Drink responsibly EVERY DAY! You go to meetings, coffee breaks, PTA functions, and soccer matches, accompanied by the ever-present cup of coffee or bottle of water. You stop at Starbucks or 7-11 for coffee. You jog with a bottle of water. So, care for our planet by lessening the amount of Styrofoam and plastic on the roadsides and in the landfill. Keep a coffee cup at your desk at work and a commuter mug in your car for use at meetings or filling at Peet’s. Fill a water bottle on your way out to a game or run. Keep a couple filled, in the refrigerator or freezer (great for a hot day at an arts festival). Just be sure to rotate your cups and bottles often, bringing them home for a thorough cleaning to avoid bacteria growth. This keeps both you and the Earth healthier.
Archive for admin
An Approach to Voting
I’m not going to tell you WHO or WHAT to vote for, but I am giving you some advice to ensure that your vote will truly make a difference.
I’ve noticed the all-or-nothing attitude of people around me and people in general. That is, vote totally one party or another because they’re conservative/liberal/not socialist/progressive/whatever. Or vote for one candidate because they’re anti-abortion or pro gun control or some other single issue.
One problem is that no party is fully conservative/liberal/whatever. In the olden days they were more unified in a political direction. Today, though, both major parties have several wings.
Which brings me to the other problem. Voting straight party ticket does not guarantee that your main view will be pushed. Sometimes, for example, a representative will be against your view on civil rights and someone from the other party would have been more in line with your view. Or the candidate who is stanchly for that one view may go against your other important issues.
The best way to vote, then, is to figure out what you think would make this overall a safer, happier, more just country, then evaluate each candidate’s previous actions and stated goals, and vote accordingly, no matter what party they belong to. And examine your own moral stance not just over one issue but all that affect the common good.
In short, vote to strengthen the basic American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
A True, Controllable Virus
As I look around me at the increase in violence, bigotry, rumor-spreading, and other non-Golden-Rule actions, I see the reason this virus is spreading, as expressed in today’s Thursday Thought quote.
Ghost of Christmas Future
October 5. I just saw the first Christmas ad on TV. For Disney World.
Sigh……………………………..
Well Wishes for Our President (non-political)
Please, Mr. Trump, take better care of yourself. The Pres. is our leader, our role model, the anchor of The Good Ship America. On that balcony, I saw your brave face but also saw how often you supplemented your normal breathing by pulling in extra air through your mouth. I know you’re not feeling too bad, but, then, you’re on steroids that hide or lessen symptoms. You want to reassure us, but that doesn’t mean you must climb steps unnecessarily to stand on the balcony, or weaken yourself by taking a car-ride to wave to us.
In fact, you don’t need to be brave for us. We don’t think you’re weak when you wear a mask or take time off to rest or follow the medical advice of the best doctors in the world who are treating you. No. Instead, that makes us think you care enough for us to take care of yourself, that you’re being conscientious so you don’t infect others, and that you’re being a strong role model for us to prevent the spread of the virus and show us how to recover from it if we get it.
Please, Pres. Trump, take better care of yourself and, in the process, take better car of Americans.
A Good Time for Child Health
It’s the First Monday in October, meaning it’s National Child Health Day. It’s a day established in 1928 to promote our children’s physical health, but why not focus on their mental and emotional well-being, too? We can play a few active games with them, take a walk or bike ride together, or team up to clean up the garden. We can also spend some extra time with them, maybe having a little picnic in the backyard, doing some chores together and complementing them on their help, giving them a few extra hugs, talking to them, one-on-one, about friends, school, activities they’re involved in or a movie you saw together or an incident when you both saw someone acting as a bully. Yes, these are things we should be doing every day with our children. But this is a great time to redouble our efforts–for the good of our children.
Accolades for Nordstrom
Nordstrom has been banning animal fur and exotic animal skin on their own label but is now expanding that policy to all labels it carries either in-store or online. This applies to all of its branches, including Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Last Chance, and Nordstrom websites. It doesn’t take effect until the end of 2021, but it’s an important step foreword.
Thank you, Nordstrom.
Why We Vote on That Day of the Week
I’ve often wondered why the day for federal elections is set on Tuesday. In the midst of a busy week, with school, work, family responsibilities, and the like. Why not, say, on Saturday? Now I know.
It seems that Tuesday was chosen for the convenience of voters, which, in those days (1845), were the more prosperous white men. Those guys were mostly rural Christian farmers. That meant that they couldn’t vote on Sunday, the Lord’s day, and Wednesday was Market day. Besides, they had to travel by horse one or two days to get to the polling place. Tuesday worked around all that for most of them
But why November? Because by early November the crops have been harvested, yet harsh winter weather hadn’t set in yet. It was a handy time for them to travel to vote.
Who votes has changed, and we’re less of an agrarian economy than in those days. But the Tuesday after the first Monday in November remains the same.
Who says politics is behind the times?
I Protest!
It started out peaceful, with signs and shouted slogans. Then someone spray-painted a mural. Another broke a mom-and-pop grocery store’s window. Another set fire to some parked cars. Someone else punched someone whose sign they disagreed with. Meanwhile, people were loading their vans with items looted from several stores.
This is how our protests are going. It could be because the protesters feel they aren’t being heard. It can also be people coming from other areas who don’t care about destroying neighborhoods not their own. It could be orchestrated by a group with a political agenda. The “who” doesn’t matter; the actions do.
What point does it make when people’s businesses, especially the small ones who are hanging by a string, struggling to survive this pandemic, are burned, smashed, and looted? Or when public art, owned by all of us, is covered over with statements and profanity? Or people are injured by cars speeding into the crowd?
The protests are about the violence of inequality. Does it make sense to create more violence and destroy the livelihood of families belonging to any ethnic group, let alone the group who is already dealing with the injustice being protested? Can we really believe that our demand to do the right thing will even be heard above the cacophony of destruction and greed being created?
If the message of a protest is intended to make positive change, the protest itself should reflect that, not contradict it.
10,000 Chemicals in Our Food
here’s no way to avoid them. The FDA is not protecting us from them. If you’re pregnant, they affect your unborn baby.
Read FDA must do more to regulate thousands of chemicals added to your food, petitioners say to learn more.