Oilwellian
Oilwellian's JournalI buried my youngest son yesterday
He died in his sleep early Monday morning of what we suspect was a massive heart attack. He was only 29 and in, what we thought, good health. Autopsy report is not in yet, but everything points in that direction.
There are no words to express the depths of our sorrow. In a split second, our lives have changed forever.
Fortunately, there are no regrets for any unspoken words that we meant to share with each other, but never did. His last words to me were, "I love you, Mom," as he always said at the end of our conversations, and those words I will hold in my heart forever. He lived his life with such great integrity, and understood intensely the meaning of love for his family and friends. He was truly an old soul that taught me more about life than I was ever capable of teaching him. It's an honor to be known forever as his mother, and today we will be giving thanks for the profound joy he brought to our lives.
Rest in peace, my dear, sweet son. I love you too.
There are a few of you who may remember him. He joined some of us at the second major antiwar protest in D.C. during the Bush nightmare.
On edit: Adding a photo he recently posted on his Facebook page...
Thank you everyone for your very inspirational words. They mean so much. :hugs:
Remarks By Obama To The WSJ CEO Council...We Need To Cut SS & Medicare Benefits
Last Tuesday, top global CEOs gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual meeting of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. Obama shared with these corporate CEOs, his fondest dream of cutting our earned benefits. This is just one more example we can add to the list, and we must remain vigilant on this issue.
For the deniers:
If we do those things, that solves our real fiscal problem, and we could take some of that money, a very modest portion on the front end, and invest in infrastructure that puts people back to work, improve our research and development.
So the idea would be do some things in the short term that focus on growth; do some things in the long term that deal with the long-term debt. Thats what my budget reflects. Thats what a multiple series of negotiations with John Boehner talked about, the so-called Grand Bargain. We couldnt quite get there in the end, mainly because Republicans had a great deal of difficulty with the idea of putting in more revenue to balance out some of the changes that were made on entitlements.
If someone rejects an offer and you propose it again and again, it is not a concession: it is what you want.
Transcript
A Perfect Demonstration of Human Empathy
When Isaac Theil let a sleepy stranger take a little catnap on his shoulder, it was because "I simply remembered the times my own head would bop on someones shoulder because I was so tired after a long day," he recounted to Tova Ross of Tablet Magazine.
Another subway rider was so struck by Theil's nonchalant empathy that he snapped a picture and put it on Reddit, from which it was then posted to Facebook by Charidy.
Redditor Braffination wrote, "Heading home on the Q train yesterday when this young black guy nods off on the shoulder of a Jewish man. The man doesn't move a muscle, just lets him stay there. After a minute, I asked the man if he wanted me to wake the kid up, but he shook his head and responded, 'He must have had a long day, let him sleep. We've all been there, right?'"
(snip)
Rabbi Bradley Hirschfield, president of The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, was moved by Theil's recollection of his own fatigue as an explanation for his kindness, and told The Huffington Post that it was a perfect demonstration of human empathy. Hirschfield said, "To be able to draw on past hardship to soften our hearts towards others is one of the most repeated commandments to the Jewish people, and is the core of many spiritual traditions."
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The Eye Opening Study Every American Needs To See
You know how it sometimes feels like the government only cares about what the wealthy want? Turns out there's evidence that confirms just that.
http://www.upworthy.com/the-eye-opening-study-every-american-needs-to-see
Oligarchic tendencies: Study finds only the wealthy get represented in the Senate
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/19/oligarchic-tendencies-study-finds-only-the-wealthy-get-represented-in-the-senate/
Democratic Underground Banned From Reddit/Politics Forum
There's a big write-up about it on Daily Kos, which was also banned.
With over three million members, the Reddit Politics forum has significant audience share. To block an entire domain and publisher from submission access will have major economic repercussions for any publication on that list. It will also diminish public recognition of any news published at those sites, now denied access. And thus, the free flow of information is diminished.
The big-daddy of link and content aggregation sites on the 'net, Reddit has tens of millions of users worldwide. The site bills itself as, "...a source for what's new and popular on the web. Users like you provide all of the content and decide, through voting, what's good and what's junk."
So it might interest many of these users to learn which sources the moderation team in Reddit's politics subreddit have sidelined by blacklist. And in so doing, to disenfranchise those users from their supposed vote. It might also surprise the community that what these moderators have blacklisted are some of the most well recognized publishers of political journalism on the web.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/28/1251324/-Reddit-Politics-Forum-Announces-Publisher-Blacklist
Blacklist here.
White House Rebel Yeller Identified
and he's everything we thought he would be.
https://www.facebook.com/michael.ashmore.31/photos
Kerry is meeting with Kissinger today for advice on Syria
Kerry is scheduled to meet one-on-one with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Wednesday afternoon, and address a meeting of the 25-member Foreign Affairs Policy Board Wednesday morning. On Wednesday evening, Kerry will host a dinner for FAPB members at the State Department, according to an official schedule.
Widely considered a godfather of U.S.-Russia relations, Kissinger served as Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford. As the nation's top diplomat, he pioneered the idea of developing a détente, or cooperation based on shared interests, between the leaders of the world's two nuclear superpowers.
As the Obama administration seeks to work with Russia to craft a plan to rid Syria of chemical weapons, Kissinger could prove invaluable as both an adviser and a public ally.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/kerry-syria_n_3903888.html
Why are Democrats seeking advice from the war criminal largely responsible for Pinochet's brutal dictatorship?
In 2006, Biden said: "Count me out of trusting a president who spies on Americans."
Do you suppose he still feels the same way?
CBS - Finally, a decent news report on "person of interest" in Boston bombing
This is an excellent report on the behind the scenes investigation and suspect.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57579984/investigators-focus-on-possible-suspect-in-marathon-images/
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Hometown: Virginia
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