Community

We are losing the human touch
It is all mechanical, corporate, technological
We are forgetting about the community and how we are all responsible for each other
Life is a web of interactions and we are severing the strands
There are no more barn raisings
No more neighborhood potlucks
No community gardens
I do believe that we all need to start paying attention to the person again, on a community level rather than a federal or even state level
The disease that is infecting this country started from the ground up and we are just now seeing it on the CEO and federal level we need to get back to the ground
Community gardens where all participate, Habitat for Humanity where we all pitch in to build houses, volunteering at homeless shelters and food kitchens to help those who have even less than we do
Bringing those in prison into the community to keep them connected: gardens both floral and vegetable, help build houses, work on community clean up, take care of animals; we give them libraries and gyms and tvs, why not give them something productive where they can see a final product to take pride in?
That Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon does not just mean that we all know each other but that we are all connected, all of us together

We are all of us responsible for ourselves and how we treat everyone else
We are responsible for the community we live in

There is too much 'you can't do that' and not enough 'let's do this'
There need to be fewer laws as if we are all children who cannot decide for ourselves what we can and cannot do and more assistance to help everyone succeed in life. That does not mean become rich, it just means become fulfilled and have a rich life full of love and achievement.

We need to become a community of people rather than a corporate culture we have become
People are not corporation, people are life, love, happiness, laughter, joy.

And that's my 25 cents...

Vote dammit!

Regardless of your political party, your beliefs, or your religion; we need to all stand up and demand that the President and those in Congress be held accountable for how they vote, what they vote on, and from whom they take money.
In this, it does not matter what you want them to vote for, only that they are voting the will of the majority of voters in their jurisdiction not the will of the corporation giving them the most money.
Stand for what you believe in, tell them what you want them to do, shout your will!!!
We showed that we can make a difference in 2008, no matter if the vote went your way or not, we witnessed the power of many voting their voice.
Contact your representatives at the city, county, state and federal level!! Let them know we are not happy, we are not stupid, and we see what they are doing. The level of greed, partisanship and downright pandering to large corporations over the common good, the public, the people.
We must never forget that we have the power, this is our country and they work for us. They are elected by us to be our voice.
Remember what so many have fought for us to have today. Read your history, read about how many have fought both physically and verbally to ensure our rights and freedoms.
Vote. Please vote. Vote your will, your conscience. But remember, you would not want someone else to limit your rights, your will. Why would you do that to someone else?

And that's my 25 cents...

9/11 and all it means to me

I live in Washington State. I was not anywhere near NYC on that day but I still felt every blow.
The way I heard about it. I was checking my Yahoo email and saw the first report on the home page. I thought it was some kind of weird joke to begin with but I saw more reports online so I turned on my tv. And I watched again and again, over and over as those planes flew right in to those buildings.

In the years since then I have heard many theories as to who and how this happened. The groups of people who were blamed for the tragedy. The reasons they did it.

One of the most terrifying things I watched happen, was the governments unabashed glee in tightening its noose on our freedoms and loosening the restrictions on what it can and cannot do without any watchdogs.

The good, the bad, and the truly ugly attitudes that many religious people took after this tragedy inspired, terrified, and sometimes just left me open-mouthed in disbelief. Some saw this time as a way to reach out, support and encourage one another regardless of personal beliefs. Others saw this as a great time to point fingers, to hate, to say 'see! i told you we shouldn't have let them in!'. And others used this time to hurt, to burn, to kill; with no proof, no evidence, regardless of whether or not someone could have had anything to do with it.

9/11 taught me that we humans can use a life changing event to open up, grow, reach out or to close ourselves up even further, curl ourselves tighter around our preconceived notions and shut others out.

This may not bring me much praise, but much as I know 9/11 was a tragedy, we Americans are so privileged and protected that this one instance of violence shook our psyche and still disturbs us 10 yrs later. There are places around the world that see violence 1000's of times worse than this every day.

Every day.

Every day.

Every day!!

I know that we know it intellectually but I feel that there is a sense that we are more entitled, better somehow and deserve more protection. So though my heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones 10 yrs ago. My heart goes out even more to those mothers in Lybia, Somalia, and elsewhere who just lost their child/ren last week, yesterday, today.

I know, hate me all you want. But 9/11 did open my eyes. Did make me realize that we are not immune to tragedies. Did make me more aware of our governments actions and that there are ways I can help others who, even in America, need help.

And that's My 25 cents...

The Help

I went and saw the movie The Help today. I cried. The acting and the script were superb.
It's so hard to see how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.
Though people of color are no longer slaves and women can vote, there are still groups of people who are being discriminated against.
What is so clear to me are the parallels between the racism in the movie and the issues facing LGBT people today, yet many would claim that there are no similarities at all. Groups of people getting together to try to make legislation that will deny some their rights. Cruel beatings and random slayings of the minority group that go unpunished. Laws limiting the rights of a particular group. Death threats, the depicting of someone as 'less'. Who was I describing there? Blacks, women, LGBT? You don't know do you, because it could have been any of the above.
Many today would be horrified at the atrocities suffered by black people during the civil rights movement, yet would still turn around and argue against full equality for LGBT. I just cannot fathom this blindness.
My heart broke at the hate and bile that was only lightly hinted at in this movie. And is still breaking knowing that this is still going on against blacks, women and LGBT. The 'other' to be sacrificed to the ignorant 'norm'.

Hate and ignorance, using books that are full of tolerance and love to spew intolerance and evil, by people who are just parroting others and have not fully read or understand those books.
I feel so powerless, that I cannot even get my family and friends to see or care about what they are doing to others and how it goes against what they profess to believe in. They do not seem to see history repeating itself yet again.

I don't have any more words, all I have is tears.

And that's My 25 cents...

Wishful thinking...It's just me

Steps I think we should take to make America a good country:

• MMA, Tai Chi and yoga mandatory for all grade levels (kindergarten starts out with just the yoga)
• Weapons training with firearms, blunt and sharp instruments as well as street fighting and strategy/tactics classes mandatory from 5th grade on with younger grades learning care, maintenance and full history (offensive and defensive) of all weaponry
• Mandatory one (1) year of military service sometime between 18-25
• Learning money handling, economics, finance starting in 1st grade
• From 1st grade must learn three (3) languages or more. Oral and written
• From 1st grade there must be serious discussions of history and the repercussions of decisions that were made at the time. Not just a regurgitation and memorization of dates and names
• All grades: Must practice at least two (2) art forms of any medium
• Must participate in one (1) Science or Tech fair per year starting in 5th grade
• Internships and apprenticeships will be provided by area companies during high school for students who have a career path in mind but with no contractual requirement to continue on with that company after high school

The above is for all children, male and female.
That is all for the schools that I can think of right now.

• All government programs will be streamlined to run more efficiently, with fewer loopholes
• Any law that cannot be reasonably enforced will be removed from the books, including obsolete laws
• Any law that is only on the books 'for our own good' will be removed
• The only laws that should be on the books are laws that enforce not harming another person
• All drugs, alcohol and weapons will be legal to own, use and sell
• Any harm caused another person against their will with any of the above or exacerbated by the above will have severe, harsh consequences
• The selling of any of the above to minors will be met with equal intolerance
• Prostitution will be legal
• Drugs, alcohol, weapons and sex will all be monitored, licensed and taxed by the government
• All sex workers will be required to undergo 3 month health exams

You can see that the above would simultaneously save money by ending the war on drugs and sex, and make a lot of money off of all the above.

•  Corporations will be penalized for moving jobs or money out of the country unnecessarily
• Small businesses will get assistance for creating new jobs
• Tax law will be streamlined to close any loopholes
• If a company is not run properly and needs government assistance to stay in business, the executives in charge of the business will not be rewarded with money and exit packages and may even see jail time if the damage is widespread
• There will be heavier levies on companies whose manufacturing or other services are done outside of the country; the more of a product that is made in country, the more of a break that company will get

I know I have more about business and the greedy you-know-whats who run them but I can't think of anymore right now

• Those in Congress shall not have been lawyers as that creates an imbalance and conflict of interest between the Judiciary and Legislative branches of government
• Those holding office shall not have any free benefits that are not readily available for all in the country; so no free health care for themselves and their entire families, no free rides in government vehicles of any kind that do not relate directly to a government function and shall never include family, their salaries/benefits do not continue after their term of service
• Those in office may not accept money or gifts in any way, shape or form from anyone
• Those running for office shall only use the public money allotted to them to run for office and will be disqualified if it is found that any outside money, support or gifts were accepted during their campaign
• Any bill that is introduced for consideration may not have any riders in the bill that do not pertain directly to that bill
• In no bill that is admitted for consideration will there be any earmarks that are not directly related to the main thrust of the bill

I know I have so much more but I can't think of any right at the moment. This one I may come back and update if I think of anything else that I think is pertinent.

And that's My 25 cents...

Do they really think we'll buy it?

With some of America's richest men coming out in support of higher taxes on the wealthy; one has to wonder what the agenda is of those in government who are opposing tax hikes. Many of them use the excuse that the lower taxes will allow these 'job creators' to open more positions in America. As these 'job creators' have had these lower taxes for almost a decade now and the number of jobs has gone down not up, I fail to see the validity of this argument.
So, once again, what is the agenda of those in office who continue to oppose imposing higher taxes and closing tax loopholes on that top 1%?
More and more people are coming out and asking that question, and no matter how loud they continue to repeat that same lame answer, we will continue to ask; because that is still our right here in America. They have not yet succeeded in taking that away from us.

And that's My 25 cents...

Greed Corruption Materialism

In the last few days, listening to and reading news stories on money, politicians and large corporations; I have started to feel a huge, yawning pit of helplessness.
Here in America, the divide between the haves and the have-nots in now a chasm. And the people who should be protecting the rights and lives of the have-nots are in the pockets of the haves. There is no clear way out of this quagmire of deceit, lies, greed and selfishness. No one currently in a position of power or running for a position of power is a good option to help re-stabilize society.  I certainly do not expect that there will be someone who will follow my beliefs down the line. I do wish that someone would have the welfare of the people rather than someone who is just going to make sure that the interests of the industries that are paying them are seen to.
What I see today are people who are poised to turn back time. Strip the rights of women and minorities, take away the protections for our environment and future generations, forcing their religious views on the public, giving freer rein to those who got us here to begin with, taking away all the protections put in place to keep the haves honest, forcing the have-nots to shoulder more and more of the burden for the haves, taking away or hollowing out any programs designed to give the have-nots a chance to move closer to the haves. No matter what history has shown, the haves seem bent on continuing in their course, seemingly gambling on the hope that nothing will happen in their lifetimes. Increasingly forgetting their obligations and responsibilities in favor of their pleasure. Giving in to their sense of entitlement and lack of accountability.
We see this as well in the, admittedly, horrifying rioting in England. It is true that the rioters are committing crimes and acts of violence but it is reckless (or willful) blindness on the part of the politicians to say that these riots have only the greed and selfishness of the rioters behind it. When it is very clear, even to those of us not in politics that the underlying sickness is the horrifying disconnect between the protectors and the protectees.  Today's politicians seem to have forgotten or buried the simple fact that they are public servants, they are there to serve and protect the public. They are not put in office to take money on the side from large firms to look after their interests even if they could bring harm to the public as a whole. The whole job of politicians is to keep that very thing from happening, to protect the public the environment and our future from harm. Corporations do not have loyalty to a particular country anymore, they can go anywhere in the world now. Now more than ever we need politicians to keep the depredations of large corporations and the very rich from grinding down the general public. Large corporations do not but should care that they can only grind down the public for so long before there is nothing more to get from it.
As I have said before, I think that the first thing that went wrong was that we started paying our politicians and quit making it a volunteer assignment. The second error was allowing lawyers to be politicians. I believe that, as they are lawyers and therefore part of the judicial branch, lawyers should not be allowed to become politicians. Third, very few of the current politicians have ever run a business or know anything about budgeting. Its all games and getting their way over all the others or making sure they get a share of the pie.
I do not see a way out of this mess as long as the politicians are willingly blinding themselves to the true issues and unwilling to remove their hands from the pockets of large corporations.

And that's My 25 cents...