Author: Darlene Mitchell

OPINION: America, Time To Wake UP

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OPINION: America, Time To Wake Up

The U.S. claims it is more entitled to greatness than other nations.

OPINION: America, Time To Wake Up

By I.B. Freely and D. S. Mitchell

Myths

A recent crock of bullshit that has been pedaled is that the U.S. joined the Allies in WWII because of the holocaust. America entering WWII had nothing to do with the holocaust. Almost no one knew what was going on at the time, including several levels of the German government itself.  The only reason America joined, two years after the war started, I might add, was because of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The American Imagination

The vast majority of fighting by American personnel was in the South Pacific in its war against Japan.  Of the 16 million men and women who served in the U. S. military during WWII, only 2 million went to Europe. For some peculiar reason the war against the Nazis in their snazzy uniforms has taken on a supersized place in the American self-image. I will remind folks it would have been hard to kill Hitler from Guam. Not that it matters much.

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Russia: Music & The Disaffected Youth

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Music in Russia is always under threat by Putin's government

THE OTHER RUSSIA:

Music And The Disaffected Youth

By Trevor K. McNeil

Mother Russia

Russia is a different kind of place. It boasts the world’s largest land mass. It is the only place that stopped an invasion by both  Napoleon and Hitler. It is also one of the most insular nations in the world. Significantly it is a Slavic language. It has it’s own unique alphabet derived from Cyrillic script for Old Church Slavonic. It is also functionally unilingual, the vast majority of Russians, unless they have lived or were educated elsewhere, speak only Russian.

No Discord 

It would be tempting to say “The Russians” in the grand narrative sense, it is however, far more accurate to say the Russian government, which is itself divided and distinct. To the point that there are technically two people in charge at any given time. Quite apart from the political sphere, there is also the everyday civilian dimension in which most people live. While there are certainly many who fall into line with Putin’s way of thinking, either naturally or because they have been swayed by propaganda, there are many who do not. Which really only stands to reason, it being a statistical impossibility that in a country of hundreds of millions that the majority would completely, or even strongly, agree with those in power.

Give Me Music

One of the lesser known aspects of Russian culture is its large and diverse music scene. One of the most popular genres is a modern incarnation of Russian folk music. Some mix it with elements of rock music, like the infectiously catchy and usually upbeat Otava Yo. Others are more traditional like Igor Resteryaev who sticks to accordion and vocals, in a style that can veer from the pensive to the goofy depending on the song.

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Slipknot “Psychosocial”

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Slipknot “Psychosocial”

Today’s Calamity Politics Jukebox Choice of the Day is “Psychosocial” by Slipknot and comes from the twisted mind of Calamity herself. There are just some days that you need the dark lyrics of a group like Slipknot.  The group has been breaking guitars for over 25 years and show no signs of slowing down. The guys behind the masks have proven they are talented  songwriters and performers. In 2020 Slipknot was voted the ‘Best Band in the World’ by NME. The band’s last three albums have reached number one in the US Billboard Top 200 charts. Their live shows are legendary for both production and energy. Enjoy! Lyrics are below. DSM

“Psychosocial”

By Slipknot
Yeah!
I did my time, and I want out
So effusive fade, it doesn’t cut
The soul is not so vibrant
The reckoning, the sickening
Packaging subversion
Pseudo sacrosanct perversion
Go drill your deserts
Go dig your graves
Then fill your mouth with all the money you will save
Sinking in, getting smaller again
I’m done, it has begun
I’m not the only one
And the rain will kill us all
Throw ourselves against the wall
But no one else can see
The preservation of the martyr in me
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Oh, there are cracks in the road we laid
But where the temple fell
The secrets have gone mad
This is nothing new
But when we killed it all
The hate was all we had
Who needs another mess?
We could start over
Just look me in the eyes and say I’m wrong
Now there’s only emptiness
Venomous, insipid
I think we’re done
I’m not the only one!
And the rain will kill us all
Throw ourselves against the wall
But no one else can see
The preservation of the martyr in me
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
Psychosocial!
The limits of the dead!
The limits of the dead!
The limits of the dead!
The limits of the dead!
Fake anti-fascist lie
I tried to tell you but
Your purple hearts are giving out!
Can’t stop a killing idea
If it’s hunting season
Is this what you want?
I’m not the only one!
And the rain will kill us all
We throw ourselves against the wall
But no one else can see
The preservation of the martyr in me
And the rain will kill us all
We throw ourselves against the wall
But no one else can see
The preservation of the martyr in me
The limits of the dead!
The limits of the dead!
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Fehn Christopher Michael / Crahan Michael Shawn / Taylor Corey / Root James Donald / Wilson Sidney George / Jordison Nathan J / Jones Craig A / Thomson Mickael G / Gray Paul D
Psychosocial lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Music That Music

 

Today’s Quotes & Other Shit

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Time we stopped and smiled

Today’s Quotes & Other Shit

 

by D. S. Mitchell

I don’t usually talk about my ‘personal’ (real) self, but I am going to reveal a couple of small clues by posting the two following quotes. I have no idea who to give credit to, other than Unknown. Somehow these two quotes came up within moments of me going on the internet this morning.

I have been doing some recent reflection on past behaviors, not all of which I am proud of, HOWEVER, there’s a whole lot of shit that I am damn proud of. With that said, here are the two quotes for 3/10/2021.

“I don’t have to attend every argument that I’m invited to.”  (Unknown)

“Love yourself first because that’s who you’ll be spending the rest of your life with.”  (Unknown)

Hugs,

DSM

 

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2017/03/29/quotes-on-courage/

Helen Reddy “I Am Woman”

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Helen Reddy “I Am Woman”

There can be no better song for the International Women’s Day than “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy. I know that because all three of us in the office said that’s the one! Please enjoy the Calamity News and Politics Juke box choice of the day. Lyrics below.

I Am Woman

by Helen Reddy
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
‘Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again
Oh yes I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
‘Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
‘Cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul
Oh yes I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land
But I’m still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand
Oh yes I am wise
But it’s wisdom born of pain
Yes, I’ve paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Ray Burton / Helen Reddy
I Am Woman lyrics © Buggerlugs Music Co., Irving Music, Inc.

30 Quotes Celebrating Women

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30 Quotes Celebrating Women

The International Day of the Woman

30 Quotes Celebrating Women:

International Women’s Day

D. S. Mitchell

March 8th is celebrated world wide as International Women’s Day. I thought it might be fun to just look at some famous quotes celebrating women.

1.) “Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” –Unknown 

2.) “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” –Spanish Proverb

3.) “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

4.) “The best protection any woman can have is courage.” –Elizabeth Cady Stanton

5.) “Where there is a woman, there is magic.” –Ntozake Shange

6.) “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” –Unknown

7.) “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” –Hilary Clinton

8.) “Feminism is for everyone.”-Bell Hooks 

9.) “There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t do better and in heels.” –Ginger Rogers

10.) “Above all, be the heroine of your life. Not the victim.” –Nora Ephron

11.) “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” –Emma Watson

12.) “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” –Stephanie Bennett-Henry

13.) “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” –Gina Carey

14.) “She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” –Atticus

15.) “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else.” –Unknown

16.) “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” –G.D. Anderson

17.) “You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down.” –Unknown 

18.) “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand

19.) “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” –Madonna

20.) “A woman is like a tea bag: You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

21.) “A woman should be like a single flower—not a whole bouquet.” –Anna Held

22.) “I know what I bring to the table… So trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” –Unknown

23.) “Women are the real architects of society.” –Cher

24.) “When women wake, mountains move.” Chinese Proverb

25.)  “She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.” –Unknown

26.) “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” –Unknown

27.) “I expect woman will be the last thing civilized by man.” –George Meredith

28.) “Women are made to be loved, not understood.” –Oscar Wilde

29.) “The age of a woman doesn’t mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

30.) “In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits” –Arnold Schwarzenegger

https://www.calamitypolitics.com/2017/03/29/quotes-on-courage/

 

OPINION: Equal Opportunity Offense

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We spend a lot of time arguing about conservative vs liberal

OPINION: Equal Opportunity Offense

By I. B. Freely 

“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” Voltaire

Changing Definitions

Things aren’t always as they seem, particularly with definitions changing over time. Nowhere is this truer than in politics. Hardly a week goes by without a ‘no true Scotsman’ fallacy being hurled at one side of the aisle or the other. At least part of the problem is one of definition.

Descriptors

The modern understandings of ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’ are, slightly bastardized, adaptations of neutral descriptors, as in a ‘conservative wager’ and a ‘liberal sprinkling.’ The former generally used to denote restraint and the latter excess. Whether it is positive or a negative depends on the situation, an excess of freedom generally considered a good thing. An irony coming into play when one considers that those calling themselves ‘conservative’ advocate for the excesses of a free market economy and those labeling themselves ‘liberals’ support restraint in terms of access to firearms.

Us and Them

Another example of conflict comes in the forms of identity politics and who it is ‘okay’ to criticize. My fellow liberals aren’t going to like to hear this but the idea of ‘protected classes’ shows restraint as reflected in functional conservatism. What we are saying in terms of merging social equality with protected classes is “we are all equal, except for them, don’t dare even criticize them.” An attitude very much in line with the most staunch monarchists who, at least historically, have been in stark opposition to those calling themselves liberals.

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Carbon Positive Landscaping

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Carbon Positive Landscaping

Carbon Positive Landscaping

Carbon Positive Landscaping

By D. S. Mitchell

Past Behavior

I have been planting native species plants and using water conserving drip irrigation for at least a decade. But I want to take it to the next level. I opened the March/April 2021 issue of Sierra magazine and found an article that motivated me to get busy. To be carbon positive, just means  your landscape/plantings remove more carbon dioxide than they generate.  Planting a tree that will grow large can remove hundreds of pounds of carbon from the atmosphere over its lifetime. Conversely, adding a concrete patio can add hundreds of pounds of carbon to the atmosphere. Lydia Lee’s article offered some great suggestions on how to create a truly green landscape.

Do a Carbon Audit

There is a free carbon calculator at climatepositivedesign.com/pathfinder, just enter details about hardscaping, plants, and maintenance equipment into the free carbon calculator. For example, stone pavers score poorly because of the intense amount of energy required to cut and transport them. You can also download the Climate Positive Design Toolkit,  which lists 50 strategies for improving your landscapes footprint, such as planting bamboo.

Avoid Concrete

Concrete is essentially artificial rock. Using concrete for a walkway or a patio dramatically increases your garden’s environmental footprint. Concrete is created with cement which during manufacturing needs to be heated to 2,500 degrees F. It would be better to use decomposed granite or gravel when creating paths and patios. A new product, Trugrid (truegridpaver.com) is a permeable paving system that holds gravel in place. The product is made from post-consumer recycled plastic. It even allows rainwater to drain into the ground rather than run off.

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