Dancing With the Stars invokes anger

The results of this week's Dancing With the Stars results made me so angry it took me three days to write about it.

I was about as angry as the dude who shot up his television set, but my anger is more of the seething variety. I'm not the shooter type. Fairness has always been fundamental in my behavioral arsenal. There is no denying fairness was violated when Bristol Palin was chosen to go on to the dance finals over R & B singer Brandy Norwood, an excellent dancer who garnered perfect scores.

I have been watching ballroom dancing for years--dating back to the days when Juliet Prowse hosted the championship dancing on PBS. I had no idea that Dancing With the Stars would be a fixed popularity contest. But it appears that is just what this has become.

I was a little leery when the show invited Tom DeLay last season, but then to invite Bristol Palin this season should have shown the handwriting on the wall. This is a political venue rather than a dance competition. It is tainted. Bristol should have been voted off that first week because she clearly lacks the talent. Yes, she has improved over the course of the show, but her dancing is clearly not of the same caliber as any of the others who were voted off in her stead.

I was sickened at the judges' positive comments about Palin too. They clearly did not hold her to the same standards as other dancers. Were they issued a directive? Just what are the politics in play at the upper echelon of ABC television? Len Goodman is a tough dance critic, but clearly he let Palin slide. Carrie Ann Inaba was also overly kind, as was Bruno Tonioli.

The results show was in such stark contrast to the previous night when Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough performed the most elegant waltz I've ever seen. It was enchanting to watch the two of them dance so beautifully, as they captured tremendous emotional intensity. I cried as I watched them move effortlessly. Watching a beautiful dance can be as moving as listening to  a symphony or gazing upon the colors of a sunset.

Yet just hours later, it was all tainted, lost in the scandal that so often takes over all that is good and innocent, perpetrated by cheaters.

This example of entertainment television does a disservice to all: absolutely short-changing the viewers of real dance competitiveness; ultimately the show which has lost all credibility; certainly to Brandy Norwood who was far more deserving of a chance to move to the finals; and even to Bristol herself, because she has been made to look like a fool, not to mention a spoiled brat child who has been coddled for a lifetime by her over-bearing mother. Sadly, Bristol might even believe she deserved to win this competition. What an injustice. One day, she will have to stand on her own merit in a real scenario, without her mother's influence over her self-made reality.

What kind of a mother is it that encourages her daughter to compete way over her head? What kind of a mother fails to teach her daughter humility? What kind of a mother throws her own child under the bus to gain popularity for herself?

It is pretty clear that the Sarah Palin factor influenced the initial choosing of Bristol Palin for Dancing With the Stars. Bristol is not a star. She is an unwed mother whose life is controlled by her over-bearing mother. Is there no limit to what Sarah Palin will do? But worse than that, she seems to have the same kind of following as the Rev. Jim Jones and other 'leaders' who prey upon those around them. 

I'm so sick of lying, cheating, and stealing. Yet that is just what happened when voters admittedly gamed the system, giving Bristol her way, most likely at her mothers' urging.

The rapid decline of Dancing With the Stars which began as a fun entertainment venue is is no longer fun. This is serious--symptomatic of where our humanity is going. And that scares the hell out of me.

Remember the oil spill???

My extreme thanks to Truthout, Rose Aguilar and to Riki Ott for this enlightening interview re: the Gulf coast oil disaster that continues even though it remains beneath the radar of the mainstream media and our government. I believe this is important information.

 

Election priorities all wrong

It has taken me six days to get over the recent election.

I was appalled at the priorities exhibited in this election--the amount of money that was pumped into this election by the Republicans. I was sickened as the Democrats tried their best to match it. I cannot tell you how many phone calls and emails I received from the party to which I feel most aligned, begging for money. Perhaps instead of just asking for money, all those phone calls and emails should be expressing the reasons why I would support this candidate.

Living on a pension, I have no money to spare, but if I was inspired by someone, I would likely find a few dollars to donate.

The corporations--the companies with CEO's making millions each year--some of which are not even based in this country, are behind the victors of the 2010 mid-term elections This will come back to haunt us all, unless of course we are among them. I disclose here and now that I'm not a rich CEO of any Fortune 500 company. 

The plethora of television ads this year were particularly scandalous. They should be done away with. They rarely provided information about the candidate, hardly ever told the truth, and most often focused on the other guy.

I had hoped people would see through all it all. I was wrong, evidenced by those that were elected. This was clearly a Republican sweep, bought and paid for. By the way, I felt similarly in the last election cycle when the Democrats swept the election. I believe in the balance of power in a cooperative White House and Congress, not something we can claim at all.

I take my politics very seriously. I have long advocated no votes by the those who are uninformed, either by ignorance or choice. I consider electing a government representative at any level to be a sobering responsibility. It should certainly have more to do with more than fundraising prowess.

I believe that not just the candidates, the office-holders, but the voters need to be accountable. No longer can we afford voting just for the party. No longer can we afford picking the name that we like, even though we don't know any of them. Voting is way too important to choose a candidate based on their television ads or some other criteria that boils down to simply paid-for advertising. If they ever claim, I approve this ad because,...be suspect. Voting should be based on the candidates' record. It should be based on the person running for office, not the letter behind his name. It should be based on the candidates' motive for running for office. If any of the answers consist of money, salary, greed, pension, or fundraising, look the other way.

We get the government we deserve. I just happen to think we deserve better.

Who says you can never go home again?

Who says you can never go home again? I just did.

A tornado touched down a few miles east of Beecher, where I used to live. A house on the Schroeder farm was severely damaged. It was actually reported as being in Peotone, since that was the mailing address. In reality, it was between Beecher and Peotone, the town where I lived and the town where I worked respectively. That was my beat, as a reporter for the local paper. Had I still lived there, I would have covered the story. I often wrote weather stories. This was the grandaddy of weather stories since the barometric pressure in this storm was the lowest on record. Eighteen states were affected by this monster storm. They say it was stronger than the one that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald in the Great Lakes in the 1950's.

I watched the WGN news at noon. Peotone Fire Chief Bill Schreiber was interviewed. I was well-acquainted with Bill and used to talk to him on a regular basis. I haven't seen him since we moved to Arkansas six years ago. It was odd to see someone else interview him. That was my job. Of course there are times I miss working for the paper. I enjoyed the relationship I had with so many people. Not only did I know them; I cried with many of them. Even from 600 miles away, I could empathize with the victims of this tragedy and the personal scope of this story.

I was moved by this trip back to my former on so many levels, but none so much as what occurred in the late afternoon. During the coverage, my former next door neighbor's daughter was interviewed on ABC News. The footage showed not only her home, but the house next door, which was where I lived for more than 20 years.

I admit that was weird. It isn't that I wish we still lived there. I am very happy to be living in Arkansas, but it was odd to see the old homestead, where there were many, many happy memories. I loved that old, rambling two-story house that my children called home. One brief glimpse of it, gave me a similar sensation as stepping into a hot tub. I was enveloped by warm thoughts of our past there, the friendliness of my neighbor Diane who used to come and sit on the front porch as I waited for my husband to come home from work. Family life in a small town was like being in a web that included many others. There was almost constant interaction, with friends, neighbors, children, and their network of friends. It seemed so structured, routine.

My life does not resemble my former lifestyle at all these days. John and I are virtually alone, void of neighbors stopping by or kids running in and out with friends. Being retired has little place for a routine. The phone hardly ever rings. We have made friends, but the friendships are much less intense and more distant.

I loved my former life, but I love this one too. I have pangs of sadness as I long for a hug from one of my children or grandchildren. When that happens I try to replace my thoughts with real memories of them. The cure is a simple telephone call. Just hearing their voices satisfies me. It has to.

It is fitting that after 20 years of writing for newspapers, that my trip down memory lane would be induced by the media. I love that technology makes such things possible. Twenty years ago, my present would have been severed from my past. Yet today, I am able to bring my past and present together almost seamlessly. If this is possible, what does the future hold. I am anxious to find out.

Not an informed voter, stay home!

Is this not the most disgusting election season in history?

The entire premise that rich people can buy elections has been around for decades, but never before has it been more obvious, at least to some. But some people still don't get it.

The I'm-mad-as-hell-and-I'm-not-going-to-take-it-anymore attitude is normally one I would endorse, but not this year. I am a strong advocate of exercising your right to vote, but only if you are an informed voter. If you are the kind of person that simply falls for the television commercials or glossy brochures that come to your door, please stay home.

Candidates of both parties are lying, manipulating, and waging the battle of their lives. I wish I could calculate the monumental costs of this election, but throw more than six zeros at me and I admit getting a little blurry-eyed. In truth, six figures is about all I can comprehend. Yet there are tens of millions being spent every day across this country. Doesn't anyone have a problem with that?

I used to bristle at the fact that only the wealthy could afford to run for public office. Now, I find myself completely freaking out about how unlimited corporate donations and anyone with tons of money and an agenda can turn any wacko into a candidate.

I've often wondered where this wealth comes from. I certainly don't have it, but then I'm a hard-working, honest person who tries not to hurt or take advantage of other people. My goal in life is not to be rich--I'd rather be happy. I would never step on other people just to get ahead. I don't rip people off. I try to tell the truth. I care about total strangers. I don't think I'm better than anyone else.

It isn't just the act of buying elections that is bothersome. I am horrified about the what if's. What if these nutjobs actually become representatives of our government? These people are going to speak on our behalf. They are going to make decisions that will ultimately affect us all.

I'm not sure what the answers are, but we have to learn from our mistakes. Why aren't we?

Terrorism on our own soil

It appears the nightmare in the vicinity of Beecher, IL and Lowell, IN is finally over. The suspect pictured in an artist's rendering at left, has been caught. 

It is not over if you are a friend or family of the men who have been shot by a psycho shooter. My heart goes out to the people who have been harmed by this latest shooting rampage.

For anyone not invested in this tragedy who might be unaware of the events, the nightmare began to unfold Tuesday morning in the quiet, rural community outside of Beecher, IL, about 40 miles south of Chicago.

Some guy came up to three construction workers who were rehabbing a house in the country that had been damaged by fire. The stranger started chatting with them about raising honey bees. Nothing extraordinary here; that is what rural folks do. But this one pulled out a gun and shot one of the guys dead, critically injured another, while a third took off running for his life through the corn and bean fields.

Then the shooter apparently got into his pickup truck and headed east toward Indiana where he drove up to a farmhouse, spotted a farmer and began talking to him about honey bees. He then pulled out his weapon and shot him, three times in the arm and shoulder.

The man was on the loose until this morning, causing three days and four nights of terror for the families in the area, and one mother/grandmother in Arkansas. That would be me. I used to live in Beecher. I have family in Lowell. I'm grateful that everyone I care about is safe.

According to the news, this guy has been caught in Lynwood, IL, a few miles north of Beecher.

What disturbs me almost as much as the incident itself, is something that someone posted as a comment to the story. He said if everybody had a gun in his pocket they could have simply shot the psycho.

If that isn't backward thinking, I don't know what is. If this psycho didn't have a gun, none of this would have happened.

I'm sorry to tell all the professed gun lovers out there, but it is no longer good enough to wave the constitution in the faces of law-abiding citizens who don't happen to share your love of weaponry. When the constitution was written, our forefathers had no idea inkling of the kind of future technology that what create assault rifles or a .357 Magnums, cop-killer bullets, or a myriad other death machines. They probably didn't even envision shooting to kill on a whim.

I am not advocating anything, at this point, and I don't have all the answers, or even any of them, but isn't it time we start thinking about the number of innocents that are murdered and maimed by guns in this country?

These killing machines have nothing to do with hunting. Of all the people that harangue about protecting themselves with their guns, how many of them really have been used for protection? How many of those guns have gotten into the hands of children resulting in accidental deaths of siblings and friends? How many of those guns designed to protect have become weapons in domestic disturbances where husbands and/or wives shoot their spouse in a fit of anger? How many nut cases have gotten their hands on a weapon and gone to McDonalds or a college campus or an elementary school to do damage to human beings? How many suicides have been fast and easy because of access to a gun? How many accidental shootings are there?

Isn't this terrorism? Isn't this what we are supposedly fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and probably one day, in Pakistan? Citizens in our own country are being terrorized by crazy people with guns every day. Isn't it time we do something about terrorism in our own country, on our own soil, and in our own small towns?

Let's look at this incident in Beecher? Would my commenter friend advocate that construction carry a gun on the job, just in case a nut walks up to them? C'mon. Isn't it time for some rational thoughts on this subject. Too many people are dying. Too many people are injured. And too many people are tormented by the what-if's. There needs to be some kind of gun control.

Can't we at least start a rational conversation about this irrational activity?

Dear Hummingbirds

You are almost invisible as you make your way to the feeder.

Dear Hummingbirds,

It has been a joy to watch you again this summer as you and all your friends scurried from the Mock Orange, Magnolia, or nearest Oak tree, to the feeders and then back again.

Early in the season, you had the whole feeder to yourself.

Once again you brought joy to our lives as my husband and I watched you and your family and friends, frenzied behavior and all. How we wish we had half of your energy. It was an honor to make food for you, although for little fellas, you sure do have an appetite. With the price of sugar these days, it was a struggle some weeks, but we were glad to do it. I'm thankful we were able, especially during those horribly hot summer days when there wasn't a flower to be found. 

I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey to Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica or where ever your winter home is located. We look forward to March when we will see you all again. Bring back the whole family. And take good care of yourselves. We will miss you!   

 

As ever, Carol & John