Winter Celebrations

Tags

anti-consumerism, Bernie, family, living local

This week has been one of quiet celebration.  No madness of opening packages in a chaotic flurry of paper-tearing.  No gigantic feasts after which all were uncomfortable to simply sit due to excess consumption.  No rushing from store to store in search of something, anything, to wrap and give in order to show affection.

Yes, we opened a few gifts: a mouse and oriental carpet mouse pad for Tom, a coloring book for Mom, a weather calendar for Dan and some new pants for me… so Mom and I can be Twinkies!  And we had some good food, just nothing too extravagant.  While I did go to Jo-Ann’s to get a yard of sale fabric and ribbons, some of which are gifts, I avoided the sales in general and don’t feel like I’ve missed a thing.  I have spent quite a bit of time at the book store working this holiday season and it was nice to see the shoppers there put so much thoughtfulness into their gift giving.  I gave TONS of book recommendations.  There were also a lot of gift certificate sales and it was super fun to see folks coming in to spend them this weekend and getting things they loved.  One guy purchased the Dylan Book of Songs and I discovered (don’t think I knew this before anyway) that All Along the Watchtower was a Dylan song, though it will always be Jimi’s in my mind.

What did we do to celebrate?

We started with a Yule Dinner on the Solstice.  We’d hoped to get together for a celebration with some local friends but it didn’t work out, though I’m looking forward to it for next year.  Instead Dan and I celebrated at home with Mom and Tom.  We lit candles to welcome those who have gone before, the parents of Dan, Mom & Tom, to join us.  And then I read a solstice reading:

Take one last inhale of what the dark can teach. After partaking from the mystery of darkness, now is the time to unmask your true nature discovered during the last six months.

Know:

That mistakes are not failures but simply teachers of a better way.

That duty is not to be obeyed at the expense of self-care.

That boundaries are not for keeping others away from you but a way to honor your personal value.

That pursuing our dreams is a matter of authenticity.

That making a good impression on yourself is as important as a good impression on others or more so.

That wisdom must go hand in hand with learning from youth.

That showing your hand in the game of life makes you vulnerable and that is a good thing.

Vulnerability leads to personal growth.

Greet now the feminine energy that has the power to heal all talk of war and depravity.

Let the male energy rest and dance as the days lengthen and the nights shorten.

Go out and greet the morning sun as she births a new day over the horizon.

This Winter Solstice, may the beauty of your darkness shine as bright as the promise of your light.

(which I modified from info found here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/12/winter-solstice-2015-capricorns-wisdom-the-birth-of-dreams/)  Then we enjoyed Capital Chicken, one of the old staples from D.C. life.  And we shared stories of memorable times.  We followed it up with a game of Over/Under and Tom, never one to play games, was the big winner!  It was a fun family night, relaxing and full of reminiscing.

Dan and I treated ourselves to a much needed couple’s massage with Sam and Amy on Tuesday. I highly recommend taking a couple hours to treat yourself.  I can guarantee Sam is Amazing.  https://www.facebook.com/driftawaymassagebysamshrode/reviews

On Wednesday we had a nice dinner at Mi Mexico after a long day at the book store and then headed to a friend’s house to discuss how we can help get Bernie elected next year.  Our local Bernie Campaign Rep, Jake Sanders, gave us information about the success of recent phone banks and we planned upcoming events.  I know Bernie gets very little media coverage but I believe they are underestimating his popularity (or purposely de-emphasizing it?).  Danny posted on FB this week: http://trofire.com/2015/12/09/bernie-sanders-wins-poll-for-time-person-of-the-year-gets-removed-from-finalists-david-pakman-show/  where it was reported that, though Bernie was the people’s choice for Time’s Person of the Year, he didn’t even make the top 8 finalists for the list the powers that be at Time would consider.  Bernie continues to be the underdog.  And I think this photo says it all…

On Christmas Eve, we had a nice dinner and opened a few gifts, including a lovely basket of organic fruit from Fran and Ed.  Mom and Tom had their champagne and, since I was able to take photos, we got some good shots of them as well as the glasses framing the tree (Tom’s annual traditional photo).

And Christmas Day we did Jewish Christmas!  Went to see Star Wars which is AMAZING (but I won’t go into more detail as some of you have not yet seen it) and definitely worth seeing at the theater, probably twice.  Then we headed over to the Great Hunan for Chinese food!  What a wonderful way to celebrate, though I was disappointed to have to leave the Downton Abbey marathon after the second episode of season 1 – I started watching in season 3 so it was fun to get more back story.  Boy was there a lot to miss in just those first couple episodes!

All in all, a good week of Christmas but the real celebration will happen when the boy arrives in January.  Son Tom is spending the last part of his winter break here in Minnesota with us… well, really with his cat, Lucky.  It’s all about the cat.  But we don’t mind.  We know Lucky is awesome but he has to sleep sometime!  So we’ll get time with the boy as well.

Here’s wishing you all a Safe and Happy New Year’s Eve.  And remember, folks, it’s Amateur Night.

Why Bernie is our Best Chance

Tags

American Dream, Bernie, Debate, Democrats

Watching the Democratic Debate this weekend gave me hope for this country.  While we definitely saw moments of unprofessionalism and rudeness with interrupting and I wish we could have a civil, organized, and respectful debate, it definitely beat the name-calling and shouting matches the Republicans provided in their last debate.  That was embarrassing! At least the Dems were a high school level debate performance and not just a bunch of 6^th graders fighting on the playground.

All three candidates did a great job, noted the commentators as the debate ended, which clearly means… Hillary won the debate.  Hmmm…  so what does this mean for the nomination?

While we can say pretty securely that O’Malley won’t win the nomination, I appreciate his tenacity to stay in the running.  He brings to the debate many facts and ideas that would otherwise be ignored which is critical to getting a comprehensive debate of the issues.  He’s just a bit too intense and robotic for me, though I do love his focus on climate change and clean energy.  And, as he noted over and over, he’s “done that” so he’s got a good record of being a good leader.  He lowered crime, maintained college costs, improved race relations in his city and state, and raised the minimum wage.  All good things… but not enough to make him a viable winner in this race.

Bernie was able to hold his own with foreign policy, obviously his weakest area at debate time.  I’m not worried about this as situations at an international level are dealt with by committee and do not rely on a president acting solo.  Bernie received the majority of the applause during the debate and he again showed the best solutions for the middle class and a commitment to the masses, not the billionaires.  He openly admitted that Corporations and Wall Street would both be unhappy to see him elected, which is, in large part, why so many young people love him.  They see his values as their values.  He stands against the disparity that has been created broadening the gap between the haves and have-nots.  He is our only chance for a livable future.

And what about Hillary?  Well, I first must admit to being sexist in noting “What is she wearing?” as the candidates came onto stage.  I know it’s difficult for women to figure out what to wear but I think a more professional outfit would be in order for a presidential debate.  She looked like she was wearing a parka!  Even if she’d had tailoring along the front of the jacket, maybe some buttons… with fringe only at the neck and sleeves, it would have been more conventional.  I’m a hippie wanna-be but I am not going to wear a tie-dye dress to a presidential debate if I’m on the stage.  And what was with her answer on the Bill-Clinton-picking-out-china question?  She’s really going to still be picking out the china for state dinners?!?  I expect as President of the United States there would be more critical decisions on which she could focus…  And most appalling to me was her inability to return to the stage on time after the second break.  I don’t know what happened but perhaps it had something to do with that parka.  Regardless, returning late to what should be her only focus of the hour, showed her inability to “get the job done” effectively.

I tend to agree with Northern Sun, as reported in a recent catalog: “…the golden horse she rode in on is a little too shiny for our tastes.”

I know Hillary has done amazing things for this country.  She has changed the way the President’s spouse can be involved in White House activities, she gave the First Lady a much bigger voice, and agree with her or not, she did a lot to try to bring progress to our nation in that role. Prior to that, she did wonderful work for the people of Arkansas, focusing on issues of the most needy.  And following her work as First Lady, she represented her new state of New York well.  As Secretary of State, she made great strides, largely in part to the wonderful work and travelling she’d done as the First Lady.

So it’s not that I hate Hillary.  But I don’t like the person she has morphed into over the years.  She’s too corporate-crony, too billionaire-friendly, mostly big-money supported and extremely hawkish.  She’s on the wrong side of MANY issues including most recently where the US has finally made the correct decision, Keystone XL.  So I cannot say today that I agree with her values.  And I don’t think I could vote for her.

But more importantly, you know who else isn’t going to vote for her?  The huge masses of excited people aged 18-35 who by-and-large support Bernie.  If Democrats are serious about the new motto “When we vote, we win.”, then they’d better get serious about helping Bernie get the nomination, not working against him as it seems they are doing.  Cutting his access to the voter database was a huge mistake and backfired when the masses spoke out.  Hundreds of thousands of Bernie supporters and reasonable people called this strategy to cripple Bernie’s campaign what it was… unfair.  And I believe, if proper digging is done, there will be evidence that both O’Malley and Clinton had access to data as well. It would be pretty hard to believe that their data loophole only went one direction… But, like most publicity, it may well turn into more good news for Bernie.  It has strengthened Bernie’s campaign by once again making him an underdog to the political machine, the very nemesis most Americans believe is keeping them down with low/stagnant wages, unaffordable health care and unending student/housing debt.   And it sent a message to supporters when they reinstated his access.  That message is: If you stand together and speak your truth, you will succeed.  The Revolution is in full swing!

But the political machine keeps pushing Hillary.  At the debate this weekend, the lion’s share of the questions were posed to Hillary and she repeatedly held the floor with consecutive questions prompting one person to joke that the debate was between her and Martha Raddatz.  There is much contention that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is showing bias due to her close ties with Clinton as her past campaign co-chair.  (Which pisses me off because, since they are all women, it can paint ALL of us as “cliquey”.)  It looks to me like a potential conflict of interest and I’m surprised it’s not come up more openly in the media.  But then the media also appears to be a bought-and-paid-for cog in the political machine. National media is giving Bernie almost NO airtime whatsoever while Trump is happily spending nothing on advertising because he gets free airtime daily from all the media sources.  Even NPR and PBS appear to be giving him more than a fair share of attention.

But just like they discounted Obama’s support, I believe they are discounting Bernie supporters.  He has loads of small donations in a time when many can barely put enough food on the table and gas in the car.  He gets massive crowds everywhere he goes.  And he listens to people.  I do believe he is our only hope for a future that ends corporate ownership of our economic and political systems.  And if we don’t change that, we’ll all just remain meat in the grinder of this consumer society.

I’m counting on the kids – all those under 30 voters who love Bernie.  If Bernie doesn’t get the nomination, all those kids… they don’t show up to vote.  Because he’s the only one they trust.  And that would be terrible for the Democrats because I believe the real message of their motto is… “When we don’t vote, we lose.”

The Paris Climate Agreement Wasn’t Enough

Tags

climate change

Many are breathing a sigh of relief that the Climate Talks in Paris have resulted in a global agreement.  But this is no time for resting on our laurels.

What did Paris give us?

• Recognition of the risks associated with climate change. An understanding that if we don’t act now, doing as much as we can as soon as we can, there will be drastic and catastrophic consequences to us all.
• Global agreement between giant nations and little island nations to reduce emissions as much as we can with a set max of 2°C target (above pre-industrial levels) for warming and an aim of 1.5°C.
• Guaranteed monies to developing countries to go green and adapt to the changing climate.  There is a commitment to provide $100B annually, starting in 2020, with negotiations for upping that figure in the future.

What does this mean?

Countries have to set goals to reduce emissions.  They will revisit this agreement every five years starting in 2023 (8 years from now so they can hopefully get a jump on making some headway). And all countries have to report their progress on a planet-wide accounting system.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/12/459502597/2-degrees-100-billion-the-world-climate-agreement-by-the-numbers

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/world/europe/climate-change-accord-paris.html?_r=0

But…

• There are NO details on HOW this will be done.  No mention of a carbon tax which many agree would be our best hope for quickly reducing greenhouse gases.  There is no current technology to remove CO2 from fuel and the atmosphere, though many keep blind faith in a breakthrough that will save us all.  Forests can absorb carbon, as can good farming practices, and much is being done to implement these methods.  But in the face of a constant call to increase GDP and growth, along with our ever-increasing human populations, how do we keep forests from being culled to build new infrastructure?
• There are no punitive consequences to not adhering to the agreement.  No enforcement and compliance provisions.  The hope is that the transparency provisions will be enough, though these are still being developed.  The idea in this agreement is that, every few years, we can talk more about this to negotiate the target down in the future. And, because they are not legally binding, the agreements can reportedly be done with only presidential authority, removing the do-nothing Congress from blocking this work.
• 2°C is NOT ENOUGH.  We already are seeing catastrophic consequences around the world with drought, floods, earthquakes, fires and more.

In the end, Paris doesn’t seem to have accomplished much more than kicking the can down the road once again.  You can read more details here: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/13/459580031/4-pieces-you-should-read-about-the-global-climate-deal

However…

• Many of us knew whatever happened at Paris would not be enough.  We know there is a lot of work to make the needed changes to get us where we need to be and this conference was mainly going to show if we could COMMIT to making the changes as a planet.  So that was accomplished.
• Because of the overwhelming support, even if a Republican does get into the White House in 2016, it will be unprecedented for that person to back out of this deal due to the widespread global acceptance.  The rest of the world knows and accepts the science of climate change even if there is still a large contingency of deniers here.  And we are seeing even the US deniers come to their senses with the recent Gibson Resolution (http://citizensclimatelobby.org/gibson-climate-change-resolution/) and GOP Senate group on Environment and Energy (http://citizensclimatelobby.org/ccl-applauds-new-gop-senate-group-on-environment-and-energy/).
• The focus on 2°C max ensures that we accept reductions in burning fossil fuels.  It means keeping 80% of the remaining fossil fuels in the ground.  Bill McKibben explains this here: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719  Thankfully, this does give a signal that we’re moving to the end of the fossil fuel economy.

In conclusion:

Paris has given us an understanding that WE ALL MUST take action to prevent environmental catastrophe by reducing the carbon and methane in our atmosphere.  To prevent exceeding the 2°C max, we MUST leave 80% of the fossil fuels remaining in the ground and develop new means of powering our lives.  It is not enough to hope and pray for a technological breakthrough to miraculously save us.

The challenge now is for all of us to do our part.  The most important first thing we each can do is reduce personal use of fossil fuels.  The gluttonous and thoughtless burning of these precious commodities has to end.  You can:

• Drive a car with high MPG and consolidate trips and errands to reduce driving. Walk or bike when possible.
• Turn off unneeded lights and keep the thermostat under 70° this winter.
• Buy local. Local foods have less fuel miles making them fresher and better tasting. Local goods provide for a more sustainable community and keep money in our neighborhood.

Find out more here: https://www.carbonfund.org/reduce

Then, encourage your Representatives to support Carbon Fee and Dividend which will provide not only the most rapid way to reducing greenhouse gases (short of mandatory draconian regulations), but will also give all Americans a cash dividend.  The fossil fuel companies have long been subsidized with our tax dollars while they rake in billions in profits without bearing responsibility for the costs to our environment.  It’s time they started paying their fair share… to us!

Learn more at http://citizensclimatelobby.org/

The good Earth — we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy. ~ Kurt Vonngut in “A Man Without a Country”

Enjoying Christmas?

Tags

Christmas

Warning: If you are maintaining a Santa-inclusive Christmas with your children, please do not read this blog aloud to them.  While reading my blog aloud to a child may not be on your To Do List, in case it was, I wanted to provide the warning.

A friend recently posted on FB: “I’m not much of an Xmas person so here is a poll. Should I put up a tree or no?  Let’s hear it.”  My initial thought was NO.  In fact, hell no!  I must let him know it’s OK to NOT decorate for Christmas.  You see, I have a long history of ambivalence with Christmas decorations.  Here’s why:

This festival of Christmas has “forever” been (in terms of our short lives) about gift giving and Jesus’ birthday, the order of which is determined by many factors for each of us.  But the history of the holiday is much more complicated.  I direct you to a short video for a brief review of this history: http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas Also at this site is a brief but more detailed written history of the holiday through the years that is a fascinating read.

In my family (me, Dan and Tom), it’s never been about Jesus’ birthday because Jesus was obviously born in the spring.  Lord only knows why they didn’t claim the pagan holiday of Ostara for Jesus’ birthday as it is a springtime celebration of hope and renewal. Though, now that I think of it, this is probably why they chose it to instead “celebrate” his death.  But no, for Christmas, they claimed Yule, a Germanic solstice festival, and Saturnalia, a Roman festival of banquets, continual partying, and the more affluent providing for those with less.  So perhaps we are, in many ways, keeping with the original traditions with not only our decorations but our celebrations and customs.  [BTW, if you want to know who was born on December 25^th, it was the Persian God, Mithra. http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history-of-christmas/videos/history-of-christmas?cmpid=mrss_int_taboola_video_his]

Yes, as a child and even when Tommy was young, Christmas was, for me, about gift giving, which is another reason I am not a fan of Christmas.  From the time I snuck into Mom’s closet and found my beautiful China Dolls that later were under the tree from “Santa”… to the realization of all the wasted money on gifts that were never truly enjoyed… to my increased understanding of the consumer culture in these United States, Christmas has come to evoke mostly sadness and revulsion.

This year, as we pulled out the many boxes of decorations at Mom’s, I was happy to help her but I quickly became overwhelmed by the massive tangle of non-working Christmas lights that ended up filling a 2’ x 2’ x 2’ box that will be going to hazardous waste.  The thought of all this plastic and copper and glass going into a landfill sickens me.  It almost halted my ability to continue decorating for Mom.  But I soldiered on.  Thankfully, this allowed me to make her very happy as she loves the Christmas decorations.  For her, they are a tradition, a passing through time of family heirlooms, a time of pretty lights and happiness.  And it also led to a point where we were able to compile several bags of Christmas decorations to give away.  We also listed a couple of things on Alexandria Area Swap & Shop so we will make Christmas happy for a few people who need some new-to-them (and in some cases, simply new and never used) decorations.

While I too see the joy and bittersweet memories of admiring our decorations, I have trouble with the sense of obligation that pervades the entire season, including the giving of new decorations.  When Tom was little, his Grandpa and Grandma used to give him annual Hallmark decorations. While they were cool – little metal die-cast figures – they became another collection of things.  The good news about these is that they are now in Tom’s Christmas box so he can have his keepsakes.  I no longer have the job of storing, cleaning, setting out and re-packing them every year. Dan and I have our own small box of family decorations up at the Harn which won’t see the light of day this Christmas.  I’m not sure how much decorating we will do in the future but at this point, our current plan is to decorate for Christmas by taking out the small ceramic Christmas tree that Dan’s mom made years ago and plugging it in.  This tree has seen years of wear and tear, has a small hole in one side, and has lost a few lights that we were able to replace with new ones from the Ben Franklin ~ total cost of only a dollar or two as I recall.  This fills Dan with happiness that his family heirloom is present, representing his family members who are no longer with us in this plane, and it makes me smile to know we’re honoring his mom.  I love too that we’re keeping something out of the landfill, using it past the time when others would have simply thrown it out, and not replacing it with new STUFF.  This tree represents the imperfection of life and relationships, but also the beautiful way love dispels all that imperfection.  This simple decoration depicts what Christmas is about in our family.

I’m pretty sure Jesus would be appalled to see the mass consumerism that has developed… in His name.  To see the humongous piles of waste that are built, usually on the backs of the poor in other countries and often by children who work for pennies to create glam and splendor in the homes of rich, gluttonous Americans.  Even some churches seem more about the decorations and consumerism than the true meaning of Jesus’ gift.

This year, we’re focusing on giving gifts of health and service and when we give things, to make them meaningful.  We’ve given a sheep to some needy family far away in honor of Tom’s Grammy & Papaw, we’re giving YES! Magazine (Mission Statement: YES! Magazine fuses powerful ideas with practical actions to inspire action for a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. http://www.yesmagazine.org/) to a couple family members, and we are planning a gift box to some friends who are living a minimal and sustainable life as we see them as doing the work we hope to be doing someday soon.

I’d much rather give gifts than receive them.  I’m not a good receiver.  It’s always been hard for me.  Even when I LOVE something received, I often am still hit by the ramifications for Mamapacha or the thought of having to find a storage space for this new thing.  So it’s always bittersweet for me.  I’d much rather give.  This year, when asked for my “list”, I requested from Mom a GF Scandinavian almond cake that is one of my favorite things to eat at the holiday.  I am hoping we keep it pretty simple and focused instead on the time spent together, enjoying old stories and making new memories.

We’ll probably be seeking out the lights as we drive around this season.  I do enjoy seeing the Christmas lights, especially those white twinkles, simple and beautiful. I’m not for all the blow-up toys and excessive décor that just seems overwhelming more than cheery. I will say, if you’re going to decorate, it’s nice if it actually looks good.  We were leaving the movie theatre the other night and I noticed the strings of lights at the Broadway Ballroom.  Simple “Z” patterns of a single light strand in each tree.  I just don’t get it.  It looks like someone just did this to “Get ‘R Done”.  No thoughtfulness, no beauty, just going through the motions.  “Got the lights up!  Check.” This is a thing that makes me crazy. Mom’s decorating, while more than I would do, is at least done with thoughtfulness and meaningfulness.  And it is truly beautiful.

One last reason: Red is my least favorite color.  Too much red this time of year…  Green is good.  I’m really a cool colors girl so prefer the green of the trees as they are, without decoration, and the blue of the sky interspersed with a lovely lavender in the sunrise I watch as I write this.  These are the best decorations.

In the end, I replied to Rex on FB: “I’m helping Mom put up her decorations and looking forward to the day when all we do is pull out the 18″ ceramic tree, plug it in, and call it done.”  Then I edited it to add: “That’s a “no” vote in case I was not clear.”