We the People

Plato had a knack for thinking in such broad terms about government that it is still relevant today.

In The Guardian's Manner of Life, he writes, that the aim in founding the commonwealth was not to make any one class especially happy.

Today, we must remember, that also was the aim of the founding fathers when they declared independence from England.  Declaring Independence was not to make any one class of people happy but to form a union that would prevent that from happening.

Back then Plato said:
"We thought we should have the best chance of finding justice in a state so constituted where the aim was not to make any one class specially happy, but to secure the greatest possible happiness for the nation as a whole.  If we were to focus on a select few the Guardians we have chosen to represent us will bring the whole state to utter ruin" Plato

Today the focus on wealth  and what it can achieve through the use of political donations is creating a nation where the ordinary voter no longer has the ability to get his message out to the masses.   Our nation is heading towards ruin, we see it everyday with the focus on profits over people and the nation.

Today, think tanks financed by oil, insurance and pharmeceutical companies dominate all facets of our communication systems. They have carte blanche to disseminate their talking points and they do.  They send out endless bulk e-mails saying the same things over and over to instill unreasonable fear. They pay their lackies to spout out fear on the nations multi media channels.  They have been given free rein to spend as much money as they can on politicians that will do their bidding when elected.  Unfortunately, the uneducated masses fall right in line, voting against their best interests.

The Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court allowed corporations to become people.  Allowed them the same rights as citizens.  Even going so far as to allow foreign corporations to donate to political groups through back door methods. No longer is our nation about representing the "voter or person" for the term person, now means corporation.  Corporations who have no one individual accountable and are considered "people," can give as much money as they want, anywhere they want with no limits.

What does this mean for our "democracy."  How can we call ourselves a nation of laws when those very laws have been manipulated to allow corporations to act as individuals?

As Plato stated...our nation was never about allowing one section of society to commandeer the reins of power for their own benefit; as he said, it will only create ruin.  Justice Stevens recognized this in his dissent when he stated:

"At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics."

Our laws were established to represent "We the People" and i close with the preamble as a reminder of where this country is not going, for "We the People" are loosing our voice.

We the People  of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

starve the beast

i think most of you reading here have heard of Lemon Pledge.  It's a furniture wax that contains no wax.  You probably also know that recently the Republicans came out with a "Pledge to America."

Most of us regard a pledge as given by someone you hope you can trust,  someone that will keep your children and my children safe.

Well when people are confused about evolution or global climate change, they endanger your children and my children, by weakening science, by weakening education, by making it harder to deal with problems like cancer and floods that kill people and wreak economic havoc when they're not handled right.

When politicians allow crazy, nasty talk to be part of their "contribution" to American democracy, when they allow crazy, nasty talk to be part of how they participate in self-government of our country, they hurt everybody because when government doesn't work well-- when our justice system doesn't have enough judges to function, when our state budgets can't withstand a recession, when we can't even talk about health care or the deficit or tax relief for the middle class without going crazy ... we end up with a country that doesn't work so well.

There's a reason most people don't want to live in places without a working government -- Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, the Wild West just to name a few. 

Because it's not safe for you, for me, for our children.

Poverty, bad education, unaffordable health care, crumbling roads and bridges, pollution in our air and water, contaminated food ...

... they don't magically take care of themselves.  We all need to be involved in making these things better for everyone in the country.

So when we can't govern ourselves because of the screaming or the misinformation or the dishonesty, people suffer, people die.  Needlessly.

That's what happens when anyone lies about the facts.  Or get them wrong.  Or get all crazy and can't have a constructive conversation about it because they are focused on some personal failing.

This new pledge is the same old pledge we have seen for the past 30 years.  Nothing has changed.
They want to drown the government in a bathtub.  They want to starve the beast.  If you want more of the same put them back in so they can continue to run this country into the ground.  This new pledge is like Lemon Pledge, it's a fake, it has no wax, nothing that will make this country run more smoothly. 

Starving the Beast(cutting taxes) means taking your Social Security and Medicare, it means roads, bridges and infrastructure will continue to deteriorate.  It's a buzz word you should recognize.  The Republicans started this a long time ago, running up the deficits, knowing that if they wrecked the economy eventually they would have to go after Social Security and Medicare.

Here's the findings on cutting Social Security and Medicare: "On Social Security, 73 percent of Republicans, 84 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independent voters are opposed to cutting it in any way. On Medicare, 75 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of independents are opposed to eliminating it."  We do agree on the most important things.

The new Pledge to American was drafted by a lobbyist.  One who represented pharmacetical compaines, oil companies and insurance companies.  If you want backward and regressive offshoring of jobs etc. then vote to see your taxes go down and your country rot. 

The job situation is not going to change with tax cuts.  High unemployment will continue even with Republicans in charge and may last even longer because they want to cut instead of stimulate the economy. 

Unemployment is a function of lack of demand; there is no other reason for it. 

If we were a country with political clarity our problems could be attacked positively.  The right claims that there are jobs just no one to fill them.  So where are the big labor shortages, have you seen any in your community, ads for all those jobs in the paper?  I haven't seen any in mine.

"Job openings have plunged in every major sector, while the number of workers forced into part-time employment in almost all industries has soared. Unemployment has surged in every major occupational category. Only three states, with a combined population not much larger than that of Brooklyn, have unemployment rates below 5 percent."  Paul Krugman

Even highly skilled people who are willing to move can't find jobs.   So where are these jobs the right says are available?

"I've been looking at what self-proclaimed experts were saying about unemployment during the Great Depression; it was almost identical to what Very Serious People are saying now. Unemployment cannot be brought down rapidly, declared one 1935 analysis, because the work force is "unadaptable and untrained. It cannot respond to the opportunities which industry may offer." A few years later, a large defense buildup finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy's needs — and suddenly industry was eager to employ those "unadaptable and untrained" workers."  Paul Krugman

When demand increases workers will find jobs and not until then.  We need to invest in America and if you keep voting Republicans in this will not happen.  Think about your children next time you vote, do you want them living in a third world country or at least having a fighting chance that they might get to live like you did.

Increase or cut

Bush's tax cuts, Obama's tax increase, which is it?  Well we all know that during the Bush administration Congress passed legislation reducing taxes for ten years.  At the end of the ten years the tax rates were scheduled to revert back to their original levels.  So Bush and the Republican congress played politics with the expiration date of the tax cuts.  Great plan if you lose the Presidency, House and Senate.

Today, President Obama inherited a dilemma, he doesn't want the taxes to revert to their original levels especially for the middle and lower classes.  But he also understands, as do all the major economists, Alan Greenspan included, that to reduce the deficit taxes must go up somewhere.

Internal Revenue Service statistics indicate that only 3 percent of small businesses would be subject to the higher tax if President Obama pushes for the group making $250,000 and over. Innumerable studies of previous tax increases suggest that it would have a minimal impact on hiring.

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, "Ninety Seven percent(97%) of all businesses owners do not earn enough to be subject to the higher rates, which would be levied on income over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families."

Now here is an interesting factoid, the I.R.S. classifies small businesses differently from the public perception of the neighborhood laundry or the small mom and pop corner grocery store. A report released by the Joint Tax Committee in July found that many of the tax returns categorized as small businesses were actually filed by wealthy taxpayers who earned business income through limited partnerships or S corporations to allow their firms to avoid paying corporate taxes.

You have heard of sole proprietors?  Well many of the above are wealthy individuals with NO EMPLOYEES and guess what else, they won't be hiring any time soon.  Those S corporations consisting of lawyers, hedge fund managers, lobbyists, consultants, actors, athletes, authors and even some doctors will certainly be enlarging their employee base...right?   How many employees do you think they have, and how many more do they need, and how exactly is that tax money going to create jobs?

Using mom and pop business's as a political tool to get more money for the wealthy won't work this time around. The tax money is not coming out of the business, it is coming out of the pockets of the individuals that made the money.  Once it is in their pocket it is no longer used in the business.  If those business owners(that might actually grow their business) were to expand, they would do it before taking the money out, which means before taxes. 

A business decision to hire new employees is based simply on the calculus that the new employees hired will make more profit for the business, and ultimately it's owner. An additional tax of 3% or 4% on those increased profits, after the  profits are removed from the business, does not affect that calculus.

If i can hire an additional employee who will make another $20,000 per year in profits for me, i will do that whether or not i have to pay another $800 in taxes on that profit.  Mitch McConnell and his conservative buddies want you, the middle class, to loose your tax cut unless his wealthy buddies get theirs.  The right is using a false pretext, using small business to convince you and make you sympathetic, to make you feel like it is coming out of your pocket. Its not.

The key to new jobs is that if demand doesn't go up no one hires, regardless of a tax break or not.

Here is another point about higher taxes.  Employers at the end of the year try to find ways of reducing their tax liability by buying things they can deduct.  In some ways that buying keeps other business operating.  Farmers buy new equipment, companies buy new computers and i think you get the idea here.  Higher taxes can actually stimulate business.  You don't pay taxes on the money you invest in the company.

Back in the day when taxes were higher companies plowed their money back in by hiring more employees and expanding business instead of paying higher taxes.  Now they are just sitting on it, putting it into bonds and waiting for the market to move.  They should really be using the money not hoarding it.

"Between 2003 and 2007 we experienced the first-ever economic 'recovery' on record where productivity and profits grew but poverty went up and median incomes fell. The middle class and low-income families did not benefit from the gains accrued over the last decade, which was due to the failed economic policies of the Bush administration and the focus on tax cuts for the wealthy that did not lead to growth in investment." Melissa Boteach

Profits and productivity do not mean more jobs.  How many friends do you have that are working double time at their jobs for fear of being laid off?  Giving tax breaks to the wealthy will not change that scenario.
                                           

Jobs in the service sectors are about the only things that can't be out sourced or moved offshore any more.  We've let China and the European countries lead the way in alternative technology that we invented.  We are no longer investing in the USA and a tax break for the wealthy will not create more jobs.  If the mom and pops are where the jobs are then lets give them the tax breaks they need to at least keep what little we have left churning at home.  Those real mom and pops don't make over $250,000 a year and they will get a break.

Eye of AllOne

Before i get into the meat of this piece i wanted to post this picture for everyone to see.  To me it looks like a large eye with eyelashes.  i thought it was so beautiful i tried getting the whole thing into the view finder but missed one portion.  It was so big and gorgeous that to get that sense yourselves you should double click on it and really give it a look.

i like it so much i'm calling it the
Eye of AllOne.  i imagine this is how ancient religions got their myths started.  One could easily equate this with any God they believed in.  So since i think we are all connected by and through AllOne here it is.

Now for the meat.......So, what could a conservative and a liberal agree on?   How about we start with government spending.  i know you want less, we all want less, liberals and conservatives alike; but how concerned are you about a massive defense establishment which spends $1 trillion of your tax money every year in peacetime?   Please realize this amount does not include counting the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Also remember that our nation maintains over 700 military bases all over the world. 

For everyone out there that is concerned what would the founding fathers say about that?  All those military bases?

That $1 trillion-a-year defense budget didn't prevent the 9/11 attack, we don't like to think about that, but it didn't.  The actual attack for the perpetrators may have cost a mere half million to pull off.  So have we been wasting that $1trillion or is it being spent wisely?  Apparently the libertarian Cato Institute thinks we have been spending too much and recommends cutting the defense budget in half . 

Guess what? 

We liberals agree!

And there's probably a lot more we could agree on.

Jim Hightower recently wrote, "the true political spectrum in our society does not range from right to left, but from top to bottom.  Let's put aside the labels of left and right for a bit and figure out how to wrest power from the tiny minority who have manipulated the law, politics and the media to maintain it.  Get your facts straight and then let's work together to bring back government of the people, by the people and for the people."

The first step to changing how we interact and treat each other as a species starts with each individual deciding there is a better way. i know there are better ways. Only very rarely does something truly need force to create change.

i think we all realize there are no easy solutions.   Historical events are not linear, they don't fit together nicely.  There are many complex narratives concerning how we got here, no one example completely delivers any one pat answer, for there is none.  We shouldn't buy into the simplistic commentaries that blame taxes, welfare, war or even the wealthy.

Vast numbers of decisions that were made over time did get us here today.  We can look at how we want to do things differently in the future but that means taking stock of where we are today.

When we emphasize identity politics we create factions that are manipulated against each other to the detriment of all of us.  So keep that in mind as you read the following.

One interesting conversation of late is the income gap.  For decades we have been told that you don't raise taxes on job creators(wealthy).

Well you do know the wealthy do not spend all their money unlike the lower and middle classes.  The lower and middle classes spend everything; all of it goes back into the system, which churns the economy. The theory is that if we catered to the middle class the middle class will have money to spend and the wealthy will come out of the woodwork to provide something(jobs) to separate them from it.  According to the Congressional Budget Office this churning from 1979 to 2007 gave the top 1% a whopping 281% increase in their after tax incomes.  The bottom fifth of the nation enjoyed a measly 16% increase.

Assuming the wealthy are "job creators" what does it say about the fact that even back in 2004, after the tax cuts, the economy shed over 3 million jobs?  It tells us that in spite of just receiving a massive upper-class welfare package, the rich did NOT create jobs.  If anything, the businesses they own or are shareholders in laid off, outsourced and offshored jobs rather than create them.

When you drive the middle class into penury by giving the wealthy tax breaks that will not create jobs because there is no demand for whatever commodity they want to sell, you have to re-evaluate.

Americans are no longer employable on the global market.  Our basic cost of living is too high and we cannot compete with labor in developing nations.  Henry Ford once said that he wanted to pay his employees enough money to buy his cars. Wal-Mart wants to pay its employees so little that they have to shop at Wal-Mart.  This is where we are today and we need to remember it is today not yesterday.

The wealthy (who own and operate corporations) have a single purpose - that is to increase the size of their portfolio and corporate profits by any means necessary. 

Creating jobs in the USA stands in direct opposition to increasing profits.  The long range goal of any corporation (small business or large) is to eliminate or reduce labor costs as much as possible.   This takes us back to the cause of the civil war.  The reason the south fought was because the north threatened a source of free or low-cost labor. 

There has been no new net job creation in the U.S. since sometime in the 1990s.

The rich are not concerned with unemployment, they are concerned with profits. 

The wealthy do not create jobs in the USA anymore.

Extending the tax cuts for the wealthy is giving more upper-class welfare to people who helped create the mess we are in today.

So if you want to see the deficit reduced think a bit more about where those tax cuts are going and who they are really benefiting.  The wealthy can afford to pay.

Hope you enjoy the pictures...see ya next week.

Tax Cut or Stimulus

So the other day President Obama proposed spending $50 Billion on infrastructure projects; he wants to boost jobs and fix things around the country but Republicans are against it.

If you are on the conservative side of the coin you will probably scream bloody murder that the first stimulus program did nothing. Welllllll i hate to disagree with you but it did have an impact.

Anyone who actually examined where the money went from the stimulus understands it kept millions of people working when there were no other alternatives. Those people that actually "followed the money" understand that Republican governors all over the country took it, ran with it and held press conferences saying "Look what we did for you with it" without ever acknowledging that the it was stimulus money. They used it(stimulus money) in their communities, then bad mouthed it(stimulus money) politically. Here is a short list of some of them:
Govs. Mitch Daniels (R-IN),Dave Heineman (R-NE), Sonny Perdue (R-GA), and Phil Bredesen (D-TN),Mark Sanford (R-SC)you remember him, even went to court then quietly took the money. Gov. Pawlenty(R-MN)refused to sign a letter requesting money but his budget already included it(stimulus money), he was counting on the money to balance his budget but he didn't want to tell you that. i could go on but won't.  Forty Seven Governors signed up for the money that alone tells you how dire the situation was.

This report finds that, without both the stimulus and financial policies, the "GDP in 2010 would be about 6 1/2 % lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8 1/2 million jobs on top of the 8 million already lost, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation." Now read that again because naysayers that believe we shouldn't have done anything have to understand where we would be today if we hadn't done the stimulus. Eight and a half million more people without jobs. Isn't it bad enough already?

The reports authors Mr. Blindi and Mr. Zandi estimate the total direct cost of the recession at $1.6 trillion, and the total budgetary cost, after adding in nearly $750 billion in lost revenue from the weaker economy, at $2.35 trillion, or about 16 percent of G.D.P.

By comparison, the savings and loan crisis cost about $350 billion in today’s dollars: $275 billion in direct cost and an additional $75 billion from the recession of 1990-91 — or about 6 percent of G.D.P. at the time. This recession was not President Obamas fault, he's been trying to put band-aids on a gaping wound.

The above may have been too many facts to take for some. i understand i can get a little long winded but having information is important to understanding the issues.

Anyone who has spent any time reading here knows i'm all about spending tax dollars to benefit all of us. Putting our tax dollars to work on roads etc. will benefit some out there and if i ever drive over those roads it will help me too.

To me, the only problem with this $50 billion is it is too small to have the kind of impact that really helps enough people get jobs.

i get lots of conservative bulk e-mails and one thing i always notice is how they appeal to the emotions first. They give you a sob story to make you feel taken advantage of or fearful of something and then leave it to you to reach a conclusion that will not help your bottom line. i wish it wasn't the case. i wish more people would read both sides before reaching any conclusion, because so many buy into the crap that cutting taxes will create jobs.  It doesn't.  Delete the crap e-mails do your own research.

Now on the other hand extending the Bush tax cuts provides for every $1.00 spent $0.10 to $0.40 cents in economic activity, compared with spending a $1.00 on infrastructure and getting $1.20 in economic activity. Republicans all support extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans as a means of boosting the economy but if you look at the numbers above its obvious which one gets more bang for the buck and which one will actually create jobs and boost the economy. Looks like tax cuts give a smaller economic return which doesn't support that "trickle down theory" we are always bombarded with. i could go on and on but won't. You are probably bored by now. i hope you enjoyed the pictures and please think more deeply about where this country is headed. We need to cut back the money we spend on the military(that will reduce our deficit)and invest in ourselves. President Obama can't do it alone, he needs your help, don't vote against yourself in these up coming elections.  Voting for tax cuts won't help you, but it will help those 2% at the top of the food chain.



If you need a tree cutter and you are on St. Croix Louis Broadman is your man.  He did a great job on cutting ours down.  In case you are appalled that we cut down the tree it was rotten in the middle and posed a huge threat.

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Earl was a beauty.  Nicely formed, tightly compacted
and barreling along as a Category 3.  We have been

here before and followed it closely.  As it approached it picked up on the wind velocity and ended up walloping the north shore of St. Croix(where we live) more forcefully than anticipated. 

We had expected winds of maybe 40mph but by the time we were finished with Earl he had left us reeling.  After an early morning flooding in the living room we decided more panels were needed to protect the western side of the house; storms don't usually come in from that side but with Earl he did.  Up the panels went around 9:00am and we settled in to wait out the storm.  

Have any of you noticed that some of the names for storms this year are cartoon characters?  Fiona from Shrek, Hermine from Harry Potter, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Igor from Frankenstein...hmmmmm.

i've always been concerned about a tree in our front yard that if it fell could do serious damage to the cars.  i suggested moving my car but we decided anywhere we put it was dangerous.  So i suggested cramming it up against the patio just in case the tree came down.  We literally only moved the car about six feet but wouldn't you know it was exactly where the tree wanted to go.  That sweet tree didn't come crashing down it just gently leaned over during the course of the storm, finally breaking at the end.

i would have posted last Wednesday like i usually do but wouldn't you know the power was out.  We spent days cleaning debris, scooping leaves out of the pool and general cleanup.  We still have the panels up because we anticipate more storms this season and don't want to have to do it all again. 

The power went out about 1:15pm Monday and we had it restored Saturday night around 10:00pm.  We had gotten used to the oil lamps, the hand crank radio and a really nifty IKEA goose neck solar lamp i bought in San Diego.  i wish i had more of those for all my friends, they work great.  Its a wonderful feeling to get light from the sun, and its free.

We have a generator but the noise drives you mad so we only run it in the morning and evening for showers, the refrigerator, and ugh the washing.  i'm glad to have that noise silenced.

Hurricanes are stressful.  No matter how much you prepare there is always something. The most positive thing about hurricanes is the aftermath, when everyone kicks in to help each other.  Every hurricane season i remark about how wonderful it is to see so many helping others only to watch it all fizzle out once things are more normal.  i wish there was some magic elixir we could all take that kept us so communally oriented.

This is just a quickie blog, hopefully Wednesday i'll be back to normal, stay tuned.  And thank you for the lovely dish towel, you know who you are.

consent a year and a half ago

A year and a half ago outside the San Diego Zoo i overheard a loud exchange of verbal accusations.  i turned to look and saw a husband and wife arguing.  i was walking in front of them and decided to slow down to let them catch up after hearing the woman tell the man not to be angry.  He replied back to her that he would continue to be angry.

Most people would not involve themselves in a discussion of this sort but my advocates training kicked in when i asked him "Why Angry?" as they caught up to me.  He replied that he liked to win and being angry helped him win.  i asked him why he liked to win and he said because it made him feel good.  i asked if he ever wondered how those he was angry at felt and he said he didn't care how they felt because he had won.
i suggested that winning wasn't necessarily going to make his life better and in fact might make it less harmonious.  i suggested that maybe it might make the other person less apt to help him and more apt to try and thwart his efforts.  i asked him if he didn't think that gaining her consent would accomplish more than just winning.  He claimed he was like a peacock needing to display.



We talked a whole lot more about how to gain consent, and what it meant to have an equal say during an argument when the woman said you know it is Sunday.  i hadn't thought at all about what day it was, i don't normally give sermons, i just wanted to diffuse something that looked like it was going to explode. After talking for quite a while, the man said, you know you have made me look at this differently  I'm going to have to think about this in more depth.  His wife thanked me and so did the man as we all walked off smiling.  As i walked away i thought to myself i hope he understands that his beauty and happiness lies deep within his behavior.

Problems arrive in order to push us toward making choices voluntarily.  Rousing people from their apathy or anger to get them to think may sometimes seem to come into conflict with a loving attitude.  Preventing one from hurting another is a loving thing to do.  Remaining silent when those around you may need you to interfere prolongs injustice.  Next time you see a situation where you can make a difference, don't walk away from it, engage as politely as you can.

And now for one of my goofy poems that should be read like a run on sentence.  i wrote this after having a conversation with my mom.

its not roe or caviar                               

ovoid shaped food
laid by a female
and eaten for millennia
is in the news,
maybe the small rodents
left behind salmonella
in their
poop, or
bigger flapping entities
may have been sick
and left behind salmonella
in their eggs, maybe
the feathered
creatures have
eaten unhealthy foodstuffs
that contained salmonella, so
now we don't want to
eat the white spheroid
shapes resting in cardboard
and plastic
cartons in our refrigerator,
we don't want to
get sick, but we don't
want to waste either
its not roe or caviar
you know, so
toss it.

The picture to the right is one i took looking into the pool.  It is natures example of an ant colony working together to stay alive.  If you double click on it you will see that they have land in the shape of the leaf and they have a food source, the wasp at the bottom.  They link their legs to stay afloat and can do this for as long as it takes to find solid ground.  Ants are fascinating creatures but not when they are invading your home.  These Crazy Harry(hairy) Ants are taking over St. Croix and their resilience just astounds me.

Where your taxes go

Guess what, we always say we are number one in the world for all sorts of things, but did you know we are NUMBER ONE in the world for incarcerating people?  Iran, Russia and China pull up behind us in the number per capita that are in jail.

"The United States' incarceration rate is, according to official reports, the highest in the world, at 754 persons imprisoned per 100,000 (as of 2008). 

A report released in 2008 indicates that in the United States more than 1 in 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison. The United States has 4% of the world's people and 25% of the world's incarcerated population."

HALF of all persons incarcerated under state jurisdiction are for non-violent offenses which costs YOU the taxpayer from $18,000 to $33,000 per year to keep them in jail.  Every year, tens of thousands of nonviolent, productive, otherwise law-abiding citizens are locked in cages with the most dangerous criminals in our society for marijuana convictions.  In fifteen states you can get life in prison for simple marijuana possession if you are a habitual offender and only six years for murder.  In California the average sentence for a convicted murderer is 3.3 years.

Here is another one for ya: "U.S. military spending has risen to nearly half of the global total, but the U.S. share of global output is eroding steadily as other economies grow faster." Korb and Thomson

    "Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes … known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."— James Madison, Political Observations, 1795

The UN was set up to promote peace among nations through cooperation and collective security.  Its annual budget is 1.8% of the worlds military budget and even with all its problems it is grossly underfunded.  The entire world spends more on their militaries rather than contribute to international cooperation and peace.  No wonder we can't enjoy a level of security that we all should demand in this era. The reason we aren't secure is we won't pay for peace but we will pay for war. 

Defense spending increases during economic turmoil.  Some $2.4 trillion, or 4.4%, of the global economy "is dependent on violence", according to the Global Peace Index.   If only the world understood that peace delivers economic prosperity and stability maybe more would contribute to a world that is good for business.

Between spending on the prisons and the military as long as we are controlled by our fears we will fail to see how wasted our tax dollars are.  War(the drug war and the war on terror)and the machinations behind them will prevail.  Massive military spending does not lead to peace.  Incarcerating non violent prisoners does not lead to safety.  We see this every day and yet we continue to believe in failed policies.

When we invest in ourselves peace and safety are results that will benefit all.  Start evaluating where your tax dollars go, stop complaining about poor people and start investing in peace.  Join me in supporting the creation of a Peace Department. Just click on the button above to get involved.

socialized beachs

California is known all over the world for its splendid beaches.  Miles of sand beckon the walker, swimmer, tide pool explorer, surfer , bike rider and sun worshipers.  The ocean's allure affects everyone and on a sunny day the beach is packed.

The one thing i look forward to every year when i visit San Diego is walking the beach.  i can go for miles and miles watching the ocean, searching for treasure, or just people watching.  i drive there early every morning to enjoy a little bit of solitude and connection with an element that i need to soothe my soul.

i've been fortunate to meet interesting people that also share and love the beach and that is the topic for today.

Coastal communities all over the nation devote considerable resources to providing access for everyone.  All up and down the east coast, west coast and the gulf region Americans enjoy the beach. They pack up their families, picnic baskets, umbrellas and join millions of others all over the country for a day at the beach.  No one thinks about this in terms of shared value or shared assets, its just there.

Californians pay taxes to keep the beach clean, pay lifeguards to save them when in distress and provide public bathrooms and water fountains.  Most beach goers never think that without a communal regard for creating space that all can enjoy we would not be allowed on them.

Pure capitalism would allow each edifice that was built along the shore to extend fences down to the waterline.  Only the people owning those properties would be allowed to enjoy the spit of sand in front of their home, hotel or club.  People wanting access would have to pay for the right to enjoy the beach inside the fences.


i call our beaches "Socialized Beachs" and thank goodness so many of us want to keep them just the way they are.  We all pay for the right to use them but imagine if you couldn't.  What would San Diego be like without socialized beaches?

All up and down, what is known here as the Strand there could be fences breaking it up.  You wouldn't be allowed to walk uninterrupted because all those property owners would want to keep you off.  So remember, the next time you complain about paying taxes consider those socialized beachs and parks and thank your lucky stars that pure capitalism didn't prevail.

Proposition 8

Finally a clear sunny day in "sunny California".  Almost the entire time i have been here the weather has been horrible.  Every morning i awake to fog that fails to burn off, temperatures in the mid to high 60's, and a chill that means a sweater has to be part of one's daily wardrobe.
i took my mom for a long drive along the southern California coast yesterday so we could both enjoy the sunny weather.  When we got back two men were getting out of a Van with a sign that said "We Won" and a big cartoonish looking paper mache head that one of them put on.  i wondered what they won and soon found out when i got on line and saw the ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco.

Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

The gay and lesbian center is just below my mom's apartment and it was ablaze with celebration.  Where two days before they had been handing out food, yesterday they were ecstatic.  The mayor and other legislators made an appearance to speak before the young, the old, the infirm and the disenfranchised.  Yesterday, the possibility to be treated equally got closer to reality.

i of course dashed over when i saw the parade.  i wanted to give my support and was fortunate to meet two immaculately groomed men who had gotten married to each other after 20 years of living together.  One was holding a photo of their wedding day which had occurred two years ago when California passed the marriage law.  i asked them if after Prop. 8 passed did it affect the legality of their marriage.  They said no, that they were a unique group of 18,000 couples whose marriage was legal even with the Proposition.  They were jubilant about the ruling and questioned why anyone would think their marriage could threaten someone elses.

i asked if anyone had ever proven that a same sex marriage had made a heterosexual marriage any less valuable.  They both laughed and said that was the million dollar question that no one could answer.

i took the picture behind the fence because the wall is still up for many people. This ruling is the beginning of a long, long battle.  As more people focus on equality and not sex maybe these men and women who turned out yesterday will be given the rights they deserve.

help locally

The buses air brakes squealed as it pulled into the stop to disgorge more riders equipped with shopping carts, back packs and reusable shopping bags, some had brought folding chairs.  The line of people  extended around the block and down the alley.

It was nine o'clock yesterday morning and the procession was moving forward at a snails pace.  The church bells were counting off the hour, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong and life was supposedly normal all around the crowds waiting on University Ave.

They had started lining up at 7:30am for the food.  Free food that was being distributed by the gay and lesbian community center .  These were not street people, these were ordinary everyday people from all walks of life lining up for food.  Young and old alike waited patiently for their turn to be served the bulk food they would take home.  i watched from the balcony of my mom's apartment.

It made my heart ache.  i'd just finished reading GregMortenson's book "Stones into Schools" and was half way through "Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof.  Both books highlighted the plight of women in third world countries and the importance of helping them.

A heavy emphasis is put on educating children, especially young girls and women in third world countries.  Research has illuminated a parallel between improved living conditions and womens education, for women are the spreaders of good will.

But what about local needs, here we are faced with a need that is right in our face.  Hundreds and hundreds of men and women lined up waiting for food.  It made me wonder if we took the foreign aid we spend on guns and weapons and put it into this country if that vision would still be a reality. 

Why were so many lining up?  What was happening in their lives that they found it necessary to line up on a Tuesday morning to get free food?  And my final question, how many other communities all across the nation was this happening in regularly?

Spreading good will is important but we have major problems of our own that need to be addressed.  We want to go out and help those less fortunate in other countries but we don't want to focus too much attention on problems here at home.  The soup kitchens, the homeless, the people living at or below the poverty level, the hungry, the uneducated, the battered and raped, and the crime.  Those problems are there staring us in the face daily.

i've been walking on the beach in the mornings with a woman that has a fifteen year old son.  She was talking about sending him off to another country to help out and learn some valuable lessons.  My response was why wait, we have huge problems here that he could volunteer and learn from.

Living here in San Diego has been a wake up call for me.  Daily i see homeless pushing shopping carts, others dragging huge plastic bags full of cans and bottles to turn in for money, and now those waiting for food.  Life is not good for a lot of people in the small area i traverse and it breaks my heart every day.

A lot of us, myself included, are incredibly lucky to lead charmed lives.  Giving back takes so little time, please consider how you can help out locally for it will make a difference.

The banner in the first picture says
"Reflect on yourself, Connect with others, Affect the world"  I think that last section should say affect your town first, then the world.

craving chocolate

Pound Plus, imported from Belgium, sits on my Mom's coffee table.  The package says it is made exclusively for Trader Joe's in a small town outside of Antwerp by confectionery artisans known for producing the finest chocolate in the world.

To put it lightly, i've been addicted since a piece landed in my mouth.  This chocolate is so good that letting it slowly melt in your mouth is an ongoing delight.  Letting it linger allows the flavor to develop and explode.  Any thoughts of restraint go out the window as long as there is more available for consumption.

The benefits of eating this chocolate is that it makes me happy and i have no desire to restrict myself as long as it is available.  i rationalize this because when i leave San Diego i won't have access.

Your probably wondering what craving delicious chocolate has to do with this post today.  Well it has to do with happiness.  It has to do with how the decisions we all make affect others and ourselves.  It has to do with the on going struggle we all have to do the right thing. It has to do with how we all stress over our selfish desires as opposed to someone else's life.

And it is a struggle.  i'm struggling with doing the right thing and doing what i want.  i want to eat the chocolate but is it the right thing?  If i eat too much of the chocolate there won't be any for my mom when she wants to eat it, so i have to control myself.  Is my happiness more important than my mom's?

Controlling impulses when we want something is difficult.  How do we choose instead of reacting because we want to? 

Today we have a whole generation of people who were raised to think of themselves first.  Their needs come first and their wants come first.  i want to know if their lives will be filled with disappointment they won't be able to handle because failure to achieve their wants will affect them more adversely than those taught to delay gratification?

i have wants right now that i can't achieve.  i want to go home to St. Croix but the timing is wrong.  i can get angry, i can mull over it and feel denied but does that make me feel any better?  No, because we all have the ability to deny gratification.  i can choose to be upset about having to stay here or i can choose to take a wait and see attitude.  If i choose the angry path, i'm going to make myself and my mom miserable.  But if i take the wait and see route we can both enjoy a level of tranquility unavailable if i only think of myself.

So looking on the sunny side of continued life in San Diego is the fact that i can eat more chocolate, i can walk the long long beach every morning, i can watch wildlife i don't see at home and maybe interact with people i never imagined, and i can continue to figure out ways to avoid traffic congestion and enjoy spending more time with my mom.

Whoo Hoo....see ya next week.

Pride Parade San Diego

Last evening i was walking my mom around the block when we passed a bus that was parked.  i asked why the driver was reading his newspaper and my mother replied he was ahead of schedule and needed to sit for a while before moving on.  As we walked past  i looked at the people on the bus, one woman of color was drawing an elaborate design on a sketch pad and i thought she had talent.  The piece wasn't finished but it had a certain appeal that drew me in as i walked past, in fact it made me look back to see more.

The others on the bus were minding their own business, staring out the window, reading newspapers or just waiting for the bus to get going.  i was thinking the bus looked quite peaceful until i got to the back end of it.  In the middle of the back seat sat an American Indian all by himself sprawling all over and looking huge.  He had long dark hair and a pock marked face right out of an old western movie.  i thought he looked distinguished until i looked down and saw he was flipping me the bird.

My mind went into overdrive as i walked past the back of the bus. i turned around, walked back and mimed "Why?" through the window back at him.  He flipped me the bird again, no smile, no change in facial expression just this hand tilted sideways flipping me the bird with an intense stare included.  i mimed "Why?" again and mimed  "i'm a nice person" through the window.  He maintained his posture, his stare and his hand flipping me the bird.  i flipped him back the bird and smiled.  He then broke a smile and we were both happy.

My mother couldn't believe what i was doing, she thought i was inciting a riot but i explained i was communicating.  The same thing had happened while at the beach with my sister and her twins a few days earlier.  Three men of color, in their early 20's walked up to me.  One of them asked me to hold what i thought was his half smoked cigarette.  i told him i didn't smoke and didn't want to hold his cigarette while looking away.  He pointed to a pink sweat shirt on his arm and said...could you hold this.  i said no politely and continued talking with my sister who was going to blast him.  i stopped her and said they were OK to just leave them alone.  Her twins were alarmed and i told them to calm down they had done nothing.  My sister was offended by their pants falling off and their brazen attempt to engage us in conversation.

i told her to relax, they were fine. Once she stopped being annoyed they walked away.  i explained that being nice was far easier than being offended and if you expressed offense it opened the door for more abuse and that is the topic i'm really interested in today.

Abuse is a well known state for many gays and lesbians but Saturday on University Avenue in San Diego they expressed their pride in who they are by holding a parade.

It was a lovely day for a parade, sunny and warm.  From the apartment window i could see them pouring in for hours before the parade was scheduled to begin.  The participants were lined up all along the streets and the floats took up the side streets, it was quite a colorful display.

i decided to walk as far along the parade route as i could to find a shady spot to watch and to get into the thick of things.  Along the way i came upon a group of protesters who were being protected by police tape and two police cars.  The display looked wrong so i stopped to talk with the policeman.  i asked him who they were protecting.  He said everyone.  i looked at the scene and said it looks like you are only protecting these folks who are against people not following their bible.  He looked around also, then smiled back at me and said nothing.

As i walked away i also saw in the parade people marching along with signs they had made at their churchs.  These people who adhered to the same bible intrepreted it differently.  They had love in their hearts.

Some men of "God" claim they know what "he" wants.  How that is possible i will never understand.  Although the bulk of the participants were of one mind, that everyone was equal, those few protected by our tax dollars stood out as sore thumbs.  They looked mean and hateful and were booed by almost everyone that passed by.  i think it is they who need to look into their hearts and see human beings not sex acts.