Trickle Up For A Change

The Feds want us to bail out Wall Street. This makes no sense. It leaves taxpayers in the hole and does absolutely nothing for the millions of homeowners who are in foreclosure. One would think that there is a way to help business and banking and help all the folks you bought into the American Dream.

I think there is. Let's call it "Trickle Up."

First, take that 700 billion (probably less) and pay up every bad home loan in the country. No more toxic loans. Next, a institute a 1 or preferably 2 year moratorium on house payments for single family residences or even small residential income properties where a unit is occupied as a residence by the owner. At the end of that period, all of the loans are renegotiated based on the then current value of the property at reasonable (that is, government regulated) interest rates. If some loans require balloon payments, put them 10 or 15 years out, so the market recovers and people can prepare. The moratorium allows people and businesses to get back on their feet. It does not provide a safety net for those who worship avarice; no golden parachutes. Yet it would still put truckloads of cash into the system. Give the taxpayers a stake in the paid up loans. It would restore confidence on Wall Street, but more importantly , it would restore faith in the system in the heartland. It would give a hand to everybody's hurting neighbor. It would say. "You're not heavy. You're my brother." It is about healing the problem, one mortgage at a time. It would work.

It would be a solution of, by and for the People. I would imagine that would be an easier sell for our Congress.

And by the way, if this, or something like it, were to be done, what effect would it have on the World's view of America? Hmmm...? People come first. We are our brothers keepers. Gee, wouldn't that be a change.

-P-

This may not be the only way, but it is a start. Unless you can come up with a better idea, send a link to this to everyone you know. Send it to your Congressman and Senator. Heck, send it to Paulson. Have them start thinking outside the establishment box.

Sami or Houdini?

The veterinarian told me I needed to start brushing my animals' teeth. I was successful with my dog since she's been trained. But, the cats? Are you kidding? I tried and tried but their claws and teeth got in the way.

I went back to the vet with one of my cats so she could demonstrate. What a catastrophe! My cat squiggled and squirmed his way off the exam table onto the floor and out the door that was partially ajar and into the back of the hospital where animals are kept in cages. We looked all over for him and finally found him hunched way under one of the cages. He was one mad cat! He hissed and growled and showed his claws. After a lot of coaxing on my part, I was able to grab him and place him back in his carrier but not without a terrible struggle.

End of demonstration! What a melee! Now when I make an appointment for Sami they say,"Oh, you mean the Great Houdini"?

A Poem For The New Year

At This Narrow Bridge Again -- A Poem
by Mary Walker Baron © 2007

Here we are again at this narrow bridge
Ready to begin our annual crossing --
Returned to this moment by ancient migratory
Patterns mapped in stone.
For a month we’ve wondered
What to bring – how best to pack and what to wear -- .
Difficult preparations even though
We try to make them every year.

I always over pack and now at this
Pre-crossing liminal moment I wonder –
Will I really need a flashlight?
If I haven’t yet read that issue of ‘Scientific American’
I bought on impulse last year at the Jet Blue
Terminal of JFK maybe I should admit
That I’ll never read it
And leave it behind.

I open my pack for a final inventory before
Stepping on to the bridge. Does my Zip Lock
Bag of anger weigh too much? Is my Nalgene
Bottle of tears absolutely necessary? Did I pack
Enough hope and forgiveness? Where is that
Stuff bag of patience I meant to take? Is there
Time to repack before I cross to the other side?
Is anyone less prepared than I?

Rav Nachman -- our tour guide – said that
The important thing is to not be afraid.
I just heard a scream. No wait. We’ve heard
That sound before -- our shrieking
Hollow filled with awe horn
Reminding us to watch our steps.
This bridge between our sunsets is, indeed,
Narrow. Each year we journey together we

Become better packers. We learn to travel
Lightly. The anger was too heavy. Tears once
Shed are gone forever. Maybe the flashlight is
Still a good idea. We make these crossings
Together to steady and prepare for the moment
We must cross the bridge alone – comforted by
Our yearly migrations to sacred moments at this
Fearless time.

A Fine Mess

Well, this is a fine mess.


The powers that be would have us think that the folks on Wall Street deserve our help for the sake of the folks on Main Street. I wonder about that. I wonder whether the folks on Wall Street would give a rat's rectum if the tables were turned? I doubt it.

Now, mind you, I don't want to see anyone's retirement account tank. But I do not now, nor will I ever, have the least bit of sympathy for the brokers, the investment bankers and hedge fund folks who have blithely raked in their very lucrative compensation without caring one whit about the folks in the rest of our great land. Where in this bailout proposal is the relief for the beleaguered homeowners who are going down in flames? Without keeping them in their homes, I say screw 'em. Use that 700 billion to pay up every delinquent loan in the country, It is the taxpayers' money, the money that millions of homeowners pay the government. It is not their money. It is ours. It is not Congress's money. It is ours.

Some years ago, the comedian Jackie Mason suggested that the government be put on commission. I think if he were to revisit the issue, he would still say the same. For their incompetence they all should be fired. A rather large proportion belong in jail.

If this is what America has come to, then we are a stone's throw from anarchy. Competent, caring government is what we need. Make sure every family stays in their home. Period. That is the key here. Let the rich absorb the loss. It is, by and large, their fault we are in this mess. Company failing? Give it to the employees. Let them choose how to run it. It has worked for airlines, why not auto manufacturers? Why not banks? You want to restore trust in the system? Take the system out of the hands of the rich. Simplify. Give the power, as they used to say, to the People. I would trust my neighbor before I would trust some smart guy who only cares about the bottom line.


And, for the record, the bottom line belongs to the People. Give it back or it is likely that they will take it back myself. Think like Thomas Jefferson, but for God's sake, think.

-P-

A California Icon

Have you seen the Hollywood sign atop Mt. Lee in Griffith Park? Ever thought of the history surrounding it?

The sign was constructed in 1923 as "Hollywoodland" and was secured by simple barbed wire. In 1932, an aspiring actress, Peg Entwhistle, made headlines when she jumped to her death from the "H".

In 1939, a man was hired to maintain the sign and lived in a shack under the sign. His main duty was to replace any one of the 4,000 light bulbs when they burned out.

In 1978, the sign was comletely reconfigured and rebuilt with the low bid ($278,000) going to Pacific Outdoor Advertising. Funds were underwritten by individuals such as Hugh Heffner, Andy Williams and Alice Cooper to name a few and were collected by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Telephone poles were put in place by helicopter and tin was used in the construction. The names of the indivduals who worked on the sign are welded into the side of the "H".

The sign has been changed by pranksters over the years. Pranksters came from another state in 1985 to promote a rock and roll band and changed the name to "Raffeysod". In 1987, Caltech students changed the sign to "H Caltech D". The "H" and "D" were covered with black plastic and "Caltech" was covered in white plastic. In 1976, someone changed the sign to "Hollyweed".

Needless to say, greater security measures have been taken to discourage vandalisim. Surveillance cameras are in place and helicopters survey the area several times a day.

Next time you drive by the Hollywood sign, I believe you will appreciate it more now that you know a little of its history.

Go, Dodgers!

What a motley crew. Some really cute kids, some falling apart old greats and one kooky superstar. Oh, and an amazing manager. And now they are in the playoffs. Of course, the last time this happened, the Mets walloped them in the first round, causing immense hilarity in the Met-fan section of my family. By this time next week, the Dodgers might not be looking so good. But the anticipation is wonderful.

Mystery of the Vanishing Pots and Pans

I went to the cupboad where I usually keep my pots and pans. I wanted to hard boil an egg. I admit the last time I used my pots and pans was to cook a big Christmas dinner last year, some nine months ago. I'm a microwave junkie -- if I can't fix a meal in five minutes, then I won't cook it - I'll fix something only if it takes five minutes or less. I'm no longer a cook - I did my motherly/wifey duty years ago.

Much to my surprise after opening the cupbord, there wasn't a single pot or pan - only a lid or two. I looked in the lower cupboards. I looked in the upper cupboards. I looked in the pantry. I looked in the oven. I looked in the dishwasher. I even looked in the refrigerator - no such luck! I don't understand how they vanished. Did they develop feet and run off with the spoons? I can't imagine someone coming into my house to help themselves to my pots and pans. It was a cheap set anyway bought solely because they were light weight. I even have nightmares of a pot and pan thief coming into my home stealing my pots and pans. What could be the attraction to my pots and pans? I just don't know their whereabouts. They've simply vanished! Has anyone seen my pots and pans?