Texas Liberal

All People Matter

I Got Nasal Swine Flu Vaccine—President Obama Controls My Actions Now

I got the Swine Flu nasal vaccine today.

This even though the Swine Flu is simply a plot hatched by labor unions and Mexican drug cartels.

Did the Swine Flu nasal vaccine shoot nanochips into my blood?

I might be programmed like a Cylon!

Well—If it is a plot under the orders of President Obama, I’m already a Godless Socialist.

I would have never gotten the vaccine under President Bush. His version of the vaccine would have turned me into a right-wing nut.

This is from the link above about the nanochips—

“I am not an expert in biophysics by any means, but someone who is qualified in this field proposed the idea that a nanochip in a “swine flu” vaccine could interact with heavy metals such as mercury and aluminium, also in that same vaccine in large quantities, to turn your body into a type of receiver for electromagnetic waves….These electromagnetic waves sent at certain frequencies from various points (HAARP facilities?) could activate the heavy metals inside your body, influence biochemical and physical components and alter your emotions.”

Swine Flu may have peaked in many parts of the nation, but this may only be a prelude to a another wave of the affliction later this winter.

I don’t want you to get the flu.  I want you to wash your hands. Here are some tips on proper hand washing from the Centers for Disease Control—

When washing hands with soap and water:

  • Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
  • Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
  • Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend!
  • Rinse hands well under running water
  • Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet

There are many good hand washing web sites if you look the subject up.

The Swine Flu may seem to be abating wherever it is you live, but it is very possible it may come back.

Please take steps to avoid the Swine Flu so that you do not get sick.

November 21, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

When Should I Thaw My Turkey?—Sultry Pilgrim Says Have Veggie Thanksgiving

Sexy Pilgrims

Thanksgiving Day is almost here and you need to know when to thaw your turkey.

Though you do have the option of a vegetarian Thanksgiving.

The folks at PETA would like you to consider a veggie Thanksgiving.

( Please click here for my other sultry Pilgrim post this Thanksgiving.)

VegCooking. com has meat-free Thanksgiving recipes.

As for me. I’ll be having turkey and I would like the turkey to thawed correctly.

These turkeys below are thawed, but they seem not quite ready for the table.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has some guidelines for thawing a turkey.

Follow these guidelines so you do not poison your family and guests.

Should your guests be poisoned, think of how better we would all be with a government option for health insurance and universal coverage so that all the guests you’ve made sick could get good care.

From the USDA instructions—

Fresh or Frozen?

Fresh Turkeys

  • Allow 1 pound of turkey per person.
  • Buy your turkey only 1 to 2 days before you plan to cook it.
  • Keep it stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook it. Place it on a tray or in a pan to catch any juices that may leak.
  • Do not buy fresh pre-stuffed turkeys. If not handled properly, any harmful bacteria that may be in the stuffing can multiply very quickly.

Frozen Turkeys

  • Allow 1 pound of turkey per person.
  • Keep frozen until you’re ready to thaw it.
  • Turkeys can be kept frozen in the freezer indefinitely; however, cook within 1 year for best quality.

Do not play around with this stuff. Do not make others sick.

Here is more of the USDA suggests— Read more »

November 20, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Good, Or At Least Neutral, Intentions Sometimes Make No Difference

I was unable to convince these seagulls that I meant no harm while walking on the beach in Galveston three days ago.

It is not that I talked to them or sought to reason with them.

Though I would try if I thought it would help.

They just flew away from me because I was within 10 feet of where they were walking around on the beach.

Signals get crossed or people are not willing to listen—- And good, or at least neutral, intentions make no difference.

November 19, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , | No Comments Yet

I’m Listed By Annise Parker As A Supporter—I Hope The Joke Is On Me

I went to the Annise Parker web page today to see if she had moved ideologically to the left in her campaign for Mayor now that she has released a poll saying she has a 13 point lead on Gene Locke in the Mayoral runoff election.

I thought that maybe being ahead in the polls would free her up to speak a little more truth than she has so far in the campaign.

Ms. Parker’s campaign has been touting Ms. Parker, a Democrat, as a so-called “fiscal conservative.”

It is obnoxious and disheartening that a Democrat is making this claim in a majority Democratic city.

If I want a so-called fiscal conservative, I’ll vote for a Republican.  Given the absence of a Republican in the runoff in our majority-Democratic City of Houston, maybe what folks in Houston want is a government that helps people and that has a place in people’s lives.

While visiting Ms. Parker’s web home, I checked out the list of supporters her campaign team has complied.

Below is the link to that list. (You’ll have to cut and paste it–Sorry. I’ve got this new Apple computer and it is giving me fits. I can’t get links inserted into the blog that you don’t have to cut and paste. I’m sure I’ll figure it all out with time. Maybe.)

http://www.anniseparker.com/supporters/

My blog is on the list!

I have indeed endorsed Ms. Parker. It is correct to put my blog on this list.

Though if you read the post, it was not a fully flattering endorsement.

http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/with-hestiancy-im-voting-for-annise-parker-for-mayor-of-houston/

Nor is this more recent post 100% supportive of Ms. Parker–

http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/gene-locke-willing-to-tell-bigger-lies-than-annise-parker-to-win-right-wing-voters/

The comment beneath the 11/15 post is one of my fellow Houston progressive bloggers suggesting that I was smoking weed while writing the post.

Ha!–Nope. Maybe just drinking some carrot juice.

I give the Parker people credit for putting my blog on the list of supporters.

Maybe they are thick-skinned—That is a good trait to have.

Maybe —To paraphrase the 1964 Barry Goldwater campaign—in their hearts they know I’m right.

Maybe it is a small joke on me. You can’t click though to my blog from the Parker site. So as far as anybody knows, I’m 100% on-board.

I hope it is to some extent a joke at my expense.

Better than playing a joke on others, is a joke at one’s own expense.

All the world is a stage.

I just hope that Ms. Parker recalls I was a supporter even before the first round of voting two weeks ago.

I’m looking for an appointment as city alligator commissioner. I’m hoping the city will give me a boat to cruise up and down the bayous and a net to catch the gators.

November 18, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , | No Comments Yet

I Mailed A Letter—Someone Would No Doubt Enjoy A Letter From You

A few days back, I mailed a letter for the first time in at least 3 or 4 years.

Below you see my notecard, envelope, dictionary and pen.

I mailed the letter to someone I know in Amsterdam.

I’m thinking that I may start to write a letter each week.

I bet there is somebody in the world who would be happy to get a letter from you.

People should slow down and reflect and keep in touch with others.

If you don’t, you’ll always be rushed and out of touch. Who wants to live like that?

November 18, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | | No Comments Yet

Staircase To The Ocean

Here is a picture of a staircase that leads to the ocean. I took this picture yesterday.

The staircase extends from the Galveston Seawall to the Gulf of Mexico.

The oceans are all connected and occupy a great deal of the Earth’s surface. Though you would not get very far into all that connectedness if you were to walk down this staircase.

There is a path to feeling connected to more of our world. The most obvious and visible route may not be the route to that feeling of connection.

November 17, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , | 2 Comments

Names On The Land Is Lunchtime Reading On Shores Of Gulf Of Mexico

It is always good to read a book with lunch or with any meal.

Find some time by yourself and use that time to read and think.

With my seafood platter in Galveston today, I read Names On The Land—A Historical Account Of Place-Naming In The United States. This book, written by George Stewart, was first published in 1945 and revised in 1957 and 1967.

As you might guess from the title, this book discusses how place names orginated in the U.S.

For example—Wheeling, as on Wheeling, West Virginia, comes from a Native American word that means ” place of the head.”

This is the name of Wheeling becuase the city was founded at a place where these native people had killed a captive of some sort and stuck his head on a sharp pole.

November 16, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , , | 3 Comments

At First There Was No Sun, But Now There Is Some Sun

This morning there was no sun at all in Houston and Galveston. As you can see by the picture, there is at least some sun now in Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico.

Things are looking up.

Though clouds or sun, it is always a good day to take a walk in Galveston.

November 16, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , | No Comments Yet

Gene Locke Willing To Tell Bigger Lies Than Annise Parker To Win Right-Wing Voters

Gene Locke, a Democrat running for Mayor of Houston, has apparently entered into a coalition or agreement of some kind with local far-right conservatives.

Mr. Locke’s rival for Mayor, City Controller Annise Parker, is a lesbian. These conservatives don’t want a gay Mayor. Mr. Locke, a black man, seems willing to use these prejudices to help get elected.

Ms. Parker has also sought the support of Republicans and conservatives in this election. The Mayor’s race has not featured a credible Republican candidate, so Democrats Locke and Parker have in essence lied to convey the idea that they are acceptable to Republicans.

( Does Ms. Parker think that Republicans here in Houston, Texas who might vote for her are enlightened in some fashion? Could she please point us to the enlightened wing of the Republican Party in Texas?)

Mr. Locke has no known history of bias towards gay folks. It’s clear enough that he’ll do pretty much anything to win.

Ms. Parker will not do anything to win. She would likely lose a “lie-off” with Mr. Locke. I doubt she’ll fake hating black folks to win that segment of the hate vote.

Another thing Ms. Parker hasn’t done to win is energize the Democratic base in our majority-Democratic city of Houston with a consistent focus on social and economic justice and fair play.

Mr. Locke is a wrongdoer. Decent folks in our city would be crazy to vote this guy.

As for Ms. Parker—I can offer my enthusiastic support of the clear fact that she is at least not Gene Locke.

November 15, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , , | 3 Comments

Most Muslims Want No Trouble—It Is The Simplest Stuff That Needs To Be Repeated Most Often

An Islamic person is the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre earlier this week.

There is a mosque that has connections to Houston that is under federal investigation for links to Iran—but nothing yet has been established as certain.

Muslim individauls are seen by many in our nation as guilty by defintion for acts of terrorism.

But the fact is that there are hundreds of millions of Muslims in the world, and very few of them want trouble.

They want satellite television and Coca-Cola and porn and soccer and they want their kids to be able to come to America and get high SAT math scores.

It is possible that many Muslims could be complicent by silence to bad acts. Though this is a charge that could be brought against people all around the world.

It is often the simplest stuff that needs to be repeated the most.

Even decent people can fall into a mental habit of seeing people for something other than what they truly are in life.

There are hundreds of millions of Muslim folks in the world and very few of them want any trouble.

November 14, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , | No Comments Yet

Are American Workers Overpaid?—We Need To Find A Viable Economic Future

A recent New York Times story suggests that the wages Americans earn for manufacturing work may have to decline as much as 20% to remain competitive with global rivals.

From the story—

“Of course, workers in the United States should earn more than their peers in China, Moldova or Vietnam. Americans take advantage of the higher productivity that makes their country rich: better education and infrastructure, abundant capital and a strong work ethic. But how much higher should American wages be? The answer depends in large part on two measures: the difference in productivity in making goods that can be traded across borders, and the quantity of such goods. Both measures point to a narrowing wage gap. Many factors are raising productivity in poor countries. Fast development, cheap capital and more efficient shipping all help. Cheap communication via the Internet reduces costs and makes it easy to trade many more goods and especially services.The global wage gap has been narrowing, but recent labor market statistics in the United States suggest the adjustment has not gone far enough.

One indicator is unemployment, which has risen unexpectedly rapidly. The 7.3 million jobs lost are more than triple the 2 million during the 1980-82 recession. Some of that huge increase reflects the sharp decline in gross domestic product, but there could be another factor: the recession shows that many workers are paid more than they’re worth. Another possible sign is the huge surge in reported productivity, which has begun while output is declining. That suggests that some production is being outsourced, often to lower-paid foreign workers.

The big trade deficit is another sign of excessive pay for Americans. One explanation for the attractive prices of imported goods is that American workers are paid too much relative to their foreign peers.

Global wage convergence is great for the poor but tough on the overpaid. It’s possible to run the numbers to show that American manufacturing workers should take average real wage cuts of as much as 20 percent to get into global balance. The required cut may be smaller. But if American wages get stuck above global market-clearing levels, as in the 1930s, the result could well be something approaching Depression-era levels of unemployment. Anything would be better than that. Both moderate inflation to cut real wages and a further drop in the dollar’s real trade-weighted value might be acceptable.”

It is hard to look at the future and see good prospects for the average American worker. Most folks are never going to be able to find jobs in “knowledge industries” or whatever term is used at the moment to denote jobs for the relative articulate and skilled few in a country that has no real interest in educating all people. Why would our elite pay the taxes needed to create competitors for their children for the shrinking supply of good jobs? Where would a fully educated workforce find jobs?

This fact of a hard-pressed American labor force is one of many reasons the health care reform “debate” is so maddening. Where do people think they are going to find good benefits in the future? If government does not help provide good health insurance, where do people think it will come from as employers cut back?

The American Prospect, a liberal magazine of politics and views, has a series of articles that discuss the role regulation,  organizing by workers, and sound public policy can play in helping maintain a supply of good jobs in our country.

Regardless of one’s politics, how can anybody in this country look at the economic future and feel hopeful about the path ahead? The issue is not people in other countries who have a right to decent lives no different from anyone in the United States. The issue is what we do as working people here in America to make sure that we have  a viable future in a changing world.

November 13, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , , , | 2 Comments

People Often Do Lousy Things Simply Because They Are Able To Do So

The illustration in this post is of folks shooting alligators for the hell of it on a boat traveling on Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. This was in the late 19th-century.

People do harmful things often not for any real reason, but simply because they are able to do so.

November 12, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , , , | No Comments Yet

I Missed Chance For Chocolate Covered Bacon

Here is a picture I took of the chocolate covered bacon stand at the Indiana State Fair last August.

This was the only time I’ve ever seen chocolate covered bacon for sale. I wish I had bought some at the fair.

I’m not certain when I’ll ever get another chance to enjoy this delicacy.

November 12, 2009 Posted by Neil Aquino | Uncategorized | , | No Comments Yet