This Year

This year, Black History Month has an extra day. Please take the time to listen to recordings of Strange Fruit and understand that lynching was not unique to young black men. Womyn, the elderly, boys and young girls in their Sunday best, were killed by white mobs. In the age where Donald Trump can be taken seriously by our culture, the bigotry and hate are not even covered with a gauze, while the rest of the nation bears the scars of second-class citizenship. This is sanitized language for human beings treated worse than dogs, sentient beings told they were sub-human, derelict. another thing the hippies were right about and anthropology has proved it, we all descend from an ancient African. We are all brothers and sisters on Spaceship Earth. We are indeed Stardust and Love is the answer. We knew that war was not healthy for children or other living things, even the power and control issues that had been wrought on generation after generation down through the ages.

Let us end this month, remembering full and well, the part that power and control has had on our world and send it to the ash pit of the ages, for it has not helped one iota in making the world a better place. Venting rage at the expense of others cannot b allowed to stand. Damaged individuals need to be counseled rather than run for office. Abuse and neglect are terrible things and they have no place in our families, our politics or in fellowship. The time has come to take responsibility for our own abuse and neglect at the hands of our elders and oligarchy, it is time to act as adults, taking responsibility for our own actions. Our own past holds many instances where we would have made better choices if we only felt a little more security and even a bit of support. People that I know, who seek to make the world a better place all envision it the same, not full of hand outs, but a level chance to do their best. Imagine that the oligarchs are using ancient techniques to enslave us all. We are the wage slaves of them and the class war has been so thoroughly won that the uberwealthy do not fear the poor's rebellion.

Attention, this link will take you to a different website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Lq_yasEgo Nina Simone's version of Strange Fruit with a bit of commentary and as of today, 2-29-2016 only 314,654 people have watched it, 2,433 "liked" it, and only 36 "disliked" it. I am only one person, but I was moved by it, for better, for worse, forever, changed. Another word of warning, the end of this recording stops abruptly and the actual ending is missing. Another version available is Billie Holiday's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs this recording has been viewed 1,571,119 times, 9,197 have "liked it" 147 "disliked it". I have always felt the haunting truth with which this song deals, to be essential to understanding how deeply our culture has been scarred, how much genocide has been perpetrated against the black "race" Remember, we are one, all the same, incarnations of the godhead, sentient beings, worthy of our human rights. Depriving others of their humanity in the name of your own is destructive, only through singing in infinite harmony with the celestial spheres can we echo the Great Spirit.

Within this great brotherhood of humankind, we truly are one.

Let us utilize the leap day to step into and out of time, to the eternal echo of the Big Bang, although I don't believe in the Big Bang myself, I can use it metaphorically to get across to the average reader the idea of a "creation" time for the Universe. The series of waves and relationships that waft over and through, captive on our world, as we spin along our corkscrew path through the cosmos. We are moving in a regular fashion around the Sun, but the Sun itself is hurling through space in a larger relationship to the Galaxy. We will never be in this place again, by next year we will be far, far away in space, our Starship is ever on the move. Never to return here again.

This February, I forced myself to view over 100 photographs of genocide victims, just ones that were made into "commemorative" photographs. It is sickening to think of it for a moment, but multiply the grotesqueness of the act, the sense of pride and vindication in the eyes of the "participants" in the riot, the barbarism, captured by the relatively new photographic equipment. Even the long time period of this sort of activity was evidenced by the images. The loved-ones and survivors of this sort of domestic terrorism had to continue to live knowing that their lives were considered to be worthless.

We can learn enough, today to come to terms with how terrible some of our ancestors were, how they were willing to be lied to, goaded and radicalized into murderous frenzy. There can be no excuse! This year we have to say so with resounding voice, loud enough for it to echo through the halls of Congress. We must end the genocidal effects of Drug War policies, legalize drugs and release all non-violent drug offenders. These people are a much needed entrepreneurial class that can serve their community better by being taxpayers rather than an economic "good", in a for-profit prison.

Ending the genocide involves coming to terms with the fact that the term genocide is both true and apt, for the policies under which they were taken were still very prejudiced and bigoted toward black brothers. Of course, we cannot change the past, but we can learn never to tolerate violence seeking hatred and fear tactics being used as tools of social control, ever, ever, again. The fact that major media outlets are taking Trump seriously is reason enough to revolt against them. Turn off your tee vee write letters to those who adverise on the airwaves that you will not patronize them as long as the media blackout on democracy is ended. The cat is out of the bag, at least admit that it is the oligarchy against Bernie Sanders now, and we will allow you access to our lives. As long as we do not rise up against these giant corporate interests, they will never cede a bit of their holdings to the greater good, they like the way things are far too well to change.

This Year, use your new awareness of the brothers to overcome your own slavery, because it is only from a place of greater security and a bit of support that you to can shine! We need to stand as an oppressed people as long as one of us is oppressed, we all are. Achieving our human potential requires the cooperation of everyone, not the submission of any one to another. Our human rights and dignity are concurrent on everyone meeting their true potential, only by working together can we make greater strides toward humanity. It may take a year to integrate this new perspective, but with the help of the lord and Lady, I will be "here" to speak on these and other issues again next year, somewhere else in the Universe.

Find Wisdom, Share It With Others

Today, I checked my stats. So far, my humble blog has had 27,777 views. I wanted to see what sort of power four sevens times two would have and it was interesting what I found. Beyond the fact that there are seven deadly sins, lucky sevens, seven sisters and seven circles form the "seed of life". Japan boasts seven lucky gods. I investigated the number seven and was amazed at the folk wisdom that it reflects. One of the special qualities that I had known about the number seven is that it is reflected in the Native American concept of seven generations. Making decisions that will benefit the next seven generations is an important part of the native world view.

Peace, Love and Pass the Ammunition

I have to laugh at, but love in spite of themselves, all the words that fly about from the mouths of "liberals". We do not have to "defeat" our opposition, just outlive them. We do not need to wage another war on the oligarchy or our political rivals...we just need to hold them to account for the bad decisions they have made in the past, forgive them for their reasons for being scared, bullies and believers in autocracy and inhumanity to our fellow travelers on Starship Earth.

It seems the hippies were right, we are Stardust and Love is the answer.

My Campaign for U.S House of Representatives from Wisconsin's District 8 is in part a desire to finally get a few of the things that the majority of people I have known have always wanted and to stem the flow of planetary wealth to the .01% of the population who continue to hold the rest of us as serfs. I will represent the People of Northeast Wisconsin.My district would be roughly from the lake south of Green Bay to the Lake Michigan Shoreline and the Border with the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Ten and 1/3 counties across Northeast Wisconsin.

In 1987, I rode my bicycle around the Great Lakes over 4,280 miles, to share what I knew about living better for less and how, thrpough honoring the Earth, the Air, Fire and Water as well as Spirit of a place you are in essence serving the next seven generations.  My ultimate expression of the message that we need to heal the rift between humankind and nature.

My object in running such a campaign is to get these issues represented in a meaningful way, amongst the public at large. I would stand, like Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul for the idea that the Federal Reserve needs to be held to account for their dealings with our nation and our economic state. I believe that their motives have been deceitful and intentionally extractive, basically insuring that even congress won't "revolt"; the catastrophic decisions made by a handful of individuals bent on their own reward has got to be a primary issue upon which we seek true reform. We also need to end the practice of genocide against the poor. I have seen asbestos riddled housing next to coal piles that have the aroma of petrochemical residue and toxic air emissions wafting through the entire neighborhood. The people who are being damaged by "protected" activities undertaken by "regulated" communities (of polluters) who abscond with massive profits while socializing the costs of their behavior must be held accountable.

I am sick to death of well-meaning people getting mean-spirited against these corporate oligarchs. Boycotting their products is non-violent and can act as a direct dis-incentive for terrible corporate behavior. One product of our oligarchical system is one dollar, one vote. We need to find our who is buying our government and to do whatever we can to make sure that those folks never make another dollar, until they get out of our national politics. WE the People have the power to stop the buying of our government without fighting for the need for laws that reign in the sanctioning of it. We just have to strongly tell industry, PACs and their funders to step off, we won't be buying any more of their "products". Divesting from them is also a peaceful way to tell them to step off. We will no longer offer them the validity of calling themselves "investments" and give them no purchase in the realm of ideas, either. Ultimately, some corporate players have got to be sanctioned, for their ruthless behavior over the decades. This is more a matter of civility and justice rather than retribution. We need to get these people into counseling so they can see the problem of wreaking terror and illness on people unfortunate to carry the burden of their bad decisions.

Peace will one day rule the planet, our duty as human beings is to realize it as quickly as possible.
Our quest needs to be finding what it is going to take to get the most people aware of truth, Not lies. Our commitment needs to be toward the betterment of the next seven generations. The best "ammunition" we have in the revolution of love is truth. there can be no violence, only love and compassion. Getting everyone to level up is a mammoth task, but together we can work it out, each one teach one and it will all happen.

Flame On!

I had a recent series of events that perhaps seem unrelated. To my own perceptual apparatus, they not only speak one message, but they reflect universal truth and a level of inter-connected-ness that defies description. I recently has an opportunity to go to an event. It was billed as an Earth/Energy Workshop. I have received and honored the blessings of this Earth for as long as I can remember, but it was a ritual designed to enhance and bless us as well as the planet with our interactive energies. It would allow My wife and I to spend time driving, which is always enjoyable, through new areas that I have not been through before. Earth was not only the focus, but the basis of the trip. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to fill in my mental picture of the state we live in and my concept of the Fox River Valley, which I live near the bottom of, would be enhanced. Many places that I only knew as maps would be revealed to me, at least along the route we were to follow. Bisecting my awareness of the place that I live always excites me, for knowing the lay of the land, the communities and ecotones that lie upstream help me to understand where I live as well.

The fateful day arrived. We were ready before eight and drove into the heaviest fog that I have seen in years about a dozen miles from home. Just out of town, you could see the fog bank loom, just a few hundred feet thick, but rising like a mountain before us, the cloud began. Somehow, as if by magic, Air reared up and may have well had said, "Me!", or at least "I!" I am is the mantra which each organism and identity resonates. In total, OM is even recognized by Eastern religions as the eternal hum of the Universe, all of everything, in harmony with totality. We thought that once we got above the cloud bank, all would be well and continued on, slower, but we had built a cushion into our travel plans just in case of possible complications. Driving even ten or twenty miles per hour slower for a couple hours would not threaten our timely arrival at the event. But my view of the land would be severely constrained, especially since I would be the one driving. My spouse does not like to drive in fog. I don't mind. Checking out the lay of the land would definitely be out. For the duration and about thirty miles into the trip there was no sign of any lessening of the fog. Fortuitously, we ran into a friend where we stopped for coffee.

If you have ever driven in fog, it is that exquisite beauty, the alone-ness of near total isolation and the comfort of a thick, yet ever receding blanket, almost like you exist inside a cocoon made of an air/water matrix so thick that you can feel it in your lungs. Yet it cannot be touched. Atomization of the water both energizes and moisturizes everything it contacts. Even the inanimate objects seem to come to life because the photons are hitting them from every direction. Colors brighten, yet turn pastel in the distance and the viscosity of the air can often become evident when you see swirling clouds all around you that are normally only seen from a relatively great distance. Outdoors in fog is one of my favorite places to be and add to that the ability to stay warm and dry in the astronaut's capsule of the car is bonus! Plus, from a practical perspective, most people don't like to drive in fog, plus they are driving a lot slower if they do, so traffic worries, even though you can't see very far, are decreased to the point of nearly no-worry. Slow is good, anyone out in bad weather, especially those who wish to survive knows, slower is better.

The quickening of our hearts during the planning and preparation over the couple weeks leading up to the event was mimicked by the quickening of my heart at driving in adverse conditions. This stimulated a physiologic fire, adrenaline spurs the fight or flight syndrome, yet I had not really considered that until now. When we stopped and saw our friend at our favorite coffee shop, it was almost like we met on an island She's not from anywhere around there and neither are we, but we all have reason to stop at that place for re-fueling the BCL (Blood Caffeine Level) She was on her way back from going to a different church than normal, because she likes to try new churches and she had overslept, so the place she picked to go, she's from a very rural area, was nearly an hour drive especially with the fog, perhaps it would be more. This day, she had planned to bring her mom some bakery, perhaps visit her brother who lived near the church she attended and to visit her favorite coffee shop. If we could have met more of a firebrand, they would have literally been on fire.

Our friend was on fire spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. In fact, we were on some sort of special island, because after we left, my wife said, "That is the longest I have ever talked with S..." She's always going somewhere. We talked for over an hour and non-verbally communicated that thirty miles home was far better than continuing on. The firs of home overwhelmed the plans and expectations of the day. Life after all is nothing more than the adaptation to the environment of the Universal harmonic Om. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit and Place, uniquely related and every part, piece and all combined reflecting that universal harmony is called grace, allowing it to permeate our being is as easy as breathing in the fog, as eternal as the planet, as consuming as the flame. Who knows what wonders lie in a single moment? Our spirits do, I have seen the wonders of place itself influencing physical reality. I cannot list all the ways that these mysteries have been revealed to me, because they exist in a fabric of experience that I try to protect and cultivate, nourish and honor.

Pardon me, it is time to make biochar.

WTF!?!

I pay more attention than many to the subversion of our democracy. This is why I'm running for the U.S. House of Representatives! We need to bring sanity back into the halls of Congress! donate by snail mail at Saladino 4 District 8 one four four six Porlier street Green Bay, WI 54301.

The terrible government that has been purchased by the oligarchs has got to go! 

I continue to stand for womyn, the children and the elderly. 

The more science researches our current state of affairs, the more it proves that the hippies were right. We are stardust, love is the answer and War is not healthy for children and other living things." It is time for us to admit that the health and welfare of the people of the earth is directly dependent on the health and welfare of the planet upon which we all depend.

Saladino 4 District 8

When I decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, I had not considered how many people would be excited to help me succeed. Over the years many have encouraged me to run for elected office, but I have gotten so much encouragement for my decision that it has amazed even me!

I am writing now to ask for your help in making this run the success that I hope it will be. Rather than basing my campaign on tired old tropes trotted our election cycle after election cycle, I will not focus on problems. That has been done for far too long already. Instead, like Bernie Sanders, I will be focused on solutions. Those who have been paying attention to the problems driving the worldwide recession and the catastrophic effects of austerity and trickledown theories also have some pretty good ideas about what works and what does not.

Those who read my posts know that I have been paying pretty close attention for decades. None of this stuff is rocket science. The more we impoverish people, they less they can afford to purchase and this creates widespread and endless feedback loops that stifle and collapse economic systems. the wealthy enjoy the fruits of the pool of our labor and the more they take for themselves, the less the rest of us have to fight over (or to try to share). My father once said, "Poverty looks the same everywhere." It seems like today, all we need to do is look around. We see the growing wave of poverty swallowing our cities.

I pledge to do my level best to represent the interests of real people.

I am not letting the cat out of the bag or spoiling the end of the story if we don't start doing things differently. That is why my campaign is based on Honesty, Integrity and Principles. I will not carry water for those who I am beholden to and I will not change my commitments based on expediency or whatever foul winds are blowing across Capitol Hill. I will run on the merits of my arguments and the truth and facts regarding the issues, not attempting to let the regulated community write the laws with which their actions will be governed, or rewarded. The rampant corruption that has taken up residence in the halls of Congress must be rooted out and called what it is, theft from the American people. All of us.

If you care to donate, don't expect "special favors". However, understand that your contributions will be very deeply appreciated, not just by me, but by all the people who benefit from my candidacy and representation.

Donations are being accepted at Paypal account number tnsaladino42@hotmail.com or through snail mail at: Saladino4 District8 1446 Porlier street, Green Bay WI 54301.

The principle upon which I base my decision-making process is that if a decision negatively impacts the Earth, Air, Fire, Water, or the Spirit of people or creatures, it is a bad idea. My approach has always been to consider the next seven generations, that is why I make and use as well as teach others how to make and use biochar. I will be working as hard as possible to share this information with voters across Northeast Wisconsin.

Math Is A Language

I know that many have had a hard time of learning math. Some of the horror stories that I have heard over the years would make your head spin. I do empathize a bit with math teachers however, because sometimes the words they use and procedures they understand to flow clearly from the concepts that they learned, perhaps many, many years ago, really "should just make sense to their students. In fact, none of us can truly take that next step, allowing higher concepts to flourish within us, until we truly understand the foundation upon which the mathematics are based.

I have heard many say that their misunderstanding, or difficulty with math, began with fractions. So, I was musing on the topic and came up with some simple steps to take into the realm of these quirky numbers, which in essence are operations within themselves. Perhaps starting even further back, let us compare whole numbers to fractions, so the idea of operations are more clear. Any number that can be expressed as a whole number seems pretty easy and straightforward. One apple, three apples five, etc. No mess, no smell, no persnickety knives to clean up after cleaving them into "equal parts". Division is the operation of fractions. One apple divided in two, or three, or five, etc.

Where the sidewalk ends...

To keep our examples easy to follow, let's use the time honored numbers that seem easiest, but we will look at them through different perspectives to see through whatever difficulties crept into how we understood/understand this quite simple operation, fractions. To keep this discussion simple, I'm going to attempt to write this whole post without numbers, but if it helps to understand, see them in your head as you read. For many, this will be unavoidable, yet not required. If all goes well, this will also address the many people who said that they first encountered trouble with math because of story problems. I prefer to not see them as "problems", just stories, so if any of my readers have anxiety, at this point, please, let it go. Increase your level of calm and go forth.

Let us say that four friends decide to buy something they cannot afford with each one purchasing it alone. Each only needs said item intermittently, so they can easily share. This could be a tool chest, sewing machine, car, boat or camper, a grocery store, bicycle or sacred land upon which to pray. It matters not what it is, the math works out the same. However, there is a problem. Two of the friends would use the item more, about twice as much and two would use it less, about half as much. One easy way to get to a fair "share" is divide the cost three ways and have two pay for a smaller part of the cost and two pay the majority of the cost. A simple solution is that one third of the price would get paid by each of the two investors that will use the item more and the other two would share the cost of the remaining third between them. One sixth of the cost each.

Co-ops usually have some sort of system to cover administrative costs, tracking future needs and sharing potential profits from future sales or "shares" in the group. however, for clarity, I'll keep things simple again, let us go into possible fractions that would occur under cooperative principles. Say there were a few more folks, say six who wanted the The item most of the time (two thirds) and four who would like to buy into the last third. All of a sudden there are ten shares to be paid, but because they are unequal shares, how would you satisfy the participants who still want to remain friends. One way is to continue speaking the language of "equality" a bit differently. The two thirds would still be shared by those who wanted to use the resource more and the remaining third would get split four ways. In certain cases there will be overhead or costs associated with ownership and to fund these things, several methods have been used. Perhaps the easiest would be to add ten percent service fee to each share, for those whose use characteristic is low and twenty percent for those whose use characteristic is high. I am stepping beyond the language of hard math to show solutions that speak a slightly different language. Since we are in story problem mode, trust that this will all make some sort of sense in the end.

Continuing with the same solution, say we pick a number like sixteen, because it gives us more "shares" to work with and in theory, smaller bits become easier to divide up. Also, you don't have to have a service fee, because extra shares cover the additional costs.You make the number based, not on the number of people involved, but the number of shares invested in. Ten people divided up sixteen ways may be just the right number because there is more variety in the use characteristic when there are more users. Six people paying the two thirds portion of the price would still pay about twice as much as the four who chip in to pay for the last third, but there is an overage because it is a way to avoid having fees for getting into the co-op relationship. Everyone pays slightly more to cover these associated costs.

Some groups and co-ops are formalized and have written agreements that address what happens if costs exceed investments, or vice versa, if there were to be too many funds for the actual costs, usually, this amounts to an end of the year rebate. In some cases it can be rolled into a general fund for future group investments. If there are outstanding costs, there could be fees levied on co-op members.

This is where we jump off into the math of our current system. It bears little resemblance to the earlier examples. Up until now, I have tried to keep things pretty easy to follow. Let us imagine instead fractions based on one hundred percent. Like with pennies to dollars, but we don't want to have fees or membership costs. We could work backward and determine total costs. Say they exceed the cost of the actual shared items by ten percent. This overage, in the cooperative schemes detailed above could be used for storage, maintenance, upkeep etc. Most of the time, everyone gets a better deal than having to foot the bill all by themselves. The kings of wall Street instead just absorb the overage.