Am I Still an American?

Am I an American?

Sometimes I wonder where I belong.  I grew up never especting to own a home and to be honest, this never bothered me.  I knew I had too small an income to support a house.  Because it was Extremely important to Ann, after I lost my mobile home in the ice storm of Jan. 2007 I bought a small home in May 2008.  When a very unusual string of tornadoes came through in Jan. of 2008, rocking our home on its foundation, Cracking the foundation, I lost that home.  It wasn't a subprime mortgage, my credit rating was very good and all payments were being made on time.  But the home had only been insured since the previous May and the "triple A" rated insurance money wouldn't put the thousands of dollars into it which were needed to repair the damage.  We fought the insurance company, involving the state's insurance commission for about six months then gave up.

The two factors making us give up were: 1.  The mold coming in from the floods of March that year was making us ill and so was the bleach the insurance agent told us to use to clean it up.  And 2.  Sometimes if you want peace in your life you just have to cut your losses and decide that sanity and calm are more important to you than winning.  This was our decision.

We moved and I declared bankruptcy as there was no way to make both a mortgage payment and a rental payment in the place we moved to.  Both of us were Quite aware that you can't buy back your health.  By the time we moved we were both sick from the house I bought.

Honestly, I was glad to return to renting, with all its inconveniences.

I also don't watch TV.  I use the VCR/DVD combo to watch movies and get my news from NPR and the BBC.  Also, just to get a differing perspective I occasionally listen to Fox News. 

So when anyone talks to me about the latest vampire flick or comedy series I let them tell me about it, if it's important to them.  And often they treat me like I'm from some foreign country, even though I usually know more about both world history and current events than they do.  But they aren't usually interested in such things.  What I'm Not current on is who locally killed someone, robbed a store, is charged with a sex crime, what good does it do me to know?

I don't use Facebook or Twitter.  I will have to find out how accessible Facebook is, if I Ever get my online store open, but until then I don't care.  I don't know how to text.  The letters associated with particular numbers on a phone keypad are not known to me, phone keypads aren't usually in Braille.  I do know a few texting abbreviations, LOL, LOLRF, (how often can this Really be true?) OMG, that's about it except for BAMF.  Wonder if Blogger will let that one pass?

Then there is food.  I hate McDonald's food, but they have a good unsweetened  ice tea. I don't keep ice cream in the house because I would eat it far too fast.  I do like ice cream.  I don't eat white bread or white rice (except on rare occasions when I go out to eat Asian food) or granola bars or energy drinks, or cold cereal or canned hardly anything.  Does all of this make me better than anyone?  Hell no!  But it does make me weird!

Once I heard a friend say that the women in Vermont were strange.  When I asked "in what way" she said, "Well, you know, they wear long skirts and don't shave their legs and eat all that health food stuff."  I smiled, Trying not to laugh!  So That's what I am, a Vermonter, or as a friend who lives in Maryland says, a "Granola".  I make a sugarless granola with one kind of dried fruit or another in it and a sweet spice, like cinnamon.

Given the drought and heat here this Summer, maybe I should Become a True Granola and move Northeast.  But I'd always be an outsider their too, probably.

When I got to the E-mail below I care.  But I remember watching what is now an Old Michael Moore film where a family got evicted from their home on Christmas Eve in Michigan and literally put out into the snow.  They were African American.

Is the home ownership crisis a crisis now only because it has hit the white middle class?  Don't misunderstand me, please.  Wrong is wrong and tragedy is tragedy no matter Who Suffers it.  But I think this question Must be asked as we help those of all races who are now losing their homes.

Once I shared with a friend how odd I thought the whole home owing as part of the American dream was.  She said "But it Is a major Part of the American dream."

Don't many people in Europe rent flats for most or all of their lives?  Maybe we should ask what the American dream Should be.  I think it should include healthcare for all, decent education for all, respect for differing viewpoints, and many other things.  I do Not want to see people losing the homes they have.  But does a person have to Have a home they Own to be happy?  Loosing something you already have is Much Harder than not having it and not expecting to.

I Do think

Wall Street Owes Main Street

and

Poor Street

a great deal.

You will have to look up the organization below or the link to the blog referred to, or it won't work.

Rebuild the Dream

Your dad was having trouble paying his mortgage. He fought with his bank for years,

asking them to refinance because his house was $50,000 underwater. But the bank said

no, again and again. The stress got to your dad, and he got sick -- he passed away

the day the bank auctioned off his house. The kicker?

The bank forced you and your sister to clean out the house that day, even though

your dad had just died.

This isn’t a story we made up -- it’s just one of many that have been submitted to

our ‘America Underwater’ blog by Rebuild members. The stories on the blog range from

heartbreaking to infuriating, and all of them make us wonder why Congress still hasn’t

taken action to help American homeowners.

There are three important pieces of homeowner relief legislation currently making

their way through Congress.

With the election coming up, now is the perfect time to turn up the pressure on Congress

but we have only a few weeks to force a vote before Congress goes home to face the

voters.

We want to make a series of videos that highlight the stories on the America Underwater

blog, but we need to raise $15,000 to do so.

Can you chip in $5 to help us get there?

Here's how we'll make sure people across the country see it. Van is a rising presence

on national television. In just the last several weeks, he's been on CNN, ABC, and

MSNBC multiple times over. And here's what we've learned: TV producers are dying

for good stories to show and tell. They already like having Van on. And they'll love

it if he brings a great short video, ready made to fill up their airtime. Help us

create powerful video from these homeowners' stories, and Van can get them onto national

TV the next time he's invited to a show.

The more people hear these heart wrenching stories, the more pressure will build

on Congress to take action

.

Click here to help us get the $15,000 we need to bring the stories of Americans Underwater to Congress’s front door.

These videos are a vital part of our Hope for Homeowners campaign. This week we’ll

be delivering thousands of your signatures to key Senators to demand a vote on these

bills. But as terrifying as all the stats and figures of underwater homeowners are,

nothing breaks through the noise as much as seeing the faces of regular Americans

who are struggling to hang on to their piece of the American Dream.

Together we’re giving hope to homeowners across the country.

Thanks,

Ian and the rest of the Rebuild the Dream team

Rebuild the Dream is a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help

fix the U.S. economy.

President Obama Allows Investment Without Conditions in Burma

You will have to Google US Campaign for Burma to make the links work.

There once was a time, many centuries ago, when the land now called Burma was largely literate and peaceful.  The British colonized it and at one point the King and Queen of Burma were put under house arrest.  For reference to this time read "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh.

Burma became a British colony with imported soldiers from India to keep the peace.  But it already Had been largely peaceful Before colonization.

During the second World War Burma became a place of slaughter and occupation and prison camps.

When Independence was granted in the early 1960's, a group of ruling military officials soon took over.  These are the Same people to whom our President is granting, along with our Congress, the right to do nearly anything they want in the name of "foreign investment."  We Finally put a Stop to that in White Only rule in S. Africa, so Why don't the lives of people in Burma count?

As a human being Both situations bothered me Very much!  As a co-religionist of the Burmese people, (Buddhist with animist beliefs) I am aware that it was monks who have lead one uprising after another.  These have been huge and for the most part very Peaceful protests.

We helped engineer "regime change"  in Libya. Libya has gas and oil.

In the name of "gas and oil" plus Election Year Politics, (multi-national corporations are now given the same rights as Persons" by our Supreme Court (read Campaign contributions and election meddling) it would seem that Burmese civilians, especially the Rohinga, a Muslim group, and the ethnic civilians of Cachin State are no Longer persons.

Burma has gas and oil too, plus rubies.

Please share the E-mail below and take a few minutes to find this ortanization and try to save Some lives?

New Role for Americans to Promote Human Rights in Burma
Dear Teresa,
On Wednesday, President Obama lifted the ban on U.S. investment in Burma without
putting any safeguards in place.
President Obama ignored the advice of the human rights community, who implored his Administration to ensure only responsible investment was permitted and human rights were respected
. For the first time since 1997, U.S companies will now be allowed to do business
in Burma, including with Burmese government owned businesses, an actual requirement
all foreign companies are subjected to by the Burmese government.
What this means for human rights in Burma and your role in promoting human rights
and democracy for the people of Burma.
A)
Sanctions against the Burmese regime and its cronies are leverage to push for democracy
and human rights. By lifting the investment ban, the United States loses leverage
to bring about more reform, while the people of Burma are still suffering human rights
abuses and mass atrocities at the hands of the Burmese regime. There is now only
one sanction left–the import ban–which must be renewed by Congress before the end
of July.
Call your Senators to support the renewal of the import ban
.
Burma’s military still commits heinous human rights abuses against Burma’s ethnic civilians
, particularly in Kachin State, where their military
won't allow
 international humanitarian aid into the region. The Burmese regime refuses to admit
there are
still hundreds
 of political prisoners behind bars. In an extremely worrying move,
President Thein Sein told the UN on Wednesday, he wants the Rohingya put in camps or deported, a request the UN immediately refused
. Something must be done to end these abuses!
We must send a strong signal that real reform respects human rights, not profits.
The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act is the ONLY influence the United States has
left to pressure the Burmese regime to move forward with genuine democratic change.
B)
Investment without safeguards will contribute to human rights abuses and profits for the Burmese military
.  More and more farms have been
confiscated
and some farmers have
been arrested
 for refusing to leave their land. In addition to the most egregious human rights
abuses in conflict zones,
throughout the country the regime carries out forced labor, forced relocation,
extortion, land confiscation and burning of civilians’ crops and farms
, some of it in the name of making way for foreign investment. American Oil and Gas
companies are now allowed to partner with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE),
a Burmese government company who generates billions of dollars in profits for the
Burmese military. The money our corporations will invest can fuel this murderous
machine. For a more detailed explanation of the dangers of investment without safeguards,
check out our
blog
, the
LA Times
 and
IPS
.
In the months ahead, as American companies enter Burma, we will need our supporters,
like you, to help ensure their activities and investments do not involve land confiscation,
human rights abuses and money to those who obstruct political reform and commit human
rights abuses.
The people of Burma will need our help—will you speak out to for the people of Burma?
Right now, you have the power to keep the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act (S.J.RES
43) in place by calling your Senators to cosponsor the bill, but time is running
out. The bill expires in less than 3 weeks, you have to
call your Senators now!
Click here for
calling instruction
,
congressional scorecards to check where your Senators stand
 and the
background of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act
.
Thank you for speaking out for the people of Burma.
Myra and USCB team
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