"It Is Sacred"

I sat through nearly nine of the twelve hours of testimony that was given yesterday to a subcommittee of Wisconsin State Legislators whose task is to pass mining legislation that has been written by, for the very first time in state history, the regulated industry. An entity that goes by the name of GTAC had a representative there to speak as well, but virtually nothing he had to say made any sense to those who know the history of mining in the state. I have participated in several rounds of public comments, working through the legislative process to help craft regulations and assisting in educating the public about the nature of trying to mine in sensitive areas and the headwaters of river systems that we all hold in common as citizens. What was just as stunning now as it was thirty years ago, when I began my own involvement in environmental issues, was the absolute disconnect between those who believe in their dominion over nature and those who realize that we are integral to the ecology of Mother Earth. The outright lies, about the nature of the geology, the proposed changes to wetlands protection, the air and water quality that mining would affect, the number of jobs that a mine would "create" and the impacts on local communities were bad enough. Serious questions arise about the validity of any position taken by the corporation, (GTAC) because they have already acted in ways that would normally be prosecuted.
It is an crime to tell someone that if they do what you want them to, something good will happen and if you do not do what they want, bad things will happen. When they ask for money, that is called extortion, organized crime is often prosecuted for engaging in this type of crime. Racketeering is enlisting enough people as to control a market. I see no reason why enlisting the government to help steal from the public should be any different from using any other group of organized criminals to do so. What will be stolen, in this case is two-fold. First off, by having a mining company re-write the laws, the company has already stolen our democratic process. The sham of only allowing twelve hours of testimony to be heard from the public, hundreds of miles from where the mine would operate, with only two business days warning has also stolen rights that belong to the public and have been well-established by time-honored practices that have served us well since Wisconsin has been organized as a state. The second thing that has been stolen from the people of Wisconsin are the laws that have sought to protect the environment from mining interests, who leave social distortion, cultural mayhem and environmental destruction in their wake. This assault on state law also renders useless, the hundreds of thousands of hours spent crafting the laws than now partially protect state resources like clean air and water.
I am writing in parlance that the average person might understand, but the deepest assault is a bit more esoteric. First, the history buffs and folks enamored by the "good old days" spoke about the need to recover the boom times that mining provided the north woods. What these people forget is that instead of prostrating themselves to set dynamite in warrens of tunnels, or shoveling the ore into carts, the way mining used to take place, modern mining allows a single guy in a truck to cart away more pulverized rock powder in a minute than a whole community used to be able to produce in a day. Forgetting the fact that the geology that led to mining certain parts of our state was the exact same geology that led to the end of mining, did not seem to be enough, the supporters also had to parrot back the same ignorant statements that they rest their arguments upon. One supporter hastened to say that the town of "Wakefield gets it's water from the (now-closed) Montreal mine". This may be true but has absolutely nothing to do with the proposed mine that lies under sulfide bearing rock that will be blasted to powder, creating acid mine drainage in the next watershed over.
The people who clung to the "jobs" issue failed to mention that the problems that they have always had with shrinking population is that the first extraction was the forest itself, then the mineral wealth under their feet. They do not understand that the low-grade ore that is left is just that. One person "in favor of the mine", bemoaned the "fact" that their children will all have to move away if they want to get jobs and another said that six homes on one lake alone had been foreclosed on and were now sitting empty. Hmmmm, sounds like a vacation retreat center about to happen, but that would require a bit of investment and commitment to finding creative ways of making a living. There are many flourishing vacation rental businesses across the north...One wondered if their children just wanted to get away from the land of not much to do. One fellow who, as I recall, was a school board chairman, said that if just six families would move into their school district it would help the school to hang on in spite of dwindling enrollment and plummeting state aid. Keep in mind that these same voices doubted the integrity of the science behind the opposition to the mine and the sentiment that most folks spoke out about that was we need to take our time and protect the environment, rather than bowing to corporate power and promises.
This is the second round for this law, even though it was reintroduced this session as AB 1 and SB 1, none of the prior testimony, which ran 348 against environmental destruction to 24 in favor of mine development, will be allowed to be considered in the new fight spear-headed by governor scott Walker, to reduce the effectiveness of Wisconsin state law.
Two particular interactions during the hearing yesterday were most telling, one was the question, late in the day by the committee chair. "Why is this issue more important in Ashland County than in Iron County?" Iron county is not even in the watershed that would be affected by acid mine drainage. 2/3 of the proposed mine and all of the acid mine drainage would be in Ashland County. To date, there has not been a single public hearing on this issue there. Secondly, and perhaps most sadly, was the representative who spoke against changing the current laws. You would think that someone who wants to protect the state would have a better grasp on the situation. They said that the wild rice which grows in the floodplain of the Bad River is "almost sacred" to native people. Luckily, there were folks close by who chimed in, "It IS Sacred!" Several times during the hearing, the relationship between the sanctity of the land and sacred rites and/or objects came out. Just the sheer amount of TNT that would be used to blast the rock to the consistency of talcum powder would unleash a toxic legacy that would last beyond seven generations. I am sorry if I misquote Mike Wiggins, but he said something like, Imagine wiping the Vatican from the face of the earth, that is what the headwaters of our reservation are to us.
Several times, it was brought to light that the rights of native populations were guaranteed by a government much older than that of the State of Wisconsin. The treaties entered into by their nations and the nation of the United States of America explicitly state that there is a responsibility of the federal government to assure protection of the resources upon which their culture, their nation, and their subsistence way of life depend. Because of these treaties, the relationship between the people and their land may not be taken for granted, cannot be infringed and certainly by this understanding, must not be ruined by releasing toxic substances into the air or water of one nation by negligence or design by the other. The air, the water, the earth, rock and the intact ecosystem upon which life thrives is sacred. This needs to be made clear to the temporary custodians of our state. Our interest is in protecting this land forever.

We Are All One

When I started this blog several years ago, I never dreamed that it would take on a life of it's own. I never knew how far my writing might take me or how far it might reach. Each day has been an inspiration and the comments that I have received on some of my posts have given my heart and soul ebullience beyond words. There are times that we each feel estranged from one another. We begin to allow the fictions that we have been raised on, to tell us that we don't matter, that we are not good enough, or that no one cares about us or our ideas and feelings. The posts that I have been able to share through this forum have proven beyond all shadow of doubt, how wrong most of the information we have foisted upon us truly is. There is a rising tide of humanity, worldwide, that no longer lives according to the precepts of the church of greed. The great human family is beginning to understand that wealth and might certainly don't make right. In fact, most often these forces make it impossible to make good choices based on fact, objective reality or enduring truth.

I recently was reminded that we share far more DNA in common with every other living creature, than what makes us different. So too, we each love our children exactly the same. Finding this truth used to be a lifelong struggle for a tiny few, but now it is being proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, placing responsibility for our behavior squarely on our shoulders. Blame is fruitless. No skill or integrity are required to blame others for our failings. We each respond to grief in similar ways and we all start out life as creatures of compassion and consideration. As we grow, the only thing that can subvert this basic goodness is neglect or abuse. This is where the religions of the world have fallen. They use shame to blame the victims. As long as they cling to their top down organizations, wielding power and control over their subjects, they will not get up either. Converts are increasing exponentially to the belief that all forms of "religion" are flawed. Spirituality, on the other hand, has never been higher. It is in the spirit of love, the spirit of hope and the spirit of faith that my words travel around the world. It is also the impetus behind such phenomenal successes as micro-lending, liberation movements on all continents and ecological awareness that is growing around the planet.

Science is now able to show us explicitly how bad for one another and the globe industrial and extractive oppression are for air, water, soils and our human population. Many of the indicator species that have shown us the real consequences of destroying planetary integrity of living systems are much more than a call to arms. They are the writing on the walls of our humanity. We may be able to survive as a singular species without the passenger pigeon, the eider or the beluga whale, but the fabric of life on earth has become threadbare in far too many areas to continue to support life as we know it. Once pushed past carrying capacity, the only thing we know for sure is that there will be a terrible and dislocating crash. Our population is no different than any other in that respect. As above, so below has been issuing from the mouths of devout pagans since before the advent of most world religions, but in the world today, we see first-hand the costs of forgetting this basic tenet.

It is with great love and affection for all the peoples of the planet that I discuss these issues. at least once in each of our lives, it would be nice if we could hear truth instead of reactionary fiction. It would heal so many of our perceived wounds if we would just learn to love one another. Finding our way through the dark is a lot easier with the light of truth to guide us. When i first began speaking truth to power, people like me seemed to be few and far between. Now, many of us are realizing that we outnumber the oppressors by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions to one. Asking the basic question, "Whom do I serve?", may have startling answers, but we all must ask it and act accordingly. If your life is lived in service to a dying ember, try committing yourself to life instead. Take the time to give to others, without regard for personal gain. The power that this singular act has to change your life for the better cannot be put into words or quantified in local currency. We are one, act on that one priority and the rest falls into place.

Open Letter To Wisconsin Representatives

I am writing as a proud Wisconsinite, father & grandfather. I have tirelessly educated and informed people, in the Great Lakes region and around the world, about sustainability and economic factors referred to as externalities. Sustainability requires us to understand our relationship with the environment, that each action we take leaves a legacy for future generations. The true costs of our actions or inaction can be hard to calculate as they, even more than most potential benefits, often last long after our time here on earth has passed. A toxic legacy that will persist forever, in the sediments of the Fox River, in the lakes on Isle Royale and in the soil we have to grow crops on costs many lives compromises our health and reduces quality of life for many generations going forward. What is the true cost of that?

Wisconsin has a strong tradition of facing ecological problems head-on perhaps because we had made so many mistakes. Now we are facing massive ecological damage that is 100% preventable. I am referring to the proposed changes to our states mining laws. Our current laws have served us well for many years and recent changes in enforcement as well as proposed changes to the laws will allow contamination of hundreds of miles of streams, as well as the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Having lived in several mining districts around the country as a young man, I am uniquely qualified to speak on issues of externalities associated with mining. First and foremost are the societal costs of extraction. Typically, mining is a young man’s job. They come from far away and take what little they might save away forever. They come for the fast money and spend a much larger percentage of their income on alcohol, tobacco, firearms, illicit drugs and prostitution. In addition, whatever ecological ethic is in the population prior to mining, is undermined by having to see, daily, the wanton corruption of the land, air, water and the lives of local people, their families and their children’s opportunities for the profit of those who are too far away to care. Violence to the earth leads to more violence in the general population as individuals with no future but mining become more and more desperate.

The second part of the story is the long-term destruction of both the land and the water. In the case of the proposed mining district in northern Wisconsin, the ore body that they are hoping to exploit contains iron yes but it is also extremely low grade ore. The overburden, which needs to be removed, as well as the ore body itself contains sulfide deposits which inevitably cause acid mine drainage. This, in turn, renders the entire watershed inhospitable to fish, collapsing the aquatic food chain. This condition will remain for hundreds of years, perhaps thousands. Long after the mine owners have gotten what they were after, with the land ruined forever, the citizens are left destitute. The lies and fanciful claims that have been made about how wonderful and lucrative mining will be for our state are not based on any realistic science or experience. In fact the current laws that have served for many years, were arrived at by hundreds of concerned scientists as well as hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens, working together to assure that our state would have reasonable protection for the environment we all share. This is the best way to secure health and a future for the greatest number of state residents. Far more jobs can be created at much less cost in conservation, ecotourism and by recycling the refined iron that has been scattered across the northern tier of counties.

 Immensely concerned, Tony Saladino Director ECO-tours of Wisconsin Inc. One, double four, five Porlier street 54301 USA (nine,two 0) double eight four-triple two four.

Wisconsin's Current Crop of Hot Heads

The rethuglicans are gloating over their recent rise to power, riding the coat tails of public opinion that the government has been spending money like a drunken sailor and promising to rescue us with their crisis management style brought about by fear and hate. Ironically, the recent economic crash has been far more gentle here in our state, mainly because unemployment never spiked to the levels of other states and the excesses of the multimillionaires did not have as much traction here as they did elsewhere. Although we have one or two cities that are in dire straights, these are the result of long-term structural changes that have isolated whole communities from sources of capital, strangled the commercial sector and foisted poverty on the vast majority of the population. Nothing that the current crop of rich white males is relying on to "save our state" will help those people. In fact their gerrymandering (redrawing district lines to favor their candidates) has led to a situation in which hundreds of thousands of people will remain disenfranchised, unable to vote for a state senator for six years. As you might guess, the vast majority of these people are poor, of color and their neighborhoods are probably the most in need of enlightened vision, not the policies of old that created the ghettos in which they are forced to survive, of any in the state. The cities most reliant on heavy industry really took it on the chin and will continue to have growing pains as we shift into a new, sustainable society.

Wisconsin, after two years of rule by Governor Scott Walker (R) ranks forty-seventh(47th) out of fifty states in job creation. Up until a couple months ago, the ranking was dead last. Unemployment is terminally over ten percent in the largest city in our state, but his mega-bail outs for his corporate sponsors are directed to the smallest towns, where the locals still feel that they are under threat. Under threat of what, I cannot understand. The only explanation for this fear, that I can fathom, is that the rich white males are hoping the locals in these areas are as bigoted as the rethuglicans hope they are. These folks, "new rethuglicans" posit, for the most part, the people they represent are like them, accustomed to male-dominated lily-white view of the world that was the rule throughout the last century. This is the very world-view that they see the world from and it is like a containment vessel that thrives on prejudicial language as well as that nasty old Calvinist belief that only good people are living to god's plan, proven to them through economic prowess and refined taste. The dark side cuts with unsavory vehemence for those who are obviously morally suspect, simply because of their poverty and what it reflects about their "goodness". These beliefs have power over their perception. It is because of their "moral values" that we have the most to fear. Even though state wide, we have some of the lowest unemployment in the nation, the drum beat of lies that we get from our political "leaders" is that we need to create jobs in the private sector at all costs. "We have fallen and we can't get up.", without the help of giant corporations, seems to be their watch word. This in a state with fiercely independent voters and citizens that have seen the historical record of wealth much more drastically than many other states. We see daily, the artifacts of pollution, rape of Mother Earth, the results of socialist programs like the WPA and CCC. We can attest to the value of our education and the blessings of community support and interaction. After the first oppressors had their way with our state, lying, cheating and despoiling the reations between our government and the people, huge cash reserves were removed at great cost to Wisconsin's original residents. The toxic legacy of mining and the loss of soil that came with early "development" was the result of well-heeled interests running over the public for profit. The same relationships of exploitation and extraction has been applied to nearly everything of value in our state. It is just as well, there can be no way found of capitalizing on the rich family and community that we feel in our hearts, for if there were, that too would have been extracted by the rich fiends. We have more than enough examples of the way the power brokers exploit whatever they can for profit. Nary a tree was left after the lumber boom and after 90% of our forest had been decimated, The Peshtigo Fire, fed by tinder dry slash, ravaged the most populated part of our state. Their was a "land boom" here, that was more devastating than the recent housing market crash. It even drained more fortune than the recent financial market crash. Nearly every citizen in our state lost their entire life's work to fund the lavish lifestyles of a few souls. Again, wealthy interests sold off land with a fervor that had been unrivaled in human history. They extracted money from the burgeoning population on the promise that the newly deforested landscape was well-suited for wheat production.

Residents put their back into their living back then as they do now. One man, with an ox, could clear about an acre of stumps each year, but by the time they discovered that the wheat harvest would crash after about three years of production, they were left with nothing but land that was best suited for forest and no way to restore the ecosystem. All that could live on the destitute soil was grass. At the time, caring for livestock was "women's work". It took a massive swallowing of pride to make Wisconsin the dairy state, but our white ancestors have become adept at swallowing their pride in service to the ultra-wealthy.

Milwaukee, our largest city used to be a hotbed of socialist ideology. We raised a crop of politicians in the last century that saw first-hand the depraved greed that wealthy men use to guide "development" in our state. Hard-working men and women have subsidized the wealth of people far away, supported their lavish lifestyles, and suffered at the hands of these callous thugs who, for too long, have taken their cut for protection, for the privilege of dealing with them or for their luxuries and your burden. The socialist revolution was on. Many continue to call Wisconsin home because of the long history of social activism, environmental protection and the value we place on education, family and service. From the Co-ops of rural communities to the pride we have in our schools, we have proof positive that without commitment to our communities, the rich will bleed us all dry.
There are many among us, and we hope that we are in the majority, who can smell a fish and tell if it is bad, who can see a liar and identify them and to suss out who is acting like they care so they can cheat us in the end.

Crafting An Art City

Now call me old fashioned, but I remember my grade school putting quite a lot of time into each student's artistic side. Not just glue and glitter, but serious study, of the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci. I remember the teacher talking about him like they were old buds, Leonardo did this and Leonardo did that. In fact, she never said Da Vinci. In my innocence, I said, "Leonardo is one of my ancestors." Which flabbergasted my young teacher. She was absolutely sure that I was not, but I insisted. Leonardo Saladino, from Sicily He is my great grandfather. Then she realized her mistake. Anyway, I recall writing papers about Fauvists, about Picasso and Robert Smithson. Remember the guy who built Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake? In fact, before I got to middle school, I had the opportunity to produce films and build massive papier mache' creatures. Crafting an art city is as exhilarating and as fun as those early art adventures, but the materials, the substance you have to use to create your larger environment is people. To create an art city requires commitment and tenacity, but the rewards are multi-fold and great compared to the actual time you spend contributing to the project.
Listening to Wisconsin Public Radio the other day, they had a whole hour about scoring art cities and I am drawing on what they said about it to some extent, but I have also been a foot soldier in the process of artsy-ing up whatever places I have traveled through on my life's adventures, whether it was making films in Colorado or painting signs in Union City or Ashland or wearing epic Halloween costumes that made the newspaper, or doing the same with my own children. Creating an art city is inter-generational. It breathes, from the tiniest first breaths to the last death rattle. The art communities that I have been a part of virtually vibrated, resonating with the combined energies of a whole cadre of folks who were more than neighbors, they were friends who were closer than some of our own families. co creators of events, rituals and rites that only occurred between us, for the moment, yet suspended beyond time through channeling our creative energies which almost magically complemented one another and created something out of next to nothing. This is a lot of words to say that whether we were painting murals or hosting an art fair, making theater or rocking out at a festival, the buzz was us.
First and foremost an art city needs to be walkable. The more impediments to radical pedestrian-ism, the harder it is to create a sense of community. Now, like any other art, the science of this can be thrown completely out the window if the participants are committed enough to getting around to see one another regularly. If any community seeks to become more of an art city, it is possible, but certain sacrifices need to be made. Even in the places where we were isolated, we were able to get to town to participate, organize and instigate way of bringing art to the community. you can check your city's walkability score at walkscore. This is also possible by having vibrant retail/service areas close to plenty of population density. Generally speaking, within a mile or two at most you should be able to get nearly every type of retail and/or service business that you might need. The closer the better. Within this, having some nice green space for gathering never hurts.
another factor that is critical is NO CHAIN STORES! Independent local operators are open to quirky, in fact, they thrive on it. The types of tourists that will flock to art cities are not looking for the same old Burger King or Wal-Mart they could see at home, they want unique texture and local flavor. Family-owned businesses and co-ops involve more local people in decision-making and make it possible for everyone to work symbiotically to push for the betterment of all.
There are legions of "creatives" in every community. Drawing them out and enlisting their cooperation is where the true creativity that makes things hum lies. Once you uncork the reservoir, however, watch the fun begin. The art cities that exist today did not spring up like mushrooms overnight, but once a few people discover the liberating sensation of making art, it can be profoundly contagious. On a microcosmic level, I have noticed that people that I have painted artistic signs for, have, in turn, put more effort into making better temporary signs as well. On a macrocosmic level I have enlisted dozens of bored young people to help paint a mural on an old concrete abutment, in the coal regions of Pa (Pennsylvania), and seen it stop graffiti for generations. When beauty starts to break out in any community, you would be surprised at how it affects the rest of the population. Perhaps the most sublime change is created because somewhere, often in surprising places, there are repressed folks who see the art and are urged by their own passion to reciprocate by making something of their own.
Making your city more of an art city requires increasing the opportunities for residents to have creative occupations. I have seen home school groups hire an art teacher, that led her to be able to stay in the community and do her own art as well as patronize many of the local shops. sign painters are always in demand and the "Quick Signs" type places are often part of a mega chain or at least their materials are from one. Unique Craft versus hum-drum quantity is always an issue. creatives can find a niche in so many areas, it is hard to limit the list, but theater folks, graphic artists, writers, teachers, musicians and chefs are the first to come to my mind. I know artists who are landscapers, welders, cobblers, chiropractors, doctors (although these are few) and tailors. Making things can be done artfully and even services can be rendered in creative and fresh ways. Allowing people to be creative is easier in those mom and pop stores as I was mentioning before. If done properly, even running a chamber of commerce can be done with panache' and style, amping up the community through support for the arts. In whatever respect you choose to participate in community, it is possible to bring creativity to your discipline.
Having Arts related not for profit organizations is critical. These groups can draw on the resources in the community, and often over a larger region to enhance individual efforts and provide services to the growing art city. The relationships built through service and shared commitment lead to the tightly knit sense of identity within a community of respected peers. Even committing a few Saturdays each year to an organization can lead to life-long friendships and a sense of belonging that many communities lack.
Finally, Arts related commercial space is the icing on the cake. Being able to host locally-made bling, or pottery, sculpture and art says, "We respect and admire the talents of our neighbors." We feel safe to be ourselves and we are not afraid to do our best, offering our creative efforts for you. I am brought back in time to the North shore of Lake Superior. A restaurant that used the unique locale to full advantage, jutting out into the marina like a dock. Artistically timber framed to strike awe in the guests. Their food was spectacular and came from humble local origins. The sign was one-of a kind and so were the waiters. You guessed it, a thriving art city clinging to the side of a mountain. They had art to purchase right on their walls, like a gallery and even on a cold grey day, the exuberance of the place was infectious.
Developing relationships with other creatives is not as hard as one might think. Just bring artistic flair to your own life and understand that our creative potential never leaves, just our attention to it. Let your own self be more creative and share the fruits of your creative efforts with others. Let them know that their own skills and talents deserve development. Stretch your boundaries, include seeing yourself as a creative, you may never know how wonderful it can feel if you don't at least give it a try.

I Have A Dream, But So Do The Rich

I heard a man on Wisconsin Public Radio today speaking out about the "organic" local growers. It would have been sad if he didn't really believe his dream. He spoke with such hyperbole and assurance and his words carried across the public airwaves impacting thousands in ripples, rushing out at light speed. Without objection or correction by the host, he claimed that if all the organic growers in the state put their farms to a test, they could not supply one story with enough of any type of fruit or vegetable to meet a single store's need. Like I said, it would have been funny if it were not tragic. His dream is to continue building larger and larger markets, so that some day we could have just one per county, or perhaps even less than that. Perhaps when they go back to cornering the entire market, grocers will be able to just have the one kind of lettuce again, rather than the half-dozen varieties that most stores have to carry now.
I have always had a penchant for talking to folks I meet from Russia. I always ask what the most foreign thing about America is. They inevitably mention the bread. This relates to the dream of the ultra wealthy quite well, so it is not too far a leap from my opening paragraph. In their hometown, these Russians always comment, there would be periods with no bread. When it was available, folks would stand in line to get it, even though the price was cheap, it was always good. here, they say, there is poor person bread and rich person bread and they sit side by side on the store shelves. you can pay a dollar for terrible bread, or five or more dollars for a good loaf. The dream of the ultra-wealthy has unfolded in an awful way. By eliminating as much of the cost of storage as possible, first pulverizing the grains to infinitesimally small pieces, the nutrients simply evaporate and thus even rats won't touch it. Then they dose it with preservatives and vitamins and call it good for you. The cost of packaging and transport of most bread is far higher than the cost of the ingredients. This is how profits are created in the old economic way of thinking.
Their dream is to keep things pretty much just like they are, each parasitic corporation taking just a bit from as many people as possible not only keeps them flying under the radar, but able to claim that none of us would like to do without them. Each round of government subsidy in turn leads to new avenues to increase profitability. The banks we bailed out are racking up record profits, while more than 100,000 families per month are losing their homes. Many of the folks who used to feel secure are becoming more and more desperate, but the debate is about how great it is that at least the banks are profitable. Imagine ending It's A Wonderful Life with everyone sending their bail-out money to Potter. In our way, that is exactly what we have done! Those who deemed themselves "too big to fail" have us up against a wall. they are the ones with all the cards. their dreams have become nightmares for us all.
My dream includes the good of others. I can see a future in which all the things I have learned, being made both useful and valuable to others. better yet, this dream is unfolding at this very moment. Through the process of sharing some of my knowledge, the future is changing. As I "speak", seeds are planted, or the soils of future thought are tilled. I bear the water to quench the thirsty, knowledge hungry sprouts of a new, more civil society. i am here to sat that I know of at least one organic farm that produced 100% of last winter's spinach for a store in the northernmost part of Wisconsin. I felt blessed to have a chance to eat some of it because it blew away any other spinach I have ever eaten. corporate food enterprises have become too used to assigning value to the process of filling bags with commodities that can lead to generation of money, rather than capturing their produce when it is the healthiest and bringing it to market the same day.
If we are to turn the ship of state around, wresting power from those who have become most used to it, we will all need to pull together and in unison pull away from corporate domination and push off in a new direction. My dream is a wake up call, and I bid you all a good night sleep. when you wake up, i hope it will be invigorated and refreshed for the next big step in changing bussiness as ususal and taking back our state, our nation, our world.

Capitalizing On Fear

Much has been written and said about the so-called "Fiscal Cliff". As most of us know by now, they were the end of the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals. Remember? The ones that were supposed to make the U.S. into the most robust economic job creating dervish on the planet? Well, as I have already written, the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) ran the numbers and had said that there might be a brief slow down in the "recovery", but after that, we would be on a much better economic footing if we had run full-speed off the "cliff". Instead, we have gotten a bill that gives even greater hand-outs to a select few corporate interests at the cost of sensible economic policy for the rest of us.

The corporate welfare that is hidden within the new legislation would be amusing if it were not so blatantly sick. The folks we know as NASCAR are allowed to write off any and all facilities "development"expenditures over only seven years, unlike the depreciation of all other private development building projects. This one tiny aspect of the legislation is expected to cost taxpayers over 41 million dollars over just the next two years.

Pork, that part of legislation that infuses it with further corporate welfare, unrelated to the initial intent of the law, has become so ubiquitous that many fear we are on a collision course with even more untenable economic situations. For instance, there is a massive subsidy for film-makers who produce films in "economically depressed areas". This is an industry that I know quite a bit about and I can tell you that the money made when a film is produced in your area is great, but by the time the cameras stop rolling, the lion's share of the money has already been spent. It may temporarily boost the economy, but in the end, when the film companies leave, there is a definite end to that free flow of cash into the local economy. Recovery over the long haul cannot be subsidized with tax incentives or corporate welfare. Strong economic performance is based on much longer term investment.

What is most unsettling about our current economic milieu is that those who have the most to lose are disinterested in making any changes that could alleviate the suffering of the vast majority of people. This is true not only for the ultra-wealthy in our own nation, but for the world-wide power brokers who control money supplies everywhere. The very discussion of our current state of affairs using hyperbole and high test verbiage, eliminates any possibility of a reasoned debate of substantive issues. People understand the words "running headlong off the fiscal cliff" to be "bad", even if those in the know have researched the possibility of what would actually happen and concur that we would be much better off if all the changes that are represented as the "fiscal cliff" came to pass. Instead of welcoming a change that could put us on a sound footing for economic expansion, the terms have been trumped up to instill fear.

These same forces are at work in the media. We are living through the least violent time in human history, yet we are selling assault weapons at the highest rate ever. "Personal" protection is touted as flowing from the muzzle of a gun when in actuality folks who own handguns are four times more likely to die from a gunshot wound as those who do not own guns. We are told that doctors save lives, yet tens of thousands die each year from properly administered prescription medication. The car companies love to tout how "safe" you will be in their cars, but upon closer inspection, the reason that deaths in car accidents is down is because people are both driving slower (because of higher fuel costs) and less miles overall to save money. In most states, you are far more likely to die in a traffic accident than being shot, but collectively we refuse to drive safely and want to own offensive weapons to "defend" ourselves. Getting our heads around these issues requires reason and thought, both of which are not possible if we operate from a place of fear.

Simply allowing the fear mongering elites to determine the vocabulary, the very terms of the discussion and the way we think the world is can only lead to more of the same. the rich continue to get richer, the poor continue to slide into more and more desperate places, and the tragic circumstances that lead to desperation will continue to become magnified. It is time to realize that the only thing we have to fear is the folks shoving their opinions down our throats. Taking the time to educate yourself about any issue, will remove the fear that the powerful elites want you to hold in your heart. If we hope to find our way to sustainability, we need to let go of the imposed fears and see clearly the abundance that surrounds us. To that end, I have begun to write three separate blogs. This one, ECO-Tours of Wisconsin Inc. at blogger.com and Permaculture, ECO-Ethics, Trees at wordpress.com. Please share these blogs with others. Together we can make the change. The truth of the matter is that love truly can conquer fear, we just need to inform others about the truth behind that statement.  

60 Facts That Prove The American Middle Class is Being Wiped Out

Shamelessly stolen for your edification from
Michael Snyder
Otherfish additions noted, follow each factoid.
Activist Post

#1 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the middle class is taking home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before. Otherfish addition: U. S.Census data indicates that 46.2 million working Americans, (about 12.5%) are in poverty. This number excludes 22 million children. This is especially sad in the self-proclaimed, preeminent capitalistic society on the planet. At the risk of waxing too mathematical, wealth in our society (in dollars) breaks down like this, under about twenty-two thousand is considered poverty (Of this group, 4.6 million individuals did not work a single day last year), moving up exponentially, the middle class ends around two-hundred and twenty thousand. Only about 1% make over $220,000 per year.

#2 As the middle class shrinks, more Americans than ever have been forced to become dependent on the federal government. Federal spending on welfare programs has reached nearly a trillion dollars a year, and that does not even count Social Security or Medicare. Welfare spending is now 16 times larger than when the "war on poverty" began. Otherfish addition: The vast majority of money spent on the "War on Poverty" has been to top-level managers, accountants and operations at distribution centers rather than people in need. Over half of welfare costs go to people making six figure salaries, placing them firmly in the middle class.

#3 Median household income in the U.S. has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4,000 during that time span. Otherfish addition: median, as you remember, throws out exactly the same number of higher incomes and lower ones. The wealthier side of this number sacrificed far less, the lower side lost much, much more.

#4 The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs for low paying jobs. 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs. Otherfish addition: this is diametrically opposed to the "Trickle-down Theory" that the wealthy have shoved down our throats for decades.

#5 The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by more than 15 million since the turn of the century. Otherfish addition: The new under class has become big business for health care, (as write-offs for "free" emergency room visits) drug companies, (who benefit from government supported treatment for everything from obesity to depression and stress, non-food related issues and complications which can require mental health services.) and for the long term starvation caused by The C.A.N.D.Y. (Continuously Advertized Nutritionally Deficient Yum-yum) monster that is the lucrative business that thrives in the food deserts of our nation.
 
#6 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today. Otherfish addition:Many non-food items are subsidized through permissible use of food stamps. Add to this the astonishing number of food islands in central cities, where poverty is high, and you have a snack food corporate welfare haven of unimaginable proportion. Thirty million more "customers than in 2000.
 
#7 Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps. Otherfish addition: More than exponential growth over forty years. Two percent, then compared to over fifteen (15%), now. It is ironic that as cities have fallen on hard times, the availability of healthy food has dropped simultaneously. Again, can you say corporate welfare for, say it with me..."Nutritionally Deficient, Continuously Advertized Yum-yums."
Read: Vicky Lansky's book Taming the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster.
 
#8 According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all American households were "middle class" back in 1971. Today, that figure has fallen to 51 percent. Otherfish addition: Because of population increase, nearly twice as many people are living in poverty in the U.S.A. as did in 1971, just two generations ago.
 
#9 In the United States today, 35 percent of all households live on $35,000 or less each year.
Otherfish addition: Another fifteen percent subsist on incomes between poverty and the median income of under 53 K annual income. 36 Million individuals 25 years old to 65 years old, have quit looking for work. These people are not earning income at all, or are making what they can in the black market, cash jobs or barter.
 
#10 One recent survey discovered that 85 percent of all middle class Americans believe that it is harder to maintain a middle class standard of living today than it was 10 years ago. Otherfish addition: First World Problems to be sure, but even the people of moderate means are being forced by the oligarchy to practice austerity for their rapidly expanding wealth.
 
#11 62 percent of all middle class Americans say that they have had to reduce household spending over the past year. Otherfish addition: What we need for a recovery is to have customers for people to sell to, not a population scrimping to make ends meet. Expanding sense of lack undermines any hope of economic recovery.
 
#12 According to one survey, 77 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck at least part of the time. Otherfish addition:This has led to an indirect subsidy of payday and pawn loan stores, even more desperate times for evermore people and increasing property crime for the police to track down.
 
#13 In 1989, the debt to income ratio of the average American family was about 58 percent. Today it is up to 154 percent. Otherfish addition: Five years into this "recession", in September, 2012, we heard financial hawks at Reuters get all excited that foreclosures dropped to their lowest monthly levels since the last quarter of 2007. "Only" 180,427 more people were either rendered homeless, or finally unable to pay their debts, losing the largest investment most people ever make.
 
#14 Total U.S. household debt grew from just 1.4 trillion dollars in 1980 to a whopping 13.7 trillion dollars in 2007. This played a huge role in the financial crisis of 2008, and the problem has still not been solved.Otherfish addition: The people who own our debt basically own us, they own the representatives who are supposed to serve our interests, and they have owned the dictionary that we use to debate the "issues" of the day. It is no wonder that they do not want substantive discussion about corporate welfare to come up. Personal debt has risen from about 6K in 1980, to 44K per person today.
 
#15 While debt loads for middle class families are going up, the net worth of those same families is going down. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of families in the United States declined "from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010". Otherfish addition: Like the main character in It's a Wonderful Life, many of us are "worth" more dead than alive.
 
#16 The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been below 59 percent for 40 months in a row. Otherfish addition: Is it any wonder that suicides of U. S. military personnel (our children, fathers and mothers) outstripped hostile fire as cause of death this year?
 
#17 Today there are about 3.25 million Americans that say that they want a job but that have not searched for a job in more than a year because they believe that it is so hopeless. Otherfish addition: Nearly the same number of people as live in the city of Los Angeles. Many of the most powerful news organizations have conspired to portray our plight as dourly as possible, neglecting to cover the millions of good news stories that fill the lives of most of us. Hopelessness keeps people from demanding change.

#18 When you total up all working age Americans that do not have a job in America today, it comes to more than 100 million. Otherfish addition: About 1/3 of the entire population.

#19 The unemployment rate for African-Americans rose dramatically from 13.2 percent in November to 14.0 percent in December. Otherfish addition: This number would be even higher if you counted the incarcerated as part of the unemployed. One more way that fear based decision-making has led to social costs.
 
#20 The unemployment rate for Americans in the 18 to 29 year-old age bracket is 11.5 percent overall. For African-Americans in that age group, the unemployment rate is now up to 22.1 percent. Millions of young people believe that the system has totally failed them. Nearly double and that is not including the incarcerated. nearly half of a whole generation of young black men have had their lives scarred by being put behind bars or on probation. Again, thank-you Ronald Reagan.

#21 Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent.

#22 Last year, an astounding 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed.

#23 Today, approximately 25 million American adults are living with their parents.

#24 According to the Tax Policy Center, the recent fiscal cliff deal will raise taxes more for those making between $30,000 and $200,000 a year than it will for those making between $200,000 and $500,000 a year.

#25 According to a Gallup survey, only 60 percent of all Americans say that they have enough money to live comfortably.

#26 One recent survey found that 63 percent of all Americans believe that the U.S. economic model is broken.

#27 Each year, the average American must work 107 days just to make enough money to pay local, state and federal taxes.

#28 Consumer debt in America has risen by a whopping 1700 percent since 1971.

#29 There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.

#30 The average American household spent approximately $4,155 on gasoline during 2011, and electricity bills in the U.S. have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

#31 According to USA Today, many Americans have actually seen their water bills triple over the past 12 years.

#32 Health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent since Barack Obama became president. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today they account for approximately 16.3%.

#33 In 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent are covered by employment-based health insurance.

#34 According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 46 percent of all American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and 29 percent of all American workers have less than $1,000 saved for retirement.

#35 The United States has lost an average of approximately 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

#36 The United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.

#37 According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losing half a million jobs to China every single year.

#38 In 2000, there were more than 17 million Americans working in manufacturing, but now there are less than 12 million.

#39 Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs. Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs.

#40 Since 2000, U.S. multinational corporations have eliminated 2.9 million jobs in the United States and have added 2.4 million jobs overseas.

#41 According to Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University, 40 million more U.S. jobs could be sent offshore over the next two decades if current trends continue.

#42 According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 declined by 27 percent after you account for inflation.

#43 At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less. If that sounds like a high figure, that is because it is. Today, the United States actually has a higher percentage of workers doing low wage work than any other major industrialized nation does.

#44 According to the Pew Research Center, only 23 percent of all American workers believe that they have enough money to get them through retirement.

#45 According to the Economic Policy Institute, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans households on average have 288 times the amount of wealth that the average middle class American family does.

#46 In the United States today, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.

#47 According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.

#48 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have a net worth that is roughly equal to the bottom 30 percent of all Americans combined.

#49 At this point, the poorest 50 percent of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.

#50 The United States now ranks 93rd in the world in income inequality.

#51 The average CEO now makes approximately 350 times as much as the average American worker makes.

#52 Corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are at an all-time high. Meanwhile, wages as a percentage of GDP are near an all-time low.

#53 Today, 40 percent of all Americans have $500 or less in savings.

#54 One recent survey found that 28 percent of all Americans do not have a single penny saved for emergencies.

#55 Shockingly, at this point 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be "low income" or are living in poverty.

#56 According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of "Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming."

#57 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49 percent of all Americans live in a home where at least one person receives financial assistance from the federal government. Back in 1983, that number was less than 30 percent.

#58 According to U.S. Census data, 57 percent of all American children live in a home that is either considered to be "poor" or "low income".

#59 For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless.

#60 According to a stunning new Gallup survey, 65 percent of all Americans believe that 2013 will be a year of "economic difficulty".