My eyes have told me. We just need to do it better. Get our priorities stright.
We don't need astroturf for high school children. We need a homeless shelter, a larger area for animals at risk. New moms need to be home with their babies. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Canada offers paid maternity leave for six months. That can be combined with the husband's six month leave offering a new mom one year to bond and raise her baby. They also have medical care for everyone. A proactive approach. It saves both lives and ensures better health.
This is NOT political this IS about human, living things rights. The right to live a healthy life.
I believe many years from now we will look back at what we have allowed. Yes, allowed. The silent ones who did nothing. The multitude. The masses. This is crunch time.
My daughter started back to work yesterday. She nurses her baby providing an optimal good start for her. She is lucky because she can work out of her home until a day care center has a spot available for her baby. She is lucky because her mother-in-law helps out one day a week. The rest she relies on a 20 something young woman, who also brings her baby, just three weeks younger than my daughter's baby. Sure, there is the concern the young mother will focus more on her own child. That can be true even in a day care center. People do have their preferences.
Couples also have to decide their priorities. Things, lifestyle or raising their child themselves, if that is an option.
My eyes have told me. Time to get our priorities straight! We are out of kilter. Again.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Carte Blanche
Go ahead - do what you want. You do anyway.
This is the sentiment recently expressed by a local reporter. At a recent commissioner's meeting, the request for astroturf for the high school was put on the agenda. As an Update. Not as a roll call or a decision. An update. Another reporter, after checking the agenda, chose to miss the meeting. Nothing important was expected to pass. Or happen.
The commissioner's originally stated that if taxpayers could come up with $200,000 toward the astroturf, they would okay the purchase and would spend another $500,000 on it. The taxpayers came up with $60,000 - a nice show but not the amount the commissioners originally agreed to. Boyce Deitz felt it was a lot of money. The resolution passed 100%.
Citizens, welcome to spend away. Build a performing arts center for high schoolers. Let the Superintendent market the astroturf on the local radio show. Waste, waste, waste. Oh yes, and we can't afford a homeless shelter, either.
Think I will vote for any of you next go round? Think again.
This is the sentiment recently expressed by a local reporter. At a recent commissioner's meeting, the request for astroturf for the high school was put on the agenda. As an Update. Not as a roll call or a decision. An update. Another reporter, after checking the agenda, chose to miss the meeting. Nothing important was expected to pass. Or happen.
The commissioner's originally stated that if taxpayers could come up with $200,000 toward the astroturf, they would okay the purchase and would spend another $500,000 on it. The taxpayers came up with $60,000 - a nice show but not the amount the commissioners originally agreed to. Boyce Deitz felt it was a lot of money. The resolution passed 100%.
Citizens, welcome to spend away. Build a performing arts center for high schoolers. Let the Superintendent market the astroturf on the local radio show. Waste, waste, waste. Oh yes, and we can't afford a homeless shelter, either.
Think I will vote for any of you next go round? Think again.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Governor As Bigot
The North Carolina Governor is not a moron as some bumper stickers state. He is a bigot.
If we segregate bathrooms, let's do it based on cleanliness. I want to be in the one which has standards of cleanliness and where only clean folks can use this. I want to be using stalls where folks wipe off the toilet with clean water. Oh yes, there will be sinks in each stall so that will not be an issue. I want to be in the section where folks pick up their dropped towels and other artifacts and place them in the appropriate containers.
We've seen what 'market forces' did to the airline industry and their mini-sized old, dirty, smelly toilets. You can't even get into the stalls without touching the bi-fold door or worse, touching the disgusting toilet. Oh, and where are the Federally mandated A.D.A. laws regarding accommodation of disabled people? How did this slide through?
This, my readers, is why we need regulations. If folks did the right thing we wouldn't need them.
So NC Governor, get your filthy mouth out of the toilet and do something worthwhile. Clean it up! And while we are cleaning, please tell your comrade, Tom Tillis to clean his hands.* Better yet, let's do a bacterial sweep on him. Starting with his mouth and hands.
Nope, I wouldn't shake Tom Tillis's hand on a bet.
*
If we segregate bathrooms, let's do it based on cleanliness. I want to be in the one which has standards of cleanliness and where only clean folks can use this. I want to be using stalls where folks wipe off the toilet with clean water. Oh yes, there will be sinks in each stall so that will not be an issue. I want to be in the section where folks pick up their dropped towels and other artifacts and place them in the appropriate containers.
We've seen what 'market forces' did to the airline industry and their mini-sized old, dirty, smelly toilets. You can't even get into the stalls without touching the bi-fold door or worse, touching the disgusting toilet. Oh, and where are the Federally mandated A.D.A. laws regarding accommodation of disabled people? How did this slide through?
This, my readers, is why we need regulations. If folks did the right thing we wouldn't need them.
So NC Governor, get your filthy mouth out of the toilet and do something worthwhile. Clean it up! And while we are cleaning, please tell your comrade, Tom Tillis to clean his hands.* Better yet, let's do a bacterial sweep on him. Starting with his mouth and hands.
Nope, I wouldn't shake Tom Tillis's hand on a bet.
*
Thom Tillis on whether employees need to wash hands after bathroom use
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Buyer Beware
Corruption is ubiquitious! Locally in the Cherokee government, state and federal government, people in leadership positions continue to syphon off taxpayer dollars.
At the same time, hospital business organizations take over local hospitals with a CEO whose only interest is money. Theirs! In a local hospital, a top OB/GYN physician was removed because she would not sell her practice to the hospital. Since they couldn't change her business structure, they went after her professionally. Physicians in surgical specialities do have malpractice issues. She was not the only OB/GYN in the hospital to have them. She was, however, singled out and her admitting privileges removed. A couple of years later, another OB/GYN physician suddenly left the area.
Like many physicians who enter health care because they truly want to care for people, in this cost driven environment, hospital business administrators want dollars. They want ownership.
Even in the late 60s working in a hospital in Baltimore, a surgeon with a large practice had many malpractice issues. I remember one pathologist telling me the surgeon left a 4 x 4 sponge in an 18 year old woman. Weeks later, she had a total hysterectomy due to complications from the sponge. Staff was told never to speak of that again.
I compiled the Tissue Committee Report back then and questioned the physicians many malpractice issues. I questioned them wondering if there were calculation errors because there were so many. I was told the numbers were correct, that the Tissue Committee was told to look the other way because the physician brought a lot of money into the hospital.
Know your provider. Do business with a hospital that has a history of treating people well - health care providers and clients. And, be sure to stand up to the real people in charge, not the local CEO - go to the top of the foundation that puts these clowns in place.
Buyer beware!
At the same time, hospital business organizations take over local hospitals with a CEO whose only interest is money. Theirs! In a local hospital, a top OB/GYN physician was removed because she would not sell her practice to the hospital. Since they couldn't change her business structure, they went after her professionally. Physicians in surgical specialities do have malpractice issues. She was not the only OB/GYN in the hospital to have them. She was, however, singled out and her admitting privileges removed. A couple of years later, another OB/GYN physician suddenly left the area.
Like many physicians who enter health care because they truly want to care for people, in this cost driven environment, hospital business administrators want dollars. They want ownership.
Even in the late 60s working in a hospital in Baltimore, a surgeon with a large practice had many malpractice issues. I remember one pathologist telling me the surgeon left a 4 x 4 sponge in an 18 year old woman. Weeks later, she had a total hysterectomy due to complications from the sponge. Staff was told never to speak of that again.
I compiled the Tissue Committee Report back then and questioned the physicians many malpractice issues. I questioned them wondering if there were calculation errors because there were so many. I was told the numbers were correct, that the Tissue Committee was told to look the other way because the physician brought a lot of money into the hospital.
Know your provider. Do business with a hospital that has a history of treating people well - health care providers and clients. And, be sure to stand up to the real people in charge, not the local CEO - go to the top of the foundation that puts these clowns in place.
Buyer beware!
Monday, April 4, 2016
Uncertainty Lives
In a recent conversation with someone, we spoke about all the uncertainties of life. A new job, a new boyfriend, a new baby, retirement, life. Nothing is guaranteed. Life is and has always been static. I suspect that will continue.
But it is in how we respond to these changes, these uncertainties that sets the tone for the next breath. Will it be shallow, nervous, inhibited or a surrendering breath?
Repetitive reactions affect neurons. What wires together, fires together. So if we do not want a reactive life, we go back to our meditation practice. And, it does not get easier with age. The only thing we have is the life we create without ourselves. Always.
I have lots of teachers. One is Thich Nhat Hanh. Please listen to his responses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9UtuWfs3U&ebc=ANyPxKpmHfEozLCe1bELhngkgowI3BQs6KBztb431xl3iOd7NArlGXkAlSaY9xZpZveSE7D5FRle9PTockBGX9LxDH2adjniPw
But it is in how we respond to these changes, these uncertainties that sets the tone for the next breath. Will it be shallow, nervous, inhibited or a surrendering breath?
Repetitive reactions affect neurons. What wires together, fires together. So if we do not want a reactive life, we go back to our meditation practice. And, it does not get easier with age. The only thing we have is the life we create without ourselves. Always.
I have lots of teachers. One is Thich Nhat Hanh. Please listen to his responses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9UtuWfs3U&ebc=ANyPxKpmHfEozLCe1bELhngkgowI3BQs6KBztb431xl3iOd7NArlGXkAlSaY9xZpZveSE7D5FRle9PTockBGX9LxDH2adjniPw
Blowing In The Wind
After a few nights of relentless wind, a calm washes over the mountains. The birds, still in the wind, once again sing their hearts out. The flag and flag pole are restored to their place along the porch pillars. There is a glorious quiet.
Ever since I was a child, I have been drawn to remote places. Not in the bush country of Alaska, fifty miles or so from town, but close enough to a town where I can meet friends, pick up a few things I need and be grateful I have a retreat away from all of this. Fifteen minutes in the Nantahala National Forest, depending upon where you are is more than enough. Tucked away in the mountainside where white pine, dogwood, beech, flame azaleas and sourwood to name but a few provide a canopy. A haven.
I've have a few pensive days recently. Cooking scones, making salads, eating berries. The other night I watched an awesome conversation between the Dalai Lama and some academics.
It is a film a little under two and a half hours entitled, "Consciousness Is Everywhere...Panpsychism, the idea of universal consciousness, is a prominent thought in some branches of ancient Greek philosophy, paganism, and Buddhism. And it has been largely dismissed by modern science — until recently."
http://www.lionsroar.com/christof-koch-unites-buddhist-neuroscience-universal-nature-mind/
As Bob Dylan reminds us, "the answer is blowin in the wind."
Ever since I was a child, I have been drawn to remote places. Not in the bush country of Alaska, fifty miles or so from town, but close enough to a town where I can meet friends, pick up a few things I need and be grateful I have a retreat away from all of this. Fifteen minutes in the Nantahala National Forest, depending upon where you are is more than enough. Tucked away in the mountainside where white pine, dogwood, beech, flame azaleas and sourwood to name but a few provide a canopy. A haven.
I've have a few pensive days recently. Cooking scones, making salads, eating berries. The other night I watched an awesome conversation between the Dalai Lama and some academics.
It is a film a little under two and a half hours entitled, "Consciousness Is Everywhere...Panpsychism, the idea of universal consciousness, is a prominent thought in some branches of ancient Greek philosophy, paganism, and Buddhism. And it has been largely dismissed by modern science — until recently."
http://www.lionsroar.com/christof-koch-unites-buddhist-neuroscience-universal-nature-mind/
As Bob Dylan reminds us, "the answer is blowin in the wind."
Friday, April 1, 2016
Now Voice Activated
Happy April!
If you are looking for a prank, here is one. Put a sign on a printer used by others that says,
"NOW VOICE ACTIVATED."
Sit back, observe and have a good laugh.
A recent decision made by our commissioners is using taxpayer dollars in the form of an 82,000 square foot building that may be used by a former commissioner, candidate for commissioner and a few other local farmers. This will be a packaging plant and a plant to sell the food they grow. Their price - $15,000 a year. That means about $5.47 a square foot.
Before those folks displayed an interest, a standing commissioner, candidate for commissioner and others looked to use it as a stockyard. Are you seeing the same view as I?
While taxpayer money needs to be put to good use, I am not so sure this is the way to do it. And at such a meager price. This pattern has been erupting just about everywhere.
It could be so easy to just ignore this stuff. Stay home, work in the garden, meditate, see close friends and family. But my bodymind, my other worldly connections tell me differently. IF we are to truly connect, we need to stand up.
Now go print your NOW VOICE ACTIVATED sign for use at a printer, cash register, or whatever creative thing you have. And, please, have a good laugh.
The Watermark may take a different direction soon. Stay tuned.
If you are looking for a prank, here is one. Put a sign on a printer used by others that says,
"NOW VOICE ACTIVATED."
Sit back, observe and have a good laugh.
A recent decision made by our commissioners is using taxpayer dollars in the form of an 82,000 square foot building that may be used by a former commissioner, candidate for commissioner and a few other local farmers. This will be a packaging plant and a plant to sell the food they grow. Their price - $15,000 a year. That means about $5.47 a square foot.
Before those folks displayed an interest, a standing commissioner, candidate for commissioner and others looked to use it as a stockyard. Are you seeing the same view as I?
While taxpayer money needs to be put to good use, I am not so sure this is the way to do it. And at such a meager price. This pattern has been erupting just about everywhere.
It could be so easy to just ignore this stuff. Stay home, work in the garden, meditate, see close friends and family. But my bodymind, my other worldly connections tell me differently. IF we are to truly connect, we need to stand up.
Now go print your NOW VOICE ACTIVATED sign for use at a printer, cash register, or whatever creative thing you have. And, please, have a good laugh.
The Watermark may take a different direction soon. Stay tuned.
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