Category Archives: community

Kansas eliminates due process for Teachers

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What sad times we live in….

As usual, the comments are insightful and compelling.  They bring up the fact that it really isn’t that hard to get rid of “problem” teachers–all the administration has to do is harass them until they’ve had enough and leave.  Done. Problem solved.

I’ve seen this in the state government, as well, so yeah, it’s not really that hard to get rid of someone.  All you need is a bully in the midst while the administration looks the other way (or even worse–participates).

Urged on by conservative special interests such as Americans for Prosperity, Republican leaders pressed hard to eliminate due process rights for teachers.

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The handiwork of the Koch Brothers.  Destroy public education so the Koch brothers don’t have to pay one more penny for unionized workers.  More for me…poverty wages for you…

 

 

 

Let My People Go…Free Tillikum and all in captivity

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California has a bill up to force Sea World to stop using orcas in its shows and release them from their tanks.

They are too large, too intelligent, too socially complex and too far-ranging to be adequately cared for in captivity,” said Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist with the Animal Welfare Institute, the bill’s sponsor.

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“That argument is not based on credible peer-reviewed science,” said John Reilly, president of SeaWorld San Diego Park. “It’s based on emotion and a propaganda film.”

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Really?  Because I’m pretty sure a marine mammal scientist knows the behavior of the orcas.  Anyone with two eyes can see how the behavior of Tillikum is directly related to being held captive.

Even if there is no “scientific” standard, it’s just not right to keep an animal in captivity for the amusement of humans.  We would not want to be treated that way.

Canadians are also moving to release dolphins and orcas from captivity.  Good for them.

The Struggles of the Poor

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First, I have to say that I don’t endorse leaving children in vehicles, period.

BUT, if a mother is poor and going to a job interview to get out of poverty, and has no one to turn to…what is she supposed to do?

She’s told to ‘get off her ass and get a job”…but how is she supposed to do that when she has no money to afford day care until she get that job?

Was she supposed to take the children into the interview?  She would have been shot down for the job immediately, especially given all the competition for positions.

“Everything is focused on the mother and understandably so. It seems to be a very compelling human interest story,” County Attorney Bill Montgomery said at a recent news conference. “But I’m equally concerned and compelled about the circumstances those two children were in.”

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Really…?  So, if Shanesha brought the kids to your office, being “concerned and compelled” you would personally watch them while she went to the interview…?  Yeah, I didn’t think so…

With all the obstacles, how exactly are the poor supposed to get out of poverty? Not being arrested is a good start.

Bless Amanda Bishop for looking out for another.

 

 

Growing enough food to feed a family

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Farmer’s Almanac has a helpful video up on garden planning…how much do you need?

It’s not an in-depth video, but a good start especially for beginners.

They also have many more videos here.The first video, on gardening mistakes, mentions companion planning.  We’ve used that with the tomatoes–planting marigolds around them and around the garden to discourage pests.

They briefly discuss composting in the video 7 ways to use leaves in your garden: mix greens with browns to get rich earthy compost.  It doesn’t tell folks, however, that it will take several months for the matter to break down into “black gold”.  How fast it breaks down depends on rainfall and the heat of the pile.  And how often one turns it.  The piles need to be turned regularly to aerate and aid the decomposition.

 

 

 

Water-harvesting towers

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Creation Assistance has a post up on Water Harvesting towers in Ethiopia.  They had me until I read that the material is made from polythylene textile.  I read a couple of websites on polythylene, and they claim that it is not toxic although it is made from petroleum.  I don’t buy it.  How many times have they claimed that there are certain plastics that are safe….only to be told many years or decades later that they were, in fact, toxic?  Meanwhile, we poison ourselves and our kids…

So. although I think it’s a great idea, there has to be a natural material that can be used to collect the water…perhaps hemp fabric woven with bamboo?

 

On giving up belief…

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(This post is on spirituality, so if it’s not your thing….)

Eli Glasman has a heartfelt post up on his struggles with losing faith in God.

The sense of loss he feels is apparent.  It’s hard to believe in a Supreme Being when you’ve been taught a certain way and that way conflicts with how you feel inside.  It must have been so hard for him to feel that he had to choose between religion and how he felt intrinsically.

As I said in my comment, I understand his sentiments. I went through a period of not believing, but that actually made my faith stronger. Our paths lead us in directions that don’t always make sense at the time, but as we move along, we see how things are connected and how struggle helps us to grow, as in the butterfly that struggles out of the cocoon.

I had to learn to stand up for myself and not let others define who I am.  Not letting others define who I am also means not letting others define my connection to God.  Spirituality is as personal as it gets.  We are unique individuals with our own paths to follow and no one has a right to impose their beliefs upon another.

I don’t think being an atheist automatically means condemnation.  If one follows “Do unto others….” –I see that as spiritual, whether the person claims it or not.  I think we will be judged more on how we treat others and conduct ourselves here on Earth, rather than if we went to Church every Sunday.

 

 

 

 

Onondaga Men march against violence and abuse

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Warrior Publications has this up on the Onondaga men marching against domestic violence and child abuse.  A great way to publicly show support…but then the hard work comes to put it into action.  Honoring women, respecting women, and treating them as equals all takes a conscious effort to go against a culture of violence and rape.  It means going against other men, when men are taught to stick together no matter what.  It means courage and compassion.