SWITZERLAND FORUM

[Emeritus]

This morning I'm glad that Episcopalians eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday instead of partying on Mardi Gras. My head is in much better shape than those of my Cajun neighbors. There was a time when I would never miss the Mardi Gras parades, but I always caught a cold or the flu. I guess that standing in a crowd of sick people for hours isn't a good idea. I have to admit that WASPs can't party like the Cajuns, but at my age something more sedate is more my speed.

[cklaurence]

Hey Em--What's your take on the Pope 'retiring?' It just seems so bizarre to me! Popes just don't retire--EVER! It appears to me that something is rotten in Denmark, no? Yes? I've been meaning to get your thoughts on this one...

[Emeritus]

You can do WAY better than my take on it. Just watch The Colbert Report. It's hilarious!

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... atron-7500

[cklaurence]

Thanks so much for that link. Colbert is so funny! Being irreverent myself, I love the Colbert stuff, the Daily Show and of course, Bill Mahr. Still doesn't answer my question though--WTF??? I mean what is behind him resigning? Something is very hinky. Popes just don't up and quit...

[Emeritus]

pope-large.jpg (94.67 KiB) Viewed 13616 times

Pope Benedict XVI and Anglican leader Rowan Williams acknowledged there were "serious obstacles" to closer ties between their churches, a blunt reference to Vatican disapproval of gay bishops, women priests and blessings of same-sex unions in the Anglican church.

Not being Catholic, I don't know much. Our Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope met in November. In December, the archbishop retired, which is normal in our church. Now this.

[cklaurence]

Em, this is so weird. That picture? First man--save for the bushy eyebrows--that is exactly how I picture you! It freaked me out when I saw it. Of course, I see you better groomed, but basically, that's the face! How far off am I?

I just hate the weekends during the off-season. Sundays are just plain miserable! Saturdays are awful simply because the next day is Sunday .

[Emeritus]

LOL. I no longer wear a beard (keeping one well groomed is more trouble than shaving) and I'm taller than Rowan Williams. My barber trims my eyebrows. Otherwise you weren't far off.

[cklaurence]

Have you ever posted a picture of yourself here or at facebook or faux that I would have pictured you like this--or is it just pure coincidence that I'd pictured you so closely just from our years of discussions? Freaky, huh...

[Emeritus]

No. I've never posted a photo anywhere that I know of. It could be that we've just talked to each other so long that, little by little, you have put together a picture of me. Have you been following the statements of head of the National Rifle Association? I don't think that he has all of his oars in the water.

[cklaurence]

I have a big problem with the NRA people. I can't even watch Tom Sellek or Charlton Heston anymore, because of some of the things they've said over the years. It completely taints all their performances for me. I just cannot separate the person from the actor. I know it's stupid of me, because (in the case of Sellek especially) I used to really enjoy them. Magnum was one of my all-time favorite series. Zealots, all of them--so the President of the NRA should be any less a nut??? Very scary folks, and there's no logic you can use to deal with them...

[Emeritus]

Every time that I see anything about LaPierre posted on Facebook, I post this in the comments:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=loo ... theme+song

I agree about the actors. Both were a disappointment to me.

[cklaurence]

Great one, Em. I'm so frustrated with the direction politics are going in--this world is just getting too bizarre to even understand anymore. Is it because I'm getting too old to face it? Gawd, I hope not!

[Emeritus]

Look on the bright side, ck. The reason that the conservatives and the NRA wing nuts are digging in their heels is because they are on the defensive. They lost the last election and they have seen the handwriting on the wall. As the demographic continues to change they will become steadily marginalized. They are trying repackage their message, but the public has rejected it, not because they failed to communicate it, but because they don't agree with it. Bye the way, Isn't Elizabeth Warren great?

[cklaurence]

Yes, it's great to have a tough one like Elizabeth on our team. She's not taking crap from anyone and it's a pleasure to know she' will push hard regardless.
I'm hearing rumblings from the Tea Party again. I doubt they will die a graceful death and it seems as though they are preparing to rise up again. I'd love to think they had been dealt with with this last election, but I think they are too strong to die quietly and not continue to be a force to continue to be at least a thorn in our side for a while to come. They really scare me, Em.

[Emeritus]

Actually, I think that the Tea Baggers are more of a danger to the Republican Party. Karl Rove certainly thinks so. He has pointed out that all of the politicians that the Tea Party targeted for defeat in the last election won. He says that they are using their power to nominate unelectable candidates and that unless they are stopped they will marginalize the party. The people that they got elected have demonstrated that they are good at getting elected, but are unable to do anything once in office. Personally, I'm enjoying the infighting.

[cklaurence]

I too love the inflighting, Em. What scares me the most is the corporations. They own everyone and that is the bottom line. Democracy disappeared a long, long time ago and we can pretend all we want, the truth of the matter is, they're all owned by the big money.

Take a look at "Justice" Clarence Thomas. Worked for Monsanto and finds for them on a regular basis. Has never once recused himself from a case. I'm so disgusted at what's become of this world. How he ever got through the process is beyond me, but to continuously make a mockery of our of (what once was) our system--I just don't get it...

[Emeritus]

I've been reading The Conscience of a Liberal, by Paul Krugman. If you are unfamiliar with him, he's a New York Times columnist, a Princeton professor and a Nobel Prize-winning economist. He traces the development of movement conservatism, which has been backed by the rich from the beginning. Krugman says that what the country needs is a repeat of the New Deal. He contends that the huge disparity in earnings between CEOs and workers is what is hurting the economy, because in a consumer-based economy the workers have to be able to afford to buy the products that they produce. I've found it both historically interesting and politically thought-provoking.

[cklaurence]

My therapist and I devoted my whole session yesterday to the current political session. Sometimes he just waives the charge because we get carried away and it becomes cathartic for both of us. Our political views are so closely allied. I don't know if I ever told you about Tom, but we go all the way back to junior high school. I won't bore you with the intimate details; however, I had to call him about our 65@65 Class Birthday Bash a couple of years ago. I ended up using him as my therapist. We hadn't communicated since high school, but I knew I wanted him to take care of me. It started out as an experiment. Could two people who the remnants of a very dear friendship came immediately back to us both handle successful therapy--on each of our parts? It meant we could not see each other socially, even as couples.

It has worked out incredibly well. Tom and Becca do come to all my book signings and events, but we manage not to socialize other than that. There is an occasional phone call and more frequent emails, because, after all we are friends; but the therapy has been tremendous. I don't think I could have made it through the past couple of years--the ugly loss of my dad, my aunt and two uncles.

Oh dear. I digress. Sorry about that. The point is, Wednesday was one of those days where the friendship kicked in--politics was on my mind way more than any personal problems. The fact that corporations own us is undeniable. The ludicrous proposition that the unions are bankrupting us when the CEOs are making the salaries that they are making--I mean, it's hard to believe that people buy into this stuff.

Steve Schmidt for one. He's such an enigma to me. So bright and so far to the right. Same with Ellen Morhart. Okay if they were both small town folks, but Ellen was raised in the NYC area, and Steve is from Wisconsin, where some of the most left wing people I know live. Both are tea party people--totally unwavering. Another one is Skip Orr. Bright man, who I have always loved, but keeps getting further and further to the right. Carrie LaRoche was with me politically--in fact, that's how we became friends; but when Obama came into the picture, she took a right turn. She's not prejudiced either. I know that for sure. I do miss having them all here to pass ideas back and forth, yet they weren't happy talking politics with us, were they...

I'm not familiar with Krugman's writings, but my husband (Peter) has always preached that we need another New Deal. He too believes it would be the answer to everything, and I agree with him and Paul Krugman. It seems such a simple solution, but the problem is--the corporations don't want a solution and therein lies the rub...

[Emeritus]

It's a mystery to me, ck. I've never understood how people could defend positions that were against their own self-interest. I can only guess that it is due to the Republican Party's obfuscation. They raise issues such as gun control, states rights, gay marriage, birth control and so forth to confuse the fact that it is really all about the one percent's control of the political process. The Republicans in Congress are again threatening to shut down the government over the issue of raising taxes on the very richest. People support them even though it will hurt almost everybody, including them. Even the most intelligent people can be irrational.

[cklaurence]

I suppose that in a way it's always been about blotting out the real issues by drawing everyone's attention to the unimportant fluff. That's what appeals to the masses and the little game of diversion seems to grow easier and easier as the population is dummied down year after year.
As soon as people hear "raise taxes," they don't want to listen any further. As far as what's going on in Congress right now? I'm embarrassed by it all! I am certainly not proud to be an American. I love my Country, of course; but it seems as though 1) the palette of choices for true leaders has grown pitifully small; 2) people make sorry choices at the polls, and 3) I go back to my original premise, which is the corporations are running the U.S. anyway, so where do we go from here? Is there a cure? Does there need to be a revolution? (I think yes, but our generation, which I believe is the last one bright enough, passionate enough, and capable of rising up is now too old, apathetic or burnt out to lead it.)

[Emeritus]

I don't have any easy answers, ck. I don't know what it will take to wake the country up to the fact that our government is being run for the benefit of the corporations and the very rich. The average family is being squeezed at the same time that corporate profits are at an all-time high. There are more billionaires than ever before. When will the public realize that there will never be a trickle down? The rich just get richer while everybody else suffers. Personally, I think that we need another FDR and another New Deal. (I wouldn't mind another Elenore Roosevelt, while we're at it). The current politician that I most admire is Elizabeth Warren.

[Emeritus]

The weather has been fantastic! Everything is blooming like crazy, especially the azaleas. The clover and the wildflowers are up. I spent most of the day at nurseries, trying to decide what I want to plant different this year. It's been windy, but that's spring.

[cklaurence]

Speaking of the rich getting richer, the stock market has reached an all time high! If that doesn't resonate with the middle and lower classes who are trying to put gas in their cars and food on their tables, than nothing will, Em. It just gets crazier and crazier--and the sequester? I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that mess. Now Jeb Bush has reared his ugly head, looking like he's going to make a run for the 2016 election. He made such a mess of Florida, we may never recover. He tanked education, the environment, and just about everything that mattered--and now we have that crazy-ass Rick Scott, who is a devout follower of Jeb Bush everything. The mere thought of a third Bush running this Country--and for what it's worth, I believe the most evil of the group (save for Neil--can a convicted felon become President?), is simply terrifying. We lived it first hand in Florida. He was a ruthless dictator, and I don't use the term loosely, Em.

On a brighter subject, we finally got a breath of cool air here in South Florida. For the past week we've had 60s and 70s days and at night it's been in the high 40s and low fifties. It's been glorious! Too late, I'm afraid, for mango blooms, but still gorgeous. I believe this is the last couple of days, but we're all loving it! Our bougeanvilla is wild with color. It surrounds our grounds and it is simply magnificent. I'm waiting for our Queen Crepe Myrtle to come into bloom. We're in the process of changing our pond over to a garden. I can't take the terror of those damned poisonous frogs anymore. They are out of control and they come out of the pond and run all over the backyard. I can't leave Princess alone for a minute out there for fear she'll lick one. Having lost a dog to one, I will never let it happen again, and if I must lose the pond, then so I must. The frogs are so provocative! They actually come up to Prinny and make moves for her--almost in a sexual manner, to try and get her to come to them. It's downright insane. This is yet another transplanted visitor we have through importing.

I don't know if you follow any of the shows that document what's going on here, but we are inundated with transplanted reptiles and other animals. It started out with people wanting pets--exotic poisonous snakes like Black Mambos, Cobras; then constrictors--boas and pythons. Unfortunately, when they got too big or people got tired of them, they started dumping them in the Everglades, where they were free to roam, cross-breed and grow beyond normal sizes. There are other species of poison lizards as well. The bad news is that the food supply is dwindling and they've begun going outside the glades and into our populated areas (as far east as Miami Beach) looking for bigger and better food sources. Of late, and probably most frightening of the transplants is the Anaconda. Yep. They've now found a few of them, one 24 feet long--capable of eating a man. How scary is that????? Makes you wonder what kind of evil is in the heads of these people that would put them up to doing things like this...

[Emeritus]

Makes you wonder what kind of evil is in the heads of these people that would put them up to doing things like this...

The problems is that there is nothing in their heads, ck. People who bring in exotic plants and animals to keep in their homes without thinking of their effect on the environment are air heads. In Texas we spend many millions of dollars every year in futile attempts to clear waterways and lakes of non-indigenous plants, because some idiot thought that they were pretty. Sometimes I think that our species is not evolving, but regressing. I'm glad that you are having beautiful weather and I hope that you get to enjoy it.

[cklaurence]

I am indeed enjoying the gorgeous weather. Princess and I are spending a good part of the days out on my terrace off our bedroom. The trees and shrubs are gorgeous; the air is clean and breezy (you know I'm just a couple of blocks away from the ocean); there's no television out there, and I can read or rest as I please.
I know the plant problem in Texas must be a nuisance; however, it might not be quite as deadly as the rock pythons and the anacondas we have here--or the growing poisonous snake population that is not indigenous to our area either. I'm not competing with Texas, of course, just a bit unnerved by the incredible stupidity of those airheads that are bringing these reptiles in and letting them go. They are are reproducing at unbelievable rates (both the people and the reptiles), and our Venom One Team, which is among the best in the world is working 24x7 in an attempt to just keep things under control--in what seems to be a losing battle...

[cklaurence]

Hey Em! I had an interesting day yesterday. Got to talking with SandiegoForever on facebook at Reagan Murray's page. Of course I brought up Switzerland--you know I can't help myself. I don't know why I think that by bringing up our special place, perhaps it will strike a chord with some of the old family--hope springs eternal, I suppose, but I don't suppose I shall ever stop...

He was a real sweetie about it. Even went into how he ended up leaving here in the first place. You might want to check it out if you have the time. I offered my hand, as I always do, in the hopes that if it didn't bring him running, at least he'd think about it and/or talk it up with some of the others and perhaps come back for a visit some time. Of course, I can't compete with facebook, but I can't help but feel there's that very special personal feel to our little Switzerland, whereby facebook seems to have the Big Brothers of commerciality over your shoulder wherever you turn--and it keeps getting worse over there...

[Emeritus]

It seems that people just drift in and out of our lives, for no reason that I've ever discovered. Do people just say all that they have to say to each other? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with like or dislike. I have no idea why Victoria unfriended us, for example. I'm sure that it was nothing that we did. I guess that she just lost interest. As for me, I'm the kind that stays.

[cklaurence]

You've certainly proven that to me, Em. As for others? Though many have left Switzerland, they haven't all "left" us/me in our personal lives (although it doesn't explain why they did leave us here at Switzerland and remain so prolific on such a public forum as facebook...

As for Ms Victoria--that woman had/has her own agenda. She wasn't content to just "leave" Switzerland. She first had to cause chaos--remember, she was the leader of that mess with Orange_U_Glad and a couple of others--her display of flirting that was way over the top (while she proclaimed what a fine Christian woman she was). There were a number of issues (that I have long since buried in the dark recesses of my mind) with her--but since she was my (so-called) 'friend'--having broken bread here in my very home Diva Weekend, I overlooked and continuously gave her slack. In exchange, she stepped on Switzerland and me, as though we were bugs--left here in a huff, made a show of UNfriending me at facebook for reasons only she and all the others she "confided" in are aware of--reminding me of my mom's favorite line, "no good deed goes unpunished."

I guess a lot of stuff used to go on over here. Some I miss, some not so much. I do consistently enjoy our convos, Em...

[Emeritus]

I've been to the Houston Texans page on Fox Sports. It's funny that Reecey and I stuck it out though the terrible years when the Texans couldn't have a winning record and then left when they started to get pretty good. In the meantime all of these newbies have shown up. I found them wringing their hands because the Texans have done nothing so far in free agency and pointed out that the team has little cap room and like to build through the draft anyway. They haven't been around long enough to know that. Anyway, any football news is welcome news. I'm trying to ignore what is happening in Washington and football helps.

[cklaurence]

Yes, football helps a lot. I thought maybe I had generated some interest the other day (in getting people over here), but apparently not. Whatever. Certainly the Dolphins made a splash in the free agency market on the first day, but it's hard for me to get overly excited about picking up Wallace for a fortune, when he sounds like a clone of Marshall, who if you'll remember we dumped before last season, leaving ourselves without a deep threat all year. This Wallace has exactly the same knocks that Marshall had--dropping the big ones, but coming through when you don't expect it. Another heartbreak kid--a Dolphin specialty. Ireland is getting all kinds of kudos--go figure, huh?