The Opinionator

I am sitting in the hospital today by myself waitint for a biliary stent enlargement tomorrrow (oh, goody my favorite procedure), but last year at this time I was not really realizinf I was at end stage liver disease (in denial). I now have a new (well, refurbished) liver, and even though I have had setbacks, I am alive, and have gotten to to know my 9-month ole grandson, help plan my middle daughter's wedding, and visit my son's first on his own apartment in VT. You take what life gives you, and try to figure out what to give back. Give organs if you have them--they will change many lives. If you think you haven't taken care of your body, donate it to a medical research university. Life is good.

It's hard to do financial planning without first doing the municipal planning that impacts it and then having the means to raise revenues to fund it accordingly.

Here on the Cape, we got screwed by Prop 2 1/2 because, first, we lacked the planning tools to curb the ramapant overdevelopment that began in the 1980s boom, i.e. enhanced zoning, wetlands and subdivision regulation laws to curb the excesses. Undeveloped land is a budgetary plus because while it is taxed at a lower rate it makes virtually no demand on municipal services. The equation changes drastically when land is developed, with increased demands on schools, fire, police, DPW and other municipally funded services.

Second, because of Prop 2 1/2, even with the tightening of zoning and subdivision rules that we have done in Falmouth, we are always falling behind the costs of development because we cannot raise the revenues necessary to meet the increased demands.

This is particularly galling because so much of the building boom was driven by people coming from other towns to take advantage of our lower tax rates.

.. and FDR still got the dime. Maybe they should give Clinton the $10 bill, asn Alexander Hamilton really doesn't merit the position there.

Building Taj Mahals across Cape Cod did not provide more basic services,
just housed our basic needs providers in palaces...

that was insane!

School enrollment was progressively down across the Cape,
yet they continually built multi million dollar schools,
libraries,
and bike trails!
added dozens of assistants to the schools.
automatic pay increases.
on and on and on...

enough is enough!

Now they scream they can't afford to keep our public service employees
nor the necessary equipment..
nor the fixed costs to operate them..
but had the money to build these palaces..
Give us a few more cops and firemen..
and cut the bloated schools!

at least we get our money's worth with the police and fire!

This IS insane!
And these folks are supposedly smarter than us?

and chastise us for living beyond our means?
does anyone in public service know of financial planning?


possee

The people who have been royally screwed by Prop 2 and 1/2 are us Cape Codders. Our local tax rates were traditionally well below the state average and we managed our local budgets quite nicely, thank you, through responsible debate at town meetings, either direct or representative. Then the arbitrarily determined tax cap was imposed on us, while our now frozen lower tax rates contributed to the building boom down here, greatly expanding the demand for basic services while severely hampering our ability to raise the necessary revenues to fund such services. Last year, Falmouth TM had to vote for an override just to provide for basic periodic budgetary requirments of the DPW and Fire Department. This is insane!

More joy:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b048d69c-ec90-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html

If I may quote in excerpt:

"Let us start with some facts. The ratio of US public and private debt to gross domestic product reached 358 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. This was much the highest in US history (see charts). The previous peak of 300 per cent was reached in 1933, during the Great Depression.

Nearly all of this debt is private. That reached an all-time high of 294 per cent of GDP in 2007...

In the early 1930s, most US private debt was owed by non-financial companies: so balance-sheet deflation occurred in companies... This time, however, the big increase in debt was in the financial and household sectors.

Over the past three decades the debt of the US financial sector grew six times faster than nominal GDP. The consequent increases in its scale and leverage explain why ... the financial sector allegedly generated 40 per cent of US corporate profits. Something decidedly unhealthy was going on: instead of being a servant, finance had become the economy’s master."

Joy: U.S. economy in depression, NOT recession. See

http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-economist-us-in-depression-not-recession.html

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/01/11/Expert_calling_it_a_US_depression/UPI-11211231704692/

This is probably the best review I've seen yet of this show. I think this show and Kelly Ripa represent what is the worst in the U.S.- shallowness. If this is the kind of fare that stay-at-home Moms watch all day, God help all of us. No wonder we're ranked at the bottom in education, and this is who is raising the future of America?

I agree that this show does really talk about the dynamics between an elderly man and a young woman. Regis hand-picked Kelly as his new co-star, and that speaks volumes about Regis and the state of gender roles in our society.

There's another comparison that I'd like to make- that between Kelly Ripa and Rachael Ray. Why do so many women that watch t.v. identify with these two?

It's basically everything that I avoid.

lol Monponsett... that happened to me a few years back, I was going to New Mexico for a week and dont you know, a guy from the bus station rode up with me, flew with me and even shared the same cab with me to Los Alamos. So much for getting away ;-) However, he declined to climb the hills and caves of Bandolier.

Eartha Kitt and Heath Ledger will be in purgatory, start some small talk, and find out that the both played major supporting characters in a Batman movie. It's sort of like when you or I travel, and we meet someone from the Cape in LA ir something.

The bailout itself is a Ponzi scheme. WHEN it collapses upon itself, the United States will be bought by the Jamaican bobsled team.

Thank you for this gift.

".. the word 'bulldozer' wandered through his mind in search of something to connect with..."

Oh, and on a serious note:

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db20081224_028134.htm?campaign_id=rss_topEmailedStories

To quote the (very) beginning of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: "This planet has--or rather had--a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
"And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches.
"Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.
"And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl sitting on her own in a small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realize what it was that had been going wrong all this time ...".

Possee,

I'm beginning to understand why other countries have revolutions. I say we have our own, in the way of boycott. Buy only what you must. If we lose jobs, pensions, 401k's, homes, what else? Then what? Do they plan on living on their stolen millions forever? If the middleclass is broke who will buy their new cars, homes, boats, etc.? Jim Brody on WXTK and NECN. Check him out sometime. He also mentioned that pathetic excuse of a president wants to bail out the oil companies now. Outrageous!

We've all been sold a bill of goods by all the so called leaders of industry and government..
and the bill is due..
payable by us plebians!
in the private sector...

possee

And btw op,

Cops don't make 50k anymore. Some cops, (as in Truro where there is almost zero crime) and MSP's make more than some CEO's. Don't forget the fraudulent disability claims by those working for the state and millions taken on that scam. Almost too many to list. It all starts at the top. Greed is poison.

Reward the goodhearted-rocka-fellas. That's the way they want it. Now they sit at the throne with secretary of treasury. How do you like it. And they say the mafia swindles millions. Ha, they make them look like choir boys. When the poor suffer, there are few tears. When the middle class suffer there are even less. When the rich suffer, it's time to build a freakin' ark! So call Noah, and two by two they can sail their way to other fortunes.

http://blacksungazette.com/?p=51 I highly recommend this lecture by my old pal Peter Lamborn Wilson, whom some of you may know as the inventor of the Temporary Autonomous Zone... “Money is proof that magick works, it is perhaps the only proof.”
"...The Count begins asking the great alchemist about the secrets of alchemy. This, of course, leads to the Count asking for the secret of transmuting base metals into gold. The alchemist tells the Count that he is merely a puffer or a quack while the Count is a true alchemist who already knows the secret of making gold out of thin air. He tells the Count to give a license to create a bank and then borrow money from the bank. Remember that the United States, United Kingdom, and Euro countries do not mint their own currency. They have a private company such as the Federal Reserve or the Bank of England do it and then borrow that money at interest. As is often the case the alchemists of the middle ages knew more than we give them credit for..."

Socialize the loss, Privatize the gains.

It seems the only hope for peace in our life time can only come from the beauty of such grandiose themes of inspiration. At a wonderful time of year that is so relevant and inspirational.For want of peace. Music and artistic culture,and expression are the truest motivation for peace.
While the world burns, added assistance from world sports. People helping people. The willingness to recognize that the earth is also for cultivating, not just to bury.
One night walking away after class from Julliard,at their original location at Christmas time amongst the cold lonely exterior of residential buildings.A cathedral was nestled in between the towers.Christmas music was being practiced for the upcoming celebration.It was sad and alone. It was hard to walk away from the beautiful themes.
We now are forced to live with such chaos,and what goes with it. The sound of silence, and the sound of music, is the true meaning, to the sound of peace.
We don't know as a people what we can have until peace bits us very hard from an unknown creature,to make us realize what peace is. Amen.

It was a wonderful thing to read your story. I, too, have had many of your experiences. Most do not understand how horrendous the experience of end state liver disease can be. I have had 2 liver transplants. The first one came fairly quickly and although I was sick and had no energy, I did not get nearly as sick as I did when it became necessary for the 2nd one. That one was rough. I struggled with encephalopathy for several months,finally went into a coma and was delivered in the ninth hour, I believe by God. I never knew who my donor was. I only know that whomever it was, saved more than one life that day. The hospital that got both the liver and kidneys did not want to handle both organs so they offered the liver to the nearby hospital that I was in. I came to find out that I was so sick that they were on the verge of not transplanting me. I had a hard time at first, however, once the anti-rejection drug was changed and properly adjusted, after about a year, I began to rebound. Now I am more than 5 years out and thriving. God Bless You and what you are doing here.

Excellent!

Always loved his haunting movie soundtracks for the classic Eastwood epics..

possee

A lot of people don't have that kind of reaction to my sports betting column.

Bravo ! Bravo ! Thank you for bringing this beautiful piece to light. My favorite composer is Aaron Copeland. All his pieces are inspirational. Appalachian Spring, El Solon Mexico. And more. You must listen to Sarah Brightman, if indeed you have already. It doesn't get any better. And the Three Tenors. The Oboe solo was outstanding. The chorus was so fitting.
My only regret is I did not live to hold down a chair for long in a Symphony orchestra. I was not good enough. Unknowingly I did not find out to age 59 that I was a depressed child. That had a lot to do with it. I did study at Juilliard, 1947 thru 1949 Played two concerts in the percussion section for the Evanston, Symphony Orchestra. I found that I can write commentaries better.
Thank you again. I turned up the sound and filled my home office with beauty.

txcaper- Merry Christmas to you. I think that if we all just start saying what it is we practice to eachother to convey what our own personal spirit is then it will become accepted as that. People should understand that instead of finding offense when a person wishes someone else "Merry Christmas" instead say back what you practice. i.e. one person says "Merry Christmas!" and the answer they get is "Happy Hanukkah!" or "Happy Kwanzaa!" We need to remember to embrace diversity not create new things to get pissed off about. And goodwill among men is just that- regardless of race creed or sexual orientation. it's simple- really. We are all in this together and it only works if we can respectfully accept eachother. Some people may fearfully call it "holiday tree", but to me it is a Christmas tree. Who am I to demand that it stay a Christmas tree and who am I to demand that it now be called a Holiday tree? If we just trust eachother and learn to lighten up a bit- then maybe every year we can all just have a nice time during the holiday season without fear of ticking someone off??

I find myself stumbling over the words "Merry Christmas" sometimes in a store. And, that makes me mad that I have allowed society to enfluence me that way. I have been, am, and always will be a Merry Christmas person.

A couple of years ago I created a photo Christmas card of a Cape Cod Scene. I made two versions. One said "Merry Christmas," the other "Happy Hannukah" (or one of the variations of the Chanukah spelling.) One for my Christian friends, one for my Jewish friends. I may do it again this year.

If Wiccans want to wish a "Happy Winter Solstice," that's fine, too. I return the greeting. I love the Winter Solstice and sometimes burn a birch log when I can find one (usually lying in the woods).

But anything beats these gutless wonders who are afraid to wish anybody anything but a banal, meaningless "Happy Holidays."

I went into a movie in Worcester while light flurries were falling. When I came out after my movie, there were 9" of snow on the ground. It was like kate, late April.

LOL Solon, you KNOW Worcester is a snow trap. It's the hills. It just dumps there.
(But now there's a big, sleek wind turbine on the hill at Holy Name HS and it will blow all the snow down to Providence. Nyah, nyah.)

correction: Don Kent

Give me good old Don "phatly cloudy..phatly sunny" any day. Big black magic marker and a grease board. Now that was a weatherman.

Opinionator, since I was about five years old I wondered who really predicted the weather and WHY. Even the forecasting seemed political.

In my home town of Worcester, a 4" forecast often turned into 12" of snow. It happened so regularly we thought there was an underlying reason for underforecasting. The suspicion, never proven, was that the local Chamber of Commerce put pressure on the (then) radio stations to underforecast in order to get the shoppers out.

Now THAT was believable, even though the weather forecasts were not.

President elect Barack Obama read up on Abraham Lincoln,who selected the very same people who were against him for his cabinet. I think Sen. Hillary Clinton will be perfect as Sec. of State. Our Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona is a very smart and a lady
I meet her and held her hand and I tell you, she is so great. Qualified for her new responsibility. She will do well. The people he has chosen are with high intelligence. Each in turn will contribute to the task at hand.B.O. is not finished yet. The day of the inauguration will be a great day in history for our country. Perhaps we will experience the end of cookie cutter politicians. We have a country to run. I dream of our country as United for all.
Sarah Palin was the biggest political joke this year. Here in Arizona, you would not believe the amount of disbelievers. They do more harm that good.
Their is no remorse or anyone to take responsibility for all the hardship that was brought upon our country.
Abraham Lincoln said:
"NO ONE WILL DESTROY OUR COUNTRY. THE ONLY WAY OUR COUNTRY WILL BE DESTROYED IS FROM WITHIN."

So you were briefly considering McSame as an alternative to Hillary? Good Lord.

Obama smokes? I'd have donated to his campaign if I knew he was banging down Kools. He should have been more vocal about it.

Welcome home, Opi. Sorry to hear about your accident. I'm working on an article about universally-accessible trails. If you'd like to comment, send me an email. I think you can do this through the posting notification....

Here's to rehab! - Susan

oppie, glad you're on the mend. Speaking from experience (several family members) RCHI is top notch. The level of care, the facility and people are the best. CC is lucky to have this type of facility.

Opinionator, RHCI is a wonderful facility. I'm happy to see this article. I know they are good, because I used to work there :-) Glad to see you are doing well!