Wake Up, Women of America!

Representative Virginia Foxx, pictured at left, Chairperson of the Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee is woefully out of touch with the current astronomical costs of higher education. Her following comment about people who graduate with student debt should raise the hackles of students and parents everywhere in America. "I went through school. I worked my way through. It took me seven years; I never borrowed a dime of money. I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt."

Well, whoopee for you, Virginia.  That was 1968; this is now. Why is Ham on Wry addressing this to women?  Because it's only part of the purpose of this post, and many students have single moms.

In 1968, the average yearly cost for tuition, room, and board for a public university was $1,245. In today's dollars, that equates to $1245.00 for a year of college (National Center for Education Statistics). Does anyone who is paying for a higher education attend a university or college that charges so little for a year of college?  How can anyone in the position of chairing a committee that involves higher education make such an off-the-wall statement? This person actually holds a position of deciding how tax dollars are spent for higher education.

Digest that information for a minute before continuing readers, because the next information should anger any woman who has suffered violent abuse.  Republicans are threatening to vote no on the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act passed in 1994 when Clinton was President because lesbians have been included in the new version. Take a moment to research Janice Shaw Crouse and Phyllis Schlafly to learn their views on this issue. To those readers too young to remember Phyllis Schlafly, she spearheaded the movement against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 70's. Essentially, she feels that VAWA promotes divorce. Well, duh!  If she ever bothered to visit CASA or any of the thousands of shelter for abused women and their children she might have an epiphany about the wisdom of leaving a violent relationship.

Rush Limbaugh is another case in question, but readers can access the previous blog about his reference to a law student as a "slut" because she advocated for coverage of birth control in health care plans.  He did not, however, call for eliminating Viagra or Cialis.

This year more than ever, women must educate themselves about every candidate on the ballot, support well-informed female candidates, and rid the nation of misogynist who endeavor to make women second-class citizens. And, by the way, the overwhelming majority of candidates in question are Republican. 

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A Farewell to Dick Clark

AP file photo from 1957

The photo of Dick Clark on one of the American Bandstand shows brings back fond memories of that era when I was a wannabe teenager. When this show hit the airwaves, rock and roll hit new heights and gained a legitimacy that it previously lacked.  Dick often sat among the regulars on bleachers and handled his role as MC in a casual, unassuming way that made him seem like a friend.

I couldn't wait to get home from school every afternoon to watch the kids from Philadelphia dance on the show and see what singer would perform that day. Arlene and Kenny, Justine and Bob, Bunny and Ed, regulars on the show, vied for the most time in front of the cameras. Jerry Lee Lewis was first to perform on the shoe and Chubby Checker launched a new dance called the the twist in front of an audience on American Bandstand. Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry appeared on the show in the early days as well. Fabian was the one singer that I thought had zero talent, and he didn't last long on the pop scene.

Clark asked teenagers their opinions of new records through Rate-a-Record. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which the two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the audience members to explain why they had chosen the scores.  Those comments often made a record climb the charts or caused its doom.

Dick Clark embraced rock and roll and made it okay to sing along and dance the crazy dances of the that day. The mashed potato, watusi, the stroll, the jerk, etc., could be danced without a partner so anyone who wanted could participate. He was the quintessential nice guy that everyone found ways to praise for his role in the rise of rock and roll and its eventual evolution into the music of today.

Bidding good-bye to Dick Clark is like losing an old friend. He was a gentleman in a business filled with greedy promoters and managers. Farewell to a man who was truly "a legend in his own time."

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Grace, the Loyal Labrador, Goes Home

Grace will not be going home with the man who videotaped her as she guarded an injured yellow lab that had been hit by a car. He made certain she was safe and visited her at the shelter where she was taken for examination. Instead, she will return home with the couple that owns her.

Staff at the Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control shelter took care to verify that the couple were the true owners of the dog, whose real name is Maggie. While at the center, a vet checked Maggie, spayed, her and implanted a  microchip to ensure that she will never be a dog with no name.


The unidentified owners will answer to authorities as to why Maggie was loose without a leash, why she had not been neutered, and why she hadn't been vaccinated or licensed. They had been searching for her ever since she disappeared and had even checked at the shelter, but she hadn't been taken there yet when they visited. Shelter staff described Maggie as extremely gentle, and her story attracted many people who wanted to adopt her. Ham and Wry admonishes the owners for their lack of proper care for this special animal. Now that Maggie has had so much attention, I hope her owners take better care of her.

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Hillary Clinton Kicks Up Her Heels in Columbia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton proved that she can let her hair down Saturday night in Columbia. She arrived at Cartagena's Cafe Havana with a dozen female aides just after midnight.  She danced the rumba, drank beer from a bottle, played the maracas and shook hands with each of the 11 band members before leaving about an hour later. Now there's a woman who knows how to relax and have fun! 

Some reporters tsk tsked that Hillary shocked attendees in Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas held during the past weekend. Others wrote that she acted in appropriately in the face of continued unemployment in the US and military personnel in harm's way.  Give me a break! She deserves some stress relief after all she has faced since taking office.




The same writers that accuse her of scandalous behavior must not watch any of the drivel that passes for reality TV. I guess some reporters have nothing better to do than criticize people in the public eye.  Ham on Wry disagrees with those who believe she stepped out of line and applauds her. "You go, girl!"

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The Undeniable Differences Between President Obama and Mitt Romney

Ham on Wry is tackling some issues in today's blog that will factor into the election in November this year. Understanding other cultures and global challenges occupies a position as an important consideration one can use to choose a candidate to for President. The United States can not insulate itself from the rest of the world because a global economy and instant communication exist today. It is impossible to disengage from the variety of relationships we have with manufacturing, financial, communication, and technology partners, for example. President Obama has lived in multi-cultural environments and attended school in Jakarta, Indonesia when his step-father, a student at a college in Hawaii, was called home after President Suharto took office. Some see that as a drawback. This blogger views it as an asset that allows him to understand some of the biggest current trouble spots .

President Obama has overseen the elimination of Osama bin Laden and some of his top leaders in Al Quaeda and has gained respect from G8 members and other allies. His call for working in tandem with other nations to solve the crisis in Libya proved successful as well. He avoids knee-jerk decisions to send our military into nations that are facing internal conflicts and haven't attacked the United States. A major part of the reason we face a budget deficit lies in the fact that he inherited the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars from his predecessor. Previous blogs have listed the financial outlay and the cost in injured soldiers and damaged or lost equipment.

President Obama understands the financial strains many families face because he experienced them himself. He lived with his grandparents for many years, who had money constraints that forced them to live humly. He faced adversity as the son of a white mother and African father, which allows him to understand those kinds of problems in our society. His wife sometimes sneaks into target or a grocery store, just to mingle with people other those who frequent the White House. Obama "feels our pain."

To those who continue to doubt his citizenship or his religious affiliation, I say, "Get over it!" These criticisms mask the true intent of such doubts. President Obama is mixed race, and some people have problems accepting him as their leader. Shame on all of them! Every human has well over 99% of the same gene make-up and Caucasians are a minority in the world. It's time to bury racial issues and live fully in the 21st century.

Mitt Romney has led a mostly privileged life. He was the last-born of George and Lenore Romney and went to public school until he reached 7th grade, at which time he attended Cranbrook, an all boys prep school in Bloomfield Hills near Detroit where the Romneys lived. George Romney served three terms as the Governor of Michigan and served as Richard Nixon's Secretary of HUD, so Mitt was exposed to politics at a very young age.

Mitt served as a Mormon missionary in France, so he lived in another culture, which, at the time, was predominately white. However, France is one of our allies, and it didn't teach him anything about third world nations. He met his wife Ann Davies before leaving on his mission and returned home when he felt he was losing her affection. They married soon after and had five children, all boys.

Romney spent his career in consulting, starting at Boston Consulting Group, then joining Bain, and eventually headed Bain Capital as its CEO. Not long after making the switch, he changed the model from buying start-ups to buying existing firms with borrowed money, known as leveraged buyouts. He garnered an excellent reputation for a fair management style and success in running Bain Capital. The company's main aim was to maximize the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, rather than creating jobs at the acquired companies. As such, some of the LBO's wound up in bankruptcy and many were forced to lay off large numbers of employees. That alone stands in stark contrast to what Obama is trying to do his first term. It creates a disconnection with the current emphasis on lowering the unemployment rate in the US. Mitt Romney knows how to make money,  but he does not know anything about creating jobs in the businesses of which he was a part.

The majority of Americans don't have money in offshore accounts, nor do they have a personal net worth of    at least $190 million in blind trusts and an additional $75 million or more in blind trusts for their heirs. I don't know whether Ann has ever shopped at Target or a local grocery, but I suspect she has had a great deal of help in handling household affairs with that kind of money. Mitt strikes me as a decent human being who has no idea how to interact authentically with ordinary people because he isn't one and really never has been.

No matter what a reader thinks of President Obama personally, I don't think we can afford to change the nation's leadership in the middle of the many conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Mitt might be a nice guy, but running this country isn't about profit, it's about people.

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Loyal Labrador Stays With Dog Pal Struck by Car

Photo provided by LA Country Animal Care and Control to AP

Aptly named by Los Angeles County Animal Control staff and volunteers, Grace, a black Labrador, refused to budge when another dog was struck by a car Wednesday in La Puente, California. She stood by the yellow Labrador, despite the danger posed by oncoming traffic, and remained there until Animal Care and Control arrived on the scene and took her to the shelter.



Many species of animals have demonstrated an amazing capacity to grieve in the same way Grace did when a video capture her lying down next to her stricken friend.  Elephant herds will halt their journeys when they encounter a dead elephant, no matter whether it belonged to another herd, and trumpet their sadness at its loss.
Ham on Wry believes we can learn much from animals about loyalty and selflessness, such as Grace demonstrated.

No one has stepped forward to claim 2-year-old Grace, so she is available for adoption. This blogger hopes she finds a special home.

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George Zimmerman Charged with Second-Degree Murder

Forty-five days after Trayvon Martin was killed, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey announced Wednesday that George Zimmerman will face second degree murder charges. At a press conference in Jacksonville, Florida, Corey added that Zimmerman had surrendered peacefully and is being held in an undisclosed location.
   





From this blogger's point of view, arresting Zimmerman was a no-brainer and should have occurred the day George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. In no way, do I presume Zimmerman is guilty, but police should have locked him up until a timely investigation was conducted. Stand Your Ground shouldn't be taken to mean that people who kill others receive a "get of jail free card" automatically because they claim self-defense. If this law stays on the books, it should be amended to clarify the immense gray area that currently exists. Frankly, Ham on Wry fervently supports its repeal because we have a mechanism already in place to handle homicides.

Second-degree murder is ordinarily defined as 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of passion" or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life. Second-degree murder may best be viewed as the middle ground between and first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. (from findlaw.com)

Corey expressed chagrin over the fact that, “So much information got released on this case that should never have been released. There has been an overwhelming amount of publicity that we hope will not keep us from picking a fair and impartial jury.” Even some of the witnesses that have been quoted don't agree on what they saw, so the public must take care not to form an opinion of guilt or innocence until all the facts come out at trial.

As reported in yesterday's post, Zimmerman's attorneys resigned when Zimmerman stopped communicating with them.  Mark O'Mara took the case late Wednesday and revealed that Zimmerman will plead not guilty to the charge of second degree murder. O'Mara also said he will work to have Zimmerman released on bond Thursday.

Unless something drastic occurs, Ham on Wry will move on to other topics and make this the last post on the Trayvon Martin case until the trial verdict is read.

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