An Addition to My Blog

I have just added my list of my top 40 movies onto my blog on the right column side. I plan to add my top 40 albums/CDs and my top 40 songs in the future--look for them in the coming weeks or so...enjoy and offer me your opinions on my choices and any you feel I have overlooked or omitted...

A Long Wait Ends in Success as the Snow Melts Away

Finally, a resolution to my many months-long problem in dealing with the Federal Government! Last Thursday, 1 February, I was informed by the staff of US Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado that the government had gotten their act together thanks to the efforts of the Senator's staff and my document was finally processed after having been in their system for over six months and it would be mailed to me and I would receive it within a matter of days. Today, Friday, February 9th, 2007, that day arrived. I greatly thank Hank and Deb for their generous assistance to me in helping me receive this document. With my receipt of this, I was able to get a temp DL issued to me by CO MVD that will get me going in a positive way. Since the MVD is linked up to USCIS via computer and the document was so newly issued, the MVD has to wait to affirm the validity of the document before issuing me a final permanent DL. This should happen in the next 15 to 3o days and then I will have to return to CO to get the final process of this long ardorous journey completed. I have had to exercise enormous patience during this entire hassle which really caused me endless frustration and many hardships; some of which were often unforeseen and some of which were sudden and unexpected and led to greater hardships. I am just grateful that it is all but over now and that I can resume my life after a long interuption and no longer have to be a nonperson.

To all those who offered me support and words of confidence during this frustrating process, thank you very much. To those who helped me out over this long period, particularly Kelly, Hank, Deb, Todd, Tascha, Brant, and Sarah, and all their children, a special word of gratitude goes to you all. Let me offer words of hope and optimism that 2007 continues to be a year of continued and renewed success, happiness, and satisfaction for everybody that I know both in my family and among my friends.

The trip to CO today was relaxing for me for the most part. There is still vast amounts of snow throughout the region and at Hank's home it appears that snow totals on the ground and in the surrounding area still ranges from 24" to 36" with larger drifts still present and huge mounds of snow ( some in excess of 75'!) everywhere. I would guess that it won't all melt away until sometime in April unless we get a dry March with a nice little heatwave. The El Nino in the eastern Pacific has weakened substantially so hopefully that means no more big storms in the coming months. This winter has been difficult enough and lasted too long for everyone around here already. Denver is going to set a record for most consecutive days for snowcover this season. See this link to keep up with this looming record setting event:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/?n=consec_snowog

Here in the Cheyenne area, the ground is mostly bare in windprone and sunny places but in the shade and areas where the wind caused snow to drift there remains snowdepths anywhere from a few inches to 3'-4' in most cases. Six straight days of temperatures around 50 degrees and higher have helped melt quite a bit of the snow here and soften up the remainder. We should have mostly clearly ground almost everywhere within the next 10 days to two weeks except for the big glacier that sits west of the house that is about 2500 square yards and is as deep as 4' for much of its mass.

Thanks to Deb and Julia for the Valentines Day cards and candy, and a belated thank you to Karen, Sam, Jessie, and Ken for the Christmas Card that I just picked up today. When I go to get my belongings later this month, I will be sure to get my camera and take some pictures of where I am at and post them on this blog and also Ringo so all my readers can see the remote prairie locale where I have been staying and will continue to for awhile longer. The start of Spring officially is only 39 days away...

Income Inequality and Education

I came across this post from a well-respected UC-Berkeley Econ Prof concerning the fallacy of the argument that more education always leads to greater income. He and the other researchers who have looked into this have some strong insights on this claim and its cheerleaders who are in government, the private sector, and the media. Its worth a look and some contemplating about if you are interested in the overwhelmingly growing problem of income inequality in our nation...

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/07/the_pattern_of_.html

A National Healthcare Plan Bill emerges in the US House

US Representative John Conyers of Michigan has once again offered a national healthcare bill in Congress for consideration. From what I can see and read, it looks to be about the best idea out there to start dealing with this national public policy debacle and disgrace. Insurance companies and HMOs are at the root of why this nation's citizens have either no health insurance or its being priced at immoral and criminal rates as they make out like the highwaymen that they are.
Healthcare is just another area where profit needs to be an afterthought and individuals and their families wellbeing is the ultimate concern and focus.


You can learn more about Rep. Conyers' bill, HR676, at his congressional website:

http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_hr676_2.htm

I would be greatly interested in learning of other legislative ideas about this issue and what their advantages and benefits would be compared to the Conyers' plan.

Observations on Recent Politics and Public Policy

I have not offered my opinions as of late on some of the recent decisions and action by politicians on Public Policy. With regards to Bush's troop "surge", I wish there were some other alternative to consider that would be more preferable, but if this Iraq mission fails that nation will fall into the hands of radical Islamists who would hell bent on spreading death and misery throughout the world and Al-Qaida would be working hand in hand with a state that would have the same goals as they do and facilitate and fund their evil and treachery. So what choice do we have? I am very pessismistic about any success that can occur but to abandon that part of the world would be disastrous to the West. I do not see any other constructive alternatives being suggested by the dissenters--all they are saying is to get out and seemingly to heck with what happens after that. If that is all these dissenters can suggest then we are doomed to suffer tragedies and shocks that could result in further losses to our personal freedoms and liberties and untold harm and damage to our economy and others in the West. That may yet happen, particularly when and if the war with Iran commences, but that is not a total inevitability as I write (hopefully).

The idea of seeing images of al-Sadr and other Islamist extremists in Iraq on a stage with bin-Laden or some of his powerful associates raising their hands in unison with swords and rifles yelling out insults and shouting words of defiance towards the US and seeing that on al-Jazeera
for all Arabs and Islamists to see and rejoice in is a nightmare for all American citizens. Lets try to do what we can to prevent that nightmare from becoming a reality. And in spite of many citizens' reservations, Bush is doing what he believes he can to stop this more worse case scenario from eventuating. So far now---maybe the next 9 months or so-- I'll not object to this strategy and give it time to work---more accurately to give time to further develop and enlarge Iraqi security forces and increase the size of the region that exists without any civil unrest. This seems to be the only real hope to ending this situation as it is now but how realistic that is remains questionable at best. Lets hope it is much better than that for all our sakes.



The war drums continue to beat and an escalation in the conflict with Iran seems more likely as each day passes. There are already two full carrier groups deployed in the NW Indian Ocean and a large contingent of fighter and bomber aircraft groups are now on the ground in Romania and Bulgaria. This readying of forward strike forces so close to Iran with no other reason for their stationing there is very disturbing. I can envision numerous significant repeated airstrikes on Iranian targets, primarily military but some key economic and political ones as well. Long-range artillery and missles from the battleships and carriers would be launched as well and a strategy to completely nuetralize the fledgling Iranian Air Force and Navy would be part of this early war effort. What would happen next is up to some speculation. I can envision large movements of unrest and rebellion occuring throughout the Moslem world with the real possibility of several governments that are pro-American or at least neutral falling to extremists, particularly in Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, and even Saudi Arabia. A large world war could blow up in a matter of weeks and many subsequent scenarios and consequences are largely unimaginable and inperceivable. I would think the likelihood of war with Iran is better than 60-40 right now and this only goes up daily particularly with continuous Iranian saber-rattling and threats of nuclear power deployment in the real immediate future. I believe large numbers of the Iranian civilian population (probably about 3/4) do not want this situation to escalate to this point but they lack the power and voice to change things right now as the hardline clerics and religious zealots are calling the shots and seem directed towards moving towards an all war with the Western "infidels" as they see that as the destiny and fate that their Allah wants and demands. Quite frightening and unsettling, huh? When this will all come down remains to be seen. With a wide scale ground attack very unlikely to be part of this war on our part, the airstrikes and artillery barrages can begin and occur at anytime as it will not be dependent on the time of the year and the related climate that had to be considered for the two land based wars in Iraq in the last 17 years. The worst case scenario is been read at this link:

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0203-21.htm



Illegal immigration is still running amok across the SW US and the invaders have caused tremendous disruptions, problems, and tragedies throughout the nation but it is particularly striking in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Texas. These invaders are putting tremendous strains on social services, all governmental levels of budgets, law enforcement, and the economy as a whole. They have destroyed the blue collar job market for non-college educated Americans particularly in the trades, distribution, and what remains of the manufacturing sector. I have witnessed this first hand in the Denver area as that area has been economically devastated by this invasion as many Americans cannot get good paying jobs anymore in such industries as construction, maintenance, and warehouse operations. I have read and seen that the impact in Phoenix and Los Angeles is staggering. And now Bush adminstration officials and major corporate mavens are working hard to establish the North American Union, a EU of this continent where the three countries would be economically and socially integrated with a common currency, no border controls, and specific funding of Canadian and American tax dollars that would go to paying for infrastructure, housing, and social welfare programs in Mexico. The negotiations and analysis for this profound action is ongoing without virtually anyone's knowledge and is being disregarded by the press and politicians. It will probably happen and be voted on before the year is out much to our loss as Americans. This terrible destructive direction towards globalism that has been ongoing for a generation has been a great mistake and has caused immense suffering for middle class and poor Americans across the nation and has had enormous economic consequences, particularly in regards to the American family... two income families with both parents working fulltime is now the rule and a result children are being raised in absentia and having their values and attitudes being shaped by highly destructive greedy societal elements such as rap musicians, cable TV, sleezy Hollywood movies, MTV, child pornographers, and host of other sorry disgusting entities and institutions including primarily mainstream Corporate America which has directed a successful propaganda campaign to mandate consumerism, waste, impoliteness, vulgarity, consumption, greed, violence, thoughtlessness, disrespect, and out and out stupidity among our youth and young adults all in the name of profit, greed, and power. And it only seems inevitable it will worsen. Successful parents who raise good kids have to be given a lot of credit for succeeding in spite of all the overwhelming corporate and cultural forces working intensively against them. How this can be reversed so more parents can succeed and more kids can become constructive adults with all or most of their talents, skills, and gifts realized in an economic and societal sense and way is one the greatest challenges facing our society.



I have a lot to say about global warming and the looming climate crisis that is facing mankind.

These two recent articles that came out in the light of climate report released last week were very disturbing and need to be read more than once:



http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0203-28.htm



http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0203-03.htm



The implications of the conclusions reached by scientists that are discussed in these articles are downright frightening and horrifying, particularly for our young that were born after 1985 or later that will be middle aged adults in the second half of the 21st Century and even more so for their children that will be born in the coming 10 to 30 years. It is essential to stay aware of what is happening globally concerning the climate and the environment on a regular and long term basis to see if there are clear trends developing that are pointing us in those troubling directions that these two articles talk about. Lets hope that the almost unbelievably complex dynamics that make up the understanding of climate and what the future is will be far more difficult to understand and project than what is being talked about today. Hopefully that will mean that what develops, happens, and eventuates will be far less extreme than what is being envisioned today...



The author of the blog comudgeon ( http://comudgeon.blogspot.com ) has done a tremendous job in bringing us information about the CO legislature and its members. He has discussed some of the legislation being considered but I hope he gives us further information on the 10-15 most important or interesting pieces of legislation being considered in this session. I respectfully disagree with him on HB1072 as I consider growth and expansion of unions and union membership as one of the most basic tools and weapons that can be used to reduce the greed, excesses, and power that corporations have tainted and polluted our society, small business, small towns, and many individual Americans with. Increased union membership and participation in our society can move our government back in a direction where our capitalist economic system needs to be and this crazy Market Fundamentalism obsession that has plagued us for a generation can be put in its proper place and competition and compassion can be returned to their rightful place as predominant American values. Right now our (?) government works primarily for the benefit of Fortune 500 corporations at the expense of small business, the middle class and poor, the elderly, children, the handicapped and disadvantaged, rural and small town America, and entry level entrepreneurs. It is absolutely essential that this power is taken back for each of our sakes and as soon as possible. I just do not believe that most Democrats that are in elected office particularly on the Federal Level understand this and are prepared and commited to do what is necessary and what it will take to make this change happen and bring back the kind of prosperous America that is best for our families and working class that used to exist before the GOP took the reins under Reagan and continuing under the Bushes for the last 25+ years. Who will then prevent the economic promise of America completely failing and disappearing is not clear but the current cast of characters running for President and the crop of politicians in Congress, particularly the Senate, does not invoke any kind of excitement or reason for optimism... As of today, John Edwards is the only candidate running that is even talking about these issues in a promising way. You can learn more about him and his candidacy and his stand on the issues and his policy statements at his website:











http://johnedwards.com/






Please take the time to look what he has to say over before you summarily dismiss him. Compared to the other candidates, I believe he offers the best vision for people like me and the members of my family, my friends, and the communities I live and work in and belong to.



Thank goodness winter has retreated although probably only temporarily. Today brought us clear skies. light winds, and the warmest temperature since 15 December!!!!:




ASUS65 KRIW 060032
RTPWY STATE TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION TABLE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
RIVERTON WY
522 PM MST MON FEB 05 2007 .
BR RIW 0205
M DH17/TAIRZY/TAIRZI/PP/SF/SD : :
NOTE - VALUES REPRESENT 12 HOUR HIGH...18 HOUR LOW...AND :
PRECIPITATION OVER THE LAST 24 HOURS ENDING AT 6 PM MDT : :

STATION HIGH LOW PCPN FALL DEPTH :

CYS : CHEYENNE : 54 / 31 / 0.00 / /





Well, I will close for now with another post, maybe two, coming before weeks end that may contain some good news about me on a personal level.

Thank goodness January is about over

January thankfully ends tomorrow and hopefully February will be a lot less cruel although it will start out like a lion with very cold weather for the first 96 hours or so of the month. Its been a cold January throughout the region...Denver will have had its coldest January since 1979 and Phoenix will have its coldest since 1973. Here in Cheyenne we had our coldest stretch of weather since 1979 during the middle of the month and over in Laramie it has not reached 32 degrees since the 9th. The NWS is prognosticating warmer than usual temps for around here for the next several months so lets hope that starts happening as soon as possible for crying out loud.

I continue to wait patiently for any one or more of a US Senator and two US House Representative staff to get the USCIS to get my document issued so I can get ID so I can get back to work and re-establish a residence of my own. I realize I might well have to take additional steps in this ongoing hardship that may include writing the US Sec'y of Homeland Security, the President, and members of local and even national media to get someones attention and get this seemingly ridiculous problem solved. Over six months has gone by since the USCIS got my application and fee so its more than past high time that this get resolved.

Not very much else to talk about here recently. Look for the Colts to beat the Bears by about 27-17 in the Super Bowl.

I have been ill with a brutal cold that came on last Sunday the 21st and kicked me real hard for about 4 days and now I think I am starting to relapse again so its back to taking Alka Seltzer Plus Cold or Flu medicine 3-4 times daily for 2-3 days to get back on top of the malady. I am lucky to have found this medication as otherwise I would be without any pharmaceutical product to help me fight these kind of illnesses and I have had to endure far worse bouts than the current one I am enduring. I also drink lots and lots of water and rest and do little strenuous which seems to help out. I don't know what I am going to do when I leave this area in the next few years--hopefully I will be somewhere where the allergies will be not intense like they were on me when I lived in New Mexico. Up here vegetation is dead for about 7 months or so and in Arizona it was too hot and too dry for the vegetation that bothers me to live. I am not sure what to expect in VA or NC or FL but it cannot be as good or better than it is here in the High Plains or in the Low Desert.

I never hear from Hank as his life is fullblast gogogo now with his new work and his wife having a new job 60 miles away from their house in CR. He gets a byline credit in the CS Gazette pretty much every weekday but his writing seems to reflect a pro-Republican slant which is the style favored by that newspaper and evidently embraced by its readership. I am sure he is aware of this and just doing what he has to in order to meet the conditions of his internship but I cannot see him being to happy about having to do this when in a regular employment. I would imagine he has had a good chance to meet and talk with a wide variety of individuals in the Capital district since he started this gig and perhaps maybe one or more the contacts he has made will lead to something he will be able to embrace and enjoy as employment sometime in the near future whether it be in the Denver area, Colorado Springs, or elsewhere in the state or the region. His destiny or fate in that respect is better than mine in the shortterm thats for sure.

Well, time to wrap it up for now and I have more to add here very soon.

Yay Winter is finally half over!

With today being January 21, winter is officially about half over. With an approximate start date of October 15, 98 days have gone by and 98 days from now it will be April 29 and by then pretty much all winter weather is over and warmer weather is pretty much the case. Of course we can catch breaks sooner than that but having lived in WY for over 8 years I know that anything is possible deep into April and even May. And two years ago Laramie got a foot of heavy wet snow around June 8th that caused a lot of problems for the locals and travelers there. Hopefully here in Cheyenne it won't get even close to that point. This winter has been the worst in this region since 91-92. My truck is buried in a 5-6' snowdrift and the snow is frozen and hard so it won't be dug out for at least a couple of more weeks. The wind blows ruthlessly out here where I am staying and the property is covered with drifts that measure up to 8' in cases and there are bare spots in some places. We just need a week or two without any new snow and some warmer temps in the 50s so we can get some progress on melting. But thats probably asking for too much. I suspect there will be snow banks on this property as well others in the region probably into March and even April. Thank goodness I do not have to go anywhere too often and when I do, I just tag along with Brant in his 4WD truck for the long haul
(18 miles) into town.

I was hoping the Saints would get to the Super Bowl, but Chicago is winning big so they will be back in for the first time since 86 and the era of Da Bears and Ditka and the SuperBowl Shuffle and all those memorable players and characters. Who they will be up against is yet to be decided as I blog but I am picking the Patriots to go all the way again... who would have thought that a dynasty could be put together in this era?

Oh well, gotta send more emails and letters to congressmen and senators again this week so I can get my ID and cease being an Orwellian nonperson. It will be such a wonderful day when this happens... this very very very long winter of my discontent and depression has seemed to go on and on forever and days go by very slowly and in a blur usually with me reading, surfing, researching, and watching movies and TV to have the time go by. It's really quite sad that the government has done this to me and all because they want to be able to let immigrants in and take away rights and freedoms from American citizens. The future is quite grim for Americans and the government is pathetic in wanting to be agents of fortune for immigrants and corporations rather than represent lifelong American citizens. Woe is all of us regular people.

Ah my depression has got me rambling and pontificating with certain futility...

The view now is that I am going to stay and live here in WY again for the time being--probably the next two to three years, and then when Brant and his wife Sarah leave here and relocate to probably the Washington DC area or NC I will accompany them and live there in the same area as them for 5-7 years and then the plan is for them to buy real estate in the Caribbean, San Diego, or Hawaii . I will then go live there fulltime and be a caretaker for their property and only have to work parttime perhaps in a business that they start. Thats the vision that exists right now and for the future.

As for the shortterm, I will put CO in my rearview mirror as soon as possible and close the door on 10 years of life in that state that probably I will have to say was more unsatisfactory than satisfactory on balance. I did get to travel some, meet some good people, and become strongly familiar with the area. My greatest disappointment was never finding employment that I could live with and having to work at a number of jobs that were enormously unsatisfying and beneath my intelligence, education, and knowledge. The root of my life and all its problems has been this for over 25 years and it was only magnified in the last 10 considering all the education and experience I have accrued. Oh well, you can only butt your head up against walls over and over and over before you have to give up. I do not believe that will change as once you get to my age there is little in the ways of acceptable alternatives that are available to you. I want to be an adminstrator, a manager, a proprietor, an entrepreneur---not an employee, not a salesman, not a laborer, not an associate. I have had enough of being demeaned and insulted in those kinds of jobs.

Well enough out of me... Lets hope the friggin' weather gets better sooner and that my dreams, prayers, and wishes move closer to reality and best or better case scenarios eventuate both in my personal and professional life,