THE LIAR’S DIARY Blog Day – IMPORTANT

I read lots of blogs because I love to read and they inspire me – I also enjoy the feeling a part of a community. Still, in this two dimensional universe it is easy to read, and forget, what your fellow writers are experiencing.

Until today – I discovered The Liar’s Diary Blog Day Project (first novel by Patry Francis) on Neil Gaiman’s blog. Patry is a first time newly published author unable to launch her book tour because she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

The worldwide writing community is stepping up to the plate and putting on a virtual parade.

Buy her book – raise your glass – congratulations Patry!

How We Live

I have been thinking lately about how we live – our family lives, our community lives. Critics point fingers at divorce (rightly so in my opinion) arguing that broken families make poor community building blocks. And again, I must say there is merit to this argument.

Once upon a day, when God was a child, families lived together and each person (man, woman or child) had a role. The role was important and everyone understood that each supported the other. Somehow this concept got lost and we now operate under the assumption that we are autonomous and self sufficient continents. And I choose the continent analogy purposely. We live as if we can provide for all our needs out of our own industry. So if I am a man and the “breadwinner” I believe, and live, as if my industry is the source for all my needs. If I am a woman, and I am the “breadwinner” the same is true. Even if I am not a breadwinner in the traditional sense, I believe that my daily labor or role, is the source for all my needs.

We have simplified family life, and by extension, community life, to a supply chain. Earn, deserve and live. Money in hand equals autonomy. Of course this isn’t true. Living is more that being the ultimate consumer in a supply chain. If I work, and earn money sufficient to fulfill my needs, I do so only because of the cooperative industry of every other human being.

We are all connected and engaged in a dance of give and take. In simpler times someone hunted, someone gathered, someone cooked and we all ate at a community table. There was no need for an organized charity to tell us what our neighbors needed because we knew what they needed – we sat with them each and every day.

The problem with charitable giving is that we forget that the people we help are also those who make possible our ability to give. And that is why I think charity, and world peace for that matter, begin at home. I need you and you need me. I may work to earn money to support the family, I may raise children, I may give you the opportunity to practice compassion by taking care of me in times of hardship or illness or I may simply provide laughter at the end of your working day – it doesn’t matter what my role is, honor it and charity will take care of itself.

And that is what I think tonight.

Economic Forecast

No economic incentive package will make enough of a difference to affect the long term well being of the working class poor. The problem is so far beyond what a tax rebate will help. Why? Because the only industries left in this country are money lending or credit reporting. Think I am wrong? Watch day time television and count the advertisements for credit reporting and/or short term loans, which by the way – you should only use responsibly.

The banks have the poor in a stranglehold and once you are behind you cannot get ahead.

Bounce a check and watch the bank fees multiply by magic until all the money you thought you had is gone. This is done by computer ordering of the way checks come into a bank – they deduct the biggest check (or debit) first – then – bingo – that five dollar charge for diapers just cost you another forty bucks in late fees. Add a couple more charges for gas, food and forty buck add on for each of them. Now, not only are you broke – you are in debt. The bank has emptied your account and if you can’t pay their usurious charges they report you to check systems.

Bingo – you are blacklisted.

Now you cannot get a checking account anywhere. In the meantime you can’t pay your bills on time and the late fees (on top of the higher interest rates you already pay because of your credit rating) also increase exponentially. But it doesn’t stop there – now your credit is bad and the car insurance companies use this as an excuse to charge you more for your insurance.

It is a wonder there aren’t more economic suicides.

Wake up Washington – the terrorism we should be fighting is the repeated rape of the working class.

Ben Bernanke wants to get cash into the hands of people – yeah right

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President George Bush want to get cash to the people – quickly – especially those with low and moderate incomes, presumably by slashing the key interest rate. Like cheaper credit is going to filter down to moderate and low income families – let’s get real.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are gaining numbers as the reality of earning enough money to support a family pushes higher and higher, while the jobs that pay enough to do so shrink. The reason for this is loss of jobs – the good old jobs of yesteryear, manufacturing and steel and the many small businesses that made the widgets they needed – to China.

My sort of brother in law fancies himself an economist. I questioned him a couple years back about the alarming transfer of skilled labor jobs to China. He explained to me, ever so kindly and condescendingly, that the jobs that have been shipped to China are the ones we don’t need. They do the labor; we (meaning the USA) provide the brainy, high tech jobs and research. He chuckled heartily and raised his glass to the good life.

Meanwhile, the highly paid skilled labor jobs are disappearing and the county’s landscape is showing signs of cracking. Violent crime falls when people have work. Communities thrive and grow when their members have a purpose. And believe it or not, making widgets can be a perfectly wonderful purpose. Doing a day’s labor for a living wage is a concept that needs to be reintroduced.

But it cannot be unless jobs, the ones in China, come back here. And yes, corporate earnings would be lower. CEO salaries would be lower. There is always a trade off. But do you really believe, Mr. or Ms. Average Investor, that your moderate stock portfolio is worth the sacrifice of the American way of life.

I think not.

Five Husbands on Cleveland.com

Five Husband’s post on the Shaker Heights incident was picked up by the Plain Dealer’s Blog 5 feature. Check it out here.

I am a Clevelander

The glitter and glitz (such as it was) of the holiday season is over.  The magnificent fourteen inch snowfall gifted to me on New Year’s Day is only a slushy memory.  The day is gray gray gray.  My mood is not good – the news over the past several days has been grim.  One story in particular grabbed my focus:  a Shaker Heights Ohio lawyer was brutally attacked while taking a pre-dinner walk last week.  His attackers, pipe wielding young black men, told him “they were going to mess him up.”  And they did.

This lawyer and his family live on the border between Shaker and the city of Cleveland. It is a good neighborhood.  The houses are interesting and well kept.  The population diverse.  He felt safe; so did his neighbors.  Not so anymore.

The growing violence of the city is spilling over and the outer ring suburbs had better take notice.  Whether you live in Lakewood, Bay Village, Beachwood or Gates Mills – you are still from Cleveland – and the strength and viability of your  small cities are dependent on the strength of the city of Cleveland.  Jobs will come here and stay here only if the city remains a desirable place to live.   Mayor Jackson is MIA so it is time for the outer ring Mayors to step up and speak out.  It is time for all the movers and the shakers, no matter where they live, to get out and into Cleveland’s communities to join with the city leaders, pastors, parents and grandparents to find a solution.

Wake up.  This city belongs to all of us.  Send the message that you care about Cleveland.

How to End a Relationship and Enjoy Nature

Comic reprinted courtesy of xkcd.com.

Aging Gracefully or Why Dick Clark Should Retire

Or maybe not.

Last night I was astonished to find that “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” had been edited to down to allow regular programming, including the normal Monday evening newscast. New Year’s Eve used to be sacred in terms of programming, as was Saturday morning, but now it seems we must be updated every minute of every day with news. I believe in being well informed but there are times, and places, that I want to be news free. These include the bank, restaurants (except sports bars) and Whole Foods. You read that right – even my local Whole Foods installed a flat screen TV.

It doesn’t help that the Fox News is the program of choice. But I digress – back to New Year’s Eve. Dick Clark celebrated in the background the entire evening of every New Year’s Eve party I ever attended. His music and banter carved out a safe place to celebrate the final moments of a year that (more often that not) had its share of sadness. When he started the countdown everyone stopped and the problems of the world were suspended for 10 shiny seconds when everything was possibility.

Now the world crowds every minute leaving precious little time to absorb and reflect what we see. The moments when we should be celebrating we are waiting – waiting for the next headline, for the second shoe to drop or just plain waiting because we have forgotten how to be in the moment.

It pained me to stay in the moment as Dick Clark (his speech still impaired after his 2004 stroke) struggled through his lines. I did though and shared, with all the world, an altogether human moment. He finished his countdown, did a few scripted lines and then struggled to say more. He couldn’t find any words. He raised his arms and his eyebrows, as if to give up, when his wife rushed to his side, hugged him close and kissed him happy new years.

I checked IMDb (wikipeidia and IMDb keep me up to date on popular culture) – they have been married for 30 years. From the look of it she cares deeply for him. I respect that and wonder, factoring age, available spouses and interest, whether Five Husbands will be so fortunate in her later years.

I hope so.