Mother's Wisdom

They say that the most important things that we learn are absorbed by the time we are out of kindergarten. One might go a bit further and say that some children are the bane of their teachers in that "grade" only because their mothers failed to teach them properly. I have seen many moms who don't think that their children can understand them or reason out difficult questions. Many children communicate by using grunts and whines, crying often when they feel that their needs are not being attended to. This is a direct response to undeveloped skills. Their development languishes, not because they are incapable, but because of not being spoken to as humans. If there were a school for young mothers, this would be Communication 101, speak to your children, not in "baby talk" that makes the child think that you are insane, but in complete sentences and using vocabulary as varied as your moods.Knowing that there are myriad ways to express one self is probably one of the greatest gifts that we can give a child. Communication is at the core of our existence and quality of life. Without it, nothing happens and good communicators are much more able to get their way, both in childhood and through to adulthood. If we want to give our children the best chance of sucess, talk to them clearly, concisely and appropriately, they will work out the details, whether you believe in their abilities or not.
By the time I had rerached kindergarten, my mom had taught me things that many never learn. The maxim, your freedom ends where the other person's nose begins was a fine bit of reality to have to chew on while cutting my teeth in social interactions. I remember, even as a young child, searching for justice and cooperation. the compassion that I was born with was not snuffed out through mistreatment or abuse, so I came to value the quality of life of my fellow beings, whether that was popular or not. I think that a strong force in my ecological ethic is born of that truth. Hoiw we allow corporate interests to despoil our land, air and water, upon which we all depend for life and health, is still beyond me.
Leave everything better than when you found it was also key to understanding how I "fit" into the world around me. If you use something up, let the person who buys it know, they may have a stockpile somewhere, or in extreme cases, a shopping list. for any of us to experience the quality of life to which we have become accustomed, work had to be done. The only way we can respect those who have given of themselves for our good fortune is to give back a little. later in life I learned that this is called Karma Yoga. If we all got with that program, think how it would change the quality of life for everyone.
Although Mom didn't say it quite so succinctly, opinions are like assholes. What other people think should never deter one from doing what is right. Usually, those who complain or obsess over what they consider to be "immoral" choices, made by others, have no lives of their own and are trying to fill the void with self-righteousness and hate. Most folks who have given advice realize that it is best used in our own lives and hardly ever helps the other person to see things as clearly as we might hope. Again, as I got older, this helped more than almost anything else that I have ever learned. Recognizing a closed mind and the supreme moral crime of desperately trying to open it took years to fathom, but understanding that changing a mind is the responsibility of the owner and no one else, that was a precious gift indeed.
The thing mother taught that was most appreciated was the knowledge that bullies feel terrible about themselves. In several cases, feeling compassion toward someone who was beating me up, either stopped them from continuing to beat me, or undermined their desired goal enough to get them to stop and think, if only for a moment. In these nuggets of wisdom, a man was made. The things we learn as children guide us throughout our lives and I am eternally grateful for the insight and compassion with which I was raised. a famous poem, Children Learn What They live, details many of the things we teach, without thinking, to our children. Doing the best we can with what we have is great on a personal level, but where children are involved, it is essential.
Rather than passive boxes, which can be filled up with knowledge, children are more like infinitely thirsty sponges, sucking up information agressively whether we want them to or not. The work of raising children is the most sure way to affect the future. The things we pass on to them will certainly outlive us. I know it is a couple months early, but the next time you see a mother, thank her for doing the most important job in the world. better yet, offer to help. The rewards will be far greater than the cost, I assure you. If you are able, just drop your own mama a line and don't forget to thank her for doing her best to try to pass her knowledge along to you.

"Nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression.

In both instances, there is twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged. It is in such twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air...however slight...lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.
-Justice William O. Douglas
Tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens have stood up, willing to add their voices to the din against the coming darkness over the past two weeks. here at The Otherfish Wrap, we have been continuing our wage slavery so that we don't lose our home. having to make a choice between supporting your own lifestyle is just what the oligarchy intended when they took their illegal actions. The concept of rights to collectively bargain is, in fact, a human right. Workers must be allowed to control access to their work, or indentured servitude will raise it's ugly head again. many americans have died in the process of building unions from the ground up. If we make sweeping changes, basically outlawing collective bargaining amongst public employees, only outlaws will be unionized.
Power brokers hate it when the citizenry becomes educated. This is the main impetus for the hate speech "news outlets", the argumentitive talking heads that we are allowed to see on the airwaves, and the opinionmakers running amok through both the printed word and, more and more frequently, the digital realm. educating one self takes time and effort that many do not have, or may not place value upon. Luckily, we are beginning to wake up to the fact that the old way of life is on the ropes. The recent crash of the economy made most of us aware that we came within a hair's breadth of utter collapse. The banks have now been stabilized, after they got caught with their pants down nearly three years ago. what is most alarming is that the general public seems to be in the mood to forgive and forget, embracing once again the cold hard facts of republican "values".
Liars lie, cheaters cheat and the ignorant usually remain unenlightened. Nothing has changed with these guys. Why are so many willing to fall right back into their fold? a friend married a man that she "stole" from a former wife. When he bagan stepping out on her, she was crushed. did she really think that he would be more committed to her that his previous woman? Really, can we just take a deep breath, stand back and gain a little perspective on what is actually going on?
The big money is on the Republicans. The bail out was first dreamed up by those who say, "The members of the other party are tax and spend. We are conservative." The non-financial fortune 500 companies currently have enough cash on hand and short term debt owed them that they could finance another bail out of the same magnitude of the one we tax payers just invested in for their benefit! "Oh, no! That is privately held wealth and 'proves' that those companies are working for the American Way." What a crock. It proves that they have benefitted immeasureably from the luxurious cocoon that we have provided for them.
One of my favorite bumperstickers says, "If you are not angry, you're not paying attention." The sentiments are resonating across our great land. please do not look away or turn on the idiot box to escape. Write a letter to your representatives, invest in real people and the future of our world by getting involved. Encourage your friends and relatives to take back our country from the wealthiest interests who control things now. The time has come to stop the Texas School Board from dictating the textbooks for our country. I can't understand who thought that using the same textbooks that are used in a state with one of the lowest average SAT/ACT scores uses, was a good idea. Corporate interests far outweigh the rights and interests of american citizens. The darkness is falling and we must either kindle a new light or get into our caves again as soon as possible.
there is no reason that Egypt can oust their corrupt leader in seventeen days, but here in the US, we must wait for over a year to recall our governor. Scott Walker has done more to cripple our state in a brief month or two that he has been in office than many of us can fathom. Simpletons and the morally bankrupt belong in a compassionate care facility, not the state's highest office.

WTF?

Now as we face the results of the depraved Republican agenda, the fleecing of America has turned from science to art. The deception which has taken us to the brink of collapse has morphed into a far more dangerous and seductive hallucinogen. The wealthiest 20% of United States Citizens own 80% of the wealth and if we hold to the current trends, they stand to own even more and share it amongst ever fewer people in the future. I have known several millionaires who lost their entire fortunes to even larger interests, so the theory that capitalism is benevolent, even to it's advocates is fiction. The truth is often unpopular, but I have often been unpopular and I have found that if you just persevere, time will bring folks around.

Looking, as we often do through the toilet paper tube of our own interests, beliefs and education, it is hard to see peripherally. What is going on around us is getting easier for people to see, only because the shock-waves that it creates in our educational systems, lifestyles, the economy and our popular culture are becoming undeniable. The ultra wealthy don't seem to know or care about the negative impacts they have on society, because it is all of us poor folk who are sucking it up and doing the suffering for their insular lifestyles.

You may have heard of the protests in Wisconsin. Our Governor, with the support of mega-millionaires is trying to outlaw collective bargaining for public employees. If we understand the concept of, "What is good for the goose is good for the gander." The way that Scott Walker is going about his union busting makes no sense. He somehow feels like it is okay for police and firefighters to retain the benefits of collective bargaining, but not for any other state workers. Two faced. Even China, whose leader recently admitted, has a long way to go in the course of achieving civil rights for it's people required Wal-mart to allow collective bargaining for their workers in their country. Why are we even debating the fact that these rights have been fought and died for, and that they must be freely given to assure workers a decent compensation for their professional commitment to the betterment of our society.

If anything, we need to be expanding the ability of folks to make a living, not reducing the quality of life for those our government hires to keep things running smoothly. In keeping with the fear mongering and hate speech of the right, we are constantly being told that we can't afford to do what is right and good for the middle class, because it is not expedient or rewarding enough for industry. I have mentioned it before but if you look at the balance sheets of the top 500 companies in the US alone, they have enough cash on hand and short term debt (less than 90 days) to finance another bail out equal to the one that we poor taxpayers just put in to float their economy after the republican led crash that took place just a few years ago. Anyone remember?

There is actually more abundance now than ever before, we just can't see it because of the gloom and doom rhetoric foisted upon us by those who seek to clean up on our dislocation and the social upheaval of a continued and worsening downturn. Just like in the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, Potter is buying, and you know why? Because we're scared that's why. The Potters of this world will never be satisfied until everyone lives in their housing in squalid conditions, paying their slumlord rent with no hope of shaking free of poverty. The American Dream still lives amongst smaller and smaller segments of the population and in the coming years, if nothing is done about it, the vast majority will be left fighting over a smaller and smaller piece of the pie.

History and Logic Ignored By Wisconsin's Elected Officials

Being one of the few who actually loved school and who couldn't get enough information about history and culture, perhaps my understanding of our current economic state will surprise the average reader. However, let not your own prejudice color my words. They are chosen without malice or hate, but for the love of all who wish to continue to live free in a society of rules and of justice, for those who value liberty and recognize the responsibilites that come with that trust. In my understanding, we have never had the democracy that we were told to love. In teaching our children to love heir country, we have to model that country in a way that can first be respected, then it will follow naturally that it will be loved.

I often ask my children to describe their teachers. Their responses are a source of great joy and occasional consternation. Early on, they reflected on the ability of some teachers to command respect while others had to demand it. Similarly, our Nation used to command respect around the world. We were the country where rationality and humanitarianism came together in such a unique way as to light the world with hope and trust that one day freedom would reign supreme. As we come into the present day, these moral underpinnings have become decoupled from policies and practices that are perpetrated around the world in the name of "American" interests. Oddly enough, none of us ever voted for them. Many were shocked and horrified as they learned about them and as we continue to uncover, layer by layer, the indefenseable actions that have led much of the world to hate us, we must seriously question the direction our leaders have taken us over the years.

The most recent case in point is that of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Right off the bat, before even taking office, he put the kybosh on high speed rail that had been worked for for over thirty years. Finally, it was funded and stood on the threshold of realization. Mr. Walker's biggest concern was that once built, the line that was to connect the state's largest city with the capital would cost money to operate. Anyone who has been to the East Coast realizes that, although rail transport costs money, folks served by the line gladly pay to use it, because it saves them money that would be squandered out of state if they were to have to purchase a private automobile and keep it maintained and fueled. After generations of savings, most folks living along the Main Line in Philiadelphia are wealthier than their neighbors, just a few miles in any direction. Ironically, providing a cost effective way to get citizens between the power center of the state and the largest single population center seems to have scared our new Governor enough that he stopped it cold. Now, the largest concentration of the poorest folks in Wisconsin will never be able to afford to go to Madison to rally and demonstrate. Those who can afford cars and the gas to feed them will still have access, but to many of those people he has turned a deaf ear.

The Republicans have once again proven their teflon nature. nothing seems to stick to them and though they walk through a forest of crap, they seem to be able to patchouli up and carry on as if they smelled like roses. It was due to their rhetoric that many fell for the fallacy of trickle down economics. Their boondoggles such as "No Child Left Behind" and sidling up to the "Moral Majority", which was neither are well documented. Now, they want to continue to perpetrate their methods on another generation of even poorer and even less educated people than they did last time. I can't remember a single candidate that refused to say what he would do, specifically, if elected. running as a mystery candidate seems to have worked however. Only after the election are we able to see what this governor has in store for our people. Sadly, he cares more about certain others than the good people of our state.

The corporate interests that Mr. Walker works for are only beginning to be unraveled. With further investigation, we will all see exactly where this guy is comong from. It helps to put things in perspective if you realize that the Calvinist ideas that should have been left in the past are alive and well within our culture. Many believe that good people do well in our system and that bad people make bad choices which lead to worsening of their condition. In other words, they get what they deserve. Although I have not heard Scott Walker say it himself, his actions speak louder than words. With one fell swoop, trying to make collective bargaining illegal for public workers, except police, fire and rescue services, he has ignored the history and tradition of our state in fair treatment of workers. This immediately trickled down to my own work. The day we first heard of this illegal attempt to legislate out of existence any power left in unions, we were informed of illegal changes to our disciplinary actions at my job. Management dictated who would be allowed to represent us in any disciplinary action, a direct assault on our rights as workers. By law, union workers are allowed to choos who they want to represent them in job related actions against them.

The thousands of people who died for and protested against unfair treatment at the hands of those paying their wages have not sacrificed in vain. We must all stand in league with the public sector employees who have given much for our quality of life. To allow the powers of evil and greed to control our state is just insane. Standing up might be as easy as writing a letter to the Governor, or your local representatives. It may cost as little as a tank of gas. The future of all workers in the State of wisconsin as well as the entire nation may de[pend on it. Get active, stay active and don't give up until your rights are ensured. The fight needs to be focused on retaining the right to collectively bargain for all people, not just teachers or public employees. The working man has not gotten us into the current economic crisis, it was the bankers and Wall street executives that raped our nation. don't make our civil servants pay the price of the wealthiest amongst us fleecing our nation.

anecdotally, the three states with the smallest budget deficit have collective bargaining agreements in place with state workers. The three states with the biggest budget shortfalls do not. I'm sure that there are other factors involved, but we have to ask ourselves, "What motivated our Governor?" when we answer that question we can better decide if we want to keep him or reject him, the damage he has done already has put us at a decided disadvantage for at least the next fifty years, what he wants to do could sety us back another hundred.

Loving Me, Loving You

This is as good a time as any to remind folks of the celebratory nature of this holiday inspired by the greeting card industry and devoted to our loved ones. I write as a response to the love that I feel for everyone, around the world and those who directly influence my tiny part of it. If I wasn't in love with all of humanity, I would probably remain silent and fully expect the shit to hit the fan sometime within the next five minutes. Instead, I have invested myself in hope, in compassion and in the lives of others in myriad ways that enrich and sustain the earth, her creatures and humanity generally. In addition to these high minded investments, I also try to invest as much as myself as possible in the lives of friends and family. I try to wear my heart on my sleeve as it were, so that others can see clearly my desire for them to benefit from my actions.

Those who have read my writing will attest to the fact that the things I rail against most harshly are not people, but concepts. Ideas that dehumanize those who "believe" in them. I try to reflect compassion and love for those who are oppressed by them and want to liberate humanity from the terrible outcomes that flow from either primitive attitudes, lies those attitudes are based on, or outdated ways of understanding our world, the results of stupidity, or misunderstanding what it means to be a success within our current milleau.

We each have the power to transform ourselves and for those among us who have not mastered self-love, I try to encourage qualitative change on a variety of levels that can lead to self-realization. Creating within one self a "me" that can be believed in, a persona who deserves to be loved and a relationship with the godhead goes a long way to being able to love oneself. I firmly believe that this, in turn, leads one to be able to love others as well. If we are deficient in self-love, echoes of that dissonnance will reverberate through any and all relationships that we may form in our lives and discord will be the result of the majority of them.

With each passing day, and sometimes within the course of hours, my life is enriched by the love others show me and through reciprocation, I hope that my love for them is felt as well. I used to think I was just creepy or gullible, but as I have grown, I have learned that love is not to be feared, but cultivated. The crowds in Egypt recently banded together to demand justice. They had compassion for one another and were tired of suffering at the hands of a corrupt leader. It was evident throughout their protest that they were not there out of hate, although they hated the oppression, but out of a sense of love for one another, their country, and would not be squelched, demeaned, baited into violence, and most importantly, without being taken seriously. Love truly means letting go of fear.

As a child, and throughout my life, I have fully expected to be martyred. Many of my ideas are instantly unpopular. Many take offense without understanding my meaning. Most have not heard enough background information to make sense of many of my ideas. As with all new ideas and information, as you may know, first it is ridiculed and violently protested, then it is questioned and finally it is accepted as self evident. Think of the last time you had to tell someone about the death of another person...the first reaction is "No!" Then they may ask, "How did it happen." Then, later, they will pass on the bad news, finally accepting this new reality. I have always been curious about why power and controll exist. Even before I knew the terms, I had seen many lives ruined by what I saw as mal-adaptive behavior. The violence that people were willing to perpetrate upon one another were both confusing and astopunding to my sensibilities. I'm sure we have all seen the same difficulties played out in different ways, but to truly love ourselves and one another, we need to band together like the folks in Tahrir square and say we are not standing down until the violence ends. We will not stand for another victim to be assaulted and we will not give up in the fight for what is right.

I Love loving you. I am truly blessed by the sharing that we are afforded while we are both here on Earth. I long to share what I have learned to be true during the course of a lifetime and I hope that it can ease suffering around the globe. Perhaps, in time, we can learn to love one another more deeply and reflect that love in our every action. Until we do, I will keep trying to inspire the kinds of change that led me to take the first steps toward self realization and especially those that confirmed for me the fact that loving all life and the infinite wisdom of the earth itself is a good first step toward being aboe to love one self. Please, sned this to a friend, your lover, perhaps a stranger who you care about and let it remind them daily that you care about them like no other. Blessings, prosperity, long-life and Peace!

The Very Good Witch

Back in the late Eighties, I was suffering from acute heavy metal poisoning. I developed what the doctors called strep throat, but whatever it really was, it was resistant to several antibiotics. Even after a 28 day course of one of the drugs they prescribed, my skin was green, I was bedridden, delirious and my death drive was beginning to overcome my will to live. Sick is way too mild a word for what was going on within me. Luckily I was living with a most beautiful lady, who even more luckily was a witch.

She used a pendulum to diagnose my condition and asked the tiny dangling mass to guide her to a remedy for what ailed me. If you have never seen a pendulum react to unseen forces, you may not believe that it is possible, but it guided her to look in the cupboard. I remember going through the kitchen shelf by shelf until she got to the spice cabinet. Then, the shelf that held a certain bottle, then the bottle itself and she produced a container of cream of tartar. It took quite a while to go through this process, but eventually she stated that I needed two and a half tablespoons, then two more before midnight. She said that in the morning I would need another tablespoon and a half, one tablespoon at lunch, and a half tablespoon at supper time.

For those unfamiliar with strep throat, getting a terrible tasting powder past your swollen gland can be difficult, but after researching what the stuff was in my college dictionary, I decided to try her prescription. By bedtime, my color had improved, by lunch, I was able to get around the house a bit and by supper my glands were reduced in size enough that I could eat solid food again. I think everyone should develop a relationship with a very good witch. It could save your life some day. I know it has saved mine, at least once.

Why I Need Money

First, I should say that I am set up with a Paypal account and if you would like to support my quest for money, you can give securely online by using account: tnsaladino42@hotmail.com. If you would like to contact me directly, use the same e-address without going to Paypal first. The money that flows through Paypal is what we use to fund our labors of love, planting native trees, guiding ecotourists through Northeast Wisconsin and teaching the elements and principles of sustainability. Even though I would love to just do this all day every day, we are limited in our efforts by a continuing lack of funds. If you would like to assist us in bringing our program to even more people, please pass on this blog entry and encourage benefactors to give as well.

In our culture, money is the primary way that we use to keep track of human effort, or potential. Necessarily, we find great disparity in how we value human effort. For instance, there are a special few who earn more per hour than most of us earn in an entire year. It is hard to fathom why their efforts are uniquely valued. Just let that be for now. we are also struggling with the fact that the vast majority of workers are off the books. Housewives for instance are typically not reimbursed, although by all measures they perform essential tasks that have great impact on society. Even though we have such inherent imbalance in our monetary system, we are routinely told that "we have the greatest system in the world."

I have just completed an eighty hour week during which I earned just enough to keep me from looking poor on paper. Now, it is back to half time employment and perhaps no work at all next month, but that is the cost of my profession. The difficulty that temporary workers find themselves in is that government assistance is based on income over time, which they assume to be constant. That means that last week throws me out of contention for Wisconsin's Badger Care Insurance. It also throws me into a realm of taxation that makes no sense if we look at my annual income. I have no problem paying for the continuation of our government, if we get something of value from it. I do, however have a problem with being treated as if my need for money is not so great, as to deserve the fruits of my own labor.

Because of the passing of a relative, my wife and I received a bit of inheritance. The federal government got 15% of it and the state got another 5%. When we spend the remainder, we will pay another 5.5% in sales tax. Fully 25.5% of the money that was intended to go to us was absorbed by the government. If we made $100,000 or more each year, this would be a remarkably tiny percentage. Certainly fair and affordable. Giving away over twenty-five percent of your inheritance when you are flirting with the poverty line is infinitely harder to swallow. That money could have allowed us to put a new roof on our house, or finally do the car repairs that we have been putting off for years, heck, we could have purchased a car that was less than twelve years old. Instead, we will continue to work for hourly wages doing what we always do for the benefit of others, and hoping for the promised rebound of the economy.

In time, perhaps the value of our homes will rise enough to be higher than the amount we owe on them. Perhaps after another thirty years, we will finally re-establish train service between the town where we live and the town where I work and perhaps, in time, we will be able to travel. My hopes are not very high for this, but I will be the first to admit that I will enjoy making enough money to be able to afford and extra tank of gas or two. The money that we had invested in our homes was never supposed to make us a large profit. Instead it was meant to reduce the impact our budget would feel upon retirement. Instead, all of that "value" (called equity in real estate) evaporated and now we owe the bank twice as much as those properties are worth. The news this week indicated that top bank executives nationwide received 5.7% more compensation this year than last, while my own pay went down again. For the foreseeable future, I will be driving further still for fewer hours and be expected to continue to hone my skills, pay for my own education and eat ever more meals away from home while my employers receive tax breaks and special consideration, allowing them to cut costs further and increase their profits.