Paradise

Where do you see paradise?

Can you tell me?

I am interested to know....here is the place to comment, just write .

Daily Doses of Joy

It was Norman Vincent Peale that said, being positive is like a vitamin, you have to take it in daily doses, or you will get sick. You know we all get sick, sick and tired of the bad things, the sad things, the mad things, but even Dr. Seuss said, sometimes things wont be great, and sometimes we wont do so great! But Oh the places you will go!

This is not a metaphor, and life is not a political cartoon, or a newsflash. The truth is people are angry, people are fighting mad, but, people are still required to see truth using their own eyes.

We have our own eyes, our own life and our own voices, and it is okay today to be concerned about the stories being shown to us on the news, it is also okay to want to try to change things. But in the grand scheme we don't have the right to be so invasive that we just forget there are people here, real people who have to at least defend themselves. Did we offer any consolation to the people who might have been taken in by stock scammers? Did we have a fund raiser, all those who wish to protect their family dollar and their sacred bank account, did they stand up and band together and offer to help each other? Why not?
Why is it easier to dig the dirt, than it is to plant the seed? I like the dirt, I like the whole reality of dirt, rather than the alternative. Lets not cement in the next few years with blatant anger to just be sure that nothing bad will happen...I mean not to quote another kid movie, but, you cant say that you can make nothing bad ever happen, because then that is just like saying , nothing will ever happen.

I am always one to use my faith in times like these. Itn't this the greatest time to use it? Around the corner from all troubles is something great, and while the rain is raining , it is still sunny on top of the clouds. What I ask is where are we going? Not just as a group, not just as a country, but as a person with our own choices, where are we going? And when we go, do we bring something good to offer? Do we remember bring with us, the gracious gifts our grandmothers and aunts taught us? Flowers and hand made cards, do we offer food and nurturing conversation? What we really have to offer is our value, and it cannot be measured in dollars. The person that doesn't share his gifts with the world, has imprisoned not only himself but all those whom have been left out circle that is created with giving of oneself completely. All things in our world do have balance, and if we think we are going out of our way to do anything, most likely we are in the way. Its not the things we do or say, its the way we do it. Convince others with anger, and get sucked into a fight that is only in your own mind, no one feels it like you.

Convince someone with your confidence and you can fool the most seasoned executive, but be over confident with your friends, and no one gets past the first five minutes. No one has the perfect life, and no matter how much they brag or look in control, nothing is written in stone, except life and death. It is important to choose your causes, and pick your sides, but be wary of the signs they carry. If you need to make a scene, you could inspire others to think you might be a leader, and that can only lead to disillusion. I saw the cutest cartoon, while doing some research on this, of a woman, dressed as a farmer, with a large pitchfork, over her shoulder, and the child that she walked passed, thought while sitting on some hay, "she must be really hungry." You know, that is cute, because, I like the view of the innocent, how can we stand in the way of the young and color their precious future with anything less than what is true, what is pure and what is right. People do things wrong, but we choose to take it in through the leaders, and the "fruit" we choose. We walk to the tree and we pick that fruit, ourselves, and its only the children who cant pick it themselves. Some people like fruit that is dead, and filled with maggots, and it a world that is harsh and dry this is a feast, others demand a fruit that is geneticaly altered and colored by gas, with it perfections hidden in microscopic details, some like the fruit fresh from the tree, grown in their backyard, and has skin that is washed by the shirt they wear. For now, fruit is dormant, here in the USA, but luckily the seasons have not taken anger with us, the skies are friendly and the insects are still fighting the good fight. Go ladybugs go!

The season of spring has sprung, and in the midst of all the worlds troubles, there are baby birds chirping and waiting for a wiggling worm, there are trees being pollinated by buzzing bees, and it is just as it has been since - well as far back as the first farmer, it is time to sew seeds. I am going to enjoy the silence of the seed and the gentleness needed to sew it safely, and the wonder of the promise of this magic I have taken part in.

I ask for the honor to lead you in the invitation to a smile, because I always say, Smile when you say that to me...

Resolve to change for the better

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I think its different now...I see the change...

So let's be the change we want to see, and instead of dampening the spirits of others lets look for the good in everyone and in all things, and bring back the Renaissance of artistic values to this wonderful world we live in. It is still a wonderful place to be, and I would not dream of living on Mars or any other planet.

I love my garden too much! I love that place that is just outside my back door. Planted with wonderful flowers and shrubs, and fruiting trees!

The weather has been warm and the trees are blooming, the new apricot has big blossoms, the nectarine is always first to pop out and the cherrie is waiting for the perfect moment, but finally popped right out on the 13th. I love Cherries, and have to work hard to fight off the Stellar Blue Jays that love them too. My cats who usually love to chatter and play with the birds wont even go near the huge blue birds. I think those birds are the top of the food chain here in the Masloff backyard. Who can worry about lifes little problems with nature doing its big show. The seasons have their say in everything we do and we learn to live with the heat and the cold.

I went to Mary Engelbriets magazine online and noticed that it is no longer in print! What a loss for creative artists like me, and she writes on her web site that she hopes to return to publishing soon, but because of the economy it is just not possible, she listed other magazines that are no longer in print. If that market is no longer there then what will we artists do? It was my dream to be in her magazine some day, and no I think , all magazines should just be blogs. So with that

here are my new links that I am pondering

and if you so wish to send donations I am really fond of this site:

http://www.fatquartershop.com/Oh-Cherry-Oh!-Me-And-My-Sister-Designs-Moda-Fabrics.asp?Store_id=499&T=1

all of the fabrics are great! Sewing is fun! If you donate fabric I will take it to my sewing guild and sew WITH IT ; These wonderful women donate these beautiful hand done ( free ) quilts to a wonderful cause, and one that we have heard good feedback from, the foster families, and the child protection services in Redding California. They use and receive more than 50 quilts just from this one guild every few months! The numbers are staggering, but all ages can have one, as well as new babies in Hospitals. I just love to be with these nice ladies and hope to learn how to do what they do with the grace, and kindness.

Seeds seeds seeds, everyone is talking about free seeds, the whole country is buzzing about free tomato seeds from campbells soup!

I love seeds too! I was just reading in the Farmers Almanac Gardening edition about a kid Jere Gettle, who was only 4 when he started his own garden, and now at 26, he owns a catalog order business and a huge plot of land to grow and trade seeds, some as old as the early 1800's! It says he publishes a quarterly mag, called Heirloom Gardener, and a web site :
www.iDigmyGarden.com





I recommend that farmers almanac, to buy, better than this site:




http://www.farmersalmanac.com/home_garden/

Raspberries are coming back fast and the blue berries look like they are okay too. You know i bought some Walla walla onion started last year they are still tiny?? last year? what do I do with them? I am sure this is much more than you wanted to get in your email so i will stop --
but check out those web sites for more on the Gettle seeds-- thanks for writing-- I ll take a photo as soon as the cherry flowers out! Its really big now--


Liz Masloff

" Memory is a wonderful gift, for with it the best is never past, We carry thoughts of home in our hearts, to live in always though time has passed."

Quoted from the Harris' Seasonal Gardening Guide
aka Farmers Almanac
Thank You From Panda Publishing
http://rareseeds.com/

A little fun, I love these two

Make a Smilebox slideshow

famous quotes I like

Why cant we just all get along? Probably because we are so different, and no one can walk in someone elses shoes, I just hope and pray that we can all laugh a little more at ourselves, try a little harder to not assume anything, and then be will to listen , really listen. These people spoke and we remember them, I did nt say it! I quote!

No man can call himself liberal, or radical, or even a conservative advocate of fair play, if his work depends in any way on the unpaid or underpaid labor of women at home, or in the office.
Gloria Steinem
1934-, American Feminist Writer, Editor


I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counsellor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate.
Martin Luther King Jr.
1929-1968, American Black Leader, Nobel Prize Winner, 1964


Conservative: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from a Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
Ambrose Bierce
1842-1914, American Author, Editor, Journalist, ''The Devil's Dictionary''


Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved.
Aristotle
BC 384-322, Greek Philosopher

Sent to me by email: Divorce?

This was sent to me via my own personal email, from a person I worship the Same God with:
see my comments after this letter
DIVORCE AGREEMENT


Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since th e late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way. Here is a model separation agreement: Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them). We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep20the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood .. You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security. We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the bill. We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everyone hea lthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World. We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag. Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years. Sincerely, John J. Wall Law Student and an American P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you.

First with love and respect to my family, I keep you and would do anything for your life, this is just in responce to the letter and not a broad stroke, because some right are great, some are right, and I do hope they fight for what is right, and good, we all breath the same air, see the same stars and love this land. For every man how exhaults himself shall be humbled, and every man who humbles himself, shall be exhaulted,
OK, here's my rebuttal, because, people of the side, I am so right~You could be wrong, you could be asking for more then your fair share, if you think that you are immune to the reality of Marriage!! I read it, and think, if this was a real "Marriage" and it is supposed to be not liberal, then why would we not be Married for LIFE? SO, if a little good counseling is not an option, then I guess we will have to have an ANNULMENT?
The children of this Marriage, are being tossed out with the bath that you are forgetting you were so happily enjoying, the same hard working American children that you gladly took money from to pad that home big in the hills, that buy your foriegn cars, and will be paying for your war bill for the rest of their working lives.

You dont like the poor either? Without the poor Mc D's and Wally's would go out of business who will put up with those horrible plastic utensils and toys that are full of lead and toxins shipped in from other countries with less than ethical working and living standards. Where the rich at the top live like kings while the workers cant even afford to own homes or get off food stamps and medi care.
Oh by the way wall street-- that might be you soon.

I will write a book about this and go see Oprah, cool I dont want to get on her bad side! Then dont forget the Pot bars, that if we did tax and control we would change the world, but if you would rather have the drug lords run it, and the taliban hey, I understand, that would put a lot of police out of jobs, and they would have to actually find people who are creating real problems outside of their own homes. Liberals, living the life they love in their own homes, --sure that should be a crime, to do what we want in our own homes! Then we would like to keep the nudie beaches, the oh I would like to extend an invite to all other-countries, and people who think that liberal is well better than being controlled by an Ulitimate authority, in Bred-Royalty of a political race; lets see PBS Oh we love them, NPR, Free Speech, Planned Parenthood and all the so silly but fun, Hollywood Starlets. The French, the Italians, the oh of course the President of the United States who by the way, sure seems to be loved by everyone, except maybe the people who are related to Jabba the HUT! We'll take him, and you can have your Girl who doesnt know JACK--and likes to shoot Moose. What else do we get, half the country, you can have TEXAS, what the hell, we will take the whole-West Coast any day, and CANADA, who needs your drugs, who the heck wants the rest of the country anyway? we have the best of the food, the wine and if you're looking for schools, we we got'm. We have Mozart, the Beatles and for sure ABBA, you can have the red necks and the KKK too.THE LIST
Aaron SorkinAl FrankenAl GoreAl SharptonAlexandra KerryAndrei ChernyAnita LoweyAnthony LakeAnthony RomeroArianna HuffingtonBarbara BoxerBarbara LeeBen BagdikianBill MaherBill MoyersBill RichardsonCarol Mosley-BraunCaroline KennedyChelsea ClintonCheryl JacquesChristine GregoireChuck RangelCruz BustamanteDavid WuDebra RappaportDennis KucinichDick GephardtDonnie FowlerDorothy EhrlichEd HelmsEdward KennedyEllen DeGeneresElliot SpitzerGarrison KeillorGavin NewsomGeorge StephanopoulosGeroge SorosGray DavisHarry ReidHendrick HertzbergHoward DeanHoward ZinnJanet NapolitanoJennifer M. GranholmJerry BrownJesse JacksonJim JeffordsJohn KerryJohn PodestaJonathan EdwardsJohn Kenneth GalbraithJonathan SorosKen SalazarKeith OlbermannKweisi MfumeLeon PanettaLeonardo DiCaprioLouis MenandMadeline AlbrightMargaret MarshallMario CuomoMartin SheenMatt GonzalesMax ClelandMichael HuffingtonMichael RappaportMolly IvinsNadine StrossenNancy KeenanNoam ChomskyNorman LearRalph NeasRob ReinerRobert GreenwaldRobert RedfordRoberta ActenbergRoger Waters <Ron Regan Jr.Ruth SimmonsSeymour M. HershSimon RosenbergStephanie Tubbs-JonesStephen ColbertSteve WesleySusan HockfieldSusan SarandonTavis SmileyTeresa Heinz-KerryTina FeyTom DaschleTom HanksVanessa KerryWendy KoppWesley ClarkWillie Brown
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:AaronSw/Famous_liberals" We love the wonderful colorful world, I will glady live with a culture of people who accept others differences and respect the indigenous people. Also we get all of the best Protestant Churches, and of course as far as the taxes go, " liberals" dont worry about those, our new country is well, the land of milk and honey as they say. We see the glass is half full, even if your glass is almost empty.




You blame us for all the problems, and also this war in Iraq, and you think your right to do so. And we are supposed to fix the mess too? OK we can fix that, how about we just say oops that was not my fault. Some other people did that, not in my country. Its also not my country that turns its back on genocide in Africa right? It is also not my country that turns its back on the public school systems in America, or the right to our homesteads. It wasn't my country, that shot the Indians in the back, broke treaties or has a mafia and a herd of crooked cops. I remember once that we said, "I am so glad we dont live like the Russians, that Government listens to peoples phone calls, they interrogate people without cause, and in their own country the police brutalize people for how they look." Now we say, I am glad I am not, the President, yea that would just suck.


This political right will bring anyone into a battle field, fear and war , they are immune to killing people in other countries, and blind to the plight of it's own people to the point where now we can draw lines, this is the beginning of what looks like-- another third riech! Teaching fear, teaching intolerance, teaching no one to speak for the small and unfortunate. Discrimination by association, and who is to say where it will stop? We were all immigrants once, we were all running for Freedom from religion, we were all once children that needed medical care, we are all Americans, from the first day we live here. If anyone would like to put a right or a left place and draw the line according to taxes, then show me a place I can live without any taxes,

show me a place to live where the taxes are supporting the Rich only?




So not to point the finger back, but to turn the other cheek let me remind you of the war dreams i have seen, click here if you would like to read something out of this world. I will keep my wonderful free ~country thank you, and if you so choose to build yourself up in the ivory tower may God have mercy on your soul. Try and take my life, try and take my freedom, try and tell me how to think, how to live and how to worship, you can try, but your not right, your right out of bounds.

DUH! IS ANYONE PAYING ATTENTION?

I have been typing for over an hour, this controversial argument, and then its gone, it deletes.
I ask you is anyone paying attention, because this is my all time favorite phrase, I am so broke I cant even pay attention. I was saying that, there are those who are paid to do jobs and pay attention, and it seems as if they were all caught off guard and somehow did not notice the titanic economy situation.
If you are one of those people, that found this all so surprising, I can only say that most likely you were pretty happy about the past 8 years, and did not think that anything was wrong with the way the Government spent tax payers money. If you are just now tuning into the fear factor stock market, and asking how this happened or why, maybe you dont know what the stock market is. Let me explain, its a way for another business to ask you for money, as an investment, and they dont have to pay it back, and if you did not know, the business, might not work out, well,now you do.

Did anyone say, it was a bad idea to put ads on tv for people to buy houses no money down with Government grants, and loans. Then re-sell the houses-at a price so falsely inflated it is ridiculously higher than the actual value, but only after you have taken out a loan against that house. Then sell it to a person who not only doesn't qualify for the loan, but the poor over charged person doesn't even understand the loan, and why would any of that catch the attention of any State Official as a bad business practice? Because it was not considered illegal, it somehow had to do with a equal and fair home loan program provided by the government, started by Clinton, and because of that, its okay. And not one stock broker said, that is a bad idea, and said to the bank dont do it, because if they did , it did not stop them.
I did not hear a single state official speak of this bank failure, warning at all, not one, not our elected officials, and not our presidential hopefuls, not a one.
Can I make a famous example of this, did anyone say dont do it, phrase? YES<> ok

Once while a very famous band played for free in the City of SAN FRANCISCO, ( notice I did not say frisco, or any other name!) I was taken to be a guest, by way of my work and the Hark Rock Cafe. I was in a special place along side of the new stars, close enough, to scare the band as they say. When Bono climbed up on top of the not so beautiful sculpture in Justin Herman Plaza, he got out his black paint, and started to paint!! I was so in shock of this obvious lack of common sense, and I shouted " BONO DONT DO IT!" even if it would have improved the strange statue, it was the obvious ethical mistake he was making, to do something on this piece of art. He must have heard me, he must have said, what the H#$!! I am up here, I have to, and so he did it anyway, I think KNOWING FULL WELL, that he heard that little whisper. I hear the whisper, I listen, because darn if you don't , you will be saying to yourself, DUH I knew that! I think we should just go back to saying bluntly, DUH, I knew that! Instead of saying its your fault, I am just going to say that.



Did the avalanche of dropping stock that was the fallout of the over valued houses, loosing their value, due to the fact that no one was watching the value of the confidence dollar drop, into its lowest value stop anyone from voting freely? Did we as a country all of a sudden become blind, that we did not see some magical button we should have pushed that might have saved us from our employer cutting our hours and our jobs into oblivion. I think we would have chosen to do this different if it was on a ballot, vote for not going into trillion dollars of debt, or loose your job. Was that a choice? Because I noticed that so important ballot was shorter than ever, I could only choose from what was already chosen for me, and if I did not choose somehow I was this huge looser in the free world. IF-Everyone who was in a voting both, could have been polled, asking them, do you know that our country is on the edge of its worst depression since the early 30's would you vote differently? DUH, we would have said, no thanks lets not go into a great depression, I know that. The Banks should say, DUH, I am not doing that loan, I know better.
And voters should say, DUH, I know,one president cannot fix all the problems from the past the present and the future, nor is he to blame for it.

Did we know about the economy? Because , DUH, we are expected to know it now, and yet, not one of the presidential hopefuls had any warning or a inc ling that we would be at the place we are today. ( Is there a DUH in there? )

Who had experience with bringing the USA and the world economy out of the dumpster? Well, I dont think anyone was watching, but while the debates were raging, and while the media was barking, and while the people were snowed in, so to speak, Madoff was packing his bank account, real estate agents are still on vacation, and Osama Bin Laden still sends us his hate mail. In case no one noticed, we not only have the present to deal with , we still have the past to deal with. And no kids, The Cat in the Hat is not coming back with thing one and thing two, sorry Ebeneezer this is no dream , you really are going to die penniless and the nephew will laugh on your grave, because you kept it all to yourself, and did not feed the poor or save tiny Tim. The books being sold in the millions are saying, DUH I knew it was going to be a long war, DUH, I knew this was a bad choice for a new Party in the white house, and DUH, I know everything.

Isn't it weird how those predictions come out after the fact, if I was a doctor which I am not, but if I was, I would say, these are symptoms, to a bigger illness we have yet to diagnose.

What are the symptoms? What is the prediction according to the symptoms? Here are my predictions for the rest of the year:
The Fluctuating Stock market, is a symptom of the greed-illness in our economy, the now the party is over and no joke everyone has to go home!
The loss of jobs, is a symptom of, small business' being taxed unfairly, and the government taking its toll on the little (consumer) guy/gal trying to make ends meet, and yet still people shop at the places where the imported goods from outside countries, will pad the wallets of the faceless greedy big- corporate companies forcing small business to have to go out of business because....
The Media controlling the Country confidence: is a symptom of the big business corporates advertising and selling us our knowledge through this 20 second advertising method, and making it ok to sell erectile disorder pills, Victoria secret underwear , fast food, and judging our neighbors house as a healthy standard of living, causing more people to try to buy a new house, and new car a new outfit and toss out the life they loved and put on credit last year. Eventually this store bought life, will end up used and in the thrift store and someone will decide that it is retro and valuable and put it on eBay, and make good money off someone elses frivolous lifestyle. Progressing into a world full of garbage and throw away the rich mentality, but grateful poor if able to access the recycled goods or better yet- the dumpster ! Which makes the poor rich in spirit and more intelligent and the media loving rich poorer in spirit, and just TV smart. (Note that this is the future)
This war in Iraq: is a symptom of the greed illness and fashioned by the Bushes , like Father Like son. And the reason we are so debt, starting with Haliburton, (if I knew how to spell it, Id actually care ) the need to sell the government product WAR, and fight for our imperialistic lifestyle, and use oil and live in contrast to others right in their face. But also to flaunt the self righteous ways of our chosen war, excluding the sick in any other place, the elderly in USA,the Sudanese, and the Entire American Educational system it is all sacrificed to the war in Iraq, we pay for the right to kill others.

Public schools, and transportation is never first or big in the budget: symptom of IVY LEAGUE in office, apart of the greed illness; handed down from those who don't stay home with kids, those who don't have to worry about the food they eat or the houses they live in, they don't have to listen the voice of reason, because there is no reason, they can do and live any life they want. The public schools are not good enough for the IVY League, the private rich, and therefore we are not worthy of tax money. Except, the truth is the majority of the people will never go to an Ivy League school, never afford a University and we will be lucky if our teachers will be able to afford to stay in a job that pays less then the cost that it took to get there. The illness is spread to the children when they see that being a teacher is not only not a good paying but a job not valued by our state and our country as so many are being laid off, and music and art, language and sports being told that they are not as important as say "personal growth" that teaches, all aspects of sex life, and the popular alternative, drug-stimulated lifestyles that need not be discussed in a classroom, but left to parents or guardians.

Not having an alternative to driving a personal car is just at odds with everything that we should be fighting for, DUH YOU KNOW THAT=-(

i am not even going to get into that-but remember
this is the symptom, the issues are much larger and if you want the cure, maybe look for the symptoms and forward this note to whomever you think may need to hear DUH!
Go ahead, say I knew this would happen. Then say, PAY ATTENTION, and listen to the whispers. Be still and know.

HEY~thanks for watching :)

Just a quick note to say thanks for watching those silly movies, I know they are long. The nectarine,"Attack of the Jelly Lady " movie was something that I intended to be a gift, but I was not happy with the actress portraying me in the kitchen, that was just not the real me, I would never be so bossy! Ashley's actor was great, except she got the hair all wrong, considering the damage blue does to your hair, I guess that was just too much of a stretch. The movie also seems to be missing a final ending, but my camera man was also tired of the actress' and the story. We always love to watch, "The Bunny" those tiny kids, the sweet Easter day, you can just feel the warmth of the day, and a killer bunny? We always love, "I have to squish!" Recently, I realized that most people who don't know much about Christianity, think that Christmas is our biggest and most favorite Holiday, that gifts and big sumptuous dinners are considered the best day for us, but really, if you know us, its Easter. Easter is the day that we all live for, it is the true meaning, the whole enchilada, and its the tomb, that was empty. The great day, comes after 40 days of darkness, of wandering in the wilderness,being tempted by all that is evil, and Ash Wednesday starts it, fat Tuesday precedes it!

I came too my first home Church through Ash Wednesday, through Lent, and the ways of the repentant Christian life, from one family that was the good Samaritan for me, I was on the path, they lifted me up. I am still very glad it was the University St., Berkeley Lutheran Church, but no matter what it was the start of a path that brought me to higher learning and a better faith in the God; He is the Highest and greatest love of all, and He, Father, Son and Holy Ghost,loves us. All of us, even those who feel less worth, of love. If you notice, my life is not the great in things, but it is greater in the heart, I need my family and that includes my Church family. For the next 40 days, I plan to give up the one thing that I think will change my reflection, alcohol. Sounds easy, sure, but it will change me, and my reflection. May you find Joy on your path, and in these next 40 days, hold on, don't give up-- you are not alone, pray, or just write~~ I am listening.

I missed the Oscars, decided to make my own...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hallmark makes this software-- I love it!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Most beautiful place to hike, Redding CA

Make a Smilebox postcard

I love YOUtube !

I wanted to remind y'all, that YOUtube is for everyone! This is the last frontier of free publishing, and we are right to do this. No matter what you think of the Internet, you choose your show, and if the copyright infringement laws are disturbing stand in line! I happen to know first hand , when someone uses your images, --well get over it! Or should I say, ahem, take it as a compliment, we know that its all out there, but we WILL HAVE TO PROTECT OUR OWN by publishing truths.

Nothing is free, except our minds~

i want you-- I want you on YOUtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBINo6b7L3k

Arrive without traveling

:))))) this was very moving, Concert For George Harrison~ It needs to get out there, please just watch---listen open your heart...
I really want to hear more by Jeff Lynne , Anoushka is absolutely amazing~ what a gifted young woman, she will inspire so many to learn sitar! what an honor to have friends like these. I never knew George Harrison, I also never knew that anyone could be so musically generous--when I hear this I know what he was trying to say a little better.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkPxNmYs_A


this "My Sweet Lord" is huge-- with all the talk today of stolen music, and how he plainly took the blame for this...it was a shame! Look at how this is played in this video...No one cares what religion it is about, no one wants to cover this up in any way, this is love ---in a way we can all be proud as people, there is a way, love shows you! I really want to be with you--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvH6fxP5hMo


alleluia

Just keep swimming...

This one is for all the lonely travelers, may you

find smiling faces, safe voyages, and great nosh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhHm-5lKkZ0

I was up all night!~on YOUtube!

WOW, this is a brave new world! Last night my super cool Blu Ray player downloaded a new program, it can interface YOUtube directly to my TELE! YEA! Okay, if you know me, you'd know how much I despise broadcast Tele~vision, I believe that it is this brainwashing device that feeds you --packaged processed poop; Information that at some point may have been new or newish, but not necessarily what is really true or even wholly complete. I have seen them make these news shows, they chop them into oblivion, and they cut and paste worse than a congressman with a seat to sell. Dont even ask me what is on, or what is the latest Lost episode, or what is the new ad that bothers everyone the most, I dont even want to know. We just dont do it, and if I need John Stewart I go to HULU.com and then I get my laughs and my news, and yep that is plenty! hes just too funny. See what a distraction it is, and its not even on! Our BLUE RAY HAS YOU TUBE! I know! I was on there downloading all sorts of great music, I an pleased to see Musicians using this outlet for us to see things we might never have seen, even the oldest concerts can be found-- Al Di Meola One Night in SF was on there, and my old favorites Laaz Rockit, just about brought me to tears! I put a few movies up that I love of my family and I enjoying Redding, very personal and silly, but they are keyworded in Shasta or masloff. I plan to do some new movies and yes the panda book. But what a time I had looking for all of my favorite musicians, and people and places, right there. My teenagers love to hear my stories of growing up and the people I knew, (and they often wish I still knew, but) seeing them is good enough, for us.

Wow, what memories are linked to music, and this is proven in a new book that is out that I have been enjoying
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
A serious collection of storied documenting the brain and how it reacts to sounds, even non musical sounds. When I hear a train, I always think I am in a house that we lived in Cotati, weird, but I just get this strange time and place feeling, even though as a young child my Mother lived quite near train and bart. The train sound that we get here in Redding is at least ten miles away, its nowhere near here, but the terrain is just right for it to echo sound for us to hear. Trains come through Redding frequently, it is still home to the largest land owner Southern Pacific, and these trains often pass through in the earliest dawn hours. I hear it usually in my sleep, so that is why I can easily go back to a different time and place with one sound. Its always a nice familiar feeling, thought startling how vivid the memory is associated with this sound.

This is the same with music for me, I have a particular oddity to some music that haunts me, even though I have tried to tried to deny it. My peculiar prophetic life, has brought me signs that are unavoidable, and sadly there is one that is a tell tale sign. I can say, that I have been able to obtain every job I have ever applied for, but I can also say that GOD, let's me know when it is time to go... To make this a short story, if I hear, "Mother and Child Reunion, " by Simon and Garfunkel, I know its over. The first time-I was sure I heard that song, for miles , I was in my car and it was weird, I could hear it, like an ear worm,over and over- but it was on the Radio, and the words just haunted me, " well I would not give you false hope on this strange and mournful day, but the mother and child reunion is only a motion away" If you have heard it, you might have wondered the meaning behind the words, I too have wondered! I wrote Paul Simon, and told him my strange affiliations , he must have thought I was --not worth writing back to, I never heard anything back, but what is there to say? Paul Simon, he's got profound lyrics that haunt the most common of people and sure anyone can put meaning on words when it makes an epiphany apparent. What is this human connection with music, why does it becon us with personal experiences? T.Berry Brazleton, a Pediatrician, once said that the African mothers sing special songs to the children , short songs when they would be going on short leave, and long songs for those times when they had to seek comfort for long treks accross the desert to find food, water or shelter. I loved this image of comforting a child with music; words that comfort with a tune, a respective familiar tone to create memories of life consistant with the eminent passage ahead.

I was looking back at the Live aid concerts, and thinking when did musicans stop having this kind of inviting contributive concerts? Was is a lost cause? Remember when we thought protesting with music was effective, and not just --entertaining? Youtube actually offers what is, essentially-- free outlets for any type of protest and advertising and even imagery for anyone to invite contributions for any group, without the need to pay broadcast TELE-poop! What would it take to start a grass roots awareness of taking back our government for the people by the people, of the people? What song would we sing? One two three , what are we figting for....
Those who are up in arms now, all steamed up, they are the ones so happy for the past 8 years and sat on their hands happy to have thier president, but now, they are so unhappy? If they expect our country to get fixed in one month what took the past 20 years to defile, think again...
I am thinking of a song, and it sounds like --how can you say your saving me when you have to have that gun, how can you just walk away when you just shot and killed someone, how can you lie to me and say that isnt wrong, how can you bring the peace when you have to have that gun...It was a song , and I heard it in my dream, my dream of the War in Iraq, and a tiny robed child stood there with a huge automatic weapon, and he stood on the bodies of american men and chanted to me...while the dirt swirled around his body...

Music is the window to the soul, and when it is opened it can take you anywhere you want to go, just by listening.

We can effectively try, to control our surroundings, to create a life we are familiar with to comfort ourself from strife, a bubble but that will burst. And when our lives get too complicated we can jump into a vehicle and travel far far away from all things familiar to avoid the responsibilities of humbling house and chores. When we get far away, we miss home, and then we long to return! A song brings us back to the romancing of the ordinary and it is all so much simpler, to see. In a book that I love, by Theodore and Kermit Roosevelt, Titled, " On the trail of the Giant Panda" the Roosevelt's are traveling through the Mountains of Tibet, and they meet the illuminous Tao. Tao is quite taken with this Influencial American and his stories of travel and he says , "why must people travel so far , so that they can just miss home? To be where you are is good enough" I loved that, and then Tao let Roosevelt name his child! Yes, he named him Quenton, after Jacks Brother! Ok, that is a whole other story; but the music I hear with that is this is something by George Harrison, when he was in his Shankar stages, and this sitar is playing and they are singing, Know everything without going anywhere, be all things without being ...Oh how I wish I would have seen one of his concerts. When I hear beatles , I hear my childhood, I just can hardly bear it! So I will close with the link to a concert that I would have liked to have been at, but loved to see on DVD and now on Youtube,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAkZyCvlWsg

PETA~! AH WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

PETA dresses in KKK garb outside Westminster Dog Show
http://drudgereport.com/
What is this, the people of PETA think that if you own a pure bread dog you may as well be in the KLU KLUX KLAN? wow, that's harsh! Is that just a little strong, for those who probably might think that the Klan is just about white supreme idiots, and not about animal worshiping, or animal training, or animal showing. If I saw that, in front of any animal show I would have to accuse them of being the kkk. I would say that they are in fact doing the same thing, creating a group of people who are evil in the ways of actively hurting others freedoms, they discriminate against others by actively and grossly exaggerating the facts. Would those animals be able to survive in the wild without the care of humans? Where would they live in the wild? Domesticated animals are apart of the fabric of the Human Spirit, and this is more of an attribute than a detrabute, animals are vital to the lives of people . How is loving your pet, taking care of it and showing it, linked to the terrorism of the kkk?
When you watch the story of Gandhi they demanded that no one buy products that hurt people, his wife said, beauty that causes pain is not worth it. I agree, we should not hurt helpless animals, but helpless people~who is in pain, in this case I would say it was the people the animals have no idea what the kkk is.

I have grown up with the animal activists; I agree with saving the whales and I loved my teacher in fifth grade that taught me how to appreciate them better. I remember when someone in my family gave me a real mink coat, and that taught me , if she would not wear it, what a shameful thing it must have been to just own a real mink coat. My father had this huge raccoon coat, and i used to marvel at how large it really was, it was more of a comical relief rather than a concern for me. I can honestly say, I never have rallied for any animals, but I would definitely be one of the people who would put my boat in the way of a large harpooning ship.

I wrote a book about the first American Panda, and within the pages I weave a consistent thread of knowledge that animals are unable to defend themselves against the threat of the hunter with a gun, who just kills for the sport. It is never a nice thing to see an animal caged in a zoo, unless this animal needed the first aid, and attention to live and now survives well by the care and love of educated people. So when did PETA decide to make humans the enemy? How did we all get on the black list for being supremacists and have to defend our rights to have pets, to eat meat, or to wear leather? When did this start? This will require some research on my part and know that I will be following up on the people of PETA and their ways. I will be provoking some serious questions and debate the rights of people who stomp on other peoples freedoms.

what's new?

What is new, no seriously what is NEW?

My grandfather whom, I love to quote always said, never buy anything new, because he explained, you can buy something, wear it once and then its not new, it is used! Once a car is driven off the showroom floor, it is no longer new, and as soon as news is posted on the Internet it is no longer new-s it is used. So much of what we see, on the news, is used, over and over; the stock images are sold to us as new, they are actually saved from prior dates, and taken for collective uses. I worked a the worlds largest bookseller, for a few years, and on my lunch I would pick up my favorite magazines and oogle the photos and articles with great hunger. As I looked at all the different magazines, I started to notice, that the same photos were showing up, and similar articles would appear in the variety of magazines. After awhile it was painfully obvious, the majority of what was being published in one magazine was being copied in almost all of the same genre magazines.
I also noticed that books would be looked at a lot, even if they were not sold, someone looked at them, and doesnt that make it used? Most of the magazines were not -untouched, and the only thing that was brand brand new, well was the packaged items like boxes of cards, and those were usually of stock photos of things that were really nothing new. I noticed in the catagories of books, that as soon as a book became a best seller, it spawns numerous copy cats or critics will spend money and time to debunk it! (You know we can't copyright ideas, books can have copyrights for photos and titles but not the idea, you have to patten in idea and it has to be something that is so important that it is honored with a patten, names can be trademarked, but the idea is free, like a child of the world, eventualy you give it up once you ( give it) publish it in to the world. )

What is new about a regurgitated book? What is that all about, how can anyone just rewrite the same thing over, but now claim its better because, well they say it is! That is about it! Nothing new there, what is new? I think new is a oxy-moron, why do we even want something brand new anyway? I read a first edition of J.M Barrie's Peter and Wendy, it was on the shelf at a wonderful retreat in Occidental that was over 100 years old. I took it to the caretaker and said do, you know what this is? Its a first edition, it must be worth a fortune! I asked can I borrow this? He said, after some quiet thought, "what good is a book that can't be read?" What a wonderful thing to say! I was allowed to take it home and read it, I practically drank it in, I just emmersed myself into the story and found so many phrases that surprised me !It starts with, this has all happend before and it will all happen again, in the nursury of a child...I loved everyword and chewed on every phrase. J. M. Barrie narrates the original story, and at one point in the book he is commenting on the problems with Captain Hook and his evil ways, he says , " whats up with that?" he said that, I got the biggest laugh out of that! He also said, "Every good mother, cleans out the brains, of their child, like the laundry, its is important to take out the old thoughts and clean them and then get out fresh ones for the morning." This is the teaching of the recycled thought, to use new thoughts with out old head, that what is new is inside, even though the outside remains the same. That book has been recycled so many times, so many ways, and it was the old version that is really the best one, the one we may not even know what it was meant to say--Peter Pan takes the children to "Never Never Land," the place where Children go , to die, that is why they never never come back, and he really missed his mother. But if you missed the old version and only saw the new one, you might have missed out.

Recently my old friend of a computer decided to start screeching, and then it would just flash off and stay in bios mode. You know , it is time for something new when that happens, we love our computers but they just done age like they should! Funny, before I let go of my computer I bought a huge, new, hard drive, 1.5 TB, and saved all my old files, data and well as much as I could before, the old friend went into the garage. I needed something new, to take what was old off my old computer to put on the new computer so that it would be just as good as an old computer! You see, a new computer is not very useful without the old saved files on it, and sadly some of the old programs, that were so easy to use, now they don't work, and those are the ones I miss the most! Why because new things mean, well, its made the old stuff-- not useful!

Now that is frustrating, we cant reuse old files and some programs, because the new ones wont let us! Now that reminds me of a cute movie that came out a few years back, called ROBOTS, and the key phrase was " Why be you, when you could be new?" In that little movie, the premise is, "see a need fill a need," and the characters fight for the right to fix repair and reuse, and save themselves, because big business wants them to toss the old and just buy buy buy new! I find that movie beyond entertainment, its motivational! The Father character, keeps reminding the son, that if he does not follow and keep his dreams, it will only lead to unhappiness, and he encourages his son to do what he believes. The son, must find a way, and when he realizes that its not easy and sometimes people just stand in the way, he went right to the source to find out what went wrong. He finds out, that people do give up, people do feel out moded and old, and it is because we listen to the "NEW and the improved " slogans that we loose our goals, and we often loose our souls. No one can walk in your shoes, and that phrase never gets old for me, because each time you teach one person your story, it is new all over again. Each time you try, you learn that its new again, its not used, or just out dated its just, good and tried and true. What is the difference between what is good and timeless, and what is old and useless? Its just a simple test, can you use it again?

Everything recycles, remember that! Its not that it has to make money, or that it has to become something miraculously beautiful, that is the myth, use it again even once you have recycled. Use it twice and you have now done the miracle, save and sell, make and mend, teach and talk, but remember, everything is used. Nothing is new, its not, it cant be. New is not a word that should be ----used; new is not even in a museum, because even if we are just looking its being used! Somethings just cry out-- use me- i am new to you! Then what, it sits there, or its all used up, sure that happens. That is the box that it comes in, or the package that it was sold in, or the container that held it, and now what? That is not new?> Isn't it? Think about it, its no longer what it was, its now new, because it will need a whole new concept to be used again. What can we do with the things that seeming cant be used again, hmmm, doesnt that bring new thoughts, doesnt that force you to think in new ways? So think in new ways to use old things, reuse packaging? I know we just throw it on the fire, or the garbage.

I have a question, do you put things in the "garbage" that does not turn into dirt? that was a trick question, because this is worse! Do you put things in the garbage that do turn into dirt? Ok I have a compost and all items that turn to dirt go into the dirt, and become the dirt and nurture the fruit and plants in my yard, and the items that go to thrift are sold, and the rest, well the plastics and the wrappers and the bags, they are, not used hardly at all--they are used again, usually. New ideas are always in my mind on what to do with things we recycle, like meat packaging, ( just give up meat?) Milk containers:fill them with water and freeze them, card board packages, anyone got anything new to do with them, because just tossing them away is getting old!!


Got old stuff? I want it--send me photos of your old stuff, I will help you sell it!

see my email-Love and Joy-Liz

It's November

I m writing today with a heavy heart, so heavy I dont think I can carry myself away to do anything except write. Living is different for me now that my son, my first son who just turned 18 in June, disconnected from me and the rest of our family on October 9 2008. It has been without a doub, it is the most painful exerience in my entire life. If you knew me you might know what I mean by that, but few of us ever get to know anyone to that extent. But as parents we think our children would know us, know what hurts us, and that is why no one can hurt you like your own child.


Writing is my own way of leting out my pain, my only way to let go, and it stops gushing tears, and wakes me up to my own responsibility to take care of myself. My english doesnt matter, my writing is short and too emotional, I know. I write from this deep source inside me that is begging for relief, pleading to become new again, but my core must look like a deep well of black ink. My insides are not bright and cheery, they ere not blushing with youth and love, and do not focus on the sights that are to be, but for some reason my insides, feel nothing but sheer pain. I cant get past the pain, i go back into the spiral of anguish, over and over, and each time I slide back I feel as if the hole is deeper and more debilitating. I cry out of relief, I cry out in sheer need to release the compression in m chest, but i get no relief from my wallowing, i manage to make myself more useless and even more helpless. I have run out of roads wo walk down, I have been down these before, and I swore I would never ever do this again. I would never let my heart be broken, and I did not anticipate that my own child could do such a thing, I was wrong. There are no laws that protect parents from wrongs of the childhood misgivings. There are laws for parents who abuse kids, and there are jails for those who kill others, but there is no law that can contain the prisoners of love.



never give up, never let go, and always remember-- be careful what you ask for you just may get it.

always

Bush's Society of Ownership!!

Gwen Ifill, and PBS:
I am trying to do some research that can make sense of the Candidates and the election of 2008; in this study I wanted to find real articles of exactly what George Bush, said he would do, what he promised and what actually happened. I wanted to do this because its so obvious that we cannot judge by what people say, but really by what they actually do when they have the chance. It seems like we just go so fast to the next guy-we never look back to hold the last person responsible--or own up to it... I read on this web site, that George has been saying he wants to create a society of Ownership, where the government wants to take a step back and let the people take ownership. Gwen interviewed him on this subject and it is posted for all to see. Where in the world did this promise go ? Then he states that we neeed less frivolous law suits, people should be sueing the agents who qualified them for homes they could not afford, and the institutions should be doing the same, where is the ownership on these home loans? He say s this and does another thing, its not that I am trying to find things wrong, I am just trying to see what he said, and whether HE made the promise true.
I want to find out, how many times the Consitution was amended and by whom. I know that the Patriot Act infringes heavily on what our forefathers believed was our most precious asset of this country, our freedom.

If everyone is going to sling mud at the new candidates, I find it only fair we drudge up own own dirt that is soon to be plowed over.
Please, let's bring up the past, lets talk about this, we can not let the new President just be chosen out of pure politics, what is important is seeing what has happened and how WE can change it, we are the people we are the government, it should not be us and them.

Here is part of the Article as it is posted on the PBS website please note that I am not the author- colors represent the different speakings, when and if I get a good responce I will post it here.
DECEMBER 15, 2004
JIM LEHRER: The president's second term economic vision. Gwen Ifill has our look.
GWEN IFILL: During the campaign, President Bush and Vice President Cheney coined a new phrase to describe the economic promise of a second term. They said they would create an "ownership society," one that would lower taxes and shift more of government's burden to individuals.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I believe our country can and must become an ownership society. When you own something, you care about it. When you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of your country.

Discussing an ownership society
GWEN IFILL: Now, for some analysis of the president's rosy vision for the nation's economic future. William Spriggs is an economist and senior fellow at the Economic Policy Institute here in Washington. And Brian Wesbury is the chief economist at Griffin, Kubik, Stephens and Thompson, an investment bank in Chicago. He was a member of the opening panel at today's conference.
GWEN IFILL: William Spriggs, let's start with you about the definition of an ownership society. Watching this campaign, and watching what the president has had to say about this, what is your interpretation of that?
WILLIAM SPRIGGS: Well, I think there are some things that we would like to see people have greater ownership of. We certainly want to see home ownership increase in this country. But there are a lot of things that the government does today, which are in place because the market is not a good allocator of resources or because what the government is really doing is serving as an insurer; and in that role the government does best when we include everyone, and that's best done as a government program

GWEN IFILL: Brian Wesbury, what is your definition of ownership society and whether that's a good or a bad thing?
BRIAN WESBURY: Well, I think the ownership society is a very good thing. We have to remember that the more people have a skin in the game, have a stake in society, have assets built up over time, the less difficulty society will have withstanding bad times. And there are lots of different ways that we can do this. The American Dream Down Payment Assistance Act was signed into law of December 2003, and my belief, my take on this act... and just to describe it, it allows people that earn less than 80 percent of the median income in a region, in a city or a locality, to get a government-sponsored down payment, 10 percent of the value of the house -- or $10,000 or 6 percent of the value of the house to help them purchase their first home.
And I believe what this does is it allows the government's spending to be put toward a use that will build assets and build ownership and build personal responsibility over time, rather than having that money being used to say subsidize a rent with no ownership and really no end in sight in many cases. And as a result, when people own assets, they have access to the credit markets. They're more likely to be entrepreneurs. All of this, I think, is a very good thing in the long run.
GWEN IFILL: Let me anticipate something that Mr. Spriggs might say to you, which is that this is the government sloughing off its responsibility on to individuals.
BRIAN WESBURY: Well, the individuals should have the responsibility in the first place. And I think that's point. That government should be there to catch those who fall and can't get up on their own.
And what we've seen is that government, at least in my opinion, over the years, has grown into an enabler that, in fact, includes more people than it really needs to. It tries to help more people than it truly need help. And for example, Social Security or some of the systems we have put in place and Social Security in particular, in my view, because Social Security exists, I think two things happen: Number one: People probably save less during their working lives because they know Social Security will be there in the future. At the same time, those people who do invest also probably are more willing to take risks. In other words, swing from the fences with their investments because they say hey, Social Security will be there

GWEN IFILL: Allowing individuals to invest part of their Social Security savings in private accounts,
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We must allow younger workers to save some of their own payroll taxes in a personal savings account that earns better interest, a personal savings account they call their own and an account the government cannot take away.


VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: For four years now, President Bush has pursued an agenda that put a recession behind us and kept the economy strong.

GWEN IFILL: One panel focused on how lower taxes can jumpstart the economy.
PAMELA OLSON: I would add one more thing to that and that is the need for a stable system. A broader base, lower rates and a more neutral system would meet the president's goals which I think are the goals of all of us for a simpler and fairer system that would do a better job of promoting economic growth.
GWEN IFILL: This afternoon, President Bush chose to take part in the session on the issue of legal liability reform, one of the staples of his reelection campaign.


PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: One of the things that I talked about was making sure that the environment for risking capital was conducive for job creation. And I tried to say that as plainly as I could. And one, one issue that I talked about to make sure that -- that costs were reasonable, and that the cost of capital was reasonable, was legal reform.


GWEN IFILL: We don't want to really re-debate that issue. We should get back to legal reform --
BRIAN WESBURY: That's my whole point. It's over. The tort reform issue... the whole idea about creating more growth in the economy is that we always need to lower risk and increase rewards in the economy and that's the way you encourage more entrepreneurial activity. That's what makes the United States so great. America is the strongest economy in the world -- we are technology leaders.
And to lower risk and raise rewards you have to attack a number of things. Number one: Taxes are a punishment to those who are successful very often. So what we have to do is move to lower after tax - or, excuse me higher after tax returns. And I think that's what the tax cut last year did. We need to lower risks for investors, part of that is fighting the war on terror and making the world a safer place. But another part of that is reforming the tort system, the litigious society we have because there are so many risks to businesses in this country coming from the legal sector, which raises costs and lowers returns and I think that becomes an important part of making sure this economy stays strong for the long run.
GWEN IFILL: Mr. Spriggs, you have a chance to reform to that question about legal reform.
WILLIAM SPRIGGS: Well, I would say this, that we have set up a system in which litigation plays a role in correcting bad behavior for businesses because the cost of their errors are not borne by the company itself. So if you think of tobacco and what damage that did to our economy in terms of needless people-- needless numbers of people dying from tuberculosis, from lung cancer, et cetera.
So if you think about that and then look at the recent withdrawal of an arthritis pain reliever, because the company understood that they were going to face litigation, meaning that we wouldn't have needless doubts in that case, but tax reform has to be fair. We heard that word before about making it fairer. The economy has worked the way the economy wanted it and that is that the returns of all of the growth in the economy has been to capital income, not to American workers. To shift the tax burden further on to the American worker means that we are putting even more burden on the American worker.
GWEN IFILL: OK. William Spriggs and Brian Wesbury, thank you both very much.
BRIAN WESBURY: Thank you, Gwen.


Coming soon-- a blog that will give the republican side to each of these and more questions we all have, but are too silent and scared to ask.