Funeral, Families, Fundamentalism, & Future
I attended a graveside service for Lee Handley today. I always enjoyed Lee and found him a smart and compassionate man. Lee of course had serious health problems, perhaps caused by his service in The Vietnam War. I recall several discussions about Agent Orange being at least part of the cause for his Parkinson's. I know he experienced less than ideal care via the VA and that he had trouble with the expenses of his medicine. Either is not acceptable in this country, certainly not for a veteran. When I ran across this first HuffPo post by Dr. Peter Rost, formerly with Pfizer, and then his second post as well, I had to think of Lee's experience with Big Pharma. Damned disgrace!
I also walked along the front of Cedarwood and saw the graves of several important families in Roanoke's history. I was of course there at the Handley plot. I was standing with many of the Phillips family. I looked around and saw many still with us from the McMurray line. Old Roanoke indeed! I wondered what families, if any, could step up in today's global economy and carry a good portion of the community with them? These old patriarchs built many of the buildings that still stand, even if perhaps not in ideal conditions, in downtown. I know they were likely thinking ahead to have accomplished so much in our locale. And yet I also know they'd have not recognized the modern economy and culture. I also pondered how they'd react to our spaceport/jail?
I posted on Captain Jimi a piece on how the GOP has claimed God as their own. I was building off Kevin Phillips WaPo piece where he draws from his "American Theocracy" work recently published. Also, this Phillips commentary increasingly frightens me with his seemingly solid thinking on massive credit/finance powers at work on the global stage.
Looking back in part to perhaps better understand where we are going, I dropped in a Captain Plaid post off the WaPo's inequality series. Supply side economics really never seemed to work that well yet in today's increasingly multi-national world it may even even yield no rising tide. I also did a Captain Bama post prompted by Mr. Ayers's Anniston Star op-ed from today that suggested a shift away from government serving the needs of the elites, as happened at times in our history, could very well soon occur. Each paper provided me grist to consider my increasingly clear belief that DC and Goat Hill must develop policies that will benefit the branchheads here in Randolph County. We can and should do all in our power locally yet without some assistance on up the food chain we'll likely see little change.
Peace ... or War!
I also walked along the front of Cedarwood and saw the graves of several important families in Roanoke's history. I was of course there at the Handley plot. I was standing with many of the Phillips family. I looked around and saw many still with us from the McMurray line. Old Roanoke indeed! I wondered what families, if any, could step up in today's global economy and carry a good portion of the community with them? These old patriarchs built many of the buildings that still stand, even if perhaps not in ideal conditions, in downtown. I know they were likely thinking ahead to have accomplished so much in our locale. And yet I also know they'd have not recognized the modern economy and culture. I also pondered how they'd react to our spaceport/jail?
I posted on Captain Jimi a piece on how the GOP has claimed God as their own. I was building off Kevin Phillips WaPo piece where he draws from his "American Theocracy" work recently published. Also, this Phillips commentary increasingly frightens me with his seemingly solid thinking on massive credit/finance powers at work on the global stage.
Looking back in part to perhaps better understand where we are going, I dropped in a Captain Plaid post off the WaPo's inequality series. Supply side economics really never seemed to work that well yet in today's increasingly multi-national world it may even even yield no rising tide. I also did a Captain Bama post prompted by Mr. Ayers's Anniston Star op-ed from today that suggested a shift away from government serving the needs of the elites, as happened at times in our history, could very well soon occur. Each paper provided me grist to consider my increasingly clear belief that DC and Goat Hill must develop policies that will benefit the branchheads here in Randolph County. We can and should do all in our power locally yet without some assistance on up the food chain we'll likely see little change.
Peace ... or War!
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