Category: Update

25 Things That Totally Irritate Me

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25 Things That Totally Irritate Me

D. S. Mitchell

Frequently, I write about the things in my life that make me smile, but today I thought it would be more fun to list a few of the things that irritate and annoy me. See if you don’t agree. Here goes.
1.) People who blame gluten for all the evils in the world.
2.) The friend who seems to have no life outside of Facebook.
3.) Receiving a birthday gift from Mom that I know I gave her last Christmas.
4.) Knowing that Tonya Harding is the biggest name celebrity I will ever meet.
5.) Knowing that I can’t flip my pillow top mattress, and I continue to fret about it.
6.) Racist hatred and rhetoric coming from the president of the United States.
7.) Standing in the grocery line flipping through a magazine as subscription cards fall like snow at my feet.
8.) That mass murder is the quickest path to fame.
9.) Hearing the splash of liquid on liquid and then the flush of the toilet on the other end of the phone line.
10.) Having dinner with a couple that are close to a divorce.
11.) Childhood bullies who go on to great financial success.
12.) That all good things come to an end, but really lousy things seem to last an overly long time.
13.) When my 25 year old granddaughter insists I should let her post my profile on Match.com.
14.) The embarrassment that comes from having dozens of cars slow down to watch me get a ticket.
15.) When the gas icon appears on my dashboard and I’m at least fifty miles from civilization.
16.) After spending all Saturday afternoon re-arranging furniture, only to decide I liked it better the way it was.
17.) The vice-like grip that the 1% hold on the world’s wealth.
18.) When I e-mail a friend with a couple of questions and the return e-mail fails to answer any of the questions, causing me to re-ask the same questions in a follow-up e-mail.
19.) Crying when I’m so enraged I am close to going on a homicidal rampage.
20.) When I’ve covered an error with White-Out and then can’t write over the bumpy-lumpy layer of cover up.
21.) Knowing the only way I can get my dog to come when she is called is by hollering, “Come on Lilly, get a treat. Treat, Lilly. Treat time.” She won’t do anything without a reward.
22.) People continuing to lie to me, even when they know that I know, they are lying to me.
23.) Stepping out of my car into an ankle-deep puddle.
24.) Knowing my ex-mother-in-law thinks I am interested in hearing about my ex-husband, and his stupid new wife.
25.) That a reality TV has-been is manipulating and corrupting the democracy of the United States.

Wow. That was cathartic.

Calamity Politics is a Progressive online news magazine that offers opinion and comment on the issues of the day. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

Can We End Hatred By A Mere Shift In Thinking?

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Can We End Hatred By A Mere Shift In Thinking?

D. S. Mitchell

Sharon Salzberg is a NY Times best-selling author and world-renowned Buddhist meditation expert. Check out a couple of her titles, available on Amazon, Lovingkindness, and Real Happiness in 28 Days. 

In a small filler piece in an old “O” magazine Sharon began by describing an uncomfortable confrontation she observed between a man and a woman during a train trip to New York City. In the tableau the man became more and more agitated at a woman who was engaged in a loud cell phone conversation. The man finally exploded, yelling at the woman, “You are making too much noise!”

Observing the scene Sharon reflected, “A saying I once heard came into my mind, ‘The problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.’

It takes strong insight and often a good deal of courage to break away from our habitual ways of looking at things, to be able to respond from a different place. Imagine if we dropped our need to be right, our easy perpetuation of what we’re used to, our urge to go along with what others think, and instead, tried to practice what the Buddha taught: ‘Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love.’

Shouting to drown out someone else’s noise, returning belligerence for belligerence may be automatic, but it tires us out. Rigidly categorizing people as good or bad or right or wrong, helps us feel secure; yet relating in that way doesn’t allow us to really connect to anyone, and we actually feel alone.

Risking a new level of ‘seeing’ enables us to try out new behaviors and find new ways to communicate that convey our feelings without damaging ourselves, or those around us.

That would kick off an enormous adventure of consciousness–a readiness to step into new terrain, redefine power, see patience as strength rather than as resignation. Instead of yelling at the woman on the train, the man might have made his request before his anger built to unmanageable proportions and he saw her only as an irritant, not as a person. He might have asked before insisting and spoken before shouting, just as he might like to be spoken to himself.”

As her fellow train riders settled down, Salzberg continues, “but we see elements of that ride every day; frustration, carelessness, an effort to be in control, rage, fear–AND the chance to be different. Can we “see” it all and seize the chance to operate from new levels of thinking?

Even in horrible circumstances, we have that opportunity–and the prospect for meaningful change. I saw it after the metro bombing in London in July 2005, when like most people, my initial response was sorrow for the lives lost and some anxiety about getting on a subway in New York. This was all natural and appropriate, but limited by ‘us versus them’ thinking.

Willa, the 7-year-old daughter of a friend had another perspective. On being told what had happened, her eyes filled with tears, her mother wrote me, and she said, ‘Mom, we should say a prayer.’ As she and her mother held hands, Willa asked to go first. Her mother was stunned to hear Willa begin with,  ‘May the bad guys remember the love in their hearts.’

Hearing that, my own heart leaped to another level altogether.”

Sharon’s insight is so simple, so straight forward, yet not so easy for me, or many others to embrace and implement into our daily lives, but I’m gonna try.

It is counterproductive to indulge in the US vs THEM thinking. One person is not better than any other, nor does any person or group have a lock on the truth. We must face our prejudices and work to minimize them.

Think about this “walking in the other guy’s shoes” and trying to “see” situations from a new perspective. First, I resolve to try to submerge my typical first reaction and think before I speak. I know that is a seemingly small goal, but I think it is a good place for me to start. Secondly, I promise to give a rattle before I am screaming mad. It is not polite to not say anything while on a slow boil.  I’ve decided I should at least give the other guy some warning.  How about you, are you ready to seize a chance at a new way to respond to personal interactions?

Calamity Politics is a Progressive online news magazine offering comment and opinion on various topics.  Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

10 Sneaky Fitness Tricks For The Time Challenged

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10 Sneaky Fitness Tricks For The Time Challenged

D. S. Mitchell

We have good news for the time challenged. All leading fitness experts agree that we need at least 30 minutes of daily exercise. But, somehow the minutes and hours slip away and we never add that thirty minute block to our schedule. At least one recent study indicates that it is okay to sprinkle activity regularly throughout the day, even in one minute increments, and you will get the same blood pressure, cholesterol and waistline benefits as people who exercise in longer more structured intervals.

This is isometric exercise. Isometric exercise is a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction. Isometrics are done in static positions and not dynamic through range of motion. In the process you tense your muscle but don’t actually move. In such positions the muscle fiber are activated, but since these are equal forces against each other, there is no movement. Imagine putting palm to palm and pressing against each other as hard as possible for 10 seconds and then release. That is isometrics.

Just remember to squeeze it–hard. Since you are not relying on movement to fatigue your muscles you need to squeeze hard, which just means you tighten your muscles as tight as you can. And don’t forget to breathe. Breathe from the lower belly.

1.) While sitting around watching TV or during a work break: Keep a tennis ball next to your favorite chair or in your desk. At least twice a day, grab a ball and squeeze tightly for at least five seconds then release slowly. Repeat 10 to 15 times with each hand.

2.) While standing in line at the bank or the movie: A full body exercise can take your mind off the wait. Begin by tensing your butt 10 times. Tighten your stomach muscles, hold for five seconds, then release slowly. Stretch your arms downward behind you and squeeze your triceps 10 times. Rise up on your toes and squeeze your calves 10 times.

3.) During your morning and evening teeth brushing try this: As you age your balance deteriorates. To reverse that natural loss stand on one foot for 60 seconds and tense your butt and upper thighs, then switch legs. When that becomes easy, try balancing while lifting your leg to the side and hold for 60 seconds.

4.) If your job is tying you to a desk it is endangering your life: You have probably heard, “Sitting is the new smoking,” sitting is hazardous to your health. If your job has you doing a lot of desk time change your usual chair for a stability ball for 20-30 minute periods throughout the day. A stability ball builds core strength and is recommended for reducing back pain. Don’t forget to get up and walk around every half hour.

5.) While the spaghetti is cooking: Place hands on the wall, shoulders wide apart. Lean into the wall, supporting your body on your toes, and keep your palms on the wall. Push as hard as you can. Keep pushing with the same force for 15 seconds. Relax. Repeat at least 5 times.

6.) While the coffee perks: Try to do a light stretch each morning. Stand at arm’s length from the wall and place one foot behind the other, keeping heels down and knees straight. Lean toward the wall and place one foot behind the other, keeping heels down and knees straight. Lean toward the wall, bracing with your arms. Bend your forward leg to stretch the calf of your back leg. Hold for thirty seconds and then switch legs.*Plantar Fasciitis is a common complaint and it can be prevented by keeping your calves and Achilles tendons from getting tight.

7.) When standing up: Every time you stand up from or sit down in a chair use just your legs. Do this 10 times a day and you can congratulate yourself for doing 10 squats. If you need to use one hand at first to steady yourself you can do that initially.

8.) If you are sitting at a red light: Counter gravity’s effects on bowel and bladder by tightening your pelvic floor muscles. Just pretend you have to pee and are “holding it.” Hold for a count of 10, then release for a count of 10.

9.) While watching season six of Breaking Bad or your personal Netflix marathon lie on your side and do three sets of 15 leg lifts, then three sets of leg circles. Then switch sides.

10.) Wall sit: Stand with your back against the wall. Flex your knees and lower your body as you would while squatting. Hold position 5-7 seconds and then release. Repeat 10 times, increasing the hold time gradually. Make sure your back remains flush against the wall at all times.

Proven benefits: Helps strengthen and condition muscles, improves control over our bodies, improves body posture and spine alignment, helps prevent injury, improves bone density and strength, increases resistance and endurance, can be done anywhere at anytime, no equipment required, keeps body posture straight and erect and can be done by young and old.

Although the above 10 suggestions are quick and easy exercises be sure to strive for a combination of isotonic and isometric exercises. Isotonic exercises include squats and stair climbing. Exercise should be fun. Include a weekly bike ride, roller skate at your local rink, take a hike, play a round of golf, hit the pool or just take a walk.

Choose to be healthy.

Calamity Politics is a Progressive on-line news magazine offering comment and opinion on most everything. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

Trump Gives Middle Finger Salute To Coastal States

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Trump Gives Middle Finger Salute To Coastal States

D. S. Mitchell

Over the last year we have seen a number of environmental rollbacks and out right attacks on protected lands by the Trump administration. Despite these tactical offenses I was not prepared for the shocking move that Ryan Zinke has proposed that would open the West Coast to petroleum exploration. I wrote about it last week, but the potential effect has sent me into a full blown rage.

The Zinke proposal can be best viewed as a middle finger salute to the people of all coast states, many of who voted for Hillary Clinton. I live in Oregon, one of the Pacific coast states that could be effected by the oil-leasing plan. The immediate consequences are likely to be few, at least off the Oregon and Washington coasts. The actions of the administration will most likely have the issue tied up in political wrangling and lawsuits for years.

The prospects of exploration and exploitation of oil in our offshore waters has prompted the governors of Oregon, Washington and California to mount an unified front of opposition to the concept of any offshore drilling or exploration. These state executives need our support and encouragement as do all the governors of all the states on the Atlantic coast that are also attempting to block this irresponsible and dangerous proposal.

Time and again we have seen horrific costs of oil development and oil transportation, just think of  the Exxon Valdez disaster to the BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. The giant global companies that run the oil and gas industry and the undermanned agencies that police the industry, have already shown themselves incapable of guaranteeing there will never be another incident for which they are unwilling to accept responsibility. An “accident” along the Pacific coast or the Atlantic coast would have the potential to kill crucial industries including tourism, fishing, and crabbing.

On January 6th, 2018 an Iranian oil tanker carrying nearly 1 million barrels of light crude oil headed to South Korea collided with a freighter carrying grain from the United States. At least 30 crewmen and passengers are missing and presumed dead. The tanker has been burning for more than a week sending cones of black smoke 1000’s of meters into the sky and igniting the surrounding water surface has just sunk. The results of this disaster will take millions of dollars in clean up and will devastate the environment and wildlife in the area for years to come. My point is that these accidents happen on a regular basis and we have no means to protect ourselves, or the environment.

Last week the governors of Oregon, Washington, and California issued a joint statement condemning the proposal, “the administration has chosen to forget the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states.  They’ve chosen to ignore the science that tell us our climate is changing and we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But we won’t forget history or ignore science. For more that 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling and we’ll do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, shortsighted action.”

Even restrained exploratory activities associated with identifying oil deposits have the potential of harming rockfish habitat, interfering with whale migrations and feeding, and increasing vessel traffic and noise in areas essential to endangered species from endangered birds, salmon to Orcas.

The opponents of offshore oil and gas exploration in Pacific Northwest and Alaskan waters have been vilified as obstructionists and the overly concerned, painting an image that we place more importance on sea otters and kelp than energy independence and national security.  None of us dispute that for now at least, we continue to need fossil fuels to power our cars and heat our homes. However, currently there is no shortage of oil that could possibly justify placing the coasts of America at risk for another devastating oil spill. Gas prices are stable. Taking in to consideration inflation, gas prices are equal to what they were 100 years ago and prices are less than a mere decade ago.

Opening the American coastlines to fossil fuel exploration is about nothing other than greed and politics, not about need for energy. We need to stop this move by the administration dead in it’s tracks. Let’s give a resounding “no” to this latest environmental assault.

Calamity Politics is a progressive online news magazine bringing the activities of Washington DC into perspective. Join me for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

Try These For Fun

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Try These For Fun

D. S. Mitchell

Yesterday I ranted and raved about the news of the last week and truthfully I need to step away from the horror of Trumpism and laugh. Here are a list of tongue twisters that should keep you giggling for a few minutes.

Try to say each of these sentences three times very fast

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches.
The bootblack bought the black boot back.
The epitome of femininity.
Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.
Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.
Many an anemone sees an enemy.
Which wicked witch wished which wicked wish.

Okay you are on your own. Remember, you have to say each of the above at least three times very fast.  I am stumbling over my words the first time through. Good luck, most of all, take a moment and be silly.

Calamity Politics is an online news magazine focused on a progressive political agenda, hopefully with humor and thoughtfulness.

Join the Resistance.

Dar

One Week Into 2018 & Trump Sets Off Alarms

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One Week Into 2018 & Trump Sets Off Alarms

D. S. Mitchell

The last week of Trumpism has my hair on fire. First, who can escape the release of Michael Wolff’s gossip laden new book about Trump, “Fire and Fury?” Wow. It is setting sales records. I ordered mine on Amazon, got free shipping. Yes!

I can’t wait to read every salacious word. Supposedly, Amazon will have it here by next Friday.

The White House was obviously blindsided when early excerpts from “Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House” was published online by New York magazine and other media outlets ahead of the scheduled January 9th publication date.

Many of the most eyebrow raising excerpts centered around comments by inner circle confidant of the president, Steve Bannon.  Reports describe Trump as “furious” and “disgusted” with Bannon’s newly revealed comments. Bannon reportedly called the meeting at Trump Tower in May of 2016 with Russian operatives “treasonous.” Further, Bannon said he doubted if Trump would be able to complete his term.

Late Wednesday Trump’s private attorney Charles Harder sent Bannon a cease and desist letter threatening a lawsuit if Steve didn’t keep his mouth shut.  The letter insisted that Bannon was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and demanded he make no further disclosure of  confidential information.

The hysteria didn’t end with the Wolff book, Trump had a very public split with Bannon, giving him the nickname “Sloppy Steve.” Rebecca Mercer, daughter of secretive computer genius Robert Mercer announced she and her father have also split with Bannon. This may lead to Bannon being pushed out of his position at Breitbart News, which Mercer has a financial stake in.

Trump threatens he will sue Wolff and the publisher.  A threat he has made often over the years while never following through. Charles Harder further notified Wolff and his publisher Henry Holt & Co. to halt publication.  Instead of stopping the publication, the threats increased interest in the book and have increased demand. The public demand has actually led to a speed up of the book’s publication by a week. Trump sure knows how to tamper down excitement.  Trump and surrogates could not have done more to spur interest in the book if they had been part of the “Fire and Fury” marketing team.

The main source of distress is the confirmation of what most of us instinctively know; that Trump is a chaotic, stupid, childish, narcissistic, sociopath who probably can’t read. The more Trump tried to push back against the book, telling reporters that he is a “stable genius,” the more infantile he sounded.

The second hair on fire event for me, centered around the Trump administrations continuous attack on the environment. In April Trump issued an executive order encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administration’s strategy to help the U.S. “achieve energy dominance in the global market.”

On Thursday the plan was announced, a proposal to vastly expand offshore drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans with a plan that would open federal waters off California for the first time since the 1970’s Santa Barbara oil spill. The Trump proposal offers a five-year drilling plan which could also open new areas of oil and gas exploration off the East Coast, from Florida to Maine. This region has been blocked from drilling for multiple decades.

The five-year plan was announced by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Zinke stated that development of the offshore energy resources would help the economy by adding jobs and provide billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.

The five-year Zinke plan would open 90% of the nation’s offshore reserves to development by private companies. Zinke has proposed 47 leases be offered from 2019-2024. Nineteen would be off Alaska. Twelve in the Gulf of Mexico. Nine in the Atlantic,  and seven in the Pacific including 6 off of California.

Zinke ended his telephone announcement, saying that it was still in the “drafting stage, nothing is final yet, and our department is continuing to engage the American people to get to our final product.”

While oil and gas industry spokesmen praised the announcement, which is the most expansive off shore drilling proposal in decades, the plan drew immediate opposition from governors up and down the East Coast, including Republican Governor’s Rick Scott of Florida and Larry Hogan of Maryland. Scott and Hogan went so far as to demand that their states be removed from consideration.

Democratic governors on both coasts blasted the plan. NY’s governor Cuomo called it “another federal assault on our environment.”  California’s Jerry Brown vowed to block “this reckless, short-sighted action.” Washington and Oregon governor’s both condemned the announced plan.

Third, and last hair on fire event for me was AG Jeff Sessions rescinding an Obama-era policy that had generally barred federal law enforcement officials from interfering with marijuana sales in states where the drug is legal.

Sessions has assailed marijuana as “comparable to heroin” and has blamed it for spikes in violence, and had been expected to re-ignite federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Marijuana advocates argue that legalizing the drug eliminates the need for a black market and will likely reduce violence, since criminals would no longer control the marijuana trade.

Sessions has long believed that the Obama era treatment of marijuana has created “a safe harbor” for the expansion of marijuana sales that are federally illegal, the DOJ said. Sessions’ policy will let the U.S. attorneys across the country decide what kinds of federal resources to devote to cannabis enforcement based on what they see as priorities in their districts.

Sessions’ plan drew immediate and strong objection from Republican U.S. Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of eight states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Gardner claimed Thursday’s action by the DOJ was directly opposite of what Session’s had told him prior to the Attorney General’s confirmation. Gardner went on to say, he would “take all steps necessary to fight the step, including holding up the confirmation of DOJ nominees.”

Kate Brown the governor of my home state of  Oregon said rolling back federal marijuana policy will disrupt the state’s economy.  Oregon was a pioneer in cannabis legislation. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize personal possession in 1973, legalized medical marijuana in 1998 and finally recreational use in 2014.

Oregon collected more than $108 million in taxes from cannabis sales between January 2016 and August 2016. Brown said more than 19,000 jobs have been created by the marijuana market in Oregon. State employment estimates that another 3,500 people are employed in marijuana-related businesses, with wages of nearly $23 million. The Oregon Health Authority estimated that in 2016 they oversaw $79.4 million in medical sales and the OLCC (Oregon Liquor/Cannabis Control Commission) oversaw $215. 3 million in recreational sales.

Ron Wyden, Oregon’s senior Senator said the move “ignores the will of a majority of Americans and goes against what candidate Trump had promised. Trump promised to let states set their own marijuana policies.” Wyden statement continued, “Now he’s breaking that promise so Jeff Sessions can pursue his extremist anti-marijuana crusade. Once again the Trump Administration is doubling down on protecting states’ rights only when they believe the state is right.”

Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee said he and the Washington State Attorney General will “vigorously defend the state’s laws against federal infringement.”

Session’s announcement came after California opened sales of recreational marijuana, launching what is expected to become the world’s largest market for legal recreational cannabis. California sales alone are projected to bring in $1 billion annually in tax revenue within the next several years.  Polls show a solid majority of Americans believe the drug should be legalized and should be treated much like alcohol.

Over the last decade as marijuana markets have expanded it has  become a sophisticated multi-million dollar industry that helps fund many government programs. Twenty nine states have legalized medical use of marijuana and another eight states plus the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for recreational use.

Oregon AG, Ellen Rosenblum characterizes the Session’s decision as “overreach.” “This is an industry that Oregonians have chosen–and one I will do everything in my legal authority to protect,” Rosenblum emphasized.

Two massive policy changes and an expose book on a corrupt and demented president. I don’t know if the Republic and tolerate the assault.

Calamity Politics is an online political news magazine. Join me for my mostly irritable take on the week’s news.

Join the Resistance

Dar

Are Your Goals Getting In The Way Of Your Happiness?

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Are Your Goals Getting In The Way Of Your Happiness

D. S. Mitchell

The other day, I was pawing through a box of books I had stored in the garage and was trying to decide if they were something I should drop off at The Salvation Army when I came upon Stephen Shapiro’s 2006 self-help gem, “Goal Free Living: How To Have The Life You Want Now.”  It has been at least a decade since I read the book, but as I flipped through the pages I remembered it distinctly, and thought it would be a great reminder to pass on to my Calamity Politics readers to help them enjoy a healthy, happy 2018.

Taking A Few Minutes To Re-Read Parts Of “Goal Free Living”

Shapiro is the first person that I can remember that gave me permission to release the religion of goal making that permeates our culture, and try to live without the restrictions  of a set of goals.

I have been told since I was a kid, that goals of all kinds, big, small, wildly ambitious were all within my reach. I just had to want them bad enough. The rule seemed to be,  if you can visualize it, you can have it; if you don’t know what you want  (can’t visualize it), you might as well be lost at sea without a life preserver.

Shapiro disputes this American myth.  In fact, Shapiro argues that if you want to be happy in its most broad interpretation, you need to throw that “five-year plan,” and the “life-time to do list,” into the garbage can.

Originally Shapiro was a motivational researcher.  While doing interviews with business leaders for a book he discovered that after interviewing 150 of the country’s most successful people and traveling over 12,ooo miles the most fulfilled people were also the most spontaneous,  and believe it or not, the least goal oriented. What?  How could that be true?  It goes against everything he, or I, have been taught.

Shapiro Traveled 12,000 Miles And Interviewed 150 Top Achievers

After interviewing those 150 successful people in all fields of enterprise, from all parts of the country, Shapiro discovered that most of the successful people had taken a circuitous route to their eventual success, and it seems that the circuitous trip was what made the result, all the more satisfying.

Shapiro became convinced that the key to happiness comes from checking out the back roads and detours, both literally and figuratively, without fear of changing course. Shapiro is convinced that following goals may lead a person to financial wealth, but there is a good chance that if you follow the plan unquestioningly you will lose yourself and potential happiness.

First, “Ask yourself, whose goal is it, anyway?” According to Shapiro, “Most people’s goals aren’t their own. They tend to be driven by society and family pressure.” Second, when you focus on a goal he believes, it is like putting on a pair of blinders, you lose your peripheral vision, causing you to miss out on all kinds of great opportunities. Third, you will always be living for the future.  You sacrifice today in the hopes that something wonderful will happen tomorrow. Goals are like that, you are always chasing them. Four, you are “courting failure” because you become attached to one outcome, and even if you achieve it, reality seldom matches the dream, and worse, it closes other doors to exploration and opportunity.

But all this seems to go against every core principle that I have been taught since childhood.  How could all those books, seminars and teachers have been so wrong. I need those scraps of paper, those directions to success. I need my goals.  Or, do I? How can I achieve anything if I don’t have a goal, no matter how much fun wandering around in the wilderness having great moments may sound?

Shapiro counters with, “Goal-free living isn’t about aimless, or things are getting tough” and I’m going to bail out, but rather it is about “being passion-driven in the moment, while knowing you can change course.” It is also about “getting out, playing, and trying lots of new and different things.”

The central message here is that you can’t find out what you love by just sitting around thinking about it, you must get out and experience it.

I am a goal-aholic, I can’t just toss away all my goals. Or, can I? I think Shapiro is saying “do you have the right goals and are you relating to them the right way?”  Shapiro believes some people abuse goals, “as a way of escaping from being present in the here and now. They distract themselves by looking ahead. Life should be more into enjoying every single moment for what it is and allowing things to unfold.”

Hmmm, maybe I can do this.

I  have been an RN for nearly 4 decades and one of the foundations of nursing is the Nursing Care Plan. The care plan for a patient provides direction and continuity of  care. That mind-set is hard to just sweep away. However, I can see where a care plan to direct the care of a patient over a short-term period is not the same as the life time goal setting we do for ourselves. But, initially that professional methodology got in the way of me spreading my wings, and in fact still does in many ways. I wish I were better at this discarding everything I know.

A Nursing Care Plan Is A Short Goal Plan

Shapiro wants us to think about aspirations (working in government) versus goals such as (getting elected to congress on November 8th, 2018) because  a broader aspiration will give you pleasure today and “success” becomes more broadly defined.  The biggest complaint he has is with the institutionalization of SMART goals. In other words, Specific, Measurable, Achievable,  Results Oriented, and Time based. Sounds very similar to a Nursing Care Plan.  The idea that you will know right away whether you’ve succeeded or failed is misguided and crippling.

The cure to the pain of a failed goal is to step back and ask yourself whether you defined the desired outcome too narrowly and whether you tried to control the uncontrollable.  Shapiro reminds us, “Not only have you set yourself up for failure, but you’ve put a time limit on everything. Life is unpredictable, so give up control. Create many paths. And play hard.”

Above all, trash the idea that if you don’t succeed by Saturday morning at 11:30 you are a failure. Shapiro proclaims, “I’m not going to be done with what I’m doing till I’m dead. It is really about applying creativity to every aspect of your life.”

I  like that, “applying creativity.”

Don’t Be Afraid To Take A Detour

Shapiro’s eight guide posts for living a Goal-Free Life:

1.) Use a compass, not a map. Allow yourself to take the less traveled path, allow yourself to try new things.

2.) Trust that you are never lost–every seemingly wrong turn is an opportunity to learn and experience new things.

3.) Remember that opportunity knocks often, sometimes softly–while we are blindly pursuing our goals. Sadly, we often miss unexpected and wonderful potentials.

4.) Want what you have. Measure your life with your own ruler. Appreciate who you are, what you do, and what you have, now.

5.) Seek adventure-treat your life as the one time only journey it is, and revel in new and different experiences.

6.) Learn to be a people magnet. Constantly seek, build and nurture relationships with new people gaining support and comradeship of others.

Keep Up Relationships–Be A People Magnet

7.) Embrace your limits. Transform your shortcomings and perceived inadequacies into unique qualities that you can use to your advantage.

8.) Remain detached. Focus on the immediate. Act with a commitment to the future and stop fretting about how things will turn out.

I think Shapiro was on to something.  I think he is right. Goals are by their very nature, self limiting. So, with 2018 just hours away I am giving you permission to toss that goal list  and start living life.

Calamity Politics is a political news magazine with a Progressive agenda.  Join us for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance.

Darlene

10 Terrible Environmental Choices Of 2017

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10 Terrible Environmental Choices Of 2017

D. S. Mitchell

Greenpeace took a look at the actions of the Trump Administration in 2017 and listed the following as just plain terrible.

1.)Canceled rule to protect whales from fishing nets.
2.)Ordered review of National Monuments. *The recommendations from Ryan Zinke are hair-raising and I will discuss them in another post.*
3.)Revoked rule preventing coal mining companies from dumping in local streams.
4.)Rejected ban on potentially harmful insecticide which has been linked to lower IQ’s in children and colony collapse in bees.
5.)Overturned ban on hunting predators in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, allowing road building and the Tax bill opens 1.5 million acres to oil drilling.
6.)Withdrew guidance for federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews.
7.)Ordered review and “elimination” of rule protecting tributaries and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.
8.)Rolled back limits on toxic discharge from power plants into public waterways.
9.)Roll back provisions of the Clean Power Plan with goal to repeal the Obama-era regulations many of which have been slashed by Trump agency heads.
10.)Delayed rule aiming to increase safety at facilities that use hazardous chemicals.

Regulations serve an important purpose, they save lives, they save wildlife, they save the water we drink, they save the air we breath. The damage that the Trump Administration is doing cannot be emphasized enough. The risks to our environment are terrifying. Keep your eyes open, they have a lot more damage and chaos on their agenda.

Calamity Politics is an on-line political news magazine with a Progressive Agenda. Join the Resistance.

Dar

The Stability Of U.S. Food Supply In Danger

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The Stability Of U.S. Food Supply In Danger

D. S. Mitchell

In a 12 month period from April 2014-2015 the honey bee colonies in the United States decreased by more than 40%, the highest annual loss ever recorded. The massive losses compelled researchers to coin a new term to describe the problem. They named the massive losses as “colony collapse disorder.”

With over 40% of U.S. honeybee hives now dying each year it is important to note that 40% of invertebrate pollinator species according to a recent UN sponsored report face extinction. Bees and butterflies are now approaching the brink.If you add that, “one of every three bites of food that you and I eat is pollinated by bees and other pollinators,” warns Friends of Earth, an environmental action group struggling to save the bees, the calamity of the situation is front and center. Seeing the bee die-off as part of a larger insect decline cannot be overstated. A group of UK scientists are calling it an “ecological Armageddon.”

Do the math, it doesn’t require a genius IQ to see the threat. Earthjustice a legal fund fighting for bee protection, believes that, “Bees are the canaries in the coal mine, warning us of an imminent and frightening threat to our food.” Our time is limited if we are going to save the bees and ourselves.

The stability of the U.S.food supply is facing imminent threat.

As previously noted, Honey bees, vital pollinators of more than one-third of our nation’s crops, including “super foods” such as berries, nuts and avocados are dying in record numbers. The rapid loss of honey bees threatens to unravel agricultural production all across the country.

What was a battle between big business and the environmental community within the state and federal court system has intensified since the election of Donald Trump. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress and his cronies in the corporate sector intend to dismantle long-established safeguards created to protect food safety, farm workers and the overall public health.

Today, with possibly the most anti-environmental administration and Congress in history we are facing a difficult challenge to enact regulations surrounding toxic chemicals and pesticides needed to protect the pollinators, and human beings.  I am hoping for a Democratic tsunami for 2018, otherwise I have little hope for the survival of the bees, or the nation’s safe food supply.

The fight for the future of the honey bees–America’s greatest pollinator–and for the future of our nation’s food security and public health in general is a fight we cannot lose. Honey bees are the unsung heroes of American agricultural productivity, working diligently to pollinate no less than 1/3 of U.S. agricultural crops. It is time that we recognize their hard work and make it our mission to insure their safety and recovery.

Scientists world-wide after analyzing more that 800 environmental studies determined that the major cause of the bee die offs can be directly attributed to a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or “neonics” for short. These chemicals in even microscopic doses can harm a bee.

Repeated exposure to neonic pesticides start to change a bee’s life and later the entire hive. Science has tracked a number of different outcomes after exposure. 1.) Illness and Death: Neonics make it hard for bees to groom themselves, making them susceptible to disease and mites, and weakening their immune systems. 2.) Colony Contamination:If a bee is able to return to the hive, they return covered in contaminated pollen. As other bees store the pollen, they all become contaminated 3.) Lost and confused: Neonics affect bees’ ability to navigate back to their hives. Unable to find their way home, they die. Worker bees supply the colony’s food. When they are lost and don’t return, the entire colony can die from starvation.

These “neonics” are systemic chemicals. That means that the pesticide is absorbed into every part of the plant. As a result, it not only kills insects that come into direct contact with its droplets, but renders the entire plant–flowers, nectar, and pollen–highly toxic for weeks, or even months after application.

Neonics are approved for use on the majority of crops in the United States. The bee die off has spiked and has so disturbed scientists that the US Dept of Agriculture issued the following statement:

“Currently, the survivorship of honey bee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of US agricultural crops.”

Although bans in other countries have been successful–Italy went from losing 37.5% of its hives in 2008 to only 15% after restricting neonics–the US has been frighteningly slow to act. And, with an EPA administration and Congress stocked with Trump’s corporate cronies, it is even less likely that our government will act to regulate bee-killing pesticides.

Honey bees may be small, but they play a huge role in making food available for our tables. Bees have an electromagnetic charge that turns them into flying magnets, carrying and transferring pollen from flower to flower. It takes 60,000 bees, about two hives, to pollinate just one acre of orchard. Each spring across the United States honey bees pollinate almonds, apples, oranges, apricots, lemons, squash, zucchini and dozens of other fruits and vegetables a truly amazing accomplishment.

Whole Foods working with Time magazine showed that honey bees are of vital importance to the nation’s food security by dramatically removing all the produce that depends on bee pollination from their produce shelves for a photo-op to dramatize the impending loss. Of the about 450 items usually found in the average American supermarket half will disappear if America’s crops don’t get pollinated. That realization is a serious threat to the nation’s ability to produce food, as well as to our food security. This is really scary stuff.

The largest producers of these pesticides are Bayer, Dow, Monsanto and Syngenta, whose own studies–obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request–show that neonics cause significant harm to bees and other pollinators. A study commissioned by The European Food Safety Authority indicated that the same class of pesticides killing the pollinators “may affect the developing nervous system of children.” If you weren’t scared before, this should light your hair on fire.

There are more than 500 neonic products on the market. I don’t expect the Trump administration to take any action that will help native bees, bumblebees, butterflies or other pollinators, like the nearly extinct rusty patched bumblebee, which was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act last year.

As the fight to save the bees intensifies another neurotoxic insecticide is coming under scrutiny. Chlorpyrifos, commonly used in agriculture has been shown in EPA studies to lower children’s IQ’s and is “likely to adversely affect” over 1700 plants and animals, many of them critically endangered, including bees.

Because of such scientific studies, chlorpyrifos were banned for home use in 2001, and in 2015 the Obama administration recommended revoking its use in agriculture. As soon as Scott Pruitt took charge of the EPA, he announced he would reverse the Obama-era ban.

The fight to save the bees is becoming more urgent by the day. Remember, bees and other pollinators are critical in growing 2/3rd of our global food crops.  From nuts, soybeans, squash and cucumbers, to apples, oranges, avocados and melons, pollinators play a critical role in producing the food we eat. Bees are the tiny forces behind more than $20 billion worth of U.S. crops each year.

Five Ways To Help Save The Bees and other pollinators:

BEE SAFE: Plant flowers such as Aster, Black-eyed Susan, Oregon Grape, Snowberry, Wild Lilac, Huckleberry, and Lupine in your garden using only organic starts or untreated seeds to provide good food and a safe haven for bees. **(One study found many of the so-called “bee friendly” plants in garden centers have been pre-treated with neonics, at levels that can harm or kill bees. Please only buy certified organic plants and reject garden products laced with bee killing pesticides.)

BEE AWARE: Use alternative pest control methods, like landscaping to attract beneficial insects, and use only eco-friendly pest-control products.

BEE VIGILANT: Read labels and steer clear of products containing neonicatinoids or chlorpyrifos. **(A list of the common brands containing neonics can be found at the end of this article.)

BEE VOCAL: Tell you friends and family about the importance of bees and how they can help save these invaluable insects.

BEE ACTIVIST: Write your legislators, state and federal. Write the EPA. Sign Petitions demanding protection for the pollinators. Ask your grocer to stop carrying products containing neonicolinoids and chlopyrifos. Protest.

BEE GENEROUS: The cost of fighting the assault on bees and our food supply is expensive. Donate to organizations like Friends of the Earth and Earthjustice to be our voice in the courtroom.

This is going to be an uphill battle for the next three years of Trumpism, but we can’t stand by and let Donald Trump think for one minute that we as a people will stand by and let him get away with destroying the environment all in the name of corporate greed.

In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote a meticulously researched book, “The Silent Spring” in which she described how, the now banned pesticide DDT, entered the food chain and accumulated in fatty tissues of animals and humans. She took on the chemical industry and her work led to DDT being banned. Her work has been credited with starting the environmental movement. We need to understand that each of us can make a difference in this world, but it requires action. It is up to us to stop the second “silent spring.”

I challenge you to make a copy of this list of killers and put it in your wallet, or your purse and use it to say “no”  to products laced with Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam all of which are toxins killing bees. If you see any of these ingredients listed on products in your home or on your local vendor’s shelves do not use them.

It seems nearly impossible to imagine but neonics hide everywhere including in these popular brands: Aloft, Arena, Allectus, Atera, Bithor, Caravan, Coretect, Derby, Dino, Dominion, Equil Adonis, Flagship, Flower (Rose & Shrub Care), Gaucho, Grub-No-More, Grubout, Hawk, Imaxxpro, Ima-Jet, Imi Insecticide, Imicide, Imid-Bifen, Imida-Teb Garden SC, Imidapro, Imigold, Lada, Malice, Mallet, Mantra, Marathon, Meridian, Merit, Nuprid, Optigard Flex, Pasada, Pointer Insecticide, Premise, Pronto, Prothor, Safari, Sagacity, Sparkle:Bounty, Tandem, Temprid, Triple Crown Insecticide, Tristar, Turfthor, Xytect.

Calamity Politics is an on-line political news magazine dedicated to protecting the environment and removing Donald Trump from the presidency of the United States. Join us for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance. We are Indivisible.

Dar

Another Holiday Survival Plan

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Another Holiday Survival Plan

D. S. Mitchell

If you are becoming anxious about Christmas, you are not alone. The holiday season is a difficult time for many people. If you have mounting angst about Christmas and New Year’s I have gathered some tips to help you survive the season.

Most experts warn us not to make comparisons. Do not compare your life to a Hallmark movie. Life is what it is. We can enjoy the reality if we leave expectations behind. Expectations are often the basis of many unhappy holidays. Accepting life for what it is, and not allowing the fantasy world of social marketing and Hollywood to alter our reality. If you can escape the expectations you will have taken the first step to improve your holiday experience.

1.)How can I Limit self-criticism? Try a dose of self-compassion. What is self compassion? Self compassion is a combination of recognizing that all humans make mistakes and that life is not a script and life experience is often unfair, flawed and imperfect. If you accept that reality up front it may lessen those awkward or frustrating moments when a family member makes a painful, or thoughtless comment.

2.)Hurt or angry feelings? Do not engage. Walk away. Take a short drive. A few minutes at a local park or nearby viewpoint can do wonders. I live at the Oregon coast and am just a few minutes from staggeringly beautiful viewpoints. Watching the crashing waves as they slam against the shore and then float away can help calm anger. Or, get physical. Go bowl a couple of lines, the physical sensation of throwing something heavy and head shaped down a long wooden alley may be all you need to restore your emotional equilibrium. **In 4th century Germany bowling was viewed as a cleansing ritual to remove the participant of sin. In 16th century England commoners were prohibited from bowling except on Christmas. So, combining the two you may find a recipe for holiday relief**.

3.) How to avoid an awkward situations? Excuse yourself and take a walk. Exercise is proven to reduce anxiety and depression. If it is a situation requiring more than a short walk put on your sneakers and take a run.

4.)Feeling Tired? Excuse yourself and take a nap. Sleep is important. Taking a nap is good self-care and is regenerative. Being well rested has a significant impact on our sense of well-being and sense of happiness.

5.)Feeling Cranky? Sometimes our body tries to send us messages, but we have lost touch with its clues. Frequently, irritability is triggered by thirst. Go for the water. Re-hydrate and see if your mood isn’t improved.

6.)If you are challenged on your politics? Let it go. Change the subject, or exit gracefully from the conversation. From personal experience I have learned that the holidays are not the best time to work out relationship problems. The holidays are too emotionally charged to choose it as a time to resolve conflict. In fact, it is probably time to recognize that we can’t change people, especially those in our family, so don’t even try.

7.)Need to escape? You are trapped, without a car, or for other reasons can’t leave. Try headphones and escape, or, take a luxury bath, or start reading that book that has sat next to your bed.

8.)No gift? It all depends on the situation. I suggest that you buy several bottles of moderately priced wine at the beginning of the holiday season and put each of them in dressy wine sacks and if you have a surprise guest that drops by a gift, you are always ready. What you don’t give away you can always drink yourself. If you are away from home and are given an unexpected gift and have nothing to offer in return, be gracious and appreciative, you can always follow-up with a gift or a card later.

9.)Feeling offended? Meditate. Take a break from your incessant mind chatter.

10.)Feeling lonely? Get outside yourself. Go volunteer. Connect. Give a hand to people who are struggling.

11.)Feeling sad? Make a list of your blessings. Practice gratitude.

Yale University researchers discovered that friends influence your happiness, and vice versa. So, it sounds like we are responsible for the company we keep. Surround yourself with happy people as much as possible.

Remember, if you are experiencing an especially bad time, please call for help. Lines for Life hotline is there 24/7 at 1-800-273-8522.

Calamity Politics is a Progressive on-line news magazine offering irritable comment on the current administration. Join the Resistance.

Merry Christmas,

Dar