Sanders In It To Win It!

As we might have guessed, now that there is a real candidate that threatens the business as usual nature of our corporate welfare/military industrial complex, the media are thoroughly ignoring him. As much as anyone, I want to vote for a female (Not Hillary) candidate for President, but that is something that I have already done. Back when Jesse Jackson sold out the Rainbow Coalition, I voted proudly for Doctor Lenora Fulani. We the People are supposed to have freedom of choice over our representatives, but the oligarchs are right to feel threatened by Mr. Sanders and the hope that he is inspiring across this great land. Shutting him up will be more difficult today than it had been to ignore the Rainbow Coalition. First, because we now have the internet which allows us to continuously share information and photos of Presidential candidates speaking to overflow crowds, or just one of two people, which recently happened to a few Rethuglican candidates. While the major "frontrunners" step up to the microphone to embarrass themselves, or parrot back the platitudes that have been deemed "safe" but their corporate henchmen, Bernie continues to hammer away on issues that affect the entire world economy, the pocketbooks of the vast majority of Americans, the rampant pollution of our sacred air and waters, and fossil fuel procurement practices that render vast swaths of land useless for generations while exacerbating global climate instability. The oligarchs have done everything in their power to dumb us down, but with a bit of luck, we are not yet too far gone. I continue to do my level best to bring up issues that can gain traction in the public conversation. Please take the time to have it!

Many have said that we need to get money out of politics, the Sanders Campaign will have the opportunity to prove it. Our difficulty has been that the oligarchs, seeing the writing on the wall, have armored themselves so thoroughly against reproach that they have kept any limits on campaign contributions and all meaningful limits on lobbying off the table. If you want a real eye-opener, check out the recently coined term "anticipatory bribery", that concept more than any other explains how bereft our democracy has become under the current broken system. The top .002% exert their stranglehold on media outlets but their strength is waning because of the information sharing that is possible through the internet. What is needed is a candidate like Bernie Sanders. We need someone so thoroughly above their diabolic scheme that their candidacy rises to the top like cream on undisturbed milk. Every word I have heard Bernie Sanders speak has been motivated by a true love for America and Americans. Perhaps when the current slate of representatives learn that moral values and humanitarian approaches to government have traction amongst the electorate, we will finally show the well-heeled that their money cannot buy the necessary amount of favor required to give their diabolic schemes and decrepit "just business" claims any validity. We may face the most important election in our history.

We the People must re-invigorate the concept of one person one vote and castigate any and all political thinkers who make excuses for corporate power being the sole arbiter of public opinion. If we pay any attention to the news at all, we quickly see distraction after distraction thrown up into the public eye for scorn, ridicule and summary judgement. Again, like having a main course of righteous indignation with a side of I don't give a (expletive). By not asking our brothers and sisters what is important, we can only be led, like lambs to the slaughter. We the People are supposed to steer the ship of state whilst the laws our representatives craft are supposed to act as sails, unfurled to the winds of change.

Do not despair. There will be many who try to humiliate you for thinking that Bernie has a chance. There may even arise an awkward moment where you don't have to choose the lesser of two evils, but be aware. I said this before Obama was elected to the Presidency the first time, we may even get him in the White house, but the next day and the day after that, and for the following four to eight years, we have to be willing to "go to the mat" for what he is a stand for. What he offers cannot be given by an all powerful government, but only by us getting involved passionately in the causes which he is not afraid to talk about. We can see how far our current administration has been able to come under the stranglehold of the big banks, insurance companies and investment firms. We need to become a nation that does not abandon our leaders and them blame them for our shortcomings. We shall overcome!

A Loss For Words

I have been feeling really good lately, because of the growing interest in biochar. It seems that the more people that I tell about it, the greater the response has been. Recently I spent some time writing back and forth to a fellow in Uganda, helping him to use char in his efforts to produce more on his land. It is amazing to know that we can use the digital realm to reach further and share more information with a wider array of people than ever before. Even the need for books and printing presses to teach others has been reduced, but last evening, I saw a grave report from that same nation that is so disturbing that I wish I could have done more, not only for this man, but for his friends and neighbors, the people of his larger community and the entire nation of Uganda.

It seems that white foreigners, mostly from the U.S.A. have dubbed Uganda their Jerusalem, a state that can be "named, claimed and tamed" in the name of their religion. Missionaries from IHOP (the International House Of Prayer), based in Kansas City, Missouri are sending groups of missionaries to Uganda to sway government leaders there as well as ordinary citizens to their abusive and demented form of X-tianity. The country claims to be a X-tian nation and has about an 80-20 mix of self identified X-tians and Muslims but in the film that aired on PBS called Independent Lens last night, the vast majority of people that I saw the representatives of IHOP working to "convert" seemed much more enlightened than those trying to convert them to their religion.

The stark poverty that ravages communities around the globe beg for non-governmental organizations to get involved, however, providing safe water and protection from the elements seems a far better way to help people than teaching them to speak in tongues or flail about to amplified music, or to stand on street corners trying to convert others to their particular flavor of religion. In my own way, I too am a missionary, although I am not motivated by any higher power. My efforts are not sanctioned by a "church" and that church is not led by folks who are millionaires who trek the globe in their private jets, raising money for "the cause". My pantheon, as well as my beliefs are less important than what I have chosen to be a stand for. Instead of trying to bring my beliefs into cultures around the planet, or capitalizing on the desperation of others, I seek to share what I have seen work.

We know from experience that condoms control the spread of AIDS much more effectively than abstinence education and that whatever claims are made for "conversion therapy", trying to "pray away the gay", as so many pseudo-religious cults try to do, is utter hokum. Many people who do not fit neatly into the male and female genders as defined by IHOP and their "god" have been murdered by overzealous "converts" to their brand of X-tianity and for this the organization needs to be prosecuted. Whipping up anti-gay furor around the globe is a heinous and deceitful act perpetrated against humanity by a small group of thugs. My father was bi-sexual, that is not what made him a millionaire. He also was not a missionary in the traditional sense. He took all of his money with him when he left the country and established a homestead for a poverty stricken family in the Philippines. The transformation of the community he adopted lives on even after his death and his motivation had absolutely nothing to do with holy books or prayer. He just brought money and compassion to a people who had been discarded and abused by capitalism.

In the film, there were several telling stories about the principles of this effort. They typically have extremely lavish homes in both the U.S. and Uganda. While the people they profess to wish to "save" from "the devil" live under threat of malnutrition, violence and are ravaged by disease, and lack of education, often without access to safe drinking water, the local church leaders as well as the missionaries are able to maintain their own way of life because of their massive influx of cash from the other side of the world. At this point it is well to realize that there have been efforts based on doing the "right" thing as well, like opening orphanages and building large churches in the region, however, these efforts pale when compared to the hate filled rhetoric that they preach in regard to anyone who does not fit into their idealized sense of right and wrong. This "church", primarily funded by American tax exempt dollars has whipped up enough furor over homo-sexuality that local political figures in Uganda have made it a criminal offense. In Uganda, much like here, people delight in pointing fingers and acting as judge, jury and executioner of all they deem immoral. In my estimation, this is no different than allowing people in Islamic states to kill others for offenses against sharia law. When we devolve into a state in which victims of rape, incest and other sexual abuses are treated as the enemy or tell them that this is god's punishment for transgressions, we are just running cover for criminals. If we tell people that their god-given sexuality is a social disease, it says far more about our own monstrous nature than their act of, or desire to love another person.

When the Bishop of a nation has to flee for fear of their life for simply preaching that the god that he believes in values love and compassion more highly than fear, hate and the lies that homophobia is based on, it is time to question whether all the money and all the "missionaries" are really doing enough good to make their transgressions worth the effort.

In the final analysis, trying to convert others to our own religious beliefs can only be the result of one of two things. Just like the roots of jealousy only having two possible sources, one branching out from either a feeling that we are capable of cheating, so our partner must be as well, or that we are simply not good enough to deserve fidelity. The urge to convert is either based on not being sure ourselves, or a deep feeling of being insignificant in "god's" eyes unless we bring others to "his word". It is stories like these that make me not just suspicious of missionaries but of any system that allows rich whites to run amok amongst the rest of us.

24K Views

I think that a celebration is in order. I just checked my views and blogger says I have hit 24 thousand views with my work. Back in the days when I went door to door raising awareness and money for Citizens for a Better Environment, it took over a year to talk with that many people. I had to go out from 4-9pm, in all kinds of weather and meet strangers to talk to about ecological issues, pending legislation and ways for them to get involved in creating a more sane and safe world. Now, with technology, I can do the same thing, world-wide, reaching out to people,in an effort to do many of the same things. Although I have made a personal commitment to writing seven posts per month, I am able to have far more reach and talk much more openly about issues that I feel are pressing here, in this type of forum, than I ever would have been allowed to do at the non-profit that employed me. The fact that one way of educating and informing was limited to to a finite area of coverage and the other is available worldwide to anyone with a computer and internet access was daunting at first, but I think that there are possibilities, using this forum that simply did not exist with meeting people face to face.

I would love to have more personal contact with my readers, but perhaps that is too much to ask for. I often write about the difference between wants and needs, and since seeing my readers face to face is just a want, I am willing to sacrifice it for what we really need, collectively, as a people. Sometimes I forget that what I have to say might be as important in Zimbabwe or Ireland, Russia or China as it is here in the good old U.S. of A., but as I look at the statistics of who is reading and where they live, I am always amazed at the relevance my work seems to hold in every corner of the globe.

I recently wrote that I have seen far too many analysts and commentators, who take social trends very seriously, wringing their hands about how there are no longer "protest songs" being recorded. This is only funny to me because I see the exact opposite being true. Sometimes I think that these folks must only be listening to X-tian pop radio, or American talk radio. They certainly don't listen to the same music as I do. For one, here in Wisconsin, every week day at noon, a gathering forms in our State Capitol, under the great dome, or on Fridays in nice weather outside the building, to sing both old and new protest songs in support of the millions of people who have had their lives made worse by our illustrious Governor Walker. Every day, protest songs are sung, every day, artwork is being made that responds to the crushing of civilization by the monied class, every day, poetry and prose are written to call us out of the corporate welfare inspired stupor that many democracies have fallen under.

You readers must see this in other areas of your lives. I assure you that I am never alone in my standing up for our humanity, not unique in continuing to stay true to the ideas of peace, love and understanding. I know for a fact that I am not alone in asking for true peace and security based on people, profits and the planet. There are more and more gardeners every day, more and more organic farmers, more and more teachers as well as more and more artists who cannot abide the slow whittling away at our basic rights, to have a life free of oppression, whatever form it takes.

I have spoken to far more than 100,000 people in person while working for Citizens for a Better Environment and over 10 million during my Great Lakes Bicycle trip about voluntary simplicity, sustainable lifestyles and small changes that we can make in our lives to protect the air, water and soil from contamination, buy in many ways, this blog allows me to go into both greater detail and a very different perspective than showing up on someone's porch to ask for money, or coming to them through the media outlets that are dominated by corporate lies. Radio and tee vee are completely instant and forgettable in their ephemeral nature and even the news papers are just material to be recycled a few days or weeks later. Although my words, written here, are but tiny yes-no (on-off)impulses conveyed through billions of switches, My readers can call up, or share these writings as often as they wish, spread them as far and wide as they wish and as long as the worldwide web exists, so will these words, so in some ways, this mode of communication is better than all the other ones combined.

You are the important difference as well. Somehow, you found my words, continue to read them and occasionally give me excellent feedback. I only wish that my words will move something deep inside you to take action, physically get involved, or if nothing else feel inspired to act more compassionately and thoughtfully with regard to the planet, her creatures (including people)as you go about making your way through the cycles of give and take that we understand to be "commerce". Each one of us has the power to inspire change, inform our fellow human beings about the changes that we are working toward and to make the lives of others better by our very words and deeds. If my words have inspired a single action, my work has paid off.