Pencil Drawings

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You won't be disappointed!

Check out some of my artwork at:  http://suellen-mccollim.artistwebsites.com/index.html

The Threat of Socialism

I think it is unbelievable that people whose parents or grandparents are recent immigrants to this land of freedom and opportunity are so willing to just give away their legacy.  Many of those who have been financially blessed in this society are the very people who are seemingly unable to see who and what Barack Obama really is.  Your ancestors came here for the very freedoms you seem to want to give away. If you are educated, you should be able to hear the Marxist language in Obama's remarks.  If you are a creative person, you should fear the loss of your freedom of expression. If you have a religious affiliation, you should fear losing the right to worship.  If you are a hunter or sport shooter, you should fear the loss of your Second Amendment rights.   If you are middle or upper class, you should realize you stand to lose what you have so it can be shared with the lower class.  I am not making this up.  Study history.  Read about what happened in Pre-World War II Germany.  Compare it to what this president espouses.  His "bible" is Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, a book that extols Socialism and Marxism and is dedicated to none other than Lucifer.  READ THE BOOK.  It is imperative at this crucial time in our history that everyone who is capable of understanding knows what may happen should Obama be re-elected.

Political Conventions

My father brought home our first television in the early 50s, when I was in elementary school.  The world began to open up to us.  I recall my brother and I sitting in front of the blond wood cabinet with the small picture tube screen as we watched the test pattern.  No, it wasn't because we found the test pattern fascinating, just the fact that it actually existed thrilled us with the promise of the next "show".  Television was so novel at the time that we endured all kinds of entertainment just to watch the miraculous invention.  We watched wrestling shows with our grandfather, black and white cartoons, news shows - anything and everything was wonderful.  Of course, cable tv didn't exist at the time, and some sort of antenna was necessary to get a signal.  The first of our antennas was a set of rabbit ears that had to be constantly reconfigured depending on the season, the tv station, and the weather. Frequently, aluminum foil was attached to the "ears" for better reception.  The pictures were black and white and many shades of gray, mostly the latter, and were usually quite fuzzy. Channel 13, WQED, was the first tv station we were able to watch, followed by KDKA, Channel 2.

The first political conventions were broadcast on tv in 1948.  Prior to that, we listened on the radio.  Because this was post-World War II America, patriotism was a big deal, even among kids. We went to parades on national holidays; we placed our right hands proudly over our hearts during the National Anthem or when a flag was carried past us;  we listened to our parents and grandparents discussing politics and news.  This is probably why I, at age 6, wanted to marry President Harry S. Truman.  It also explains why I watched the political conventions of 1956, and those of every presidential election year thereafter.

I am always amazed at the number of people who do not watch this part of the political process in the USA. I heard someone say this may be the last year for the conventions, and that makes me quite sad.  Today, there is more interest in celebrities and gadgets than there is in the mechanics of our Republic.  I am fearful that the lack of interest may well be the cause of the fall of our great society.  Young people today do not have a grasp on how our system works, or why it has enabled our country to become the most successful economic/political system in the world.  In the early years of television, the political conventions were shown in their entirety.  Today, the major networks only cover an hour or two of the action.  What was once an interesting look at how a president gets elected, is now considered boring by the public.  The politicians also didn't like the way their wheeling and dealing  was shown to the voting public, and so coverage gradually decreased.

I miss the days of Walter Cronkite commentating (but not when someone on the dais was speaking, as they do today).  I miss the excitement of the beginning of the presidential campaign, because candidates were chosen at the conventions and the campaigning began after the convention.  It certainly was a lot cheaper than it is today, and it also meant the sitting President was actually presiding over the country instead of campaigning for two of his four years in office.  Some things just don't get better over time.

It seems fairly obvious that the USA needs another major political party.  The Dems and the GOP just aren't cutting it.  The left wants to give away too much and the right wants to take away too much.  Why isn't there a moderate party?  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  sanity only resides in the middle, not at the outer limits.

Power and money are the real goals of politicians and their ilk.  Don't let anyone tell you any different.

Rant

Henceforth, I am using this blog space to vent, rant, and rage about the corporate greed and the myriad ways people are being cheated in America today. Each time I find or happen across yet one more company that is operating in a less than ethical manner, I will write about it here. So far, we have freedom of speech in America, though I believe that right is slowly being eroded.

Anyway, today I am exposing TMobile to the world. Thousands of other people have canceled their contracts with this company recently, for good reason. First of all, if they are charging premium prices, they best provide premium service. In 2003, I signed my first 2-year agreement with TMobile, and I was happy with it for several years. Slowly, problems began to surface and I am ashamed to say that I let those issues pass without complaining to the company. However, over the past 4 months, I have called and complained to no avail. First of all, I have been paying an extra $40 a month for internet service on my "smart" phone (which is anything but smart), and the service usually doesn't work. Oh, yes, I do occasionally get some emails on my phone, but not consistently, and never completely. For these past 4 months, I have called TMobile and told them to stop the Internet service, because it doesn't work well. They haven't complied. Today, however, I told them they better comply or I am taking this issue to the FCC. They have promised to remove the service. I also told them I only want basic service until November, when I plan to leave TMobile for good. At that time, I will go with another company, one that is more reliable, has good coverage, and provides good phones.

That is another issue with TMobile. The only time a good deal can be gotten on a phone is when a customer first signs up. After you are a steady customer, the only "deals" offered are for outdated or refurbished phones. The better phones are very expensive. It seems the company would do better to reward their good, long-term customers rather than emphasizing their zeal for new customers.

The other issue has to do with where I live. Their coverage is still not good, even in this area which is not far from Pittsburgh. Verizon and Sprint do much better in this regard.

Why put up with less than satisfactory service from an overpriced cell phone company when there are other alternatives. My next cell phone will be some kind of tablet, I think. It certainly won't be from TMobile.