Talk Walker

For anyone who thinks the Senate came to the rescue of unemployed Americans, especially the long-term, guess again. In April there was a lot of attention paid to them extending unemployment benefits. However, they did NOT extend benefits by creating a new tier (Tier V), but only extended the filing deadline for already existing tiers to May 20. What this means is anyone who exhausts either their state benefits or one of the tiers before May 2o, may get another extension. However, unless the deadline for that extension is extension, once that tier is exhausted, it is OVER.

Never mind my feelings about how the Senate doesn’t blink an eye to save Wall Street or Corporations (don’t get me started).  I am urging anyone who is interested in supporting the backbone of our country — people — to contact their Senators and Congressional Representative to urge them to do something about this. At the very least, the filing extension deadline should be extended into fall. What would really be helpful would be to do that and add a 20week tier, so we can get through this year.

One thing I have not seen anyone address about the current situation in Arizona is that one important factor in this mix is that Arizona has become over the years a Settler’s Colony of middle-class, middle-browed retirees from the Midwest, Northwest and East Coast. While these people come to Arizona for the weather (as a result of health challenges), or cheap real estate, they bring with them their sensibility, which often includes varying degrees of racism. As retirees, they are also well aware of the importance of voting, so little by little they have become active in that realm and built up their political power. Combine that with White Supremacists from all over the U.S. who run to the deserts to fill their own need of being left alone and opting out of being a part of our country. When the two combine, you have a powerful force of racism, antagonism and intimidation to the people of the state who have been there for several generation, but apathetic about the voting process.

The way I see it, if the native Arizonans of several generations register to vote and run for local office, they can take back their state. The sooner the better.

As a Baby Boomer, I remember in my earlier years having the insurance system being explained to me as: The insurance companies take money from you as part of a bet. They are betting you will not get sick and you are betting you will. As long as you are losing the bet, they will take that money, invest it and keep the profits. When you win the bet, they are to pay for a substantial amount of your healthcare with the profits they have made on money invested, which came from you and countless others.

That seemed to work fine, until they started making ridiculous, ill-conceived and irresponsible  investments with money from a bet they would eventually lose. When their investments turned into losses, they started tweaking the original agreement, saying healthcare costs had gone up so much, they could no longer afford to pay out. In insurance speak, that is ” we do not approve paying for this treatment.”

In an effort to increase their profits, they started driving up premiums and reducing payouts, to the point that they now occupy 16% of our economy. I often wondered why I had to pay for their bad judgment and I still do. NOW they argue against insurance reform because it would negatively impact a significant portion of our economy, especially if they were driven out of business. EXCUSE ME!!!!

They weaseled their way into our economy, trying to make up for their own shortcomings by living off the the backs and deaths of tens of thousands of consumers and now they have the nerve to claim we owe it to them to keep them not only alive, but highly profitable. I say if their profits decrease as our well-being, both economic and physical, improve SO WHAT?

We suffered through the Dot-Com bubble bursting and we have handled two Real Estate downturns since the 1990’s. Not exactly grandly, but many of us are still standing. Making healthcare affordable and easily accessible, will make domestic businesses competitive with foreign-owned. Who knows, maybe there are more than a few jobs in that mix, which  is good for all of us. If the insurance industry shrinks to 5% of our economy and small businesses, especially local, grow to 10%, I say great.

Go for it! Call your Senators, Congressperson and President, and tell them it’s time for them to care of us and not THEM.

I just watched President Obama bestow Medals of Freedom on some of the most deserving people I can think of. There were 16 total, but all I can remember is Sidney Potier, Billy Jean King, Sandra Day O’Connor, Desmond Tutu, Chita Rivera, the co-founder of Susan G. Komen and a doctor who research and discoveries in leukemia make it possibe to identify genetic markers of the disease and thus, more effective cures.

Considering all of Bush’s honorees are now suspected of war crimes and torture, this is a big leap for all Americans who can once again be proud of our country for all the things it is doing right (as opposed to in spite of all the things it is doing wrong).

When I first bought my Civic Hybrid in 2007, and added plus to the money I would save in gas and no Smog Tests was that I could park anywhere in the City of LA without having to feed the meter. While it did not save me a huge amount of money, it did spare me the trouble of making sure I had enough quarters in my car at any given time. I still had to respect parking time limits, so it wasn’t really like a free pass.

Two weeks ago, on my way to a brunch, I parked on the street, smiled at the meter and walked away. Imagine my surprise when I returned, there was a pink ticket on my windshield for an expired meter. I thought, oh , whoever is on duty does not know I’m exempt. WRONG! When I complained to the Parking Commission and challenged the ticket, they sent me a note explaining the City Council had voted to rescind the free-parking ordinance on Feb. 10, 2009, which was to go into effect March 1st. Therefore, since the law was enacted, and I broke it, unwittingly or not, tough luck.

When I searched the subject online, I found a blog in the LA Times in January of ‘09 warning that the vote might happen, and that the City was hoping to increase funding for the year by $300.00 by doing so. There was never another article or blog that said the vote had taken place or its outcome.

This smacks incredibly to me like one of the most sophisticated “speed traps” I have ever seen: Make a new offense of a small favor and don’t inform those who will be affected. That way, when they utilize an unsolicited priviledge, which they don’t know has been rescinded BAM! You can hit them up for $48 dollars a pop, and they can’t argue cause the law is the law. Beautiful, ain’t it?

I have been consistently disillusioned with Villaraigosa’s City Council since I voted for him, but this takes the proverbial cake. As much as the City of LA cries poverty, its revenues have been consistently increased for at least the past five years. With the failure of Measure B last election, which reflects a more sophisticated and informed electorate, I guess the Council has decided its time to mine our pockets when we least expect it.

I’m in the process of fighting this further, but for any of you who are unaware of this latest strategy for lining City coffers, be forewarned: Your gifthorse has just slapped you in the mouth.

After listening to my umpteenth right-wing Bush/Cheney supporter espouse how safe that administration kept us since 9/11, I have to ask: Why did 9/11, which occurred nine months into their administration happen in the first place? Why is it these guys think Bush/Cheney and their cohorts deserve a  gimme of such magnitude?

 The fact remains Bush was asleep at the wheel, going on various vacations of which he was setting records, and who knows what Cheney was doing (if you believe the conspiracy theorists).

In effect B/C made us vulnerable in more ways that one. The fact that the US was not attacked physically one more time is faint praise in light of the economic ripple effects of 9/11, not to mention (and they won’t) their decision to expend our blood and treasure in Iraq, which further damaged our country’s people,  and decimated our economy and families.

Shame on them and good riddance.

Since my last post, I have been in contact with the San Fernando Valley chapter of NOW , where I mentioned the aforementioned freak-of-nature’s logic California statute. The chapter wholeheartedly agreed that it was not fair (nor humane) to abandon an ailing spouse, ignore the vows of “in sickness and health,” and then be entitled to ‘potential rental income,’ which the abandoned spouse deprived him/her of by her mere presence (while keeping up mortgage payments and property) in the home he/she walked away from.

They have embraced this issue and are currently working on drafting legislation to change that. Hooray!

As I navigate my divorce to through the Family Courts of California, I am coming across a law that victimizes women and families in a way of which few people are aware. Basically, when one spouse vacates the house, saddling the remaining spouse with making the mortgage payment, paying utility bills and maintaining the property, not to mention manage the fallout of wounded children, his financial interest in the house remains intact. Most people the  think the unfairness of a community property state, is that both parties still split any equity 50/50 regardless if one person carried more of the weight than the other. I get that, but what about when one spouse contributes nothing and is in fact toxic to the family that lives in the house?

What a lot of people don’t know is  it is possible and not unusual for the runaway spouse to claim that by the remaining partner staying in the home, the abandoner was deprived of potential rental income. If the fair-market rent is say, $1,000.00 and the mortgage payment is $700.00, the one who ditched his/her family without providing any financial support, can claim he/she is entitled to 50% of the difference. In this case, it would be $150 per month for the duration of the separation, regardless of not having contributed one dime to the maintenance of that property during that same time.

The new trend of runaway husbands on wives fighting cancer is frightening, abominable and needs to change. In my case, my ex promised in writing he would provide me with half of the mortgage payment as long as he did not live in the home. I thought that was fair, because if he were living in the home, he would be able to contribute to its upkeep.

Now, I am told it is possible his lawyer may argue that agreement is not binding because he did not consult with a lawyer before signing it (a friend suggested he show it to a lawyer, and for whatever reason, he never got around to it), and he was under duress.

What duress? I was the one going through chemotherapy, exhausted and bald, radiation and fear for my life. What kind of duress is it to be asked for compassion? What kind of final straw is that? We weren’t fighting, were for the most part cordial,  and he had moved into another room. When he wasn’t in the house, he was in the garage getting tanked and emailing jokes, taking online harmonica lessons or doing some kind of chat room.

In spite of this, as far as I was concerned, I wanted him to stay until I had at least gotten my first  six-month check-up with an all clear, but he couldn’t be bothered. I also figured, since he was looking at starting a new life, he should spend that time working and saving up a reserve fund. Like always, he couldn’t wait, and now with no job or money, he figures I am the best source, regardles if it means  losing our family home, which by the way I share with our daughter.  “Lose the house, keep the house, it’s all up to you,” to quote the man of my dreams…. Who knew?

So I played fair, and now California Family Law has more respect for his “investment” than our family or my health. Something is very wrong with that. I am presently petitioning my state representative along with the National Organization for Women (NOW) to change the law that protects the interests of a runaway spouse, at the expense of those suffering from their neglect, regardless if they are alcoholics, drug addicts or simply irresponsible. I encourage others in other states to do the same.

As I mentioned earlier, last year was a tough year, fighting breast cancer and all it entails. The good news is as of now, if I have any cancer, it can’t be detected. That doesn’t mean its seeds are not present; just too small to detect. Now my fight is to keep the disease from returning, referred to in the healthcare world as “a recurrence.” I have done my best to prevent this from happening by changing my diet completely (no soy, limited amounts of alcohol), taking (yet another) drug known as an aromatase inhibitor, and trying to keeping my stress levels to a minimum. The latter is the most challenging, especially considering our economy and financial times, but so far so good.

The bad news is my ex-Marine of a husband fell way short of his responsiblities as a husband and father. Not only was he not able to step up to the plate as a caregiver, but to make matters worse, chose to cope by keeping himself in an inebriated state of bliss. Worked for him but sucked for me. Where I thought he was going to care for me in my most vulnerable time of need, he decided it was best to take care of him, and the Hell with me. During chemo, I spent most of my time alone, watching TV while he got tanked and went online ’til 3-4-5 in the morning. After finishing chemo, and giving my body a rest before starting radiation, I told him I needed more compassion. His response was to stare off into the distance and announce “I’m outta here.” Nice guy. Some Sempre Fi.

Unfortunately, this is not that unusual. In fact 60% of my support group has had the experience of their husband’s filing for divorce either during or shortly after chemo and radiation. Michael Moore pointed out quite clearly how the insurance companies  have no qualms about refusing care to their clients even if it is a life and death situation. I would like to see a follow up documentary about how so many men do the same thing.

My ex moved out two weeks after I finished radiation, and promised he would send money to help pay for our mortgage. However, once he got far enough away (Alabama), he said “Who’s living there?” He’s been gone nine months, and even though has yet to find a job, has always been able to find a twelve-pack. Funny how that works. Meanwhile, until recently being laid off, I continued to work throughout and after my treatment. To make matters worse, he’s now decided he’s entitled to the equity in our house, for which I have been carrying the mortgage since he got laid off 4 years ago.

It’s bad enough I had to fight for my life; now I have to fight for my home. I’ve often heard the phrase there is no such thing as an ex-Marine, but I have to beg to differ. There is nothing about my soon-to-be ex that reflects the code of honor of  Marines I have come to know. He is definitely an EX-Marine. I just can’t decide which he abandoned first: Sempre Fi or me.

                                                                                           |

                                                                                            |

                                                                                            |

                                                                                            |

His name is John S. Russ of Huntsville, Alabama

It is with deep and profound sadness that I say good-bye to the benefactor of this site, and one of my biggest fans: L.C. Jorgensen, Emeritus Professor of Sorts, known mostly to his friends as “Chuck.”

I first met Chuck when I returned to school after a 20-year hiatus to complete my degree, which I had now (again) changed to Political Science. Some of my classes were not “transferable” so I opted to take his U.S. History to rebuild my transcript. When I walked into class that night, there was a tall, elderly man, carrying a pipe and chatting with some friends. He opened the class with a somewhat off-color joke, which I thought was funny. Then he began humanizing our nation’s history in such a way I was able to grasp dates and details with more clarity than I had previously experienced.

“Okay, so somewhere in the 1850’s, there was a civil war in Germany … and these guys lost. Now, when you lose a civil war (pause) you gotta get out of town, so all these Germans came to the East Coast and settled it. That’s why you see all this German architecture… There were a lot of union organizers (in this group), who were a major influence in the birth the the American Labor Movement…”

In spite of having taken history throughout my education, in this instance I understood the animosity and resentment spawned by choosing a violent solution to a political problem. Prior to this moment, even at the age of 45, I only thought of wars as when they happened and who was involved. That’s probably because that was all I was ever tested on. Chuck’s class began my re-education in the ways of the world in a way I never would have imagined.

His Poli-Sci 101 was especially enlightening, as in my previous classes at another university, my instructors had been devout Marxists and doused me with what they (and I ) thought was a good understanding of communism and socialism as an alternate to our democratic/capitalist system. They made it sound like a Shangri-La where everyone shared the work and benefited from its rewards. There were no power-trips, parasites or hidden agendas.

Having been an important activist in LA politics during the 1960’s (Chuck was a co-founder of the Peace & Freedom Party), he spoke openly about how when some personalities were thrown in to the mix of political philosphies, theories and ideas, it didn’t always come out like the Me Generation had hoped. Mistakes were made and The Movement failed in several instances for several very human reasons. I was, and will always be emminently grateful for Chuck’s ability to provide me with a truly well-rounded, 360-degree perspective of what had really happened in the U.S. while I was coming of age.

During office hours one evening, he shared with me how he wanted to retire. I was dismayed at the thought of losing him from my life so soon after finding him, and replied selfishly “But you were going to be my mentor!” No doubt he was surprised. He eventually retired anyway, but took on his mantle of mentorship, supporting me in more ways than I can count (and bore you with).

Needless to say, Chuck supported me with letters of recommendations when I went after scholarships and applied to and was accepted UCLA. We worked together on The Millenial Files (www.mmmfiles.com), a website he established in the early 90’s, with an objective of providing evidence of global warming as well as solutions. Shortly after the blogging boom, we transitioned into www.mmmfiles.com/mmm. It was at that time he insisted I start my own site, which you are now reading. I’m not sure that I believe it, but he felt I was so bright and insightful I should have a space to share my observations with others. He was willing to put his money where his mouth was, and has funded the site since its inception, never editing or attempting to censor any of my writings. Praise and encouragement was all I ever received from him.

Last summer Chuck was diagnosed with lung cancer. When he told me, he said it was okay, and that he had lived a full life, which was more true for him than anyone I know. As a committed activist in the Sixties, he wholly embraced the Counter Culture, and organized and led demonstrations in support of civil rights, now known as social justice. He partied in Isla Vista, California, was a Merchant Marine and traveled to Eastern Europe. His two signs which traveled with him from West LA to Boise, Idaho say it all:

“I spent most of my money on wine, women and song. The rest I wasted,” and

“No whiners.”

Chuck lost his battle with cancer yesterday. This time I couldn’t change his mind with a question of who will mentor me. He did a really good job of “getting me” when others closer to me didn’t. I will miss him dearly. I already do.

Thanks, Buddy.