Category: Culture

OPINION: Mass Shootings

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OPINION:

Mass Shootings: A Feature of American Culture

Gun violence in the United States is out of control. We need common sense laws.

OPINION:

Mass Shootings: A Feature of American Culture

By Trevor K. McNeil and D. S. Mitchell

 

Nothing New

The recent rash of mass shootings has shaken the nation. Rightfully so, such a wanton loss of life is unacceptable, particularly in the civilian sphere. Sadly though, it is difficult to be surprised. Spree killings have been as much a feature of American culture as baseball and apple pie, reaching all the way back to the days of Howard Barton Unruh.  Howard  was an American mass killer, sometimes classified as a spree killer. Unruh  shot and killed 13 people (including three children) during a 12-minute walk through his neighborhood in the fall of 1949, in Camden, N.J. He was 28 years old.

A Couple Years Later

Charlie Starkweather is another twentieth century mass murderer that blazed across the pages of American newspapers with his 14 year old girlfriend.  Charles Raymond “Charlie” Starkweather went on a multi-state killing spree killing eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming between December 1957 and January 1958. He was 19 years old. He killed ten of his victims between January 21 and January 29, 1958, the date of his arrest. The point being, America has a gun problem and it is nothing new.

Powerful NRA Lobby

The primary opposition to gun control laws in the United States are the gun manufacturers. The NRA has served as an arm of gun manufacturers for years, successfully masquerading as a citizen 2nd Amendment right’s group. The NRA and its bought and paid for wing of the Republican party have formed a powerful voice in Congress, effectively shutting down nearly all efforts to legislate gun control. One of their more ridiculous cries has been the case of “what-aboutism”

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Silverchair “Anthem for the Year 2000

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Silverchair “Anthem for the Year 2000”

Silverchair “Anthem for the year 2000

Silverchair were three school mates that came together and rose to international stardom in 1995.  They were all 15 years old when they recorded their first album, Frogstomp, was a pleasant mix of Nirvana and Pearl Jam.  Like all groups over the years their sound has morphed.  Their debut album topped the Australian charts and broke the Top Ten in America, making them the first Australian group since INXS to have significant success in the States.  T. K. McNeil suggested today’s Calamity Jukebox Choice of the Day, Silverchair doing “Anthem for the year 2000” and as usual he got a  “hell, yeah!” response from me and the parakeet. T. K. wanted readers to know that this song was written and recorded in response to a political movement in the 1990’s in Australia. “In the late 90 a far-right party was running on repealing the gun laws. These were the gun laws instituted after the Port Arthur Massacre. Lyrics are below. Enjoy! DSM

**The Port Arthur massacre of 28–29 April 1996 was a mass shooting in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded in Port Arthur, Tasmania. The murderer, Martin Bryant, pleaded guilty and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole. Wikipedia

Anthem for the Year 2000

by Silverchair
We are the youth
We’ll take your fascism away
We are the youth
Apologize for another day
We are the youth
The politicians are so sure
We are the youth
And we are knocking on death’s door
Never knew we were living in a world
With a mind that could be so sure
Never knew we were living in a world
With a mind that could be so small
Never knew we were living in a world
And the world is an open court
Maybe we don’t wanna live in a world
Where our innocence is so short
We’ll make it up to you
In the year 2000 with
Never knew we were living in a world
With a mind that could be so sure
Never knew we were living in a world
With a mind that could be so small
Never knew we were living in a world
And the world is an open court
Maybe we don’t wanna live in a world
Where our innocence is so short
We’ll make it up to you
In the year 2000
Build it up for you
In the year 2000
Make up to you
In the year 2000
Build it up for you
In the year 2000 with you
Never knew we were living in a world
With a world that could be so sure
Never knew we were living in a world
With a mind that could be so small
Never knew we were living in a world
And the world is an open court
Maybe we don’t wanna live in a world
Where no one even cares at all
We’ll make it up to you
In the year 2000
Build it up for you
In the year 2000
Make it hard for you
In the year 2000
Build it up for you
In the year 2000
Make it hard for you
In the year 2000
Build it up for you
In the year 2000 with you
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Daniel Johns
Anthem for the Year 2000 lyrics © Sony Music Australia

Medicare: Choosing The Right Plan

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Medicare: Choosing The Right Plan

Medicare is one of the most transformative laws in U.S. history

Medicare: Choosing The Right Plan

by D. S. Mitchell

AARP Contribution

I am convinced one of the best publications for a senior citizen is AARP magazine. This little newspaper is a gem. A year ago Dena Burns wrote an article on how to be a smart consumer when it comes to Medicare benefits. I thought her observations were worth passing on.

Important Calendar Events

I can’ t stress this enough. When it comes to signing up for Medicare, time matters. So, sign up on time to avoid hassles and higher monthly premiums. The initial enrollment time is called the IEP, unless you have health insurance through your job or your spouse’s. The IEP spans 7 months; the month a beneficiary turns 65 and the 3 months before and after that birthday.  Missing the IEP can cost you, for the rest of your life. Here’s how it works for parts A, B, and D.

  • Part A: This is the hospitalization portion of the program and covers hospital stays and short term nursing facilities. If you miss your deadline you will have no coverage until you enroll.
  • Part B: This portion of the program covers doctor services, outpatient and preventive care along with some covered medical supplies. If you miss your enrollment deadline your premium will increase by 10 percent for every 12 months you are overdue in signing up. As an example, if you sign up 2 years late you will pay an estimated $6,500 more in monthly premiums over the next 20 years. 
  • Part D: Part D helps pay for prescription medications. In this case, if you miss your IEP your monthly premium will increase by 1% each month you remain unenrolled. In 2019 the average monthly premium was $31.83.  As an example, if you delay for 24 months to enroll, you will pay an additional $8.00 per month for your coverage for life. (* I personally have a  story regarding Part D.  I was hit with the additional 1% when I filed nearly 2 years late for Part D. In my case it was my employers fault and when I appealed the decision and it’s penalty I won the appeal because my employer had failed to provide the information to me, although they had provided all the enrollment information on Parts A and B.*)  So, remember, in some cases you can appeal the ruling and win, but it is easier to do it right to start with.
  • Once you are enrolled it is important to make a note each year that between October 15 and December 7 you can legally switch coverage for the upcoming year.

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Motorhead “Ace Of Spades”

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Motorhead “Ace Of Spades”

Motorhead “Ace Of Spades”

Well, here’s another one of T.K.’s Jukebox Choice(s) of the Day. Motorhead with “Ace Of Spades” got three thumbs up here in the office.  You will find the lyrics below. Enjoy! DSM

Ace of Spades

Motorhead

If you like to gamble, I tell you I’m your man
You win some, lose some, all the same to me
The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say
I don’t share your greed, the only card I need is the Ace of Spades
The Ace of Spades
Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil
Going with the flow, it’s all a game to me
Seven or eleven, snake eyes watching you
Double up or quit, double stake or split, the Ace of Spades
The Ace of Spades
You know I’m born to lose, and gambling’s for fools
But that’s the way I like it baby
I don’t wanna live for ever
And don’t forget the joker!
Pushing up the ante, I know you gotta see me
Read ’em and weep, the dead man’s hand again
I see it in your eyes, take one look and die
The only thing you see, you know it’s gonna be the Ace of Spades
The Ace of Spades
Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Edward Alan Clarke / Ian Kilmister / Philip John Taylor
Ace of Spades lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, DistroKid

30 Quotes Celebrating Women

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30 Quotes Celebrating Women

The International Day of the Woman

30 Quotes Celebrating Women:

International Women’s Day

D. S. Mitchell

March 8th is celebrated world wide as International Women’s Day. I thought it might be fun to just look at some famous quotes celebrating women.

1.) “Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” –Unknown 

2.) “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” –Spanish Proverb

3.) “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

4.) “The best protection any woman can have is courage.” –Elizabeth Cady Stanton

5.) “Where there is a woman, there is magic.” –Ntozake Shange

6.) “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” –Unknown

7.) “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” –Hilary Clinton

8.) “Feminism is for everyone.”-Bell Hooks 

9.) “There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t do better and in heels.” –Ginger Rogers

10.) “Above all, be the heroine of your life. Not the victim.” –Nora Ephron

11.) “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” –Emma Watson

12.) “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” –Stephanie Bennett-Henry

13.) “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” –Gina Carey

14.) “She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” –Atticus

15.) “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else.” –Unknown

16.) “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” –G.D. Anderson

17.) “You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down.” –Unknown 

18.) “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand

19.) “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” –Madonna

20.) “A woman is like a tea bag: You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

21.) “A woman should be like a single flower—not a whole bouquet.” –Anna Held

22.) “I know what I bring to the table… So trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” –Unknown

23.) “Women are the real architects of society.” –Cher

24.) “When women wake, mountains move.” Chinese Proverb

25.)  “She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.” –Unknown

26.) “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” –Unknown

27.) “I expect woman will be the last thing civilized by man.” –George Meredith

28.) “Women are made to be loved, not understood.” –Oscar Wilde

29.) “The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

30.) “In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits” –Arnold Schwarzenegger

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2017/03/29/quotes-on-courage/

 

OPINION: Equal Opportunity Offense

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We spend a lot of time arguing about conservative vs liberal

OPINION: Equal Opportunity Offense

By I. B. Freely 

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Voltaire

Changing Definitions

Things aren’t always as they seem, particularly with definitions changing over time. Nowhere is this truer than in politics. Hardly a week goes by without a ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy being hurled at one side of the aisle or the other. At least part of the problem is one of definition.

Descriptors

The modern understandings of ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ are, slightly bastardized, adaptations of neutral descriptors, as in a ‘conservative wager’ and a ‘liberal sprinkling.’ The former generally used to denote restraint and the latter excess. Whether it is positive or a negative depends on the situation, an excess of freedom generally considered a good thing. An irony coming into play when one considers that those calling themselves ‘conservative’ advocate for the excesses of a free market economy and those labeling themselves ‘liberals’ support restraint in terms of access to firearms.

Us and Them

Another example of conflict comes in the forms of identity politics and who it is ‘okay’ to criticize. My fellow liberals aren’t going to like to hear this but the idea of ‘protected classes’ shows restraint as reflected in functional conservatism. What we are saying in terms of merging social equality with protected classes is “we are all equal, except for them, don’t dare even criticize them.” An attitude very much in line with the most staunch monarchists who, at least historically, have been in stark opposition to those calling themselves liberals.

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OPINION: Homelessness, Thinking Small

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OPINION: Homelessness, Thinking Small

Homelessness in the United States is caused by misdirected priorities

OPINION:

Homelessness, Thinking Small

By Trevor K. McNeil

 

T’was Ever Thus

Homelessness as a social issue is far from new. A problem that has existed for millennia, whether it as acknowledge or not, came to wide, social attention during the late 19th through the pioneering of the likes of Charles Dickens and the Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt. Now, as then, one of the biggest issues perpetuating homelessness is lack of public and political will. Are logistics an issue, yes, though really nothing that can’t be addressed with some strategic planning. Cuba certainly has its downsides but at least everyone has somewhere to live.

Sharp Clarity

The decadence of the 1980s, cleaved to so strongly in the 1990s came into sharp focus in the early 2000s, particularly in the sub-prime mortgage crisis. A case of designed obsolescence for short-term gain, as opposed to an unforeseen tragedy. The 2008 recession was the net result of the fraudulent  tactics used by the financial sector for decades, finally reaching the heights where they collapsed. Society finally realizing that the system, as it was, was no longer tenable. Even if the perpetrators of the crises were largely “punished” with early retirement including lucrative pension schemes.

Dollars and Sense

Even with the echoes of the 2008 recession still echoing in the ears of many, the issue of homelessness goes far beyond resources. It would be insane to argue that housing prices haven’t gone up. They have but a fact that very few, especially those who make fortunes from it, want to admit is that it largely imaginary. The ‘housing market’ is based mostly on the ‘interest rate.’ A largely arbitrary and most imaginary measure of future values, most ‘futures traders’ having no more real insight than psychics.

Homes For the Homeless

In terms of cost, both in materials and labor, housing is among the most over-valued commodities, mostly because if it’s relative scarcity. Diamonds and gold have no inherent monetary value, their value stemming from their beauty and the fact they are hard to find. If tin were similarly scarce one would be paying a lot more for a cooking pot. It might seem bizarre but, at an outside, a two-bedroom house can be build in 24 hours for $4,000 with a 3-D printer. Using Habitat For Humanity have been knocking together full, family-sized homes in record time for years.

Do It Yourself

If you are willing to go a bit smaller and use a generator or solar, there are cottages in a box, which are literally small houses that come in an IKEA-style flat-pack, being sold on eBay for $10,000 for those who have their own land which, depending on where you live, is getting cheaper all the time.

Thinking Small

Another option for those who own land is to join the tiny house movement. While it has gotten some pretty weird press over the years, this doesn’t always mean living in a converted school bus. It is more than possible to build a smaller, simpler house for not much money. Most jurisdictions have minimums on how big a house needs to be but they usually top out at 500 square feet. And that only applies to what is called the ‘foot-print’ of the structure. Therefore, it would be perfectly within the rules to build a 300 square foot tiny house with a 200 square foot deck.

Going Mico

Live in a city with limited space? There’s a solution for you too! Micro-apartments are the newest trend in the notoriously expensive city of Vancouver, B.C. which has been struggling with it’s own housing crisis for years. Pretty much what they sound like, micro-apartments are very small housing suites, some as small as 500 square feet, in buildings built in the gaps between existing buildings.

THE VETERAN AND PTSD

 

 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Black and Blessed

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*Celebrating Black History Month

**At the close of Black History Month let’s take a look at ourselves and our country. DSM/Calamity**

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Black and Blessed

By Wes & Anna Hessel

 

A Black Mark Not On Our History

As Black History Month comes to a close, we must actively insure that the true history of Black Americans is told. All of it. The dark and the glorious. How this story ends will be a predictor of how our nation embraces our black brothers and moves forward.  We all recall as children eating peanut butter spread on crackers as we learned about George Washington Carver, but no other significant Black history was ever taught, at least any school I ever attended. African-American history remains mostly hidden and not taught in schools.

Inventors and Heroes

It is not a significant part of any school curriculums and it should be.  An accurate depiction of the history and culture of African-Americans must become part of American history classes.  Teaching a truthful history lends respect to those activities could over a generation change core attitudes. The history of blacks in America is our history, some dark and tragic, some brilliant and glorious. It is time we as a country accept that not all history worth being written down and taught was that of  white men.   The poem that became the lyrics of our National Anthem was written by an attorney who had little or no respect for Black people.   We now must educate about the atrocities of slavery and the important roles Blacks have played and continue to play in our history and our future.

Nothing New

Various peoples of Africa were brought to the “New World” as slaves, bought, sold, and treated like the property they were considered to be, not the persons of rich culture and tradition they had been.  The “first” African slaves brought to what is now the United States is typically thought to be a load of captives from what is now Angola, sold to Jamestown Governor George Yeardley and Abraham Piersey, the colony’s trade head, for food, near the end of August 1619.

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Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

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Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

The legacy of Zitkala-Sa lives on as one of the most influential Native American activists of the 20th century. She left an influential theory of Indian resistance and a crucial model for reform. It was the activism of Zitkala-Sa that made possible crucial changes to education, health care, and legal standing for Native American people and the preservation of Indian culture.

Life Story: Zitkala-Sa - Women & the American StoryZitkala-Sa’s Literary Work

“Much of Zitkala-Sa’s work is characterized by its transitional nature: tensions between tradition and assimilation, between literature and politics. These tensions are most notable in her autobiographical works. In her well-known “American Indian Stories”, for example, she both expresses a literary account of her life and delivers a political message. The narrative expresses her tension between wanting to follow the traditions of the Yankton Dakota while being excited about learning to read and write, and being tempted by assimilation. This tension has been described as generating much of the dynamism of her work.” Wikipedia

Zitkala-Sa: An American Indian Voice

By D. S. Mitchell

Who was Zitkala-Sa?

Zitkala-Sa was an American Indian woman who was an influential voice for indigenous people. Red Bird was a writer, editor, translator, composer, musician, educator, and political activist.  She struggled with her cultural identity and took that struggle to the written page. She also wrote books about traditional Native American myths and stories. Her writings were well-known  to a white English-speaking readership. She is considered among one of the most influential Native Americans of the twentieth century.

Red Bird

Zitkala-Sa was born February 22, 1876 on the Yankton Dakota Reservation in South Dakota. Zitkala-Sa means “Red Bird”.  She was later given the missionary name of Gertrude Simmons.  Ellen Simmons, a Yankton Dakota woman whose Dakota name was Thate Ivohiwin (Every Wind or Reaches for the Wind) was her mother. Her father was a German-American man who left the family when Zitkala-Sa was very young. Gertrude later married Raymond Bonnin and is often known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin.

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