Happy Earthday!

A recent poll found that fully one quarter of us believe that the environmental improvements that we have made since the first Earthday have been inadequate. We still have tens of thousands of people dying prematurely from environmental contamination such as fly ash from coal burning, photochemical smog and clouds of toxic dust and fumes from foundries, asphalt and even fumes from commercial products and their packaging. The first tier of environmental protection revolved around the lowest hanging fruit as it were. If we could put another layer of filtration, or perhaps something as minor as a finer screen on the point sources that abounded a few decades ago, we could claim that we were doing all that we could to clean up our mess. In fact, the most hazardous contaminants often are small enough that our immune systems are unable to detect them and therefore, unable to clear them from our bodies. Some poisonous compounds are integrated into our bodies in such a way as to cause their damage over the long term, some actually skipping a generation before causing harm to our children.

The long list of people who said that they wanted a cleaner environment has been dwarfed by the billions of dollars that have been spent by those who wish to continue polluting for the profit that it means to them. How this can be justified as a "responsibility to stockholders", I may never know, but even today, I saw a commercial that was touting fracking as "less polluting" than other methods of energy production. Conoco Phillips, the company that implied, through this morning's commercial, that our children would have jobs if we continue to extract oil at higher and higher cost, wasting vast amounts of energy to pump high pressure steam far below the surface to extract the last residues of natural gas from rock that has locked it away for millennea, completely neglected to posit that there are other, less damaging ways to meet our needs through conservation, efficiency improvements and rethinking our dependence on fossil fuel. I know that it is their business to bring to the market oil and natural gas, but they should not be allowed to use public airwaves to lie to millions of people for the purpose of fattening their wallets. Those who have had the freedom to risk the lives of others for profit will not relinquish that right without a fight. Just as the child who is used to getting their way, the corporations and businesses that have been spoiled in this way will throw tantrums each and every time that they are urged to clean up their act. These corporate giants do not care who they hurt, they have proven that by their actions.

The economic terrorism that corporate business leaders employ in each and every case, is treason. Their commitment to inaction, and willingness to pay fines rather than do the right thing show that they are happy to operate outside existing law because they can. There has never been a study proving that effective environmental regulation leads to reduction of jobs, wages, profits or economic activity. In fact, when government regulations have reduced environmental hazards, it has increased jobs, created even higher profits (through waste reduction), created more higher skill jobs and bolstered economic activity. Then, why the morass between what we know is necessary and what industry is willing to do? The common knowledge that most parents come to find is operating on an international level with corporations, virtually worldwide. The more you bend and sacrifice to "get along" with a tyrant, the more often and more violently they will protest conventions of civility. Spoiled brat is a term that has come to be known because we all have seen them. It is completely possible to stop bad behavior, but yet, many parents think that by giving in, "peace" will be arrived at sooner and at lower "cost". What stops this tragic cycle is when a parent, or in this case the government, (which is, after all, the people) stops ameliorating the spoiled brat and makes them tow the line with regard to socially acceptable behavior, developing awareness of the rights of others and in the most tragic cases, developing the listening skills required to understand the needs of others, rather than only attending to their own.

The din that has erupted from the general public has been toned down, padded if you will, through the inaction of decades, leniency on the part of regulators, an extremely well-funded opposition to real and meaningful change and the contempt that polluting industries continue to have for our right to clean soil,  air and water. I continue to encourage my readers to check out the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). This is a national network that requires polluters to self report their emissions and document them with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This tool allows the average citizen to type in their zip code or location and find out who is pumping what into the air around where they live. It was an eye opener for me and I assume others will be equally interested in who the corporate outlaws are in their neighborhoods. We humans often have to carry an inter-generational legacy that we are ashamed of. In the case of how we treat our environment, we have the power to set things right for the generations that follow, but it will require taking measures that have not been used yet. We can no longer afford to sit idly by, waiting for the world to change. We need to turn our voices and wallets to the task of changing the world from the grass roots up. If the government refuses to protect us from foes who are killing off the population from within, then we have to step outside the realm of their influence and change things without their help.

Dollars seem to be the only language that corporations understand. When you get wind of who the sources of toxic compounds in your community are, use your voice to educate others about the real and despicable actions of those bad neighbors. If there were a pedophile living next door to a local single mother of two, who worked dawn to dusk every day to keep her family off welfare, you would let her know, right? The same holds true for the devilish money-grubbers who seek to make their profits by sacrificing our health and our welfare. We need to let others know, through social media, heart-felt discussions with our loved-ones and even with people we don't know that well. This behavior is wrong and must not be tolerated. With the spoiled child, a mere look might be enough to stop their bad behavior. Corporations only have eyes for cash, so as their profits fall and eventually dry up, the vast pools of money that they have used to convince us that we cannot get along without their bad behavior will dry up as well. This Earthday, make it your business to know who is operating in your community, recognize the spreaders of poison for what they are. There was a time when we were not even treated as well as slaves. Those who profit from our pain and the premature loss of our loved ones need to bow out. We are the only ones with the power to change what we spend our dollars on. Do not treat your decisions lightly, every dollar spent or invested supports a cascading series of events that allows each and every thing we use to be made and come to us. This goes for energy, products, foods and even our sources of entertainment. Learn as much as you can about this complex world and act according to your conscience, this will improve the environment more than government regulations. It will help more than you can measure, perhaps more than you can imagine. It may help just enough to save your life, the life of someone you love, or maybe even the life of a stranger. We are well past the point of cleaning up trash and telling one another that this is enough, or all we can hope for. Now is the time to remove the bad actors, stand up for our right to clean soil, air and water, and to invest our own time in making lifestyles that keep our hard-earned dollars out of the hands of rogues and scallywags. 

Post-filing Deadline #Occupy Courthouse Now!

Post- flood of people at post offices across the country, it is well to consider, the duty to our country paying taxes is. The vast majority of Americans wait 'til the last minute. What I have always believed, is that money kept "off the books", paying for government services. is "funny money". We collectively, if we are working, fund government operations. After the year is up, we get to claim that part of those loans that gets paid back to us. If we have not paid in as much as we are supposed to we may owe more and in certain cases, we may receive more back than we had put in. These rules are codified and complex, filling a huge volume. The tax code is a massive document. ( I heard it is the size of two New York City Phone Books.) This "funny money" is the cost of government that gets paid for when the dollars are collected, this loan we float government is an investment in the same government that will collect taxes to pay off our debt (to those who receive money back) in arrears for services rendered. The time-cost of money never enters into the equation, which costs us not only what the interest rate is, but the cost of delaying investment in things that have the opportunity to recover our economy much sooner.

The Buffet Rule that has been proposed is not nearly as practical as this. Allow a one year moratorium on payroll taxes. This incremental improvement in wages would explicitly be given as health care. For everyone. Corporate tax rates would increase only marginally but would switch from being paid in arrears to being paid as we are taxed. Paying forward. Corporate taxes would be simultaneously pay the up front operating revenues and "invest" in future operations. This puts government in a more stable funding stream (position), essentially a full year of operating expensive would become available without incurring debt. This would also pay off in subtle ways. We would be so much better off, increasing quality of life, savings rate would rise and investment in local communities that bring stability to the economy would be possible. In the short run, corporations would be responsible for a net doubling and in the top tier, percentage rates should increase even more than double. During the transition, the top companies would pay up to 50% taxation for both years. This allows us to pay down debt which has been the bane of investors for many years.

In turn, through simplification of tax code and standardizing claim forms for healthcare, these relatively minor changes would save millions of administrative jobs having to be done. When the many billions, perhaps trillions of dollars tied up in insurance investments become available for community development, higher quality of life will be reflected over time in healthier people. This is an infinitely better system, especially in light of the fact that we cannot afford the system that we have today. The top 500 corporations in the U.S. have enough cash on hand and short term debt owed them to fund double what we spent on recovery since 2009. Business leaders should be touting the fact that through standardization of forms and savings on rapidly increasing health care premiums, we could turn the tide of costs that are strangling small business nationwide. In most situations, health care is both not an option because it is simply unaffordable, with many jobs not producing enough income to support insurance.

We have sacrificed thousands of citizens for the cause of "freedom". The luxury of being able to operate without undue interference should carry a price. We need to tax businesses similarly to the way we tax families, progressively, when they make many billions, their percentage should be high. Companies with less than one-hundred thousand in profits could nearly be exempt. Even though there are many, many more small businesses, the biggest players take much more of the corporate welfare pie.

ECO-Tours - The Skinny

When we first started, about a dozen and a half friends who understood that for us all to have a comfortable future, some sacrifice today was necessary. We were not brutal, coarse of brash, but rather compassionate, helpful and concerned for the well-being of all creatures. Humans tend to think from a species-centric place, affording the natural world no quarter in their world view. I do not want to paint with too broad a brush, but for those who are exceptions to this world view, you know who you are. Our founder, and author of most of what you read here at The Otherfish Wrap, continues to pump his own funds into these efforts. What began as a performance art project, completely funded with his own tax returns has grown into a regional force for good that has broken through all self-imposed ideas about what might constitute a success. Our efforts have crossed any limitations and boundaries we may have envisioned into a lifelong pursuit.

The past two autumns, we have been able to plant over one million trees per year. The resulting trees are favored by birds and we fully expect this to enhance the impact as birds become agents of further change over the years! The best thing about bird bombs is that each seed packet will land wrapped in a boost of fertilizer. When our first plant-ins took place, we would show up with a hundred or two small seedlings and within a few hours, they would all be planted and watered in, then we would retire to a campfire, or picnic table, share a mostly vegetarian pot luck and have time to share our insights, hopes and dreams with one another amongst the tiny trees that would one day transform the areas that we took under our wing. Today, many of those first trees we planted are towering giants, casting shade on fields, homes, paths and hillsides that had been dessicated and lifeless just twenty years ago. Some hug the banks of streams while others are shielding the brow of hills across Northeast Wisconsin.

At this point in  our development, we are seeking a more diversified and consistent donor group. We would like to begin to keep a regular office, rather than always meeting in our living room or kitchen. We want to have space to meet in larger groups increasing our effectiveness further. We are about to begin our plant-ins in the watershed of a second Great Lake, Superior and doubling our efforts will require double the time, money and human effort and further increasing our efficiency and effectiveness. Anyone interested in our work is encouraged to contact either Tony C. Saladino, our director, through facebook or donate through our link to Paypal. We always welcome in-kind donations, as well as any opportunities to share our knowledge, skills and attitudes with curious ecotourists and further our guests' understanding of sustainability issues, permaculture and efficient use (and re-use) of resources. This blog is beginning to reach a significant number of people and if each one who reads an entry would donate just a dollar, it would allow us to plant an additional tree each and every day! To put this in perspective, an acre of temperate forest, in climax condition provides home to between 300 and 320 mature trees. We continue to transform acreage, one tree at a time, one seed at a time. One thing we have seen proven out over the years is that a single acorn holds within it the miracle of a great oak. however, if it is not planted, there is no chance of it growing, ever.

If you are planning to be in either Northeast Wisconsin, or along the Lake Superior Shore, let us know ahead of time and we will prepare a unique ecotour for you. If you want to see energy efficient homes, plant trees, or just walk amongst beautiful wild rivers and waterfalls, we can show you them. If you would rather tour an organic farm, learning how to make your own lifestyle more sustainable and pare down your carbon footprint, we can share insights into ways of going about that too. We are continuing to provide living examples of bringing together folk wisdom and natural healing and food production with modern technologies that are appropriate and scaled to provide higher quality of life at less expense. This revolution is not being televised, although there are some sources of information on the internet, the best way to learn many of these important lessons is through seeing and doing them. We always welcome guests who are serious about finding their own path to sustainability.

Come, see what we are doing and revel in the abundance of life, in step with Mother Earth.

Sex and Pizza

Are a lot alike, even if they are bad, you are probably gonna have some. A friend shared this somewhat troubling maxim with me yesterday. I am just a little afraid that the truth of the statement lies deeper than I was first willing to admit, even to my self. Having had bad pizza as well as bad sex, I can attest to the fact that indeed, I have had some of each. There were only a few times that the level of badness led to stopping the practice altogether. When we sate, it seems, the three or four main, reptilian brain functions, they can be very tenacious and hold sway over the larger, higher brain function. Why we ever developed a higher brain if we are not going to use it is for each of us to answer in our own ways. I can only offer observation and a bit of insight, perhaps in a not too garbled form, to bring you into a place along your path along which the "view" to this subject opens up and hopefully, this will allow you to achieve your potential more fully. Not, for fornicating more frequently, even if it is bad, or for that matter eating more bad pizza, but I leave my thoughts to protect you from more of either.

You may already be aware of the urges of the reptilian brain Flee/Fight, Feed, F**K (I like fornicate, it sounds cooler but some are still deluded into thinking that there is a sanctity in these matters that may only be conferred by religious authority. I am partly here to tell you that this is patently untrue!) The reason i numbered these at three or four is because the first two are actually a continuum of one urge. I am here to tell everyone, in case they ever forget, flee should be over 85% of the total. Flee to the Masonic guidelines of "Eight hours of work, Eight hours for food and rest, Eight hours for helping others." Flee to the place where you feel most self actualized and this will also help keep your mind off average, or worse pizza. What I advocate is, recognizing that there are only three, respect the fact that they each have the power to override the higher brain, stay away from bad fleeing or fights, food and fornication, end of story.
Bad fleeing is turning your head away from things that need to be fought, or at least keeping them in darkness and not dealing with them or their fallout. Bad fighting is against foes who do not matter to anyone but us or that enlist innocent blood in the process of vanquishing whatever we choose to fight. The bad food hurts not only yourself, but the planet itself. Producing wonderful, delicious food is our birthright and there is about the same amount of time available for bad food as bad beer, NONE! At last, if we do participate in far less than average sex, it runs the risk of potential problems because no sex is absolutely "safe", no matter your precautions, but it runs the risk of wasting two people's time instead of just one and if the other person is not also aware that it is bad, they might be encouraged to engage in such activity again.

Help stop bad sex, bad pizza , frivolous and ineffective fights, and never run from what you have the power to change! Blessings readers and may you gain strength from these words and find ways of sharing words of pure love amongst our fellow human beings and find ways of working more magic into each moment of your existence!

Fear Is Not A Family Value

Homo sapiens need a wake up call. Our hearts and minds have been heavily armored and who can blame us. The news programs and networks, that have proliferated and the "reality" television shows show us the most awful images and posit the most fearful views of life for us ad nauseum. We have been terrorized by the media for so long that it seems almost naive to trust, believe in, or count on anyone else. Other than our religious and political leaders, who have the most to gain from lying to us, we can include commercial interests, murderers, thieves, crazy people and sexual predators to the list of people who may be lurking around every corner. We have been led to fear nearly every bite of food that enters our bodies and every fluid that exudes from us as well. We now are beginning to understand that our water may be dangerous, the air definitely is and the very ground that we walk upon is "filled" with bacteria and fungus that might kill us if we have contact with it.

This morning, on a local news program, I learned that a local municipality is embarking on a program that will cut down hundreds of ash trees on city property to prevent them from being killed by the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that only feeds upon these wonderful shade trees. The fear of what might happen is being allowed to dictate to us how we will act, what we will do and how we think about our relationship to the world around us. Similar issues are played out daily in operating rooms across the US. There are probably few of us by now that have not heard of women being told that by having a mastectomy, or hysterectomy, they may be able to outlive their genetic "predisposition" to die from cancer, or that exposing their breasts to radiation might just save their lives. Fear is probably the most profitable industry to be in at present, although we are on the whole healthier and more secure than at any time in our history.

Before you let your mind wander down the slippery slope of what you have been told, we are actually living in the least violent time in history. that being said, we are all going to die. If we live long enough, it is almost certain that we will pray for a quick and painless death, but fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, doctors will almost certainly try every trick that they have up their sleeve to extend your life, expend more and prolong your life as long as possible. Feeling that heroic measures that allow people to suffer just a few months or years longer is worth their effort. It has been over a year since my father passed away, so I'm not just saying so because I am filled with grief. after his second, and third heart surgery, the effort to rehabilitate himself was extremely painful and no amount of schedule one narcotics could touch his pain. Luckily, when he was driving under the influence of these drugs, he did not kill anyone. I'm sure that it was mostly because of quick thinking and rapid action on the part of those who saw him coming in the nick of time. The last time I rode in a car with him, he nearly took out three other cars within about a mile.

The things that we really should be spending time in fear of often go unnoticed.I have shared with many people my feeling that the true terrorists in our midst are the millions of drivers who continue to use their cell phones in the car. these people just don't know when they are going to kill. doctors too fit into that category as well because iatrogenic (doctor caused) deaths, from prescribed medications are approximately equivalent to all deaths in car accidents in our country. Some sources have documented the fact that they are even a greater number. If we are to trust one another, we need to be acting in a trustworthy manner. The almost universal rejection of responsibility in our culture has fascinated me for the better part of half a century. In the last few weeks I have been reminding myself of the fact that when we point at others, there are three fingers pointing back at us. We are encouraged to fear by the powerful interests who wish to divide us and keep us isolated amongst our neighbors.

When we investigate most of the subjects that get covered by the popular press, we find that the causes and effects of these events are frequently left out of the coverage. The heroic actions of those who exhibit bravery or courage are usually not covered, nor are the actions of those who quietly persevere. These activities, quite often, don't photograph well or take place behind the scenes. My contention is that these actions and activities are far more common than we ever realize. Living is not a series of investments in insurance, or installing locks on everything that we value, nor is it the blocking out of all that threatens our way of life or ideas. In fact, the happiest people on Earth spend the least time on these sorts of activities. I have always wanted to be a preacher of sorts, but the reason is pretty much the opposite of any preachers that you might have heard speak before. I openly admit that I cannot tell you what to do. I'm not even sure that what I might say is right and i certainly don't want anyone to take any action in my name or in the "name" of the Lord or Lady, but rather because it is coming from your heart. I often write about the fictions that our minds spin for us into the illusion of truth. The ego is adept at lying to us and the weak of heart often subvert their true selves for the edification of their own deceitful egos. I am not who I think I am. Neither are you. The threats to your health and well being that you believe in do more to take you away from living your bliss than you may ever know. I apologize to those of you who may understand this already, but what speaker can resist the urge to preach to the choir from time to time.

Living our lives requires that we accept some risk. The more we hide behind layers of fear, the less we are able to see and understand the world as it truly is. There are many who reap the benefits of us shuttering our windows, living with our heads in the sand and turning our backs on those in need. We all have the power to live heroic lives, lives of infinite abundance and lives that recognize the fact that each and every human being is entitled to a life of love and realization. If each one teaches one, the process of growing into the people we want to be, rather than victims becomes much easier. We need to let go of fear if we are to have the power of love flow through us. The values that came down to us from our parents and theirs have been assaulted, attacked and undermined by the media for the better part of two generations. The threats that we face today are straw men, fabricated and propped up by those who want us to leave the churches, our government, the financial institutions and the schools available for their use as tools of oppression and they also want us to relinquish the airwaves to be used as an insidious tool for spreading fear. If we allow them to sell us a bill of goods that states that our children, their mothers, the elderly, teachers, gays, unions, pot smokers, liberals and conservatives are "the problem", then we will be sufficiently afraid of everyone and everything and we will be unable to do the things we need to do to break free of these mental shackles. We are always left to make one decision either from the depths of our hearts, or from our own tiny ego. Will we lead lives of quiet desperation or will we rise to the challenge that faces us today? I am willing to stick my neck out. Please look into how you might follow your own bliss and let me know what you find.

Great Lakes Breathing

I have lived along the banks of several estuaries in my time here on Earth. The difference between the great oceanic tides and the seiches produced by winds are also interesting because rather than salt water and freshwater mixing in these zones, the waters that mix are both fresh (non-saline) and that changes the character of the relationship between the bodies of water a great deal. Often the colder and more dense saltwater that intrudes into estuaries hugs the bottom and creeps upriver in relatively static waves, oscillating on a cycle with the position of the moon and her gravitational pull. where I come from, on the edge of the inland seas, wind drives the water levels and the intrusion of great Lakes water into estuaries that I am familiar with.
A friend, who lives on an Island in Lake Superior recently told me about a local lake on her island that has a spring fed lake upon it that intermittently gets additional water from Lake Superior depending on the strength, duration and direction of the wind. Water flows both ways along the outlet/inlet stream. This, she described as the lake breathing. Anyone who has spent time along the shores of any of the Great Lakes, and truly paid close attention to what they were experiencing knows that these vessels are alive. They live and breathe as surely as we do, just at a different pace and in a slightly different manner. These massive bodies of water eat (consume), excrete (empty), exchange gasses and reproduce themselves in mysterious ways. Not only are there the original progenitors, ancient beings who have been around through great spans of geologic time, but there are their children and grandchildren who live amongst us as our unique perspectives and relationships, chips as one might say off the old blocks. Whatever we think of when the term great Lakes is the product of our life bumping up against them and how we have become one with and generated our image is intimate and in a unique pairing becomes a living organism in and of itself.
For better and worse, we often forget that we are partners in the recreation of the lakes. The procreation of  future generations of each of them depends on our participation. My own intimate knowledge about these five jewels spread out across Northern North America has spawned a lifetime of struggle, trying to put to words just who they are, just how much they mean to me and just how much we have lost through ignoring the bounty which they hold, if we would just quiet ourselves enough to listen, we can hear their voices, understand some of their great gifts and understand that they create us just as we help create them.

VOTE!

Vote as if your life depended on it! In the U.S., we have the luxury of a democratic process that has the power to change things for the better, but most of us neglect our duty to the government in several different ways. On the most basic level, we have a system in which the squeaky wheel gets the grease and when we sequester ourselves in our "safe" homes, we have also shut ourselves off from meaningful participation in our communities, our neighborhoods and public discourse. I have worked in polling places for over twenty years. Other than the elections that brought us Presidents like Clinton and Obama, we never come close to half the people turning out for a single election. On one hand, I feel a little guilty when no one shows to vote, because at times I am allowed to make decisions, because I have voted, for the five or six people who stayed home. their voices remain unheard and quite possibly,they have no opinion or have decided in advance that their input is not necessary. Granted, the process is not meant to break down or fail under these conditions, but as Plato said centuries ago, "The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men." This could not be any more important than it is today.

The power that is conveyed to local office holders is often greater than what we allow the President. In the case of a town chairman, county or state representatives, school board members or city clerks, they are all allowed far more leeway in how they carry out their responsibilities to us, or if they care to do anything at all and even if they do fail in their duties, or make terrible decisions, our ability to reign them in or correct their behavior is extremely limited. The president is not allowed to put any laws into effect without a state of national emergency. Even then his powers are specific and limited. He only gets to make certain laws if a national state of emergency is declared. Most of the time he either signs on to legislation that has been worked through the House and Senate. To complicate things further, even if he is not in favor of legislation, and refuses to sign it or sends it back to congress, they still can override his decision if 2/3 or more of the representatives want the law to pass.

The participation rates for the elections that determine who wins local positions, the ones that have more power to change our day to day lives, are ignored and frequently see turnout of under 30% of registered voters. One local election in recent memory saw turn out of less than 10%. That means that my vote was allowed to "speak" for more than ten of my neighbors. Democracy was not designed to be run this way. The second fatal flaw in the way we are being governed is that unless a rule or regulation affects us personally, we are loathe to write letters to our elected officials and even less likely to sit through a meeting. The procedures that meetings run by and the dry daily business that often takes place in city and town halls across our nation reminds many of us of school, hospitals or jail and let's face it, who wants to go back voluntarily to any of these places?

Finally, we need to find better ways of learning, just what the issues are and what the solutions to our problems might look like. this is perhaps the part of democracy that has been forgotten most effectively. we are continually being led down a path to division even though most of us share a relatively common view of what is good and bad, we pretty much agree on what is right and what is wrong and we know which way we should be going. On the other hand, the power structure that has been given everything they want for the greater part of the last century has been allowed to have a more than equal say over public discussion. I actually had someone justify the killing of innocent people who have no interest in harming (United States of) Americans, because it creates jobs in the weapons industry. This is like saying that we should create more car crashes to keep doctors in business. This ideology stems from the rampant use of tax dollars to fund industries that are destructive, hazardous and dangerous, while peaceful loving people are consummately ignored. how then are we to respond?

First, we need to speak up. tell your friends and neighbors just what you see as the problems that we face. Beware of just parroting back the code words provided by the power elites. We all know that our decision-making process has not been served by dividing us. Instead, both sides of the same coin are doing business as usual without real input from citizens. find common ground and enlist the help of friends, family and neighbors to stand up! Face down the stupid and ineffectual "leaders", hold their feet to the fire, attend a few meetings and demand to be heard. If you find useless stumbling blocks to real and meaningful change, or if your representatives are taking you down the wrong path, vote them out! Our environment, our children, mothers and families everywhere are crying out for significant change in the way we do the job of government. Getting our own house in order is necessary before we try to spread "democracy" around the globe. Few of us can fathom the power that we are granted in a democracy. Fewer still seem to respect that power enough to use it. This allows unethical, self serving and evil forces to utilize our tax dollars, our labor and our children as cogs in their mighty machines of destruction. When we stand together, these power elites can be made to heal. We can require all businesses to be good neighbors and serve the good of all, but they have had a free ride for most of the last century, so expect them to fight harder the more we get organized.

Still, the most important first step is to get educated and vote!