Christmas Blessings

Christmas was a lovely, peaceful, and happy day, with family and friends. Hope your day was a good one, too. I'm still enjoying the holiday and mustn't ignore my family so this is just a holding post -- leave a comment if you visit. I can be non-political but it isn't easy. Fortunately, my family knows it is part of what I am.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Dreier: Bush's Class Warfare

Great and eye-opening statistics quoted by Peter Dreier in his essay Bush's Class Warfare posted at CommonDreams.org and at Huffington Post.

As Robert Kuttner observes in his new book, The Squandering of America, from 1966 to 2001, the wealthiest one-tenth of all Americans captured the lion’s share of society’s productivity growth. But it was the top one tenth of 1 percent that gained the very most. Those between the 80th and 90th percentiles about held their own. Those between the 95th and 99th percentiles gained 29 percent, while those between the top 99 and 99.9 percentile, gained 73 percent.

“But,” Kuttner writes, “it was those at the very pinnacle –the top one tenth of 1 percent of the population - one American in a thousand - who gained a staggering 291 percent.”

Wealth has become even more concentrated during the Bush years. Today, the richest one percent of Americans has 22 percent of all income and about 40 percent of all wealth. This is the biggest concentration of income and wealth since 1928. In 2005, average CEO pay was 369 times that of the average worker, compared with 131 times in 1993 and 36 times in 1976. At the pinnacle of America’s economic pyramid, the nation’s 400 billionaires own 1.25 trillion dollars in total net worth - the same amount as the 56 million American families at the bottom half of wealth distribution. MORE

NOTE: But is is actually not just Bush's Class Warfare, it is the Republican's Class Warfare. Look at their debates. They don't care about the poor and America's middle class either. And some Democrats are corporatists, too. We need a new president who care's about the rest of us. (See: John Edwards and/or Dennis Kucinich).

Holiday happenings

Tis the season of peace and good will -- and with friends and family in the forefront of our thoughts with the various holiday celebrations, the turmoil of the world is easy to forget. But some time off is important. Let's resolve to keep personal peace and look forward to another year, hopefully a better one: what can we do to assist making it so? Well, first, allow ourselves some family time and some frivolity. Rest and contemplate. Be in touch with the people we love. Perhaps read a few good books, if our schedules allow. Or perhaps purchase them or reserve them at the library. (The NYC library books are so easily reserved at NYPL.org)  

I am blessed to be in the company of my family. I count my blessings, more important to me than counting gifts. (I saw some movies with Little Kat-- but still haven't seen Rev. Billy's What Would Jesus Buy? Audient and I were out and he introduced me to Porcupine Tree as we drove around.) The next several days will be busy ones (Will I write that late, very late, Christmas letter?) but I am grateful. Merry Christmas, Merry WHATEVER -- and may 2008 be better than 2007..... Make it a little better by donating some money to some good causes.

Peace hugs,

Kate Anne

Wishing Kaley Grace Peace & Happiness

Kaley Grace
My nephew Jamie and his wife Beth are proud parents of a beautiful little daughter (7#-2oz, 20 inches) born at 7:53 AM on December 5, 2007: Kaley Grace. May her life be full of peace and happiness. May she be part of the peace that the world is seeking. Let us together make the world a safer, better, happier, fairer, peace-full place for Kaley Grace and her generation. With God's help. Amen.

Peace hugs,
Great Aunt Kate Anne

PS Congratulations to my brother Gregory, the new grandpa! Also on another but related note, as a great or grand aunt I am now fully qualified to be a part of the Granny Peace Brigade: personal and political!

Tearing down Misinformation

December Dawn

"May we be free of torture. May there be peace in hearts and minds as our kindness spreads around the world."
-- chant of pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar [Burma] in recent weeks, quoted in Amnesty International contribution request letter [I gave.]

Torture -- a biggy in today's news, if one is listening to something other than infotainment. Need to understand it more? Visit WitnessTorture.org  Want to end it and restore some of the lost integrity of the United States, our reputation in the World Community? Go to Tearitdown.org -- And a psychologically blind army vet verbally attacked me and called me a fool for wearing my Shut down Guantanamo button yesterday. Obviously I pushed his button but I was calm in stating I have the facts on my side. "They want to kill you." "They killed us on 9-11!!"  Another man in my company's building's elevator also noticed it (yet I have been wearing it for weeks!) but calmly asked, "But they're guilty, aren't they?" Maybe he visited WitnessTorture.org after I suggested it.

Meanwhile Bush is informed only recently that Iran has no nuclear program yet they are still a problem and a danger to world peace? BUSH is a problem and a danger to world peace. So much to do. But it will be done. A new day will dawn, with God's help, and ours.

Peace hugs,

Kate Anne

Gregory: "I could vote for a Democrat - but not Hillary"

The above statement was made to me today by my brother Gregory, a nominal Democrat but a beloved rightist ditto head who joined the Democratic party to work on Paul Tsongas' campaign some years back. He also says he likes John Edwards. When will the mainstream Democratic party get the message? Will they get the message in time to make a difference? The way they have been screwing up, I wonder.

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne