Shipwrecked & Comatose

I am amazed at the hostility to OWS by people who were not even directly affected by it (say by having to fight the crowds to walk to work in the morning).  What do you think these people are protesting?  I suppose you don't know, because the media are telling you the message is garbled and  unfocused sounding.  No, these were not all lazy unemployed hippies, socialists, students, or terrorists.  They were Americans, just like you, who understand that things have become so rigged in this country that only a handful of citizens are benefitting.  We have returned to the Gilded Age - the age of the Robber Baron - and if you are fuzzy about history, the Gilded Age ended with the Great Depression.  How is it that so many Americans have been convinced to vote against their own interests?  Why are we so convinced that reasonable regulations, ones that have been in place for decades and still allowed people to become very rich, are somehow tan...

For those who celebrate Christmas and related holidays, this time of year can be quite exciting or it can be quite annoying.  Halloween was just a week ago and Thanksgiving won't be here for two more weeks, but Christmas is already on the brain for many.  Christmas trees, lights, and assorted decorations are creeping into the displays of many stores.  Radio stations pepper their playlists with Christmas songs.  Some folks love to start the Christmas season early.  They buy fake trees just so they can put one up as early as possible.  They deliberately listen to Christmas music.  They are planning their parties and their menus while they put out their Halloween candy.  Others can't stand the early hype.  The believe Christmas needs to come in its own time.  Enjoy Halloween.  Enjoy Thanksgiving.  Don't feel pressured to decorate, shop, and feel any sort of "Christmas Spirit" when there is over a month to go. Lately it see...