I Need some Paxil or Zoloft

Still out of work and beginning to think that a 60-year-old white male, even one with a college education, is just shit out of luck in our youth oriented society. Now, the company I most recently worked for has been sold to one of its biggest competitors. My wife still works there, but there's a lot of uncertainty about how long any of the current employees are going to have jobs. Lots and lots of speculation. My wife says that representatives of the new owners will be in town on July 17th to explain how things are going to work and, hopefully, answer questions. We're living on only my wife's income now because my unemployment insurance ran out several months ago. If she loses her job, not only will we not have any income, but our medical, dental and eye care insurance will go away too.

Now, here's what pisses me off. We're both too young to draw Social Security, but employers feel we're too old to work. All you political conservatives out there are saying something like, "Yeah, so what's the problem? Don't expect us to lift a finger to help you. We've got ours, so fuck you. Just go somewhere and die so we don't have to look at you if you find yourself homeless."

I am not a flaming Liberal. I've always considered myself to be a moderate Democrat. The area of the country where I live is heavily populated by a majority of right-wing, narrow-minded ultra conservatives. If the Letters to the Editor section of the Tri-City Herald is any indication, many of these people won't even call those who disagree with "Dubya" Bush and his cronies Democrats. We're all "Liberals", which in their tiny little minds means -- -- "Socialists" or Communists because we believe in spreading some of our tax dollars helping fellow U. S. citizens with medical expenses and a hand up when needed instead of spending billions on Bush's campaign to own Iraq with all of its oil.

The Democrats aren't blameless. If memory serves, they were in power when the situation in southeast Asia escalated and this country found itself mired in what is now called the Vietnam War. I was serving in the navy when I got to cast my first ballot (voting age was 21 in 1968). I ended up voting for Eldridge Cleaver for president because I couldn't, in good conscience, vote for either Humphrey or Nixon. Then there was the "Great Communicator" Ronnie Raygun who damned near bankrupt this country to end the Cold War. Well, it worked I guess. No more Soviet Union. Now Russia's economy is run by the Russian Mafya and much of the rest of what was once run by the iron-fisted Bolsheviks is in danger of being taken over by wild-eyed Islamic fanatics. We once feared the Soviets would nuke us with IBMs and now we have to be afraid that some Russian civil servant who hasn't received a paycheck in months will sell some of Russia's stockpiled nuclear arsenal to terrorists to make dirty bombs to ignite in our cities. That's progress.

With very few exceptions, I do not trust politicians. I do not believe they have my best interests on their agendas. It's all about saying the right things to the groups (PACs, lobbyists, religious groups, etc.) that will give them the money to get reelected so they can continue to rake in those unrealistic salaries and especially the percs like an unparelleled congressional retirement package, medical care, perdiem, and most importantly to them -- POWER.
So, what can we do? Go to the polls in November? Sheeit! I voted for John Kerry in the last election, even though I knew he was blowing gas. I just felt that his gas didn't smell as bad as Dubya's. I'm even beginning to believe the elections are all rigged anyway. I don't know much about the so-called "Trilateral Commission" that was a popular boogie man of conspiracy alarmists a few years ago. I am pretty sure that a few very rich and powerful people in this country control most of the politicians and the outcome of elections. I am convinced that George W. Bush would not be president of the United States had his initial nomination and subsequent election not been bought and paid for by these people. And they expect payback, which is what they're getting with our takeover of the country of Iraq with all that oil.

Now Bush is going to get his chance to appoint at least two justices to the Supreme Court. The right-wing Christian coalition which opposes abortion rights, but supports capital punishment, is going to be asking Dubya for their payback now. Lord, I'm almost happy to be 60 and not in the greatist of health. Maybe I won't live to witness the end result of all this greed -- greed for power, greed for money. Hmmm. Isn't greed the same thing as avarice? And isn't avarice one of the "deadly sins?" And isn't sin something that all those fine, upstanding, church-goin', always-in-the-right conservatives are against?

On vacation in the Skagit Valley (northwest Washington state)