by Darin Lowery
One of the outstanding things about being alive- besides the obvious joys of Costa Rican coffee, steaming hot showers, and anything sung by Amy Winehouse- is that we get to start over every 24 hours. … Continue Reading
January 24, 2011
Open Letter to Mr. Jerry McCreary, EDC Board President
From: Jim E. Moss, Globe Resident & Business Owner
Dear Mr. McCreary,
During CALL TO THE PUBLIC at the January 10 Globe City Council meeting, and through other public statements, you have raised several questions/issues that deserve a response.
Let me begin by saying that the SGCEDC, which you lead, is obviously comprised of very fine individuals trying to make positive decisions for our community.
Public policy debates can become overheated, and naturally it can be difficult to avoid personality clashes etc. Unquestionably, I have spoken out passionately for our position in this debate. Keep in mind — we the citizens, do not hold the ‘official’ reins of power. Therefore, in order to achieve our goal it has become necessary to build a grassroots coalition. In doing so,the political environment becomes lively, as the status quo is challenged. Democracy in action can get a bit testy — but we have attempted to conduct our entire campaign in a way that we can be proud of. … Continue Reading
By Laura Stennerson
There is a feeling I get when I have a moment of acute awareness. My breath catches, I tingle, and sometimes I even giggle. Well that is exactly how I felt as I got in my car to leave Vida E Cafe 157 W. Ceder Street, Globe, Az. I had just attended their First Friday Open Mic, and I was a bit jittery from my triple shot latte, which might account for the catchy breath, tingling, and even the giggling. Yet, I knew I was on to a dawning realization of why I so enjoy the open mic events in our community. It is not just those individuals who fearlessly go forward to perform, it not just the delicious coffee and food that I crave, no, it is the fellowship, the camaraderie, it is the love that keeps me coming back. The erasing of imaginary boundaries between young and old, genres, styles, words spoken or sang. On this First Friday, I watched as musicians exchanged ideas, equipment, stories, and a deep appreciation for each others musical endeavors. I watched as family and friends, and musicians and poets not performing came to support the evening’s performers in a delightful attitude of fun. A sense of joy swirled around the room, intermingling with music and the warm reassuring scent of coffee. … Continue Reading
by Darin Lowery
There’s something comforting about having a mannequin in the house. In the past I’ve had as many as eight, seated and standing in my dining room in Chicago. During a summer thunderstorm it could sometimes be a little creepy- they seemed to move ever so slightly when lightning goes off like a flashing strobe light. Here in Globe I’m down to one and she stays upstairs, silently stylish in a ‘boarding the train’ ensemble with vintage luggage at her feet. Her name is JoAnne, and she’s classic plaster from the early Sixties. … Continue Reading
By LCGross
I always enjoyed my mothers collection of of Bobb’s Merril Readers. They are worthy of readers at almost any age, providing good stories, and moral reasoning to prepare the reader for life as a citizen of the United States. An except from the foreward in this book sets the tone of all Bobbs Merrill readers:
The only way to cultivate a taste for good reading is to read- and to enjoy while reading. It is upon this principle that the present text is based. No materials are presented except those of approved literary standard; and non are offered which have not been approved in the laboratory of experience. … Continue Reading
by Darin Lowery
Many people remember the ‘Bewitched’ television series from the Sixties, that cute show with the cute blond who wiggled her cute nose until all Hell broke loose. Her TV husband’s name was Darrin- that’s a double ‘r’- which, in the Land of All Things Me is a common and utterly intentional misspelling. The correct spelling of this ancient name (possibly derived from Gaelic, meaning ‘great’ or ‘dark oak’: I’ll stick with the former) is D A R I N. Sorry kids, but it’s my damn column and I’ll call it as I see it. … Continue Reading
by Darin Lowery
Many years ago Andy Warhol was quoted as saying, “Art? It’s a man’s name”. This was noted at the time as a droll comment; something irreverent. Actually, art can be whatever we want it to be, and this was his point. Art can be revolutionary; it can be liberating- art can be a silk screen of soup cans. It can also be provocative and even dangerous. … Continue Reading
by Darin Lowery
Christmas started to get a little hinky for me when I was eight years old. My Mother was serving breakfast one morning in early December- it was barely blue outside, that eerie color right before dawn. I could see right into the yard from where I sat in a beige plastic scoop chair because we had a huge picture window in the kitchen, maybe five by five. It was enormous and when the winds blew- this was suburban Chicago- the glass would heave. You could almost say it was breathing. … Continue Reading
For Darin, who says I haven’t griped enough lately.
So the Republicans just filibustered against a bill to give health-care to 9/11 first responders. I find this super-duper interesting for a couple of reasons, but first, let’s play a game.
Honor our Troops
First, let’s pretend like there is a country who is mighty and powerful in the size and scope of its military. Now, let’s pretend that the citizens of that country LOVE to shout and slap on bumper stickers that say HONOR OUR TROOPS, THESE COLORS DON’T RUN, FREEDOM ISN’T FREE and THANK A SOLDIER.
Okay, got that make-believe scenario in your head? Good, now, let’s pretend that HALF of those citizens believe in the following four things:
1. We should only send our brave soldiers, into harms way, after every other option has been attempted. 2. We should never send those troops in without proper gear and a game plan. 3. We should always make sure that putting their lives in danger is based on facts that are true and not based on fear and hate. 4. Honoring these troops should also include if they are black, gay or come home missing limbs or suffering from mental issues.
Now, let’s pretend the other half of the citizens believe in the following four things:
1. We should strike fast and strike hard, and let god sort them out. 2. Our military leaders should never be questioned and our soldiers are exceptional and can work with whatever they have. 3. Questioning our government or leadership is akin to treason (unless you didn’t vote for them). 4. A soldier should always be honored, unless he is gay, then he just needs to be sent home because everyone knows a gay soldier is more trouble than they’re worth.
So as a visitor to this country, which of these two groups would you say HONORS OUR TROOPS, and which one, though they like to slap on the same bumper stickers, are saying one thing but doing the opposite? Yup, I agree.
Death to Smoochie
When Obama was pushing forward on health-care reform, the term ‘death panels’ came up from TV celebrities like Sarah Palin. They took a simple statement in the bill that said that doctors and the patients could ‘discuss’ their options, to mean that somehow the doctors were given the power to decide you are going to die. Anyone with half a brain-cell, who read a tad further, saw that what it was actually saying was that the doctor and the patient could discuss treatment in the form of more radical means, or perhaps a simpler way to let things take their course, in palliative care.
Of course, the teabaggers and GOPers decided that reading and understanding was a waste of time, and signs, marches and shouts of death panels criss-crossed our land. Of course, there are no death panels, there never were.
Except, well, in Arizona.
Republican Governor Jan Brewer has decided to remove the option of low-income citizens, who are on AHCCCS, from receiving life-saving organ transplants. This move will save 1.4 Million dollars, exactly 1/10 of 1% of our deficit. Over 95 people are on that list, two have already died. So what we are seeing is a Government entity deciding WHO LIVES and WHO DIES based on their personal justifications. Isn’t this what the same GOP and teabaggers were screaming about being so horrible with health-care reform? Funny, not a peep from any of them.
Again, we all ask, were you mad at the ‘death panels’ or the black guy in the White House? It just seems odd how you only get mad ‘sometimes’. Just saying, we all find it interesting.
On a side note, Brewer has approved 10 Million dollars to ‘secure our border’. So that’s 10 Million to keep brown people from mowing our lawns and nothing for poor people to actually stay alive. Got it. She also was proud to say she was ‘appointed by God’, which can only mean she is completely psychotic…or God is. You decide.
Heroes Schmeroes
After the twin towers fell, thousands of firemen, cops and citizens rushed to the site to help save survivors. It was not the National Guard, the Army, the Marines or the Boy Scouts who jumped in there, it was New Yorkers, citizens, their neighbors who put their lives in danger to do what was right.
Then, one political party used the fear and hate from 9/11 to not only start a war based on revenge and a war based on lies, but also used 9/11 to re-elect a comedian-in-chief and control their followers by feeding the notion that we are all under threat from ‘them’, meaning non-Americans, Muslims, Islam or whoever else they could muster up the courage to hate. They talked, screamed and cried about the victims of that day, the brave soldiers who have died as a result, and especially the HEROES of 9/11. We called potatoes Freedom Fries, we dumped out good wine and we decided the world was For Us or Against Us, all based on that horrible day in American history.
A Day We Can Never Forget
Well, sort of never forget, because now, the GOP is fighting tooth and nail to make sure those same HEROES don’t get any free health-care, as they die from diseases they contracted ONLY because they were trying to help their fellow Americans. As Jon Stewart said today, ” A new rule for Republicans: block health care for 9/11 first responders, and you don’t get to exploit 9/11 for political gain anymore. Period.”
I wonder how many Republicans, who are blocking helping these HEROES, will use the hate and fear of 9/11 in our next election cycle? I’m gonna say somewhere between all and every one of them. Let’s pretend like we’re shocked when it happens.
The Great Satan
While we’re here, let’s clear up one more hypocrite-conservative-thingy. It’s simple. If you are asked in your Republican debate how many of you believe in Evolution, and NONE of you raise your hand, then let’s go ahead and make some rules. If you don’t believe in Evolution, that means you don’t believe the world is older than 4,000 or maybe 20,000 years old, dinosaurs didn’t really exist, blah blah blah, got it.
Now, science has shown us that the oil underneath the ground is made of FOSSILS (thus, called fossil fuel) that takes around 650 million years to form. So they must be fake, right? Then why are you not only profiting off of these fuels, giving tax breaks to the companies making billions off these fuels, taking kick backs from the lobbyist who represent these fuels and fighting to keep anyone from regulating the business practices of those who drill for the fuels? That seems like a lot of work for something that doesn’t really exist, or perhaps it is one of these two options:
1. You believe in Evolution, and are willing to profit from it, but you are also willing to lie to your bible-thumping voters on national television, in order to win their votes. Which makes you a jerk. Or,
2. You really do believe that the earth was made by intelligent-design, which means that fossils and such are all attempts by Satan to ‘make humans question’ the work of the lord, and thus, you are profiting off the work of the Great Satan. Which makes you, well, an evil-profiteer. You decide.
Honor our troops, death panels, 9/11 heroes and intelligent design. Keep up the good work. Happy Holidays.
by Darin Lowery
I stopped eating bread about three years ago. Some of this was due to a friend’s problem with gluten, which is found in flour. Gluten is a protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains- it gives cohesiveness to dough. Perhaps this puts the ‘glue’ in ‘gluten’. It turns out I have sympathy pains, wouldn’t you know it, and the thought of a PB&J on Wonder Bread made me ill. This is but one reason I never had children (little kids are crawling with germs) and in fact I avoid pregnant women on the street. The thought of me going into false labor, right there across from Palace Pharmacy would mean I could never show my face Downtown again. … Continue Reading
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