Do Something for Yourself!

   A couple of days ago, I challenged you, "To love and to be loved," now I want you to do two things, every day for yourself. Remember that you are not at your best and are not able to help others, if you do not take care of yourself. It is not being selfish, it is how you can give to others.
   The first challenge is to meditate, at least once a day. Meditation is simple and can be accomplished in minutes. Jump on the Internet and you will immediately find meditation guidance. Try different leaders and types. Look under Chakras, also, for variety. I found both Chakras and Meditation on my Amazon Prime, but there are many sources to experiment with. Mix it up!
   Meditation is soothing, relaxing, and invigorating all at the same time. When I do mine I awaken to a whole new attitude and am completely refreshed, ready to take on the remainder of the day. Try it and let us know how you feel and successes.
   The second challenge is to learn something new each day. Some people think learning is only accomplished in the framework of a formal school setting. Wrong! I have learned something every day, as far back as I can remember. It is accomplished through reading most of the time. I love to read, whether it is my newspaper each morning, or a magazine, such as National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Eating Well, or my most recent book. I also learn from television. Watching news, history, movies and sports. Some of you may be wondering how with sports magazines or cooking magazines? Simple. These are my interests, also, and when I read them I learn something, I didn't know before. I feel, if a day passes by and in someway new information has not been added I have failed. My family, teases me about some of the information I come up with, but they also call me when they have questions.
   Begin this process, today. Don't push it off, thinking I'll start it tomorrow or next week. Start now. It takes minutes, but the habit and results will last a life time. Do it during the course of your routine. Learn that new fact! Mediate and rejuvenate your mind! There are no reasons, not to! Let me know how you are doing.

One Happiness

      "Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." This is, perhaps, the most famous line written by French novelist, George Sand. What some may not know is this author was actually, Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin. She used the nom de plume or pen name of George Sand, because no woman in the 1800's could ever have been taken seriously as a writer.
   Today I am going to take my writing down a new path. In the past it was pure politics and if truth be told, draining. Politics and History has been a fascination of mine, since elementary school and it will now return to its proper place. A hobby.
   Now the new direction. Love. Happiness. Spirituality. Peace. Nature. Meditation. Harmony. That is where I am placing my emphasis. This is to help my family, friends, readers and myself. I have to be healed if I am to help the people I love. There is a toxic atmosphere in our countries. In our states. In our cities. In our neighborhoods. In our homes. It is hate, indifference, bigotry, intolerance, hostility and a break down of decency. No more. From any direction. The time has come to replace the negative with the positive. To love and be loved!
   "There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." That is my mantra! That is my goal! To Love and be Loved! Repeat this to yourself, as many times as necessary to push those negative thoughts and feelings out of your mind. To love and be loved! It sounds incredible, doesn't it? As you say the words, smile! Come on! Picture me in your mind right now, sitting at the desk, typing this with a smile spread across my face. Does that idea make you laugh! Good!  My grandchildren would tell you I look maniacal or deranged. I think of it as happy. To love and be loved! To love and be loved! That is the goal.                                                                                                                                   Start each day with this idea and then spread it. Smile and spread love to everyone you interact with. Smile it makes them wonder what you are up to? Smile and then happiness will follow. Show politeness. Hold a door open for someone. Give them the opportunity to move in front of you in traffic. That one is really hard, but wave them through. Say thank you. When your family comes home, look up from the tv, I-pad, phone or any other distraction and greet them. Give them a hug and a kiss. This may freak them out, some may be suspicious or even, ask what's wrong. That's ok. Make it a habit and everyone will look forward to it and so will you. You will feel better. Your friends and family will feel better. They will spread it on to their families and friends. See where I am heading with this? To love and be loved!
   To love and be loved. Tell people, you love them. This is easy for family to say to each other, but tell your friends, you love them. Let people know. We all share this wonderful life and world, so let love and kindness flourish. It will start to shed light on the darkness of hatred and then the hate will die in that glow. To love and be loved!
 

The Saddest Story Ever Told!

  Gather round and be prepared to be horrified and shocked. It has been a month, but the shock remains. I know that in order to move on I have to share this and heal.

  The sharp crashing sound is not one that I would normally expect to hear in my kitchen. My sobs were even less expected. It happened a month ago. It occurred so quickly and given my advancing years and loss of reaction time, it was inevitable. My first thought was to call 911. My second was to dive on all fours to the tile in the kitchen and start lapping it up, like a dog just brought into the house from a 30 minute run. Neither was a good choice!

  I stood frozen as if Elsa had laid her icy fingers on my wrist. The fluid spread out across the floor as my hope to save it diminished. The scene parades across my mind. It was only 4 months ago that we brought you into our house. We, mostly I, had enjoyed your company at first, but then you were banished to the pantry, to await the occasional cup of coffee. You were mostly forgotten and now I look back with shame, on your treatment.

  Sadly I realized something had to be done. I gathered the trash can and paper towels and started the morbid act of cleaning the liquid goo from the floor. Glass was mixed within your precious nectar. A total loss. After it was all cleaned and the mop had been run over it several times, I noticed that sweet fragrance lingered. I had to take the trash bag and get it into the garage. It was over.

  My bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. The one we had bought at Christmas was gone. It was half full, not half empty. I want to be positive. There were so many flasks to fill. So many coffees to flavor. So many glasses to consume, and it was gone. I had knocked an extra large jar, thankfully plastic, of peanut butter off of the shelf and as it hit the Baileys the bottle split in half. I try not to curse the Gods and hope that the Baileys soaked paper towels and broken shards of glass found a good home, at the land fill. I pray this is so. In stead of flowers I ask that each one of you, after this is read, to hoist a glass of your favorite libation and remember that brief shining bottle that met its end too soon.

Where the Power Should Be Part II

Yesterday I started to talk about the power in America and how it was been stolen from the middle class. Today I want to look at what we need to do, to wrestle the power back. There has to be a meeting point when the actual split of power. The citizens have a great deal of say and the corporations and elite have a say. I feel the split should be around 75% for the people and 25% for the corporate world. It has to be more on the side of the people. That is what is meant by the beginning of the Constitution. WE THE PEOPLE, period. Nowhere does it address anything else but the people. The other phrase in the Preamble that is so telling, promote the general welfare, is about us all being in this life together. That is not socialism. It is about being ONE country. ONE people. ONE purpose. We are diverse, but we come together for a single cause when it makes us stronger.

When did we lose that togetherness? When did it become more important to win elections, then it was to govern America and make it better? We have fallen behind many other countries and are in danger of losing more ground. We used to lead in every category. Now the only thing we are better then the rest of the world, is making and fighting wars. Is this the legacy we want to leave for future generations?

So what can we do? It is most important to speak out and demand the changes that are necessary. We have to educate ourselves and each other on how our government works, how our elected officials vote and which direction they want to take us. We have to demand that the government seeks solutions, not just block every idea the other party has. That is not governing. Several years ago there was a popular Japanese concept that stated for every worker in Japan they had five ideas to make their jobs and lives better. At the time in America, we would get only one idea for every five people. I am sure that the number for Japan has gotten worse, as their ideas, started to dry up, but more importantly, I am just as certain that we have moved further away from that five to one ratio. Instead of just complaining come up with suggestions to make things better and force our leaders to implement them. 

You maybe thinking that they do not listen to us, but they have to. We have the votes and we have to keep them from stripping away voting rights for anyone. On election day we have to send messages loud and clear that stalemates are not acceptable. We have to call and e-mail them every time they are set to vote on something. Let them hear our voices loud and clear. They work for us! Will it make a difference? Absolutely, but we have to do it as ONE people. We have to stop attacking each other and go after the real enemy. The corporate and elite greed!

What else can we do? We could support unions and demand that right to work laws are abolished. This we can do by working together. Don't attack the unions. If there are certain parts of a union agreement that is damaging or corrupt, change that part. Save the majority of it. Work with it. Most of all, don't allow corporations to squeeze workers out, just to increase their profits.

There are other directions and areas we can certainly improve. I will add more thoughts on that tomorrow.

Where Should the Power Be?

I am still totally amazed when I listen to people and hear them make disparaging remarks about hard working Americans. The corporate, wealthy, elite have done an outstanding job of making middle class America, the problem. They have brainwashed and dictated to middle America that the economic problems here are our fault. Corporate profits are the highest in history! The stock market is the highest in history! The amount of wealth controlled my the elite one percent is the highest in history! Corporate welfare, in the form of tax breaks and credits are the highest in history! The amount of money kept offshore to avoid all taxes, is the highest in history! The military industrial complex is producing more then ever in history! The amount of money that lobbyists are spending is the highest in history! The cost to get elected to any office, whether local, state or federal is the highest in history! What does this all add up to? The people at the top are doing the best in history and the middle class and below are doing the worst, in history.

What made America great was the middle class. This was our strength and the mostly white, corporate, elite had the hell scared out of them. They saw their power diluted by the rise of unions and the idea that people could collectively bargain for wages and benefits. So about forty years ago they started a long and slow attack on unions (middle class) that is in full gear today. They had to use the facts that some union leaders were corrupt and the unions had to be destroyed. If we used the corruption theme to our corporate leaders or politicians, they would all be gone.

Look back at history and the rise of unions. As the unions grew strong, wages started to climb. Working conditions improved. Benefits improved. Workers had the funds to buy cars, houses and the newest appliances. They had disposable income left at the end of the month. They saved and they spent. The went on vacations. Ate out in restaurants. Sent their children to college. Life was good and getting better, except for the corporations and the wealthy elite. Something had to be done. Their gigantic profits were being wasted on the workers. They had to be smart and not appear to have a frontal assault on white, middle class.

 Step one, they started to convince the middle class that welfare queens were rampant. They were having babies just to get more money and then they could sit around, smoke cigarettes and live the high life, off of the hard working, white middle class. The realty was that for the few that did sit and receive a hand out there were so many more that were working, sometimes two or more jobs, to support their family. This diversion from the facts the elite, did very well.

The next step was to enact laws, such as right to work in states. The law makers were handed bushels of money and they in return handed companies the ability to fire people at will and pay them below poverty level wages. This is an ongoing success. They are still fighting the battle in some states.

Now they were armed with the laws to stop the unions from forming. This has been very successful at stopping the unions growth and currently, memberships in unions are at an all time low. Are the elite happy? No, they want to destroy all unions and are now assaulting the police, firefighters, nurses and teachers. They want to drive that stake through the heart of the unions and ultimately the workers of America. This is the POWER and they were not going to give it up.

What has been our response up to this point? We are actually supporting the corporations and the wealthy! Why? Why, are we attacking teachers? Why, are we looking to roll back our police and firefighters? Why are we not standing with the nurses? This is what has me completely stumped.
In my next post I will examine what we have to do to break this trend. Where we have to start moving to raise the American worker up.

President John Kennedy's view on Liberalism.

The other day, for the millionth time, I read conservatives viewpoints on Liberals. I was reminded of a quote by the late President Kennedy and decided to look it up and refresh myself, with how insightful he was.

A liberal, someone who looks ahead not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reaction, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil right and their civil liberties- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our politics abroad, if this is what they mean by a Liberal, then I am proud to say I am a Liberal.  JFK September 1960.

I look at the above quote and agree with everything said. I do not see anywhere in the definition of a Liberal where it states one single idea of giving away anything. It is about the promise of America that we will work together to solve the problems and issues that face us as a nation. The Conservative plan, driven by the Tea Party and large corporations, is that we are all on our own. I do not advocate for the Federal government to solve each problem, but I agree with President Kennedy, that we, the people should all care and help each American.

Currently the Conservatives, side with businesses and drive their agenda through them. The opposite should occur. They should be driving the nation forward through the people. Today we look at problems and say, "They should do it themselves." Do what ourselves? Educate ourselves? Produce our own food? Protect ourselves? Create our own businesses? Fight our own fires? Is this the definition of a country? A country is a team. There are individuals within the system and they have rights, but they also have obligations.

When we look back at our history, our best and most productive times were when we worked together. The colonization of America. The American Revolution. The establishment of the United States. The World Wars. When we brought America's economy back after the Great Depression. The Civil Rights movement. After 9-11 and after any man made or natural disaster. This is when America shines the brightest. Individuals working together, not all of us going our own separate ways. This does not diminish the single person, it strengthens them into an unbeatable force.

We are expending too much energy into fighting with each other. The debate should be had, but then we quit talking and start working. Rethink this part of Kennedy's speech: Someone who looks ahead not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reaction and someone who cares about the welfare of the people. Why should this be a Liberal idea and not the forward idea of all America?

The Real Scandal In Washington DC!

In recent weeks the Conservatives (Republicans, Tea Partyers, Far Right Extremists) in Congress have attempted to paint the Obama administration as: The most corrupt government in history, worse then Watergate, worse then Nazi Germany, worse then Fascist Italy and the list goes on.

The problem is that it is all, distractions. The IRS scandal occurred because of the convoluted tax laws that are vague at best and completely idiotic. The attack on our consulate was tragic, but unavoidable. In my opinion the closest to scandal we get is the attempt to strong arm the press, but that has occurred since the beginning of time.

Political problems, yes. Scandals, no. The real scandal in DC is a Congress, especially the Republican lead House of Representatives, that continues to get paid and yet do NO work. Think about your own job. Would your employer continue to pay you and provide a job if you showed up sometimes and once there accomplished nothing? Absolutely not. We would be fired. Right to work laws passed by Republicans in various states, permit employers to dismiss people for now reason, as long as that reason has nothing to do with age, gender, religion, race or nationality. Yeah, and try to prove that against a giant corporation. Here is Congress trying to repel Obama Care, what thirty some times. Remember, one of the signs of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Under that premise, most Republicans in Congress should be institutionalized, not trying to make laws.

The scandal is this. How many jobs bills have been passed and sent to the President for his signature? Zero. How many voter's rights bills have been passed and sent to the President for a signature? Zero. How many bills to protect consumers have been passed and sent to the President for a signature? Zero. How many bills to rebuild our infrastructure have been passed and sent to the President for his signature? Zero. How many bills to correct the immigration problem in the country have been passed and sent to the President for his signature? Zero. How many bills to address the corruption in government, that allows corporations and wealthy special interest to buy elections have been passed and sent to the President for his signature? Zero. How many bills to really protect our children and grandchildren from the effects of pollution have been passed and sent to the President for his signature? Zero.

You get the message. The Republicans in Congress do not care about the country, they only care about the next election. The are like David Copperfield. Distract people with smoke and mirrors while they do what the want on the other side. They should all be fired! We need people in DC, that will start to put the interest of America and the average citizen above everything else. Folks, the people we elect WORK FOR US. We pay their salaries. We need to adopt Mitt Romney's approach of, "Liking to fire people, who don't do their jobs." Call them. Write to them. Let them all know that they will not keep their jobs, because they do nothing for us. We are the bosses and yet we allow them to show up to work whenever they feel like it and while they are there it is always a coffee break. Now is the time to say, "YOU'RE FIRED."