LEAVE IT TO PEEVER
New YearÕs Revolutions
— Bumper sticker of
the week: How many more before this war ends?
— Quotes of the week:
ÒThere are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep
better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.Ó Woody Allen
ÒOn the whole, human beings
want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.Ó George Orwell
— New YearÕs Revolutions:
¥ I resolve to stay on the
city council and county board until I see some results. I could be in it for
the long haul.
¥ Someone needs to do
something about the utility companies. It might as well be us.
¥ IÕm hoping to get my
second book started this new year, but I canÕt get the first sentence. If I
could get the first sentence, I could figure out what the book would be about.
IÕm leaning towards, The Bible, by Rev. Peever. Surely that copyright has run
out.
¥ IÕd give up something,
but IÕve gone that route before. It usually doesnÕt work. This year I may take
something.
¥ I resolve to quit being
so cynical. No, that wonÕt work either.
¥ I would like to meet
Castro before he moves on. He is one of the last great revolutionaries of our
time. He kicked the rich out of Cuba. Most of them are still crying down in
Miami. IÕd like to ask him how he did it.
¥ Although not much of a
revolutionary idea, IÕm thinking of opening a soup kitchen. A lot of people are
hungry, and not just for words.
¥ 2007 would be a good time
for a new yearÕs revolution, although it seems to have started in 2006.
Right-wing Republicanism took one for the team. New Year Revolutions is a time
for change, when the old way of doing business is rejected, and a new path,
endorsed by the people, is chosen. I got a good feeling about 2007. You talk
about a revolution.
— Speaking of
poverty: So letÕs figure, the big boys donÕt know how the poverty rate can be
going up, and unemployment down. First of all, the idea that the unemployment
rate is going down in Knox County is basically an illusion. Maybe an outright
lie. We got a good 20% unemployment rate going on here. But letÕs, for
arguments sake, say it is going down. People who were making $17 per hour are
taking jobs for $6 per hour. And presto, there you have it. The working poor. I
should get a government job.
— The cost of war:
The U.S. government claims 19% of the budget goes toward military spending. The
Center for Defense Information puts that figure at 51%. The Friends Committee on
National Legislation says itÕs at 42%, and the War Resisters League claims 49%.
Each group uses a slightly different method in calculating the actual
percentage. So if we average all four, the cost of waging war comes in at 40%.
ThatÕs 40 cents on every dollar. I, for one, donÕt think itÕs worth that.
— Retirement: IÕm
getting used to retirement. I donÕt miss the hassle, the paperwork, the
pressure of seeing 8 clients in 8 hours. But I do miss being around people, although
IÕm getting over it.
— Happy New YearÕs.
Remember, if you drink, donÕt talk.