You say you're not political?

You can't live in these woods and not be concerned to what happens to them. You'd want them to remain this way as long as you live. You hope your grandkids have the same feelings.

But you also know that things change; that someone will offer your grandkids a few million dollars to clear this land and put up a few condos one day. Your grandkids will think of you then, how you loved coming here and smelling those pines; how they and you foraged for mushrooms here; how you pitched tents and stayed up all night counting stars; how the silence and the grandeur hushed your thoughts and theirs and your sleep was never this peaceful.

We can't shut ourselves in ourselves and count our blessings when greed and corruption are running rampant, riding through the land counting happiness as though it was a concrete product listed on the stock exchange.

We have to think of what counts for the long run, for our grandkids and their great-great grandkids. Saving the forests and the rivers and the lakes form pollution and industrial waste will assure that seven generations of your family will continue to appreciate the same things you did.

And that's one of the reasons for staying involved with  local and national political issues.

Politics is everyone's business; it is the collective ethos of a people who are bound together by place and time. You read papers, watch the news, listen to people. You know that information is available in many places. Are you doing your part in gathering facts and analyzing trends on your own? No single party or single person holds all the answers.

We need to keep informing ourselves all the time, and MOST OF ALL, advise our representatives of the values we hold dear. 

Who is watching out for You?

Looking out at the Pacific from a bluff in the beautiful town of Bandon feels just right.

The Pacific looks calm, especially on this side of the rocks, calm and serene, living up to its name.  From this corner of our world, we are happy to soak up this beauty, now and then walking down the bluff to feel the waves and the sand under our feet.

So, it is in politics.

Most of the time we sit perched above the fray, looking out at the beauty that is our life in the protected coves, where rain drips off at the corner of the shelter, where waves rumble down on the shore.  We don't see any danger from this roost.  We are covered up with enough layers to keep us warm and comfortable for hours on end, days in fact.

Beyond these rocks are issues we must solve with politics: fishing restrictions, habitat protection, water pollution, digging for oil, wave energy, tsunami warning, whale migration, etc...etc...
We are not out of the picture. We are in the picture but silently ignoring many things.

Political engagement is incovenient:

Politics takes time.
Politics takes understanding and researching issues.
Politics takes committment of resources.
Politics makes us stand out.
Politics makes us targets.
Politics can knock us out of the picture.

It's the same with families, actually.  Most of the time, staying involved and caring for everyone is incovenient.

Families take time.
Families take understanding and information-needs and circumstances of each member.
Families take committment of resources we might have wanted for ourselves, for fun things.
Families expect us to be visible and engaged, not hidden and absent.
Families can disagree and have rancors toward their members who are not like the rest.
Families can disown us, cross us out from future dealings.


Sure, we say, this makes sense. But, aren't we paying politicians to think for us?  To negotiate for us and come back to report ?  They will do what is best for us!

Yes, they will, if they hear from us, if we have actually voted for them and keep up with them; if they are not beholden to those fat cats that actually supported their campaigns.

So, don't forget that you have a vote, a mind, a voice.

You have a responsibility to be informed and to make choices.

Playing Golf

We live a few miles from an exclusive golf resort, Bandon Dunes, a huge complex for serious golfers who enjoy playing on links with ocean views and panoramas resembling Scottish links.

This picture was not taken there.

Most of the locals would love to play golf; but, we can't afford the fees and the clothing, and the caddies, and the entire experience of Bandon Dunes.  Most of us will hit the ball at a miniature golf place, or in our backyards, or at a less expensive venue.

The trouble Oregon will have in the election at the end of this month is convincing citizens to up the business tax base. Our initial business tax is $10-ten dollars. Yes, ten dollars.  Prop. 66 and 67 ask the voters to reform this ordinance by making the tax commensurable to the income the business generates.

Fair. Equitable. 

The opposition contends that passing these propositions, upping business taxes and upping the percentage of income tax for folks with income above 250,000, doing that would imperil job creation.

Our caddies at Bandon Dunes are part-time college students. The number hired is proportional to the number of players who fly in on their private jets to play for the weekend. These folks are dropping an average of $3,000 for a few days of golf in an unspoiled paradise.  Charging a higher tax base will have no effect on the number of golfers or caddies. It will, however, have an effect on the number of teachers Bandon School District will layoff. 

The State coffers have fewer dollars for education; schools are forced to cut additional days and additional staff if these propositions fail.

Politics is a game we all play.

The view from the top

Looking at a town from the top of a mountain gives us clearer outlines, a cleaner sense of the interaction among people, their jobs, their environment and their history.

Looking from a distance of 65+ years one can see areas that have become congested, neglected, and abused. One can also see beauty never seen before.


Descending back to our corners of the world, we know what needs to be done at fever-pitch immediacy. We see the waters surging and destroying levies, winds toppling trees and shattering structures. We have seen; and we can't remain silent.

We can join to clean roads, build bridges, shovel dirt, teach children, feed the hungry,
interdependence made obvious, the runoff from one farm into the other, the struggle of the fish to pass the damns and return to spawning sites.


On Mondays we will deal with Governance , from issues affecting this hamlet, to the status of the economy in Oregon.
On Tuesdays, we'll address educational issues and what the current administration hopes to accomplish.
On Wednesdays, our backyards, rivers, forests, ports and natural areas will be featured.
On Thursdays, communication ,media , status of knowledge gathering, status of newspapers and reporting of the news will be featured.
On Fridays, the arts, music, painting, photography, movies, and all other aspects of culture will be reported.


For the weekend, we'll shoot the breeze, try new recipes, learn a new language, garden, take a trip, share stories, throw a party, go shopping for hand-made goodies, or just do nothing.

This is quite ambitious work I plan to undertake. I will attempt this pace for one week, then evaluate the results. The areas that receive the most comments will probably survive and become regular features. Those that struggle might become victims of the marketplace.

Last week I dedicated some songs to my regular visitors. I hope some of you dropped by http://www.feelthecomforters.com/ , and listened for your song. Let me know if you liked my choice for you. The trouble with giving gifts on line is, you never really know if people received them, or worse, if they liked them at all. I promise, I will not send you empty-handed...........................................................................................................
With such an agenda, visitors can drop in when they are interested in the topic.


As of today, the number of regular visitors exceed the number of students in a regular classroom, even college courses. It's hard to know you well if you don't raise your hands, ask questions and wave at me now and then. I tend to walk around, stop by your desk/blog and ask questions about your interests. We are all adults here; we know when we need to take breaks, drop out, or divulge more immediate and necessary information. Let's enjoy the journey.

A Stimulus for Everyone

Last week the House passed a stimulus package that seems to please everyone except the Republicans. They are worried that the package is too much spending and not enough Stimulus. I do not have an opinion on the entire package because it is way too complex for me to get it at first reading.

It seems to me that there are two ways to solve problems: 1. get a group of experts and follow their recommendations; or 2. try to please everybody by giving everybody something.

I guess if you have a town that is isolated after a storm, the first thing you do is drop food supplies so the people can continue to live while roads are cleared, power is reclaimed, and repairs are made to factories and homes. If you do not feed the people first, there is no use doing anything else.

How to do that without making them dependent on food that falls from the sky and become lazy and incapacitated? Put them to work on clearing the roads and repairing buildings. This will keep them hopeful, will allow them to feel dignity and pride, and will solve their other problems.

I'm sure the experts will figure things out. In the meantime, from some of us who see hunger and pain on the streets and in the schools, the solution is still simple: keep people alive and healthy.

Writing to President Obama

Yesterday afternoon I spent some time visiting 5h graders at Driftwood School right here in Port Orford. The teacher and I had discussed in advance the various writing skills I could incorporate in my weekly visits as a volunteer.

I decided to show them the cover of the latest New Yorker, the one with the blended pictures of George Washington and Barack Obama titled, The First. The kids got it right away. They discussed how both of these men were the first.

The activity that followed was a letter to President Obama. The chatter was about how best to address him, Mr. or Mr. President, or President Obama, or President Barack Obama. Then, again, more chatter on wether to say black, or non-white, or African-American, or... Some more chatter about how much to say. How many sentences? Can we really send this letter? What is the address? Will he really read these letters?

After an hour, most of them had written a couple of sentences that were proud to show me, had looked up many words in the dictionary, and had stated their opinions on some political issues. Next week, we will polish the letters and send them off.

I will have to explain that they may not get answers.

Speak Out

None of us have the power to effect big changes. Only when we come together and speak in chorus, we are heard.

Retirees usually take up issues that involve them at this new stage of life, and rightly so. Health Care, pensions, the usual suspects. But we are in a great position to look back at the entire panorama of people needs, all across the globe. We have lived a full life and seen many parts of the world, and we have a unique perspective. We can lend our voices to issues that will improve lives not just for the now, but for future generations.

Joining groups, volunteering our time and expertise, lending a hand in our community, all of these acts go hand in hand with being alive, being a vital member of a community.

Look at President Carter and his wife; they have redefined retirement. Their global initiatives, their compassionate involvement in Habitats for Humanity, their travel and committment to improving the lives of so many people, have been an inspiration to all of us, young and old.

So, join your senior center, the sewing circle, and the garden club. But, don't stop there. Get on the web and join groups that sing your song, whether it is a song about environmental concerns or economic wealth, join and participate with all your heart and health and wealth. Leave a legacy of caring and speaking out; especially in areas where nobody is speaking out; especially in areas where most people fear to go. I'm talking about causes that get you up in the morning, causes that will affect children and others who are not strong enough to speak for themselves.

And stop complaining about the new technology, how it sucks up all our time. Use the same technology for the greater good. Join, and use any and all tools you are comfortable using. Walk to your neighbor's house and discuss common safety, talk to your grandchild about the environment at school, email your friends with updates on environmental sensitive areas in your state. Read, write, speak out. We are fully alive.

Illinois Governor loves Poetry!

I just discovered a blog called "Poem of the Week". The author? Answer: the current governor of Illinois. The same one. The one selling the senate seat. On the profile page, with his picture, there is nothing else to explain why he would choose a poem a week to share with the world.

Who knew! He's a closet intellectual, living the poetic life of self-scrutiny and meditation.

Someone, please explain to me these inconsistencies.

But wait,and I quote from his profile: "if you want to choose next week's poem, it'll cost you"

That last part might be a clue to the man.

The Trick is to Hang On

Whatever happens in the next presidential term, the trick is to hang on to our sense of collective pride, and good will, and not become greedy for instant solutions.

The appointed Cabinet will help the new president flesh out his plans and proposals. The trick for them all is to hang on to the fundamentals on which Obama ran, fundamentals like fair play, hard work, good will in solving our collective problems.

For the rest of us, the trick is to keep an active interest in politics, not as a game or a strategy, but as a function of the poly-the city-the collective good.

The next presidential term will ask us to pass bonds, re-adjust taxes and align legislation that will consider the common good in all actions. The trick is for us all to hang on and have faith in the democratic process.

A New Era

President-elect Barack Obama addressed the nation last night and set a new tone for the White House. Changes are coming. Yet, we all feel a sense of peace and resolve, a wonderful sense that things will be o.k. now.


For the last eight years the Republican Party's tactics and policies have marginalized too many people and concetrated power and wealth among few. The economy had been slipping, and the tax cuts for the wealthy have not helped.

Opportunities and sacrifices await, two wars, economic slump and a planet in peril.

Our addiction to news and polls will wane. We'll become active, roll up our sleeves and mold the new America. We'll become informed and committ to be watchdogs.

Most of all we are ready to work hard.

Count me In among the Decided

How can people still be undecided? Simple. They were always undecided, split in their allegiance, or confused by all the blabber and the fury. Undecided get what they deserve, though. If they don't take the time to educate themselves on the choices and then make a committment to one of those choices, they are either lazy or stupid.

They want somebody else to decide for them. And someone will. I read somewhere that we get the leaders we deserve. WE DESERVE. Simply put, people who run for office are interested in leading and governing, we assume. What we don't know is who is supporting them, who is financing their campaigns and gets a piece of his/her soul. So, those are the people who get elected, usually.

But this election has taught us something else. Ordinary folks,those who could give no more than $100 to the campaign came together, contributed what they could, and they now have a superlative candidate who is not financed by big money and selfish interests. We have a candidate whose pilgrim's progress was humble and truly christian in spirit: helping those less fortunate. He does not have country club credentials or jet-setters interests. Both he and his wife paid for their education through hard work and hope. If we had this type of candidate in the past, we didn't recognize him. He would never have surfaced to this prominence. We needed the experiences of a six-pack George administration to understand the importance of selecting the right candidate.

Undecided will get what they get. They choose not to choose. But for me, and those of us who have thoghtfully vetted our choices all these months, we have made our choice.

After Tuesday, with Barack Obama's leadership, America will finally have a government responsive to all people.

My vote

Today I will vote, finally. The ballot and the pamphlets have piled up on the dining room table, and it is time to clear the mess and committ. Not that I had to think much about any of the choices on this year's ballot. The choices were obvious, and no amount of mudslinging or pimple finding was going to distract me.

I enjoyed the charade, the attacks, the twists and turns and word=coinage necessary to convince people. My test is to look at who is sponsoring the measure. People have motives and histories. And it is not hard to Google and get facts and sources.

We go back to our basic instincts when we vote. We look at a candidate and his/her history and form an opinion, an impression of how that person lived his/her life and whether he/she would understand the needs that we have.

And then, there is the way we all express our needs. Some of us are more selfish than others. And, at election time, we don't hide it too well. Look at who wants to save whom. And who needs to be saved. And who has done the saving in his/her past.

I don't need government's help. But I know lots of people who do, not because of anything they did or didn't do. Their circumstances in life became demanding. Most people have worked and struggled. And we had compassionate people help us on the way. Government is the ultimate expression of that compassion, of people looking out for each other to do things they could not do on their own.

Election Season

Ray Bradbury described the approach of Christmas, the making of fruitcake, in a beautiful short story, recounting the smell and feel of that season. Every four years we experience a season that has peculiar sensations, smells and feels.

It has the best and the worst, the homey and brave, and the icy and bully, a vision of hope, and a vision of fear, all at the same time.

When did politics become such a dividing rod? The New Yorker related how people as late as the 1800's had to obtain and carry their own ballots to the polls, and on the way to the polling places they were mugged, lost the ballots, or worse. Voting has never been a friendly activity.

We tell a lot about ourselves by the people we choose to support in leadership roles. What is best and worst in human nature comes out during election season. We tend to choose with our gut feeling, a primitive brain that had to be ready to flee or fight, eat or be eaten.

Our little town of 1000+ residents has a pretty good cooperative spirit most of the time. But, lately, it is divided and conflicted, recalling city councilors and badmouthing a whole lot of issues. We've seen these things before, and they do not end up well.

No wonder then, that the attacks and counterattacks are getting ugly. The spirit of election time brings out the competitive spirit in most people, and differences are shouted and emphasized to the detriment of cooperation and team spirit.

Too bad. Shouting and hollering prevent planning and reflecting and visualizing how the future will look for our children and grandchildren. All our children will remember of election season is its ugliness and a bad taste.

A new phase in America

We heard it for a while, but we didn't want to believe it, how America was slipping back, ignoring its infrastructure, abandoning its focus on creating jobs and prosperity for all Americans. We had an inkling that we were somehow overextended, though we could still go to Wall Mart and fill up our carts with cheap merchandise.

When we couldn't fill up our gas tanks, when the cost of one week's gas was as much as the weekly grocery bill, we began to voice our concerns.

When September came and our kids returned to schools that were a bit more decrepit, a bit less equipped, a bit understaffed, we didn't pay attention. After all, schools have been complaining all along, nothing new.

It took the big news of Wall Street collapsing for us to notice our Main Street had been ignored and forlorn for a while. When a rescue package was put together in Congress with more zeros than we would have picture in our household, we began to comprehend. These troubles are big. This situation involves all of us in America. Pensions, retirement funds, college savings, life savings, houses, jobs, health care, food inspection, environment, all, all aspects of everybody's lives are in this meltdown.

We noticed that the global markets took a hit as well. And that in places like Europe, coooperation and planning took place quickly and efficiently. We noticed that solutions have been worked out and somehow, if we are lucky, we will find solutions in America as well.

I wonder how we got so far behind the curve. In my lifetime, the European nations had become a bunch of rubble and broken people at the end of a war, and they too had domestic and foreign terrorists for decades. But they managed to coordinate efforts, support infrastructure building, life-style accomodations for all their citizens, provided for the welfare of those who couldn't do it for themselves, and built a new economy and a strong solidarity.

In a couple of weeks we will vote for a new leadership. America cannot stand alone in the world, doing the same things and expecting miracles. Let's roll up our sleeves and work at solutions the democratic way.

WE're off to see the Wizard...

People who collect facts and keep informed, people who attend their council meetings and school meetings, people who vote for people who represents their values and their aspirations have learned the lessons in The Wizard of Oz.

Yet, every time we vote, the experience feels like a trip to Oz, a land of promises and magic convolutions, information fit into a tight script, symbols chosen to create a mood and a reaction.


All the facts and information we accumulated before going to Oz is forgotten. We are now scared children in search of magic beans.


We look for courage to face the unknown, brains to differentiate the good witch from the bad, and a heart that beats in concert with our loves and aspirations. We look for a Wizard to solve all of our problems with a quick magic trick, forgetting that he is just an illusion.

In the story, the Wizard is a regular man, a man who waves flags, magic wands and anything else, media savvy and technology rich, coining words and projecting himself bigger than life.


The story teaches us that we don't need Magicians, Mavericks, or Heroes. We need to pull together to fight evil, roll up our sleeves and provide a safe and healthy community for our children. And when we choose our leaders, we select men or women who are willing to do the same, helping us connect to our courage, our brains and our hearts. We choose people who have shown in their lives a willingness to be men or women connected with ordinary problems, at ordinary times, someone who, like us had the same challenges and the same obstacles to overcome.

Auntie Emm would be proud of us!

Michelle Obama

It was the last scene of the evening, mother and daughters connecting with dad electronically, interrupting each other, sharing a fleeting moment. Barack asked the girls how Mom did. Good, Sasha said.

That was the moment I will take out of the entire convention. A family connecting, asking questions, congratulating, sending love and support. This is what we are all like, working and loving, day in and day out, catching fleeting moments to connect and support each other.

Michelle Obama was introduced as the little sister. She talked about herself as the daughter, the wife, the mother. She is all those roles, a vital link in any family and in any man's life. She is not the little wife, the woman who bakes the cookies and disappears until she is called again to serve. She is Everywoman, born out of necessity, like the pioneer women who forged the western frontiers alongside their husbands and children, pulling together, building the dream that became America.

We have forgotten those women. Those women represent all of us who put ourselves through school, put our husbands through school, pulled ourselves by necessity alongside our husbands to create a better life for our children.

Republicans want us to believe that women could stay home and just be moms. Not in my world, not in the world where it takes two salaries to provide a decent living condition, and it may just buy one house. America understands this family; their dream is our dream.

Her words spoke for all we stand for.

A citizen of the world

McCain and Obama have a different world view and who is chosen to be our next president will face a world that has changed in the last decade at a speed none of us saw coming; yet, our world view tends to stay the same.

When Barack Obama addressed the world in Berlin, he spoke as a citizen of the world, with concerns for the entire globe and its problems. He connected present and past history and challenged the Europeans as well as his compatriots to view the world as interrelated.

We'll all gain if we look at solutions and options rather than maintain rancors and old beliefs. Barack Obama has challenged us to go the distance, to work at solutions together, because one country's ills and problems will touch us all.


We can begin the conversation in our towns and we can carry it to the entire world with one hit on the computer, instantly communicating in multiple languages to a world that is not confined by national borders. When we sit down at dinner tonight, enjoying the Alaskan salmon, the California wine, the Chilean mango salsa, the Mexican salad mix and the Italian biscotti, we need the assurance that our food is safe, the environment was not harmed, and no human being was abused.

We can't ignore health issues around the world. We can't ignore human rights and labor issues. We can't ignore poverty, hunger and lack of education. These issues will harm us in ways we can't even assess.

Finally, our future leaders must have the sensitivity and awareness that match the challenges in our world.

And, as we look at the Olympic ceremony in the smog and pollution of Bejing's environment, we will all be reminded that the conversation should always been about global consequences.

Voting in Oregon

Even as late as yesterday afternoon Obama supporters were going door to door leaving brochures, reminding neighbors to vote. I know of two people in town who registered and voted for the first time in their lives. So, we are creating history right here in our corner of the world, selecting people to lead us into the next phase of our democratic future.

I heard once that we get the leaders we deserve, meaning those that we encouraged and supported all along. Anytime we choose to let others do the thinking for us, we abdicate our rights and responsibilities. How wonderful, in a democracy, we get a chance to rethink our positions every four years or so. We have power only if we exercise it. There are plenty of excuses. But there is only one reason: we vote to maintain a system of government that listens to everyone of us, rich or poor, young or old.

Let's all exercise our rights.

Conversion

Since my declaration for Hillary a few months ago, I've had a change of heart. Listening to both candidates and watching the mood of the land, my concerns are about changing Washington, getting more voters to take an active role in the running of country, and sending a clear message in the national election.

The message is simple. We need leadership that will move our country beyond partisan bickering and posturing. We don't need to win anything; we need to find the best solutions to our present problems and future needs. We need people in Washington and in Salem who can listen to their constituents and who can talk to each other. We are all in this together.

To solve our energy problems or any other problem we need enlightned people who do not threaten to veto, filibuster or strike if they do not get their way. We need people who roll up their sleeves, use uniting language and continue to live up to their principles.

Democracy does not work if the nation fights like the McCoys and the Hatfields. Democracy works when not even one person's interests are left out of the discussion; when rich and poor, rural and urban, natives and immigrants all work in good faith to solve problems; when our Constitution is supported by all three branches of government; when an elected official acts for the entire nation's welfare rather than for the people that paid for his election.

Obama has the right tone and the right perspective to lead us into a new dialogue. I will vote for him.

Tax Day

Has our committment to buiding and supporting our nation become mudddled and derailed by our suspiciousness of the very people we elect to run our state and national affairs? Have we stopped participating in open dialogue,hiding instead behind labels and safe posturing?


We have seen how a few words out of context can pin a person down in one position,for eternity. We do not discuss openly with each other what it is that we believe for fear of the BIG LABELING. Left or right. Religious or not. Patriotic or Not -patriotic enough. We are a nation afraid of labels, afraid to exercise our rights, afraid to discuss openly.

Tax day has become its own big LABEL. You can take a stand-for or against.

But,TAX DAY is another Independence Day- a stand up and count me in day- let's do something together day-for the good of the nation and future generation-day-for liberty and opportunities for all- day. Isn't paying taxes the most profoundly democratic way for us to insure that our nation prospers and creates opportunities for all?