IBM logo history
Logo	Years
	1924–1946
	1947–1956
	1956–1972
	1972–present

Did you know this computer giant can trace its roots back to the 1880’s? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM

I did not.

There were tabulating machines in those days. Their purpose?

Stopwatch the workers so that the greedy owners could squeeze all the blood, sweat and tears from its workers down to the last minute.

Help the corporate accountants keep track of debits and credits.

                   (by permission of Anthony Freda, www.anthonyfreda.com)

From this plane in The Afterlife it’s impossible for me to know where my essence hovers; whether it is hell or heaven…or just an in-between place I have created from my imagination.  I sense, more than see the local Universe; the tug of force from black holes almost causes a sensation at the back of my head…or what might have been my head.  The sounds that emanate from stars almost unimaginable distances away resonate inside me, providing diversion at times from the over-arching images that dwell within me like live beings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxB42cjHTGg

I am reviewing a 158 page report on the NOPD. The report was created by the Civil Rights Division of the Federal Justice Department.

A conservative publication, Newsmax, posted an advertisement on my Facebook page for this thinly veiled "opinion poll" on Scott Walker:

http://www.newsmax.com/surveys/SupportGovScottWalker/Do-You-Support-Gov-...

John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the history of the world, used to give out dimes to people he would meet.   Many of the recipients cherished their "Rockefeller dimes" and kept them as inspiration (read hope), that the magic of his great wealth would somehow, even in just a small way, be transferred to them.  So much for wishes.

Today, the super-rich have nearly everything. Their accumulation of wealth boggles the mind.  The richest 400 people in this country have more than the combined assets of over half their fellow countrymen.

The old line about "The rich get richer ..." has gone from humorous rejoinder to sadly ironic statement to pathetically cruel redundancy.

So, I believe it's time to respond in the only way the working poor can respond to a situation which is totally out of their control, with defiant sarcasm.

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree  

The current leadership of the GOP is the most dangerous threat to America in the history of this country. Hyperbole? I wish it were. But the evidence clearly demonstrates that the GOP has mounted a concerted effort to circumvent the American people and install a modern-day feudalism that effectively abolishes the will of the people and their elected officials to allow our cities and states to be run by corporate-like CEOs - and there’s no telling where it will go from there.

In spite of the GOP claim that they believe in limited government, The Michigan Messenger has reported that newly elected Republican governor, Rick Snyder is poised to sign an emergency management bill that will hand total control of local governments over to "emergency managers" appointed by the government.

MICHELLE BACHMAN

This post was first published as a column in the Cannon Beach Citizen, in the 1st congressional district of Oregon.

“We’re all mad here.” -- Lewis Carroll

Actually, Mr. Carroll didn’t say that. He merely put those words into the mouth of a furry character in one of his children’s books. Surely the man was as sane as the average deacon.

Author and producer David Simon created the HBO serial ‘The Wire’ about life in Baltimore that ran from 2002-2008, a total of sixty episodes that many critics claim was the best television series ever aired.  His background was as a journalist covering the police beat of Baltimore, and his reportedly unerring eye looked into the depths of the personal lives of Baltimore’s residents as they interrelated with others and were bumped into the institutions and systems, both official and unofficial, of the city.

Simon said that the show was …"really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution they are committed to."