Posted on | 7 December 2009 | 7 Comments

Pearl Harbor Remembrance

Brief excerpt from “World War II: In Our Words” with eyewitness accounts of WWII, including stories of 7 December 1941 – the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

“World War II: In Our Words” was produced by KLRN-TV (Alamo Telecommunications Council) ©2007.
DVD’s of the program are available from KLRN-TV
Phone 210.270.9000 or 800.627.8193

Elf Louise Christmas Party

Posted on | 20 November 2009 | Comments Off

4th Annual Elf Louise Christmas Party

Sunday, December 6th
Leon Springs Dance Hall
featuring The Court Jester Band
Admission – $10 or a new unwrapped toy
Call 210.410.9539 for details
All proceeds go directly to the Elf Louise Christmas Project

A plea for insurance companies

Posted on | 22 September 2009 | 1 Comment

From Funnyordie.com

Oh, Mary . . . So sad to see you go.

Posted on | 17 September 2009 | 2 Comments

News of Mary Travers’ death choked me up, and I normally am not that way about celebrities.

Peter, Paul and Mary were a force during my coming of age.  To start with, their songs were easy to sing and most everybody knew them  It was fun sitting around singing together, though I probably would find it uncomfortable today, at lest at first. Yes, it was fun.

After all, they were just folk songs.

However, we soon discovered there were “hidden meanings” in the songs.  These were “secrets” most everyone knew, but thought only a few of the wisest fans had figured out.  In truth, most of those “hidden meanings” were either the whole point of the song or some weird saga invented in the haze of special smoke or loaded brownies.

As the folk movement went from Hootenany to the civil rights movement and anti-war protests, the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary took on new and stronger meanings.  Often, they were the songs we had sung all along, but we finally were feeling what was behind that “hidden meaning”.  Peter, Paul and Mary led the way in the folk revolution, and my eye always was on that blond with the killer voice.

There was something else that should be mentioned here.  This is how the New York Times introduces the topic in its obituary:

With her straight blond hair and willowy figure and two bearded guitar players by her side, she looked exactly like what she was, a Greenwich Villager directly from the clubs and the coffeehouses that nourished the folk-music revival.

In other words, Mary was hot.  She was a welcome sight to eyes being opened by a whole new mix of hormones.  With that long, blond hair and incredible voice, she was a sexy, singing angel.  There was the way she moved when she sang. You could see the song traveling through her body.  That body and her hair and the voice.  If the descriptions here sound a bit confused it’s because it was a very confusing time for me in that arena (something that hasn’t changed much in the years).

In the beginning, we learned the songs and sang them with friends, family,  at camp and even in church.  Time passed, and we sang them at parties attended by those of us out to change the world, and at rallies where people turned out to fight against a multitude of wrongs  Recently, I have listened more than sung (sad to say), and remembered the times when the music stirred much more than nostalgia or melancholy.

Mary Travers’ passing choked me up because we lost a real talent and a courageous woman.  We lost someone who brought so much joy to so many.  We lost someone who was a big part of a particular time and a hope for a new day.

Yes, I choked up at her death, but my tears came when I realized a part of what I was and what I am is now gone as well.

Rest in peace, Mary Travers, and thank you.

Another letter to Congress:
It’s about fairness and saving money.

Posted on | 14 September 2009 | 1 Comment

The following went out to , Pres. Barack Obama Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX 26) regarding heatlth care reform with the public option.

I was able to send it to all four at once via Congress.org.  That website makes it easy to get your views to your representatives.

If you like any or all of the message, please feel free to use it as your own.

I don’t think anyone is giving real people with real problems real consideration in the health care reform debate.

What good is a tax credit to someone who takes standard deductions?  What good is a tax credit to someone who receives the Earned Income Credit because the household income is so low.  What good is a tax credit to someone who has no income?

How far do you really think $2,000, even $6,000, in vouchers would go for someone who does not have health insurance and who has not been covered for a long time?

Did you know certain conditions in Texas automatically put you in a high-risk pool, where, no matter what your health is, you pay twice the average premium to start?  Other charges are added on later.

Did you know that?  Did you know Texas has the highest population of uninsured in the United States?

Did you know?

What’s more, pardon me for asking, do you really care?

We need to address the uninsured with a public option plan.  We are talking about the people the insurance companies don’t want anyway.  It’s not as though we are depriving them of a prime customer base.  For the most part, they’ve already been rejected due to preexisting conditions or lack of funds.

That’s the real health care rationing.  It’s going on right now, and you know it.  People are dying because insurance company “death panels”  or even single nsurance company “death czars” are denying needed care.

You know that’s true.

You want malpractice reform.  Has Texas’ reform taken down malpractice insurance rates?  If so, fine.  Give the inept their free ride in court.  It’s not likely they can kill more people than already are killed by lack of coverage, even if they all tried.

You know, those who are insured already are picking up a hefty bill already for those who are not insured.  Hospitals pass on the costs to the taxpayer and the insured.  People right now are paying higher taxes and premiums, resulting in less public services and less disposable income, to cover the costs of the uninsured.  With the uninsured being picking up thier end of the load through the public option and other plans, Current rates should go down.

I say should go down because a public option should be accompanied by a ban on refusing insurance for preexisting conditions (that won’t hurt much as the public policy will offer a better deal) and reining in raising premiums at will.

This is what we need.  This is what the majority of Americans want.  This is fair.