Climate Change

This Polar Vortex that keeps jumping out of the Arctic Circle has fired up a lot of talk about that old chestnut Global Warning, or as they now call it, Climate Change.  My opinion on the subject is pretty simple - humans once again show their conceit by blaming themselves for it.  We have only been crawling around Mother Earth for moments in her time and we've been keeping track of weather patterns for less than a relative second.  It is presumptuous of us to think we've impacted anything.

We have polluted the planet, no doubt, but we don't need to worry about saving the planet.  She was around long before we were and will outlast us by eons.  What we have done to this planet is a flea bite or maybe a bad rash.  We need to become aware that the damage we're doing to the planet is going to hurt us - possibly even kill us.  The things we have caused are nothing more than the planet's immune system trying to wipe out an infection.  We need to worry about saving us.

We can't and never will control nature.  We likely didn't cause and can't stop a polar vortex.  We need to accept that we are not the boss of Mother Earth.  We need to adapt, to evolve, to become a part of her systems and cycles.  Or those same systems and cycles will kill us as surely as they did the dinosaurs.

It won't happen tomorrow, and it won't happen quickly, at least not by our reckoning.  By hers, maybe, but not by ours.  And if we smarten up, it may not happen at all.

Basic Truths About Disability That Are Lies

Basic Truths About Disability That Are Lies:

That disabled person looks fine, therefore they are a fraud.   There are many disabilities that are not easily seen.  My own is a mental problem and I don't "look crazy".  A guy with a slipped disk in his back is not going to look like Quasimodo.  He's gonna look like a guy...  and yes, it can be bad enough to keep him from working, especially if he is uneducated and/or untrained.  My own problem is made worse by job stress...  in fact, the Social Security office told me I can work if I can find a job without a boss, co-workers, or public dealings.  They didn't word it that way, but that's what it came down to.

Anyone can apply and get it real easy. I applied several times, over many years, before I got it.  My successful attempt took three years and I still view it as some kind of miracle.  If you have worked with your 'disability', prepare for a battle.  If your doctor says you can work, you may as well not apply.  

The disabled person has no commitments.   I do light housework every day, I drive a third grader to and from school, I drive an adult to and from work, I have doctor appointments, and I sometimes even socialize.  Do not assume I can do whatever it is you want me to do - be it meet you for lunch or act as Primary Care Giver to an elderly relative.

Disability Income is generous.  I get less than 700 dollars a month.  Granted, my job history was mostly part-time and minimum wage, but even if you've worked decades in a high-paying job, what you are entitled to from Social Security is a pretty low percentage of that income. Your standard of living is not going to remain the same.

It is easy to defraud them.   I've already covered this under the first one, but I want to add something.  If anyone has managed to get through the application and screening procedures without actually having some sort of disability, I applaud them.  He or she is a genius.

Being Disabled is a cakewalk.  Whether your disability is physical or mental, it is not fun or easy to live with.  I spend my days with a freakin' demon inside my head, whispering to me constantly.  The slipped-disc guy can't even take out his trash without pain, or fear of pain.  The lady in a wheelchair is all kinds of inconvenienced.   The very idea of needing to count on others is bad for self-esteem.

 

Guest Blog: Cleo the Bitch Kitty

I'm almost 15 years old and if I get seriously ill, my human will have no choice but to have me put to sleep. Some folks would say she's a bad "owner" because of this, but I do not agree.  My human saved my life in 1999.  I was born under the porch of a mobile home and would have been feral... if I had lived to adulthood.  She has always kept me warm and fed, and kept my litter box clean.  When we had to leave the apartment we lived in, she refused to go anywhere I was not welcome.

Some people equate pets with children.  My human does not do that, and I am okay with it.  Humans outrank pets in the grand scheme of things, if only because they have access to medical cards and food stamps.

Other people equate pets with  -- well, I don't know what, really.  They sure don't treat them with the respect due any living creature you claim to care about.  I've heard talk of dogs tied to a tree and ignored, except at feeding time.  Why?  Pets exist to keep humans company!    If a human is not willing to do a little extra for the sake of the pet, they should not adopt one.  My human sure doesn't enjoy cleaning the litter box, but she does it for me.

My human does her best for me and always has.  I'm a grumpy old lady, something I could never have been without her.  I've never gone hungry or been in danger of freezing to death.  So she would have to have me put down if I got terminally ill - that's what she'd probably choose if she could afford treatment, to be frank.  (She's watched too many of her fellow humans suffer those things.) If you think that makes her a bad "owner" I hiss at you.  I scratch and bite you.