Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Real Horrors Of The Afghanistan, Iraq Wars````By MysticSilks

I am listening to an early Sunday morning TV news program, that is discussing the affects the Iraq war, and even more so the Afghanistan war is having on the soldiers and their families. There's over 100,000 thousand men and women in those 2 wars.
These wars are not only taking many of the lives of young men and women who will never get to see or live life beyond the time they spent fighting, and dying in some dusty, dirty place called Iraq, and Afghanistan, but the impact that the wars are having on their families back home.

Wives are living day to day with the stress and tension of raising children, while worrying if their husbands will come home alive. They worry if their spouses will be severely injured.

Our soldiers have been deployed and serving longer than any soldier has served and fought in any of the world wars. Living day to day in a combat state of mind for over a year, is enough to break the brain and spirit of any man or woman:
Especially if there is no end to the war in sight.

From what I am hearing many of these soldiers that are discharged, end up homeless, not able to find a job, and living on the street:
Although flawless counts are impossible to come by – the transient nature of homeless populations presents a major difficulty – VA estimates that 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only eight percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly one-fifth of the homeless population are veterans.

How sad. How so very sad those statistics are.

These wars are not making this country stronger,or the world any more secure. We are not going to find and kill Osama Bin Laden. And even if we did , the terrorists activities would not come to a sudden halt: Their twisted Islamic thinking has spread like a cancer.

WE( The USA) needs to bring these wars to a stop.Bring home our men and women, bind up the wounds of our wounded. Invest the money being spent on these wars in jobs , and in this country, and it's people.

Do, this soon. Do this before the USA financially deteriorates, and the American family and our values erode beyond repair.


President Obama come home from Hawaii, and set this country on track once again to become the great and respected country it once was!

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

We Haven't Advanced-- At Least Not That Far---By MysticSilks

I'm writing this not sure who will ever read it. But you never know. Maybe someday one of my adult children will be putting my name in the Internet search engine and come up with one of my posts.
What I wanted to talk about today has been inspired, or prompted by current financial news that I am listening to .
Obama just passed no tax increases for the common folk. Yippee! Well, no. I heard the cost of gasoline is going to be $4.00 plus by spring time in the USA, and higher in Alaska and Hawaii.
Now, gas is something that the majority of the population needs. To get to work, so we can earn money to pay our bills. I also, heard that in Akron Ohio, and Cleveland Ohio, they are raising the cost of sewer and water services: Some bills could be $140.00/month.
Now add the increase in gasoline, the increase in water and sewer services, plus the increase of electricity. Please someone tell me how the lower income elderly, or those who are already living on the edge of economic collapse are going to be able to exist?
I thought that having lived through the fallout of the Great Depression, that I would never see those kinds of horrors again: People begging for food. People having to live with relatives.
I thought my kids and their kids would have it so much better than I did as a kid.

But through the devilish greediness of the overly wealthy, like Goldman Saks, and many of the Big Cats on Wall Street, this once great economy has once again, gone defunct.
When I hear this country is so in debt, and borrows money from China, I want to vomit.
Let me say this to the Big Cats, on Wall Street who are giving out huge bonuses and throwing extravagant parties, if the common folk get angry enough your days are numbered!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Dirty and Dangerous Football~~MysticSilks

I've watched and enjoyed football for 50 plus years now. Come the end of July I am growing antsy waiting for the season to begin. One of the most exciting games I used to look forward to, was when The Cleveland Browns went against our rival, The Pittsburgh Steelers.
It's been a long while since Art Modell took the best Browns to Baltimore;still don't think Cleveland has forgiven him for that, but I digress. Since then Cleveland Browns have gone through, and are still going through labor pains to deliver Cleveland and northeastern Ohio, a winning football team.

This past Sunday, October 17th, The Browns went against the Steelers on their own turf. Cleveland was forced to use their 3rd string quarterback Colt McCoy due to ankle injuries to our 1st and 2nd string quarterbacks in previous games: Could be the water in Cleveland is bad for the bones. May I stop here and say, my hat is off to this young man, Colt McCoy,he did a great job;he's got pizazz.
Cleveland wasn't doing too bad, at one time had a 3 point lead.
Colt threw a nice pass to Josh Cribs , and Cribs was headed down field when out of a clear blue sky, James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers,head butts Josh right in the side temple. Down Josh went, and they helped him off the field. He didn't return.
Then James Harrison cracked another good player, Massaquoi, in the side of the head, with a head butt,knocking him out of the game with a head injury.
Well, that took out 2 of our better players who help significantly to win games.

At this point in time I am thinking Harrison is simply a well paid street thug wearing an NFL jersey, and getting paid top dollar to act like a thug to take people down without a gun. But who knows that may be next.

This isn't sour grapes,but it wasn't totally skill that caused the Steelers win. When you have a thug take out good guys from the opposing team by placing destructive blows to the head, it gives that team a better chance of winning. Too bad too, cuz I think the game would have been better had that not happened.
I also think that the NFL powers that be, need to do something to stop those dirty hits before we end up with players who become permanently paralyzed.
If they don't stop it, then we're no better than the Romans were when fed their gladiators to the lions!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

On A Roll

Forgive me, I can not remember the name of that soldier who was killed in this current war, and was shipped home to be laid to rest. And those bunch of religious nit-wits showed up with their signs saying, " This Is God's Punishment On America For Allowing Gay Rights". Plus other signs that spelled out some putrid statements.
I can not fathom the feelings of that father and family having to deal with not only the untimely death of their loved one, but the onslaught of whacked out religious crazies showing up at their dear son's funeral.
Then the father tries to sue these people with what is an essential assault to their privacy in what should have been and deserved to be ,a very sacred and private ceremony.
But the courts wanted to uphold the First Amendment of the right of free speech. Then I heard this was going to the Supreme Court.

Now, I have something for you to think about: Why is our government allowed to select and rope off,with guards, a certain distance from where the President speaks. Free speech or not, you are not allowed within a mile and a half when the big man come to your town. So how come no one runs to court to sue the President for not allowing them to yell out, verbally assault,him?
It would simply be unthinkable to have the crowds so unruly and disrespectful!

So, why can't we give that same sacred space for those who have fought and died for our country? That would make some good common sense.

I think I'll send this to Glen Beck.

Our Government says, No Social Security Increase This Year or Next Year!

Any senior citizen who has not contacted their state representative and raised issue with the fact that we get no increase because the inflation rate has not increased in two years, should have their false teeth removed and not returned till they do.
If congress can elect to give themselves raises( and big ones to boot)every damn year, then I am confused. Doesn't the rate of inflation affect them , too?
Why do they continue to get raises? And they make so much more then the average senior citizen to begin with.
Last time I looked, my electric bill went up; the cost of gasoline went up,food is affected by what the gas rates are( costs more to ship);sewer rates went up.
Why are our elected officials treated like they are royalty, and on our tax monies? They get it all, and we get ziltch!!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Etsy.com Drops The Ball on The 4th of July!!


I logged into.etsy.com on the 4th of July to check my shop for any new sales, or see how many extra views my silk creations might have gathered.
Then I went into the etsy forum threads. I keep a thread going for one of my teams, and I have a bit of fun in the 'etc. thread which supports word games.
I also checked into the 'site help' thread, as I enjoy helping out other newbie shop owners, and it's also a great thread to see and respond to hot topics.

Well, the hot topic on the 4th was this thread:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6565253

It started from a post from one of our friendly Canadian posters, who wondered why etsy did a Stourque article on Canada Days, but there was nothing done , or written about America's celebration of Independence Day on the 4th of July? In fact the front page treasuries did not reflect that America was celebrating the 4th of July.

In fact, it wasn't till the aforementioned thread and quite a few posted threads on this topic, did a weekend etsy tech step in to say she would notify some merchandising etsy tech to get some July 4th treasuries on the FP!!

And, they did post a few treasuries that were 4th of July themed.


But, come on etsy, you had to have etsy sellers remind you of the July 4th celebration? And you're an American based company right in New York City!!

OK, so about 4Pm I log off etsy, thinking they would post many, many more 4th of July treasuries.

Here are some of those treasuries that were posted:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bfc6d90dd298eef17ee55c5/let-us-remember
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c301c0a0e126d919316a931/happy-4th

And a post from :
Autumn2May says:
littlesistahstudio says:
I agree, shame on you Etsy!

Here are 2 pages of Treasuries tagged with American.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c30ab8855036d910ac3c09d/happy-4th

And I'm sure there are many, many more to come. More than enough to run all day.
*****************************

See Admin doesn't even have to look for them, we're doing all the work for them! This one is really cute too! It's got an Americana theme!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c2d4c801dbd8eefb7cda338/americana

If you read the thread , you'll understand why there was a reason to be upset.

And now, etsy has moved that thread out of the front line of posts to the 'idea' section. In the 'idea' section topics usually sink to the bottom , and it becomes a matter of "Out of sight, out of mind"

Sad tribute from an American company that it forgot to make Independence Day( 4th of July) a day of celebrating on etsy!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

LeBron James~ Can One Man Hold So Much Power?

LeBron, James; the King, the savior of a city, and all the other accolades being tossed at his feet. Billboards with his image, songs being sung to the tune of " We Are the World" literally begging LeBron to stay and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers!
Give me a freakin break! No major city should be begging an athlete to stay to save the economic welfare of their city. If that city needs to do all that begging to keep the coffers of that city full, then there's something big time wrong with that cities commerce plan. Where in the hell are the jobs for that city to help keep the state of the economy on the plus side? Is that all that Cleveland has going for it, is LeBron? Then albeit LeBron's a great athlete, but it's not on his shoulders to save any city. Nor should any city be dependent on any one man.

"Atlas Shrugged"~By K L Martin

Atlas shrugged,and the world shifted.

Then all the weights and responsibilities

fell onto the shoulders of many,

who were just as strong,

but didn't know it,

till Atlas shrugged,

and the world shifted.


Be well, and strong everyone

Does it Never End?~

In 1964, my mother and brother moved to Dearborn, Michigan.
The street they lived on was small neighborhood, pleasant, with well maintained lawns and landscaping. You could walk down the street anytime of the day and feel relatively safe. Maybe the only noises you'd hear would come from a cluster of kids riding their bikes up and down the street, or playing jump rope. Once it got dark,the kids came in: Any big time crime was in the city of Detroit.
My mother and her hubby seemed happy there, the neighbors were friendly, and all was well with their world.
Keep in mind mom was born and raised in Garfield Heights, Ohio, surrounded by German immigrant families. Her culture, her world would not tolerate, and became suspect if families of other nationalities tried to move into her neighborhood. The owner of the local supermarket must be white caucasian, and preferably German.The same standards stood for the local owner of the drug store, the bakery, and any other place of business where my grandparents would spend their hard earned money.

But her level of tolerance grew a bit, when she lived in Dearborn. Back in the late 60's a few of the convenience stores were operated by Islamics. I remember her asking in her offhanded way, " Where did these people suddenly come from?"

Well, bless her heart and soul she passed in'72'. And I haven't been back to Dearborn since. AS things stand, I doubt I would ever go back, even to visit her burial site. I hear I would not feel comfortable with all the drastic changes in the neighborhood. I would feel more like a out of place stranger to this once American city. In fact I understand, I would not be allowed to attend the local festivals.

And, yet, I wonder if we Americans prohibited the Islamics from visiting our festivals, would we be be breaking some Constitutional law?
And, if we had our Christian prayer times, and prayers, blasted through the neighborhood, calling people to prayer, wouldn't we be arrested for disturbing the peace?

Is this what my dad went to war for, so that other nationalities could immigrate to the USA only to completely take over one of our cities and turn it into their city with their laws?

I thought in coming to this country, you learned the ways of the USA, you learned English , you melted into the city, you did not take it over.

I'm glad mom is gone, she wouldn't be able to understand what had happened to her Dearborn, Michigan.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Obama's Million Dollar Puddle Hops;The Guffaw in The Gulf


I am doing my best to maintain a positive attitude towards Obama, but more and more I find it a challenge.
He has made more Air Force 1 plane trips, I think than any other American President:
And I am talking about just in the USA!
I recall in his campaign yadda,yadda, that he promised to be more visible, more transparent. Well, I thought that he meant he wouldn't hide important information from the American people; like when the Democratic party hid behind closed doors beating out a Health Care Bill to ram down Americans throats, and promising Cleveland's own Dennis Kusinich a ride on Air Force One, if he would back the HC Bill: Yea, transparent like a lead wall.
But, now I know he meant he would spend millions of tax payer dollars using Air Force 1 to make non-essential visits to states like Ohio for 10 minutes , just to tell people that his stimulus money is working. Oh, by the way, the workers in that area were told to take that day off work, and they would not be paid for the day;thanks Obama.

Now, he has made 4 trips to the Gulf of Mexico. Maybe he thinks by him being there the oil geyser would be bewitched by his presence and all of a sudden stop!
No, come on folks, he was advised/told to go there to show the American people that he is aware of this catastrophic situation, and he is in control and will somehow fix it before the end of June!
Didn't they just give BP a 48 hour time limit to plug that leak up?
Well, that did not happen, so now does BP go stand in a corner?

Hey, other countries if you you have a catastrophic happening, don't call us! AS you can tell by the way this government is handling the Gulf oil spillage, we are quite evidently incapable of handling this situation. It seems like it's a contest of one agency usurping the authority of another as to what, and how things need to be handled.
You states on the Gulf have my most sincere sympathy.

And, I hear Obama is adding to his legacy by suing the state of Arizona for following federal laws regarding illegal immigration issues: Isn't Arizona part of the USA?

And even more accolades are given to the man, for wanting to control the Internet in times of emergency:He already seems to control most the TV media.

And we thought George Bush was a f--- up!

Dear Lord have mercy on us all!

SilksMystic

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Obama's Health Care Bill~By KLM



OK, so Obama and his cohorts pushed , shoved, crammed,finagled,bullied,and offered a free ride on Air Force #1 to one of Ohio's senators( from Cleveland), into passing a Health Care Bill.
It was my humble opinion that the HC Bill was supposed to assist the average and below average income American citizen( and I use that term American Citizen with tongue in cheek)to be able to afford 'affordable health care insurance'.
Well, I'm a senior citizen( American),and I've been told along with other SC's that we are to receive no increases in our Social Security check for this year,( notice though, congress voted themselves raises this year;But they always do!),and we are to receive no increase in 2011: Maybe that's what they mean by the 'death squad'--They're planning to starve us to death.

Now, here's the slam dunk! I pay $99.00 for my Medicare insurance, that comes out of my SS check before it even reaches my mail-box. Then there's the gap insurance. Gap insurance covers the 20% medical expenses that Medicare will not cover. I was paying $129.60 to Anthem BC& BS for the gap insurance. I say was paying, because I just received a notice from Anthem BC&BS that my gap insurance was increased $11.00 per month, making it $133.20. Which means all totaled I am paying $232.20 in health care coverage per month!!

So, I ask Mr. Obama, and congress how is your Health Care Bill helping me, or other senior citizens? Or was it just meant to help the illegal immigrants who have no health care insurance?
And we the American citizen are picking up that tab through an increase in health care insurance premium.

Does that suck or what?