New Year Gloom, A Better Tomorrow

We all wish each other “Happy New Year” and sometimes we actually mean it. Like most years in history, there is happiness, but often the new year brings in sadness, loss, and malaise. We all strive for a better tomorrow, that is as natural as breathing. How “better” is defined becomes the yardstick that is personal.

Better tomorrows are far more simplified in places where the essentials for life are scarce. Water, food, even shelter, may be the goals. Some have lived without these for a long time, and often those people are just looking for a better tomorrow in the very simplest terms.

Better tomorrows may be measured in having 3 houses instead of 2 for some, while others just believe in having at least some shelter that is affordable.

When we compare ourselves with others, we will always find someone who is better at what we do, smarter than us, or who have more than we do. It becomes a fruitless passion to compare ourselves against others. There are people who have lived through hell, and when we compare ourselves against them, we feel fortunate, but we still are engaged in a fruitless path.

There are often those who would point fingers, blame others for whatever has happened or will happen, and often our laws are invoked because of the resentment and anger.

Why am I even going through this discussion? Simple. Each of us has the ability to be excellent, even if it is as a barber, a farmer, a machinist, a mother or friend. When we use our energy, our own drive to be the best WE can be,  blame disappears, resentment often lessens or even goes away, and certainly we find far less time to blame.

Sure, work depends on someone hiring us, trusting us to do the work as well as we can, and we are, in a sense, dependent on them for our income. Losing a job can mean we feel betrayed, hopeless, powerless, and start on the path to comparing what we are, what we have, with thousands of “them”. What we forget, or just do not know, is that most companies that have to let us go, either by layoff or firing, don’t want to do that. They are feeling much the same things we are, especially when the company is depending on suppliers or buyers who have disappeared. Yes, the industrial and commercial world is built on cooperation, not competition, just as our lives are.

Companies depend on us, they cannot live without people working for them, people buying their product, and the social recognition of their existence. Companies NEED us. This is where some of the international flaws have widened into chasms and the financial earthquake that hit in the last few months is as natural as weather. Companies that believe that dollars are the base for existence are based on fallacy. Stockholders are NOT the lifeblood of corporate health, nor are those CEO’s who “manage”, but the ordinary people who work, often out of the light of recognition, YOU and ME.

WE are the ones that companies MUST learn they NEED. The Great Depression was NOT caused by the collapse of Wall Street, or the markets, it was caused by mechanization. Instead of having people making the cars, the goods people bought, machines began to do that work. When people were put out of work, the market for the goods faded, often dying because no-one had the income to buy. There is a parallel in our modern society. We have mechanized jobs with computers. Instead of having people write out the purchase orders, package the goods, computers have moved into doing those jobs. Basically, if taken to the extreme, companies could work with a tech support team and one or two people making decisions.

Personally I am NOT surprised that economies have gone down, mostly because I have watched the computerization of work to an extreme, without any compensating change for people needing to work.

The world economies have faded and probably will continue to fade, unless WE find our way to our own solid ground. This may mean we look at our own excellent abilities which each of us DO have, and trust ourselves to find the way to make a better tomorrow.

Oddly enough, the fade, the change in thinking, may be the best thing that could happen. It forces us to focus on what WE are, what we are part of. Nature SUPPORTS us, not the other way around. Farmers know this quite well. Those who work with nature know it. Our lives depend on nature, not cars, not plastic cups to drink from, not computers.  Water, air, soil, and the interdependence of all animals, including us, is nature.  This is the focus that Barack Obama has found, and for once, I am pleased.

So, each of us can make some impact here. Grow a head of lettuce, a hill of potatoes, or plant as many tree seeds as we can. Protect the endangered animals, the environment, and we all will have a better tomorrow, because WE DEPEND ON NATURE.

We live in cooperation with each other, our neighbours, our friends, our families, our communities, and most importantly, our world. Wars may reduce populations, but they also violate life, and history proves beyond any doubt, that violence using weapons will return to those who attack.

May our new year be one of reflection, spirituality, peace, and most importantly, a year of our own possibilities. Trust in our own inner drive, our own inner desire to have that better tomorrow, with the understanding that what we do can and does ripple out to affect far more than we know, may well be the lesson for this new year. Hope, acted upon, may just make our tomorrow better.

Bush Designs Pollution, Health Hazards, Guns for America

I honestly thought this was some kind of sick joke when I got some information sent to my email account, but when I checked with several sources, it is true.

The outgoing president is using his “executive” powers to put into law a whole bunch of stupid laws that guarantee fecal matter in streams and drinking water as well as increases in lead. He is also putting into law that truckers can work more than half a day on the road, which most people know is worse than driving drunk!

This is from the Guardian in the U.K.

Paul Harris, The Observer, Guardian.co.uk

George Bush is working at a breakneck pace to dismantle at least 10 major environmental safeguards protecting America’s wildlife, national parks and rivers before he leaves office in January.

With barely 60 days to go until Bush hands over to Barack Obama, his White House is working methodically to weaken or reverse an array of regulations that protect America’s wilderness from logging or mining operations, and compel factory farms to clean up dangerous waste.

In the latest such move this week, Bush opened up some 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of land in Rocky Mountain states for the development of oil shale, one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet. The law goes into effect on January 17, three days before Obama takes office.

The timing is crucial. Most regulations take effect 60 days after publication, and Bush wants the new rules in place before he leaves the White House on January 20. That will make it more difficult for Obama to undo them.

“There are probably going to be scores of rules that are issued between now and January 20,” said John Walke, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defence Council. “And there are at least a dozen very controversial rules that will weaken public health and environment protection that have no business being adopted and would not be acceptable to the incoming Obama administration, based on stances he has taken as a senator and during the campaign.”

The flurry of new rules – known as midnight regulations – is part of a broader campaign by the Bush administration to leave a lasting imprint on environmental policy. Some of the actions have provoked widespread protests such as the Bureau of Land Management’s plans to auction off 20,000 hectares of oil and gas parcels within sight of Utah’s Delicate Arch natural bridge.

The new regulations include a provision that would free industrial-scale pig and cattle farms from complying with the Clean Water Act so long as they declare they are not dumping animal waste in lakes and rivers. The rule was finalised on October 31. Mountain-top mining operations will also be exempt from the Clean Water Act, allowing them to dump debris in rivers and lakes. The rule is still under review at the OMB. Coal-fired power plants will no longer be required to install pollution controls or clean up soot and smog pollution.

Yet another of the new rules, which has generated publicity, would allow the Pentagon and other government agencies to embark on new projects without first undertaking studies on the potential dangers to wildlife.

Announcements of further rule changes are expected in the next few days including one that would weaken regulation of perchlorate, a toxin in rocket fuel that can affect brain development in children, in drinking water.
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Bush can pass the rules because of a loophole in US law allowing him to put last-minute regulations into the Code of Federal Regulations, rules that have the same force as law. He can carry out many of his political aims without needing to force new laws through Congress. Outgoing presidents often use the loophole in their last weeks in office, but Bush has done this far more than Bill Clinton or his father, George Bush sr. He is on track to issue more ‘midnight regulations’ than any other previous president.

Many of these are radical and appear to pay off big business allies of the Republican party. One rule will make it easier for coal companies to dump debris from strip mining into valleys and streams. The process is part of an environmentally damaging technique known as ‘mountain-top removal mining’. It involves literally removing the top of a mountain to excavate a coal seam and pouring the debris into a valley, which is then filled up with rock. The new rule will make that dumping easier.

Another midnight regulation will allow power companies to build coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks. Yet another regulation will allow coal-fired stations to increase their emissions without installing new anti-pollution equipment.

One lengthens the number of hours that truck drivers can drive without rest. Another surrenders government control of rerouting the rail transport of hazardous materials around densely populated areas and gives it to the rail companies.

One more chips away at the protection of endangered species. Gun control is also weakened by allowing loaded and concealed guns to be carried in national parks. Abortion rights are hit by allowing healthcare workers to cite religious or moral grounds for opting out of carrying out certain medical procedures.

Bush’s midnight regulations will:

• Make it easier for coal companies to dump waste from strip-mining into valleys and streams.

• Ease the building of coal-fired power stations nearer to national parks.

• Allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons in national parks.

• Open up millions of acres to mining for oil shale.

• Allow healthcare workers to opt out of giving treatment for religious or moral reasons, thus weakening abortion rights.

• Hurt road safety by allowing truck drivers to stay at the wheel for 11 consecutive hours.

Bush says F U to the Country and All Citizens

What this looks like, to me, is Bush trying every trick in the book to sabotage the country, the new president, the endangered species act, the FDA, the Federal Environment Agency, and basically making everyone live in a garbage dump.

There is no good excuse, never mind reason, to pass this unless you want to work for one of the companies that will give you a job with them later. This is totally aimed, in my opinion, at Barack Obama, green energy and the value of the wildlife and ecology of North America, all being sabotaged by Bush.

What I cannot figure out is why on earth Bush would want to do this, other than total contempt for his own daughters and their children, the people who live in the rural areas, and above all, the families of truckers who may end up attending the funerals of either the trucker or someone that trucker killed.

Bush, you are one stupid Son Of A Bitch, and the man who threw shoes at you was insulting you, not target practicing.  That action was akin to throwing a used sanitary napkin at your head, with the blood of children, women and others killed on the napkin. Got it?

Financial Crisis is Now a Long-Term Planning Situation

Well, from looking down the road filled with rocks ahead, I do honestly think it is entirely possible that this so-called “recession” is going to get a hell of a lot worse, and dive into a depression. Barack Obama is one of the most intelligent people I have seen elected as a leader in a very, very long time. But even with his ability, his sphere of influence, this has gone way past crisis stage and into a long-term butt-ugly situation that is not easily resolved. Thankfully, this time the US does have a leader with some intelligence, considerable ability to listen, watch, and take a good look before jumping into the quick-sands of panic. But he certainly cannot turn this wreck around by himself, which means all of us, including me, need to start planning for a long-term, tough and rocky ride.

Finally Paulson put the truth out, the toxic sludge that became the reason for so much of the “hedge” funds and the credit default swaps taking out Lehman Brothers and crippling the banks in the US and world-wide are NOT going to be bought out. Finally, someone figured out that this maze of stupidity is not worth paying a wooden nickel for. But, that means that those goofs that did get into this whole “funny money pyramid scheme” are now going to have to write down all those losses, if they can even figure out what the losses are. Good grief!

The ripple here is going to continue to hit the mortgages, the loans for cars, and maybe even student loans. Just this last while, another 18 banks went “POOF”!  People are taking their savings out of the banks, mostly because they have no idea whether the banks will even exist later. Treasury bonds are selling more than they have for a long time, even with paltry interest.

The APEC summit just finished, and the leaders figure it will take at least a year and a half to get this whole mess turned. Frankly, with the rate of business bankruptcy just starting to hit, the shaky ground that some of the major industries starting to move like a slow-motion earthquake, I don’t think eighteen months is even close to accurate.

Planning to endure the time ahead is the one thing I can do. Remember when someone asked you at a job interview, “Where do you expect to be in a year from now, with this company?” Well, the question now is, ” Where do I figure on being in two years from now?” Tough to call in some ways because there has NEVER been such a mess, NEVER has been such a phenomenal meltdown involving more than one or two countries. Yep, this lesson is that no country is an island, nor is any person able to do something stupid without the ripple effect going out well beyond known parameters. Congratulations you bunch of greedy jackasses, you sent one massive torpedo and blew a huge hole in all our lives! Don’t darken my door with any of your “innovative” ideas, or you may find that I DO have a pair of steel-toed boots and WILL use those on your butt!

Yep, it means I have to change my plans, work out a plan that takes into account changes in how I deal with money, and definitely how I manage my own income. Fortunately I am one of the few around with no debts to speak of, as I owe less than five hundred bucks right now.  One thing I will not do, though, is take on any credit cards. The banks are raising the interest on the cards to thirty-two percent either December first, or January first. Phooey! The only reason any bank want me to have their credit card is to make sure I go into debt. That is the only reason the cards are offered in the first place. Phooey! Keep them!

At least now I know that those who would make others the pawns in a very greedy, stupid, and ugly money game now are going to have to deal with it, not my tax dollars, not my hard-earned income. That is one relief, and from watching all the posts, I am definitely not alone in my wrath here.

Normal changes with each generation, so what WAS normal, is not normal now. Watch how the rules and normalcy change and learn to move with it. Barking about “how things used to be” is a total waste of time, energy and robs anyone doing that of the means or opportunity to be effective now.

Where do I figure on being? If I plan reasonably well, I should have a roof over my head, a change of job, certainly, and food to eat. Other than these things, the rest is negotiable, subject to change. My own sinking feeling is that this “crisis” is going to carry on well past two years, perhaps as long as five years. THAT does not make me happy, to say the very least.  I will do what I know how, what I can, and do it as well as I can, then let the rest go.

What do you think? Will this go downhill like the world did in the Great Depression or not? I sure as hell hope not.

History Has Been Waiting for Black President

I live where a lot of the black community did not face segregation, did not face the Jim Crow Law, and often the black community here made themselves a valuable part of  this place.

When I did some looking, I found out this,” March 24, 1837 – Canada gives African American citizens the right to vote.” This means that we had people who were from the US and happened to be black the vote. They needed to have some form of land or income, but when they were already here for years and could own land, work, and go to school (albeit in some places black only) they could vote.

When Barack Obama was declared the next President of the US, I punched the air, yelled “Yes!” and was so glad to see the end of President Bush I cried with happiness. Imagine the contrast here. A white, Texan man is now replaced by a man, a real man, who just happens to be black and very intelligent. The contrast is totally amazing! This changes the dynamics of an entire country, mentally, emotionally and certainly politically. About bloody high time!

Without living within a society where the black community was ostracized, it has been a lifetime of confusion for me. What is the difference between a person with darker pigmentation and someone with a lighter pigmentation? I still may not get it yet.

This may be because I was raised in a community where the families were integrated. I went to school with kids who were German, French, First Nations, Black, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian, virtually all the world. I do remember one day vividly though. My parents had just moved into a new development and a new house. One day a woman showed up at our door with a petition. My mother answered the door and was shown the petition, which was being signed  by some of the neighbours. The petition was designed to demand that a family of black ancestry be barred from buying a home in the new community.

My mother took one look at the petition, one look at the woman and became furious. Certainly not the reaction the woman was looking for. Mom told that woman, ” Take this piece of filth away from my house, and take yourself with it. I have no problem with any family who can buy a home here to do so. ” My mother had a voice that would make most sargeant majors quiver when she got angry, so her fury must have been spectacular! The woman tried to argue that the property values would go down if this family were allowed to move in. That did it!! Another woman Mom recognized from a local church appeared and tried to join in. Oh Oh!! Not a good idea when dealing with fury! Mom glared at both women, then her voice got icy hard, cold and her fury broke completely. “Get off my doorstep! Get out of my yard! Get away from my family, my children, and NEVER, EVER darken this doorstep AGAIN!”

The following month all those who signed that petition, knowing Mom had seen all their names, avoided her, and if they couldn’t, they knew she would speak in fury to them.  Then the family that did want to buy the house found one in the community, bought and I went to school with them all. The family learned of my mother’s fury, her absolute support, and they were always glad to see us.

This was in the mid 1950’s, mind you, long before emancipation walks, Martin Luther King, and all those protests. We had lived with all kinds of people moving here to overcome prejudice, overcome political abuse, overcome the Second World War and it’s bloody heritage. Germans in most of the world were seen as ugly, blamed for everything Hitler did. My best friend in school for years was born here, but both parents were german speaking immigrants. I just accepted them as part of our school, part of the community, and never did realize just how much they faced from the residue of the war. So, for me, this election seems in one way perfectly natural, and yet, long, long overdue in a modern society.

Blacks in this country have moved here since the early beginnings of the US, some of them from the war of independence, to own property, to become leaders, to have voting rights, to live among the society here. Yes there were some who, like those two women, who tried to make trouble, but for the most part, we lived together.

Black Pioneers