Bio-char

Today has been interesting. I went on a search for a mortar and pestle large enough to grind to powder char for adding to garden beds. Biochar is easy enough to find on you tube. A good friend of mine, David Yarrow has a few good videos posted there. TED also has a good overview of what it is and how it works in soil building and carbon sequestration. My favorite video is done by a fellow with an English or Australian accent who uses tin storage bins with tight fitting lids to make char. First he fills them with dry sticks or dry wood chips, then having put the tight fitting lid on, he pokes a fairly large hole in the center of the lid with a screwdriver. Next, he roasts the whole thing for about an hour over a fire. Basically, it is using pyrolysis to reduce the wood to charcoal. In a handful of char, there are acres of surface area. Billions of tiny little structures within which bacteria can reside. This is the true base of the food chain. My readers know that over the years I have written extensively about the need for broadening the base and increasing the trophic levels of the food chain rather than squashing the living biosphere into a series of monocultures.

In my quest for the tool I needed, I went tot he Hmong grocery and picked up a few things we need to go with my new tools. I must have had a funny look on my face because the young lady behind the counter asked, "Do you need anything else?"
Indeed, I was so excited to share what I have been learning about the char with her, I did need one more thing, to tell her about it. I stared by asking if there was a shaman that she knew who could help spread the word about this amazing soil building additive. I told her that I was a gardener and that from what I knew, there are many Hmong gardeners. She got really excited, but when I explained, she said, "We always did that in the old country." I wondered whether it was a system that they had abandoned when they came here. Now that I think about it, much of what I learn has had an extremely long history. just because I never knew about it before certainly can't mean that it never happened before.

I am currently working on a container that I can use for the same purpose, but it will be a bit larger and designed to be reuseable. When I get things up and running, I'm thinking of making a video of the process myself. We need to share as many techniques for sustainability as possible, but as for myself, I'm going to be doing this in a pretty primitive fashion. I am also trying to use cast off items and waste products for producing my bio-char.I have been varying the amounts of powdered char that I have been adding to my garden beds, but through this season and next I will be experimenting to see just what it will mean for production and water/nutrient cycles. Blessings on your journey.

Protesters Protect Green Space in Istanbul

Like here, in the USA, people have a special connection to green spaces, especially when those areas are surrounded by built up space. In the United States of America, we have taken down nearly 100% of the native forests and destroyed the ecosystem that covered the great plains, but to the uncritical eye, these agricultural lands appear to be vast swaths of green space. In spite of the fact that we do have trees covering much of the cut over area that native forests once inhabited, what has been planted to replace the original forests is nothing like what had adapted to the sites originally. I have walked miles in stands that were mono-cultures, cut out trees that were planted in straight rows, way too close together and seen areas that looked green, but were actually ecologically problematic.

The good thing about the throngs of people defending green space in Istanbul is that they have been willing to stand for what really matters to most urban dwellers, a last vestige of nature, blossoming up out of the urban landscape. In many ways, urban green space is more likely to contain a mix of trees, a variety of bushes and flowering plants. Especially this specific area, one that had been reclaimed from a developed state in the 1930s. Building back a green space after previous development has become dilapidated on the site is especially important to city dwellers. It reflects hope amongst a host of problems that can come from urbanization. Now, the government wants to step in and bulldoze the trees. The good people of Istanbul are speaking their truth to power.

The last thing most city dwellers will agree on is that the last thing they need is another commercial space, especially if it is to be built in the style of the last great era. for one thing, that is what fell down around itself from neglect before the park came into being. The elders, who remember the way things were and have found new ways of being do not wish to be reminded of the old days that can never return, rather they need a thriving cultural landscape that includes places to picnic, enjoy their families and to just breathe a bit of relatively fresh air and get out in the sun. Anyone who has spent much time in NYC (New York City) knows that the concrete and steel canyons that daily life is lived within make Central Park even more delicious to all the senses. Experiencing the shade of a tree and feeling the dappled light caressing one's face stands in stark contrast to feeling the harsh lines of shade created by the edges of buildings. Experiencing a single tulip blossom, hearing songbirds or the scent of lilac can have as much power to rejuvenate as a good meal and a nights rest. City dwellers need open space even more than those of us who are on the edge of town. Even country dwellers need a bit of untamed space in which to rejuvenate, but relativity is always in play when speaking of perspective.

The rural population may feel like they are surrounded by green space, however the "development" that they are witness to is far more subtle than a concrete block building. It is hard to get upset about bulldozing a field of scrubby brush or the field of stumps that results from clear cutting the trees. They make specially designed machines that can cut and grade a road right through the woods and the folks who run them are often oblivious to what they are destroying. Folks at the border between city and country often see the flush of new building and are loathe to stop it because on the one hand, all the new building is just giving others the same chance to enjoy their piece of the country that they have recently claimed. On the other hand, who would not want a grocery store, nail salon, convenience store, gas station or bodega just around the corner? Commerce has certain costs and we all want to buy, right? Well, no. Many of us want to have time to develop real relationships, find one another enjoying life and experiencing a bit of nature in spite of the fact that we will go back to work tomorrow.

Urbanites not only deserve, but require the healing properties provided by nature. I stand with any group or individual who stands against obliterating green space in favor of commercialism. No matter what the oligarchs decide to foist upon us, we will stand in favor of civil society, not the exploitative kind that they oversee. Frequently we find that the powers that be are always willing to pave paradise and put up a parking lot, as Joni Mitchell sang so eloquently. It is time for the people to lead and the wealthy and powerful interests (elites) that just want to pick our pockets, collect their corporate welfare and exist on the largess of taxpayers to sit down, shut up and put their collective noses in the corner. It is past time to say that we will not play their games anymore.EURONEWS

Stepping Into The Abyss

Often we cling to what we know, as desperately as any cliffhanger might portray, the feeble wretch who faces certain death if he were to lose his grip. It makes for good drama, however, realization of new perspectives that come from jumping into the abyss, the liberation that one feels upon letting go and the rewards of opening up to new possibilities frequently pays enormous dividends. Rather than being smashed into craggy outcrops or the chasm floor below, we often step out into new ways of being. It seems that humans are hard wired to hold tight to the very things that limit their experience. We often hold on tight to the pathologies and limitations of old way thinking, negative self interest and dramas that no longer serve (or perhaps ones that never did.) Self-censorship in the realm of ideas is one of the worst characteristics of provincialism. By protracting the ways in which we think, our mental maps of the world get more and more generalized. They may even circumscribe our imagination and intellect. In many real ways we forget to even pull our heads out from between the crags to which we cling. Every rock climber knows that you have to pull yourself in toward the rock face as much as you have to push yourself away. To make even the slightest motion along the edge of the abyss requires interaction with the void.

I will not be able to explain this to every reader, but for those of you who have come back repeatedly to read this blog, you will know that there are some things that defy description with language. I try to pin these down by parable, by association and by tightening the head of drums which resonate with their essence. The abyss is well known and understood by the shaman, by the artist, by the good teachers and healers of the world as simply, the unknown. It may sound less frightening described this way, but it is more often because we develop relationship with it over time that tames this wild void. Of course, there lies potential destruction, but when we realize that every thing we see, perceive and speak of is illusory anyway, then why do we fear another form of transformation that lies outside our experience? Transforming reality to suit a desired future state may require letting go of what we have been told represents security, economic self interest or perhaps even education itself. If given the choice, I would take a million people who admit that they do not know than a single person who is convinced that they know it all. I am sure that you have suffered many a fool who is convinced of their righteousness. What I have had to learn the hard way is that the things worth knowing are rarely put into college curricula, rarely spoken of and hardly recognized when they take place in our lives.

Millions of songs, poems and books have been written on the subject of love for instance, but yet our understanding of and practice of this essential act of compassion is more constrained than ever. We delve into it's opposite as if we are justified in our hatred. I have become enamored with the term agape love, the sort you would have for a deity, on a good day. Not the sort that expects a prayer to be heard, not the sort that requires something or you would not worship, a true and abiding grace, relinquishing self for a moment in their presence. This is the sort of love that I wish to cultivate amongst all my fellow humans. As scary as that sounds, it is a way to characterize the abyss. Letting go on all levels is hard to accomplish. The rocks in the stream create eddy currents as kayakers and canoeists appreciate most exquisitely. Without something substantial to break the river's current there can be no rest amongst the white water. Many of our beliefs, knowledge, skills and attitudes are just this, refuges from turbulence. Although we frequently "need" a big something to hide behind from time to time, stepping into the abyss can be as simple as sticking a paddle out into the flow and seeing what the next leg of our journey will bring.

Community Center As Close to Ground Zero As Strip Club

I didn't learn until today (now more than a year ago.) about Newt Gingrich's involvement in the issue. Go Figure. People, why is it fine to have fast food restaurants, an Irish Pub, Off Track Betting, and Nudity (not the wholesome kind) within two blocks of where the World Trade Center stood, but a community center? C'mon. I'm a Pagan, all of our symbols and holidays have been co-opted by Christians and others while they simultaneously killed off my pagan ancestors (way more than 3,000) who would not convert. Every religious building, even down to the Salvation Army, desecrates my hallowed ground with centuries of spiritual misunderstanding and hate. Woe are ye who espouse American Values of tolerance and inclusion, but refuse to be welcoming of those who seek to share the positive aspects of their culture with you. Can no one see that the people who want to develop the community center wish only to share what their core beliefs and aspirations are? That puts it in the sweet spot that is articulated in the free expression part of the "Bill of Rights"

The lightning rod of the Cultural Center, which will contain a small mosque...(How many of us have ever been to a Hospital? Do they not have chapels? Again, when we draw lines for hand-picked, "others" that do not exist for the rest of society, we step into dangerous territory.)...draws it's power from unresolved feelings associated with 9-11. I stand by the concept that I originally proposed, before the pile of rubble and body parts had cooled. Plant a tree for each and every person who passed away that day. The power of the number would be realized as a mature forest took shape. The loss would become a gain for us. Anything else that would enhance the scar and pay homage, ultimately to the terrorists. The powerful message that we could send is that we are establishing a living memorial that over time will ignore the attack while memorializing our dead. There is more than enough space there to plant 3,000 trees. 3,000 benches could be associated with the trees and provide support for generations to come in the names of the dead. This would be a fitting memorial.

Since the massaging of the plans for ground zero bounces around between so many players, each wanting to have their hand in whatever goes on there, our national psyche remains damaged. Ultimately, whatever we build there will try to reflect our collective grief. The unsettled energy in and around national angst associated with 9-11 is ravaging us from the inside and having someone, or something to vent on was recognized by those who are diverting public opinion. The free expression clause surely covers expression that offers understanding where there has been intolerance and abiding love to those who would hate. Did not Christ himself, if you believe in him, exhibit the compassion of the Buddha? Wasn't Jesus a fan of tolerance and accommodation? Sadly, those who cloak themselves in the mantle of X-tianity forget the relationship between their god and the rest of them.

If there isn't a problem with the fast food restaurants in the area, there damned well better not be any second thoughts about the mosque-containing community center.

New York Daily Photo: Yippies

New York Daily Photo: Yippies
 There has been a long history of activism in The United States of America. When my turn came to make a mark on society, the folks rallying around common sense called themselves Yippies. In time, in an attempt to be taken more seriously, we joined the Youth International Party. Peaceful loving people worldwide have understood for decades that the war machine, corporate welfare and oligarchs have stolen their wealth from the poor and middle class, but there has been little that we could use for leverage to loosen their stranglehold on power, until now. We are kicking off a new century and the prospects for continuing to fleece the lower and middle classes for the enrichment of a miniscule portion of the population are wearing thin. Yippies were first mentioned on the evening news back in '68, during the Democratic National Convention. They were the young people who wanted to camp out in Grant Park. There probably were a few agents provocateur in the midst of the protesters, but the Yippies were there to stand apart from the party regulars and demand a voice in the "liberal" party of the time.

The newsmen painted them with a wide brush, claiming that they were violent activists who were mainly there to smoke pot, do other drugs, engage in lewd and lascivious behavior, ultimately designed to bring down civil society. I am the first to admit that there was a large contingent of anarchists that were included under the umbrella of Yippies, but so too were lesbians, gays, war resisters, and a wide variety of outsiders who knew the score and were willing to stand up for a better way. The police attacked them ruthlessly with water cannon, tear gas and mounted goons and it did make for some pretty good television, but only if you bought into the "fact" that these people threatened all that we hold dear. The beatings and bashing that went on brought a summary end to the youthful vigor of those who wanted to change our country for the better and in a very striking way. Today, there are still those among us who remember the "threat" posed by the Yippies, but have forgotten that what they really stood for was never mentioned on national television.

Now that the ruling class has determined that we are no longer a threat, they have pretty much had a no holds barred approach to extracting corporate welfare from the state. The oligarchs have ridden the waves of apathy and dislocation provided by the economic collapses of the last several decades to new heights and enjoyed golden parachutes whenever the tide of public opinion went a different way. They have also guaranteed themselves a way out whenever responsibility for their deceitful actions has come about. The straw man of economic and social collapse has been beaten like a dead horse, but many in the power and control crowd still point to the fact that our nation is on the ropes as being the fault of hippies, yippies and women who pump out babies for welfare benefits they blame "illegals" who suck up the jobs and demand services that only "real Americans" are entitled to. Any group that can be conceived of as a minority has had to take licks from the wealthiest sector of society, but only to assure that no one, no organization and no group would include them under their banner ever again.

Luckily, there are growing numbers of people who have experience with being demonized by the rich and powerful interests that have driven the ship of state onto the reef. The millions who lost their homes have been demonized by the apologists for wall street, the billions of humans worldwide who make up an amorphous blob called poverty-stricken have been held out as their own worst enemies, making bad choices that have led to their sorry state. Those whose sexual orientation can be questioned know what it is like to be hated and demonized by those willing to capitalize on the hate of others and the peaceful loving people around the globe have been painted out of the national discussion of nation after nation as youthful idealists, incapable of coming to grips with reality. This attempt to ostracize the vast majority because they belong to a minority only deserving of hate or pity has led to inaction and non-participation in areas that have the power to change society for the good. The wealthy have known this for decades.

The signs of days gone by may fade, but the spirit of the sixties still lives within a generation that has come of age and continues to strive for something better than we were given. We wanted clean air, water, soil and a healthier environment. We still do. We wanted a society that did not tolerate rape, oppression and unequal rights. We still do. We wanted to be judged on our merits, not what other people said about us or called us. We still do. Friends that have been politically active for all of the intervening decades continue to point to the hopeful fact that the old folks keep dying off, but there is a growing segment of the population who are young enough to believe the lies that continue to be told. A new generation has been lining up to be exploited for the ruling classes benefit. A new generation of journalists has been made aware of how dangerous telling the truth can be and a new cadre of pigs has been taught to wield their batons (or worse) against anyone they do not understand or who do not look like them.

When I was a child I was told to believe in America a s a great "melting pot", one where everyone was equal and free to reach their potential. I'm not sure what they are teaching young people today. Many of the old hippies believe in their own powerlessness. They have reached an age where comfort is more important than their ideals and they have seen generations of intransigence exhibited by the powers that be. Trying to get people to go to a rally of protest event is difficult when they have to work twelve hour shifts to make ends meet. Asking for someone to sign a petition when no one looks at petitions anymore, or to stand up for what one believes in only to be slapped down again by the media looks less and less inviting each and every day. It seems far easier to organize a walk for cancer research or a fund-raiser for muscular dystrophy than it is to get people to oppose the building of another stealth bomber or drone base. The Yippies never went away. Our values have been passed down to our children and grand children and that will never be ended. Peaceful loving people everywhere, honor your power and understand, our opposition is coming to the end of their rule. The bag of shit they have been holding over our heads has become threadbare and each day gets a new hole poked into it. There will be a deluge of bad crap raining down on us when it eventually fails, but crap can be made into wicked fertilizer.

Improv

'Tis the season to try new things. This week the closest nuclear power station to Green Bay, the Kewaunee facility began the process of being decommissioned. Ironically, the outdated facility was built on rented land. If one fails to recognize the difficulty that this presents for local citizens, try this one on for size. Their rent was set at the cost of a fire department, which the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) required for the township if they were to "host" such activity. In addition, the company who built the nuclear generating station paid to install cable television in each and every home and has been paying the bill for tat since operations commenced, there was an additional cost to install a county-wide siren system in case of nuclear melt-down (even though evacuations would be many times larger than just their county) and to offset any possible litigation, if they proved to be bad neighbors, their "rent" was set at the level of the taxes on all the property in the township of Two Creeks. Now, if you have a tenant who is planning on leaving, but they left a bunch of nuclear waste lying around, it really won't matter if you are cutting 900 jobs out of the local economy, unles the gravy train of awesome rent goes with them.

As a landlord myself, I have had bad tenants, but none have ever left me with a pile of nuclear waste. Anyone who is not seeing that Dominion (the company that is the current owner of the power generating station) is looking to cut their losses is not seeing the whole picture. They have said that producing electricity from nuclear sources of energy is not cost competitive in this market. Shutting down will cost them millions and over time, many millions more. Just how long do we expect them to be good neighbors when they have no interest in what is not profitable? Will it be deemed unprofitable to permanently remove the waste? What about the containment building itself that has been bombarded with radioactivity for forty years, who will pay to "dispose" of it? Whatever "security deposit" has been put aside surely cannot begin to touch the true cost of tens or hundreds of thousands of years of safe storage that will be required for their relentless pursuit of capital.

We make the best of what we are given I suppose. The resources that are available limit our choices, but our imaginations, perhaps can allow us to think in new ways about the old palette of ideas. What we have been told has certainly not been true. As the reality of our current state of affairs, not only with regard to nuclear issues, but with energy and ecological crises as well, we will inevitably have to do the best in spite of prior mistakes. We are the first generation who owes our forefathers nothing. What we have been left by them is actually worse than what they had inherited and they squandered ecological integrity for short term gain. We are left in the lurch, facing the most severely impacted planet that we can imagine. Water quality has been flushed down the toilet in search of profit, the soils themselves have been toxified for the benefit of far off profiteers and the air we breathe has been tainted with toxic and carcinogenic substances for the sake of economic expediency. The way we adapt our thinking and our way of life will not be able to stem the rising tide of cancer, of the impending economic bust, or the truncation of possibilities as the ice melts and the oceans rise.

Unique combinations of what works are being tried in places around the world and the feedback loops of cause and effect are just beginning to gain momentum. The creativity with which we face our current challenges in unlimited. It is truly time to get creative.

Long Time

It has been a long time since I have written. Partly because I have been seething over the recent disclosures about the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) having given additional scrutiny to "Patriot" and "Tea Party" groups seeking not-for-profit, tax exempt status. My family and friends have established a not-for-profit that was turned down for consideration by the IRS because we did not have enough money to hire one of three "authorized" private corporations to file our paperwork electronically. We believe strongly in our mission and would think it immoral to spend large amounts of freely given money just for establishing the paperwork. When George Bush was in office, apparently planting trees and providing environmental education was too liberal. We organized and filed our NPO paperwork with the state of Wisconsin prior to filing the Federal Paperwork and were granted a tax ID number. With a total budget over the past ten years of under 20K, perhaps we are small potatoes compared to some NPOs, but the work we do has been impressive. Perhaps I will write more on that later, back to my point.

During the period of time that tea party and patriot groups were forming, vast amounts of cash needed a tax exempt vehicle to steer them to political aims. Apparently, these folks wanted to stay away from churches and already established groups that have social change as their focus. Indeed, these groups wanted to establish an identity, much like we did with ECO-Tours of Wisconsin.

When Obama was running for office I wrote a personal note as a concerned citizen declaiming the difficulties that we were having with the IRS and how that was one thing that we felt needed to be changed in the federal government. Making it difficult for bona-fide organizations to receive their tax-exempt status is not good for our culture or society. If on the other hand, we give tax exempt status to political organizations who support candidates, that is wrong too. What is most disingenuous about the irate nature of the rhetoric coming from the political "right" is that we now have different sorts of organizations that are allowed unlimited contributions, anonymity for donors AND the ability to engage in political activity. The billions that flowed into these sorts of organizations during the last election cycle prove that there is nothing here to raise a ruckus about.

Folks on the left (including the President) are making equally awful responses to the attacks being made on the IRS. Much like the apologetic and reproachful way that our previously, duly elected President, deferred to Mr. Bush over the Florida results. The excuse given was that the nation needed healing. Notice how well that has gone for us. We really need our leaders to stand up and say what needs to be heard about these issues. The reason, it seems, That Obama can't call the right wing out on this issue is that it was under his watch that the tax exempt status rules were changed, allowing the purchasing of virtually any office in the nation. Most states that have had the right wing target them have fallen because of the 501(c)(4) rules allowing unlimited contributions and absolute anonymity (although no tax deductions for donations) These "organizations act with impunity and virtually no oversight, injecting billions into the electoral process. The targeted states have also been redistricted creating even more strikingly different districts. In our state of Wisconsin, nearly half a million individuals have been cut out of the next Senatorial election. This will result in disenfranchisement for mostly poor non-white voters in the urban core of Milwaukee.

This is how the ultra rich have their way with us. not only do they define the terms that we use to "discuss" issues in the media, they also conspire to create even safer districts for their representatives, all bought and paid for by our home-grown oligarchs. The average donor who has supported ECO-Tours of Wisconsin recognizes the benefits of planting trees in denuded areas. They give twenty dollars. Billionaires who purchased our recent slate of representatives here in Wisconsin gave hundreds of thousands each. More trees will be destroyed by widening the highways across the state than we have been able to plant in over ten years.

We are redoubling our efforts and have continued to plant trees despite the current administration. Tens of thousands of trees and millions of tree seeds have been planted by our guests and guides. We will not stop reforesting the landscape. What we need though, is a series of partnerships that hold the Earth to be sacred. Groups of individuals like the ones we have brought together. Often times these are the people who have more energy and commitment than dollars. What most of the naysayers do not understand is that not everyone is motivated by greed or guilt. When we are given the chance to do the right thing, many of us take the opportunity.

Where to Start?

The Medusa that we confront in the early twenty-first century had its earliest beginnings many hundreds of years ago. The root-like tendrils that once made their way into our world view grew and grew into the serpents of today. How can we even dare look at the hideous beast, knowing full well that to do so would turn us to stone? We all know the apoplectic stare and extreme heaviness and immobility that can overwhelm us if we do look at the complex of issues confronting the human race today. Perhaps my writing can be a vehicle for reflecting images of the demons that are more easily slain. The words that I choose are intended to reflect the hideous beast and the concepts that I try to convey here, although many are too painful to take in all at once, need to be slain if we are to regain our humanity. Although my message is clearly, that we have work together to solve many of our greatest challenges, it is through individual action that things change. The millions that have protested in the streets in recent years are a living testament to the people's will, but unless we change forever the nature and types of actions in which we engage on an individual level, the money, and the power that flows with it will only fortify the Medusa. If we, by chance, lop off a single serpent, it will only grow back as we are mesmerized by the others.

The sword of truth has been passed down through the ages and the reflective shield of the arts and community serve to reflect the harsh images that could otherwise paralyze us. Striking a mortal blow when looking backward at a reflection can be difficult, but for the sake of future generations, it is exactly what must be done. Polishing the surface of our shield requires time and meditative release of both want and desire. The time we put into honing our sword as well has nothing to do with past or future, it is about existing at the point of contact between blade and whetstone.

It takes courage to speak truth to power and it takes decisive action to cleave our perceptions into meaningful chunks. So too it requires courage to step out into new territory or to look into a reflection of what lies ahead instead of the future itself. Eerily, we have virtually no other choice. By design or duplicity, we are often tugged in one direction or another by competing forces, writhing in a mass of dis-ease, of turmoil and of injustice. Who would not lose heart when confronted with so many challenges? I applaud those who have committed their lives to a single issue, without them, many more would lose hope or lack inspiration. please do not misunderstand my meaning here, because it is crucial to making the next move. The dice have already been thrown, we know, each in our own way, what the odds are of beating the house. What we fail to realize is that the infinite variety of possibility awaits us with open arms and there are enough of us wanting to change the planet for the better that no amount of distraction, deception, fear and vehemence can stand in our way.

My own choices began when I was but a child. I rode my bike like a dervish, churning my own energies into a cohesive thread which guided me through the darkest times. When I was unable to look into the eyes of the beast, I could close my eyes and touch the golden thread, stretched between what touchstones I had found before and my desired future. In times of utter darkness and turmoil, just walking in the woods or riding my bike allowed me to feel the Earth and hear her gentle symphony. Guided by the sounds of nature, I learned to nurture. When I made the decision to have children, my perspective changed. I learned how to do the best for them and transformed my own life to accommodate them. Midwifery, herbal "medicine", home-schooling and raising as much of our own food as possible were part of that journey. In fits and starts, I began to change the world one life at a time. First, I grew into a person that I was proud of, then I reached out to help validate and inform a larger community. Again, through loving myself, I was able to give more fully to my own children, their mother and other family and friends.This too expanded my sense of community and nation. I had heard of the idea that we are all crew on Starship Earth, but until the past few years, I didn't have a sense of what that meant.

Together we can achieve far more than individuals alone ever could. Whatever we choose to do, let us not hesitate. The Iron is hot. If we each strike a blow, now, we can forge a new civilization. I have every reason to believe that we will be taking Medusa's head home in a sack. Let the spirit of love for humankind guide our sabre. Let our combined polished shields allow us to see the whole clearly while avoiding the catastrophic paralysis that results from gazing into the eyes of the beast. The rest will take care of itself.