WWC and some other thoughts.

Courtesy of Odd Mix, the words are Provide and Restore.
OK, go with me on this one...

Provide

Restore

Blog Blither - that pile of clippings left over from the weekend papers.

From the Associated Press:

On Friday, the Senate voted 80 - 19 to authorize fencing along one-third, or 700 miles, of the U.S. - Mexico border. No one knows how much it will cost, but a seperate bill on the way to the White House authorizes a $1.2 billion down payment. Two steel walls with floodlights, surveillance cameras and motion detectors would run along segments of the 1,952-mile border that now experience the most illegal crossings. It is estimated that building two rigid, steel-mesh barriers with a paved road between will cost $2.2 billion, though the price tag could be almost twice that, based on the actual cost of a much shorter 14-mile fence under construction in San Diego which is costing $126.5 million.

Tom Russell is an artist I have come to enjoy over the last few years. He has a bit of the outlaw in him, and he never minces words, which I appreciate. He lives on the border and has released a five-song ep called "Who's Gonna Build Your Wall". Here's what he has to say...

"Who's gonna build your wall, boys?
Who's gonna mow your lawn?
Who's gonna cook your Mexican food,
when your Mexican maid is gone?
Who's gonna wax the floors tonight
down at your local mall?
Who's gonna wash your baby's face?
Who's gonna build your wall?

The rains came one afternoon and washed a fox up on my back porch. He was moving slow and shaky. He had one eye on the housing development that had eaten up his habitat and one eye cocked on my right leg. Meat. That's the term Gypsies use for “other” people. Meat. Foxes think the same way. The foxes, road runners, skunks, lizards, snakes, hawks and jack rabbits are trying to take to new covered ground, and there ain't none. Now the government wants to build a wall and kick out all the people who helped build the goddamn housing projects in the first place. Good luck. There's 800 miles of open border between my house and San Diego." —Tom Russell

Well, Tom. Here comes your wall.

Have any of you thought about this? What do you think?

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A 36% cap would be imposed on annual interest rates for payday loans to military service members or their spouses under an agreement reached Friday by House and Senate Republicans.

Boy. Thanks for that, guys.

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Scientists have used stem cells from human embryos to save the sight of lab rats suffering from an eye disease similar to macular degeneration. My mom had macular degeneration, and so do 30 million others. It is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 55 and involves central vision tasks such as reading and driving.

I'm almost there. How old are you?

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A recently released studyfound that one out of eight heart attack patients quit taking their life-saving drugs one month after leaving the hospitaland are three times more likely to die during the next year than patients who stayed on their medication. Researchers also found that these patients are also more likely to be older, single and less educated and cost is a factor.

No kidding. I find prescription medication cost prohibitive...and I have insurance.

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Well, I wonder how many have made it to this part of the post. If you have, then stay with me just a little bit longer. Over the weekend I ended up in a conversation with someone who was suggesting that women should vote for Hillary Clinton for President because she is a woman. This might have been light-hearted as much as it was serious. Being the nudge that I am, I took it seriously. There are issues that far outweigh gender, religion, or party affiliation. How did we get where we are today? The most important thing is to make an decision. And vote. Who knows? Maybe Hillary will end up being the best choice. But if she does get my vote, it won't be because she is a woman.