Say what?

Two days ago, the New York 26th District held a special election to fill a seat in the U S House of Representatives vacated by a republican involved in a scandal. What a surprise. The big surprise was that in a heavy republican district, the Democrat won in an upset. The reason the Dem. won was because the Rep. came out in favor of Wisconsin Republican U S Representative Paul Ryan's

budget plan to among other choice things included the abolishment of Medicare.

Now Ryan is hitting the air waves saying the Democrats used scare tactics to stir up the seniors & the Republicans didn't present the true picture of his budget plan etc. etc.

Locally, the Republican controlled House & Senate are deadlocked with the Democratic Governor over the state budget. The Republicans as usual want to cut social programs, aid to cities, cut corporate tax, raise property taxes, cuts funding for victims of child sex abuse, services for battered women, sexual assault providers, community crime prevention and gang and drug task forces & maintain the status quo for the upper 2% income. (The rich)

The Governor wants to raise the tax rate on the upper income to help balance the budget.

The Republican ain't gonna let it happen. The result is a stalemate, which will cause a special session to be called.

Now the rumor floating around, is that the state will be forced to shut down effective July 1 2011. No government except essential services.( i.e. law enforcement & a very few others)

This will coincide with the 4th of July weekend. Good luck getting to that camp site you reserved when all the state parks are closed. Have fun getting your driver's license renewed. Enjoy getting your unemployment check. Amazing that all the services shutting down will have the most impact on the middle class. What a stunning revelation.

I believe it was either Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche or some other philosopher of bygone times who had an interesting take on the ideas being put forth by the Republican politicians.

I quote,"Hey motherfuckers, kiss me where I stink"

Republicans had best beware. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam. The American Eagle is coming, & is he pissed.

The Killer

During his playing days, Harmon Killebrew was nicknamed the Killer. He got the name because of his ability to kill the old horsehide & his propensity to destroy opposing pitchers, but never was there a more inappropriate name for a gentler man.

Harmon Clayton Killebrew as of this date is dying. He has cancer. On May 13,2011, he checked into a hospice to spend his last days with dignity. From all reports, dignity was the key word in describing how Harmon Killebrew lived his life.

I met him more then 30 years ago at a sport collectors show. I was lined up with others to get the autograph of the local hero. His warmth & kindness was instantly apparent. He would patiently listen to the fans with their reminiscences, smiling & exchanging kind words with them. He respected the baseball fans. I have since passed that autograph onto my grown daughter with the belief that she too will honor the man.

Of all his accomplishments, the single most moment I remember about Harmon Killebrew was something he said in his Hall Of Fame induction speech. "I'll never forget, we used to play a lot of ball out in the front yard and my mother would say, "you're tearing up the grass and digging holes in the front yard?', and my father would say, "we're not raising grass here, we're raising boys."

I find that I have a tear in my eye & the cliched lump in my throat as I think back to the excitement & joy of watching him play. I have that same tear & the same lump in my throat thinking that somewhere, someone is writing a new definition to the words "class act".

Thank you so much Mr. Killebrew.