Fear. It’s a visceral word. It immediately evokes a response. The reaction may not always be positive, but it is still a reaction nonetheless.

I am growing more and more afraid of the elected officials who are tacitly in charge of my life. There are men and women holding power over everything I may do or say in the nebulous future… which may not be quite as far off as I like to pretend. My government is making some very scary decisions in light of ‘protecting’ me.

One of the current battles is, of course, the rights of an unborn fetus. However, that is not truly what is at stake. This is not about abortion. It is about controlling half of the American population, and taking away their RIGHT to choose how to care for their bodies. I am scared because a group of people who have never met me, will never meet me, and likely have no desire to meet me are attempting to decide what I may or may not do with my own bodily functions. The government should not be in my, or any other woman’s, uterus. To coin a phrase, ‘my body, my decision’!

Another battle currently being waged is again over gun control. I have friends and family in both camps. It’s a difficult decision on one hand; on the other it is truly not a decision at all. Do I personally own a firearm? No, nor have I ever shot one. This is my decision, and one I chose to make several years ago. Am I going to tell my neighbors, family, and friends they do not have the right to own one… or more? Absolutely not. A firearm is simply a tool, it is neither good nor evil. It has no more emotion or intent than my keyboard.

Thirdly is the ability to marry a consenting adult of your choice. When my parents were children, it was for the ability to marry a consenting adult of another race; now it is to be able to wed a consenting adult of the same gender. For some reason, the thought of two consenting adults falling in love and wanting to get married is a threat.

Personally, I am of the opinion these issues have been thrust into the forefront of the voting minds to cloud other deeper problems which need to be solved. Not that these can be ignored, of course. Failing to address these platforms will only allow them to be pushed through, and we will have taken a dozen giant strides backwards.

It is a very sad state of affairs when an average citizen is openly admitting she is afraid of her government. But, I am. Further, I am very worried about where our future may be leading us. This is not a political statement; I have made it very clear over the years that I am not a political person. This has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats, not truly. This has everything to do with a growing trend in our nation towards ultra-conservatism.

Today I can still make some decisions in my life. Tomorrow my religious freedoms may be next.

I am very afraid.

WATCH: In Dewitt, Mich., Good Jobs Now activists make their voices heard.

“Mitt Romney and the Republicans’ philosophy is an agenda that is not conducive to the 99%,” said Elmarie Dixon, a Good Jobs Now supporter.

Here are the facts:

Romney has made millions off of a company that buys businesses only to shut them down and send them overseas.
When that doesn’t work, these businesses are then loaded up with debt. The debt is repaid through laying off workers and restructuring the remain jobs into low-wage positions.
These low-wage jobs only pay $7.25 an hour–amounting to $15,000 a year. Annually, this is $7,000 below the national poverty level.
Romney embraced the Ryan Act, which would do away with social security and Medicaid. Removing these options hurt our senior citizens the most.
Based on tax loopholes, Romney pays a fraction of the tax rate when compared with the average working person.

How You Can Help

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.
Sign our petition to raise the minimum wage–there is power in numbers!

However, a friend of mine and I were talking today and he said something which was half in jest and half serious.  He and his wife are toying with the idea of Occupy’ing Wal-Mart.  Someone in our conversation wasn’t quite understanding the underlying topic… and for once it wasn’t me.  H

His reasoning is “because they are also responsible for the downfall of the American economy by killing American manufacturing.”

Image via Wikipedia

Really?  This company single handedly eroded American manufacturing?

Finding yourself agreeing with his sentiment?

I used to work there.  I don’t recall ever being forced to shop there.  Not even once.  I can’t think of a single time I’ve ever seen the stores making anyone spend money there.  Maybe corporate has different rules in the South than they do up here.

Have discount super centers like Wal-Mart, Meijer, and KMart contributed to the problems suffered by both the small business owner and the American manufacturer?  Of course.  But that doesn’t mean they are responsible for the results.

My friend didn’t have an answer when I asked about the last time he gave that corporate giant some of his money.  Things got even quieter when I took it a step further and queried about his most recent shopping trip to the local hardware store.  Somehow, this time, I don’t think I’m the one confused.

After 30 years in political and community organizing in Michigan, I have had the opportunity to learn from the people and communities we work with – the challenges they face and their many accomplishments. It’s this experience that has led me to understand how important it is for every community in the state, both rural and urban, to have access to wireless broadband. As the Executive Director of Michigan Citizen Action (MCA) I believe that there are many real consumer benefits involved with upgrading and expanding Michigan’s wireless service and we can see significant progress in the coming years. I also believe the benefits are so resounding that most of us will agree it’s in our common interest to make it happen.

As most of us have probably read in a July 16th BFM post, there are some incredible consumer benefits of increased broadband access including more reliable wireless service, increased business productivity, and a wealth of new teaching tools for rural schools and communities. Unfortunately, Michigan is falling behind in terms of wireless connectivity for many reasons including a lack of access and increased costs. In my opinion, this is unacceptable and we need to start finding solutions to this problem.

Just think about it… if every household, school, and community in Michigan had high-speed wireless broadband we would be able to boost productivity, rapidly improve communication speeds, and provide our children with the type of technology and education they need to succeed in an ever-evolving job market. What seems to be most unfortunate about this lack of broadband access is that marginalized populations and rural communities are left behind and this creates the digital divide that exists between those who have access and those who do not have access to this vital technology.

With a membership of more than 10,000 Michiganders, MCA is committed to educating and informing our members to make the best decisions in the name of equality and democracy. For this reason, we are committed to finding solutions that benefit all walks of life- young and old, lower, middle and upper income, male and female, varying racial backgrounds, and a variety of faiths and political leanings. I’m confident that increased broadband access can benefit every Michigan resident. In fact, two recent infographics from the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) show how mobile broadband can benefit many aspects of rural communities as well as health IT throughout the country.

One of the ways that we can overcome this challenge is by supporting President Obama’s plan to deliver broadband to 98% of the country. In recent news, as many people know, the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile alone would nearly fulfill Obama’s goal with no additional tax increases or federal funding. According to former Democratic Congressman Rick Boucher, the merger would achieve the President’s goal in 5 years. These are the types of innovative, large-scale solutions that Michigan needs to bring broadband to every community regardless of their geographic location or socio-economic status.

It’s important that we spread the word about this state-of-the art technology and the good things it can do for Michigan and underserved communities across the country. As an editorial in The Detroit News pointed out, wireless broadband is essential to realizing the American Dream and we can’t afford to leave anyone behind.

Know anyone need of food in Grand Rapids? American Legion Post 459 (located at Michigan and Grand) will have truckloads of food to distribute on Friday, July 29 starting at 6 pm. The food is donated by area companies. Last year they actually turned a truck away because they did not get enough people. If you know of anyone in need, let them know. Also, their marketing is by word of mouth, so please pass this on!

so, i am doing exactly that… getting the word out.  i hope someone in need can benefit from this.  i have verified this message via the Legion's online calendar, which confirms this date and distribution.

Directions

Agema has a history of focusing on gay people; he recently proposed cutting funding to universities that support equality. Now he’s out to make sure that equality doesn’t become recognized in Michigan. Worse, he’s making sure that inequality is further codified in Michigan, by building an architecture of anti-gay law that is loosely based on the bigoted prop 2 anti marriage equality law passed in 2004. Equality advocates have repeatedly pointed out that the 2004 law does not apply because health benefits to eligible adults is not similar to a marriage union, which is what the 2004 law specifically addresses.

Agema’s gay bashing is totally in line with his party’s stand on equality. It was 4 of his fellow House Republicans who rammed his bill through the committee (the 2 Democrats opposed). Earlier this year Bill Schuette filed a lawsuit against against the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for its decision to grant health benefits to unrelated adults and their dependents who live with some state employees. And just a few weeks ago, 5 of the (then) 7 GOP Presidential hopefuls promised their goofball base that they’d support a Constitutional amendment to oppose equality. And all the while, America keeps on marching up to freedomland ….

Links —

Michigan Messenger story — http://michiganmessenger.com/50114/house-committee-approves-two-radical-anti-gay-bills

House Bill 4770 — http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28t3yqtn45qekj4d555fcv3rbt%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2011-HB-4770

House Bill 4771 — http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28t3yqtn45qekj4d555fcv3rbt%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=2011-HB-4771

ht to Equality Michigan at http://www.equalitymi.org/

And please order big gay flash mobs for the following:

Tom McMillin (R), Committee Chair, 45th District
Bradford C. Jacobsen (R), Majority Vice-Chair, 46th District
Cynthia S. Denby (R), 47th District
Amanda Price (R), 89th District

The chart shows that the decline in pay checks began with the brief recession that followed 9/11 in 2001, but it has not stopped its free fall. The free fall is not hard to explain when you consider the assault on organized labor that is destroying the middle class.

But workers are the only people suffering in this economy. U.S. companies have made record profits, while unemployment has stayed high and wages fell, yet they still refuse to hire people as we throw cash at them in the form of tax breaks that is forcing cuts in public safety, schools and the social safety net many people have contributed to for their entire working lives.

The inequity gap between the working class and the top 1 percent is turning the U.S. into a banana republic. The richest 1 percent of the population gobbles up 20 percent of the national pie. To quote Warren Buffett, one of the richest investors, in the world, “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

The fact is the richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. That means the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana, according to Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Nicholas D. Kristof.Also making a killing while wage earners take a bath are CEOs. In 1965 the average CEO was earning 24 times what the average worker was making. But by 2001 the C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 531 times as much as the average worker.

According to a USA Today analysis of data from GovernanceMetrics International, they found .

With those stats, it’s amazing that Michigan Republicans are pushing right to work for less using stats like disposable and personal income as justification, claiming they are higher in right to work for less states. That may be the case, but wage earners in the 22 right to work for less states make an average of $5,900 less in annual salary, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, the rate of workplace deaths is 41 percent higher in right to work for less states, according to the bureau, and 20 percent more workers in right to work for less states go without health insurance.

Autumn leaves are gorgeous, no two ways about it. I enjoy the changing seasons because there is always something new to experience…even if it's from the comfort of the couch. Snow, on the other hand, is simply magical. No flake like another, each different and unique.

Take our most recent weather, for instance. The face of the world changed, literally overnight. How amazing is that? What other season does that? One day it's gray and gloomy, dismal, dark and just plain blah, and the next morning the world is so pristine one needs sunglasses to function outdoors!

Granted, it is also very treacherous. Driving conditions can be horrid and even walking is an adventure at times due to the ice which follows (or proceeds) the snow. I myself am a very cautious (to the point of dangerous) driver in the winter. Too many times ending up in a ditch due to instinctive braking when sliding, of course.

Not only is snow aesthetically pleasing, there is a hidden plus for which farmers are incredibly grateful. A chemical reaction occurs when snow melts on the ground. Certain nutrients are released, much like when lightning flashes through the sky during a thunderstorm. The lightning releases nitrogen into the air, which is absorbed by the plants and eventually dissolved into the soil. Snow contains those same nitrogen molecules so vital to growing crops.

Another benefit is "free" insulation. The temperature is much warmer where there is snow, as it acts a heat conductor. Banks of snow around a structure keep it warmer, just as trees overhead keep the same building cooler in the summer. A snowy winter is much warmer than one without. Odd how that works, isn't it?

Next time the flakes fly, keep this thought in mind. The more we get, the better the water table is the following summer. We've all heard the reports over the years about how the Great Lakes seem to be shrinking. It seems to me something was said just last summer about Lake Michigan being down a couple inches again. Water is something Michiganians are familiar with, but largely take for granted. Why shouldn't we? We're surrounded by our own inland seas, after all. Fortunately, all that melted snow has to go somewhere.

Lastly, snow is a guaranteed economic booster. Kids wandering about the neighborhood with shovels in hand are very glad to dig out the walk and drive for a pretty nominal fee. Anyone with a truck and a snowblade has the ability to make a fairly decent secondary income, and then there are those heroes on the road when you've hit the brakes a bit harder than you should and end up planted quite firmly in a snowbank. (Thanks Frank!!) Money is moving from my pocket to theirs, yes, but that's the way a service-based society works. The more money circulates, the better the society functions–or at least that's what my bills keeps trying to convince me.

Rediscover that child hiding within, and build a snowman in the yard. Grab the rag rug in the foyer and ride it down a hill; fill a squirt gun with colored water and paint yourself a masterpiece. Throw snowballs for the dog to search out; fall back into a snowbank and make an angel. Remember the innocent glee of the long-anticipated Snow Day. Dig out the old skates, put on lots of padding, and see if you can still make that sloppy figure 8. The sage who said "you're only young once" was right. Fortunately that once doesn't have to end with puberty.

Coming on the heels of the passing of Elizabeth Edwards (who I absolutely adored), this is some sad news.

Aretha Franklin has been diagnosed with cancer, Detroit's Fox 2 reported today.

The National Enquirer broke the news in its new print edition, reporting that the iconic Detroit singer has pancreatic cancer, regarded as one of the deadliest of cancers.

According to MyFoxDetroit.com, a relative of Franklin's told Al Allen that Franklin has cancer.

The news is sure to send shockwaves through the international music world, where Franklin is revered as one of the most important American artists in history.

Best thoughts and prayers go out to the Queen of Soul tonight.