motto for the "New Brittania." The idea of working hard for a living and enjoying the fruits of your labour is a myth in the UK.

When my parents were young, they knew that if they worked hard, they could eventually have a house, a university education for their children and a bumper crop of a retirement. Today, getting on the property ladder in the UK or even getting a job for those graduating from university is a dream that is far from ever coming true. But if you don't have a job and can't support yourself for some reason (can't watch TV at work would be okay) you can apply and get your housing and benefits and live quite nicely. I don't mind supporting a struggling single mother or father who needs a hand in raising their children or the elderly or those that are physically challenged or ill. That's compassionate and right use of my taxes. But giving money to some young strapping able-bodied 30 year old guy who spends his days strung out on hash and ranting about how hard life is, when he can't be bothered to get up off the sofa to apply for work or get himself in rehab (which is free here), well that's plain stinky.

And what is the message we are sending to our university graduates in the UK? Or the young couples who are working really hard to save up to buy a property? What's the point? Yes, that's it. And a generation of over-qualified students or ambitious young men and women get to learn that an education is worthless and working hard is futile. What's the point of working so hard when half your paycheck is taken away, you can't get on the property ladder and some perfectly healthy bloke down the block who refuses to work is living in a government-subsidized apartment for free....on the tax money you paid that would have been a downpayment on your own house?

It is an appalling thing to witness. I used to be a super- liberal until I came to live in Britain. I refuse to label myself anymore. I am simply stunned at how the Brits just absorb all the high taxes, the invasion of their privacy and everything else....without nary a protest. If there is a protest, they don't mobilize to change things. It isn't the British way, but I have hopes that someone will decide that "enough is enough".

Why is it considered sinful in .Great Britain to be too prosperous? To strive to make money and thereby generate more money to keep the country financially solvent? To earn a good living to continue to generate more jobs for everyone else? To work out a compassionate solution to help the underprivileged that does not rob them of their dignity and helps them to be self-sufficient not dependent on the state? To allow them their own prosperity?

Why is prosperity looked on with such disgust here? I think it's because Great Britain has seen centuries of monarchs and aristos living off the fat of the land and not caring one whit for the underclass. The people in power in the UK over the centuries abused their power and used their power to continue to stomp on the underclass. Unfortunately, that meanness of spirit is still prevalent in the "new" fiefdoms now known as corporate "dog eat dog if you didn't go to Eton forget it" Britain.

America was founded on very Judaeo-Christian values and that included moderation and charity. We took care of our own for the most part. And because we did not have a monarchy and had an elected system of government, we knew that "anyone" could grow up to be the President of the United States. It took awhile, but we saw the extent to which that tenet was made true this last November. Our strength as a country came from the middle class. In America, prosperity and wealth was not associated with royalty or with aristocratic lineage or with class distinction. In America, prosperity was earned. And if you inherited wealth, someone worked hard for it, it was not simply passed down from some duke or marquess.

Most importantly, and markedly different from the UK, is that in America it is an unspoken belief that if you have money, you give it away to those less fortunate. Americans have never tolerated upper class snobbishness or bullies (as they have been tolerated in Britain). We were founded on "equality" and that meant that we were (technically, though not always truthfully) on a level playing field at birth. And though that is not exactly how things always turn out, there is still the belief within Americans that everything is possible through education and hard work. Education is the great leveller in our American culture. Besides, Americans are the most charitable givers of anyone in the world. In the UK, there is still a class system. It is unspoken, but it is there. So prosperity, in Great Britain, is associated with greed and abuse....not compassion as it is in America. (Yes, we have our Madoffs and Stanfords, but thankfully they are the exception, not the norm.)

So, now the Labour government in the UK wants to "right" the discrepancy between the "haves" and "have-nots" and they aim to do that by bringing the middle-class, the backbone of any nation to their knees. through outrageous tariffs like "taxing nice views" or "taxing your television sets" or "taxing you if you spend too much time at your dead baby's coffin." Yes, that is correct, a woman was fined by her local council because she spent a few minutes over the alloted time to say goodbye to her baby who was going to be buried. She was so overcome with grief she wanted to just talk to him in his little coffin to say goodbye privately. The local council billed her £85. (The equivalent of 140 US dollars.) There was no funeral afterward for anyone else so she was not intruding on the time for another function. These are the realities of life in the United Kingdom of Over-Taxation.

By the way, the picture at the top of this blog.....is the view from the house. I'll let you know what the spies think the view is worth. I think it may be worth..... the price of a ticket back to America.

There has to be a better way to do this, Great Britain.

The Duchess of Beans on Toast

(Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall with her two children, Tom and Laura)

Beans on toast is a very traditional British fast food and one that I discovered soon after I arrived here. It's right up there in the British fast food realm with Cornish pasties (that's "pah-stees" not the things that dancers with names like " Skye Rocket" use). They are like turnovers stuffed with sausage, potatoes and just about anything that can fit in there. They have about two million calories and three million grams of fat. And of course, they are delicious. I am convinced that you can gain five pounds by just standing outside a fresh pasty shop and smelling them. They are that rich.

Today, it was reported that the Duchess of Cornwall was outed. Her son, Tom Parker Bowles who is a food critic and writer said that his mother raised him and his sister on a diet of "fast food." Apparently, beans on toast and beef burgers on the run were the norm at the Parker-Bowles house. There were no sit-down meals with silver and foie gras at the Parker-Bowles home. He said that his mom often just had them eat "beans on toast" and "Wimpy burgers." That would be the American equivalent of "White Castle". That's downright well....almost...normal.

I thought this was like an anthem for the common woman....remembering the dozens of "Mac and Cheese" single-mother-on-the run dishes I cooked when raising my daughter. But then, I thought, "Camilla...you weren't working...you were home....and you were still feeding your kids fast food....? Was it that you had to get to the fox hunt early? Or did you have to sneak a smoke behind the barn before the reporters arrived from "OK" magazine? Or were you just too busy chasing our beloved monarch of an organic farmer around the country?"

Camilla, with all due respect, you will have to tell me that you shopped for your kids clothing at ASDA, had your holidays at Butlin's and put nail polish to stop the ladders on your hose before I can think of you as "one of the girls." Tom will have to admit that he had to pry you away from your Mills and Boon potboiler romances and that you wore pink curlers and lit your ciggies in the toaster. He will have to say he was traumatized when you wore Pond's cold cream and came to tuck him into bed and he thought you were a phantasm come to haunt him. He will have to let us all know that you clipped coupons from the "Daily Mail" to get the full set of "Darling Buds of May" on DVD and that you were late for dinners at Buckingham Palace because there was a particularly scintillating episode of Emmerdale to watch. Yes, then, maybe....just maybe....I can believe that you indeed...were one of us...the frazzled, pinched masses of mothers-who-are-too-busy-carpooling-and-coaching-soccer- to-lunch.

Beans on toast....delicious on the run, madam, but not enough.

Royal Mail vs. US Mail....It's not even close...

(Pictured: Royal Postwoman from the 1940's)

I heard on the news today that the U.S. Postal Service is going to have a huge cut in its coffers. I was astounded. With all the money being thrown to bailout the huge corporations...why can't we bailout our own postal system? Ridiculous. It's big and its amazingly inefficient, but it is still the cheapest way to get things from Point A to Point B. And darn it....it's part of our history.

I have to admit, however, that I love the Royal Mail, the postal system in England. It hasn't always been perfect. But I tell you what, they deliver their mail....quickly. I was pleasantly surprised by their efficiency when I came here to live. I remember early on, calling a company to order an item. "Well, thank you madame, you will have your package by tomorrow afternoon...." I said, "Oh, you don't mean tomorrow afternoon surely...." "Yes, madame....that's tomorrow afternoon...." I didn't believe them. It was impossible. I had ordered it in the afternoon and the company was North of London. I lived in the Southwest of England. Well, la-di-da, The package was delivered the next afternooon. I thought it was a fluke. But it wasn't, the Royal Mail can deliver a package that quickly. My postwoman is alwaysbright and cheerful and doesn't complain when she has to bring armfuls of bulky envelopes filled with books from Amazon. The mail is bundled up with bright red elastic bands (rubber bands) and though people have complained they find them thrown everywhere by careless postpeople...my postwoman usually leaves them so I can keep them and use them later. She carries the mail in pouches on the back of a bike. She does her work so quickly that sometimes I hear the lid shut on the wooden postbox (which is outside the front door) and by the time I go to open the door, she has disappeared. She is slight in build and wears a bicycle helmet and one days that I am fast enough I can see her zoom up the hill away from my house with her hair flying behind her. Sometimes, I can see her bright orange vest against the green of the ridge above my house as she makes her round to the neighbors on the adjoining road. I have also seen her soaked to the bone in those English rainstorms that spring out of nowhere and still smiling and doing her job. I am so grateful for all she does.

Now, the Royal Mail has sometimes mangled my packages and in them I usually find a polite note: "We are so sorry that your package was damaged...can we make it up to you and have you round for a cup of tea?" Okay, well that last part was made-up, but they do have the grace to apologize when they mess up.

When I was a child, in America, the postman was a family friend. I remember running to meet him when I was expecting a package or a letter from a boyfriend. I used to sit on the family stoop and wait for him to walk up the street with his huge leather bag. After a while, they started to use small cars to deliver the mail. It wasn't as personal, but they must have welcomed the change from having to haul the mail themselves. But is the US Mail slow? Yes, it is. You can argue, "Well, England is smaller than America, you know." Yes, that's true. But I once mailed a letter from one side of Portland, Oregon to another and it took ten days.

The best US Postal story I have is one that happened recently. I went home to visit my family and had to mail some packages from America back to England. I have a pretty good intution and I felt that I should travel the extra miles to a post office in an adjoining town to mail my packages to England, rather than send them from my hometown. The reason is simply that I had gone to the hometown post office of a few weeks before and the worker had refused to give me a package that was clearly being held there. She just said, "No, we don't have it...it won't be here till tomorrow." She couldn't even bother to look for it. Even though the paper I had stated that it would be there. I needed the package as it had supplements for me. I had to talk to the Postmaster who quickly found the errant package and kindly gave it to me. The local post office had also delivered packages to my mother's house that clearly had been opened. It made me uneasy. I decided that the extra miles would be worth the peace of mind to send my packages and make sure they were safe.

The postal workers at the other post office were incredibly pleasant and efficient and they went out of their way to make sure the packages I was sending would be arriving in the best possible shape. It was ironic because the post office there was in a much smaller town and yet, they worked like a dream. I was happy as my boxes had been shipped to England in anticipation of my arrival. However, the glitch came when on the day that I was packing to leave, I realized that I could not fit some items into my luggage without going over the weight limit. So, I packed one more box, addressed it in very clear and neat lettering and left it with one of my closest childhood friends to mail. He opted to mail it from the local post office as it was more convenient. I was so happy that he agreed that I didn't warn him that it might be better to drive the twelve miles to the post office in the next town.

When I got to England, one package that I had mailed from the small post office was waiting for me already. It had taken about two weeks to get there. The rest of the packages that I had mailed also arrived a few days after that. My friend had told me that he had mailed the package from my hometown post office a few days after I left. I asked him, " What did you put on the customs form?" And he said, "What customs form? They didn't give me anything." I thought, "Uh..oh..." I had a nagging feeling when the package did not arrive in two weeks, but I let it go. One month passed. Another month passed. Three months passed. No package. I finally wondered if my friend had indeed shipped the package or perhaps he had gotten busy? I called him and asked him. He insisted that he had sent the package and was so embarrassed that the package had not arrived that he marched over to the local post office to find out what had happened.

He asked to speak to the person who had waited on him the first time. He was told that she was not there and he would have to return on the next day. He asked to speak to the Postmaster and was told that he was "out". So my friend said that he would return the next day.

When he went back the next day, the clerk spotted him and went to the holding room behind the counter. By the time my friend arrived at the counter after being in the queue, my package was waiting, right there on the counter! Three months had passed and it had not been mailed! My friend was astounded at how crazy this was. "Why on earth did you not mail the package?...My friend has been waiting for this for three months!" The woman looked sheepish. "Well....we didn't understand these funny numbers....it had all these numbers and letters..." My friend had to restrain himself. "These funny numbers ARE A POSTCODE...and these TWO LETTERS...ARE UK...THAT MEANS ENGLAND." "Oh," was the answer. And not even an apology for the gross inefficiency and total mishap. He grabbed the box and left because he didn't want to go into a meltdown right there in the Office of the United States Postal Service. He made a beeline and re-sent the package from a larger city and never got his refund for the first package. Nice, huh?

I think that the staff at the local hometown post office need some training in international codes and geography....or at least, training in how to ASK someone who MIGHT have a clue. And the post office is going to cut more money from the system? Heaven help us all. I can see packages meant for Albany ending up in Albania. Oh, no, wait....they won't know what the "funny numbers" mean and they will just stay in the back in the "funny numbers" room. Yet, the postal workers in the next town knew exactly what to do. It's rather hit or miss. You get someone who knows that people live outside the United States or people who think as soon as you hit Houston, Texas, you fall off the earth to be seen no more.

After my friend re-sent the package, it arrived in about ten days. The saga was over. My friend and I had a good laugh....but we also were just floored at what had happened. Uh....hello?

Yes, England has taxes that are too high, everything is much too expensive and it is often overcast and gloomy. But England has the Royal Mail and we get packages and post usually in very good time. I am grateful for the Royal Mail and my cheerful postwoman. Besides, even she knows that USA...means "United States." I can't say that for the postal workers in Chile Relleno Gulch, Texas. Someone buy them a map and show them where the UK is....please.

Moon Landing Summer

Forty years ago today, I sat glued to our family black-and-white television set armed with a tiny Brownie movie camera. I was going to film the landing on the moon as it happened ....on the tv set. I had been looking forward to this great event for weeks. Because you see, when I was a kid in grade school, I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything in the world. Never mind that women had never been astronauts. When I was laughed at, I retorted, "Well, the Russians sent Valentina Tereshkova..." and of course, no one in my class knew what the beezus I was talking about. I lived in a tiny town in Texas and no one dreamt of moving more than fifty miles away, much less going to the moon.I became enamoured of the space program through astronomy. One day, in class, we started to read a chapter on the solar system and I was hooked. That Christmas I begged my father for a telescope and he bought me one at Sears. I was probably the only kid, and certainly the only girl in my hometown with a telescope and I remember taking it out on those semi-cold (for Texas) winter holiday nights and fogging up the lenses with my breath.

But I was in love with anything having to do with space. Then, I discovered Willy Ley and Werner Von Braun and the amazing picture books that they put together with artist renditions of what the planets "might" look like. I also read books on UFO's and the possibility of life on other planets. My school hero was Mike Jesurun who was in the sixth grade and a year older than I was. I might have even fancied him a bit. He word button-down Oxford shirts. But more importantly, he had actual model rockets that he launched from his backyard. I was invited to his house to a launch, but my parents wouldn't let me go. "Girls do not go to boy's houses after school if there are no parents there..." my mother insisted. "It doesn't look right." Those were the days. Even the nun patrolling the halls caught Michael and I in a hand-off of a catalogue of rocket models. "What do you think you are doing, you two?" We were caught, red-faced with a dog-eared rocket catalogue. "I was ju-ju-st borrowing a catalogue...from Michael.....sister....he has rockets.....I like rockets...." The nun looked at me (as nuns did in those days) "Likely story!" And she pushed Michael away from me and back to his classroom. I remember feeling as if I had been caught kissing or doing something that was a bit naughty. I was deeply embarrassed. It's amazing how the nuns had such low thoughts of us. I caught sight of Michael as he glanced back at me with this face also mottled in scarlet. I never spoke to him again that spring. I desperately wanted to talk "shop", but alas all that was squelched thanks to the nuns who were out attempting to bottle our hormones. But my friend, Rosario had a party at the end of the school year and I caught sight of Michael across the patio with a group of his friends. I hoped he would ask me to dance. He finally did. I remember he smelled of aftershave, though it didn't look like he had much to shave. He only danced twice once with me and once with Rosario. And since it was her party, I felt honored. We slow-danced to "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells. We might have been in Catholic grade school, but we had some good dance parties.


So, for years I had followed the space program. I had a subscription to "Air Progress" magazine and "Sky and Telescope". I started a club in my class called "The Nasa Future Astronauts and Astronomers" that was the "NFAA Club". I made little badges. I basically recruited anyone who would listen to my spiel. That spring and summer I clipped articles from "Life" magazine and the local newspapers. I knew that M.I.T. trained the best aeronautical engineers. I had tested high for engineering aptitude. My mother told me I was crazy and should just be a teacher. That's how it was in those days. Girls became nurses and teachers. It took an extraordinary parent to push their children into something that was out of the box.

Everywhere there was nothing but talk about walking on the moon. Mrs Stone, my piano teacher saved clippings for me. I was prepared to make my film with my tiny box movie camera that my dad had since the 50's. One day, I went with my mom to the local Ben Franklin, the five and dime and I caught sight of a print of a painting of the Apollo 11 astronauts. I remember praying under my breath, "Please, please, please...don't be too expensive...now..." And I turned the framed print and it was a whopping 99 cents! I was thrilled. I carted my gorgeous "painting" of the three astronauts home and promptly hung it up on my wall. Never mind that it was a cheap print on cardboard with a tacky plastic rococo frame. It was, to me, as valuable as an etching by Rembrandt.


But on the day that the moon landing dawned I found out that my cousins from the ranch were coming to visit. "Can't entertain them, mom,"I declared. "Moon landing...sorry." Of course, my mother protested. So, in the end, I recruited my cousin Harold and my other cousins to hold up a big sign I had made while I filmed it. Harold was a bit artistic and he held the sign up with quite a flourish. It was the title frame: "Apollo 11 Moon Landing."And then we all went in to watch the landing. I filmed the TV and used lighting from some lamps to illuminate the screen.

It was surreal.

My heart was pounding and I remember that I was close to crying. My cousins were just babbling and jumping and dancing and I told them to " hush up....this is REALLY important...." and they did get a bit quieter. I remember my dad being in the room, just as he had been there during the JFK funeral some years before. But my mother was probably in the next room reading a Harlequin Romance. To me, landing on the moon was the most romantic story happening in the world...I couldn't understand why she wasn't interested. It might have been the screaming cousins that kept her away.


Everyone had wondered what Neil Armstrong would say when he stepped on the surface of the moon. "That's one small step for (a) man and one giant leap for mankind." It was perfect. He said the most perfect thing. Of course there was nothing imperfect that Neil Armstrong could do. Did I mention I also had a crush on Neil Armstrong? I did. It was much later as an adult that I ended up in love with another Apollo astronaut, but you'll have to wait for the movie on that one.

I watched the television set way past the time that everyone else wandered out to enjoy the summer evening. I could hear the shrieks of my brothers and cousins playing in the yard. And then eventually, I went outside, too and I looked up into the sky, so amazed that there was someone up there. It was a glorious night, I could hear the cicadas singing. I remember how I felt so tiny, small and inconsequential looking up at that moon hanging like a big silver pie in the widest inky sky in Texas. I was so proud that someone from our country had kept President Kennedy's promise.

I never made it into space...though I keep hoping that Richard Branson might save a ticket for me. I never made it to the moon. But I think that perhaps one day someone carrying my family's DNA will fly, not just to the moon, but perhaps to Mars or even further. And perhaps I will get a chance to talk to them about the day that I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon on a black-and-white TV with my cousin Harold dancing in circles round me. (Yes, he danced.) And maybe, just maybe, another dream will spring wings, but this dream will actually come true. There will be an astronaut in our family one day. That's a promise.

Save A Child...and Lose your Job

(Pictured at the right are Dinner Lady, Carol Hill with little Chloe David and her parents.)


Apparently, telling lies doesn't mean the end of your job in Parliament. At least, that's how it has been here in the last weeks with the free-spending, free-wheeling MPs. They have skulked away red-faced, but they are still drawing their salaries with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. In a way, this is sending a huge message to everyone...if you can get away with it, go for it. It's okay to lie as long as you don't get caught. And if you do get caught, we will just look the other way! Fabulous, isn't it?

Not so for the "regular good folk" in Britain. What happens when you are not a high-flying MP and/or free-wheeling millionaire and do decide to live in integrity? What happens when you decide to stand up and tell the truth and blow the whistle on wrongdoing?

Dinner lady (in America, we would call her a "cafeteria lady") Carol Hill was suspended from her job at a primary school in Colchester, Essex. Why? Mrs. Hill caught sight of little Chloe David, a student at the school who had been tied up and had been whipped with a jumping rope by a group of boys. The seven-year-old girl was tied with eight knots around her wrists and had been beaten on her legs. Mrs Hill quickly marched Chloe and four of the boys that were in the area to the school office and reported what happened to the school authorities. Two of the four boys confessed. The authorities notified Chloe's parents, but they did not give them the details of the assault.

That night, Mrs Hill bumped into the girl's parents at a Beaver Scouts meeting and told the parents how appalled she had been at what had happened to their child. The parents were shocked at learning the extent of the bullying. They were only told that Chloe had been "hurt" at school and were not told what exactly happened. When the parents had tried to get the story out of Chloe, she had refused to talk about it as she was traumatized so they had no idea of what had occurred. The parents, of course, called the school administration to task. Mrs. Hill was not aware that the parents had not been told the full story until that evening. And while she thought she was being a good samaritan, she was soon to find out differently. Mrs Hill was promptly suspended from her position at the school. Yes, that's correct....she was let go because she violated the confidentiality regarding speaking of a student outside school. ( If this rule had been implemented when I was growing up, the school would have been left without employees!) Yes, she told the parents of the young victim about the incident and that was considered "gross misconduct" and possible grounds for dismissal.

This shows the state of affairs in schools today, doesn't it? First of all, the idea that a group of boys can tie up a little girl and flog her on school grounds is heinous. Secondly, what would have happened if Mrs Hill had not happened to come by to rescue the girl? I shudder to think of that. Thirdly, it was obviously more important that the school protect its own rump rather than do the right thing. This wasn't about a violation of student confidentiality, it was simply another way to cover up what was gross negligence on the part of the school officials. The Davids took their child and her younger brother out of the school. What would have happened had Mrs. Hill not seen the incident and informed the parents? That little girl would have been sent back to the school and had to face these boys again.

The interesting bit? The school officials did call the boys and their parents in for a conference, but they never asked the Davids to come in at all. They deliberately downplayed the incident.


Now, Mrs Hill may not only lose her job, but she may lose her Criminal Records Bureau Clearance (required for working with children) and may be prohibited in any job that involves children. She is a devoted Scout leader. It's unjust.

I hope the Davids seek legal counsel. And Mrs Hill may do well to do the same.

Thank you, Mrs Hill....the world needs more women like you.

Miss Independent...Miss Patriotic...Miss Home

I grew up in the 60's...and I went to Catholic school. More than that, I grew up in a totally Hispanic town in Texas. While the Vietnam war raged, our parents were busy attempting to forge their own Hispanic-American dream. We listened to the Beatles and read "Life" magazine and cried when Bobby Kennedy was shot. But the world of protests, LSD and the "Summer of Love" were as far away as Mongolia to us. What we saw of the world outside came to us via Walter Cronkite on the evening news. We sat and ate our TV dinners and saw the real world in black and white.

Our one brush with a famous protest happened when we were about 10 years old. Cesar Chavez was leading a march on behalf of the farmworkers. He was goin to march from our town on the border of Texas to Austin, the state capital, a distance of 450 miles. They assembled at our courthouse which was located next to the Catholic school. We could hear them chanting as we tried to focus on our math problems. We were desperate for morning recess so we could go out and see what was happening. When the bell rang, we all ran out behind the school building and we heard the cries of: "Huelga! Huelga!" (Strike! Strike!) We could see some of the placards and some of the people. The braver boys in our class started to scale the walls to get a better look and would call down to the rest of us who were wearing skirts (school dress code) with reports of what they could see. It was the most excitement we would have that year. The nuns came out and ordered us to get back inside the school. We learned something important that year. We learned the art of peaceful protest. When the nuns would ask us to do things that we objected to, we would start to chant: "Huelga! Huelga!" It never worked, but felt a bit more empowered after we saw Chavez so close to our school.

I remember being very anti-Vietnam war, anti-Nixon. I even campaigned for McGovern. All of us in town were Democrats. Except for one of my friends, I think we all were Democratic. I was a pacifist. I wore a big peace sign medallion and got the first pair of wire-rimmed glasses in my class. I became a hippie at heart, though I was still a cheerleader and president of my class. You couldn't tell by how I dressed, but I was very anti-establishment. I was stunned by incidents like My Lai and Kent State. I watched Nixon resign and was gleeful. I didn't think that what my country was doing in Vietnam and Cambodia was right and I was vocal about it. I was at that point a "liberal". But I realize that even during those years, I was always campaigning and concerned about justice and liberty.

Somehow between adolescence and mature adulthood, something shifted. Nine-eleven happened. George Bush happened. I travelled extensively. I went to Israel and saw how houses were all equipped with "safe rooms" against incoming bombs. I saw the extreme wealth and poverty blocks from each other in China. I learned to build fences in the Australian bush where there was no law at all. Then, England happened. (And not in that order.) I was able to see how people in other countries perceived us. I saw how other people lived. I came to visit England right after 9-11 and the support for Americans was so strong. Everywhere I went, people would tell me how much they supported us in our grief. But then, Bush happened and Iraq happened and our reputation around the world suffered. We were buffoons in the eyes of the world. It was not pretty.

Then, I came to live in England and I was able to see socialism at work. This country is monitored around the clock. I have seen big government first hand and see how it is choking free enterprise. I have seen how socialism has bred not only apathy among the young, but the idea that the government alone has to provide for its people...not with grants to start businesses or with money for education but with hand-outs for everything. It's one thing when a single mother needs food and shelter to provide for her children. But it's quite another to have to pay taxes so that sex offenders can have free housing and food.

I had my own rude awakening with the bureaucracy in the United Kingdom. I applied for my residency here, submitted all the papers and had fulfilled all the requirements. The Home Office (which is the equivalent of the Immigration Service in the US) kept my passport for almost two years. They just were "too busy" to respond to my request. They kept my papers for so long, that they had to ask me again to fill out and send the same papers all over again. It finally took some advocacy by our MP, Lord Michael Ancram to get them to give me my residency and passport. I was unable to travel anywhere in those two years. Back in the States, my mother's house flooded and a dear relative died and I was prohibited from travelling. "If you go...you will have to start the process all over again...." And they meant that I would have to start my residency again. That would mean I would have to come back and stay in the country for another three years and then re-apply after that and wait another..well, as long as they would take. It was sheer and utter madness. It wasn't just the long wait. It was the fact that the government was issuing passports, residency, housing and hand-outs to...suspected terrorists. This was beyond belief. An American woman could not get residency even though she had fulfilled all requirements, but the government was rubber-stamping passports left and right for people who shouted, "Death to Great Britain!" I thought we were Allies. Apparently, not.

Most of all, I have seen how socialism has taken away the ability of a people to have a dream. The cynicism prevalent here has even affected my own visionary ability. I began to realize the full impact of the amazing experiment that a few men and women (yes, there were women) instigated over two hundred years ago in America. The scroll that declared "independence" from England. They declared independence from "taxation without representation" and from the oppressive policies of a country that was out of touch with their subjects. I realized the immense optimism of a group of people who would not give up their dream and were willing to die for it. Living here has infused me with a great respect and admiration for what the founders of the United States forged so very long ago.

As Americans, generally, we are happy when others succeed. What we like to say is: "That's fantastic....one day that will be me, tool!" But here, people are angry when people do well. Or they are cynically jealous. And usually that involves being attacked. Sometimes it's overt. But the worst kind of attack, is the covert one and the Brits are great at that. They smile and tell you how "wonderful" they think you are and then later you find out that they were busy disassembling you as soon as you turned around. This is a harsh country. It is a country that does not allow people to have hope or faith. Both are very outre. Yes, this is my adopted country and I have had the fortune to meet some lovely people here. But I don't enjoy having to censor every word, every action...it doesn't matter what it is...if I speak out candidly, well, I'm so American...if I say nothing...I'm an American snob. If I pay someone a compliment, or give them a gift...they automatically wonder what I want from them. (Egads! I grew up in Texas, where people are actually raised to be polite and generous.) I've decided not to give a damn anymore. I got tired of attempting to be kind to cynics. It doesn't work. What you see is what you get with Americans. Not... what you see is not at all what you will see tomorrow...which is how it is here.

As for politics...I don't want America to be sold out to socialism wrapped up as "it won't work unless the government takes over". I have seen what "government take overs" have done to this once very proud and hard-working island. There are still the glorious old men who fought during the Great Wars to preserve freedom and liberty here. I've met them and talked to them. They inspire me, but they are dying. There are a lot of servicemen and women here who understand the cause of liberty. There are good people here who work hard for a living and are being taxed out of their skins to support the free-wheeling, free-spending of the current government. The voices of dissent are being stilled and hushed up...it's not politically correct to speak out for freedom and for liberty and for love of country here. To pledge any sort of allegiance to Great Britain might offend all the immigrants from the other countries who came here. That is ridiculous.

In America, all of us are immigrants. My grandparents were immigrants. My grandfather moved to America for a better life. I remember meeting a man who was offended when I said to him, "But you are Mexican...you were born there." His eyes flashed and he said sternly: "I am an American now. Never say I am Mexican." Our country has become powerful because immigrants came and made it great by living the dream and being proud to be American first. If you come to Great Britain, live on welfare, get free housing and your education paid for and then preach hate and advocate terrorism...what are you doing here? I believe in the right to protest when governments are mistreating their constituents or when policies are askew. But if you are getting a free ride, isn't that rather like biting off the hand that feeds you? I am sad for this country and how fear has struck at the heart of what is right. If you are living off the goodwill of the country that has had the courtesy to allow you in, you have no right to preach hate and terror against it! I think that's only fair.

The government didn't have any qualms about witholding my passport. I suppose that witholding the passport of an American who reads incessantly and grows exotic African violets would not spark an international incident, right? No one was going to accuse the Home Office of not being politically correct to withold the passport of an American. Oh, didn't I mention that? Americans are the only group that are allowed to be skewered in the media here. It's okay to take potshots at all of us. We are perceived as ignorant, slobby, uneducated and crass. The interesting bit is that I have met more people who fit that description in my sojourn here than in my whole American life back across the pond. Mr Darcy? He is a fictional character Polite society? Not anymore.

Wrong or not, with all its flaws, with all its imperialistic incursions under the guidance of the misguided, I still love my native country. We must preserve the original tenets upon which this country was founded. That is what will keep us strong. We must not be viewed as "war-mongers" or "imperialists" nor should we take that route ever again. But neither can we appear weak and not support countries that are desperately crying out for a democratic voice (like Burma or Iran or Tibet). They look to us as a guiding light, they aspire to have what we have in America. To simply look the other way while they are being massacred in the streets is heinous. When our nation was fighting for its life, the French came to our aid. How can we not help others to secure freedom for themselves? Yes, I understand that it is more "complicated", we live in a "global" maze that doesn't lend itself to just "help someone" like that. Please do not patronize me. It was complicated for France to come to the aid of a few scraggly soldiers who were fighting against England...the superpower of its day. Don't tell me that it cannot be done. It can. It just takes courage. Where is our courage, America? Where is our courage, Great Britain?

No, we cannot invade countries to avenge our father's failure. We cannot fund a country's war on someone else and then turnaround and wage war on the same country we funded, a few years later. That is unethical and immoral. We must return to the integrity of the Founders of our country. That is why the American democracy has withstood throughout the decades.

We don't need to be happy with all the policies of a country to be patriotic. No, we are far from perfect. America has committed grave errors abroad and at home. We must come clean, make reparations and move on. But having lived and visited other countries, no one has what we have in the United States. We were given a constitution that guaranteed us rights. Despite the fact that it is being left by the wayside, the Constitution of the United States is one of the most important documents ever written and ratified. The USA must hold on to its ideals of liberty and freedom. The immigrants who continue to flock to our shores come because they want to share that American dream. We must continue to fight and uphold the cause of freedom, liberty and justice for all. We must continue to uphold our Constitution. It is so important. I live in a country where Big Brother is not some fantasy. It is real. And it is frightening.

On this Fourth of July, I am proud to be American born and a patriot... I wish the same liberty of expression for my adopted country even if they haven't been exactly welcoming. But I still believe that even Great Britain can become "Jerusalem the Golden" once again. It will just take some courage.

Freedom, liberty and justice for all.... is not just for Americans...it is for everyone, everywhere.

She Got Married Today (digressing a bit to the personal)

May every blessing land on your doorstep today and every day of your sweet lives.

As promised, you sailed through Oxford's rigorous degree ...and now its on to your next adventure. So very proud of all that you have done.

I do have to say, though, you grew up much too fast. And as I used to tell you when you were a child: " I love you bigger than the whole universe...."

I always will. Never forget that.

The Eternal Boy Has Flown Away...Forever

It was about midnight in England last night when the news of Michael Jackson's death reached me. I caught the NBC News on Sky TV and was shocked. He slipped into unconsciousness after suffering a heart attack in his home and was taken to the UCLA Medical Center where all attempts to revive him were futile. In the last two decades, his life had been mired in controversy. After having huge hits for so many years, his last album had very poor sales. But the word on the street was that he was ready to bounce back.

He had been rehearsing to make his great "comeback" with a tour that was to start in London. He had been working out with Lou Ferrigno (of "Incredible Hulk" fame) and wanted desperately to put on the best show possible. For Jackson, it was always about his loyal fans. He wanted to please them and he was determined to do so. I am sure that part of his commitment to having a successful tour was financial. He had been hit hard with debt and lost his Neverland Ranch in the process . The ticket sales in London were through the roof and all signs pointed that it was very possible that he would have accomplished his goal of restoring his career. Or maybe not. Rumours were circulating that he had missed several rehearsals and that it was taking a cocktail of pills to get him out of bed and on to the stage. He appeared frail and weak. He had signed up to do fifty performances in London and those around him wondered if he could manage one.

It was through "The Jackson Five" that I first heard Michael Jackson sing. Like a lot of girls my age, I had a transistor radio (aqua colored) permanently attached to my ear in the late 60's and early 70's. In junior high, any time that a Jackson Five song was played at our school dances we crowded the floor. At birthday parties, on warm summer evenings under the Texas stars, we would rock out on someone's patio to "I Want You Back" and slow danced to "I'll Be There." Jackson was cute and he was talented and we read all about him in our favorite "16 Magazine". (He was, after all, our age.)

But it was after he came out from under his father and brothers' shadow in the 1980's that he emerged in full force to become a brilliant entertainer...composing song after song that were international hits and eventually classics.His choreography was unparalleled. His moves were imitated the world over. His "Thriller" album released in 1982, won multiple Grammys and is considered one of the best albums of all time.

He continued his successful career through the years but his private life was a soap opera. He surrounded himself with children and lived like "Peter Pan". In 1993, he was accused of child molestation and was acquitted and continued to grind out hits. He impetuously married Lisa Marie Presley (daughter of Elvis) and the marriage fizzled out after a year and a half. Two years after that, he married a dental assistant named Debbie Rowe under reports that he had "contracted" her to have his children. He had two children with her and then divorced her and fathered a third child with a surrogate.

However, even with this lifestyle that was far from ordinary, I remember meeting a young aboriginal woman from Australia who had benefited from one of Jackson's youth programs. She had met him personally and her face took on a great reverence and hushed tones when speaking about him. Yes, with all his eccentricities and the unanswered questions about his personal life, he worked tirelessly for children's causes. And to this student, and millions around the world, he was not just a pop star, he was an icon.

In 2007, he went on trial once again accused of sexual abuse with a minor and while he was acquitted of the charges, the circus of a trial took its toll on him. Michael became an exile, hopping about the world where he could find some privacy and some solace. Despite a jury finding him innocent, the charges that he was a "paedophile" continued to haunt him until the very end.

In a television interview tonight, Uri Geller told a very odd story. He kept saying that he and Michael often had "rows". The interviewer kept saying "About what?" And Uri kept saying, "You know...about the stuff the media reported...." And the interviewer kept pressing, but Uri was not forthcoming. Apparently, Uri was not pleased with the compromising situations that Jackson put himself in. He then said that once, Michael asked him to hypnotize him. (Geller is a hypnotist). Under hypnosis, Geller said, "I did something that was unethical.." (as Jackson had not asked him to do this). Under hypnosis Geller pressed for an answer. " I asked him, Michael did you ever touch any of those children inappropriately? And he said, 'No, I would never do that...'" And Geller said that it was then he realized that Jackson was innocent. None of us will ever know the real truth.

Jackson was weirdness, strangeness, a puer aeternus (eternal boy) who chose to live life in an insular world that he created to protect himself. He populated it with children and toys and monkeys and everything that reminded him of his lost childhood. It was a childhood that was stolen from him to front the family business. He was the money machine of the Jackson family. But he was also warm, kind-hearted and a practical joker. He had a good sense of humor. As an adult, he was hunted everywhere he went. He was adored and vilified. He became bigger than life and eventually life began to be too big for him.

No matter what one thinks of him personally, he will always be known as one of the greatest legends in music. I grew up with his music, my daughter grew up on his music. He continually re-invented himself. He won't have to anymore. Could we have thought of him growing old, sitting on a verandah in a rocking chair? No. He left us as an eternal man-boy. In the end, I think he died (literally) of a broken heart. But in Neverland, hearts are mended and boys live forever. And in Neverland, finally, Jackson is now at peace.

Why Didn't Someone Ask A Woman Where He Was?

Today, Governor Mark Sanford joined that other Carolingian politico of the North, John Edwards in confessing to having an extramarital affair. I was not at all surprised.

When I first heard the news that Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina had "disappeared" and left his office over the weekend, I knew that he had not gone camping as reported. I knew that it was another woman. Why? We women just "know". Especially those of us who have been betrayed through infidelity. And that's probably most women unfortunately.

We grow radar antennae on our heads. We have a sixth sense. We learn the "doublespeak". Men think that because we don't say anything after another one of their convuluted stories (i.e. lies) that they fooled us. They don't fool us. A lot of us just stop caring anymore. We go on emotional overload and we turn off the "feeling button". If you ever see a woman who seems to dismiss her husband/boyfriend or appear standoffish at gatherings when he is "so charming", it's probably because he is not what he seems to be. He has probably caused her a lot of pain that no one else ever sees. That's how this sort of man operates. He needs for the world to think he is a great guy. And most women support the lie. They do it because by the time they are caught in the web, it's usually too late to back out.

The mistress doesn't see the bad bits, do they? The way they pick their nose. Or chew their food with their mouth open. Or the way they ball up their underwear and hide them under the bed until they harden into white abstract sculptures Or how the nights of passion become the nights of "The Two Ronnies". That comes after the honeymoon, you see.

Apparently, Sanford's wife has known about this affair for five months and she told him to "take a hike" and so he did. He chose to go AWOL on Father's Day weekend. Left his children to be with his paramour. But he didn't go to the Appalachians, he left for Argentina. Imagine that? Going all the way to Argentina for a weekend. Most women can't get their husbands to take them to Motel 6 for a night. Even if it is just a mile away on the motorway at Exit 7.

Mr Sanford, you just threw your political life and your family life into the disposal for your last tango in Buenos Aires. And if the people of South Carolina paid for your trip, your girlfriend better be Eva Peron...resurrected from the dead. Anything less than a phenomenon like that would not have been worth the price you just paid.

The Fight for Freedom in Iran Now Has a Face

As Obama still does not take a firm stand on the Iranian situation, blood is running in the streets of Tehran. Protesters are clashing with police and brutal beatings and arrests are taking place. Some journalists are being carted away and many students who have been using Facebook and YouTube to chronicle and send images abroad are also being arrested and tortured.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Nobel Prize winner spoke from Israel in support of the protesters."The women of Iran are very courageous...they are fighting for equality..." He is right, the women of Iran are out in the streets fighting for freedom alongside the men. Gone is the face of the old revolution, the middle-aged bearded cleric. The face of the Iranian revolution may well be remembered as young and beautiful and the face now has a name: Neda.

Neda Agha Soltan was a beautiful 27 year old young woman who was a philosophy student and she was gunned down by a single sniper bullet as she walked along a side street. Her dying moments have been captured on a video, covered in blood with her eyes wide open. It was a harrowing image.

A commentator on the evening news and said glibly that he felt this would be "just another Tiananmen Square". I don't agree. This is the first revolution that is being brought to you by YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Despite the efforts of the Iranian Guard to squelch the instant transmission of images, and the arrest of some of the students who are generating these images, there are more...and more....and more...it is like someone trying to put their finger in the dyke to stop a leak. Another one appears and then another. This may well become the grassroots revolution that was won, not with sophisticated ammunition, but with cell phones and uploading. The Iranians are passionate and they pride themselves on their own individuality and this is quite in contrast to the Chinese who have learned to subjugate their own individuality for the state. This is why this will not be another Tiananmen Square.

Yes, the face of the Iranian revolution is a young and beautiful woman....and she looks like she could be our sister, our daughter, our friend.

And today, sadly, it feels like she is.

Obama---Please Speak Out, Sir!

In an overwhelming vote of 405 to 1, the United States Congress yesterday voted to condemn the crackdown on the actions of protesters in Iran. They took to the streets in droves to object an election result that most certainly was "rigged". They have been met with brute force from police. Some have been beaten and some have been killed. Even the brave Iranian women are being struck and left bleeding by the police.

In a speech delivered today, the Ayatollah stated that the results were accurate and that the margin was "too wide" for foul play. This remark was met with peals of laughter. Then he began to weep about the protesters which of course, served to inflame the hard-liners to go after them with more fervor. At the end of his speech, the shouts of "Death to America, death to America..." were heard quite loudly, although the Ayatollah had decided in this speech that it was Britain that was the greatest infidel of the day. Apparently, the followers listening to the Ayatollah's speech didn't think that "Death to Britain" sounded as catchy.

This is a very important time in the history of Iran. There is a window of opportunity to bring peace and freedom of choice to a country that has had its culture suppressed, and its arts, its education and its women oppressed. Once again (as I stated in an earlier blog) the issue is not with the people of Iran, it is with the radical Muslim clerics who continue to keep this country in the dark ages. It is a violation of basic human rights.

The age of information has arrived in Iran and the Iranians, especially its youth are very aware of what goes on in the outside world through the internet. They want change. They are hungry for freedom. It is obvious in the 80 percent of voters that turned out in record numbers. The clerics who came to power in the late 1970's never had to contend with Google or YouTube or Twitter. It is becoming the greatest tool for freedom and democracy at the moment. The Iranian people are demanding to be heard.

I understand that Obama does not want to appear hawkish like George Bush with his right-wing interventionist policies. I also didn't think we needed to go into Iraq. But now, because of that action, Obama is being quiet at a time when a country in turmoil desperately needs us to stand up and say "We are with you in your struggle". If Obama wants our country to go forward and start anew, then we must act with integrity in international matters, that's true. But there is nothing that says we cannot at least, vocally support what is going on with the protesters in Iran. Ronald Reagan lent support to the Polish Solidarity workers who were fighting for their freedom without arming anyone. And did he not give that impassioned speech in Germany that called to "tear down this wall"? He reminded the world that America was still a country that stood for freedom for all. Reagan held fast to the American ideal and lent support to the cause of liberty in these cases. Reagan was not a saint, but when he spoke, the world did listen. Obama is gifted with the same charismatic presence as the former President and to hear from him at this time would certainly bring hope to the protesters and let the Iranian government know that we are are not supportive of their violence against their own people. We are, at the moment, appearing too soft.

Obama's greatest gift is his eloquence. And yet, he is saying nothing of great significance, nothing to tell the Iranian people "we understand your struggle and we care".

The President's only comment as of today was: "the world is watching Iran."

That's nice, sir. Lots of people are "watching Iran", but no one with the power and the potential to fuel a movement for freedom as you. The United States was founded on the same principles (the right to assemble, the right to protest, the right for freedom of expression and freedom of governance) that the Iraninan people are fighting for now. Believe it or not, the young and educated in Iran, those that are busy studying at Tehran University are being taught with books that were printed in America. They are young and brilliant students who have a desire to move Iran back into the 21st century. Not to support them, even just vocally, would be an international travesty. In these young people is the hope for a peaceful Middle East and the end of the great aggressive push from the hard-liners to demolish Israel.

We need to pick our battles and this one is one that does not need arming with weapons. The people of Iran need us to arm them with words of encouragement because the light of freedom in Iran will surely be snuffed out if we don't. You cannot ignore all the information that is being smuggled out of Iran at this moment. The YouTube videos, the cell phone shots, the blogs. You cannot ignore the violence that is being inflicted on the young students and the women who are being beaten as they make a stand for freedom.

Mousavi was one of the people present when the Ayatollah Khomeini came into power almost three decades ago. He was a supporter of the new regime that deposed the Shah. And he now knows that the Iranians were betrayed. He knows that they have to move into the 21st century to continue as a player in world politics. Let's be honest, he will not push for democracy, because he still is someone who is not liberal to that extent, but he may well be our only hope for a dialogue that may bring about the bridge that is needed to cooperate with the West.

In his book, The Audacity of Hope, Obama wrote : ‘We can inspire and invite other people to assert their freedoms...we can speak out on behalf of local leaders whose rights are violated; and we can apply economic and diplomatic pressure to those who repeatedly violate the rights of their own people." It's time for the President to put that into practice. It is time to support the "audacious hope" of the Iranian protesters who deserve to be heard and deserve their basic human rights.

Yes, Mr. President, the world may indeed be "watching Iran" as you said. But guess what, sir, the people of Iran, those fighting for their freedom and equality and all the world is more intently watching and waiting to hear from you.

Tony Blair for President? Heaven Help the E.U.

About a year ago, George Noory (who happens to host one of my favorite radio shows, Coast to Coast AM) was having dinner at a posh L.A. eatery. He was sitting by a window with an acquaintance and saw a line of cars pull up and the doors opened and out came a large group of security officers who then walked in to quickly inspect the area. They then signalled to a limousine that then stationed itself on the curb. George thought, "Wonder who needs all that security....must be someone really important...." And out of the long stretch limo popped Tony Blair. And that was after he stepped down from being Prime Minister. British tax dollars must have been paying for his entourage. An entourage that apparently was not needed as no one even looked up from their tiny goat's cheese and arugula salads. It was just another day and another limo to the regular crowd. No fuss? No popping lightbulbs? How disappointed he must have been. Imagine that...Tony....L.A....security guards....Tony does Hollywood. But apparently, Tony has set his sights much higher. Tony wants to be the next President of the European Union. If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by the 27 countries needed, this position of President of the European Union will certainly be established. And the grapevine is buzzing that Tony wants this badly.

Tony Blair's comet streaked across the politcal arena in the mid-1990's. He was fresh, he was new, he was young and he was popular. He was also charismatic. He was poised to be the hip Prime Minister. He was ushered in on a tidal wave of a desire for a big "change" from the previous administration that had been marred with sexual scandals, tremendous infighting within the Conservative Party due to the infamous "Maastricht Rebellion" and a Europe that was dealing with the deep implications of the end of the cold war. He gave speeches that actually were delivered with a bit of passion. He was going to make Britannia ever so cool after the stuffy years of the bickering Conservatives. He was the Prime Minister who was there, center stage, when Princess Diana died and the world waited to hear anything from the Royals. In an emotional tribute, he called her "The People's Princess" and even let a bit of a tear glisten in his eye.It was probably this bit of international television exposure that helped to propel his shooting star even higher. But again as it is in British politics, the higher you go...the harder you fall.

Blair came into power riding on his glibness, his ability to woo the crowds with his dazzling smile. The people of Britain wanted youth and vitality after the moderate and plodding John Major who was actually a very decent man but often implemented programs that were not popular with the public (like privatisation of British Rail). So, the Labour Party or "New Labour" with Tony at the helm took matters in hand and soundly defeated the Conservatives by the largest margin since 1832. It was a great victory, the Brits were jubilant and they were experiencing an upward turn economically, too. But after a while the shine started to come off the sterling silver.

By the end of Tony's occupancy of 10 Downing, he left with a record of being incredibly so self-absorbed and slippery that one never knew exactly what his stand was on anything. He was so overcome with the power of his position that like Narcissus he fell in love with his own reflection in the political pool. He spent money like it was water, both on himself and by taxing and spending. His wife, Cherie was often vilified by the press for her often distasteful displays of extravagance. Blair made some bad choices at times attracting dodgy men and even dodgier deals. Basically, Tony was madly in love with....Tony. One of the greatest mistakes he made in the eyes of the British people was how he sold out to Bush and the American government in sponsoring the war in Iraq. When it was obvious that there were not weapons of mass destruction, the public felt even more betrayed. But some say that it was more important to Tony to place his weekend duffel bag in the Lincoln bedroom than to do the thing that would have taken some real guts and that would have been to say "no" to Bush and his "Hamlet"-like obsession with Hussein.

We all know that secretly Tony wanted to be the President of America. It's a great job with fantastic perks. The problem was that Blair wasn't born in the United States. So, being President of the European Union is the next best thing. The rumor is that the Conservative party is secretly backing him simply because the idea of having a Brit as President of the E.U. is better than having...say...a Frenchman. He reckons he is a shoo-in.

Not so fast, Tony.

The point is Tony's fantasy needs to stay exactly that. There should and hopefully will not be a President of Europe. The Lisbon Treaty should not be ratified. Mr Cameron has promised to call a referendum if he is elected. (Let's hope he remembers his promise---unlike Mr Brown.) When this happens, it will lead to a vote against the treaty and the position of President will be a moot point. But of late, Mr Cameron has not been as vocal in his expression of his opposition to the European Union. Perhaps he recognizes that even the Tories cannot stop the tide and since he has built a lot of his popularity on this stance, it would not be politically savvy to simply say, "Hey, guys, I don't think we will be able to overturn the treaty...if it is ratified... and I don't think I can deliver..." Nothing is clear at this point and Mr Cameron needs to re-state his stand and the stand of his party on this important issue. Now, of course, Mr Cameron's position as the favourite for the next Prime Minister is a bit shaky with the recent and surprising showing of the Liberal Democrats. I think that Mr Cameron will have to do some strategizing to keep ahead of the encroaching pack.

The most interesting thing that Mr Blair did was to convert to Roman Catholicism soon after he left office. It doesn't hurt to have a Pope on your "Facebook" page if you are going to head a European Union.

Tony reminds me of the loud geeks in the back of the class who always knew the answers and waved their hands wildly shouting , "Me, me, me, me....I know, I know, I know!" It was always touched with a bit of desperation to be recognized and acknowledged. Most of all, this desperate need was embarrassing to witness. It was always the quieter geeks that ended up...well dating me... and heading Microsoft. Tony is not a quiet geek.

Tony's theme song, if he had one? "I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls...with some lyric adjustments:

"I am telling you, I'm not going...I'm the best man that you'll ever know...there's no way I can ever go...I'm not living without me...I'm gonna love me..."

Tony may well want to be President of the European Union. And since he is a bit chummy with the Tories, they may well quietly agree to support him in his bid. It is serendipitous, however, that he converted to Catholicism as he may well have to spend a lot of time praying novenas to St Jude...the patron of lost and hopeless cases.

Someone....anyone...please...off with this head!

One the most disturbing things I saw when I first moved to my community was that outside the "modernist" library (yes, next to a very traditional High Street) was a sculpture of a large severed head. This is the sort of unconsciousness that I see over and over today. Think about it: In a community that is already troubled by gangs and youth violence and apathetic students, the council forks out £40,000 to pay for a severed head made of steel to be parked permanently almost at its library entrance. iQuelle horreur!

In Feng Shui, the Chinese art of placement, one would say that putting a severed head in front of a library signifies that knowledge leads to certain death...through beheading. Weren't the wives of Henry the VIII avid readers? What else did they have to do in the Tower of London while waiting their fate?

The sculpture is a bit grotesque. The head sits on its side poised as if a small wind would take it on down the street. It is opened on one side. One of the eyes was hollow and opened, until someone complained that children were getting cut on it and it had to be filled in. The kids would crawl inside and play in it. (Wouldn't playground equipment been a bit better investment?) It's quite well-crafted and I'm sure that the Muses inspired the artist (whom I will not name) to create this body-less wonder on some dark and stormy night. I think the Muses had had a bit of a tipple though. Maybe they meant "Socratic head" not severed head--- and they slurred a bit? I was thinking of the famous "Winged Victory" at the Louvre and how, poor dear, even without a head, she still looks triumphant and inspiring. (Maybe we could get these two together? She would have a man-head and he would have a winged body? I would just hope that he would decide to move to Paris and leave town permanently.)

Unfortunately, this gleaming head sitting in such a prominent spot in the town serves more to subconsciously remind the town that it is fraught with problems and that perhaps it, too, has lost its head. That basically it's glory days are over and done. Art is meant to inspire and uplift the human spirit. And in a town that needs that it in spades, this was incredibly inappropriate and a waste of money. The only other sculpture in the town is......well....pigs. The pigs, however, look happy. And this used to be a large pork processing town in its more lucrative heyday. In Celtic lore, the pig is a symbol of abundance and this town needs more of that. Even a large statue of a gigantic pig would have been more aesthetically pleasing and less of a downer. What can be more depressing on a cold winter's day than seeing kids crawl out of a severed head? Seeing a kid stuck in a severed head, I suppose.

The irony is that the artist still has yet to be fully paid for his services. The head has been there for years. Maybe even the council is still wondering if the expense was worth it. I would have rather seen the money spent on a youth center or for more books for the library. That would have made a huge difference.

With all the things that get stolen in this town, with all the burglaries... why hasn't anyone walked away with that horrid head?


Apparently, even the burglars have good taste.

Traditional Prince Battling Modernists....Still

I make no bones about the fact that I abhorred the treatment that the Princess of Wales received when she was married to the Prince of Wales. His clandestine affair not only scarred the Princess, but its consequences ripped the House of Windsor wide open. The secrets and lies told to a young woman who had been raised on Barbara Cartland novels and expected her own happy ending was ever so orchestrated. Why he did not have the fortitude to simply get off his duff and ask Camilla Rosemary Shand to marry him at the outset was a bit cavalier and some say, cowardly. Unfortunately, a lot of British men (and most Australian men) are stuck in adolescence when it comes to relationships and treating women with respect. British women deserve better. No wonder they are trawling the internet to find American men. But that is for a different blog entry entirely. On to the subject at hand...

I am absolutely in the Prince's corner when it comes to the way he supports and champions British-made goods, his quest for buying locally and his love for organic farming. He has tirelessly worked for these causes. He has also stood firm in his desire to preserve, protect and restore the architecture of this big island. His address to the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) many years ago sparked controversy as he lambasted them for not respecting the traditional buildings calling the modernist addition to the National Gallery a "monstrous carbuncle". This candid, impassioned speech rattled many a Corbusier chair. It was so upsetting to the RIBA that they did not ask him back to speak...well, until this year, that is. And he was still adamant about his views on architecture. I applaud his unyielding stance.

Today, I received my 1913 catalogue of American arts and crafts homes. The catalogue is a reprint of home design in 1913. They don't make them like that anymore. I am an ardent fan of early 20th century American architecture and residential homes in particular. The arts and crafts movement was based on honoring the hand-made rather than the mass-produced. On a visit to my hometown a few months ago, I was appalled to see the condition of old homes that had been left to deteriorate in favor of the sprawling suburbs of "McMansions" that are dotting the landscape and blighting the countryside. Meanwhile, the rich architecture of the old flourishing neighborhoods are being cut up into flats or simply bulldozed for the "new" and not always attractive. History is being lost in America thorough its quest for the bigger, the better, the sleeker. And so it is here in Britain.

So, in today's newspaper, I thought it was serendipitous that one of the lead stories was about Prince Charles' opposition to the massive glass and chrome Chelsea Barracks project that Lord Rogers is keen to add to his portfolio of sleek, modern buildings. The proposed 3 billion dollar project was going to be put smack in the center in a neighborhood of traditional houses. Understandably, the Prince was not pleased.

The Prince of Wales penned a letter expressing his opposition to Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al Thani, a notable in the Qatari royal family who is bankrolling the project. Apparently, the Prince's plea was heard as the Qataris pulled the plug, sacked Lord Rogers and decided to go with another plan. To say that Rogers was incensed is an understatement.
Lord Rogers has now come forward and demanded a public inquiry into the constitutional rights of the Prince of Wales to interfere in the project. He went on to say that the Prince was not a "man of the people" but only a man of the "rich people."

Rogers seemed to have forgotten that he, too, had done something similar in writing an e-mail to then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to coax him into denying the addition to the Royal Infirmary in Chelsea that had been designed by his rival, Quinlan Terry. Rogers wanted "modern" saying that Quinlan's designs were plagiarizing Wren's. (Is it plagiarizing when one wants to integrate a new addition seamlessly into the original? I think not.)

It's basically an amusing argument as Lord Rogers is a multi-millionaire whose Chelsea Barracks project would contain flats that would be priced at £10 million pounds and up. His "affordable housing" was to be separated by parkland from his large carbuncle of glass and steel. Council flats for the "people" he was not designing.His building was to go right up next to the timeless design of Sir Christopher Wren's lovely Royal Hospital. This would compromise the aesthetics of the neighborhood entirely.

Rogers has little use for traditional building and the preservation of the old. In his own home, he apparently gutted two Georgian homes of all their hand-crafted interiors, cut through the ceilings and opened up the space to serve his stainless steel and minimalist taste.

Britain is dotted with "modernist" buildings that are supposed to indicate "progress". You see these in the hundreds of council estates made up of little boxes side by side by side. They are ugly and tend to want to homogenize people so that they are crammed like sardines into small spaces. One wonders if this is what has contributed to the sense of apathy and crime in these areas. They are absolutely soulless enclosures. They are reminiscent of the towerblocks of the Eastern bloc socialists. But they are found everywhere in Britain. Cheap to construct, they are just boxes on boxes with windows looking out on more concrete. Rudolf Steiner , a metaphysician in the early 20th century talked about how nothing in nature is angular. All of nature is curved and that when we surround ourselves with to many rigid angles, our very essence is not able to function to its highest intent. If we think of Chartres or any cathedral built so that its ceilings could help us to aspire heavenward, then we can understand the true meaning of glorious, soul-nourishing architecture.

More than that, all the modernists have had their way in most towns and planning commissions in Britain. Square glass and steel blocks have been erected in even the smallest towns with no respect for the local architecture or landscape. It is quite jarring to see a big glass curved monster next to a 12th century cathedral. Granted, it is cheaper to build a block with glass than to build something that is more imaginative and integral to the landscape. But not always. Many times, these glass and steel enclosures are just as, if not more expensive. Unfortunately, sometimes the clueless councils are swayed by their own lack of knowledge and desire to "keep up appearances" . Some architect who has been trained at the Fa-fa-fa School of the Lofty La-la-la brings his even loftier and strange concept to show to a town council. The well-meaning council (who is too intimidated to show that it is clueless about architecture) is bowled over and the next thing you know...some horrid structure that is supposed to be "art" is now looming over the 16th century coaching inn in the town square. "But it is so....incredibly expensive and Mr Ba-Ba-Ba of the Fa-Fa-Fa School said it was exactly what a town like ours needed...." Oh, rah-rah-rah to the Fa-Fa-Fa...and their Le-Le-Lemming followers! And another blight of a building is left to fester in a once lovely town.

The Prince, alas, seems to be one of the only voices in Britain who is speaking out against the bastardization of the city via "modernist" architecture. He is called "loony" and "crazy" and every name in the book for his outspoken views. But, honestly, he is speaking for a lot of people who do care about the historical importance of the neighborhood where neighbors were indeed neighborly and not packed into huge square boxes. He is speaking for the design of buildings that do not take away from the rich architecture of our ancient cities. He is speaking for the British people who still take pride in their heritage. And most of all, he is speaking for the future of Great Britain.

The idea that he has no right to voice his opinion and more than that, champion his opinions, especially when they are clearly for the betterment of the country is absurd and the attacks on him are really mean-spirited. Is he supposed to be silent? Now that would be unconstitutional and more than that, unconscionable. He is, quite possibly, going to be the next King of England. Wouldn't a good king care about the welfare of his subjects and the future of his country?
Our recent Prime Ministers haven't given a whit about preserving the nation's gifts and heritage. If not Prince Charles, then who?

His personal life has certainly not been sterling, but his quest for the preservation and protection of this great land is to be commended. He is up against some vociferous idiots. He deserves our full support on this one.

Standing for Sovreignty: The Awakening of Iran

I am writing this as I watch the Iranian people protesting the results of the recent election that (allegedly) put Ahmadinejad back in power. I am filled with sadness because the people of Iran are being beaten severely in the streets for coming forward and questioning the results of this corrupt and abominable election. Journalists are being ordered out of Iran. Reporters from Nippon TV in Japan were taken away and beaten. Canadian journalist, George McLeod was also beaten by police as he was covering the riots for the Toronto Globe and Mail. The police are stealing reporter's cameras and taking people's tapes. The protesters are covering all the action on their cell phones and broadcasting it all over the world. There are rumors that Mousavi, the man who ran against Ahmadinejad is now being held under house arrest.

Did any of us think the results of the recent Iranian elections would be any different? We knew who was in charge. Let's be honest, Mousavi was also part of the "in-house" guard. But we had a glimmer of hope that perhaps...just perhaps...democracy might be able to make some inroad and that the true voice of the Iranian people, not its government would be heard. Mousavi ran on a platform that promised more dialogue with the West. In truth, Mousavi was not going to be the Persian Obama. He was not a liberal in any sense of the word. But compared to Ahmadinejad who was a hard-liner in the pockets of the mullahs, Mousavi was a welcome change.

Like many in the West, I watched in horror as the results were tallied in an unheard of two hours to declare Ahmadinejad the winner. Not even in America, where we have access to voting machines and thousands of people manning the polls could we count that fast. These were paper ballots folks. We would still be counting paper ballots from the Obama/McCain election today if we had used that system of voting. Two hours?

Ahmadinejad spent millions of dollars on his campaign distributing food and clothing to constituents in the outlying areas of Iran in a ploy to buy their votes. There is nothing more willing than an empty stomach to convince anyone which candidate to support. He had a "potato campaign" sending potatoes and other goods to villagers. When you live in a country that is devoid of democratic rights, you are not necessarily quick to vote your conscience as you don't know for sure who is watching you. Keeping secrets is hard to do in a totalitarian state. Ahmedinajad is simply a puppet of the religious right. That is well known. This man who calls himself "The People's Friend" apparently knows how to call in his "friends" when he needs them.

It is so important to note that it is the Iranian government and its religious fascists that spew the hatred against the West and the United States and Israel in particular. Most Iranians have a different view, though they are forced to keep their views silent. But cracks are appearing in the great revolution that Khomeini championed. Iranians now know that they were duped. They were cut-off entirely from the "infidels in the West" and thrown back into the medieval ages. Literature, arts and freedom of speech were summarily censored. Women are forced to wear veils. What was to have been a "great revolution for the people" by deposing the Shah has become a dragon that is eating the soul of its own once vibrant culture.

Women especially are being oppressed and they fighting openly for their self-expression. The women in Iran are desperate for change and turned out in droves to vote for the opposition candidate who had his wife campaigning for him. The Iranian students, internet-savvy and educated do not want war with any country. They just want to be free to live and have sovereignty over their own lives. One Iranian university student talked about how three of his friends had been expelled from Tehran University for speaking out against Ahmadinejad. “For students, the campuses are not free – we want a new government that lets us speak our minds."

A lot of Americans (and the West in general) don't know about Iran or the illustrious Persian Empire as it was known in antiquity. It was a highly advanced civilization that respected the lands it conquered and for example, under Cyrus (Kourosh) the Great was known for its human rights, humane legal system and even more surprisingly the education of women. Ironically, it was one of the few ancient civilizations that allowed the Jews to live peacefully among them. All of its past, its glory and its contributions to the world have been overshadowed and even been stamped out through the egregious workings of its religious right. It is one damned shame.

An Iranian female comedian on the BBC last week said that the Iranians were all "voting for the OTHER guy..." they don't even know his name, she joked, but they don't want Ahmadinejad.

I look at the scenes in Tehran and it saddens me and it angers me. But in a curious way, it also fills me with restrained hope. I still hope that the Iranian people (and especially its women) will fight for their rights...their right to choose their leaders, their right to free speech, their right to express themselves, to assemble, to be free. I believe that if this were to happen, the United States would find in Iran a great and powerful ally...one that could stand next to Israel and not against it and work for peace.

War with Iran would be a great tragedy. It will be the undoing of the West. This is not an ignorant third world nation by any means. This is a cultured, clever and fearless nation. And anyone who thinks other than that does not understand history and the culture of this nation.

No, let us not fool ourselves, it was obvious that the same old guard would have been in power no matter who would have won this Iranian election. The election was rigged in a great ploy by Ahmadinejad and his overlords to "pretend" that the people had a choice. What even this very bogus election has done, however, is to infuse the Iranians with the idea of reclaiming their voices in an electorate. Ahmadinejad may in the end have opened up a Pandora's box that will no longer stay closed.

We need to stand in prayer and support...not for the Iranian rulers....but for its people who are courageously fighting for their sovereignty after decades of clerical rule which has plunged them into the dark ages. They deserve to be heard.

The Crucifixion of Susan Boyle

There is something very disconcerting, nay, alarming about the British love/hate relationship with celebrity. It is found in the way they systematically raise individuals to the point of blind adoration and in the next breath, they gleefully begin the process of destroying them. Is "destroy" too harsh a word? Actually, no. I've seen it too many times while I have been here. In America, we cheer for the underdog and then applaud when they win and keep supporting their victory. If they happen to screw up, we are still there for them (unless of course, the object of our adoration turns out to be a sleazy politician or someone accused of a heinous crime. We don't like to be fooled.) Think about Britney. The American public was there when she stripped to dance semi-naked with a boa constrictor to lay her "All-American girl" persona to rest once and for all. They were with her when she ran off with a guy that was a train wreck waiting to happen. Everyone knew she was in for trouble, but she became even more of a celebrity topping the hit lists on "Google". They watched her get wheeled off to a hospital a few times and then supported her even when she shaved her head and was pounding vehicles with umbrellas. Now she is again playing to sold out houses, and not even singing (she is miming). And America is still cheering Britney. It is the myth of life: success, temptation, selling the soul to the devil, death of the soul and resurrection. Americans love a good mythological journey.

The American public is extremely loyal when they decide to support a celeb. (Have you ever seen the Barry Manilow followers?) Americans don't judge as harshly as the Brits do, mostly because we know how one day, that could be us...well, maybe not pounding cars with umbrellas, but we all have relatives who have gone off the rails at times. Americans aren't that quick to throw stones when they know they live in glass houses. We are, alas, a nation of optimists always wanting to believe the best in someone. Hence, the popularity of Oprah Winfrey. That's her philosophy. That's quintessentially American.

Not so for the Brits. "Famous? Think you are such a "big shot"?" they jeer. And the game is on to find the trashiest bits about you. They will talk to some old boyfriend you snogged in the back of a Ford Fairlane in 1980. Some guy that you can't even remember and someone you wanted to forget. For a bit of money, the papparazzi on Fleet Street can coax all sorts of tawdry information out of seeming strangers. It is a huge industry. It sells newspapers.

So it was for Susan Boyle who was skyrocketed out of seeming obscurity through "Britain's Got Talent, " which showcases the talented, not-so-talented and sometimes downright vulgar Brits who desperately want their three minutes of fame. No sooner had Susan Boyle been touted as the "Scottish spinster" who "took the world by storm" with zillions of YouTube downloads ( that even had Demi Moore's "Twitter" in a twist) that she was quickly trashed by the British public led by the attack dogs of the British papparazzi. She was dubbed "The Hairy Angel" simply because she didn't have her eyebrows done by Anastasia. Part of the only charm of the show had been to find talent where none was to be expected and certainly this spinster in her 1972 bridesmaid's dress and her sensible orthopedic shoes ticked all the right boxes. She couldn't have been a better draw for a show if she had been Judy Garland in an "Andy Hardy" movie. Simon Cowell (the producer of the show) must have been in heaven when he saw how the whole world was enchanted with this mega-talent that came out of nowhere. He could not have written a better script. It's what the show is about...or so they say.

We know the story. Susan was chased and goaded by the papparazzi and struck out by using a few expletives and soon she was imploding running and ranting in the halls backstage. All the negative attention was too much. She threatened to leave the show. Piers Morgan (who is not the most compassionate man on the block) in an uncharacteristic gesture defended her and convinced her to stay. She made it to the finals where she gave a riveting performance though she looked as if she had been slipped a few Valiums to keep her in line. The ebullient, cheeky woman of the auditions was gone. Her face was drawn. Eventually, she came in second to a street dancing group called "Diversity". They were equally as talented, yes, but it was like comparing apples and oranges. After her defeat, which she seemed to take graciously (even though she was criticized for dancing and showing a bit of leg) she was whisked off to the Priory which is a place for celebrities to "recover". She will have to get well soon, as Cowell and his gang are taking the circus on the road soon.

Allegations were made yesterday in the papers by past winners and losers of the different shows under the Cowell umbrella. They alleged that they were often coaxed by producers to "cry on cue" and to dig up the most horrendous story possible about their family. One contestant who had lost her father a year before was ordered to go to her father's grave to be filmed. When she said she could not do that, they screamed at her and ordered her to do so, "You want to win don't you?" was the sort of scare spin they used. It's all a big money game and the producers want to make sure that they have a show that will rival none other. And that's how they succeed. To be honest, one contestant said that he wasn't even sure that Simon Cowell knew the tactics that his underlings employed. I've heard in circles that Cowell is by nature, a generous and kind man. None of these ridiculous antics are necessary. Britain does have talent and has a lot of wonderful people who don't need to be exploited for an extra million pounds. In many ways, tactics like this are insulting to the British viewing public. Someone likened the show this season to watching the Christians being fed to the lions in ancient Rome.

No one knows what will happen to Susan and she didn't deserve the treatment that she received. It was downright cruel. This woman had led a very sheltered life and she was shot into fame in the space of a few weeks. Even veteran entertainers have difficulty adjusting to fame. Can you imagine this happening to a woman whose only job had been volunteering in a church? A woman that had never had a relationship or been kissed? A woman that was living a 1930's spinster life in the new millenium?

There is no doubt that she has reveled in the attention that has come her way. But she has also learned how being famous brings its own heartache.

I still am appalled at how she was treated. I don't understand why so many Brits cannot be happy for another's success. It is the harshest thing I have learned about living in this country. Ironically, even Simon Cowell remarked one evening during the filming of "American Idol" when he said he didn't understand how the contestants genuinely cared for each other even if one was chosen and the other not. He said, something to the effect that it was not at all like that in Britain.

Indeed, it is not, and for Susan and others like her, it is a crying shame.

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Gordon Brown is not sleeping well these days as the once brilliant light of the British Empire is now being changed by the European Union to a horrid little green "bad for your health good for the environment" flourescent light. Even Her Majesty was pictured on the front page of the newspaper looking rather glum with the goings-on in Westminster. With MP's declaring duck houses and pornography on their government expense accounts...well, it's enough to make the once staid institution a bit of a free-for-all, quite literally. There are rumours that David Cameron is measuring for drapes at 10 Downing. However, the Lib Dems may have something to say about that as they are rising a bit in the polls as a number of the MPs who were also bilking the government were Conservatives. Basically both of the major parties were caught with their hands in the butter jar. This has given the Liberal Democrats some leverage. But an upcoming election? Not if Mr. Brown has his say.

Gordon Brown is refusing to call an election and he is refusing to step down. He intends to hold on as long as possible. For what? I have no idea as being Prime Minister at the moment is like being a captain on the Titanic. He has finished selling off the last vestiges of a once proud country without calling even calling for a referendum on the European Constitution so that it will soon fully have to dance to the piper in Brussels. Taxes are higher than ever and the nanny state is full in force. Every move by the citizens of this country is being monitored. The greatest reality show is the one that takes place on the British streets as its citizens are filmed 24-7. "Big Brother" is not just a show in Great Britain. It is, unfortunately, a way of life. Orwell was not just a brilliant writer, he was a prophet.

For the eight years that Bush was in office, America was considered a boon for the cruel joke. It was a bit humiliating to be an American in England (or anywhere else in the civilized or uncivilized world for that matter.) But now, its seems that same calamity of ineptness and deceit is rocking the British government and the halls Parliament. The Brits are not laughing at America now, as more corruption in Westminster comes to light. Who will be sacked next? Oh, it's much better than "The Apprentice"...though I think what most Britons are hoping to say at the moment is: "Gordon...you're fired!"