Hello and Goodbye 2014…
Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and the rainy, windy and rather mild island of Nantucket! Great to be with you and yours on this 28th day of December, 2014, hoping that everyone out in the land had a nice Christmas, Hanukkah or ye ‘ole Festivis for the rest of US– many probably eating a McDonald’s hamburger for their holiday meal or just putting one together via the local food bank..
It has been quite a year–2014–and you are almost no more, alas we only just got to know ye! It began with U.S. President Barack Obama stating loud and clear that ‘this would be the year for ACTION’, believing there may just be some ‘bipartisan’ agreement that this year of 2014 has been nothing but that verb known to all who live and breathe on this little blue rock we all call home for a moment.
Yes, at times it seemed like the world was spinning off it’s axis. There was that overused manipulation of FEAR by corporate media (to boost ratings by chance?), that helped with the hysteria of events that again, seemed to be cataclysmic (taking our minds off of what IS, i.e. Global Warming), such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, culminating in a ‘Chicken Little sky is falling’ overture by FOX and other corporate bull horns. The only case that ended in a U.S. casualty from the disease came in the form of a POOR Liberian man, Mr. Duncan, who had just got off the plane in Dallas, where he was about to be married. Seeing that he was POOR, the hospital gave him two aspirins and instructed him ‘to call them in the morning’ if it got worse. It did. But to those who had top shelf care, the heroic efforts of health care workers for example, they were spared, taking that dreaded dis-EASE and putting it on a shelf to be used another day–’ye ‘ole fear mongering of ‘yore, matey, by whomever needs to use it for whatever purposes corporate media moguls wish to use it for, mostly to manipulate ignorant, fat, lazy Americans who have already pledged alliance to the NRA and the United States of ExxonMobil.
ISIL–the vicious group of maniacal, jihad killers in the Middle Eastern countries of Iraq and Syria, spilling over into some other areas as well–created a fire storm over the summer, with many fearing another 9/11 style attack. The whole of ‘hard fought victories’ in Iraq gone, with that territory now under control of this so called Caliphate, or new Islamic State that harkens back to the days of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Turning the whole of Syria into just that, a big pile of rock, rubble and dust, with that country’s people fleeing by the millions, leaving a giant hole where there was once life. This too was overplayed by the media, and with the constant flow of video of the horrible be-headings of U.S. and Ally citizens. None so high profile as that of one American journalist James Foley (along with several others killed, in highly publicized, high profile killings, slick social media hype by the killers designed to strike fear in the hearts of people in the West, recruit young, disillusioned youth world wide, as well as dissuading journalists from doing their jobs), overplayed because that is what this radical new jihadist group wanted most--media exposure!
The midterm elections were this year, lest we forget, and what fun that was! Yes? No, it wasn’t. Although it turned out well for Republicans, for they won back control of the U.S. Senate, adding to their already solid majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mitch, “the mouse”, McConnell is now, by default, the new so called ‘leader’ of the U.S. Senate, sorry I think I just spit something up there, what is that Kale?, where was I? Ah, leader McConnell, you have a drink with that guy, says the President and man! Cheers! I am sure he is still thinking that same sentiment as he enjoys some beach time in Hawaii.
For all of that darkness that we ‘consumed’ over the course of a year that almost was, 2014, (via our I-phones, tablets, TV’s, computers, satellites, or whatever else you may be using ‘to get your news’), over that long, dusty, dirty and dangerous course of these past 12 months, there were three distinct rays of LIGHT that made all of that just kind of ‘go away’… One, a giant deal brokered by Obama and China over the climate. A climate that Sea Cape Cod has spoken of from ‘time to time’…
A climate that will–if we don’t act soon on reducing OUR spewing of Carbon Dioxide, Methane and other green house gases into the atmosphere–change radically very soon, with effects already being felt world wide even as I write these words. It was ten years ago yesterday when a Tsunami crushed Indonesia and 14 other counties with giant waves that killed over 200,000 people, prompting questions about the safety of people living too close to an ocean that is only rising (the actual SEA level), because the WE are making the earth warmer. Green house gasses like a blanket around the earth, as the polar ice caps melt, polar bears go to Heaven and the mass migrations begin in earnest. All while oil and gas company’s continue making record profits, PROFIT over people… Although THAT will change quickly as the people of planet earth begin to wake up to the FACT we are not going to have a planet to ’spend money in’ if it does not exist. Comprende?
The second ray of sun light came from putting an end to a stupid 50 year old embargo of a beautiful country 90 miles off the coast of Florida--Cuba! Normalizing relations with that island nation will put and end to the decades long ‘Cold War’ for good, even as Russia counties rattling a saber–Vladimir Putin’s regime under pressure as his economic ‘plan’ falls victim to intense and crippling sanctions imposed by the U.S. and her allies for Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, legally still part of Ukraine. For as a ‘gas station economy’ goes, Russia has no real relief ahead with gas prices continuing to fall, putting the quasi-kleptocrat in a rather odd position. Eventually exposing himself to what he has done, like Fox “news” in this country, the willful act of pulling the wool over the Russian people’s eyes about well, anything of substance. And when it comes to his activities for “Mother Russia” and all, not really for the vast majority of Russian peoples…
The third ray of light came in the form of ACTION on the growing U.S. problem of immigration. a problem you might think we would have a pretty good handle on by now, seeing that we are a nation of immigrants, some German/Irish, some African-American, some Asian-American, but all American by gosh, by golly! The ‘action’ that got such an uproar in Washington (action was taken by President Obama just before Thanksgiving), is really quite simple and quite HUMANE! It gives protection from deportation and a temporary work permit to over 5 million undocumented (and very dangerous illegal aliens!) people living in this country, effectively living under the shadows. People living lives in fear that they, their mom, their dad, their sister, or their brother would be deported, thus breaking up the family unit and for what? A few bloviated political points Mitch and John? This overdue move by Obama was long over due and a great Christmas present that starts the ball rolling for a more permanent and comprehensive immigration bill that will tackle this issue once and for all. WE don’t need more security ‘on the border’ (according to people working the border!), and we don’t need more laws that keep families apart, making it hard for them to eek out a living.
The very smart, brave and human action taken by our very fine President Barack Obama is just getting warmed up. For he is NOT your lame duck president, no sir! Like he said, “…I am not going to waste a minute in these next two years getting things done for the American people,” and I believe him. It is quite clear to anyone with eyes that the much of OUR “system”, such as the U.S. JUSTICE system, is rigged in favor of the white, wealthy majority and that must change if we plan to keep this country a democracy with a little letter ‘d’. The killings of mostly poor, African-American males under 30 in this nation by police will be addressed in the coming months via the President’s task force whose report is due out soon, and will outline what MUST be done to keep these horrible crimes to a minimum. Making sure that what happened to Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner, (as well as the NYPD officers killed in the line of duty, may they rest in peace), does not happen again.
‘Creating a more perfect Union’ begins at the grass roots level, therefore there again must be some kind of peace between peace officers and black youth across this great land of OURS. A black youth who are disenfranchised and disillusioned by a future America that does not seem to include them, in fact, an America that goes out of it’s way (society) to shun these young men. Young men who are just as human and just as worthy of LOVE, LIGHT and DIVINITY as you or I.
So, on a rather wet day here at the Hyannis/Hyannis Port Waterfront, I bid you a fine and fair adieu! May you and yours enjoy the last days of 2014, and “Welcome in 2015″ with a bang! I pray that it is a “kinder, gentler” (credit George H.W. Bush, get well sir!), year for US all, hoping against hope that this new Republican majority has learned some lessons from their witch hunts with Benghazi, “Obamacare”, the IRS, and any number of other ‘outrages’ this ‘Emperor’, the KING OBAMA, has wrought upon an unsuspecting nation, none so bad as his caring action on immigration that kept millions of kids in their mom and dad’s loving arms on Christmas Day!…what could be more wonderful than that? So put your egos on hold 114th U.S. Congress and roll up your collective sleeves, consider actually getting something done for the average American for a change! As opposed to what you were hired to do…doing the bidding for special interest/corporate agendas that are kept in the dark and sprung upon ‘the American people’, via hidden quietly in “must pass” appropriations bills no one is paying attention to ‘this time of year’, thus leaving a giant risk unattended on Wall Street’s dark cavern…
Leaving no one living on that spooky and secretive street losing any sleep’, for they know ‘they are too big to fail’ and if anything goes wrong with their little “credit default swaps” in this new and improved casino called Wall Street, those ‘American people’ the GOP keeps talking about as if they really cared about said “American people”, will bail them out once again, even as they lose trillions (once again) in their collective 401(k)’s. All while the rich get richer and richer, the .0001 percent baby! As the Dow Jones Industrial hitting new highs yesterday, all time highs of 18,054! And the GDP, meaning almost nothing to the average American any more, hitting a healthy 5 percent! Who is the President right now Mitch? That’s right, and don’t you forget it! Gas prices below 2 bucks? Give it up for President Barack Obama Man! He is the man!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
PRESERVE THAT WILDERNESS! Peace~M
