A Marines Wife

The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. 'I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,' she said. 'I think that's what he would have wanted'

***
2nd Lt. James J. Cathey, USMC was killed in action over in Iraq on August 21, 2006. With all the fun of summer that the official Memorial Day weekend brings it would be nice to remember some of the folks that made such a long weekend possible. Raise a glass, say a simple prayer, whatever, but remember them in some form or another this long holiday weekend we call Memorial Day.

Papamoka

Mark Twain Self Written Autobiography

As a writer I look up to the greats and know that I will never be able to walk in their shoes. Giants like Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens, were minds that never found a boundary in their written works. True to form for Twain, he left instructions for his personally written autobiography that he wrote in his last year of life to be published after 100 years after his death.

I'm willing to bet he hated his publishers guts but that would be a writers assumption on my part. The written works have been available to anyone that wanted to travel to California to the University of California at Berkley for some time now. But the book in three parts or a trilogy will start to be released in November of 2010.

This is going to be a book series that I'm going to buy. A self written autobiography by Mark Twain is a writers wet dream and a history buffs Nirvana!

Exactly a century after rumours of his death turned out to be entirely accurate, one of Mark Twain's dying wishes is at last coming true: an extensive, outspoken and revelatory autobiography which he devoted the last decade of his life to writing is finally going to be published.

The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently misquoted catchphrases in the English language
left behind 5,000 unedited pages of memoirs when he died in 1910, together with handwritten notes saying that he did not want them to hit bookshops for at least a century.

That milestone has now been reached, and in November the University of California, Berkeley, where the manuscript is in a vault, will release the first volume of Mark Twain's autobiography. The eventual trilogy will run to half a million words, and shed new light on the quintessentially American novelist. - The Independent

See you in line at the book store Mike Jones when this comes out in November of 2010!!!

Papamoka

The War is Making You Poor

Guest post from Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida's 8th District

Dear Papamoka Readers,

Next week, there is going to be a "debate" in Congress on yet another war funding bill. The bill is supposed to pass without debate, so no one will notice.

What George Orwell wrote about in "1984" has come true. What Eisenhower warned us about concerning the "military-industrial complex" has come true. War is a permanent feature of our societal landscape, so much so that no one notices it anymore.

But we're going to change this. Today, we're introducing a bill called 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. The purpose of this bill is to connect the dots, and to show people in a real and concrete way the cost of these endless wars. We're working to get co-sponsors in Congress, but, we need citizen co-sponsors as well. Become a citizen cosponsor today at TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com. Act Now.

http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

Next year's budget allocates $159,000,000,000 to perpetuate the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That's enough money to eliminate federal income taxes for the first $35,000 of every American's income. Beyond that, leaves over $15 billion to cut the deficit.

And that's what this bill does. It eliminates separate funding for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and eliminates federal income taxes for everyone's first $35,000 of income ($70,000 for couples). Plus it pays down the national debt. Does that sound good to you? Then please sign our petition in support of this bill, and help us build a movement to end our permanent state of war.

http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

The costs of the war have been rendered invisible. There's no draft. Instead, we take the most vulnerable elements of our population, and give them a choice between unemployment and missile fodder. Government deficits conceal the need to pay in cash for the war.

We put the cost of both guns and butter on our Chinese credit card. In fact, we don't even put these wars on budget; they are still passed using 'emergency supplemental'. A nine-year 'emergency'.

Let's show Congress the cost of these wars is too much for us.

http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

Tell Congress that you like 'The War Is Making You Poor Act'. No, tell Congress you love it.

http://www.TheWarIsMakingYouPoor.com

All we are saying is "give peace a chance." We will end these wars. Together.

Courage,
Alan Grayson

This post was authored by Alan Grayson and forwarded from an email

The GOP Does Not Get IT

Back in the day when George Bush Senior was concentrating on the world and ignored the folks at home there came a key phrase, “It’s the economy stupid”. And George Bush lost his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton for the White House.

While the GOP is full of piss and vinegar they still don’t get it. The economy is still in the tank and jobs are still scarce. People are still pissed and there is a reason why there are Tea Party groups and any other faction that leans right politically. The core reason for those factions is that the GOP ignored American’s while it stuffed its pockets under George W. Bush. Pick a subject and the GOP in power was stuffing big business pockets full of cash simply because they could. The war in Iraq, no bid contracts to KBR aka Dick Cheney’s former company that he was CEO for. Gasoline at $4.00 plus per gallon the last year W was president and there was no common sense reason for it other than stuffing the pockets of the president’s buddies. And there was never a conclusive investigation over it other than “Market” movement. Bullshit!

Now the GOP is shocked that they are having a hard time electing anyone in the special elections. The seat held by Jack Murtha in PA was a battlefield and still the GOP lost it by six or seven points. The exception to the rule is the seat once held by Teddy Kennedy that is now held by Scott Brown in Mass, but that could be explained easily when you look at what Martha Coakley, the Attorney General, brought to the table and that was nada. Then again, Massachusetts is the state that also votes in Republican Governors because the states people know that a one sided political government is never a good thing without some checks and balances. Why else would the bluest of the blues elect Ed King, Bill Weld, and Mitt Romney? Life long liberal here but voted for all three of the gentleman because I didn’t trust my state to be run by just one side.

If the GOP wants any chance of getting any seats then they have to face the fact that IT IS THE ECONOMY STUPID. When anyone wants to earn votes then tell the people what YOU will do to get jobs for your district. When people see that your GOP Chairman is spending money frivolously like he is a Lord in days of old because the trough will never run dry with donations then the election results are what they are. You would have to be an idiot to not know that the GOP is funded by mega corporations and the top income of America. Which is why I personally do not trust the GOP to offer me any information on local candidates for federal offices.

When you assume that everyone that is a Democrat will never vote Republican then the results are the same when you smack an intelligent person that is politically active regardless of their political affiliation in the face. In the end it comes down to the economy and the Republican leadership under Bush had a field day screwing it all up and Tea Party or whatever faction the GOP has now I want no part of it if the message is in ten parts because ten different groups now define the GOP and I’m thinking that is the basis of the GOP problem. Too many damn cooks in the kitchen.

Till then, we Democrats will clean up the mess that W and his crew left behind. We fixed the bank mess because the GOP striped regulation out of the industry, we are trying to fix Wall Street, we fixed Detroit and the auto makers because they are the largest contributor to the economy bar non, (GM just paid back its loan in full), we fixed healthcare, we fixed the massive loss of jobs under Bush, and we have a ton of other issues to clean up that 409 or Pinesol won’t have any effect on. And that is what matters at the polls when people vote.

And that is what Democrat’s do. So bite me. (Turrets)

Papamoka

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

One of the things that pisses me off to no end is the lack of corporate and government responsibility when it comes to environmental disasters like the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. You can look at the effects of what the Exxon Valdez in Alaska spill caused to the environment so many years ago and it is still effecting the people of Alaska today. The fishing community of the region is still suffering since that horrible day on March 24, 1989. That was 21 years ago! How many objects that you can touch in your home that you actually bought or still have 21 years later?

Unlike Alaska that isn’t a tourist resort by any sense of any standards that can realistically compare with Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, it will be interesting to see how the federal government deals with BP shutting down entire coastlines of resort communities because sludge is all over the shores of those resort locations. Would you be willing to pay for an airline ticket, hotel, rental car, to anywhere on the Gulf Coast if your beach towel is also going to have to double as an oil absorbent towel? How comfortable would you be eating the local seafood knowing that millions of barrels of oil are right there just off shore?

A very good friend of mine, Claudia Snell, sums it all up in this amazing video. What we do today is a gift to the children of tomorrow. When we forget that, then we all lose.

Facebook Fail

Can you spot the Facebook user in this picture? LOL!

Signs of Stupidity

Just something to giggle about...

Intoducing Alongside A War

One of the newest bands to appear in the Worcester scene is a punk rock band that rocks. Featuring Alex Guaraldi - Vocals/Guitar, Garrick Hunt - Lead Guitar, Jeff Freeland - Bass, Josue Rivera - Drums, Nicole Pelrine - Vocals/Mandolin, and Ian Campbell - MGMT.

Alongside A War is appearing May 12th at Hot Topic in the Greendale Mall and the show is free! Alongside A War is featured as one of the major players and finalist in the local battle of the bands competition so if you love live music and love punk rock then you have to check them out on May 12th at 6 PM.

You can check out their Facebook page at this link for Alongside A War.

Call out to Worcester Bloggers for a link!!!! Appreciate it ya’ll!

My thanks to Katt for the heads-up on this one. You rock Katt girl!

Papamoka

Lost and Confused from Dementia

Taking care of my dad (Jack) for so many years I know the fear that can plague your mind when it comes to being a caregiver for someone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s. Dad was constantly wanting to walk or go somewhere but he didn’t know where he was going or why. And for a 68 year old man he could make good time when he started his walking adventures.

His last adventure from his home he managed to be found by the local Shrewsbury Police lost, confused and certain that he lived in Boston. Dad, nor anyone we knew ever lived in Boston? And because I had taken the preventive measures to simply write my phone number and address on a piece of paper in his wallet, the police contacted me right away. I met the Shrewsbury Police at dad’s house and that was when it was decided that he could no longer live by himself. Jack did however enjoy the ride in the cruiser because they ran the siren for him a few times. Dad aka Grandpa Jack was moving in with me and the girls.

Dad eventually needed more care than we could provide and we found a nursing home that specialized in residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. If you have ever been to that kind of nursing home you can not help but notice that many of the residents are walking non-stop, checking every door, and seem to be on a mission to go somewhere but they don’t know where.

Over at the New York Times they have a great article about lost or missing elderly loved ones that managed to get out into the world undetected by their care givers. It is becoming such a common event that many police agencies are undergoing new training on locating and dealing with lost elderly people that suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's.

Rising numbers of searches are driving a need to retrain emergency workers, police officers and volunteers around the country who say they throw out just about every generally accepted idea when hunting for people who are, in many ways, lost from the inside out. “You have to stop thinking logically, because the people you’re looking for are no longer capable of logic,” said Robert B. Schaefer, a retired F.B.I. agent who cared for his wife, Sarah, for 15 years at home through her journey into Alzheimer’s. He now leads two-day training sessions for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Mr. Schaefer told his class of mostly police officers here in northern Virginia that unlike the ordinary lost child or hiker, a dementia wanderer will sometimes take evasive action to avoid detection, especially if the disease has made them paranoid about authority figures. - New York Times

This article had me thinking about the fears I had when my dad was at home. We could lock all of the doors but he knew how to unlock a door. And if he were determined enough then he could unlock any of the windows and be off at any time he wanted. If he ever managed to get out then where would I look? Where do you start when you don’t know when, where, how, or even if they are dressed for the weather conditions?

There are GPS Tracking devices available for people with dementia that tend to wander. I don’t know all the facts on them but here are a few websites you can check out. Most of them offer a service that you can access from your home computer to find your lost or missing loved one instantly.

Rocky Mountain Tracking
GPS Geo
Buddi - GPS Tracking

I hope this information helps. It’s a large responsibility to take care of someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s and having the peace of mind to be able to locate someone instantly if they wander off is priceless.

Papamoka

Unmask the Federal Reserve

Guest post (I copied and pasted an email from him) from Congressman Alan Grayson...

Last year, I asked the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board who received $1 trillion in funds that the Fed handed out to domestic banks and financial institutions. He said, essentially, "I'm not going to tell you." More recently, I asked the Chairman of the Fed who received the half trillion dollars - that's $500,000,000,000 - that the Fed handed over to foreign central banks. He said he didn't know. Half a trillion dollars, and he doesn't know!

That kind of ignorance and arrogance must end. We need to audit the Fed. And now we're closer than ever.

The House passed our bill to conduct the first independent audit of the Fed in its 96-year history. Now it's time for the Senate to act.

A bipartisan group of Senators is pushing for an amendment to audit the Fed. This amendment is similar to the legislation that we passed in the House last year. It's called the Federal Reserve Accountability Amendment. It will ensure that the American people know to whom the Fed is lending our money.

A vote on the amendment is imminent. Time is of the essence. Visit UnmaskTheFed.com NOW to contact your Senators, and call on them to cosponsor and support the Federal Reserve Accountability Amendment.

The amendment is simple. If it passes, the Fed finally will be audited. Regarding all those billions that the Fed hands out like party favors, we will find out who, what, when, where and how. (We already know "why" - the answer to that question is "Wall Street Greed".) But if this amendment fails, the Fed can continue to make hand out our money to whomever it wants, without telling Congress or the American People.

We think we can pass the Senate Amendment, with your help. The amendment is already cosponsored by progressive heroes like Bernie Sanders, Pat Leahy and Russ Feingold. And joining us in this strange-bedfellows coalition are John McCain, Jim DeMint, David Vitter and Sam Brownback. (We hesitate to use the terms "bedfellows" and "David Vitter" in the same sentence, but that would be changing the subject.)

With such bipartisan support, you'd think that passing this legislation would be a slam dunk. Wrong. Wall Street bankers and their lobbyists are twisting arms and pouring millions into the campaign coffers of politicians on both sides of the political divide, to keep their sweetheart Fed loans under wraps. It's time to counter their influence-peddling by making the Senate listen to the united voice of the American People. (That would be you.)

It's time to step up the pressure. Contact your Senators NOW at UnmasktheFed.com.

Courage,

Alan

White House Correspondents Dinner 2010

This years dinner (2010)for the White House Correspondents was not the greatest of laughs but their were a few good jabs during President Obama's speech. This video of the Correspondents Dinner is from CSPAN...



Video Link

Papamoka