Project 365 Day 1

This is my ATC for January 1, 2010. It is a part of Cathedral Series that I started couple of years ago and occassionally add to it. The reason I call it Cathedral Series is that some of the cards that are made on smooth paper remind me of the old cathedral stained glass windows. This ATC is acrylic color on cold pressed watercolor paper and because the low spots of the textured paper are filled with color the stained window is not pronounced.

2010 PROJECT 365

I have joined the 2010 Project 365! This project is very simple: Make one artist trading card (ATC) a day in 2010 for a total of 365 ATCs. This project is a brainchild of Robby at Naked Heart Art. This is a great way to keep going and keep on ATCing.

ENGLISH SECURITY ALERT LEVELS

English people have always intrigued me ever since I was a little boy. The little interesting stories about England appearing almost daily in newspapers were always suspect. Not because these little stories were published by the communist run papers but because they were almost incredible. Yet, all these little stories were all true as I came to find out years later when I lived in London for 2 glorious years. But why am I telling you all this? The other day I came across an e-mail where the writer, an assistant professor in Philosophy Department of University of Virginia in Richmond, VA, discussed the various terrorist and home security alert levels of several countries. I believe that in order to fully understand and appreciate the security warning levels in England a quick refresher course in English mentality is in order.

Here is the first lesson: English are always cool meaning they are calm and collected at all times and react to various daily situations in an unpredictable manner with a poker face no matter how weird you may think their reaction.

Case in point: As I mentioned, we (mywife and I) lived 2 years in London, England from 1968 to 1970. In summer of 1969 my wife's mother was allowed to visit us for 2 weeks. She was flying back to Prague on Monday at 1:00 p.m. On Sunday, her last day, we visited the Windsor Castle taking the Green Line bus from Victoria Station. We enjoyed the day and returned home to our rooms at 29A Grayshott Road in Battersea at around 5:00 p.m. About half an hour later my wife's mother, much to her horror, discovered that her purse is missing. It contained just a few pounds but more importantly, it contained her passport, airplane ticket, and various other documents. We searched the whole house but to no avail. trying to retrace our steps, we took a bus to Victoria Station and happened to find the same Green Line bus we took to Windsor. We asked the driver and conductor whether they found a purse. They said they did not and searched the bus. No purse. We returned home. My Mother-in-Law cried incessantly knowing full well that losing a passport is severely punishable by law. This was no ordinary passport, it was a Czechoslovakian communist passport. She already saw herself in one of those hard labor camps in Siberia. After a while I got a bright idea: Go and report the loss of the purse to the police. Granted, it was meant as an effort to calm my Mother-in-Law, but having read several Sherlock Holmes adventures I was secretly hoping that Scotland Yard may be in position to help. Little did I know.

We came to the local police station at around 9:00 p.m. The sergeant on duty welcomed us warmly and obligatorily asked us how can he be of service. My wife related the whole story to him while her mother was sobbing again. After my wife told the sergeant on duty everything including all our movements that day, and after she impressed on him that the situation is very very serious for her mother, and after the sergeant put everything down on paper, he posed a second or two apparently to gather his thoughts on the case and form an opinion; and then with the proverbial English poker face and in seriously measured voice asked: " Do you take it with or without?" in almost a cockney like dialect. My wife and her mother looked at each other as if an atom bomb is about to explode and as if on command started both sobbing incessantly. After a short while my wife collected herself enough to say:"With or without? What are you talking abnout?". The sergeant, never losing his composure answered:"The tea ma'am, of course, you will have a cup a tea, won't you? Do you take it with or without sugar?". After the sergeant brought a tea service that saw better days, he calmly and almost ceremoniously poured the tea and settled into his chair with cup in hand. In the meantime, my Mother-in-Law collected herself enough to murmur: ".....and what about my purse?" The sergeant almost jumped to his feet and said: "Ma'am, don't worry about your purse. Go home and have a good night's sleep. Sir," turning to me, "when we find the purse, do you prefer that we deliver it immediately or do you wish us to bring it in the morning?". Observe that the sergeant said WHEN and not IF. At that time London had a population of about 5 million.

We went home and after a long while fell asleep at around 1:00 a.m. I was awaken by the ring of a bell at our front door. Quick glance at the alarm clock told me it is 10 minutes after 3:00 a.m. I opened the door and found myself starring at a belt buckle of the biggest constable I have ever seen. "Sorry to wake you up, Sir," came out of his mouth :is this your purse?'" By this time my Mother-in-Law and my wife were at the door. My Mother-in-Law quickly snatched the purse out of constable's hands and nervously went over the contents. It was all there? Passport, ticket, even the 10 pounds. Miracle.

Later, we learned that the purse was found by a nurse at our bus stop hardly a block away from our house. She took it with her to work and when she returned home that night she took it to police station in Cockfosters where she lived. Cockfosters, having been informed by telex about the missing purse like all police stations in London, called Clapham, our police station, and then Clapham send a police car to retrieve the purse.

Lesson No. 2: English will always react to various situations in a most unexpected manner.

Case in Point: Early in 1970 we have acquired a 1957 Vauxhall Victor. In April 1970 my wife worked as a barmaid at Villiers Bar at Charring Cross. Her shift ended at midnight and was always there waiting to pick her up with our Vauxhall. One night, as we were talking while driving along the Whitehall, I noticed a fast approaching white Jaguar police car from the rear. They were doing at least 60 mph. Much to my chagrin and surprise they passed us and swerved to the left right in front of us blocking our way. Good thing I had good reflexes and the good ol' Vauxhall had good breaks. Needless to say, I hit the curb. Two policemen jumped out of the Jag with great urgency. One positioned himself at the boot (the rear of a car) the other one came to me and without any warning Barked out: "Your license plate number, Sir!" I sat there frozen for a second or so that seemed to be couple of hours trying to remember where and when did I kill someone. Then it dawned on me, Your license plate number, Sir? When I came to I started to open the door and said: "Let me look." "No, Sir,"came a stern reply,"by heart, Sir!" In situations like this when a SWAT team lead by 007 can appear out of nowhere any second anyone would be hard pressed to remember their name and I was supposed to remember my license plate number. Nevertheless, I thought for a moment and replied: "718 MPD". The other policemen nodded and I heard my constable say: " Right-O, Sir, carry on!" I must have sat there with much relief in my eyes that I won't be shot on the spot (never mind the fact that police in England did not wear a gun) because the constable, now in friendly voice, said: "In case you are wondering why we stopped you, up there at Trafalgar Square you ran a red light and almost hit us. You won't do that again, will you?" I promised and the two policemen disappeared in their Jag as quickly as they appeared. Later at work I learned that according to the law, a driver must know the license plate number of a car he is operating at the time.

Now the security alert levels.
The e-mail informed me that after the Christmas Day attempt by the Nigerian youth to blow up a Delta airliner over Detroit the English raised their security alert warning level from "Miffed" to "Peeved". In case such attacks are repeated, the English plan to further raise the security alert level to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". The English have not been at "A Bit Cross" level since the Blitz of 1940 when the tea supplies all but ran out. The English have one higher warning level "Bloody Nuissance". The "Bloody Nuissance" warning level has not been used since the Big Fire in 1666.

Always have fun
George

AFTERNOON TEAS

Let's admit it! The art of afternoon tea is mostly lost on Americans. The other day I saw an advertisement in local paper for a High Tea on Sundays at such and such fancy hotel. The time advertised was 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. That raised my suspicions that the hotel hasn't the foggiest what they are talking about. And sure enough.

The High Tea for two was $30.00 and they served several different teas, finger sandwiches, sweets, tarts, pastries and a hot chicken dish complete with vegies and mashed potatoes. All you can eat, of course. Bingo! I've got them. I called the Maitre d' and revealed to him that the hotel is engaged in false advertising as the occassion should be called Low Tea and not High Tea and I added that it is served at a wrong table. Ooops. Maitre d' being of Middle Eastern or Indian ethnicity congratulated me on the knowledge of English tea customs and explained that here in America they call it High Tea because people know what to expect.

To those of you who are not privy to the English tea customs, an explanation:

The invention of the English habit of an aternoon tea has been attributed to Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857). At that time it was customery to eat breakfast and dinner only. Dinner was usually served as late as 9:00 pm. As the time between these meals was very long, especially in summer, the Duchess had her servants secretly serve slivers of bread with butter, mackeroons, cheescakes and pastries in her budoir early afternoon. Voila, the Afternoon Tea has been born. It became very fashionable especially among the high and middle classes. Ladies of status created At Home socials. These socials were announced on a simple white cards stating that: "Mrs. John Smith will be at home at three o'clock on February 3, 1824. Afternoon tea and light refreshments will be served. Morning dress." In case of a longer event such as a ball "Carriages at five o'clock" was rather amusing way to let the guests know that they are expected to leave at 5:00 pm.

These Afternoon Teas or At Homes were usually served at low tables such as todays coffee and side tables and hence they were referred to as Low Tea. The typical fare other than the tea was small finger sandwiches, breads, tarts, pastries, cheesecakes and such. Nothing elaborate.

Young people and lower classes preferred tea between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. Young middle class people played tennis, bridge and other games in the afternoon to amuse themselves and the lower classes worked till 5:00 pm so late tea was preferred in these circles. The lower classes had the afternoon tea after 5:00 pm and because dinner time was usually as late as at 9:00 pm or so people ate more substantial meal with the tea at a dining table which was high as opposed to low coffe table hence High Tea. The High Tea was also called Family Tea as it was mostly a family affair. High Tea meal was also called supper in some circles. For some folks this meal was also a dinner if it was substantial. Therefore, at High Tea, more elaborate and substantial food was served. The heavier the food the earlier High Tea was served. Light High Tea was served as late as 7:00 pm. The food usually included one or two small hot dishes, cold chicken, game, ham, tarts, custard and fruits.

Now for the tea. The kind of tea served was the domain of the hostess. These days the teas available even in specialized stores are mostly blended teas of various flavors and colors. At "High Tea" today there is a selection of teas in tea bags for the guests to choose from. Never serve a tea bag at High or Low Tea. That's Rule #1. Always select loose tea. And remember, usually the higher the tea the better. "Higher" refers to the elevation at which the tea is grown.

Types of teas:

English Breakfast Tea - blend of Ceylon and Indian teas. Strong and best left for breakfast.

Russian Caravan Tea - blended tea and excellent for afternoon tea.

Yunnan Tea - sweetly flavored, deep golden tea ideal for iced tea.

Jasmine Tea - flavored with jasmine petals, good for aternoon tea and late night tea. Drink it weak and with slice of lemon in a cup.

Darjeeling Tea - a blend of India teas from high Himalayas. Indian tea at its best. Served at English clubs and country homes. Pure Darjeeling tea is very costly and available only in specialized high end stores. To be served with milk.

Earl Grey Tea - blend of China teas flavored with oil of bergamot. Excellent for afternoon tea. To be served with lemon. Twining brand is the best available in markets everywhere.

Lapsang Suchong Tea - very distinctive tea greyish in clor and with smoky pungent flavor. Drink naked or with lemon. Never with milk. Not all guests may like this tea.

Keemun Tea - this tea is from Northern China and has smooth, sweetish flavor.

Oolong Tea - comes from Formosa (Taiwan) and is lighter version of Darjeeling tea and very delicate. This and Keemun are teas of connoisseurs.

Black Currant Tea - blend of black tea and black currents extract ideally suited for afternoon tea and for iced tea.

Note: When using milk in tea always pour smnall amount of milk into a cup first than add tea.

Enjoy!

George

I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE

Hello People,

on Saturday morning, November 7, 2009, I have learned from the Internet that the future has arrived. That is, I have learned that our House of Representatives (what a misnomer) has passed the Obama Care Bill. Assuming the worst outcome, the Senate will pass their Obama Care Bill and thus propel us into future proper. I have seen the future and I didn't like what I have seen (am I mistaken or is this a title of a book?).

What I mean is that I have come to America from Czechoslovakia where the socialist regime provided free health care for all. Having read the important parts of the Obama Care Bill, I assume the health care in America will not be unlike that of a socialist country. I personally cannot complain much about the free health care in Czechoslovakia in 1950's and 1960's because I was mostly healthy boy and later young man and visited doctors very infrequently. Here is how it worked for those who needed health care:

Doctors were employed by the state as everyone else. Their salaries were set by the state and amounted to approximately 2x the average salary. Specialists were paid approximately 3x the average salary. Doctors were assigned the localities where they had to serve. Doctors fresh out of school got the worst places where nobody wanted to go. People had to go to the doctor assigned to their district or at place of employment if it had its own medical facilities. If people wanted to go and see a doctor that was recommended to them by friends and acquaintances who was not within their district or place of employment they first had to be accepted by that doctor as a private and illegal patient (black market was working without a hitch) and then pay a fee requested by that doctor, again illegally. Illegality aside, such was a common practice.

Since there were no appointments to see doctors when people got sick they had to wait for at least an hour, sometimes longer, in the waiting room with 10 to 20 other patients. Many people, especially those snobish people who thought they were important, brought bribes which they gave the nurse upon arrival. Some waited to give the bribe to the doctor personally. The bribes were many and varied. People in the country brought geese, ducks, rabbits, eggs, meat, and sometimes even small domestic or farm animals. People in cities brought Cognac, Scotch or some other good imported liquor, expensive wine or simply cash. The quality and frequency of the health to some extent depended on the quality and quantity of the bribe.

When hospitalization was needed it was an expensive proposition. Everyone who had anything to do with patient's hospital stay expected a bribe. Doctors and nurses got the bulk of the bribes. If bribe was not given service suffered. Food in hospitals was typically worse than in the Army and many relatives brought food for the patients every day. There were several good hospitals fully equipped with the latest medical technology and devices. These were few and far in between. The run of the mill hospital lacked the latest equipment and had to do with what they had. Considering this state of affairs, they worked miracles. To my knowledge care was never refused but in some cases came slowly and in low doses. There were medical review commissions who had far reaching decision making authority. These commissions decided whether the treatment recommended by the doctor will be followed, adjusted or changed. Every hospitalized patient went through such decision making. These commissions also approved the drugs recommended for the course of treatment.

Drugs were available free to patients. There were no bribes at the pharmacy for thye domestic drugs. Yes, there were two types of drugs, imported (mostly from Switzerland) and domestic. Needless to say, all patients wanted the imported drugs. In the minds of people imported meant good, domestic meant marginal or bad. The imported drugs were very scarce and thus were the only drugs subject to bribes. Big bribes.

Overall, the system worked as nobody was allowed to die without some health care. The quality of health differed from place to place and depended mostly on the doctors' skill which varied widely and in some cases on the amount of the bribe. Drugs were free. Terminal patients always received pain killers at the very least. From what I observed and heard from people at least 75% of the patients used the bribe system. Only the very young adults like me were ignorant of the benefits of the bribes and did not give them. The cost of the free health care to the patients was not cheap but then free things are usually costly.

Look forward to this type of health care when the government gets hold of it!

George

Not So Big House

Years ago when we (Yours Truly and his wife) first thought of building our house and started to work on various floor plans we happened to come across Sarah Susanka's book Not So Big House. Actually, it was right when it first came out. We thought that her concept although foreign to most mass builders and people we knew was totally logical. Our floor plan design already reflected most of her concepts. We have always wondered why do new houses need two living rooms (living room and family room) and in some cases media room and game room, and two or three eating places (dining room, breakfast nook, and eating space at kitchen island). In addition there is nowadays another living room in most master bedroom suite. We thought that all of this is a big waste of space and planned our house accordingly. During the planning process we were guided by the concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright. We liked the Prairie house concept in general and the Usonian House concept in particular. So we resolved to build a house that would incorporate many of these concepts. I mentioned Susanka's Not So Big House concept because when it comes right down to it is really the Wright's usonian concept restated and adjusted for today's living. I'm not an architect but that's the way I undestand it.

Susanka's Not So Big House Concepts that guided our efforts in designing the house:

Quality over quantity

Every room gets used

Double duty rooms

Comfort

Public and private spaces

Shelter around activity

Fitting our lifestyle

Outdoors is also a room

Energy efficient design

Frank Lloyd Wright's Concepts We Followed:

Integrity of site and structure

Natural materials

Human scale

Common and private spaces

Multilevel interiors

Sheltering

Indoor/Outdoor space

Simplicity

These concepts translated into the following design elements:

The house was designed as a three level house (multilevel design) to fit the severely sloping site (integrity of site and structure). Simple beauty was the goal of the design.

The exterior of the house was designed as a prairie house using stucco, stone and wood as materials (natural materials). The stucco and stone have number of design elements to provide a variety of minor design elements such as raised integral trim around windows and windows and vertical stone bands in a horizontal stone pattern.

The interior has a varied ceiling height, 9 ft. on lower level, 9ft. on the first floor with partial cathedral ceiling in living room and clerestory windows above, and 8ft. on the second floor. The rear hall on the frist floor has 7'6" ceiling with three steps at the rear entry making the ceiling in this part of the house open up to 10'6" high (human scale, multilevel interior). The second floor is partially open to the first floor with a balcony the width of living room (multilevel interior).

Entry foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen are open common area with bedroom wing closed to make it private (common and private areas).

Organic shelves of varied width run throughout the first floor at a height of 7'6" (sheltering). The 9 ft. ceiling in dining room which is adjacent to the cathedral ceiling in living room make the ceiling in dining room and kitchen seem lower than 9 ft. (shelter around activity)

The living room has a 6 ft. wide sliding glass door with a 3 ft. fixed panel on each side. Master bedroom has a 6 ft. sliding glass door. These doors open up onto a balcony/deck running the length of the house but of varied width (indoor/outdoor space, outdoor room).

The roof has overhangs of varied widths (sheltering) are based on sun azimuth angles to allow sun into the interior in winter and shelter the interior from the sun in summer (energy efficient design). Large part of the balcony at each end of the house is under an 11 ft. roof overhang (sheltering).

Both the interiror and exterior of the house are of simple design with straight lines and no curves (simplicity).

Insulated concrete forms were used for the areas that are under the ground with 2 x 6 framing for the walls and increased insulation (energy efficient design).

The house was designed for our lifestyle, comfort and full use of the rooms (fitting our lifestyle, comfort, every room gets used, double duty rooms). The fountain in the entry foyer is not only an esthetic feature (quality) but also provides some humidity for the house. The office also serves as Susanka's Away Room. Living room is also a media room because we spend most evenings watching TV or listening to music. No need for a separate media room. The large

kitchen has an island with seats for eating at the bar heigh counter and a real bar. The large space between the island and the bar serves as a gathering place for family, guests, and during parties. All of these features fit the concept of comfort, fitting our lifestyle and quality. Upstairs are two guest bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the living room. This space serves as a space for guests to relax and lounge and as a library. Guests can enjoy view of Pike's Peak through the clerestory windows. Pike's Peak can be observed from every room in the house (quality).

The interior materials include drywall, stone and wood (quality). The stairs are made of wood. The ceiling on the second floor and on the cathedral ceiling in living room is wood. All trim throughout the house is wood. There are built-ins made of wood on the main level. Simple horizontal wood paneling with a batten to cover the horizontal joints was used on one wall in each guest bedroom (natural materials, quality). All wood throughout the house is stained.

We set out to design a house that would at first look appear to be a contemporary interpretation of a prairie style house with a somewhat usonian interior and beauty throughout. Surprisingly, the house does not look out of place amid the local Colorado mountain architecture.

Artists' Trading Cards

Artists' Trading Cards or ATC's for short are gaining popularity across this continent of ours. For those of you who have never heard of ATC's, they are cards the size of sports trading cards made by artists. In the ATC movement there are only two rules: 1. The ATC must be a card the of a sports trading card that is size must be 2 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in. 2. ATC's are traded, never sold! Otherwise anything goes. Any art techique and genre is acceptable. This is an ideal hobby for kids, grown ups, seniors, artists, non-artists, in short it is a hobby for anyone. The small size is great for beginners because they do not have to spent hours on end to complete the work. ATC's are intended for trade not for sale.

Originally, ATC's were made by artists to exchange with other artists and to get their work out there into the world. These days it's a hobby for people. Hobby that is quick, gets results fast and ATC's are collectables. People like the fact that one can build a fine collection in relatively short time. There are groups created just for thyis purpose. If you want to check out ATC's in greater detail go to http://www.theatcexchange.com/ . This is a small group of ATC enthusiast actively trading their creations. Or you can visit http://www.atcsforall.com/. This is a very large group and there is always something going on for everyone.

Trip to Europe

I just came back from our annual trip to Prague. I learned few interesting facts on this trip. First of all, THE BEER OVER THERE IS STILL THE BEST! According to United Nations statistics the Czechs drink 165 litres of beer a year per person, kids and old people included. Accounting for kids 14 years and younger, senior citizens over 70, women and non-drinkers it means that most beer drinking people drink just about 500 litres a year or 1 1/2 litre a day (5 of our 12 oz. beers). The distant second are the Irish then nothing and only then the Germans. And that brings us to the international politics. Just about everyone in Europe loves Obama. It is easy for them to love him since they don't have to live with the immediate consequencies of his actions and decisions. They love him because they believe he will finally subdue America and bring her down to their level. Nobody likes a winner over there but they love losers. They are totally jealous of America and by creating the European Union and with Obama's help they think they will finally win over America. They can't wait to strip America of her leadership role in the world and her living standard. Maybe in their dreams. Even with Obama's help they can only hope for the impossible. By te way, statistics are telling us that the country with highest standard of living in the world is Luxembourg. Have you ever been in Luxembourg? You did not miss much. The country is nice, granted, and the Archduke has nice digs. But if Luxembourg is the Shangri-La why is there a line in front of the gates of America? There is no line at the Luxembourg's border. I know - I was there. Surprise!!

There is so much bickering in Europe that they can never hope to be a serious competition for America. With the damage over the past 40 years or so perpetrated by the socialist governments over there they should strive to put their house in order first. The recently proposed Lisbon Treaty proposes to strip the EU members of their sovereignty and subject all members to the rule of the European parliament in Brussels. The treaty is being pushed by the beaurocrats in Brussels, Germany and France (very not surprising). Plain people everywhere are finally waking up and it looks like the treaty will be rejected. When Slovakia recently changed their currency to euro their economy went down by about 4% and prices went up about 10%. People are incensed. Austria banned trucks on weekends and Czech Republic followed suit. Scandinavia is obsessed with making their people equal in all respects by high taxation and controlled wages so that their people won't need to keep up with the Jones's. In addition, their model free health care system denies access to medical treatment to those who need it. That's one sure way to lower the cost of the health care. And the English keep on drinking their tea acting like the slow disappearance of England as wwe know it at the hands of immigrants from the colonies is none of their business. On top of everything else Europe is dying because the birth rates in all countries are well below the self-sustaining rate of 2.11. They will be taken over by the muslims by peaceful means in about 50 years and they don't even know it or don't want to admit it. When I tried to intelligently discuss this point most people said it does not affect them because by that time they will be dead. And there you have it!

George

NEW ZENTANGLE ATC's

Here are my new zentagle artist's trading cards (ATC's). I went to work on them this afternoon

in the middle of the snow storm of the year here near Colorado Springs. We had only about 27 inches of snow since Friday night. In Denver they had nearly 36 inches and west of Denver a bit more. I-70 was closed due to lot of accidents and an avalanche or two. So, snow storms are good for something. In my case it was good for 4 zentangle cards. If you want to trade send me an e-mail.

George

Tea Party 2009

Anyone out there went to a Tea Party on April 15, 2009? Or any other time? I went to our local Tea Party in Woodland Park, a small town of about 7,000 people. I was totally surprised how many people showed up. It was a lot for a small town. Peoiple were protesting high taxation, government spending in general, stimulus package in particular, and generally wanted to know why none of their elected officials pay attention to their grievances. As far as I could tell, everyone had fun, people talked, compared notes, and went home. A peaceful event. These people were your "couldn't be more average" people. Yet these folks were portrayed on evening news as right wing extermist of the worst kind - the enemies of the people and certainly enemies of the government. The commentator I watched on NBC TV accused these good folks in a condesending and arrogant way of being angry, anti-government, anti-Democrat, anti-establishment, anti-liberal, anti-American, unpatriotic, uneducated, anti-everything gun toting extremists ready to start an anti-American revolution. All reports I have seen were by arrogant commentators (they are not journalists or reporters) who think they ate all the wisdom and they let it be known that the losers attending Tea Parties are nothing more than whinning whimps unwilling to help at a time of need. How do you like them apples? But I have to give one to the networks for being astute observers - These folks are pissed. Me included.

If for a moment we allow that The White House, Congress and our government are really sincere about helping Americans out of the present mess why are they mortgaging our kids' and grandkids' future like there is no tomorrow. Why is it that their deeds do not match their words? Why are those who were instrumental in creating the present crisis allowed to attempt to fix it? Why are those who have never managed a successful business venture allowed access to vast amount of monies? Why are they allowed to make far reaching life changing decisions? Why are those who mismanaged everything they touched in the past allowed to manage our money? These are puzzling questions to which nobody is seeking answers. Are we to automatically assume that those who helped to create the crisis know how to fix it? I doubt that very much. If for the moment we allow that our elected officials have our welfare on their mind uppermost why do they make choices that no one who managed his own household for at least one month would make? Why are our elected officials hell bent on proceeding with policies known to have failed everywhere in the world where they were tried despite opposition from a sizable constituency? Why are they rushing to do everything in the first 100 days of the new Presidency? I believe "they" are trying to accomplish these things on a rush basis because "they" believe they can do all of it before people wake up and realize what's going on.

George
Signature member of Hillary's Vast Right Wing Extremist Conspiracy (read average American just like you)