Rural Thoughts

The most significant thing I heard today on the news shows that I watched was republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman stating, not in a firey campaign speech, but in a quiet, thoughtful moment in a serious interview, that his fellow Mormon and favorite for the nomination, Mitt Romney, had electability problems because he had flipped-flopped so much on serious issues.

Wow. I would never have believed it. Now the so-called Greece referendum is cancelled. Just like that. Because Germany, France, and the U.S. didn't want it. So who is running Greece. I guess we will see if the Greeks really wanted a referendum or not.

So..this leads me to think that if the situation is so bad that it can't go for a referendum - that it's implementation has to be insured - or else some unbelievably horrible thing will happen to everyone if it isn't implemented, then we all need to know what those unbelievably horrible things are.

If it wasn't so bad, it would be hilarious from the irony. But it is bad, and it is part and parcel with the protests that are going on in New York and across the country and world. And that is the total hypocricy that our "western democracies" demonstrate when push comes to shove.

I watched all the news shows that we get today. Of everything that I saw, the most interesting and amazing segment was how irritated Bonnie Erbe, host of "To the Contrary" got at one of her guests. I wasn't watching - I was doing something else and listening. But it was a very amazing exchange.

By Thanksgiving, which is about a month, the so-called "super committee" is going to decide on cuts to the federal budget, has to come forward with bi-partisan budget cuts or so-called "automatic cuts" will go into force.

The Sunday News shows provided nothing very new, for the most part. I guess the one tidbit of brand new information was in a comment by I think Pat Buchanan on the McLaughlin Group. It could have been Mort Zuckerman, but my memory is that it was Buchanan. The discussion was about whether or not Obama's foreign policy was going to significantly help him during the election. The current elections, which have just taken place the last few days, in Tunisia came up. Buchanan, I believe, said something like, "looks like those aren't coming out that good."

I never knew a guy who was leader of a country that the press couldn't figure out how to spell his name. Was it Quaddafi? Or maybe Khaddafi? Or what about Quaddafy, or Gaddafi?. There's more, but, who knows? In fact, you can never for sure what is going on in foreign places. But, if what we have been hearing in the press is halfway right, one can't blame the Libyian people for wanting a new government.

Ok, I have to admit. I'm a Cardinals fan...and I have been as long as I can remember. But hey, my dad was a native of E. St. Louis, and an excellent baseball player, coach, and Cards fan. I remember the old Busch Stadium, with the screened in pavillion in right field. I saw Stan Musial break what I recall as the national league RBI record by hitting a home run on top of that pavillion. Curt Flood was and is one of my favorite all time Cards players. I saw him play a number of times.

It's no secret that Kristi and I have been interested in and involved in planning for the Shawnee National Forest for the last...um...let's see...28 years. In that time, we have been involved regionally with various organizations, but the one that we have been most closely associated with is the Regional Association of Concerned Environmentalists, or RACE.

Birds United, a sister group of VOTE (Vegetables Organized for the Earth), held a rally in front of the Kentucky State Capitol today protesting the proposed heartless hunting of Sandhill Cranes in Kentucky.

I watched the so-called Kentucky governor's race debate this morning sponsored by the Paducah Chamber of Commerce on WPSD-TV's 6-2 station. This is a great use for that station, and kudos to WPSD for doing that.

Lil Birdie met with other members of his flock in Frankfort to protest the planned hunting of Sandhill Cranes in Kentucky. The heartless Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Agency will allow hunters to murder 400 of these majestic birds. Call them and say NO 800-858-1549.

Our brother and sister cranes mate for life! What will they do if their wife or husband is murdered?!? What will their little chicks do but grieve at this sick inhuman sport that murdered their family members?

I was tempted to say that the national "occupy" protests have reached their first crossroads, but I don't think that is accurate. Getting started and maintaining all this time has more than likely had a number of crossroads already. But I see several looming. And, it isn't that the movement can't make it through these junctions intact, but it definitely has some risks.

Like much of the country, I have become very aware and tuned into the Occupy Wall Street protests. I'm very excited about it. If the young people in our country want to have a better country, now is their time to reach for the reins of power and try to change things for the better. Our generation made a valiant attempt, spurred by the military draft and the Vietnam war, but also in response to the general injustices and inequalities that our society has ingrained yet continually tries to deny and avoid being held accountable.

Several days ago, Kristi came home from work and said that she heard that there was going to be an event at the Carson Center that night that we might want to go see. It had something to do with the University of Louisville, but she wasn't sure. She thought there would be music, and maybe theater. But she had heard that it would be good, so we cleaned up quickly and headed there. I'm so glad we did.