Everything's Coming Up Rosen
Emily’s been writing a column, essays, travel stories, profiles, features for over 20 years. Her work is available for syndication and reprint.
POLITICS IN 2012 : ENGAGE!!!
By Emily Rosen
I am emailing my Brazilian friend concerning the state of U. S. politics. She’s lived here for over 25 years and is a U.S. citizen. Her 15 year old son was born here, but the family has strong ties to Brazil. They visit there annually and sometimes more frequently, and relatives come here often.
Referring to her son, she writes, “Joe is so confused. He thought that bad politicians only lived in Brazil, not here. It is a reality shock for him and he gets depressed about it. He loves this country so much.”
I am not sure what Joe meant by “bad politicians,” except from a 15 year old perspective, watching the debates, the accusations, and recently in Florida, the constant TV harangues and robocalls, it might be really difficult to claw through all that rubble and arrive at a rational assessment of each candidate. So here’s how I responded to my friend’s email:
“Tell Joe that this spectacle is what makes America great! The fact that these candidates can get up there and say whatever they want – and then actually be fact-checked, as they are by the media, and also the fact that the general hubbub of excitement exists without violence or muzzling -- is the genius of our country.
And warn him that the political front will become even more bizarre when a candidate is actually selected, as we observe the rejected ones rallying to support the chosen one. It’s a good show. This is how it works , with many many flaws, that hopefully will get fixed, eventually.
Remind him that things do get fixed here. Women got the vote. African Americans gained civil rights. gays are accepted in the military and sooner or later we’ll reform our tax code, as well as the electoral college system, and our immigration policy, and the series of entitlements that no longer work for the good of the many and perhaps we will reform the way political campaigns are financed. Joe will be witness to all of that, and might even want to become proactive in the implementation of one or more of those reforms to the system.
We work slowly for change here because we have extremes of opinion and philosophy, and we encourage articulation of many viewpoints even as we manage to live peacefully together despite vast differences.
And you might also mention to Joe, that the kind of circus we are witnessing during this primary season, has brought politics and issues to the national forefront in a way that previous sleepy primaries have not done. Therefore there is considerably more interest generated among young people, and the population in general. Of course, this is a good thing. And give him a hug for me. I’m thrilled to know that he is engaging in the process, as every citizen should be doing.”
POLITICS CIRCA JANUARY 22, 2012
By Emily Rosen
We’ll start with Bush 43 and his Supreme Court appointments. We step into “Corporations are people, “ as settled by that court’s squeeze vote, and weave the thread that lead to Romney’s attempt to eviscerate Gingrich with his ”I-have-nothing-to-do-with-it-PAC” pot of gold in New Hampshire.
And then we outsiders learn what many of those closest to the Newt knew from day one. Don’t mess with Newt. If John King didn’t know that, he learned it up front and personal. Seems the best thing that happened to Newt that week was Marianne’s whiney tale about the proposed open marriage. Sharp and vicious, Newt took that poison pill and threw fairy dust all over it watching it morph into some kind of magical elixir leaving King to stew in his own juice.
And then came the South Carolina primary. Newt’s vengeance, once released, seemed unstoppable. From here, it looks like only his cold dead hand can rein it in.
I ask you, audience, is this not entertainment far beyond the pale of Spielberg or Scorsese? Where do you find stuff like this outside of politics? All this, while Romney is fiddling with his income tax returns trying to find a magic way of making them disappear. Perfectly legit, no doubt, but how to explain all those legal gimmicks to a bunch of folks counting food stamps? How to erase Rick Perry’s searing evocation: “Vulture Capitalism?
How much largesse can one fractured party bestow upon an incumbent with a fast fading base? Obama’s most unrealistic dreams could never have conjured such boundless bounty.
And who wouldn’t grab a ticket to a Gingrich-Obama debate, shades of ye ole
Roman Coliseum. OMG this is so much fun – or would be if it weren’t so serious.
IN MEMORIUM - BYE BYE 2011
By Emily Rosen
Politics, politics, 24 seven
that's what it looked like in Twenty Eleven
Auspicious beginning in terms of locution
On the floor of the housethe U.S. Constitution
Two days after that came a kook with a gun
Causing havoc in Tucson with folks on the run
Congressional Gabby was shot in the head
Some even died leaving blood, shock and dread
At the State of the Union Ds and Rs sat together
But their bonding was not even strong as a feather
Then a sudden eruption -- an Arab decree
In Tunisia, then Egypt, folks marched to be free
Mubarak stepped down in a possible sting
And momentum was there for the Arab Spring
While the State of Wisconsin struck out against strikes
As unions and allies "facedbooked" "unlikes"
In Japan, a disaster that rendered it bleak
With an earthquake that triggered a nuclear leak
'Twas "the budget" and Libya both in the news
Gaddhafi – Paul Ryan – were singing the blues
There was rapture, of course, midst the angst of the world
When Charlie and Katie took vows and then twirled
Tornadoes moved Southward, but still NASA launched
As Birthers held doubts that were ever so staunch
And Lo! and Behold! Out of Af-ghan-is-tan
Came the news that we rubbed out Bin Laden, "The Man"
A loved-child from Arnold, and Weiner showed pix
Ruppert Murdoch in scandal – the world needs a fix!
Bibi in congress – Obama feels stalked
But gays can get married, at last, in New York
The Anthony trial was an endless distraction
Til they called her "not guilty" for an O.J. reaction
Terror in Oslo, riots in London
While the S & P here found its credit was undone
Over 600 points as the market got clobbered.
When folks checked their statements, they probably slobbered
Gaddafi got ousted. It just took so long
And in D.C. an earthquake though not very strong
Only days before blustering winds brought "Irene"
And destruction that lingered for days at the scene
Finally got rid of Don't ask and Don't tell
banishing fears that we'll all go to hell
Trump, Christie, Palin all out of the race
while a whole crowd of others took up in that space
Like the "Lock Box" of yore for which none of us pine
Instead, we were subject to "nine. nine and nine"
Never immune from crass degradation,
came Penn State and Syracuse sex allegations
Occupy Wall Street folks spread out their cause,
as dollars for Bankers flowed in without pause
The Super Committee broke up with folks pissed
with blame on the pledge made to Grover NorQUIST
Cain down in flames as more women "alleged"
and when Trump made an offer, most candidates hedged
Corzine is clueless how billions got lost
Dr. Conrad killed Michael in jail he was tossed
The E-world and I-world invaded by mobs
despite that we've suffered the loss of Steve Jobs
The Iphone, The Ipad, much more is predicted
To tweeting and texting we're getting addicted
As I write this- there's 20 days more I must shelve
til we greet the unknowable year 2012
Which surely by all we can fathom from here,
will be a real blockbuster type of a year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
LETTING OFF STEAM: A SHORT ESSAY
We Can’t Sit Back Any More
By Emily Rosen -
12-1-11
Millions, billions, trillions, gazillions !!! Does the concept take hold in your head? Whatever precedes “illions,” when it refers to money, we know it is lots and lotsa moolah. When it refers to amounts of it being spent on campaigning for public office, doesn’t it blow your mind?
And when it refers to the number of people worldwide living below the poverty line, or merely straddling it – juxtaposed as I am doing, alongside the numbers of dollars used to blow hot air into the atmosphere, does that not do something MORE than blow your mind?
The “Occupy” people may not know exactly what their mission is, but it has got to have been borne of this blatant disconnect. Sometimes, people don’t know exactly how to fix something, but recognizing that it is broken is the teeny tiny first step.
In the past decade, the innovations we have seen that affect our life style, have increased exponentially. The changes we have seen in mass communication are staggering, and continue at such a rate, that if you pull a Rip van Winkle for a mere week or month, you will have missed something seismic. But … WHAT has changed in our political system?
Nada! Gournisht! Rein! Niente! Everything about our lives is jet inspired, and our politics squeaks on the wheels of the covered wagon. Here are a couple of websites that defy the status quo and are seeking some solutions: www.nolabels.com , www.americanselect.com, www.getmoneyout.com – and I’ll bet there are dozens more. With all the technology literally at our fingertips, those of us who are appalled by the disconnect, (and we come from both ends of the political spectrum, ) have a chance to make a difference, one little “us” at a time. To misquote the mantra, “Bad things happen when good people “pay no mind to what’s happening.” I think that means you and me.
WE LOVE AUTOMATION, BUT ....
By Emily Rosen
He’s standing against the wall, arms hanging, hands clasped as if protecting his genitals. I advance towards the checkout desk with my library books. His eye spots me, and he leaps to attention in a quick sudden move. “Have you ever used the self check, mam?”
“Mmm. Yes,” I say hesitantly. There’s no one on line. The librarians are at the ready to help me. “We’re trying to train our customers to use the self check,” he said in a low conspiratorial voice.
And with meticulous attention, he helps me adjust the bar codes under the electronic light until all have been recorded and my receipt appears.
“We’re training the people to eliminate our jobs,” he said without rancor, just in case I hadn’t caught on to the implication of his original explanation.
And so it goes in this wonderful world of automation. I can self check-out at Target, and Cosco, at some Publixes. I can check in at airport kiosks and for about 30 years, I have been pumping my own gas.
As fast as any government or privately sponsored program can create jobs, automation is eliminating jobs. And as government shrinks, we will surly find an overabundance of unemployed government workers. It seems like a widespread game of musical chairs. It’s no news that we are living in the most agonizingly long transition period as traditional jobs shrink.
So in an attempt to be supportive, I thought I’d rustle up some information that might be helpful for future career planning. Of course, if your career has already spanned a lifetime perhaps you might share some of these gems with your progeny. (We all know how much “progeny” likes advice, but you might just try!)
Job title:
E-Scrubber – works to undo or minimize the indiscretions that people accumulate on the web.
Deceptionist – Provides tech-enabled deception services for those wishing to disguise their activities.
Geoscraper – Makes corporate and private properties look attractive in Google-earth style aerial views.
Unplugger – Mental health professional who helps wean people from excessive use of technology.
If your expertise doesn’t qualify you for any of the above, to continue the automation trend, here are some things I found on a google list, that have yet to be totally automated. Some clever inventor or entrepreneur might figure out how to close the gap here, thus eliminating all housekeeping jobs: making the bed; ironing clothes; cleaning, dusting, vacuuming with the flip of a switch or the clap of two hands; (yes yes, I know about the automatic vacuum – but what about dusting?) helping the kids with homework? No!! it was on the list but let’s never eliminate THAT although admittedly, it’s getting to be more and more of a challenge.
Jobs, jobs, jobs. We lose them, we create them, we mix and match them. Where will my library guy-friend go when all of us folks approach the automatic machines and check out by ourselves?
CYBER OVERLOAD
By Emily Rosen
Itunes- Iphones- Ipods - Ipads Eye yi yi yi ! Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Fire - The Nook – The All-new Nook – the Droid, touch pads, swipe pads, 3g, 4g, apps, more apps, XBox, Wie and blogs blogs blogs. OMG there’s a whole new language sprouting up all around me. HELP !!! I feel like I’m standing on a train station, and the express has just whizzed by me – and oops!! that was my train and I missed it.
>On a scale of one to ten regarding cyber space, I’ve slid to about a five. Twenty Six years ago, I was cutting edge, the only person I knew who owned, and could use a computer, my trusty 1985 Mac, full price about $6000.00. I could not even carry on a dinner conversation about my computer, because there was no one who could talk the language. I probably should have kept it. Someone on Ebay could be looking for it.
Today, I am working with windows SP on my flat screen desk ‘puter – probably the eighth one I have owned, exclusive of my husband’s laptop. (I love my mouse) As I stare at it, I feel like I’m looking at the tail of a Dinosaur. (it’s two years old) People around me are swiping and pad-touching, and sending me email messages from Blackberries and Iphones and text messages about sunsets and walks with their dogs and urging me to find them on Facebook and Twitter and Linkedin. Every 2 weeks or so, I check on Linkedin and find only people who want to sell me their wares or who complain about the sorry state of journalism today. I haven’t checked my Twitter account for 2 years. And when I go to my Facebook page, I find a bunch of people I don’t even know showing me pictures of their pet poodles in costume, or their adorable grandkids, or their Harley Davidson’s. Some of them exhort me to check their youtube creations where I am urged to engage in a more spiritual life, to love my neighbors and more important, to love myself. (I do, I do!)
Where is this all going? I know we are only on the cusp, now. I read The Futurist, I follow some of the work of Ray Kurzweil -- (Google him! Google is happiness!) a scientist, futurist who sees humans living for many hundreds of years by 2029, encased in a myriad of robotic body parts. Robotic genitalia? Lord - take that image off my radar screen!
Ah, but I’ve wandered afar. I intended to make this a treatise on ebooks. It looks like the new Kindle can do everything except make pizzas, and I am about to succumb. If you can’t fight ‘em, join ‘em, but I’ll never catch that train.
Previous Articles by Emily
Up In Arms - October 2011
September 11th - September 2011
It Was the Worst of Times__Except - August 2011
OBSESSION: A Search for A Father - July 2011
JAZZ IN THE COURTROOM - May 2011
READ TO ME, BOOK - April 2011
Less is More – Sometimes - March 2011
Hope for the Facebook Generation; Except, They Can’t Write !m - February 2011
Love 2011 - January 2011
Bye Bye 2010 - December -2010
IMMORTALITY: DO WE WANT IT ? - November -2010
A Plea For The Return of Civility - October -2010
Realistic Expectations -- Get With the Program, Grandma! - August 2010
The Mother In Law - July 2010
Another July 4th - June 2010
Words - June 2010
Beggar Man on the Corner May 2010
Sidhartha And The Cell Phone- April 2010
Parking Space Snatcher - March 2010
Cleavage – 2010 - March 2010
The Other Table - February 2010
A Two-fer in February - February 2010
BYE BYE 2009 AND THE WHOLE DAMN DECADE - December 19, 2009
Crashes - December 1, 2009
I'm Glad I'm Not President - November 2009
The Culture of Corruption - October 2009
Bye Bye Newspapers!!! - October 2009
Naked In Alaska - September 2009
Tweet Tweet, My Sweet - August 2009
The Quote Of The Century - August 2009
The Ying and Yang of Kids Today - July 2009
Hugs Are In - June 2009
Gloom and Doom - May 2009
The "Shh" Disease - April 2009
A Trip To The Hospital - June 2005