"Capitalism's Heart Occupied: Where Will it all Lead?"

always nice to get a different perspective....be well!  frankie
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/rupert-cornwell/rupert-cornwell-capitalisms-heart-occupied-ndash-where-will-it-all-lead-2367782.html

about a coat

kate and william's recent trip to ireland sparked a huge coat sale for burberry (reportedly the very same coat kate wore sold out within hours of the press picture release).   its a great coat i admit, and one that i might pick out on my own.  what troubles me is our willingness to be so much like someone else that we forgo our own style and creativity.  can't we be a bit more original?

painful palin

from huff post "sarah palin answers questions from business group in front of mainstream media" beth fouhy and frank eltman:


"Palin said the landmark health care bill Obama signed into law last year gave her heartburn. She also defended her much-criticized claim that the law would lead to federal "death panels" determining who would receive care. Provisions of the law that were dropped called for voluntary end-of-life planning.

"My question was, 'Who are these faceless bureaucrats on a panel who will decide?'" Palin said. "Will it be my baby with Down syndrome, who maybe somebody may judge him as not having that level of productivity somebody else may have? So maybe if rationed care is part of this, maybe he wouldn't receive the care."

Palin also noted the recent increases in the price of food and mocked Michelle Obama to make her point. The first lady is encouraging mothers to breast-feed their infants as part of her campaign to reduce childhood obesity – an effort that has drawn scorn from some conservatives.

"No wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breast-feed your babies," said Palin, who as governor declared October 2007 Breastfeeding Awareness Month. "I'm looking and say, 'Yeah, you better because the price of milk is so high right now.'"

Two things:    1.  i was bothered when i first heard sarah refer to herself and other women as "mama grizzlies." in fact, if sarah really believed that line of thinking she would realize that a mama grizzly would do exactly what she quotes the "death panel" would do: that is she would not keep a 'cub' that would be a burden to her family and her species. in other words "maybe somebody may judge him as not having that level of productivity somebody else may have?" well, yeah, actually.    i don't mean to sound cold and heartless, just pointing out the contradiction. nature is holy.  the picture of a mama grizzly is not something to invoke lightly.                                 

2. speaking of nature, what about its most holy concoction:  a mother's milk. why would another mother (especially an advocate for breastfeeding) attack someone for encouraging breastfeeding as a way to promote healthy habits early? and only a fool would do so by invoking a completely unconnected topic:  the price of milk.  ms. palin, food prices all over are going up because of droughts in russia and now china, and because the price of fuel has gone up - to name a few reasons.  food prices have nothing to do with our sister's initiative to promote the same thing you so adamantly promote.  you're starting to give us girls a bad name, could you maybe tighten it up a bit honey?

on being gullable......

i was watching the telly the other night (i am cursed with bouts of insomnia) and was taken aback by a  commercial i watched. it wasn't the commercial itself that got to me as its content. the advert was from the 'fruit2day' bunch.  a woman dumps her purse out on her desk and finds a gunky banana amongst the precipitation of lipsticks and nail files.  i am eating such a banana now.  it is definitely ripe, has a couple of black spots on the outside, but its obviously days ahead of banishment to the freezer for banana bread. the 'fruit2day' guys made that banana seem completely inedible and offers the cubicle queen an option of a 'fruit2day' drink.  alas, all her problems are solved.  she gets her 2! whole servings of fruit and is in no way obliged to eat bananas with black spots.  there are 2topics of concern:  1.  what happens to the banana?  chances are it got thrown in the trash since i am willing to bet that few people still make homemade banana bread these days.  the problem:  a perfectly good piece of fruit goes to waste in exchange for something man processed. wasteful - an american cliche.  2. the bottle thing really irks me. while it is more convenient i suppose to drink my peach rather than have its juice run all over my arm, isn't that a great reason for a break from the cage anyway?   i know we can recycle the damn bottle, but what are the odds that we would?  according to the website of the container recycling institute (checked just now) only 1/3 of all beverage containers in america get recycled. consequently, our smart choice to drink processed fruit becomes a poor choice for mother earth.
my concern is that the 'fruit' people know that we will buy into their shallow advertising truth because they know that we won't think the thing through; we are therefore highly gullible to them.  are we okay with that?

dilemma

i have three jobs.  i own my own housekeeping business, i work as a tutor, and i work as a front desk clerk at a local hotel.  i often think i should consolidate and get a single full time gig.  my husband and i are barely making it and i have three boys to help provide for as well. but there is something inherently vulgar to me about becoming a cubicle slave.   been there before: in by 8, break at 10 & 3(complete wastes of time), and lunch at noon, office politics, who's your friend, who isn't - i hated every minute of it. the money was okay, but i still struggled to pay my bills. and i would come home each evening with the only goal of recuperating from the day's stress so i could survive the next.  i have declared it against my religion to work thusly.  even if i do have three jobs, in two of them i am making nearly twice what i would make at a desk job.  and i am working for myself.  i like my freedom, even if it means a meager existence.   there is also a bit of underground - ness about my wont to abstain from cubicles: that is i am exempt from the entire lifestyle that goes along with it. i am exempt from having to look 'just so'. i am exempt from the drama of having to survive in shark infested corporate waters.  i am exempt from having to fight all day against negativity and insecurity.  so then, even if my income is currently exempt from abundance, at least i am free and independent.  i am happy in this circumstance. less is more. be well, frankie

elections

that time of year again and i have to cram to read my california general election manual, all 121 pages of it. i am reminded that voting takes conscientious effort and education of oneself in order to so wisely.  yet therein lies the trouble...most of us do not take the time to read our stuff. we are too busy raising our families and watching our budget to tease out real truths and vote accordingly.  its too easy to watch tv, listen to the ads, hear the news feed us falsities and then make our decisions based on vague ideals. the result is a generation of elected officials who have micromanaged us into the ground and left us with an economic mess. let us be  diligent this election and educate ourselves, .....even if it means cramming, for we cannot afford to vote haphadzardly any longer.   be well, frankie

hello!!

Thanks for your curiosity in Frankspeak.  Slowly but surely I am building and adding to make this blog complete.  Love the challenge!!!  Your comments are appreciated as I do so.  In the meantime, here's a quote for you to ponder:
  "It is absolutely impossible to transcend the laws of nature. What can change
 in historically different circumstances is only the form in which these laws expose themselves."  K. Marx         Be well -  Frankie.