I Am the 99%

I am the 99%.

In 2006 I bought a house.  It has a 30 year mortgage and a 6% interest rate.  I could afford the payments and I put down a substantial down payment.  In 2009, I accepted a job 500 miles away in another city, but I could not sell the house I bought just 3 years earlier.  I found that I now owe more on the mortgage than the house is worth.  I'm underwater through no fault of my own.  So, I am now a reluctant landlord - the owner of a house one city which I rent to another family while I rent an apartment in the city where I now work and live.

I am angry.  The house that I bought at the top of the market was over valued due to practices that Wall Street investment bankers engaged in.  They knew that the mortgage backed securities that they created and were selling were worthless.  They knew that the securities were backed by adjustable mortgages that would result in foreclosure once their rates adjusted.  The investment bankers even created hedge funds to make sure that when these mortgage backed securities came crashing down, the bank would be covered.

My anger, however, goes deeper.  These same bankers were bailed out when the market crashed.  They received money from our government to make sure that they didn't fail and are now back on their feet.  I, however, still own a house that is worth less than what I paid for it because of the gambles that these investment bankers made.  I bought the house on good faith that it was worth what the appraiser said it was worth.  But because of this unknown ticking bomb that was set to go off in just a few short months, it really wasn't worth what I paid for it.  The investment bankers knew it and hedged their bets.  I, like many others, was left holding a losing hand.

If I were a business, I could cut my losses, file bankruptcy, walk away and start over.  I am not a business, so I can only continue to make loan payments and hope that I can continue to find renters.  I am a member of a group that negotiated in good faith but is now disillusioned with our financial, industrial, and governmental leaders.  They have left us holding the bag as they walk away.

I am the 99%.  I am a responsible citizen.  I am angry.  I am fed up.

Library of Congress YouTube Channel

The Library of Congress has uploaded hundreds of historical videos of New York City to their YouTube channel.  This one is of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Parade down Fifth Avenue.  It was taken in 1902.  Kind of fun to watch these old videos!

City of Characters

New York City is home to a diverse and rich population.  Each person has his own story.  The New York Times is chronicling some of these stories through a series of narrated slide shows.  It's worth the few minutes a week to learn a little about a person you'll never meet and maybe understand where someone else is coming from.  Take a look at One in 8 Million.  You may come away with a new perspective on things.

Adam Lambert and Equality

If you don't watch American Idol, you've missed the unfolding story of Adam Lambert.  Adam Lambert is an experienced musical theatre performer who has landed a spot in this years American Idol top 12.  There has been no mention of whether he is gay or straight on the show.  In fact, unlike the other contestants who talk about their wives, husbands, and kids, there is a glaring absence of any mention of his personal life during the short vignettes of the performers.  However, it only takes a short trip on YouTube to discover his caberet performances as well as performances for gay charities.

This week on Idol, Adam performed Michael Jackson's "Black and White".    Adam emphasized the word Equality early in the performance.  Then, toward the end, the words "don't tell me you agree with me when I saw you kicking dirt in my eye"  came through loud and clear.  Whether he meant to or not, Adam sent a message to many of his followers.

Thank you Adam.  Middle America may not realize the statement you're making in your performances on Idol, but some of us totally get you.  Keep it up.

We Really Need Omega-3

MSNBC has a really good article on a supplement we all need but don't get enough of.  It seems that before we started factory raising our beef and poultry, omega-3's were abundant in more of our food supply.  The grass consumed by beef and free range chickens causes their proteins to be rich in omega-3.  And the salmon we all eat to get that wonderful oil?  Seems the farm raised variety is being fed grain rather than some form of their natural food sources, causing them to be less rich in omega-3.  The really interesting part is that omega-3 is good not only for the heart and cardiovascular system, but for the brain as well.  And they seem to be pointing to the omega-3 oil as a way to stave off depression, fatigue, and whole range of illnesses.  Read the article for yourself.  But I think I'm about to start looking for grain fed beef, free range poultry, and more fish. The article is titled, Want to live longer?

Train Whistle

As a kid, I remember hearing the sound of the train in the distance.  The train would blow it's horn and I could hear the clickity clack of the wheels as they ran over the tracks.  I wanted to know who was riding in the passenger cars and where were they going.  Sometimes, if we were close to the tracks when a train would come by, the engineer would wave as they passed us.  Back then, there were conductors on the trains as well, so I'd get a second wave as the caboose passed as well.

I heard the trains in the distance tonight and for some reason, those old memories came back.  I know that almost all of the trains these days are carrying goods for delivery in some distant place.  But every now and then I know one of the trains is a passenger train.  I still wonder where the people are going and who they are.  And it makes me almost wish the slower days of the past could come back.  I think we all could learn from sitting on a passenger train for a few hours, away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, to contemplate the scenery and to just be.

More Than We Need

Today I had an "aha" moment.  I needed a dime.  That's all, just a a dime.  But I had a ten dollar bill.  What I had was so much more than I needed.  But that didn't help me.  It hit me that we all face this every day.  We have so much more than we need.  But is what we have actually what we need?  Most of us could be happy with so much less, if we just took the time to look at what we actually need.

Surreal Tide of Change

Well, this week it has begun.  Layoffs announced on Monday.  Rumors beginning to fly on Tuesday.  Today, on Wednesday, the people begin to leave.  One by one.  You don't want it to be anyone you know.  Especially since they've already told you you're safe.  Then it happens.  You turn the corner and someone is in tears.  Then a closed office door opens and someone walks out with a box full of his lifetime with the company.  This is our family.  Many of us have spent ten to twenty years together.  We know each others families.  We play softball together. We've been through marriages and divorces, illnesses, and even death.  But still this family, this one stable rock, has stood and been there for us to come to day after day.  Somehow we knew that it would all be ok because on Monday, we would be able to laugh with the people we worked with, the people who seemed to understand us. And now, with the wave of an arbitrary wand, a new company owner has decided the fates of each of us.  Some stay. Some go.  No rhyme or reason.  Just a surreal tide of change.

The Royale

I'm sitting at the bar of the Royale waiting for our takeout order. This place is great. The bartender knows what I drink. Just kind of shoots the shit while I wait. It's the corner bar like CHEERS we all look for. Just bought "Southside for Obama" t-shirts. Will probably come here tomorrow night for the dabate.

Nostalgia

Ever find yourself longing to go back to some place in your past? Tonight for some reason, I' longing for those days, not to long ago, when I had next to nothing.

I was living in a one bedroom apartment. The kitchen was small, but it was just enough. Didn't have a lot of things. I just guess I was looking around wondering where all this "stuff" came from.

Can I go back? Can I?

Survived by Her Partner

Everyone has seen the story of the MetroLink train crash on Friday, Sep. 12.  We've seen the pictures of the LA Police Officers saluting the body of one of their own as it was taken from the train.

It is sad that in our country, the fact that she was gay has made headlines.  Because of her and people like her all across the nation, one day it won't.  One day the paper will read, Officer Spree Desha, 35 years old, is survived by her partner.  And that will be that.

I think the real story here is that she was a person first.  She had a family and they will miss her.  That can't be changed.  However, for the rest of us out here in the heartland, it is comforting to know that someone in a such a conservative profession as law enforcement was able to live her life, just as anyone else does

Summer Rain

There's nothing like a good thunderstorm in July.  Fireworks on the 4th don't compare to the lightening show in the clouds.  The thunder rolls and resonates, competing well with any bass booster on the planet. Then the air begins to cool.  And you know that in only minutes, there will be rain, possibly a downpour.

Couple this phenomenom with a night at the Muny and you have the makings of a fun walk back to the car.  The rain was coming down in sheets, running down my face, and getting in my eyes.  It tasted sweet and cool.  But the most fun was the puddles.  They formed quickly.  Those small oasis of fun that gather in the concrete just waiting to be jumped in.  So yes, after a wonderful performance that was cut oh so short, we had a grand time enjoying the show after the show.

I Kissed a Girl . . .

For those of you who use iTunes, check out the number one song.  It's by Katy Perry.  And get this - the name of the song is "I Kissed a Girl"!

Responses to the 2008 Flood from our Politicians

Keith Olbermann, on Countdown, focuses on the responses to the current flooding in the Midwest. See how Bush, McCain and Obama have responded to this current crisis.

Ceasar fiddled while Rome Burned . . . Bush dined in Paris while IowaFlooded

He gave up golf because it would appear unseemly for a president to be playing a game while America's finest were involved in a war in Iraq. But he still travels the world and meets with world leaders, just as a president should. But President Bush still hasn't discovered when he should be home responding to a crisis and when he should on his diplomatic jaunts. Iowa is currently experiencing a flood worse than the 100 year flood of 1993. In fact, some are saying it could be a 500 year flood. And where is our president? Well, you can find him in Paris, dining the French leaders. Surprised?