One World-One Heart Event is closed. Winners will be announced tomorrow.

It's time for the One World-One Heart Event and I've almost missed it. Vacations have a way of making you forget everything. This is event is so much fun you just add a comment here on this blog to be entered to win five note cards. These are prints of my pastels and are 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches. Envelopes are included.

Giveaway Update: If I get 100 comments I'll give a second prize. This is last years lapel pin but I'll give something similar. It is handmade felt with embellishments.

To enter please include:

• Just click on "comments"
  
• add a link to your site, if you have one,
• or your e-mail address.
  
• Let me know if you are also participating with a giveaway.
  

Now just go to the host's site One World-One Heart and visit all the other participants. Right now there are almost 800 other crafty people participating. Have fun!


DEADLINE February 12th. I will randomly choose one name and let the lucky person know by e-mail or their blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

From El Rincon: Breakfast with the Godwit's

At sunrise the Pacific was flat with just a hint of morning mist hanging off the coast of Santa Cruz one of the five Channel Islands. I sat with my morning tea watching the shore birds dash around looking for breakfast. Marbled Godwits, Whimbrels, and Willets made up this early morning crowd. A wave comes in then retreats and they scurry down to the edge of the water to poke and prod the wet sand looking for sand crabs and small invertebrates. They usually get away before the next wave but sometimes the wave will wash over their slender heads as they come up with something particularly yummy and worth the cold splash. The Sanderlings, much small birds, run in a pack of ten or twenty and they rarely get wet. They perform a choreographed ballet dancing between the wet sand and water.

In front of a cresting wave a pelican glides effortlessly only inches from the water. Near sunset a dozen or so birds will glide single file for miles. I often wonder if they are looking in the clear water of the wave for fish swimming by. They also hunt fish from about twenty feet then plunge headfirst into the water resulting in a dramatic splash.

Beyond the breakers, small groups of Bottle-nosed Dolphins travel up and down the beach feeding on fish. There is a photo of dolphins riding a wave off Ventura but I've not seen it in the wild. I did see California Sea Lion in a wave snatching himself a large fish once. What a treat.

For other post about this lovely area click on the label "Rincon" at the bottom of this post.

AFK to celebrate 39 years

Last year we celebrated our anniversary at the beach so it seemed only natural we head back. To add a little spice we've planned a trip with our dear friends. This should be fun, we've traveled many times together and they are game for some short day trips--plus they love to "antique" and eat as much as we do--so we are expecting a pleasant getaway.

As we are watching the weather the forecast looks promising, though cold, it's 38 this morning. This is just a reminder it's winter because after the past two weeks of 80 degree temps here in SoCal it sort of makes one forget.

For dinner I've planned some outdoor cooking with my camp dutch oven if we find a nice level spot. Rain would be the only thing keeping me from trying this. I could post something interesting on our food blog, Peanut Butter Etouffee, but my camera died. Maybe someone else could take a snap it's not good to be a stranger at your own food blog. We'll also eat out as there are some great places just a short drive from El Rincon.

Sometimes the locals are right

There is a blogger from LA that I like to read, Chanfles. He lives in a small corner of Los Angeles, Lincoln Heights, kvetches--my word not his--like so many of us do, about what goes on in our community. He has a category "Shit I hate" and is funny. He's, among other things, a vegetarian in search of the perfect Huevos Rancheros and reports back when he finds the good ones as well as the not so good. His most recent food venture lead him to San Bernardino and stated he wasn't going back even if it was popular with the locals: sometimes the locals are wrong.

That story rang so true as my sister and I are foodies and while traveling together we try all sorts of restaurants. We even had one entire trip in search of the perfect tamale but ended up learning so much of the New Mexico cuisine I don't know if we decided. We did find posole, ah and don't forget the sopapillas.

One trip to the Southwest we were in search of some tasty Mexican food and after settling in at our hotel in Sedona asked the clerk if there was a good local place to satisfy us. There were directions and a full parking lot and a list to be added to for a wait so this all looked promising. Wrong. We thought, maybe the locals were Gringos because this wasn't hitting any bells with us.

Our next stop was Page, Arizona in the Northern part of the state. Tired from a full day of sightseeing we again asked a hotel clerk and she directed us to a restaurant within walking distance. Not to many in the joint but they had a bar which was now a big part of our criteria. With only one other table with customers they seated us on a large patio. I grimaced. What the hell, I'll have a hamburger but it smelled good with that gentle mix of lard and corn and the salsa was great. I had a good feeling in my gut, well, maybe it was just hunger but we stayed. I opted for Chili Verde, my benchmark in a good Mexican restaurant. We were so hungry by this point anything would do.

That turned out to be one of the best meals we'd had on our ten day vacation. So does that mean the locals were right? It didn't seem to matter that there weren't many customers so how do you actually find the good places? Luck, and the Kitchen Gods were happy with us that night.

How do you find good places when you are on the road? Do you hit the chain restaurants for something safe or are you adventurous?

The skin I'm in

Actinic Keratosis is a scary name for something only somewhat scary, skin pre-cancer. I'm just lucky, and I'm honest with that word, to only have these types of problems right now. I did have one basal and two squamous cell carcinomas removed so I get a good check-up twice a year.

My problem right now is I've had this dry patch on my upper lip frozen with liquid nitrogen three times and it still won't go away. So my darling dermatologist, he is darling, too, will re-try something; a horrible treatment that went somewhat awry last time. Last time I used this cream I got flu like symptoms and my lips swelled twice the size of Angelina Jolie. I was miserable. He says it has to be and I can do it slowing using a third of the dose.

As a warning to anyone younger than a boomer, SUNSCREEN. Buy buckets of the stuff and don't leave the house without wearing a lipstick or lip gloss that has an SPF of fifteen or better. Seems like all that lip gloss we wore in the 80s did quite a bit of harm to the old lips. Who knew? I suppose putting baby oil on and sunbathing until we were a crispy shade of brown didn't help either.

My President

For two terms I've longed to pen that phrase, My President and now, as of January 20, 2009, I can. I do feel in my entire heart that he is representing what I believe in; finally.

From the moment I heard his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention I knew he'd be the saving grace for America. It just took a bit longer to get him on the Capital steps swearing the oath of office.

Pride to be an American is what I felt for a few reasons. Pride in the system; I've always been an advocate of the power of your vote and quite angry when people say it doesn't matter. It does and Barack Obama proves that point. Proud of my daughter and her husband because they supported Obama from the very beginning and traveled to Washington, stood in the freezing cold for hours to be no closer than a few miles to watch the inauguration. I'll leave her blog for how that made them feel I know I was so proud they could believe in something so strongly. It was only twenty degrees for God's sake!

Time will tell how he does but I only beg that everyone gives him time. It took eight years to get us in the mess we're in so we can give him time to get us on the right track. Congratulations, Mr. President.

lil bird: on the wing

With the inauguration next week we are all a twitter here. Our own lil bird and her husband are traveling to the nation's capital to view some history and you can follow their antics on Twitter or her regular blog, Maltese Parakeet. Twitter allows herto publish from her cell phone so here's hoping we get many photos directly from the "goings on."

I'm truly jealous of them but will be thrilled to get them back and hear every word. I hope they remember and that it isn't all a blur.

Wind

So simple a word but can mean so much. It's the air that moves about us and out of us, sometimes. It can be a gentle breeze or something attuned to a hurricane. In my little corner of Southern California it is the bane of my existence. For thirty six years I've dealt with the winds, some years better than other but always a pain in the backside.

Our wind in the spring brings pollen from areas I'd never visit and my allergies can't do a dang thing about it. The fall, oh the fall, the hot Santa Ana wind comes sweeping off the desert to dry up what little moisture we have in the hillsides and makes us shiver at the thought of a wild fire. At the least it makes my front porch a depository for any loose trash in the neighborhood. Winter wind can bring anything. One year the '94 Northridge Earthquake. This winter it brought 85 degree days. I'll take the warm days but I am tired of the blowing.

Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments. Water moving about creates negative ions. Beaches, waterfall, even your shower but the wind sucks the life out of them causes those little old ions to go positive. Positive is usually something good but in the case of ions it isn't. So here a little negativity is good but how to get it. There are a myriad of product for sale that produce negative ions. Oh so many crazy late night sales pitches but the best thing? Go get in the shower and let the water beat on you or sit on the beach and breath deeply. Some things are so simple, aren't they?

They didn't call him Tricky Dick for nuttin.

One can't watch the new movie, Frost/Nixon without drawing some lines to our current president. No fan of Nixon here but you almost feel a bit sorry for him. I said almost because you still had some insight into his denial since he felt it part of the presidential powers bestowed upon him. Respect for he job diminished with him and didn't recover. This is why I have hope with the incoming administration. Please, just bring some respect back to the job.

Humans are a compassionate lot, as a group, but will the American People somehow feel the same for Bush after he is gone? It might depend on what is said about his involvement in, his words, variety of mistakes. He is now saying some things did not go as planned. Ya think? In our life time we'll never know the truth. Hopefully, one of the "loyal to the group" will write a death-bed confession and then we'll know who's been controlling this country for the last eight years. Just how old is Wolfowitz?

Do go see Frost/Nixon before it slips into video. Frank Langella--who could forget his Dracula, pretty hot for 1979 but I digress--his performance as a beaten Nixon is spellbinding. Like driving by an accident, you can't look away, though it is painful to watch. Now my grandmother would have relished this part of the movie since she hated Nixon with a purple passion. She had two books beside her chair, the Holy Bible and Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry Truman; she could quote chapter and verse from both. She was none to found of Johnson, as she was sure he murdered Kennedy, until her nephew became the Johnson's Texas minister. Loyalties have a familial ties.

I'm looking for the original interviews on Netflix even though I lived through that era I don't remember watching the program. I did, on the other hand, watch too much of the Watergate hearings; who didn't. There is one thing my darling companion and I remembered, the country was glad to put it away. Hey, it was the '70s.

Just beachy

We did end up spending New Year's at our favorite camping place, Rincon Parkway. This little stretch of road is just outside the town of Ventura on the Pacific Ocean. Although this photo does illustrate the camping area is not representative of what the place actually looks like. I've never seen it so empty, ever. People who live local will come, park and pay on Wednesday and not show up until Friday evening to camp all weekend. Most of what we see these days are those huge diesel guys that we feel miniature next to.

If I stop and think about the camping area it's amazing why I love it so much. Let me try to describe it. Before the freeway opened a two-lane road ran parallel to the water. Between the west side of the road and the beach was space to park your car and on the east side of the road a high berm with rail tracks. A variety of passenger and freight trains travel on this line up and down the coast of California. This space is now designated for camping and most of the 127 spots are about 18 feet wide and close to 40 feet long.

When you pull in, depending on the width of your RV, you have a five feet no parking zone with a bike lane on the road side and about five feet of crumbling blacktop on the beach side. Cars and big trucks rumble by your spot at an alarming speed all hours of the day, and night. I shouldn't make it sound so attractive there are already too many campers. Past that large boulders help with beach erosion then, depending on the tide, a sandy beach and the million dollar view of the Pacific Ocean. Hook-ups? Nope, this $25 a day site is d-r-y.

The beach access can be difficult especially with a dog since you need to scramble over the boulders down to the sand. The height of the rocks varies and at many sites it's near impossible to navigate over the boulders so choose wisely. Once our site had great access and along with that came many visitors tramping through our five-foot front yard. I'm willing to share just knock the damn sand out of your shoes before you traipse across my rug.

So why is it always packed? The price has a lot to do with it and maybe because there are so few spots at the beach in Southern California but everyone I ask says, the view. You set up, get out a chair and sit down to watch. You're treated to Sea Lions and Bottle-nosed Dolphins playing and feeding in the surf and if you're lucky, the occasional blowhole spray from a migrating Gray Whale on it's way down to Baja to breed for the winter. Shore birds are too numerous to count most of the time and their antics will make anyone chuckle. Add to that the day-trip possibilities of Ojai, Cartpenteria, Ventura and Santa Barbara at for 25 bucks a night.

Wait, maybe I've said too much. Forget every thing I've said.

2009

With so many things happening this year, good and bad, I'm happy to say good-bye to 2008. Not that I believe Thursday morning will be any different that any other Thursday morning, it's just a formality. Maybe this Thursday will be a bit different. We are planning to go camping to the beach and I'd love to wake up on a brand new year at the Rincon, our favorite spot. A twenty-five dollar spot with a million-dollar view.

Twenty O (insert number here). I've never liked the sound of that but somehow, Twenty ten slips easier off the tongue.; I'll have to wait one more year.

Cheers, it's Christmas time

Do you ever wonder how we get through the holidays? Vodka? Not so much these days but at the House of Moon though my darling and I did have a glass of wine last night. Wine is so versatile. Summer time, it's a cooler with ice and fruit while Winter evening it warms your body. So it seems a little glass of Old Vine Zin is helping me get through the season.

Not that I have a lot to do this year. I've cut way back. My baking consisted of decorated sugar cookies and one batch of peanut brittle. These items will be given to family and friends as my darling and I have absolutely no willpower. None.

So with a little extra time I'm sitting here thinking of my best Christmas ever and honestly, it's difficult to find one. I've been fortunate to have wonderful family and friends around me at the holidays and all year long. When I was six Santa brought me a red firetruck pedal car that I thought was the best. It had wooden ladders and a bell. I have no idea what happened to it as a few years later we moved to California and sold most everything before we left.

Much older, my darling bought me a little stuffed bear we'd seen in an antique store weeks before Christmas. It looked exactly like one of the only toys I still have from my childhood only bigger. He went back to the store the next week and wrapped it himself. Over the years he's given me more expensive gifts but that one stands out in my heart.

We no longer give gifts but that is by my choice. We usually take a trip, or buy something for the two of us and that's fine with me. You see, my darling husband, quite regularly, surprises me with flowers for no good reason other than to see me smile. I'll take those types of gifts any day.

Our tiny family will be celebrating together, all seven of us, and that will be the best present this year!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

My downward facing dog is biting my ass

No, I did not get a new dog. Downward Facing Dog is a Yoga pose and I've added a photo of someone, other than me, doing it correctly. You see, this is one of those positions that is difficult for me to do correctly. Try as I might I'm still up on my tippy-toes.



Come to think of it I think the only one I can actually do semi-correctly is Child's Pose, though yet again, I can't seem to get my head to the ground. I'm thinking Yogi-masters have no boobs to get in the way. My instructor said to give it time, and I will since I'm way too much of a wimp to participate in the outdoor water aerobics class. Winter has finally come to Southern California and I don't care how much they heat the pool you still have to get out. Like I said, major in the wimp army, here.

Now my darling daughter has been Yoging around for a number of years and I never saw what she liked about it. Yes, now I'm a true believer. It is difficult but not impossible and quite a good stretching workout. Plus I feeling I'm strengthening some muscles and that's what us old broads need. Stronger "core" muscles keeps us from tipping over as we get older and I certainly don't want to do anymore falling. Let's not forget how much trouble my last tumble caused.

They do name their poses some odd but descriptive names: Tree, Cobra, Wind Relieving. Wind? Like the wind gently blowing your willowy tree like limbs around? No, it's the first thing you thought of. Get the wind out your body! Luckily we've never done this pose and thank you, the last thing I want to hear is the person next to me passing gas. Decorum, please.

There are two Yoga classes I attend and I love that each teacher has a different workout. Friday is what you'd think of as classic Yoga. The teacher dims the lights and we go through a number of poses and she gives the proper names. Then, at the end, she gives us my favorite, the Corpse and yes, you lay there like a dead body and relax. We even end the workout sitting cross-legged saying OOOOOOooooooommmmmmm.

Now Saturday morning, it's what I call Bootcamp Yoga. Just a little more strenuous stretching and faster. This wakes you up because it's at 6:45 am. and the teacher is relentless. I've noticed quite a bit more groaning in that class but I'm trying not to miss it because I come out feeling ready to get moving. I wish she taught this early every morning.

My generation, what ever you do as a workout regimen try a good set of Yoga stretches to start your day and maybe get rid of a little gas.

Only the lucky need apply

Monday started a week of calling a phone number each night to see if I needed to appear the next morning for jury duty. Yes, I remember I just finished four-plus month stint with the Grand Jury. It should have been six months but we got off for good behavior. I went as far as Monday night before getting the news, do come 37 miles and say, why don't you bring a good book with you. I should have packed a lunch the cafe was hideous.

Tuesday morning, before the orientation video was over, my name was called for a panel. "Go to the courtroom, and be quick about it. The judge doesn't like to be kept waiting." Unfortunately, he doesn't mind keeping jurors waiting and we sat for twenty minutes outside his court.

"This trial will be easy, two days and you're already here which leaves one more day for the trial. If I excuse you, you'll go back to the bullpen, likely get selected for a month long murder case. So, let's get started, said the judge." I was picked, interviewed, and accepted and he was correct; it only last two days.

To be honest, I wasn't troubled by this except for the fact I missed a day at the Getty. I'd never had the opportunity to decide guilt or innocence so it sounded interesting. This is your civic duty to serve and I'd like someone impartial if I ever have to go to trial.

The case was a young couple, with an ambulance chasing attorney and two sketchy doctors, suing for damages from an automobile accident three years ago. I'd like the Grand Jury to investigate these doctors, please. The big question for everyone deliberating: who only goes to the doctor once and the chiropractor six months? They never had a follow-up with the doctor, who was provided by the attorney, and had a number of MRIs that showed no damage. They even stated they both were fine.

Pain and suffering is a difficult to award. Some felt nothing while other felt they should get more. I was of the opinion the accident was not their fault. They did have the aggravation that comes with an soft tissue injuries and I'm sure the accident was scary. I never want to see my airbag deploy. The jury awarded them a much smaller amount than they asked for and I would have loved to be in the conversation with them and the attorney. The woman had quite a scowl when we walked out of the courtroom.

Cases such as these, and the woman who sued our insurance company, are opportunistic and down right dishonest and I was happy my fellow jurors felt the same was as I did. Now you may say, because we were sued, I had a grudge; far from that. As I heard about the accident I wanted this couple to get everything they needed to heal, which they did. But as the case progressed it was evident they went overboard on the extent of injuries they suffered and I can't help but think the attorney was behind this. On all the bills in evidence the attorney's name was under "responsible for bills".

I know there are accidents that do need an attorney because there are real and serious injuries but this wasn't one of them.

A rather Gay musical

This is so hysterical I had to watch it twice.

Get over yourselves, people.

I was told by a friend of the marriage of a gay co-worker of mine. I'd knew and worked with this young girl and she was sweet and smart and quite professional at her job. It wasn't until she introduced me to her partner did I realize she was gay. Guess what, she was still sweet and smart and professional. She and her partner had been together for a long time living as a couple. I was thrilled they had the chance to be married. Now with Prop 8 winning I'm not sure what will happen. What a shame!

Crikey

Movie reviews should be left to the professionals. I do read them sometimes but what get's me to choke up eight bucks are the principals in the film or a recommendation from a trusted friend. Some I trust more than others. I do enjoy sitting in a large movie theater with other people watching the big screen. It's the communal story telling that brings me to the campfire.

For me to recommend a movie it doesn't have to be perfect, what is these days, but it needs to be entertaining. Australia, though way too long, did give me eight dollars worth of entertainment. If you can sit through this very long movie it does have some moments. It seems like a good old fashion western with good guys, and bad guys and Hugh Jackman.

It does touch on a horrible part of Australian history that, for the good of the child, removed Aboriginal children from their homes to "study" at a mission school. If you've seen Rabbit Proof Fence you'll know what their Stolen Generations went through. America was no better with removing our Native American children from the reservations to ship them off to boarding schools to learn the "American" ways. That meant death to their culture.

What I liked:

• Hugh Jackman
• the precious little Nullah
• Hugh Jackman without a shirt
• the cinematography
• Hugh Jackman in a tux

What I didn't like:

• Too much CGI for the broad cattle stampede (way too fake)
• Too long
• Not enough Hugh Jackman
• Brian Brown's character was not developed, sadly. Hell, they had the time.

So if you are in need of seeing Hugh Jackman or maybe Nicole Kidman and you can sit for 165 minutes break loose with eight bucks and give it a try. I'd be interested in your review.

File this under No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

The day before Thanksgiving at the Getty last year was very busy. We could have used a few extra docents. I knew I'd be working from 1:30 - 5:30 so when the call for help came in I offered to come in at 10 and work all day. Rain dampened more than the streets resulting in a less than normal crowd. Not a problem, I gave two tours, saw an exhibit I'd been meaning to get to and had a nice lunch with friends; my glass is always half-full.

My generous friends covered my last half-hour so I could catch an earlier bus and I was at the northbound stop by 5:00. Great, it will take the bus 40 minutes to the Van Nuys Metrolink station and I'll get the train that gets into Simi by 7:00. That's when I normally get home on Wednesday evenings.

After I'd waited an hour for my bus--way too long--I noticed two of my buses go by on the freeway. Since the southbound bus goes to Westwood, turns around to become the northbound bus, I went back across the street to find out what was going on. The bus driver said the traffic was a nightmare because of an accident and I could ride with him until he turned around and came back. He'd then get on the freeway at Montana.

When I saw the traffic on Sunset I got off at Belagio and got back on the northbound bus only to inch along Sunset back to the Montana on-ramp. By this time I'd missed my last train home so I took the bus to Topanga Plaza rather than Van Nuys, much closer for my beloved to pick me up. I had an umbrella but it was too cold for my lightweight coat so by the time he came I was chilled to the bone. I finally got home at 9:30. I should have been home by 7:00.

Now the odd thing this morning, I couldn't find one word of the accident that caused all this mess. Silly me, I took the bus to avoid the traffic mess, ha!

With all of this, my glass is still half-full; though a bit water-logged. We had our family Thanksgiving last Saturday so I had no cooking to do today and could sleep in. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Cats, go figure

I've never owned a cat so this is quite amazing to me. Dogs can be funny, too but cats seem to have some strange ideas and act on them.

I love LA

For years my mom had a bridal shop in Thousand Oaks and most of her business was custom so that meant frequent trips to the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles. Since she didn't drive I would take her down during the week to buy fabric, sewing supplies, and whatever else she needed to send those brides, smiling, down the aisle. My daughter and sister were frequent flyers on these journeys and the prize for everyone one was a trip to Olivera Street for lunch.

Saturday the three of us, daughter lil bird, sister Doodles and I made the journey one more time. Lil bird heads down to that area quite often to either visit the flower market on Wall Street or Michael Levine's, a great fabric store. Walking in brought back so many memories it was hard not to see a portion of my life whiz by.

We also visited some bead stores so lil bird could find the goodies to build her aunt a necklace. She's gotten quite talented in making jewelry. The other mission was to find supplies for a crafty little project these two had been working on.

ML's is on Maple, as is a variey of small "jobbers" selling end lots of fabric, shoes, clothes, and just about anything else you'd want. By 10:oo am the street was packed with weekend shoppers with children in tow. Street vendors were cooking up their fare on makeshift stoves and though it smelled delicious we were saving our appetites for Phillipe's. Though that bowl of posole that passed us made us stop and inquire where it could be purchased.

The whole mood of the area was festive with music blaring from some stores and people chatting, in a variety of languages, and brightly colored merchandise pushed almost to the edge of the sidewalk. It was a feast for your senses.

We all decided we need some sitdown food so got the car and headed towards Chinatown. I do know this area and headed for Main St forgetting there was a planned march swirling around the protest of Prop 8 passing making it illegal for same sex to marry in California. Try as we did we could not get close to Phillipe's and after an hour of gridlocked traffic we headed home.

Why do we have a law to keep California taxpayers from getting married in this state? Why are we letting a church, any church, tell us what laws to have? Our founding fathers made sure there was a separation of church and state, what happened to that?

Keep bailing I think we're about to drown

Bail out the Big Three? Why? What have they done for the American consumer other than create gas guzzling cars no one needs. In 2002 we looked for an American made hybrid vehicle. We talked to Ford and Chevy and when do you suppose they would have one on the market and what were we told? Ah, we haven't got the bugs worked out, yet. Yet? Asian markets not only had the bugs worked out, they had them stomped into the ground. In 2003 we gave up and bought the Honda Hybrid.

We are now standing on the brink of a crisis in this country and the automakers are begging for their lives. Where were they when we wanted help with reducing our oil consumption or getting a handle on air pollution? I know where they were, those fat-cat bastards were spending their profits in huge salaries for their execs and not thinking about the future of this country. Their business model for making and selling cars isn't in step with the 21st century and keeping them afloat will only drag us down with them. Are we not still a free-market economy?