A different perspective...

Seeing Stinson Beach from the mountainside, the town shows itself to be built on a sandbar at the mouth of the Bolinas Bay … Between the open ocean and the estuary, a long salt water lagoon has been formed with homes built on both sides.

Overview of Bolinas town and Bolinas Bay

Driving here, north from San Francisco, we leave the freeways and travel a country road through wild heath land with a thick low growing jumble of California Lilac,Coyote Brush, Yarrow, Seaside Daisy, and Monkey Flower ... and other such plants as can withstand this sometimes moist, sometimes dry, often windy, often swirling fog rising from the ocean. Travel takes less us about 90 minutes… but it is a world apart in the pace of life. Here, the flow of time in set by the pulse of the breaking surf and the call of sea birds…

7AM - looking east across the inner lagoon

We have spent this week with Judy’s brother and sister and spouses in an elegant rented home perched on the edge of the lagoon - We wake each morning to lapping water sounds, clouds on the mountains above us normally melt away by mid morning… Summer daytime temperatures remain in the low 70's. Our days are spent in conversation, walking excursions, exploration of the surrounding area, reading, and eating – a lot of good healthy eating! My wife Judy has been the only one bold enough to swim across the lagoon – and yesterday she swam three cycles, over and back, with form and grace…

Judy - swimming the lagoon

So how does this fog form? - When air is cooler than the water (or soil) over which it passes – fog forms. Think bathtub fog on a cold morning. California coastal summer fog at first glance seems a puzzle – it starts to form at about 1000 ft., but not at sea level. Air sweeps eastward from the cool Ocean surface – The sea is colder than the air, thus, no fog at sea level. But when air is forced to rise up the coastal slope it undergoes a process called adiabatic cooling – Think of a large balloon filled with air at sea level –the pressure of the atmosphere pushing inward is in balance with the normal attempt of the air mass to expand outward. The air mass is in equilibrium as long as conditions stay constant.

Some days the fog persisted

Suppose the balloon rises 1000 ft – the pressure of the atmosphere is now less and the internal air pushing outward is able to expand the air inside the balloon – this outward expansion uses up energy removed from the air mass– losing energy results in reduction in temperature. “Adiabatic Cooling” is equal to -5.5F/1000 ft. The ocean airmass, rising up the mountain slope, has now been made cooler than the ground over which it is passing - and fog particles form – hence clouds/fog.

2000 ft - The fog zone - By traveling higher we later broke into bright sunlight again!

My brother in law, Donald, and I drove up the mountain side of Mt. Tamalpais – up into the fog zone and I saw a phenomenon I have only read about – Fir trees at about the 2000 ft level have adapted to the Pacific coast foggy summer conditions by developing a needle shape that provide surface area for the fog to coalesce. When enough fog particles have collected, a drop of water slides off the needle… the effect under the tree is that of a steady rainfall of fat raindrops. The trees "milk" the fog... Coastal redwoods can also do the same.

Fir trees "milking moisture from the fog

This reminds me a story…Years ago when Judy and I were camping in the country parks in Hawaii we had a partly empty air mattress on the back seat of our car – we drove from sealevel to the top of Mt. Haleakala on the island of Maui. We reached the top, and when I looked in the back seat, the air mattress had expanded almost to the busting point – Expansion due to elevation change and change in atmospheric pressure…

In the moist fog zone the growth is some thick it forms a jungle

Sunday Don, his daughter, two friends and I returned to Mt. Tamalpais – but now the sun was brilliant and the forest was filled with green leaves, sunbeams, and bird songs – it was a marvel! Tracy and her friends are young adults, very comfortable in their San Francisco life style – but with an impressive worldview – We share a deep love of nature, of wild green places, of lichens, and ferns, of the myriad forest plants and creatures… it is such a pleasure to see the forest through their eyes.

Community of lichens:(click to open) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen

They are involved with a group of young urbanites that in addition to their professional lives enjoy the process of creating community within the midst of the city – It is part of a movement found in other urban areas. I have heard it called “localism”. At regular times, the group gathers as a person's garden and working together, they give it a total creative redo – training and empowering the owner/renter to maintain the garden as a place of beauty and perhaps practical food production. Then after working together they enjoy good food and continue an on-going Kendama competition. To learn about Kendama - go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendama.

Sunday afternoon we collected samples of windfall lichens and mosses to be used in gardens or terrarium construction. I love the form and variety of lichens and so I have a lot in common with them.

Crustose Lichens growing on an exposed rock

Later in the week Judy and I drove past Muir wood: http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm– It is a beautiful stand of coastal redwood trees only a short hop from the urban centers of the Bay Area … What we saw was unbelievable! It was 10AM, a weekday morning, and the parking lot was full – the large overflow parking area was full – the street parking for a mile in each direction was full. This is a statement about the human desire to relate with the natural world. (The area is quite small so I fear that with these many visitors the pathways would be as crowded as a city sidewalk).

A large bolder of serpentine rock - slopes of Mt. Tamalpais (detail view)

It is also a statement about human population and how it has grown. I think of redwood forests as landscapes where the only sounds are raucous scrub jays and the gentle rustle of wind in the top branches. It is a place of bright yellow 8 inch banana slugs and a whole ecosystem of small plants and animals dependent on the shade and moisture that are part of this environment. I wish all of these people could experience the real beauty and peace of the wild forest in a more leisurely setting...

Pacific Sideband Snail (Monadenia fidelis )

Links of the week;

1. Our national crisis is still unresolved - I recommend the daily New York Times editorials for a helpful perspective: Here is a sample: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/opinion/27wed2.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

2. The budget debate, these past weeks, has sucked all the air out of the news cycle. We are so on overload with one issue that a number of critically important news topics have slipped past us. The issue of changes to our environmental controls can affect our environmental and health for years to come:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/science/earth/28enviro.html?_r=1&hp

I think Mr. Murdock is also thanking his lucky stars that the budget debate took the spot light off him...

3.We are so democratic in this country that we feel that all sides of an issue should be given equal hearing - even when knowledge and reason are lacking from one side... Read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/opinion/krugman-the-centrist-cop-out.html?hp

Summer Notes: Five unrelated items...

1. Economic Disaster: Why is it that (almost) everyone understands - even the writings of Ronald Regan have it right - that not raising the debt ceiling will have catastrophic effects on the US and world economies? The very same people in Congress that have routinely passed the debt ceiling 74 times since 1962 - have decided that this time they will create a national disaster for their own uncertain political reasons. There are in Washington a group of inexperienced junior Congess representatives that believe that seeing the great "train wreck" would bring them great satisfaction. We need responsible legislation - we deserve not to be held hostage to false patriotism... Our tea party friends are ready to let us go up in smoke... Lets hope that before its too late, before next week, cooler headed sanity has returned to Washington!

2. Bay Area Summer Weather:

Rule #1 in the Bay Area - If you dont like the weather - travel five miles and it will be different. On a typical July day on the coast it will be a foggy 58 degrees and in Fremont it will be sunny and clear and 80.

A geography lesson for those who do not live in the SF Bay region...Fremont where we live is inland

San Francisco is on the ocean coast and the coast of the Bay and has large variations.

Rule #2 "The coldest winter of my life was the summer I spent in San Francisco!" (Attributed to Mark Twain)

July morning - Alameda Island in SF Bay .. fog and cold...

Fremont Hills - same day

3. Walking Stick Insects:

One of the master teachers with whom I work, offered me two small walking stick insects three years ago – She told me that they are easy to care for, being vegetarians. She fed hers a few rose leaves each week (rose plants do not go dormant in our part of Northern California. I purchased a small plastic terrarium and it stands on my desk.

My desk-top walking sticks

All that first year my walking sticks grew larger each month – then one died during the winter- early in the summer my one remaining insect died. But this was not the end! Walking sticks are parthenogenic – they can produce viable eggs from one parent. And before dying mine produced eggs! Soon eggs hatched and my terrarium was once more full of walking sticks! I am now into the third generation. These are the ideal pet for the undemanding – they sit perfectly still – doing a good imitation of a stick – and every once in a while they move one of their six legs just a twitch.

Wild living walking stick

The are not the sort of pets you want to give a name or take out and relate to… I have had some concern regarding the legality of owning walking sticks – might they decimate California agriculture if released? Today I saw a county Ag guy collecting insect traps looking for pests – and so I asked about walking sticks – he said that while they are not endemic they are not a problem…go ahead and enjoy them!

4. Brass: Brass instrumental music usually brings to mind loud blaring Souza marches or Christmas music… Judy and I this last week attended a concert of the Bay Brass in the Stanford Cathedral. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Memorial_Church. The group is a labor of love by the musicians involved – it is made up of the top brass musicians from the major symphonies and ballet orchestras in the SF Bay Area. They have no formal director but make decisions together. They seek to explore the wide range of music available to brass instruments.

Stanford University Church

The concert was amazing with a range of compositions from many periods, composers and styles of music. They are a leading supporter of the music program at Menlo School in Menlo Park Ca - and for an entire week the professional musicians provided workshops and support for the music students. This concert was the Bay Brass demonstrating to the students the range of music that could be performed with Brass Instruments – much of it was the gentler side of brass... On other nights during the week there were various student brass groups performing in concert… It is amazing to me to see high school age students performing with such poise and skill!

Brass concert we heard in Oaxaca - Sorry no photo of this event in Palo Alto

5. Genetic manipulation in Corn: Need another complex moral dilemma? Suppose someone spent two years developing a new mechanical or electronic device – something brand new… Do you think that person should be able to apply for a patent to protect his or her intellectual property? Suppose the product is produced by splicing genes from different species or different varieties of the same species to produce a totally new genetic product. Once developed it can be bred true each generation. Same two years – same hard work… Should this be patentable? Suppose the product is special high yield corn?

Corn varieties with wide range of genetic variations - hardy, but low yield

Traditionally farmers grow a crop and save seed for the following year – Ah – but now that is enfringing on the copyrights of the owner… The farmer is now required each year to buy the high priced seed if he want to grow the high yield crop.

Because this corn is high yielding it also requires more fertilizer to grow –The costs may be prohibitive if the farmer if in the third world. Corn is fertilized by the wind – and so the prize corn pollen drifts over to neighbor fields and they get the genes for free – Does the holder of the patent have rights to that corn too? The genes can even transfer to non corn grasses and then be passed on.

Mono culture of genetically similar corn

What and how far does it go?One of the common genetic alterations to corn is to make it resistant to herbicides so that the field can be doused with chemicals – how much of those chemicals end up in our food – either directly or through the meat we eat? Same is true of introducing genes that produce natural chemicals resiastant to predatory insects.The proponents say “ it is a hungry world out there – and we have to increase our production of food or face greater famine. That’s very true. But we are primarily benefiting large corporate farmers who can afford the additional costs, to grow these high yield crops, to make the maximum profits.

Wild grass is similar enough to corn that genes can be transferred to grass

and passed on in later generations to corn

Trying to grow the same crop can be devastating for third world farmers due to extra expense for seed and fertilizer or possibly less than ideal habitat. The bottom line is that we simply don’t know the long term effects of altering the herbicide and pesticide proderties of our grain crops… Imporatant issue – stay tuned! (This section triggered by an article and conversation with my cousin Laverne who lives on a farm in Kansas)

6. Links of the Week:

a. "History of stuff" has developed a series of short videos that help us consumers to understand the materials we buy in common products and their effects on us and on our environment. Excellent!! This is their latest production: http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

b. Southern Poverty Law Center: Take some time to learn about hate groups active in America today. Educate yourself to human rights issues. http://www.splcenter.org/?ref=logo

Notes – July 17

Note: Photos this week are a random selection from my archive ( with two from Wikipedia ) - more or less related to the topics...

Topic 1. Some things, if they weren’t so common, would be great wonders! When the morning is still, reflections of woods and hills upon lake water look so real! - it is as if you could walk into them… Shadows that grow as the day progresses until they are much longer than I am tall...

Roxy and her shadow - late evening

...calls of birds and children that seem to linger in the twilight air... a parade of 19 geese, swimming one after another, where are they going? The sound of a cock pheasant, on a warm summer afternoon, awakens long distant memories...the communication skills of a flock of red breasted linnets noisily plucking seeds from spiny thistle heads..

...the communication of bees within their community...

Topic 2. Someone said to me recently – “I’m not sure if I believe in evolution...”. There is confusion in America today, much of it fed by talk-show hosts that faith and science are somehow interchangable… We all have things that we believe in that cannot be tested. I believe in government of the people, by the people, for the people! I believe in the power of loving relationships… I believe that knowledge is better than ignorance… my religious beliefs are an important part of my life.

James Watson and Frances Crick: The first to identify the structure of DNA - the carrier of genetic code found in most life on earth...

Science is not about belief. Science is about collecting unbiased information about a natural phenomenon and then forming the best interpretation possible– then testing that conclusion in the toughest ways you can imagine. Scientific conclusions continue to be always open to further testing and refinement. A scientists may have an emotional leaning toward an idea – but other scientists in the same field are also testing and evaluating results.

One of thousands of galaxies in our "neighborhood of space" - similar to our own - our sun is a relatively small star on an outer arm of our galaxy

Opponents of science seek a lone dissenter and then may say – “See – not everyone agrees!” Science as a field of inquiry will ultimately settle the issue as investigation continues. It is not the nature of "beliefs" to be continually tested in this manner…

For example, the wealth of data supporting evolution as a natural process is enormous and continues to grow. Data also shows that there is a strong relationship between carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere and climate change on our earth.

Curious that the general shape of the galaxy and this hurricane system appear somewhat the same - A scientist would ask if their is any reason why they have similar patterns.

Early man thought that the sun travelled around the earth. …They thought that disease was caused by evil spirits. …And that the best treatment for most human maladies was to remove "bad humors" from the body through “bleeding” or leaches. It is thanks to scientific inquiry that we now have a clearer understanding… In the time of Galileo the church was strongly opposed to the idea of a sun centered universe – Anyone who supported the idea was considered a heretic, open to severe punishment.

Seen at Montera Middle School - Oakland CA : A reminder of how to behave in the midst of disagreement

When scientific conclusions are suppressed in an attempt to uphold an untestable conclusion – then we are in danger of sinking into an “age of ignorance”…it has happened before in human history.

Standard garb for a Plague Doctor in the 13th century - each part of the costume was designed to protect the doctor...

It is up to each of us to separate those beliefs we take on faith and what knowledge we have that is supportable by scientific inquiry... The uncomfortable part is that sometimes scientific conclusions are not what we want them to be - and then we must decide how we will deal with the facts. We must either accept the results before us or retreat into myths that may appear more comfortable.

Massive dust storms, similar to the 1930's dust bowls, recently blew into Arizona and Nevada

Topic 3. Only in Niles (our part of Fremont) … Today as I was walking the dogs I met a delegation of seven Tibetan monks wearing long reddish brown robes, walking down the trail. Their sect has purchased the land adjacent to the regional park where I often walk, and they were on their way to the middle of their land (which is grown high with wild oats and wild radish) where they have created an open-air meditation space.

Tibetan Buddhist Monks

They were very pleasant when we met and we exchanged greetings and pleasantries all around. One of the senior monks has just completed a weeklong meditation on these grounds, with other monks coming at intervals to provide for his needs. Today they erected a pole with Tibetan symbols in the midst of their property.

Topic 4. This past year those Americans who have been speaking up for lower taxes and smaller government are getting a taste of what they say they want. As a result of tax reductions that have already occurred in cities, counties, states, and federal offices – we now have fewer jobs - even secure positions like Teachers, Fire fighters, Librarians, Policeman, Military budget, State parks have been cut. Reduced tax revenue - less government - translates into less support of those least able to care for themselves, less maintanance of our infrastructure, and less support for those programs leading to our growth and stability of our future health and stability. If the cuts that are being demanding were to be adopted we would become a smaller less effective nation... A nation with an even wider separation between a small wealthy class and "the masses". Signs of this change are already evident.

Depression era WPA painting of American farm life circa 1932

According to economist Janet Yellen "the growth [in real income has become] heavily concentrated with the top 1 percent of American earners. The data revealed that reported income increased by 9% in 2005, with the [average] for the top 1% increasing by 14% and that for the bottom 90% dropping slightly by 0.6%. Americans have the highest income inequality in the developed world and over the past 20–30 years Americans have experienced the greatest increase in income inequality among rich nations. The puzzle to me is why poor people in America support a political party that is working against their own best interests.

A word of hope

4. Links of the week:

a. Grooveshark.com http://grooveshark.com/ is a free music site that seems too good to be true. You can request almost any singer, instrument, genre of music, style or national music… you name it – and then down load it to your playlist. You must start by creating a free account. One limitation is that you can not listen to the music and them leave the site – Ok if you are writing a document on your computer, but not OK if you want to surf the net…They make their money by when you find something you like you will pay to have it downloaded to your computer…. I wondered if it is legal and I checked - it is. If you find the posted announcements distasteful, you can pay a small fee to view the site without the ads – but I just ignore them.

b. Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/ One of my favorite sources of political information - updated frequently during the day - often one of the first with breaking news.

Nevada Desert

I have a world-view that is so very human centered! It is eye-opening for me to fly for hours over the barren deserts of Nevada - alluvial fans and playas, sharp hog-back ridges and V shaped valleys formed by brief winter flash floods. These peaks and plains appear as alien as the lunar landscape!

Flight from Reno to Las Vegas - Out the window with telephoto

If I could be a lizard on a rock, day after day would be the same – after the cool desert dawn, the sun would quickly warm the rock, would steadily move across the sky, shadows creeping hour by hour.

Nevada Hills - Reno to Las Vegas

…there might be moving air, might be a breeze or wind… might be rainless clouds overhead… The air temperature is over 100F almost every day of the summer. Winter temperatures may drop well below freezing. Occasional brief violent winter storms appear and quickly vanish. Each day, at the end of day, the light fades as shadows lengthen and vanish.

Dry Nevada river network - Note that there is enough moisture in some to support more vegetation

Amazingly even here there is life…. A few tough hardy plants - sage brush and creosote …. Mostly small, adapted to slow growth, adapted for the least water possible… even here insects, lizards, snakes, and birds are to be found. A few nocturnal mammals emerge each night. It is a full self sustaining eco system.

Mountains and Planes of Southern Nevada

Natural selection determines who can win and who loses. And no humans – no one walks these hills – they are empty-empty-empty of human presence. Day after day… year after year… it is the same…

North Las Vegas

And then, suddenly, looming out of the desert is the city of Las Vegas – Suddenly pools of water, green lawns, giant sprinklers settling the dust at construction sites… This is a place of modern buildings – bright lights – music and dancers – and gambling casinos.

Casino "On the Strip" Las Vegas

Visitors to Las Vegas have the motto “ What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…” Las Vegas is only a few hours drive from Los Angeles and all of Southern California. It is a city of excess and extreams. It is a city that values hope and luck. But water is the factor that determines life here… The water of the Colorado River is coveted by many - but it remains the limiting factor for life in Los Vegas.

Nighttime "On the Strip"

The gambling industry was the stimulus for the growth of Las Vegas. But many people here live their lives apart from the gaming industry and do all the normal things that people in any city do… The city is famous for its wide boulevards and spacious homes on large lots. Like the open desert, it is a city with summer temperatures well over 100 and winter temperatures dipping into the freezing range. Winter rain showers can result in sudden street flooding – but most of the year this is a dry land where the climate limits what can possibly be grown in the gardens.

Gated Community North Las Vegas

We were in Las Vegas visiting family - My wife Judy's sister and brother in law... They are deeply in the midst of planning the wedding of their only daughter, Ari... We laughed a lot, had good discussions (we tend to agree on most things), ate well, heard a good singer in one of the clubs... I even got up almost every morning at 5:30 so that my brother-in-law Conroe and I could walk in the almost cool morning air. We had a fine time!

Links of the week:

1. My latest discovery from "Bill Moyers Journals: The Conversation Continues": Interview with Holly Sklar. This is her website: "Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign": http://letjusticeroll.org/

"America has had a vast redistribution of income and wealth in the last 3 decades. The buying power of the minimum wage is lower than it was in the 1950's. Inequality of income and wealth is what it was in the 1920's, before the Great Depression. Now almost all the (profits from the) rise in productivity are going to the very top in the upper economic class. When you hear the expression "We're the richest country in the world," the truth is we're the most indebted country in the world.

US Capital - Washington DC

The infrastructure ( funded with tax dollars) we built to recover from the Great Depression and after the World War II is now crumbling. And we are spending less on research and development. Our education system is sliding further and further behind. The idea that we're getting more competitive for the global economy is ridiculous, its a myth. Executives at big corporations have basically doubled their share of company reserves in the last decade. Crumbs are not falling off the table - the rich are simply keeping more. We have a lower life expectancy than many other industrial countries. We're the only industrialized country without universal health care. "

The solution to our problems is to accept the situation, do the responsible thing, and be willing to raise more tax money not less - (Especially tax the wealthy why are most able to pay!!) Do you know the expression "If it ain't broke - don't fix it..."? Well our economy is broken - and we need to fix it - and that requires our collective will to work together for the common good! View the Mark Fiore cartoon below...

2. Mark Fiore - Cartoons - http://www.markfiore.com/ Click on the "Trickle Down Tales"

Bay Area MultiCultural Weekend

1. In early California a “Fandango” was a gathering of neighbors – sometimes lasting for 2-3 days, sometimes all week. People would come to a a rancho, camp together, cook and eat good foods, play music, sing and dance. They might show and trade horses and other products – but mostly it was to enjoy the human experience.

Early artist rendition of Early California fandango

Every spring for eleven years the San Francisco music group 'Coro Hispano' has presented a musical Fandango – the joyful music of early California. The oldest adobe meeting house in San Francisco was found on the grounds of the Presideo Military base. Since 1989, after the base was decommissioned, the Fandango has been held here. (This year the concert was held in an adjacent hall as repairs were made to the adobe.) The concert is bilingual, featuring a wide range of musical styles, singers, and dancers. Sentimental ballads, songs of belonging and of longing, La Golondrina, the Corrido de Cesar Chavez, Cancion Mixteca…and much more!

Coro Hispano Announcement

Music has been and is an integral part of Latino culture – a vehicle for declaring love, for reporting news, and for empowering social movements. Latin American music has a proud tradition with so much to admire. The range of people who are drawn to the Fandango is as interesting as the music – the only common denominator is a love for this rich genre of music- young and old, Anglo and Latino. The director, Juan Pedro Gaffney, a dedicated San Franciscan, somehow gathers enough money each year to put on two concerts. The second concert occurs on 'El Dia de los Tres Reyes' … the 'Day of the Three Kings' in January. It included more early Spanish language music , religious music, and also more music of Spain and other Spanish speaking lands.

Cesar Chavez - one of the founders of the Farm Labor unions

… But at this concert we all sang out together the refrain commemorating the life and work of Cesar Chavez…

“En las ciudades y campos, (In the cities and farms)

La esperanza nunca muere; (The hope never dies)

Ya lo dijo Cesar Chavez (César Chávez said it already)

“Compaeros, se se puede!” (“Companions, yes we can!”)”

2. Just down the street from us is one of the major Thai Buddhist temples in North America. It is home to the regional director (Pramaha) and several resident monks.

Wat Buddhanusorn

Once a year the temple gives back to our community by offering a free Thai Classical Cultural Night with a wide array of delicious foods, traditional music and dance. It is a gala event and we have been invited to attend several years.

Dancers waiting to go perform

This year it was held last Saturday night, and it was memorable! Graduating Thai University students commit to come to live and work with the local temple to teach the traditional culture to the children of Thai immigrants. They can learn the language, musical and dance skills, and Thai martial arts.

Thai Food

When we arrived there was a long cafeteria style line up of food- mostly donated by local Thai restaurants… We were encouraged to fill up our plates with some familiar dishes like Pad Thai and Red Curry… but there are always new taste adventures too - and free to guests...

Musicians

After dinner we were seated and the music began – Thai music is very different from the western tradition but pleasant to listen to. The music is played with a variety of percussion xylophone style instruments, stringed instruments, drums, gongs… and the music tempo and pattern is set by the leader who used a hand chime to change the pattern of the music. This video is very similar but we heard additional instruments as well. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InftPD_ah-c&feature=related

3. Links of the Week:

a. Please take a few minutes to meander through the files on The Encyclopedia of Life...To get started go to the "find" window - try entering "spiders" OR "elephants" or the critter of your choice: http://www.eol.org

b. We hear so much about unions in our news these days - It can be hard to find a fair and even discussion - here's one: I particularly agree with the last half of the article...

http://www.pissedonpolitics.com/?p=398

c. A new look at the post civil war era in America - and what it says about race relations today... Click on the triangle to listen to a brief radio rebroadcast

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89051115

Four Disconnected Topics: Week of 6/23/11

1.Milpas: I am growing “Los Tres Hermanas” (The Three Sisters) in my garden this year, just as the ancient Mayans of Mexico and countless generations since have done. I prepare the soil by forming small "hills" and plant several kernels of corn, bean seeds, and squash seeds in each. The corn is the fastest growing and is already 2 feet tall, the bean stems are twining around the corn stalks, and the squash appears to be happy in the partial shade provided by the corn. My "corn field" is only a few dozen plants nothing like the field shown below!

Milpa in southern Mexico

The beans are adding nitrogen for the soil and keep the soil from becoming nutrient depleted. In addition cattle are permitted to eat the cornstalks after the harvest and they contribute their manure. These three plant varieties really make a very happy family all growing together. In Southern Mexico I saw many small cornfields ("Milpas") where the corn is permitted to grow to maturity, the mature bean pods climb the stalks and dry in place, and the variety of squash grown is a 8-10” turban squash that we would classify as a winter squash for its good “keeping” quality.

Soaked corn is directly ground into fine meal, mixed with a bit of lime, and made into a dough called "masa" used for making tortillas, tamales, and other tasty foods...

2.Fighting Chaos: Most people that I know have a part of their home where chaos reigns! – For me it has been my garden shed and the small side yard beside the house. “This tool is broken but I might fix it some day.” – Throw it in the shed. “Do I have an arm full of old plastic flowerpots?” Stack them up alongside the house - right next to the broken pieces of tile. This week has been the time of reckoning! I hauled everything out of the shed, went to the Home Depot and bought 1" by 12" boards, built beautiful new shelves inside, and made the tough decisions about what to keep…

Sorry not to have a "before" photo to go with this "after" photo

Filled with success, I tackled the side yard – order out of chaos – more stuff for the dump. There is something powerfully symbolic about organizing my physical life that satisfies inner needs. My whole self feels more together for my organization!

Side yard - after cleaning

3. Quote of the week: Andrew Bacevich in Bill Moyers latest book: Bill Moyers Journal; The Conversation Continues

“When American power was at its apex after World War II, through the Eisenhower years, into the Kennedy years, we made what the world wanted. They wanted our cars. We exported television sets, our refrigerators – we were the world’s manufacturing base. (We were) an empire of production.

Figure representing prosperity

Sometime about 1960 there was a tipping point when the “empire of production” began to become the “empire of consumption”. When the cars started to be produced elsewhere, and the TV sets, and the socks, and everything else. And what we ended up with was the American people functioning primarily as consumers rather than producers. Americans are no longer masters of their own fate. – Our negative trade balance with the world is something on the order of $800 billion per year. American policy makers have been engaged in a de facto Ponzi scheme intended to extend indefinitely the American line of credit.”

A bargain for everyone - and on credit!

Many of these problems are the fault of we American consumers ourselves - we like a bargain! - and some developing countries were wise enough to spot this trend and produce what we wanted at bargain prices, undercutting American prices. There is plenty of blame to go around to both political parties and both branches of government - They have all permitted the trade imbalance to go unchallenged year after year, and have all kept a blind eye to allowed American companies to move their operations abroad to maximize profits. It will be tough for us to develop the economic discipline needed to get our economy back on track, back to producing new American jobs. What would it take to get Americans to seek out and buy American products even if they cost a little more... especially when everything from clothes to tools to appliances seem to be made elsewhere? Its going to be difficult for many folks to stop their addiction to “saving a few bucks” by shopping at Wall Mart and other “discount” stores. Every time we spend a dollar we are voting either to support American jobs or foreign jobs.

"Failing to do something can result in consequences"

Spotted on the wall of a Modesto Coffee House

4. Three links to book mark on your home computer:

Taegan Goddare’s Political Wire – Daily collection of links to political and current affairs news on the Internet: http://politicalwire.com/ I like this site because it is one of the most politically unbiased sites I know. Mr. Goddare reports fairly all sides of the issues.

Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/ - Daily weblog with political analysis on US current events

Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/ - The Urban Legends Reference Pages, is a web site discussing urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of uncertain or questionable origin. It is the best-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture..