Brrrrrrrrrr...

It has been sooooo cold here. The water in the birdbath froze and I actually had to wrap the outside hose bibs. I'm sure many of you think I'm a lunatic for believing 29 degrees Fahrenheit is really cold, while you're suffering at temperatures below zero. However, you must also remember that we regularly see many summer days with the heat cooking us at temperatures hovering around 115 degrees. The saying, "but it's a dry heat" means nothing after 106 degrees. Hot is hot. After so much heat, this freeze comes as rather a shock. I used to say I loved being able to drive to the snow only 40 minutes away during winter. This year, we got 8 inches of snow and our schools had a snow day. It was beautiful! Unless you needed to get anywhere. My city only has one snow plow! It's usually reserved for the highway along mountain passes; not the valley streets! Yes, there is great beauty in the cold, but I'd still rather live in a warm climate (although maybe not quite so hot as 115 degrees).

Christmas

Yes, I am well aware that I should be in the Christmas spirit. This year, however, I can't seem to rustle up the energy to "celebrate." I don't see the point to all the lunacy of rushing around to put up a tree and decorate, only to rush around taking it all down again in a couple of weeks. I also can't afford to travel to spend the holidays with family. Instead, I've decided to save money by not driving all over the place to buy gifts (or order gifts and have someone else drive all over the place to deliver them). I refuse to add to the recession by spending what I don't have, or paying the loansharks at the credit card companies to borrow their money.

I do plan on using this time to get healthy, relax and develop a store of energy to bring back to work. I've made a couple of donations. I also want to do something creative, enjoy the beauty of nature and my backyard, listen to beautiful music, sing loud enough to raise the rafters, and spend some time with friends. An absence of decorations doesn't mean that I cannot celebrate in my heart and mind, where it counts the most. After all, long before the consumer model of Christmas came to the fore, Christmas was all about love. In the original spirit of Christmas, I wholeheartedly send the warmth of the holiday season and my love to all my family and friends. I truly wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Please Help the People of Burma

Many of those who protested and/or who spoke to foreign journalists during the military junta's crackdown on pro-Democracy protests were convicted in kangaroo courts. They are now either serving life sentences in prisons or mental institutions. Avaaz has found a great, indirect way to put pressure on the illegal Myanmar government in Burma to treat these people fairly: put pressure on Lloyds of London to stop insuring the Military Junta, which has been in power since 1962. Check out this link and help the people of Burma:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/shame_lloyds_on_burma/?cl=142374664&v=2363

Are You Supporting the Ivory Militia? or Are You Killing Two "Birds" with One "Stone?"

African elephants are rapidly being driven towards extinction, brought to this precipice by the love of ivory. The predominant buyers in this ivory market are American and Chinese citizens. These ivory buyers not only fuel the destruction of a highly-intelligent species, but they also directly fund the militia that commit major human rights violations in such countries as Chad and Sudan. These militia illegally kill hundreds of elephants to cut off their ivory tusks. Then the militia use the profits from the sale of this ivory to fund their violence against people. If you buy ivory, you are basically a murderer and/or rapist, only your actions are a few steps removed from the actual violent acts perpetrated by the militia you directly support. So, if you think ivory is beautiful, let it remain on its owner. Instead, go to see it on a photo/video safari, or in a museum, which, in the near future, may also be the only place you'll be able to see an African elephant.

If you'd like to know more about what militias are doing in that area of the world, please remember that Chad shares a common border with the Darfur region of Sudan. Please check out the following links:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2007/01/07/chadsudan-end-government-support-militias
http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur/page.do?id=1351050
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR54/076/2004

Governor Blagojevich, AKA "Crash" Corruption

Talk about hitting a wall without any awareness you're there! Maybe the driver's still stumbling around drunk with power. This car must have an Illinois license plate. Governor Blagojevich, whether or not he's charged and found guilty, is either a narcissist or sociopath...or both. This kind of euphoric corruption reminds me of the words from a song in Mamma Mia. "Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man's world. Money, money, money, always sunny, in a rich man's world." He's most certainly not alone in the crime spree of corruption and influence peddling occurring in this country, nor is he the only person in office who could be the recipient of a similar diagnosis, right on up to our current Commander-in-Chief. We simply continue to see more and more riders, individuals or corporations, on the roller coaster of widespread greed and corruption.

It seems like the United States of America is for sale. It’s not just Senate seats that are pandered, it’s also the undue influence of one individual or group over another. This influence and corruption also benefit corporations and entire industries. Politicians and government employees have consistently given "particular" corporations and businesses breaks on regulations and policies, instead of protecting the American citizen and our environment.

Blagojevich is only the tip of the iceburg. We need wide-ranging reform of elections, political appointments, contracts (including outlawing cost-plus, no-bid contracts), etc. to prevent the type of corruption of which Blagojevich is, allegedly, one prime example. Honestly, I think Lincoln would not be the only one turning over in his grave; so would our Founding Fathers.

Teapot Dome III? Corruption-Free Elections?

Well, back in 2002, an article compared the Enron scandal under Bush to the Teapot Dome scandal under Harding, formerly considered the worst President in US history. I'm wondering if there will be a third (or fourth) Teapot Dome-style scandal that will come to light, perhaps, once again, in relation to oil. If you're interested in learning about the 1920's Teapot Dome scandal, check out this link...
http://hnn.us/articles/550.html

All of these scandals, whether under the aegis of Republican or Democratric rule, could be reduced by prohibiting ANY donations, favors or undue influence to/from politicians, elected officials or candidates. Concurrently, publicly financed elections with reasonable monetary caps would give all comers an even chance, thus including candidates who are as highly qualified, yet less-affluent. Wealth does not necessarily breed superiority, moral or intellectual. It does often, however, tend to breed a sense of entitlement and false sense of superiority that are antithetical to the tenets of equality guaranteed to all citizens by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Thanksgiving

Some things I'm thankful for...
My home and my wonderful pets
A fairly secure job
My friends and relatives
My beautiful and contemplative backyard garden
My relatively good health
The lower price of gas, reducing financial stress
The growing heightened awareness of people about our environment
Hope for my country after 8 years of darkness and shame
Creativity, including this blog
Garage sales in which you can find beautiful things


Singing and dancing in my kitchen when no one is watching or listening
The light and warmth of the sun and the cooling depths of night
Blooming flowers and the hummingbirds, butterflies and bees that also enjoy them
The way plants sway in the breeze and the sound of the wind as it passes through them
The sound of birdsong
Music and art
Things that live and grow
The giggles and laughter of babies and children
The persistence of diplomacy in its quest for peaceful conflict resolution
Time...to live and breathe in this world
Travel to explore and exchange ideas and cultures
Writing and photography to express myself
Books that open up new and unexplored worlds of ideas
The Internet that brings the vast world into my home
The infinite timelessness of rocks, the earth, and the universe; all living on such a grand scale I can only imagine

Our Food Supply Threatened, Again

Our food supply is in jeopardy from a newer group of gmo crops containing pharmaceutical drugs and industrial chemicals. Round-Up ready seeds have already contaminated our food supply due to weak regulations and lack of oversight that protects industry instead of humanity. Now the USDA is trying to push through another batch of weak regulations and oversight on pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals spliced into human food staple crops such as rice and corn, while President Bush is still at the helm to support this. Outdoor production of all pharma and other gmo crops should be banned and companies who allow their products to even accidentally get into the food supply should be shut down. There has never been any definitive independent testing that states these crops are safe. The security of humanity's food supply, along with our water supply and the rest of our environment, should no longer be sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed and political facilitation. Please write to your legislators and to head of the USDA and stop this before pharma crops also contaminate our food supply. Our food supply is our survival.