Palmer's Purview

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 19:23:00 +0000

Interconnectedness, earthquakes and fracking...
Devils Hole is a detached unit of Death Valley National Park that is actually located in Nye County, Southern Nevada, within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. If you have any doubt about the interconnectedness of things on this planet, watch this video shot on March 20, 2012 at Devils Hole just 10 minutes after a 7.3 earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico. Now, think about fracking chemicals leaked in one place in an aquifer, and seismic waves that don't stay in one place. What do you think will happen to fresh water in that aquifer when one considers that fracking causes earthquakes? One effect is probably high-speed turbulent mixing of fracking chemicals with your drinking water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6h82PIi_-0
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earthquake-at-devils-hole/
http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/devils-hole.htm

Wake Up and Smell the Pollution Affecting the Brains and Learning of Our Children

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 19:28:00 +0000

Teachers, if you're sick and tired of hearing "No excuses" for your students' performance, perhaps we should all start sending administrators, school boards, superintendents, Arne Duncan, and President Obama a copy of this article as a reality check. Reality trumps no excuses. Perhaps everyone needs to wake up and smell the pollution affecting our students' brains. Then again, Big Oil and the rest of the extraction cabal won't like being found out as the cause of all this suffering. They'll continue to scapegoat teachers and use their billions to continue their propaganda campaigns to maintain their profits and power, all at the expense and suffering of our children and their future.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/12/children-baby-pollution-development-brain

Peace versus War

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:05:00 +0000

Most people would agree that peaceful resolution to conflict is better than war. The problem with peace, is that there is so much less drama and less obvious heroism. For a people addicted to drama, easy video bites, and the obvious in-your-face aspects of war, peace is not seen as a viable solution to problem-solving. War is about power-over, emotional reactivity, and control. It's about bullying and profit-making. War uses the lazy, childish intellectual habit of solving problems that are black-and-white, right and wrong, friend versus enemy. Peaceful conflict transformation is all about the grey areas, the more intellectually adult way of thoughtful processing of information, with less reliance on reactive emotions. It is about sharing power to solve problems peacefully, which doesn't invite quick video coverage, or obvious life-and-death heroism. It is much more subtle and longer-lasting. It requires patience, an intellect that recognizes greys, and a deep, abiding respect for people that requires you talk and work with them, even though you don't like what they have done. It is about teaching each other how to get along and find ways to bridge gaps in culture, belief systems and knowledge. Peace is the only way to truly and lastingly solve problems. The other choice is to remain mired in tribal warfare among peoples and nations, with a select few profiting hugely, while billions of others pay for it financially, and millions suffer and die. War is not inevitable. War is a choice. Peace is a better choice.

The following is an excellent article about taking a path to peace as a way of reducing terrorism.
https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/08/06-3

I Am Part of Elsa's Legacy

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 16:52:00 +0000

I am part of Elsa's legacy. For those who don't know why I feel so strongly about the environment and all living beings, this PBS video (link below) will show you one of the major reasons why I do. The movie "Born Free," Joy Adamson's books, Jacques Cousteau's work and shows (whom I once had the privilege of meeting while working at NASA/GISS, along with his son Jean-Michel), National Geographic Magazine and its television specials, and the television series "Wild Kingdom" all helped make me who I am today. Those who say or believe that television doesn't impact children/people in a huge way are ridiculous and naive.*

I grew up loving and respecting people and animals, in part, because of these influences. My dream to learn to SCUBA dive and explore the underwater world came from Jacques Cousteau. I took to heart National Geographic's advice..."Explore Your World." It has taken me to 4 continents, while the pursuit of learning has taken me through post-graduate studies. When I was an 8-year-old child, my very specific dream of growing up to be a photojournalist for National Geographic driving a Land Rover in Kenya and Tanzania came directly from the works of the Adamson's and National Geographic. I have only fulfilled small pieces and versions of that dream - I am an avid photographer and writer, and am a National Geographic Teacher Consultant. I would still love to work for National Geographic, someday.

As for the wild lions I grew up treasuring - there are now only approximately 2,000 left in the wild in Kenya. They are becoming endangered as human population growth expands into the wild places and negatively impacts wildlife. There must be a better solution to expansion that doesn't include the complete destruction of habitats and the killing of other living beings to the point of endangerment or extinction. When they are gone, so will we be. So, we must control our growth, where we live, the energy sources we use, and stop putting so much pressure on the wild. We need to maintain and expand wildlife corridors, and help other living beings adapt to the multiple impacts of global warming.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1732181741/

*This impact is why I turned off my television almost 3 years ago...there are so many awful things on it these days. I choose to control what impacts my brain, and gather my knowledge and enjoyment thoughtfully and with purpose, rather than be constantly bombarded with the violence, disrespect, disregard, and lack of kindness shown to people and other living beings on most programs, as well as the incessant advertising that is like being attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes.

Universal Peace Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:41:00 +0000

Universal Peace Garden by luminouslife featuring peace sign jewelry

End Prey for Profit - Education "Reform" as an Example

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:19:00 +0000

Prey for Profit:
The exploitation, bullying, marginalization, and/or abuse of people, animals, the environment, economies, and/or countries for profit and/or power.

Example:
Education "reform" for the purpose of the privatization of public education and increase of corporate profits and power. Who is exploited and/or abused? Students and teachers.

The Story:

Some corporations, CEO's and millionaires/billionaires are using their power and money to abuse children, marginalize teachers, destroy unions, take away people's rights, and exploit democracy (Citizens United, etc.) for power and profit. First, they purposefully compare test results between the entire and extremely heterogeneous and higher rate of poverty, huge COUNTRY of the US with the more lower rate of poverty and homogeneous CITY of Shanghai and small country of Finland and in order to be able to say Education in America has Failed. Then, they use EVERY opportunity to scapegoat and demonize teachers and say they, especially the more experienced teachers, are the problem. I especially love their central propaganda piece, "Waiting for Superman," in which they come in to "rescue" our country from our horrendously incompetent teachers and school systems. Next, they lobby and create laws, policies and regulations, while they put their corporate reform minions in place as School District Superintendents, School Board Trustees and Federal and State Legislators to help usher in their reforms, budget cuts, vouchers, co-locations, merit pay, common core standards, increased testing, union and collective bargaining busting, as they erode public education and teacher's rights. Finally, they get their desired results: increased corporate profits for charter and private schools...testing and remediation companies...textbook publishers, etc.; dis-empowered or broken unions; low-salaried, at-will employed teachers who have no due-process rights and for whom they no longer have to pay much in benefits. Notice that there is not one mention of students in this scenario? Of course there isn't. Children were never really their concern. They threw teachers under the school bus while they used public-school children and education reform as the cover for their battle for power, control and profits. Shame on the corporate "reform" people for using our nation's children as human shields. End the Use of Children as Prey For Profit.

Democracy in America?

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Tue, 08 May 2012 04:17:00 +0000

Democracy in America? First, our Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people. Now, those "corporate people" are working to privatize education, prisons, and the post office, as well as sell off public lands. Corporations "lobbied" to purposefully deregulate the financial industries to create a crash that rocked the world, caused the second Great Depression and the largest transfer of wealth and property (not to mention the "bail-outs" they received) in history, and brought our federal, state and local governments to their knees. They "lobbied" legislatures to cut funding to schools, prisons, the postal service, and public parks so they'd no longer remain financially viable, and then say the public agencies are failing.

They simultaneously run a massive propaganda campaign to scapegoat and demonize teachers and unions as the root of much that is evil in society, so they no longer have to deal with workers rights and such things as paying a living wage and decent benefits, as well as worker safety. After that, they say we must privatize these public agencies. They "lobby" to have their for-profit charter schools replace public schools, and to have voucher programs to steal from public education what little funding is left.

Finally, corporations (those "persons" and their CEO leaders that get all the tax breaks) own our public lands to exploit and destroy, own and control our private communications, our curriculum to mold the minds of our students into unthinking worker bees, our prisons for slave labor while we pay for prisoners' benefits; all for their own profit. When corporations control a country, that is called fascism; not democracy.

The 14 defining characteristics of fascism are at this link:
http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm

Intolerance and Hatred Or Love and Respect? It's a Choice.

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:37:00 +0000

One Man's Blog posted about Christians on FOX News threatening to kill and rape others who don't want a Christian memorial placed at the site of the World Trade Center. His post was quite excellent.

I was thinking about the situation. It doesn't matter what religion someone professes to believe; it doesn't mean they actually uphold its tenets. People can call themselves anything: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Pagan, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, etc. People are human, and as such, are fallable. People can choose to live in love or fear; they can choose to show kindness and compassion or unkindness and cruelty. Rather than be respectful, kind, civil, and compassionate...some people choose to bully, ridicule, scapegoat, deride, hit, rape (do I need to keep going?) others just because they don't follow the same belief system (or any other multitude of reasons/excuses). They do themselves, the other person and their belief system the greatest disservice. Life is all about choices, and our ability to be humane towards others is what determines the course of our lives, our society and our world.

http://onemansblog.com/2011/08/06/christians-openly-advocate-killing-athiests-on-fox-news-facebook-page/

The Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood Controversy and Standing Up to Corporate Bullies

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:10:00 +0000

In the Salon essay, "Susan G. Komen’s priceless gift," Joan Walsh and Rebecca Traister write about the potential impact of the Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy:

"The starkly observable attack against something as crucial and basic as breast exams for poor women, as well as the fact that so many divergent voices were pulled into it, meant that the conversation was not about partisan politics; it was about women. For the first time in what feels like forever, passion and fury were being loudly, proudly given in a full-throated voice, on behalf of women – women as moral actors; women as citizens with rights, health, bodies, freedoms; women as people with families and economic concerns."

Women and girls, as well as female-dominated professions, have frequently been the victims of violence and bullying. Remember the earlier health care "reform" (doublespeak) attempt by members of Congress to reduce the frequency of, and change the ages at which, women receive mammogram and pap smear screenings, in order to increase profits for health insurance companies? Do you remember how Viagra got covered by insurance quickly, while contraception for women went uncovered for decades. Have you noticed the scapegoating and demonization of teachers? Seeing the patterns, yet? Bullying isn't just about gender. It creates inequities in power, economics, and rights. Bullying is the antithesis of peace.

Bullying has been used to bring about so-called "reforms" that benefit corporations at the expense of people...

1 - tort "reform" that reduces our access to the courts, forcing us to go through mediation, instead, as well as reducing caps on damages corporations are required to pay for the terrible things they do,

2 - education "reform" that reduces children's equal access to public education through privatization (and the union-busting that has absolutely nothing to do with education and everything to do with lowering wages and benefits, and reducing worker's rights),

3a - get tough on criminals law and sentencing"reform" that increased our prison populations to the highest levels on the planet (for which we, the taxpayer, pay)

3b - prison "reform" in which prisons are now being privtized to provide corporations with cheap labor without having to bear the cost of health care, etc (because we taxpayers pay for that),

4 - repeal of minimum wage and child labor laws across the US in order to provide cheap labor,

5 - the push for Right to Work laws in multiple states that creates the right to work for lower wages and less rights with the power and right to fire at will in the hands of employers and weakening unions so employees can't collectively bargain for living wages, decent benefits and receive due process rights.

The political, economic and corporate bullying of the middle class and poor (and women, in general) needs to end now. Human rights, equity and equality, justice, non-violence, compassion, caring, and integrity are necessary for a peaceful country and world. Governments and neighborhoods that want peace "would seek liberty for all, would promote mutual respect and tolerance, and would demand that rights go hand in hand with responsibilities. Such a neighborhood would also require that the strong as well as the weak subscribe to a rule of law. It would combat the corrupted as well as the corrupting, and would encourage participatory and legitimate democratic governance within all relevant institutions." 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, in her memoir "Unbowed."

What is the cycle of bullying? This is from The Bullying Circle, originated by Dan Olweus, PhD:

A - The Bullies - plan/start the bullying, taking an active part = ALEC (American Legislative and Exchange Council)

B - The Henchmen - take an active part but don't plan/start the bullying = Legislators, Police

C - The Active Supporters - cheer the bully on and seek social/material gain = Politicians, Organizations, Other Corporations, Media

D - Passive Supporters - enjoy the bullying but do not show open support = Average citizens who buy into A-C's propaganda and lies

E - Disengaged Onlookers - observe, then turn away, thing/saying "It's none of my business." = Some average citizens

F - Potential Witnesses - oppose the bullying, know they should do something, but do nothing = Some average citizens

G - Resister/Defender/Witness - actively resists, stands up to the bully, speaks out against bullying = Those even fewer citizens who see it happening and do all they can to stop it

I - The Target(s) - the person/people/groups being bullied = women, teachers, fill in the blank.

What will turn our country around is when D-F become G's who let A-C know their bullying will no longer be tolerated, and that, if they continue their bullying, there will be real consequences.

We won't...
elect/re-elect them, buy their products, or watch/play their products.

We will...
boycott them, be non-compliant, peacefully and non-violently protest and demonstrate, and be everywhere speaking up and out against their bullying.

We CAN end their bullying when we stand united together to protect the less fortunate, as well as ourselves. There is strength in numbers, and power in knowledge.

The very existence and operations of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) is corporate bullying at its highest political and economic impact upon the greatest number of people, and it undermines our democratic process.
1 - Member corporations write the laws,

2 - They give them to legislators (whose trip they fund through "scholarships" when those legislators do their bidding) to submit and pass. ALEC's name, of course, is removed and the bills are submitted without showing who authored them. The legislators take oaths and are required to draft and submit laws themselves, so they are going against their oath of office and the law. This is corruption!We the people - the actual stakeholders of this country - are not involved in the process. ALEC did not invite teachers to their education summit that is currently being held on a beautiful island. Anyone who wants to improve education would invite the experts in the field - teachers. Obviously that is not what this meeting is about.

3 - The only journalists they allow to cover events are pro-corporate; the rest get escorted out or arrested for trying to do their jobs as members of the free press.

There is no questioning them. There is no transparency. We the people are not invited. The bills they write benefit themselves, at the expense of we the people. Participatory democracy is bypassed, and the corporations control the legislators. That is NOT democracy; it is fascism. Let's end the bullying, in all areas of our country! Be a Resister/Defender/Witness!

Be a "G!"

Susan G. Komen's priceless gift

Comment to President Obama on Remove Arne Duncan Petition

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Get politicians and corporate CEO's out of education. Put those who actually educate in charge. It's that simple!

Children are not widgets, clones or copies. No two are exactly alike. Societal, economic, family, and personal factors DO impact their "performance" on test scores. The purpose of education is not for children to perform well on tests. A test score is not the final product of an education. The purpose of education is to teach children how to think critically, how to find information, how to learn, while respecting their individuality, and to do this creatively. We do this, in part, by teaching them literacy, numeracy, science, social studies, etc. These are not all that we teach. We also teach social skills, respect, integrity, taking chances in learning, persistence, etc. You can't test that!

We need to be given the autonomy, resources and time to teach. Instead, we've had to spend the last 10 or so years fighting for our profession, our jobs, our rights, our education budgets, our resources, our reputations, and most importantly...our students. Teachers should not have to waste any time on fighting for any of these things that diminish our time and energy from doing our job...teaching children.

Shame on those who are using and abusing us, taking us away from our mandate - to teach our nation's children, as they work to game us and the system to privatize education so they can simply make more profits. Shame on you, President Obama, if you allow this political and corporate circus of education "reform" to continue. Instead, why don't those politicians and CEO's do their own jobs and fix the stalemate and partisanship in Congress, produce American jobs with living wages and decent benefits, get money out of politics, and end corruption?

Oh, and if you truly do want to end bullying, perhaps leading by example would be a good start. Stop bullying educators, stop bullying each other, and start modeling respect, decency and honor. Lead by example, as children learn what they live.

Money, Money, Money - It All Comes Down to Money: Corporate Influence in America

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:29:00 +0000

Money doesn't buy happiness; nor does it buy freedom. It does, however, buy economic and political power. It does buy the media outlets that control and spread the "news." The media are those large, corporate-owned propaganda and brain-washing machines that tell people the "truth" and how and what to think about which "truths" they decide to relate to the people. Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message.” Well, the media are corporations, and their message is to promote and maintain the sole life-blood of their corporate lives: profit. Corporations control the message the public sees, hears and reads. The media are no longer the Fourth Estate.

Money also buys the foundations, think tanks, councils, non-independent research studies, and "reform" movements that are backed by the very deep pockets of corporations and CEO's to maintain their control over the status quo that includes huge income inequality, a regressive tax structure, reduction in human and citizen's rights, a citizen's access to the courts, and a constituent's access to his or her own legislators. Of course, they don't mind that we the people continue to pay our taxes, helping to fund their corporate agenda, since many legislators are now owned by corporations. Corporations don't mind that 1 in 4 American children now live in poverty. They don't mind that there is only 1 job for every 4 unemployed Americans, as they continue to export jobs. They don't mind that their profits continue to soar as the American people suffer and are crushed by supporting the weight of the hoarded wealth of the top 1%.

The fact that the Supreme Court of the United States of America has a God-complex and decided to give corporations the gift of life as persons, and give corporate money the human right to free speech, is conveniently overlooked. Corporations have one sole purpose in their “life,” and that is to make a profit. The Citizens United decision allows them to spend unlimited amounts of money to buy politicians, buy votes, to literally write the bills in their favor, at the expense of humanity and the environment, and hand them to our legislators to pass into law.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is foaming at the mouth to destroy unions and collective bargaining in order to privatize education, attacking the educated and those who educate the populace in the process. They don't want an educated populace that has the critical thinking skills with which to question them. This is why the education "reformers" want to destroy the teacher's unions and privatize education. If they can do this, they will control who has access to education, and the actual education curriculum of their own corporate propaganda. Plutocracy in action.

ALEC is also trying to repeal minimum wage and child labor laws. The bills are already in multiple state houses, submitted verbatim. Now, really, why would corporations want this? It's not rocket science. If you want to go back to the times of the Gilded Age (aka, the Robber Barons) continue to support ALEC and its well-funded agenda and propaganda campaign. Support Mr. Gingrich, who calls child labor laws silly and would rather see children in poverty work as janitors, than get an education. George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Many people have bought into the corporate propaganda that unions are the cause of America's decline. They obviously aren't looking at the facts that continuously record-breaking corporate profits and rapidly increasing CEO wages and benefit packages have come at the expense of the jobs, wages and benefits of working Americans. As corporate profits and CEO wages have increased, the wages of average Americans have either remained flat or decreased over the past few decades. This has been as a direct result of corporate strategy, and the people's willingness to let their own unions die as they misguidedly put their trust in corporations. The facts show that as workers let the unions fall, the middle class has shrunk, income inequality has increased, and poverty and homelessness have increased. Unions did not create the current economy, nor did they create the recession.

Ultra-rich job creators have sent our jobs overseas, as their ultra-rich corporations have received tax cuts, tax breaks, and tax refunds. Then, they blame the lack of jobs on "greedy" unions and union members. I think many folks have forgotten what unions have done for middle class America. Without unions, we would all still be working 7 days a week, 15-18 hours a day, in unsafe working conditions, without minimum wage or child labor laws, or any health care or retirement plans. We would, essentially, return to the status of serfs. Folks have forgotten that union members and organizers literally died so that people now only have to work 40 hours per week for a living wage, have safe working conditions, health care, retirement plans and Social Security. With workers enjoying a living wage and shorter working hours, they also have the freedom of more time to spend with their families to actually enjoy their constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. They have more time to spend getting a higher education and increase their job and wage prospects, rather than simply enter the work force at a younger age. Union members and organizers died so we don't have to spend our lives working to fill the deep coffers of corporations, only to live and die in abject poverty.

Corporations and "reformers" are actively working to bust the remaining unions, end collective bargaining rights, and repeal minimum wage and child labor laws for a very good reason. They want to return to a time when they could and did pay what little money they want to their workers. Do you think they will stop there? They will get rid of other labor laws, as well, that restrict them from creating unsafe working conditions. You can see evidence of this trend in the corporate push to deregulate the Clean Air Act and other environmental protection laws, as well as their efforts to hobble the Environmental Protection Agency. These "patriotic" corporations are simply paving the way to bring back serf-style jobs as the saviours of America, as they rake in even higher profits, since they will no longer have to export these low-wage jobs.

Money doesn't buy happiness. It doesn't buy freedom. Life is not a business model. Corporations are not persons and their money is not speech. If people want to be serfs, we can let corporations continue on their steady course and play their aggressive chess game that has we the people on the defense. We the people are the trees that stand like silent sentinels of democracy and freedom, with our roots planted deeply in this land. Corporations have shaken the leaves off of us, leaving our branches exposed. They are attempting to uproot us.

What do you value most? How much do you value your freedom? How much more are you willing to accept and give up, not only for yourself, but for your children and future generations? When will you say, "No more" and be willing to stand up and take back what has already been taken? When will you make certain that our rights and freedoms, our democratic republic, our very country, will never again be open to attack from the inside in this way? It's not just up to me. This will take all of us. Your country and your fellow citizens need you, desperately.

I Am America - I Will Not Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:45:00 +0000

A friend on Facebook said I am down on America. He suggested that I post positive facts about our country, and was sure I could find many. In the past two months, I've essentially been called unpatriotic, been cyberbullied both on Facebook and in text messages on my phone, and called a terrorist for supporting OWS. Here is my reply:

I wonder where we'd be if our founders had only written and spoken about all the wonderful things about their country, England?

"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." - Winston Churchill

I am not down on America. It is because I have a deep love for my country and its Constitution and Bill of Rights, that I don't believe in turning a blind eye to its foibles. How can we improve if we don't truly see ourselves? We all already know the many great things about our country, and I teach these things to my students. However, as an adult American, outside of my classroom, I have a duty to my country to be a responsible, active citizen. I am an educator who is looking to improve what we do in our country. We can learn from and work with each other. As an educator, I can tell you that teachers have been scapegoated and demonized by politicians and journalists as the cause of the ills of our country. I do not accept this mantle. I will not give up on my country by glossing over the things we need to improve, nor will I, as an American and an educator, accept the status quo that allows 1 in 4 American children to live in poverty.

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." - Albert Einstein

"It is an affront to treat falsehood with complaisance." - Thomas Paine

We may not agree on everything. We may not share each other's vision. Yet we remain one people...one country...America. In this, I find hope that we will learn to work together for the sake of our country, our freedom, and our future.

"Gutta cavat lapidem; non vi, sed saepe cadendo."

"A water drop hollows a stone; not by force, but by falling often."

(Main phrase is from Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto IV, 10, 5.[12]; expanded in the Middle Ages)

The first two YouTube videos are by Krista Branch, and the third is by Miley Cyrus. I do not own the rights to these videos and intend no copyright violation.

Get Involved! Do SOMEthing!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Like the leaves on my tree, the American people are falling fast. Get involved! If you're apathetic, you are the weakest link. The weakest link ALLOWS OTHERS to determine the course of our nation. If you think sitting back and letting others run the show for you has been working, take a really good look around you. One in four American children now live in poverty, on your watch. Unions, the last bastion of worker's rights and middle class salaries are being busted to make way for the repeal of minimum wage and child labor laws, on your watch. Yes, this is true - these new laws are already submitted to multiple state houses. Keep on doing nothing, and this will all continue to worsen. WE NEED YOU! NOW!!!

...and if the powers that be really did care about it all, they wouldn't have created the seriously regressive tax structure and economic environment that have created our enormous income inequality and the resulting high child poverty rate. This is all purposeful. Deregulation and policy and law changes have to be created. These things don't just "happen."

As for "reform," education reform, just as has been the case in tort reform and health care reform, is not about the actual reform of education. It's simply a well-tested focus group piece of propaganda the far right is using to pull the wool over people's eyes so they don't look at the real purpose behind these "reforms." The doublespeak à la George Orwell's 1984 is alive and well.

The reformers never bring up the number one reason for the academic success of students: parental involvement. Nor do they mention the importance of relationships behind a successful academic career or recognize the plethora of broken families in America. They don't want to address child poverty (and along with it, lack of adequate health care and nutrition), which does have a huge adverse impact on education. They don't acknowledge any of this because the real reform they're foisting on Americans is really all about union-busting, privatization, repeal of minimum wage and child labor laws, and the creation of an uneducated workforce that won't be capable of questioning them. Then, they'll no longer have to reduce their profits to export low-paying serf-style jobs and can look like heroes bringing those jobs back into the USA. Aren't they so patriotic? So, they ridicule, scapegoat and demonize teachers as the cause of all the ills of society. Deflection is so convenient for them, isn't it?

Ridicule, scapegoating, demonization, then dehumanization are also the steps to violence against others. The Ministry of "Love" is our Department of "Homeland Security" that now "works with" our local police forces who show up to peaceful demonstrations in riot gear and, on one occasion, with a tank. They use military grade weapons such as pepper spray, tear gas, stun grenades, while they also wield batons to inflict harm. They send peaceful, law-abiding American citizens who are simply exercising their Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly to the hospital...some in critical condition. The peaceful people they've harmed and/or arrested includes veterans, a former police chief, a 94-year-old woman, an entire group of seated and unarmed UC Davis students, and an expectant mother. So much for the sanctity of life.

Our Fourth Estate no longer exists, as predominantly all media outlets are now owned by 3-5 major corporations, all spouting the same corporate propaganda. Our Fourth Estate is now our Ministry of "Truth." The police have detained, arrested, and destroyed and/or erased data off of the cameras of many of the few remaining unbiased journalists in order to destroy evidence and suppress the true facts, so that the Ministry of Truth can disseminate lies. The brain-washing arm of the Ministry of Truth is a powerful core group of Hollywood elite with major corporate money behind their green-lighted propaganda movie projects and star-filled personal appearances.

If you think these are the actions of a democratic government, think again. We are currently in a non-violent struggle (on our side) for the return to democracy. We want the power and money of multi-national corporations (can you say non-American, then?) out of our government. It's about the American people, our freedom, our national security, and the survival of our way of life. We're down to brass tacks and need everybody on this. We need YOU!

How Can You Change America for the Better?

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:51:00 +0000

How can you change America for the better? That change must simply begin with you...and me. Income inequality and desperation breeds violence and unrest. However, the choice to not participate in the insanity is yours. The path and the power to create positive, non-violent change lies within each and every one of us. We have only to stand up, be it, and live it to create the change. Then, what those in power want or do will no longer matter. The joining of the power of our very lives will create the change.

Vote, get involved in politics to change it for the better, choose where you spend wisely, choose what you watch and do buy wisely, choose for the direction you want our country and our people to take. Whatever you do, please don't be apathetic and let this current course continue. The weakest link in the process of change helps to determine the strength and permanence of the outcome. Please choose non-violence as your method of expressing your thoughts, beliefs and actions. The only way those in power could try stop it would be to kill each and every last one of us. Then, they'd have nobody left to do their bidding and they'd be forced to become one of us to survive, and then we'd still have created the change. The path of compassion, love and non-violence will prevail.

This is a journey, and my own path has been rather circuitous. I have shut off my television. In doing so, I have reduced the amount of advertisements to which I am subjected by at least a hundred-fold. I have reduced my exposure to the purposeful propaganda of the 3 major corporate owners of most of the thousands of media outlets in America (tv, radio, newspapers - ever wonder why they're all saying pretty much the same thing?). I don't buy all the "look at how wonderful and rich I am" celebrity magazines that fuel consumerism, greed, and the grass is greener on the rich side of America. This past year of no television has been a positive, interesting journey; so positive that I will not be watching it next year, either.

I avoid shopping, and if I do shop, I avoid buying anything except food. Yes, I get tempted. Most of the time, these days, my common sense wins. I find creative ways to delay, and then avoid, actually buying something I want but don't need. When I shop for clothes, I usually go to thrift stores before any other, to avoid buying new. At the same time, those in need also benefit. I am thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I don't need any things, except for food, water, shelter, and clothes (could get a little cold out there).

Ultimately, the path to peace varies for each traveller. I wish you all the best of luck on your path. Namaste.

Buy! Buy! Buy Your Way Into Oppression!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:22:00 +0000

We the people are driving this bus of consumer frenzy for cheap products, which demands minimum wage jobs, creates time away from family, decreases our rights and economic and political power. If you don't like the direction this bus has taken, then get out of the driver's seat! If you truly believe that family and friends are more important than things, then don't participate in Black Friday. Instead, enjoy the day doing things with each other. Get out and hike, play some games, sing, dance, and talk with each other. Have a block party. Build relationships and community, not power and profits for the 1%.

GOP Privatization of the USA

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:59:00 +0000

The GOP wants to privatize schools, privatize prisons, privatize, privatize, privatize. Now that Mitt Romney is pulling yet another reversal, this time on his trial balloon for the partial privatization of veteran's health care, I thought...

Oh, for heaven's sake! Why don't we just get it all over with and let them privatize everything. Let's allow for-profit bottom-lines and shareholder profits be the sail we set as we glide through the waters of our country's economy, allowing the winds of a free market to steer the course of all citizens' jobs, health care, education, retirement, etc. Let's disband our democratic republic and let the corporations run it, no longer having to hide their contributions and control over our elections and government. We may as well just let them do what they're already doing behind the scenes. We can even change our name and call ourselves UniMart, with our new national motto, "In Capitalism We Trust," and our shiny new flag colored the green and white of money with a golden cash register in the center. Finally, let's watch as the richest 1% sail away on their yachts, leaving their serfs (all of the RFID chip implanted 99% - the economically challenged men, women and children) to work and pay for all the taxes until they drop, without decent wages, working conditions, education, health care, or retirement. Don't forget to bow to the 1% as they blithely sail by shouting at you to "Go get a job!" or "Take a bath!", or you'll end up in jail or dead.

Respect, Social Justice and Non-Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:24:00 +0000

There are many paths to choose in life, and even those who choose the same path may follow it using a different form of transportation. I choose the path of social justice using non-violence as my mode of transportation. If we want social justice to prevail, let's embody it. Let's not demean or demonize those with whom we disagree. Let's be non-violent in our approach with them, using facts, figures, history, and principles of ethics/morality in our own communication with others. It is so much easier to put down, laugh at, demonize, share cartoons and curses, show disrespect, dehumanize, and be outraged or angry. It takes conscious thought to be ethical, to show respect for those with whom one disagrees. I have been guilty of some of the former, while I strive for the latter. I am human and am trying to live from a higher level of consciousness in all areas of my life.

Social Justice, Respect, and "Entitlement" Spending

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Americans do not need to cut "entitlement" spending when there are so many of us that are homeless and hungry. The most recent census puts 1 in 3 Americans in poverty or near poverty. Which ones would you be willing to look in the eye and say, "No help for you, or you, or you. You can starve and sleep on the street for all I care, because it's more important to me to pass a balanced budget than make certain my fellow humans are treated with compassion and given a helping hand."

If we took all of the money we spend on the military-industrial complex and spent it, instead, on our own people, we would live in a more just society. The extraordinary income inequality, lack of education, health care, housing, and a proper diet are inexcusable in these times. Many of us live in relative abundance, and can provide help for others who are down. We are our brother's and sister's keeper. When our brother or sister is down, we don't stomp on them and tell them, "Go get a job!" when there is only 1 job for every 4 unemployed people. We certainly don't turn our back on them and ignore their pain and suffering.

My mother used to say, "There but for the grace of God go I." Many people work hard, not just the rich and middle class. Why is it so easy for people to dehumanize and castigate others who are less fortunate? Why is it so easy to dismiss them by saying they are lazy good-for-nothings? Are we really so superior and entitled to our own position in life? All it takes is one bad medical illness to bankrupt someone and send them and their family onto the street. One illness!

As for the possibility of giving someone a hand, who one may believe does not deserve it, I say don't judge. One doesn't know another's soul. One doesn't know the pain and suffering of another. Would Jesus have turned anyone away? Doesn't the Church preach compassion and tell its people not to cast stones?

Perhaps the great minds of our time can come up with a more humane form of American capitalism, rather than the current one that breeds greed and spreads inequality and poverty. Rather than judge others, perhaps we might give each other a helping hand, out of love and respect for our common humanity.

The Best Anti-Bullying Strategy Is Within You

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:26:00 +0000

"Don't Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.” - Don Miguel Ruiz

Isn't that the truth? If we all truly learned this well, others might try to bully us, but they would have no effect on us. Then, we could have compassion for them and ask that their minds and spirits be healed.

Thanksgiving Day Message

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Inspired by the non-results of the Super Committee, I got an idea. Let's all give Congress a break from having to announce their failure to lead and govern our country, for failing to abide by their oath to serve we the people, and for failing to work together to build consensus. No, we don't have the ability to exercise a no confidence vote. Yes, we can vote them all out of office. Instead, let us demand they resign from office if they continue to choose not to govern. We could line the streets in silent protest of their failure. Go outside and just stand there, representing the result of their work...nothing. It's peaceful. We the people don't get hurt, pepper sprayed, tear gassed, bones broken by batons, or arrested.

Let's pick a day and and time to show solidarity with and thanks for each other, and send a silent message to Congress. How about Thanksgiving Day at 2pm? Wherever you are, stop what you are doing, go outside and stand in silence for 5 minutes. Together, we are powerful and empowering; divided we are weak and will fall.

Someone wondered if another day rather than Thanksgiving Day would be better. What better day than Thanksgiving Day? On Thanksgiving Day, we celebrate communion (we commune together) with each other by coming together and breaking bread. We share our lives, our thoughts, our souls, our food, our beliefs, our company. We celebrate the history of sharing and social justice when Native Americans saved the Pilgrims from starving over the winter. This is part of the foundation of the United States of America.

We share the land on which, and the country in which, we all live together. As one people, we can share together in sending a message of our own. We want our leaders to lead with what is best for us, the people. We want leaders who lead by positive example, by coming together to lift us all up, rather than only lift up the few, as they push the rest of us down. Thanksgiving Day is a time for sharing, so why not share our hope for a better, more socially just and ethical America? Why not share in sending our leaders a message that Americans want them to lead with respect for each other and for us? Why not share in sending our leaders a message that Americans want them to lead effectively?

Why not have Thanksgiving Day be a living symbol of empowering each other to share and lead ourselves and our country to a higher level of social justice, rather than just a symbolic day in history? What better day than Thanksgiving Day to celebrate and give thanks for the freedom we have to share and send a message of hope for more socially just and inspired leadership?

Why Occupy? An American Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:37:00 +0000

Occupy is definitely about more than just Wall Street. It's a protesting against the 1% creating, essentially, a feudal system in which the 99% will no longer have the economic or political clout with which they can stop the 1%. They've been privatizing government (control over power), education (to create an uneducated populace that will no longer be capable of questioning them), prisons (for slave labor), etc. They've pushed legislation to repeal minimum wage, child labor and collective bargaining laws. They've reduced the wages, pensions and benefits of non-union labor and are trying to break the remaining unions so they can do the same to those workers. They're trying to reduce, eliminate or privatize Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid so the social safety net is shredded and they can control our money. They've used "tort reform" to reduce the people's access to the courts, just as they're going to use "education reform" to ultimately reduce our children's access to education. They've bought SCOTUS and used them to pass Citizens United so they control elections. They've gotten deregulation and policy changes put in place to benefit their corporations at the expense of the environment and our health. They've spent millions in a propaganda campaign to create doubt in people's minds about climate science and global warming in order to maintain their hold on fossil fuel industries to the detriment of the environment and mankind. They purposefully deregulated the financial industry and created mortgage fraud to enable them to steal the wealth of the 99% via the largest transfer of securities, property and "bailout" monies in history. There's more, but I won't go on. This whole thing has been a well-conceived chess game that they're currently winning. Now that the 99% have finally awakened from their apathy and are protesting, they're going to do whatever is necessary to protect their own position of power.

Cliff Notes on the State of Our Country

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Here are the cliff notes of things I’ve posted in the past, both here on this blog, and on Facebook. This is what I see as what's really happening in our country (and around the world - we're not alone).

1 - A revolution in America has begun, although there's a private (corporate-owned CNN, FOX, etc.) news blackout. The attack on National Public Radio was purposeful because the corporations can't control the news disseminated by them.

2 - There's a supra-national group of mostly banks controlling things around the world, and their motivation is power and profit. http://planetsave.com/2011/08/28/who-runs-the-world-network-analysis-reveals-super-entity-of-global-corporate-control/

3 - The push to privatize and control public institutions is purposeful and planned, especially on education, because an uneducated populace is more easily controlled. It's about power and profit going to the corporations and the banks holding the money.

4 - The banks are funneling our money into their coffers through various straws. Here are some ways:

a - We're in 3 wars to increase the profits of private militia, and those of their owners and investors (including Cheney), and siphon our money through tax dollars.

b - TARP bailouts from our tax dollars transferred our wealth directly to the banks

c - the transfer of our property through foreclosures

d - the transfer of our wealth (our pensions/retirement incomes) through Wall Street deregulation that directly prepared the way for the planned Great Recession.

e - the attacks on unions and worker's rights and repeal of minimum wage and child labor laws are all about increasing corporate power and profits.

5 - The patenting of natural seeds, genes and life processes is about power and profit going to the corporations and the banks. It's also about controlling the population. Who controls the food, genes, and life processes, controls the people.

6 - The privatization of water - again profits and power. Who controls the water, controls the people.

7 - The privatization of health care and use of insurance companies to control health care puts the power, profit, and control of people's very lives in the hands of private corporations.

8 - The reduction of US citizen's constitutional rights and our policy of rendition, post 9-11, have given more power to the government to arrest, detain without charge or representation, torture, and disappear people. We can also be called terrorists and arrested for protesting against things.

9 - The control of our government is predominantly in the hands of corporations who send their people into government jobs to control the policies, regulations and funding of their industries. Hence, the removal of Glass-Steagall that paved the way for the Great Recession (the earlier S&L scandal was actually a dry run), removal of environmental regulations allowing free-rein to industries to produce and increase their profits without worrying about the environment and the public health. Then, many of those same corporate flunkies go right back to their high-paying jobs in corporations, having done their dirty work.

10 - The attacks on women - physical, in legislation and lack of it, in lack of economic parity and power, and in the attempted removal of basic health care screenings and denial of coverage to women - all to increase insurance company profits, is ongoing.

11 - The Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision gave corporations the rights of people. Corporations are now free to win friends and influence/control elections to their non-beating hearts' content, while they control our government and our court systems.

12 - Tort Reform has reduced access to the courts by average citizens, giving corporations more power and profit, increasing bank holdings.

13 - They're attacking people who are trying to grow their own food and live sustainably. Why would they do that? Control.

14 – Protests against their many activities at various public sites have been met with undue force, false arrests, etc.

15 – ALEC, their legislative bill-creation arm, has submitted identical bills across multiple state houses to create laws favorable to their agenda.

16 – They use the power of product defense, media ownership, propaganda, censorship, and false advertising to maintain their position.

17 – The “Secret” to their success is has not been the power of positive thinking, but precise, planned, multiple prongs of ACTION. Their positive thinking propaganda has been yet another way to control the population…by keeping us from actually DOING something about all of this. Yes, we’ll become rich and powerful by just thinking positively. Really?! They got that way by working together (conspiring) to take our economic and political power away from us.

Now, if you really have made it through to the end of this, there's more, but I think you get the gist. The only way out that I can see is that we withdraw every cent we've put into the banks and Wall Street. We've given them our own money to use to attack us. We can take our money back, and at least reduce some of their economic power. Let me summarize what's going on: The plan is to privatize as much as possible, enabling corporations to gain more control, power and profit.

Liberals Are Killing This Country? No, We Have Taxation Without Representation!

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:04:00 +0000

Liberals are not killing this country. Taxes are not evil. Stop listening to the propaganda of corporate-controlled Fox News and drinking the extreme right's Kool-Aid. If you recall, Bush came into the White House with a Democratic President-created budget SURPLUS, and rapidly changed that into a deficit. FACT!

Tax = revenue. When you don't tax, you have no revenue with which to run the infrastructure of this country. As I've posted here and, especially on Facebook, multiple times with charts and graphs and actual numbers to defend my case - the true facts (not buzz words, propaganda, lies, and rhetoric), the wealthiest Americans and corporate persons pay little to no taxes and less proportional Social Security tax compared to their income than do middle class Americans. With all the tax cuts, tax breaks, loopholes, and corporate welfare for corporations making record-breaking profits every quarter, that's one heck of a lot of revenue missing from our "baseline budget." Add to that the trillions of dollars we've spent on 3 wars, thanks for the first 2 to Bush and the third to Obama, we are STILL living in a war economy. When that happens, we usually increase taxes to pay for our war spending. What did Bush do? He cut taxes!

Baseline budgeting - get out of the wars, increase taxes (progressive, not regressive as it is now) on ALL Americans and corporations (which for the wealthiest Americans after WWII was a 90% tax rate, not the current 0-15% most actually end up paying these days) to pay for the wars, then reduce the taxes once you've paid off the war debt.

Yes, it is about budgeting. You want war? You need to raise taxes to pay for it. You want a government infrastructure so your country doesn't collapse? You make sure that ALL Americans are paying their fair share in taxes, because we all benefit. Want a viable, thriving middle class and economy? Create jobs in the USA and stop outsourcing where you can get away with paying slave wages and little to no benefits in order to increase your profits and CEO wages to ridiculously high amounts - morality and ethics be darned.

If the GOP extreme right were truly interested in helping America and Americans, they wouldn't have simultaneously introduced bills in multiple state legislatures to repeal minimum wage and child labor laws, and destroy labor unions and collective bargaining that protect the average worker from economic and personal abuse at the hands of their corporate masters. Average Americans are losing jobs, are underemployed, have their salaries frozen or cut, while the Lords of Industry have increased the income disparity (Gini coefficient) in this country to be close to that of Egypt. The average CEO earned 24x the average worker's pay in 1965. By 1979, they earned 35x more, in 1989 it was 71x more, in 1999 it was 300x more, in 2005 it was 262x more. Those same CEO's pay lower income tax rates than the average worker, and pay no Social Security tax on income over $106,800.

The people in power purposefully repealed the Glass-Steagall Act with the prior knowledge that deregulation would open the door for them to rape the economy through rampant speculation and mortgage-backed securities at the risk of another depression or recession. They did the dirty deed, and they got exactly what they wanted. It was the largest transfer of financial (including the speculative dollars, securities and bailouts) and property wealth (foreclosures) in history, and the transfer of wealth is still ongoing. The S&L debacle was their dry run.

So, don't tell me the Liberals are killing this country. We live in a corporate-controlled America. If you're an average American, you live like a vassal or serf under the watchful eyes of not-so-benevolent masters. To me, that is taxation without representation!

http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_20060621/

Bring the Troops Home and Implement a Culture of Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:38:00 +0000

‎Let's bring our troops home. Then, let's build a culture of peace, in which we honor the peacemakers above those who are behind the waging of war for profit. Let's build monuments to peace, rather than war. Let's require the addition of conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation to school curricula...worldwide. If you build it, they will come. When the perceived and real monetary value of peace and peacemakers becomes higher than that of war and warriors (no offense to veterans), peace will prevail over war in society. Conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation will prevail over violence, because those who follow non-violence will be the heroes, the most valued members of society, rather than just be considered misguided idealists.

What's Behind this Mess in the US...and Beyond? (or Feel Like You're Talking to a Wall?)

noreply@blogger.com (Patrice Palmer) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:02:00 +0000

I really think what's behind all of this mess in the US and the rest of the world is a corporate cartel that includes the Koch brothers, ALEC, Big Oil and Gas, and many other corporate cronies who are using shock, fear and prejudice to sell their propaganda. It's the "it's all THEIR fault (the poor, the African-Americans, the teachers, the ____)" we work hard for our money, they just want entitlements" approach that they're using. They dangle their wealth and the (false) possibility of acceptance into their fold to their followers like a carrot on a stick. It's like what Hitler did to rise to, and increase his power, except this bloodless coup is by the extreme right.

They're playing their well-planned chess game perfectly, making certain they gut labor unions, worker's rights, repeal minimum wage and child labor laws, and cut the social safety net and other funding, while making certain they've stacked the courts in their favor by pushing tort reform, etc. This reduces people's access to the courts, and economically and politically represses the majority of the population. They've also blind-sided education with unfunded mandates that push ineffective reforms that require teachers to teach to the test, which research has shown reduces critical-thinking skills. Of course they want an uneducated populace that can't question what they're doing. All this is only part of what's been happening.

I knew there was something really weird going down when I spoke with lots of Republican state legislators this past Spring Break up in my state capital, and they all answered my budget question with the same, exact, rehearsed, canned reply...down to the dead expressions on their faces. I could have videotaped one, and the rest would have been as identical as the verbatum bills attacking education and labor that they and their colleagues submitted across multiple states at once. Yes, the bills were exactly the same. That did not happen by chance, nor were their Stepford Republican replies. It was really freaky and unnatural. There have been multiple bills submitted across multiple states in this same way, all in some way reducing our rights, including our right to vote.

Another hint is their unwillingness to compromise. They keep pushing and pushing until the Dems give in, then they take more steps back and force the Dems to compromise more. There has been no Rep. compromise. They are close to getting what they want, and that really scares me. They've also timed this well. In an era of abject, unaware voter apathy, we've let them take away our rights and our power (Citizens United).

The most telling clue about the existence of a corporate cartel is the revolving door through which those in the upper echelons of corporations move between their jobs and jobs in government. First, they have in-house corporate meetings, during which they determine the policies, laws, and regulations or deregulations that will most benefit their company. Then, they slide on through that door to whatever particular job they need to acquire in or to make those policies, laws, and regulations or deregulations happens. Of course, they don't recuse themselves, either. After that, they just slip right on back around into the corporate world, in which they are often rewarded with a more lucrative and powerful position or higher compensation and benefits. This is what happened with Dick Cheney's son-in-law Philip Perry.

The American public wonders why the financial market is deregulated or the environmental and consumer protections have evaporated. How could the financial meltdown have possibly "just" happened? It's all happened as planned! All because "we the people" have been apathetic and bought into the lies, propaganda and product defense of the corporate cartel. We're too "busy" to read between the 'lyings' to save our own Democratic Republic, and ourselves.