Komatsu and Oyama Remembered

Komatsu in 'Chibideka Mongatrai'

Obviously, I have not written here in some time.

I decided to say nothing here, as I was doubtful my endless rants of the obvious failings of the previous  president were of any use. Thankfully, I learned by the 2020 elections end, that our democracy was preserved by about 8 million voters. Thin margin perhaps but enough to alter the grim path we were on Yet, I also learned that where I live I am politically outnumbered about 4 to 1 - about the same amount I have experienced in the years and years I have lived here ... and yet i remain.

Call me Odd Man Out. And no, I have never been comfortable with this particular reality. So I write what I can seldom say.

And after perusing other options of the online world, those many thousands and thousands of platforms and apps  world gurgles and burbles its way through to self-expression - this humble and loveable blog is the best place to share. Here, I am the only one, I can speak freely.

I can ponder through words the thoughts wandering about my old mind (I'm 60 - time left is ticking past loudly.

I continue to marvel at the presence and uses the world has made of the internet - fascinated by the swipe-left-or-right narrative so many engage in, the willingness to answer any question posed by some Facebook data miner, speeding through miniaturized experience. People of all ages and sexes make money online opening boxes and packages to reveal what's inside, or how to apply make-up, or repair a car or a washing machine, or being creative with music and art, or even just jerking off live on camera for tip money. In my day, one had to go to a big city and find a peep show to do that.

Anyway.

I was eating lunch (eel sushi and thai yellow curry chicken) in a small Asian restaurant and I put my phone away since it had little battery power left. I realized I did not even have a book in my car I could have brought in with me - it made me feel ashamed. 

I work with folks in their 20s and 30s and have noticed whenever there is a pause in work or just conversation, 8 seconds will go past and their heads will bend down to their phones, fingering away swiping up and down and left and right. 

So now I have two books in my car. 

I'm no Luddite.

I was pondering movies I could watch online (how I spend most of my time online) and something reminded me of the first foreign language film I saw. I was 7 or maybe 8, and on Saturday mornings I eagerly waited for the CBS Children's Film Festival program to air. I was quite delighted to be able to type CBS Children's Film Festival into the magic google machine - and there it was listed, along with all the films they showed during their very long run. 

It was a Japanese film made in 1958 called "Skinny and Fatty", or originally "Chibideka Monogatari". It's a very simple story of two young boys in elementary school who become friends. Once I recalled seeing it - images and scenes filled my head. The story follows them through their school days and lives at home. They become friends, the smaller sized boy, Komatsu, lives in a very small one-room house and the heavier boy, Oyama. lives in a large two-story home. Komatsu's mother works in a quarry all day, his father works out of town, seldom home. Oyama's mom stays at home, dad is home every night. The boys get bullied, but don't give in. Komatsu always tells his new friend to never give up, to try to achieve, to have confidence.

All I could find of the 45 minute movie was a horribly washed-out print on YouTube, and watched it anyway. I remembered how much that movie impacted me - it wasn't about adults or the goofy kids in America I saw on TV. Their lives are ordinary and still, powerful. It was one of several young experiences that made me want to write, to tell stories, to make movies and plays. There is almost a manga-quality to the movie, it's steeped in late 50s Japanese culture, and likely helped lay a foundation for an appreciation of their styles of storytelling. 

And that's what I decided to write about today. 

Gobsmacked in America; or The Tweetering Inferno

Oh blog, poor blog, you have been mightily not been much present for the Dear Readers of the world in 2017.

It's not your fault. Wailing negativity each and every day has dominated the news and the talk and politics and the personalities which a battered modern America has brought forth are fairly depressing. I really do not want to add even more weight to the self-manufactured drowning stones being looped around America's neck. So I've kept my mouth shut, my keyboard untouched.

And the information flowing from the political distortions of reality presented as fact is a likewise river of sewage pretending it's a princess. The emperor may have no clothes, to quote the fable, but in today's world none care but we will video him with their phone as he goes walking past. The screen is running the show.

So I've just been working on real human interactions. Not writing about it, not observing, living. Such tends to severely limit writing.

And the good and the positive which I have encountered this year, I've kept clutched silently to myself, as if such things were tattered remnants of a nation once proud and mostly honest. Festering sores aren't much use to share with one's fellow humans. Though if your fellow human is indeed covered in festering sores, maybe one should speak to it.

In more simple terms. the cheese has fallen right off the American cracker.

It's on the floor, even if you like, clean it off, put it back on the cracker, you'll know.


PS - Fear not dear reader. Your  Cup of Joe is here, even when quiet. There's 12 years worth of archives to read - just click on a month in the sidebar on the right. You can see how many dead links and dead websites and music and video sites that aren't around anymore. But I am still here. I be back.

Where's My Cup of Joe?

Apologies again, Dear Reader and Humble Blog, for an extended absence. It's a dual whammy from being very busy working and utterly stunned by the depth of stupid in the political world.

Truly does any comment actually need to be made about the idiocy on display daily from Republican candidates and office holders who have yet to strike the bottom in their relentless effort to grind all governing to a halt?

Either you know what's up or you've not paid attention and gone dogmatically drunk along with the delusions.

Here, from October last year, my views on the state o' politics

"And the talking is being done by notably unqualified candidates here in the ol' U.S. of A, the sort of talking that cliched tin-pot dictators might spew from tiny podiums and dressed in over-decorated, ill-fitting military uniforms.Such candidates as Trump, Cruz, Carson, Fiorina, Rubio, Bush, and even whole rosters of state GOP candidates are the folks doing such talking today. It's pretty awful to hear and see.
On the Left, Hilary Clinton, even if elected will instantly be tarred with the 'unconstitutional presidency', as these talkers have labeled President Obama. And that would extend the current Insta-Rage crowd's fervor to even more unacceptable and unsustainable behaviors.
And there's Bernie Sanders, who has, for his career, been neither a Republican or a Democrat ...a pretty good indication he's probably the smartest guy in this particular political room of Potentials."


Things haven't changed much, so why repeat myself ad nausueum? 

So there's that.


And yes, I have been busy in offline world creating imaginary worlds - directing and producing plays as Artistic Director for Morristown's Theatre Guild and as directing plays as Artistic Director at Lincoln Memorial University. I am beyond thankful to be so busy. The process of group collaborations for the shows I do is likely why I maintain a very positive outlook on our world today. See, people from all walks of life get together, work together and create something unique and special worth sharing.

Currently I'm helping produce a stage version of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" as a schools program for some 1000-plus students and I am directing what I know will be an amazing version of "Alice In Wonderland" at LMU where Wonderland is of a Steampunk reality (or surreality) See, I am a very fortunate person to have such opportunities.

All that being said, I will step up the postings since politically the nation is in the grips of some dangerous folk and it seems more and more voices of reason are required.

I'm here for you - not to point out the obvious - to give volume to those voices.

Here, let me share this (and I encourage you to check out KnoxViews often) - it indicates how any voice other than one is being ignored in Tennessee.

"Tennessee Legislature  'Honored' as 'Most Conservative' at CPAC"

Also, read Tom Humphrey to stay up to speed on the Tennessee political landscape:

Marsha Blackburn as Trump's V.P.?

You Won't Believe What These 10 Bloggers Said!

And a fine Saturday morning to you, dear readers. Does it seem like I have not been writing? Sadly, this is true - I've not been writing and I fear I may be suffering from an affliction of age perhaps or of aging, which I shall try to explain. (NOTE: There is no list of what bloggers said in this post, I'm utilizing a click-bait post headline.)

News and information storms the world from every outlet, being shared and repeated and misreported and re-oriented, invented and re-invented, magical mathematical formulas hoovering up every nano-bit of content for global distribution and personal consumption - each keystroke and image commingling like turbo-charged teenage desires,captured and stored and re-visited and re-distributed .... the digitization of civilization means there is room on some remote server for your great aunt's collection of googley-eyed potato chips she's been "crafting" since all her kids grew up and left, just as every troll-fired insult, every secret, every wrinkle in Fame's fabric are all residing in numerical notations in vast continents and seas of data.

It sort of reminds me of the old-style tourist trap stores, where endless shelves of unspectacular crap are crowded with artifacts which no one really wants or needs - a mundane proof of life.

And yet here in this odd store, one could discover the works of poets and philosophers, of heads of state and victims of those same states, history, geography, science ... both real and unreal ... and then there are the commentaries of folks who have access to this tsunami of details. 

Outright lies, theories and fantasies endure among the eternal flow of what your child did or did not do, what you ate or did not eat, what you heard or saw or imagined you heard or saw, among the steady rain of outrages and screeds of the Offended. Petty cruelties live alongside endearing tales of pure goodness.

I've discovered that though I am (in digital terms) an old practitioner of online writing, I prefer to wait until I've found something worth saying, worth writing down for all or none to see and read.

The brittle and bitter and the superfluous all bellow for attention. My fingers poised above the keyboard - but what could I say? Some aspect or trend or idea strides across the digital landscape and I ponder what (if any) insight such items offer. The result is that I may decide not to add to the negativity swirling overhead, or to proffer some heartwarming tidbit, or simply to be satisfied that some other person has made note of the event.

And being somewhat non-young, I move and think slower than the hotshot young gunmen and gunwomen who stomp out into the streets for high noon showdowns. 

And so this post has an ambiguous ending -- did anything change? Was some realization made? You will have to return here to find out ... and I will be here.

I Return to Blogging via A Wee Stroll Across The Internet

It was quite flattering to be called out by Mr. Silence for my absence over  the past month - it is good to be missed. So thank you.

It has certainly been a busy summer of news, grievous idiocy, botched governmental and social tomfoolery and more as the nation ponders presidential elections and witnesses the near witless fumbles of the old-fashioned media folks assigned to collect and share the national news.

A few random observations for you -

-- Here in my humble community - as in many others - I cringed when I saw the middle-school level of headlines and reporting following, for instance, the horrible massacre in Colorado at a showing of the newest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises"  -- the headline?

My local paper had a picture of the theater where the events took place with a two-word headline: "Dark Night" -- had such a headline been presented in a freshman newspaper class, it would have gotten an F grade and a note that said "Tacky and Shameful". Sadly, so many other newspapers and newscasters said the same thing. Mass murders and tasteless witty puns do not go together. Yeesh.

-- A congressional race in Middle Tennessee over the seat held by Diane Black has become nothing more than A Battle of Millionaires, and they spend more time all Chicken-Little fashion wailing that Sharia Law and Mosques are taking over the state like giant swarms of man-eating kudzu monsters. Again, shame, shame. Multi-millionaires do not give a diddley-squat about improving the state or national economies.

-- A  research scientist in Stockholm was jealous when he assumed his wife kissed another man, so he cut off her lip and ate it. He told  the press: "I got the idea spontaneously. I thought, 'I'll get rid of it. I'm a man of science, I have a very high IQ. I have the ability to solve problems in a second'."

--  On a more positive note- a professional hula hooper performs for the crowd on how to hula hoop, pour a glass of wine and drink it while hooping - God bless the Internet -

I Have A Signed Excuse for Absence

I essentially lost an entire week of writing, dear readers, and I do apologize. For the past week I was presented the opportunity to experience life under the relentless authority of  food poisoning.

Said experience left me weaker than a one-legged kitten, and thus, as I could neither read much nor write since the computer screen (as well as most all my faculties) was an infinite roiling Hell, and I was forced to halt my daily reading and writing habits.

Healthy days have mercifully returned.

So I'm now tasked with accumulating the properly suitable ingredients to once again start serving up your fresh, hot Cup o' Joe. I thank you for your patience and normal service will shortly resume.

Unwired: The Final Installment of a Non-LiveBlog

This is the Third and final part of an experiment I made to live and work offline and write about my results via a sort of non LiveBlog.  (Part two is here.)

The final installment is below, and I must say that - unsurprisingly - the overall results are deeply boring and uninteresting to most everyone. The life of a writer is a fairly boring thing. I tend to work all alone, though I have often collaborated with a few folks. But mostly my time would be akin to watching paint dry. Thinking, scratching out notes and ideas, re-writing and re-writing again are dull events to observe. It's a far, far more exciting time within my brain of course, an electric-synaptic-orgy of thoughts and actions.

I wondered if my creation and eventual publication of a life lived offline would draw in readers. It has not. Not only am I a solo writer, I am a solo human - never been married, no girlfriend currently, so no spousal/near-spousal dramas or comedies to share; no children to tote from one life-affirming event to another; no financial chicanery or wizardry to recount; no daring recipes of dazzling foods to share (though I often do make a fine and tasty dish, plus there's always a fine cup of coffee close by); and as a solo writer, while I do have so many fascinating and intelligent friends, I don't always share such conversations here on this blog, though I often write about the results of my thoughts after such conversations.

Me

I do act, write, direct and produce several stage shows thru the year - and all those I shamelessly do self-promote here. And since a few (very few) have asked, this post includes a fairly recent picture of my very handsome, lovable self.

But I shall add today to this blog the final entry of my Three Part account of my Offline Experiment. Because, as any writer does, I hope what I write does get read. But in all honesty, the writing and the publishing tend to be most important to one lone person: Me.

Should you read, enjoy and share all 3 parts, dear reader, I thank you greatly. Now on with the show!!

PART 3

DAY EIGHT (continued)

11:38 a.m.

All the presentations of status, actions, events, stats, tweets, posts, results both googled and binged, all texting, messaging, and all the jabs of communication short and long … online I am aware these things will reach an audience of readers, whether one or ten or one thousand. Absent the Web, I’m back to the Old Ways of the Writer – what I’m saying and writing may never be seen by anyone.

So the basic foundation of writing is as it ever was: who is the writer writing for or to? Himself? Future generations which might find the scribbled notebooks (or in this case a reader who decides to search the memory of my lone computer)? The drive to make these sentences has been greatly fueled in the last eight to ten years by the reality that I can publish what I write on a global scale without being a lowly worker for a large or small publishing company, newspaper or any other media owner – I pay for my access to the web, write and publish as I wish, daily, weekly, hourly, and I publish whatever I wish. And I know what I write gets read (according to my stats counter) not only by readers in the U.S., but in Europe, Asia, South America – anywhere the Web exists.

And while it is true that without a publisher my earnings from my writing is limited, there still exists a large opportunity that a sizable paycheck will arrive in the future – a matter of my efforts to promote it, or perhaps someone else who decides to share it, or my skill or luck at saying something which snags the world’s imagination and wallets.

11:56 a.m.
Boop-bedoop-bah-bah … grrrrrrr.


8:20 p.m.

Televised coverage of the celeb arrivals for Oscars’ red carpet is deeply dull. Essentially, the actors and performers all parade past a crowd of mostly publicists, herded like cattle, yet politely, but the celebs seem to have little of note to say or do, aside from wearing clothes and jewelry. So few improve skills are displayed – even being interesting seems to escape them … though is the problem instead that today’s celebs don’t like this parade, even resent it?

9:15 p.m.

Producer Brian Grazer … how old is he, 60? Crazy scientist/spiky 1980’s pop star/anime hair looks odd on old people.

10:00 p.m.

Cirque du Soleil performs a showcase of … well, what was their show about? As the cast swings around the theater I keep thinking about how the producers of the Spiderman show on Broadway should have used them. I still think the backstage is the place to be these days.

So sad that Crystal doesn’t have Jack Nicholson to make jokes about this time around. He does Clooney jokes instead … but the mirth is oddly muffled.

11:30 p.m.

Let’s see – a French silent film comedy filmed in L.A., Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, Woody Allen’s script, black actresses playing maids in the 1960s, a song by the Muppets, and efx/tech awards heaped upon Martin Scorcese … the show tonite seemed steeped in nostalgia.


DAY NINE

8:00 a.m.

I’m cranky and unhappy without the ability to seek and read news from the wide range of sources via the Web. There’s such a superficial gloss, an total lack of critical thinking and a loving embrace of the spin from PR men and women on television.

9:00 a.m.

This offline experiment is a drag so I am ending it. However, I will extend it through today so that I might prepare some closing remarks … which hopefully will contain some kind of notable conclusion. Hopefully. Right now, I’m lacking any wisdom here, other than I am suffering a debilitating addiction to the internet. Does that make me pitiable or do I have merely a ‘first world problem’?

I’ve cleared more than a week without it, approaching 10 days. What time period is needed to truly flush my system of digital cyber-toxins? A month? A year? Or is it like alcohol or drug addiction – meaning I am forever an addict forced to live one day at a time with the constant threat that the addiction will return with even the slightest usage, just one email is all it would take and boom! I’m over the edge of the abyss.

How long could you go without the online world, dear reader? An hour? A day? Do you dare even attempt it?

1:00 p.m.

Grim hours ahead as I cling to my experiment in spite of a raging urge to go online …

Perhaps what has been absent is more than just my ability to amuse, entertain or even educate myself via the Web … perhaps the removal of access is also the removal of my one constant avenue of self-expression in our modern world. No access means no voice for me about the world I inhabit? That’s a chilling thought …

DAY ELEVEN

I'm going back online tomorrow .... what have I learned, if anything, trying this offline experiment? That, dear reader, is a question I will have to ponder .... and yet I wonder most -- how long could you go with no online access??

Unwired: A Non-Liveblog of Life Outside Cyberspace

I decided to do an experiment and shut off the internet for a while, eventually going 12 days with no email, texting, no connection with The Web. I was curious what the changes would be since I've been connected to The Web for about 20 years. And I didn't tell anyone, just wasn't there .. there being here, on The Web. What were the results of the experiment?

I'm awake, up writing on and off The Web daily and early, a longtime habit. So I decided that instead of surfing and reading online, I would keep sort of a non-published Twiter feed to document the effects of being so disconnected. And then publish the results on The Web.

So here is Part One of a Three Part series of the non-liveblog:

DAY ONE

11:30 a.m.
Have marked the first 24 hours with no online usage.

What if I were to decide to never return to explore the world via online access? What if this non-connected landscape becomes preferable? Will I become an oddity of creation? Not being part of online discussions, comments, image sharing and info sharing, will I become a person unwelcome should I prefer to engage the world in the flesh, face to face? Will I be perceived as a danger, a threat even?

12:20 p.m.
Should I have told people I was going to do this? As those who undertake some solo journey to an isolated location, like that guy in that movie “127 Hours” who did not let people know he was taking on a risky task, he got stuck in some rocks and had to saw his arm off, so should I have alerted someone?
Or have I already chopped off an appendage by abandoning my internet post?

I hope I don’t start calling people on the phone for no real reason or decide to become a phone texter. Texting seems alien to me now – maybe I should decide now not to fill in the internet absence with pervasive texts … I am getting a little nervous.

2:18 p.m.
No one here in the house has started a meme today.

There have been, however, several snarky and witty comments made, but no one wrote them down or shared them with anyone outside of the house.

My neighbors have not come by to show me any photos of funny cats or cute kids.

4:30 p.m.
It occurs to me that this document is sort of like live-blogging an event which is not really live, nor is it really taking place. It’s a running commentary on what is not happening. Or, it’s a commentary on something which is really just happening to me. I am going to continue, though, since I have encountered much which is utterly useless and self-serving on the internet, so this project seems worthy of coverage and reporting. To me. For now.

 ....

DAY TWO

5:30 p.m.
This day has not been too bad. One glaring difference is the ability to obtain news and information, as mentioned before. Cable local and national news are offering an astonishingly narrow selection of stories. So much of what I am seeing reminds me of the old Punch and Judy puppet shows of hundreds of years ago – laughable figures beating each other up in an endless loop. (Note: While I know the old P and J shows began many years ago, I cannot provide the actual date they began to take place and spread since I don’t have access to vast archives of research offered by the internet to verify or correct my claims.)
---

DAY THREE

8:24 a.m.
I had thought initially that I might try this experiment for a month, now I’m thinking a week will be my limit.        

1:20 p.m.
Daylight is really bright.


 DAY FOUR

3:05 pm
I miss being able to look at funny pictures of whatever I want. So, here’s a picture from my hard drive – Charles Napier in “Star Trek”

DAY FIVE
7:48 a.m.
Oh man, this tiny dribble of information coming into the house via radio and television is ridiculously inadequate. It’s barely a notch above using the Pony Express to share news and information.

I can measure this weak and puny stream of information not by the bytes arriving by second, it is words per hour. And I know too there are some in the wide world who may just be pining for my perspectives which have been absent.

I have resisted urges to go to a friend’s house or library to sneak online for just a minute to check email messages. But my resolve is fading … I imagine it will take at least one week to kill such urges.


8:48 a.m.
A few weeks ago when web site operators wanted to make a global protest against internet piracy legislation, the web sites shut down for only 24 hours to make their point and kill the legislation. 24 hours. What would the response have been if, like me, they shut down for 5 times as long (120 hours and counting)?

9:15 a.m.
Have I been released from a digital cage or have I been caged in an analog world?

9:42 a.m.
This was a terrible idea.
....

That's the end of Part One, and when the other parts are published in the next few days, they will be linked here and here.

And a question for you, dear readers: How long would you be willing to go without The Web?

Widespread Reaction to Foxconn, Campfield, and More

I'm very happy to see that a few items I wrote about this week are getting more attention and scrutiny from the press and the public. It's vivid evidence that the internet is a very powerful force in sharing and shaping opinions.

First, the NYTimes has another story on the often deadly conditions in the Chinese factories which make electronic products for Apple, Dell, HP, IMB, Nokia and more, following up on stories I mentioned here and here. I am optimistic that all of you using smartphones, computers and gaming consoles don't want to these products being made at the cost of human lives - but first info on industrial conditions has to be reported and widely shared.

Another story I wrote I posted on the KnoxViews website about some dangerously stupid comments from TN state senator Stacey Campfield on AIDS and gays has been burning up the internets. I posted the story on KnoxViews since he is Knoxville's senator and Knox voters are the ones who put him in office. Reaction has been swift and widespread - MetroPulse, the KnoxNewsSentinel, the Nashville Scene, the Washington Monthly and many more. 


A story to keep your eyes on - following the massive opposition to the proposed internet censorship ideas in the failed SOPA legislation in Congress, there is another far sneakier bit of censorship headed towards the U.S. and Europe thanks to a super-secret treaty agreement called ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement which endorses the worst of the SOPA provisions.


As the website Boing Boing notes that ACTA is an:

" ... unprecedented secret copyright treaty that was negotiated by industry representatives and government trade reps, without any access by elected representatives, independent business, the press, public interest groups, legal scholars, independent economists and so on. Time and again, the world's richest governmental administrations (only rich countries were in the negotiation) told their own parliaments and congresses that they could not see what was in the treaty, nor know the details of the discussion. The European Parliament was one of the bodies that asked its administration to share the treaty discussions with the elected members, only to be turned down. Cables in the Wikileaks dumps showed US officials orchestrating this secrecy because they knew how unpopular this one-sided, heavy-handed copyright treaty would be.

The buzz on this treaty is that it may bypass our nation's congressional review if President Obama signs the agreement as an 'executive order'. Bad idea - and hopefully more and more online users will catch this news and oppose it as strongly as they opposed SOPA.

Welcome Back to No Silence Here

After a brief absence, former KnoxNews columnist/blogger/media overlord Michael Silence is back online, highlighting all types of news, information, and bloggers-of-note at No Silence Here.

So bookmark his site, get his feed, do what you gotta do to become a regular reader.

A sample of recent posts:

Tennessee's Gov. Haslam says anti-gay legislation a waste of time.

2-year study of 'red-light' traffic cams show don't decrease accidents - as Mike and I and many others have said, these 'cam-scams' are about making money. In a recent audit, Bluff City, TN is shown to be making more money from these cams than from property taxes.

Welcome back, Michael!

Number One Blog Post of 2011

While there were many popular posts here during 2011, there was one which drew more readers and visitors than any other by an enormous margin. I was a bit surprised to note the constant rise in the number of readers/visitors over the months to the post. But given the reality that our Congress in 2011 has failed to lead or decide or act in any way which would benefit the nation's crumbling economy, then it should be no surprise at all the top post here for 2011 was a political fact-check which shreds the Republican claims about why our economy tanked and why it struggles to recover.

This post first appeared on May 10, 2011. And since the information provided has resonated with so many folks, I reprint it below. Thanks to all who made it so popular!

Dr. Evil Running Congress?

The talk flowing from Washington about the national debt sounds too much like the goofy comedy scenes of Dr. Evil demanding "one billion gajillion fifillion shapaduluullmeleleshaprenodlash mamillion dollars" from the nations of the world to halt a nefarious destruction of the planet.

House Speaker John Boehner and his GOP brethren (like my congressman, Rep. Phil Roe) are whipping up a scarefest about the status of the national debt - while avoiding the very obvious solution right before them. "Cut 2 trillion dollars!" cries Boehner.

Cutting spending by trillions of dollars is possible, nearly 9 trillion came from Bush era policies which were never paid for and should be eliminated -- As Peter Orszag, director the Office of Management and Budget said quite plainly:

"You mentioned that $9 trillion projected deficit over the next decade. That basically reflects three things.

The first is the failure to pay for two policies in particular, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Those were deficit financed. Over the next decade they account for $5 trillion.

Second, the economic downturn, because it triggers the so-called automatic stabilizers, which raise unemployment benefits, they raise food stamps, they cause -- revenue tends to decline during an economic downturn, all of which is beneficial because it helps to mitigate that GDP deficit that I was talking about. But it also over the next decade adds $3.5 trillion to the deficit.

And then finally, the Recovery Act accounts for less than 10 percent of that total. So basically, the $9 trillion projected deficit can be entirely accounted for by the failure to pay for policies in the past, the economic downturn, and the steps we’ve had to take to combat that downturn, which is not to say action isn’t necessary, it absolutely is. But it’s also important to realize we didn’t get here by accident."

It's clear the House Republicans don't want to cut spending or reduce the debt - they want to scare voters today in hopes of winning elections tomorrow, no matter what the cost might be.

This Is Post Number 2000

2000 entries seems notable, so I note it.

I had and have numerous items I'd like to include in this milestone, however I have some rather disconcerting medical woes at present and so good sentences are not easily obtained. Perhaps I am merely feeling the burdens of age and time, yet I despise not having the abilities I normally have - And rather than sit quiet, I decided to offer this humble post.

And I also write to express my endless thanks to all the readers from around the world who have stopped by at least once to explore a Cup of Joe. So thank you.

If you have found some value in one or ten or a hundred of the 2000 posts offered here, I am flattered and  grateful. I know I have at least another 2000 to share, and likely much more.

However today is for healing up, resting and giving thanks.

I'll be in touch.

Writing For Today's Internet

I took a few days off last week from posting - always risky in the never-ending stream of instant online life. One can easily lose the battle for eyes on a web site in a nanosecond.

I often get advice from folks about how to write and present information online:

"Write shorter posts!"

"Everyone reads Twitter now - why are you writing such long stories?"

"Just use Facebook!"

"Just write about one thing - like bacon or cats."

"Go mobile - no one uses a PC anymore."

Perhaps brevity is the soul of wit and the heart of the Internet. I watched the movie "Drive" this weekend by Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, and marveled at the uber-cool leading man's character to speak mono-syllabically, as I have never really been able to do that. I narratize even the simplest communications when speaking to folks, partly because I like to talk (probably too much), partly because I like providing details and contexts to evoke a story.

(Oh yes I loved "Drive" - and am a large fan of Refn's movies.)

Here's the deal - listening and reading should probably take up more time than talking, and for me, writing takes time too. Brevity does plenty well on it's own and does not need my help. And yes, I have taken to Twitter and Facebook, and most likely I'll use them to just include a brief link to what I write here. And if all you are reading today is brief wee sentences via those sites, you are missing out on the luxurious world around you.

I noted there was a line in the new movie "Contagion", which says "Blogging is just graffiti with punctuation." Wrong. That's Twitter (or Facebook maybe).

I forever reserve the right to create items both long, short, visual, or whatever I wish to share ideas which are published worldwide instantly. This is not to be taken lightly, and it requires whatever Time I decide to provide (or you to read).

Brevity might provide some longevity - but no one wants longevity to be brief.

On The Anniversary of Sept. 11th 2001 and The Rise Of Online Writers

This week I received an invitation from Michael Silence of the Knoxville News Sentinel for some thoughts about the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, about how that event influenced those of us writers who have created and maintained blogs over the years.

I of course had a story - so many Americans and others around the world do. And I tend to write rather long essays, which Mike kindly excerpted and included in today's KNS newspaper along with some online heavyweights from East Tennessee, R. Neal at KnoxViews, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit, and the creator of SayUncle - all very prolific, noted writers and bloggers. Mike's roundup of what we had to say can be read here - But my comment was from much longer response, which had to be cut due to size limitations and all, so I wanted to give readers all the context for my part of this tale, one still being told ten years on.

Here is my full response to his Mike's question (and I have to rib Michael at little here, as he has always been a very supportive reader of my blog and often links to me and quotes things I write for the KNS, but today he wrote that I blog from Green County and I don't, I live in Hamblen County, plus Green needs another "e" at the end of it, and my blog's full name is "Cup of Joe Powell" - Mike has confused me a few times with other Joe's on the internet, but he has to wade through tons of material daily, so I am just happy he points folks to my direction.):

"I was actually the host of a radio talk show in Morristown the morning of the attack - the show, which I called "Cup of Joe Powell" on WMTN-AM, ended at its usual time, at 9 am.

In fact I was eager that day to air an interview I had made with a friend. I had called him on Sept. 10th and recorded a conversation with him via the phone as he sat in the stands at Wrigley Field, watching his beloved Cubs play. It was a great piece and it played just as the first plane crashed into the North Tower, though I could not see the studio's TV from my chair and knew nothing of the attack.

Just as the show ended, a staff worker came in the studio and said with a deathly pale face "Something horrible is happening in Manhattan"

I walked into the room where the TV was on, and we all watched in horror the repeated video footage of that first passenger plane slamming into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Stunned and confused, we saw suddenly another passenger plane curve out of the sky and crash into the South Tower and the giant fire ball that followed. An eerie quiet swallowed all our words.

I remember someone saying "This was no accident".

We stood transfixed, watching the news reports attempting to explain what was happening. A newsman said all air flights were immediately grounded.

Within about 30 minutes or so, a report came across that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon.

As my work was done for the day, I raced home, thinking I would find safety and some comfort there - but there was none, as the television kept rolling that footage and the aftermath. As I listened to an ABC radio station on the way home in my car, I heard that one of the towers had collapsed. The thought chilled me beyond definition.

Later that evening, the terrifying thought struck me - I would have to talk about this horror on my show in the morning. What could I possibly say? It seemed no words would offer solace to a single listener. That Sept 12th morning is still a blur in my memory, and I have never gone back to listen to the tape I made. The one memory I have is that I played the almost mournful instrumental version of "Star-Spangled Banner" by Bela Fleck often during that show.

One of the main reasons I began my blog and continue to blog day after day is my unshakable belief that American voices can and do make real differences in our world - I try and stay away from the endless strident denouncing of our world, preferring instead to present questions, and sometimes some add humor of all kinds.

I don't want my country to be defined by terrorism, which in my mind gives power to those who seek destruction.

In September of 2005, writer Bill Moyers offered an essay which I quoted on my blog on Sept 11, 2005 - it reads in part:

"But it is never only the number of dead by which terrorists measure their work. It is also the number of the living— the survivors— taken hostage to fear. Their mission was to invade our psyche; get inside our heads—deprive us of trust, faith, and peace of mind: keep us from ever again believing in a safe, just, and peaceful world, and from working to bring that world to pass. The writer Terry Tempest Williams has said "the human heart is the first home of democracy." Fill that heart with fear and people will give up the
risks of democracy for the assurances of security; fill that heart with fear and you can shake the house to its foundations.

Yes, we are vulnerable to terrorists, but only a shaken faith in ourselves can do us in."

POSTSCRIPT: It must be noted that the staggering loss of so many lives on that September morning is so large, as was the phenomenal efforts of rescue and survival, and all of the humanity which experienced suffering defies any one memorial or anniversary observances.

But one person I would like to highlight is Minoru Yamasaki, the architect who designed the Twin Towers. His life is uniquely American.

Born in 1912 in Seattle, a second generation Japanese American, his early years were spent in the poverty of a slum, but he pushed himself, and worked his way up from very humble origins to become one of the 20th Century's most acclaimed architects and designers. After high school, we worked at an Alaskan salmon cannery to pay his college tuition at the University of Washington, then later at New York University and earned a position with the firm of Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, the firm which designed the Empire State Building.

In 1941, he and his parents and family were almost sent to a Japanese internment camp during World War 2, but his employers worked hard on his behalf to insure Yamasaki remained free. He once spoke in an interview that neither poverty nor suspicion would deter his view of the world, saying that he would "not to let that be the pattern into which my life would fall." Awards for his work grew throughout the 1960s, and certainly it was his design of those towers which marked the American landscape as very few designers have done. He passed away from cancer in 1986, and his creations can be found in America and beyond.

On the day of the opening ceremony for the Twin Towers in 1973, he spoke about just what the project meant to him, and how he hoped the world would view it --

“The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man’s dedication to world peace … a representation of man’s belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and, through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.”

With sheer idealism and optimism in my part, my hope is that despite the efforts of a few murderous madmen, that location in Manhattan will utterly defeat all the negativity and stand instead on the values Minoru Yamasaki held highest.

A Note On Blogging This Week

It has been difficult for me to post something since I last did one on Tuesday - that was/is such an ugly, brutal reality emerging as a commonplace reality across the South ... what can one say after such a grim and despondent tone which occurs when the bottom has been struck so completely?

I also left it at the top of my page as it seems to demand our attention - but it isn't a news story which has received much play in the state's media. Perhaps everyone else is mute as I am just because, really, what can you say about such a dire aspect of life in America in the 21st century?

Consider this post, then, as a sort of buffer, for readers and for myself. I'd like to think the TBI's report is being closely examined by state and local officials, that they are talking about how to approach this problem and cut it out of our society. I'd like to think such conversations are taking place. The lives of so many depend on those conversations and decisions to be made.

Also, I have numerous projects in the non-digital world right now up and running, which I want to write about some too, projects which I hope can counter the bad with some good. Time will tell.

Thank The State Lawmakers For Ending Session Early

It's far too beautiful a day to talk too much politics, but I did want to share a few thoughts about the current session of the TN Legislature which has now ended. First, thank the Good Lord they stopped before they made things any worse than they already did.

Corporations got excellent representation and more rights, the average citizen ... meh, not so much. Not a surprise since the so-called Tea Party Conservative Republicans were highly funded corporate puppets who pretended to be 'jes folks to voters.

I was happy myself to see an issue I wrote about often here, a proposal to reduce public notices of foreclosure, died as it should have. In the end, the state did alter the law by declaring just what specific information must be included about the property to be foreclosed, which will reduce the costs of running such ads. But realize too, the banks and their attorneys were the ones who took the original foreclosure law designation - "a brief description" of the property - and ramped it up to a very long and detailed document which cost already struggling homeowners more money.

In truth, however, I don't think the state backed off their plans because of concern about struggling homeowners. I think that once it became very clear that this law would also apply to commercial property too, then businesses quietly voiced their total opposition to such a plan.

And the concept of public notice is not and was not designed to be a "revenue stream" for newspapers. Public notices remain the only accountability in the foreclosure process. As I noted before, the vast majority of mortgages for homes and businesses, already include specific details on the number of public notices required prior to a foreclosure process. Public notices in general remain under attack in the legislature - and it will now cost much much more for anyone to even request and receive public documents.

It's sad how the public has to pay and pay and pay for the duties elected and appointed officials are already supposed to do.

R. Neal at KnoxViews makes some great points today too about what this session of lawmakers have done:

"Us commie liberal bloggers tried to warn you, but voters were fooled anyway by Republican talk of jobs and improving our state's economy. Instead, they got a fantasy smorgasbord of conservative social engineering:

• Tort "reform," taking away your right to seek just compensation for injury or death due to negligence. (They say this is a "jobs" bill. Do we really want employers lured to the state just so they can avoid responsibility for their actions?)

• Made it harder for employees to seek compensation for workplace injuries. Will also allow employers to present uncorroborated, made up evidence when denying unemployment claims.

• Attacks on public education and teachers. Your tax dollars will fund private schools run by drive-by dilettantes for wealthy families, while hard-working teachers and professional educators are shut out of the discussion and subjected to greater political pressure and special interest influence to keep their jobs.

• Authorized contractors to discriminate against gay people when doing business with local governments. Set the stage for banning education about homosexuality in schools.

• Invoked the 10th Amendment to opt out of federal health care programs and regulation.

• Passed a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to take away a woman's right to make her own decisions about reproductive health. Bonus: it will get even more conservative fundamentalist voters to the polls during the next election when it appears on the ballot for voter approval.

• Enacted a meaningless "anti-terrorism" law aimed at persecuting Muslims.

• Attacked free and fair elections by banning voter verifiable voting machines. They also made it harder for the elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged to vote while at the same time allowing corporations to now make campaign contributions.

Still, Tom Humphrey at the KNS points out a few items which were at least a little bit helpful in their $30 billion dollar budget:

--$71 million for disaster relief from recent storms and flooding.

--$45 million in funding for Higher Education capital projects.

--$20 million to allow lottery scholarships to be used during summer school.

--$16.5 million to issue bonds for the potential expansion of the Hemlock Semiconductor plant in Clarksville.

--$16 million in nursing home funding.

--$8.5 million to restore previously scheduled rate reductions to TennCare mental health providers.

--$33 million for TennCare services like labs, X-rays, dental and transportation.

But legislation is never simple, easy or direct. Go read Southern Beale's post and you'll see what I mean.

"All of this, of course, masks the true agenda, which is to transfer power from the people to corporations.

Along those lines, this legislative session allowed corporations to donate directly to political campaigns and operate “virtual schools” (whatever the hell that is). We’ve exempted insurance agents and brokers from the TN Consumer Protection Act, and yes we’ve passed “tort reform” ....

Keep in mind, of course, that all of this pro-corporate stuff comes straight from the industry-funded ALEC, which has identical legislation in state legislatures all across the country. But if you want to still believe the fairytale that Tennessee legislators are rugged individualists who don’t take their marching orders from anyone, least of all Washington, D.C., well here’s a glass of Kool-Aid for you."

As much overblown, overtalked nonsense which tumbles out of our state legislature as they invoke this or that part of the state's constitution, I wish they would keep in mind the very first section - Article One, Declaration of Rights:

"Section 1. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness ...

TN Bankers Now Blame Newspapers For Foreclosure Costs

I received yet another angry email from attorney for the Tennessee Bankers Association, Amy Smith, about their plan to make foreclosures easier in Tennessee - but it seems the blame has gone from my rogue and reckless blogging and is now aimed at that dirty, old, money-grubbing newspaper business. The original bill as approved is here.

I'll reprint her complete email below, but first I again must speak my mind.

I might buy some of the TBA's arguments if they had less blamethrowing.

And at least here on this blog, I've linked to the actual locations and names of those whose information I have used - however, the TBA's Counsel offers this with no names attached:

"We have sent response letters to every major newspaper in the state that has run distasteful, inaccurate and misleading articles and editorials about the proposed legislation. But no newspaper has printed our response."

Then NAME these publications. Call them out.

In fact, after explaining the legislation to one of the largest consumer groups with an active lobbying effort in the state (specifically that we intend to file amendments clarifying that the street address must be included, notices must be published two times rather than one, and that this will not change the foreclosure process at all), they are now fine with the legislation."


What group? They have a name don't they?

These claims that the TBA's decision to create and pass legislation which will reduce the amount of time it takes for foreclosure notices to be given to homeowners who have been falling behind is merely a way to protect and save homeowners money just doesn't make sense to me.

Cut out the number of mortgage policies in effect in TN which contractually call for 3 published notices - a protection within a mortgage agreement meant to protect lenders and borrowers and a quite common agreement -- how many would that leave? How old a mortgage or how poorly created would it be to lack such an agreement? Is that number the majority of mortgages held, a minority, half, twenty-five percent?

Yes, I know there is a push by some in the state legislature to remove all public notices from newspapers, with the claim that everyone can access the information via the internet. But we live in Tennessee, which is mostly rural and which has areas without the access to the internet and there are companion bills to allow government itself to start charging higher and higher fees to access "public information". Personally, I say require public notices to be published in print and online both. It's not like we can all assume that government and business always and only have the best interests of residents and voters in mind. If such were true, why vote? Why read any news? Everything is hunky dory!

And since the TBA's legislation has gotten so much negative response, they offer to change the notice reduction from three to one and now to two. So one less public notice - is that going to create any notable change in revenues or just make the process quicker?

Banks pay attorneys to get foreclosures rolling and get those title searches done and get those notices written up and if those costs have become too high, then maybe the banks are being overcharged?

The process in Tennessee can take up to 100 days, but 60 days is the average time from notice to sale of property.

So I am left with many questions about just what problem exactly this legislation is trying to address. And, below, as promised is the complete uncut email from TBA Counsel Amy Smith:

"Joe,

I appreciate you keeping me informed on your posts. In it you asked several questions about what I have done, or not done.

You mention being flattered by the email I sent to you. I assure you this is not the only communication TBA has sent in the past few weeks to critics of our bill. We have sent response letters to every major newspaper in the state that has run distasteful, inaccurate and misleading articles and editorials about the proposed legislation. But no newspaper has printed our response. I suppose the saying is true, “never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel”. The newspapers have nothing to gain by printing our letters (other than, of course, publishing the other side of their one-sided story) and everything to lose – most importantly, revenue.

This legislation will not speed up the process by which banks can foreclose nor it will make the process any easier. Despite what the articles say, the process is much longer than 21 days (on average, 100 days at a minimum) and requires multiple notices – not just the ones published in the newspapers. In fact, the notice in the newspaper is sent to the debtor and co-debtor(s) via certified mail, and this comes after at least three other notices sent over the previous 2-3 months.

This will in no way harm homeowners. In fact, it will only benefit them. As I mentioned, banks are not the ones responsible for paying the costs of foreclosures. Homeowners are. By reducing the cost of the ads, it will save homeowners a significant amount of money.

Unfortunately this message has gotten lost. And, the newspapers are to blame. They are not opposing this bill with everything they’ve got because they have the public interests at heart. They are opposing this bill because it will be a huge reduction in revenue for an industry already in trouble. Their revenues have declined in recent years as many more citizens are turning to online publications, and foreclosure notices are one of their biggest sources of revenue. Take that and couple it with the fact that this year other groups have been pushing to remove other legal notices entirely from the newspapers and post on the internet, and you’ve got the real reason there is so much opposition to this bill. Newspapers fear that even if the slightest reduction in public notices occurs (ie, REVENUE), then what is next??

It is a valid concern, but when you have to choose between newspaper revenue or homeowners foreclosure costs, who should win? It’s an easy question, but with all the misleading and inaccurate stories newspapers have been publishing lately, they’ve managed to portray this as a fight between newspapers/consumers and the banks who are one of the major causing of the housing crisis.

This brings me to another point I’d like to clarify. In your original post, you reference the recent regulatory “fixes” that were just issued for the 14 biggest mortgage firms. I do not deny this. But this is completely irrelevant to this issue at hand. Those banks are not behind this legislation. This legislation has come from the Tennessee banks, mainly the community banks, who know their customers and have good relationships with them and who are active in the community and do whatever it takes to keep a customer in his/her home rather than foreclose.

Banks have nothing to gain by pushing legislation that would speed up the process or cause any less bidders at the sale. This would only serve to reduce the amount of money a home is sold for in foreclosure, which would have only negative consequences for the bank.

I mentioned earlier that one of our biggest challenges is fighting a group that can “buy ink by the barrel”. They can write whatever they want, and trust me, they have, and we have no means to respond to their attacks as they refuse to publish our letters. That is why I responded to you article. Although TBA is fighting a nearly impossible battle in getting our message out there, we have not stopped trying. I spoke to another blogger for over an hour recently about the reasons we support this bill and what its real impact will have on the foreclosure process. I, and other at TBA, have also communicated with other groups who have been mislead by the newspapers.

In fact, after explaining the legislation to one of the largest consumer groups with an active lobbying effort in the state (specifically that we intend to file amendments clarifying that the street address must be included, notices must be published two times rather than one, and that this will not change the foreclosure process at all), they are now fine with the legislation.

Also, you argue that you did not put misinformation in your blog because you obtained this through another blog and newspapers articles. If you truly wanted to print the facts rather, not opinions, you would have done your own research. Everyone knows that there is always another side to the story. In your case, you chose to blog only about the newspapers side…the side that has only their revenue at stake in this."

And again, there it is - only newspapers have revenue at stake in this? Homeowners do. And so do banks.

TN Bankers Association Does Not Like Their Cup of Joe Powell

On April 14th, I published a post about proposed legislation regarding foreclosure laws in Tennessee and my concerns that it would be harmful to homeowners.

On Friday afternoon, I received the following email from Amy B. Smith, Associate Counsel for the Tennessee Bankers Association, which is backing this initiative. I'm always glad to hear from readers and wanted to share the email with the rest of you:

"From: Amy Smith
Subject: Proposed Foreclosure Notice Publication Law
To: jptropics99@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 4:05 PM

Joe,

I just came across your recent blog “TN Legislature Hates Homeowners” and was quite disappointed of the false depiction presented in the title, and especially in the content of what you posted. It could not be farther from the truth, and a little bit of research on your part would have prevented all of the misinformation you cite.

Saying that this legislation will hurt homeowners could not be farther from the truth. The legislation is intended to do just the opposite – it would reduce the financial burden placed on homeowners facing foreclosure by (1) reducing the number of times an advertisement of a foreclosure sale must be published in a newspaper from three times to two (original bill provided for one time, but an amendment will be offered to increase it to two), and (2) clarifying that the advertisement must only contain a reference to the deed book and page number rather than the full metes and bounds description (an amendment has already been offered that further clarifies that the description must also contain the street address and map and parcel number.

Below are a few key points about the bill – what it does, and, more importantly, what it does not do – that will clearly show just how off-base your blog is.

It would only replace the lengthy and hard-to-read metes and bounds description with a reference to the deed book and page number. It would not eliminate or otherwise change the content of foreclosure sale advertisements.

It would not eliminate any actual notice to the debtor. The debtor would continue to receive late payment notices, notice of default, notice of collection, and, most importantly, notice of the foreclosure sale by certified mail.

It would not shorten the foreclosure process, which takes a minimum of 100 days.

It would not affect publication requirements for any foreclosure under deed of trust that specifically requires foreclosure notices to be published three times.

Banks do not pay the costs of foreclosures, property owners do. The cost of advertising in a newspaper can be as high as $2,500.

50% of foreclosures sales that are advertised in newspapers do not happen, which means that those property owners were able to make up their late payments and avoid foreclosure by also paying the costs of the advertisements, which at $2,500, is as much as one or two mortgage payments.

TBA supports this legislation because reducing the cost of the foreclosure process is one of the most effective ways to help prevent a homeowner from losing his/her home once the foreclosure process begins. Banks lose money on foreclosures, and the last thing they want to do is be in the real estate business.

If you have any questions or would ever like to call into question a bill backed by TBA or the character or integrity of our association or the state legislators we support, I encourage you to please research first, write later. Maybe then, you could avoid writing stores as inaccurate and completely misleading as this one.


Amy
Amy B. Smith
Associate Counsel
Tennessee Bankers Association
211 Athens Way
Nashville, TN 37228-1603
Phone: 615-244-4871 ext. 116
Fax: 615-324-1994

Now I have to wonder a few things after receiving from such a communication from this organization's legal counsel. First, I'm flattered they think my opinion and it's availability to the public has such worth and value that it demanded a response from their attorney. And I have a few other thoughts too, but first let me share with you the email I sent back to Amy Smith this morning:

"Dear Amy,

Thank you for reading my blog and offering your comments as Associate Counsel for the
Tennessee Bankers Association regarding the bill under consideration in the Tennessee legislature. I'm always happy to hear from readers!

And thanks too for your offer to respond to any questions I might have in relation to this
legislation. I'll put some thoughts together and send them along shortly.

I must note, however, you're quite mistaken that I had "misinformation" in my post. The articles I cited, 2 from the NYTimes and 1 from a blogger and 1 from an editorial in the Knoxville News Sentinel, were accurately quoted. Another error you made was that my headline on the post was a statement of fact. It was not - it was a question. And yes, I do have concerns that the current chairman of the TBA, Craig Fitzhugh, is also a House member, and a co-sponsor of this legislation.

The rest of the post was my opinion - which I will continue to offer readers, such as yourself, and to my elected representatives. I look forward to continued communication with you and trust you realize your emails and comments may be used on my blog as I continue to discuss public policy issues in our state government.

Thanks again for your support,
Joe Powell
http://cupofjoepowell.blogspot.com

I wonder if their legal counsel also communicated with the editorial board of the Knoxville News Sentinel, which termed the bill "shameful"? I may be wrong, but I think the AP ran that editorial statewide as well.

I wonder if their legal counsel also communicated with the New York Times reporters or editors whose reports noted that leaders in Congress find enormous fault with the current economic collapse should lay at the feet of our financial institutions?

I wonder if their legal counsel communicated with the blogger at A Disgruntled Republican, which I also quoted in my post, or did they communicate with the EPPC he mentioned, which is opposing the removal of all government notices from publication requirements in newspapers?

Or did their legal counsel just communicate with me about their feelings for my opinion on this public policy issue?

And over the weekend, I read more on the legislation, such as this report by Chas Sisk at the Tennessean:


"Proper notice is not going to be given when the process of foreclosure used in this state is one in which it is already pretty easy to foreclose,” said Art Powers, president of the Tennessee Press Association and publisher of the Johnson City Press.

The bill could ultimately threaten the state’s foreclosure law itself, Baker said.

If Tennesseans conclude they are not being told enough about foreclosures, they could demand courts to take a greater role. That would slow the process and lead to costs far higher than the price of advertising, he said.

“This thing is not broken,” he said. “I think it’s a bad bill for both sides.”

Well, as I wrote to Amy Smith, I do have more questions and I do appreciate that she reached out to me to offer to help me understand it. I hope to share more of our discussions and thoughts on this topic and others in the days ahead.

And of course, you are free to share your thoughts here or anywhere else too!

NOTE: See latest UPDATE here.

New Designs for Your Cup of Joe

I'll have to ask for some patience from readers as I work on a variety of design changes for this blog.

Which means this site is under reconstructive efforts for the next few days and apologies for any inconvenience.

Some additions added already - some buttons added to each post to make it easier if you wish to email posts, put them on Facebook or Twitter, or just to share them with others on the InterWebs.

2010: The Year At Your Cup of Joe

A quick look back at 2010 through a blog filter --

While recently reading through the information about those who visit and read here often, I learned that in 2010 this blog had landed on a site which declares Cup of Joe P. to be in the top 5 best political blogs in the country. And yes, that's certainly an wise observation. The reason, according to the writer(s) is that I am apparently the lone liberal in Tennessee pushing out political posts. Quote: "The political experience of supporting the extremely minor party in what's essentially a single-party state is compelling." Which is not true. I think there's at least five of us here in Tennessee who write something other than the usual political hype.

But I won't link to the site that says this, as my browser advises me the site has a dubious quality (meaning it's probably a site full of malware) and it has the odd, odd title of 'guide to online schools' and seems, though flattering to me, just a strange aggregator of hackerish infamy.

A more reputable bit of praise came in 2010 from Knoxville's Metro Pulse newspaper, marking me as being a site worth bookmarking and reading, though they also noted I was somewhat of an 'old-fashioned' thing, a blog, while the modern now-a-go-go kids all Twitter instead. You know I've always hated the word blog but twitter sounds even sillier. I thank MP for the mention, though in truth, Knoxville-centered sites like the News Sentinel's No Silence Here and R. Neal's KnoxViews have been consistently supporting my work here since just about day one. Welcome to the Cup of Joe party, MP.

Of course, my family continues to look at me with a hairy eyeball since I do not earn big bucks with this page. Not that they ever read this page. My family has generally been supportive of my creative efforts since I made it my profession some 25 years ago, but they think I'm ten kinds of crazy to continue writing as I haven't made tons of income nor tons of fame and I admit I often have to look anywhere and everywhere for other ways to make money. (Pleasing family is hard/impossible.) And 2010 was a horrible year for writing work. Newspapers, magazines, online web sites and other places where I have usually made decent money all shut down their programs of paying for freelance writing. And then there was another writing job I took this year where someone else got all the credit for writing it. Thanks for the ego kick.

Writers just don't get much respect - even those who make big bucks have to wade through derisive assessments of their work (regardless of the quality). Here's a way of looking at this situation -- let's say you have need of a plumber, or attorney, or mechanic or consultant or etc. etc at your home or office. If you contact that professional you know, you know, that you will have to pay a fee just for getting them to examine your problem, then there is a steep hourly fee for work they do. But a writer - we work first, submit the work for someone to approve and only if said someone likes it will you get paid. And you don't get paid by the hour. They offer pennies per word. If I told the folks who ask me to write something that there is a non-refundable fee just for considering their request I would be brushed aside like some funny smelling leftover in the fridge.

And really, I knew since I started putting my writing efforts online, for anyone to read for free, that while I was bypassing all the kings who control publishing, I was going to have to endure long waits for a payoff. So be it. Great satisfaction arrives as I see that readers from such places as Great Britain, France, India, China, Australia, Chile, Morocco, and on and on, land on this page and read something I've written.

I don't feel bitter, even if a touch of bitterness is discernible in these words. I knew long, long ago this compulsion to write was a personal thing. And I have learned over the decades that I can (and so I do) demand certain levels of compensation and fees for my work. Especially if you seek me out to write something for you to use. The way I see it, such demands should make us both feel good that we are working for something of a higher quality.

(Now back to the topic proper)

In 2010, some of the posts which brought the most readers (note: while there were many posts which were of a serious nature and/or garnered state and national attention, it seems the odd and offbeat items I comment on are usually the top draws for visitors):

-- This post on Iran's legal/religious perspective on a mullet haircut was quite popular (especially since Instapundit and Pajamas Media made mention of it).

-- A consistent hit among Google searches this year came from this 2009 post wherein a theory is presented by comedian John Hodgman that President Obama is somehow linked to the fictional 'Kwisatz Haderach" from the Dune books by Frank Herbert and the tale wins my own personal award for Weird Political Delusions in a most delusional political year.

-- Cows invading a home also brought many thousands upon thousands of visitors, as is proper, it seems to me, when cows invade.

-- My favorite item here on this page is not my own creation - but this video, wherein doodles and flipbooks craft the vast tale from creation to the present day still amuses me greatly.




Meanwhile, here are a few other items from TN bloggers as they review the year 2010 -

Southern Beale has her take on the best in books/movies/music of 2010.

Newscoma is celebrating her 5th year of blogging (and really, I am working on finding another word besides "blog" to categorize the online writers/writing I am part of).

News stories, politics and more which held attention in 2010 at KnoxViews is presented here.

SEE ALSO: Google has compiled the info on the most popular searches on their system for 2010. The World Cup was the big winner, followed by disasters from around the world.

And here's to you, dear readers, for making a habit to visit and return often. I wish you each and everyone the very best 2011 possible.