Notes - March 2

Note: Photos this week are a random collection of odd and interesting images that I have collected over time - they have nothing to do with the content of the blog...

Note Two: I have included 3 links in the blog and urge you to open them all!

At a time when fear of foreign intervention had been “whipped up” by the party in power, the following legislation was approved and passed by the democratically elected government ... to promote “public safety and order” within the country. This “Fundamental Rights” bill was approved to temporarily suspend a number of constitutional freedoms for the "good of the people". The bill placed restrictions on or eliminated:

Personal liberty,

The right of free expression of opinion,

Freedom of the press,

The right of assembly

The right of association,

Permitted violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications,

Permitted warrants for house-searchers,

Permitted confiscations as well as restrictions on property,

Balance performer - Circa 1920

All this was permissible beyond "the legal limits otherwise prescribed".

The government was the German Reich “ … and the guiding force behind the new law was Adolph Hitler. The "danger" was later found to have been contrived - but the law stayed.

A few decades ago there was a general fear of intervention from the Communists. Let us remember that we have every bit as much to fear from an over zealous Right Wing government intruding into our lives in the near future as we had from a Communist leaning government – I listen to the candidates who would be out national leader and they give me shivers.

An abandoned mining camp - Death Valley Ca.

Do you know about "doublespeak"? It was introduced in the book "1984" about an imagined dictatorship... Read about doublespeak here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak

Watch for the examples of douplespeak coming from our Republican candidates. There cry for reducing the size of our government and decry the influence that government has in our lives.

Golden Gate Bridge - Fog

At the same time the candidates speak in support of invasive laws that would exert far greater control over the private choices of the American people...that would require a larger government to maintain. They are saying in effect, “I want my areas of big government I just don’t want your areas of big government.”

Bolivian Children - 1880

I fear for America when I see candidates calling for ever-lower taxes – You can't run a car with no fuel. Every one of our past presidents recognized the need for taking in adequate taxes to provide for the common good. The issue is really who would benefit from smaller taxes... Why, it's the same big businesses and banking industries who are paying the bills to promoting the social engineering of the American people! We know…

Graffiti Art - San Francisco Beach

The Republican party sends a memo to Fox news suggesting to them how to “spin” their news coverage to degrade the improved economic news that has surfaced in recent weeks. RNC paper suggested focusing on three things:

1. The increasing price of oil

2. National Debt

3. Unemployment

Early Coke Ad - Circa 1990

Whatever you think of John Stewart – take a look: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/01/1069337/-Jon-Stewart-exposes-RNC-collusion-memo-to-Fox-News-on-economic-talking-points Many of us have strongly suspected a link between the Republican party and Fox. This is just more evidence to support that knowledge.

Freight yard - Ship to Railcar... Portland Or.

1. Just to emphasize – No president – past present or future has the power to control the price of gasoline: Prices have increased because:

Roughly 70% of increase: Oil trades in financial markets, where Wall street firms and other big financial players dominate the trading of oil – even if they have no intention of ever taking possession of the oil whose contracts they are trading

30% Producrs and processors have control on the amount released

(Note these percentages fluctuate wildly)

Another factor is the fear of supply disruptions because of refinery problems in the US and other countries and tensions in the Persian Gulf

It is just plain dirty pool to try to pin this on the US president!

In Great Britain the price for gasoline is $7.91 for a US gallon.

2. If you want to understand why out National Debt is increasing, for goodness sakes check this site! http://costofwar.com/en/

Stonehenge ( I haven't seen this yet)

3, Employment news continues to improve:

Total nonfarm employment rose by 243,000 in January 2012, compared to an average increase of 152,000 per month in 2011.

The January employment gained in total nonfarm brings the number of net jobs recovered since a trough in February 2010 to 3.2 million jobs, or 36 percent of the 8.8 million jobs lost between January 2008 and February 2010.

So the RNC decides to focus on trumped up women’s reproductive health issues and same sex marriages as the burning issues of our time…

Commuter train - India

Revolution doesn’t have to be a swift military operation – it can be a methodical gradual building of a “critical mass” conservative mass – then the legislation to restrict freedoms can take place and hold…

Flowering Plum in blossom now!

Early Spring in the Zlatnik Garden

"What is to rare as a day in... February?.... I dont think this is what Shakespear was thinking of... but today the temperature is currently 72... and so calm and spring like! What a strange year!!

In a Northern California garden the busy season is in full swing – the little bit of rain we had this winter has been enough to sprout weeds that have been lying dormant – in some cases for years! I do my best to remove weed plants before they seed – so these new plants are coming either from bird poop or from old seeds. Its ridiculous but this year I have had to water all through the winter due to our lack of rain.

On cold mornings the trees steam when the sun dries the dew

Daffodils are in full bloom right now and some little white star flowers that I got a year ago from some German friends. Also plum trees are in full swing. A few summer plants are thinking about waking up – with a few sprouts and buds. One of my jobs now is to prune shrubs and herbaceous plants in preparation for the “big spring burst”.

Equisetum- an ancient plant without true roots or seeds - very invasive so I grow it is the middle of a pond!

Many of my plants set new offshoots from the roots and cuttings can easily be removed with a bit of root attached and can then be transplanted. I sometimes buy one prize specimen and then in later years divide it many times – some for my own use and some to give away.

What the garden will look like in 2 months...

Also here is a trick I learned in Spain – and it works well in my garden. I surround a perennial plant with four bricks leaving an empty square in the middle as the bricks meet at the corners – I bury about one third of the bricks and pile some dirt around the perimeter – this serves as an excellent watering space for the plant, the bricks also act as a sort of mulch, and I can control plants that want to spread.

Lettuce growing in my raised bed - coming back after the cold of winter

We have a neighborhood internet “group send” that can be used to share information, share things you want to give away, or make requests for free stuff you want… I have received all the bricks I can use in this way. It makes watering so much easier! My garden is almost entirely Mediterranean climate low water plants, with a large number of California natives.

I have introduced a variety of cactus both in pots and interspersed in the garden

Our son Peter and his wife Marila came from Portland a couple of weeks ago and in two days did all the heavy pruning – the “up in a tree” pruning … They are such a pleasure to spend time with – conversation while working together in the garden is special…

Then if that wasn’t enough, they picked up all the cuttings and moved them onto the front driveway – it looked like a massive beaver dam! My neighbor was having tree work done and I negotiated with their tree guy to chip up all my twigs and I was done with them.

Spring flowers ( soon to be) in Febraury they are still much diminished!

Do you remember that I wrote about my big winter experiment? I made large planter boxes filled with a mixture of compost, soil, and manure – down to 20 inches deep. Last summer they were productive, but I wondered how they would fare in the cold months of winter. Here is my “official report. Once it got really cold the lettuce didn’t die, but it quite growing – right now it is warmer and is beginning to grow again. My big success was greens – 3 varieties of Kale. Collards, Spinach…

Salvia - many in this family do well with minimal summer water

In late December and January, early February was pretty heavy frost most nights. The spinach quickly gave up – but all varieties of Kale and the Collards grew like gangbusters. My favorite varieties are Red winter Kale and Italian Rapini – the Curled leaf kale is also nice but it’s the only variety that the Aphids seem to like. As far as lettuce varieties – We found the Manoa variety to be excellent ( but not in the coldest months), and my other favorite is Forellenschluss. I’m sure you can find these varieties in any good garden store or from the internet. Swiss Chard would also grow well – it’s just not our favorite.

My garden in February

Some people plant gardens with the idea of leaving the same plant in the same place for as long as the plant is alive. I view landscaping as a much more dynamic process - Like my sister-in-law Deb once said, “plants should come with wheels”. I buy a plant and live with it for a while – a year or two – and learn about it.

Our bamboo "forest" ( Mosa bamboo )

Once you really know what it needs to be happy, and what its growth patterns are – then it may be good to move it to a place where it will grow better or where it looks better. Late winter (right now!) is the time to make these moves… cold nights…some heat in the day… nice moist soil… Many plants can even be transplanted at bare roots and made to grow.

Along with my garden I am culturing compost – made from every blade of grass,clippings, and fallen leaves ( but no weed seeds ). I have two bins – I try to keep them moist, but not soggy (“like a moist sponge feels”),

Another view

if it is just sitting there doing nothing it probably needs more Nitrogen rich green material added in – that or a handful of nitrogen sulfate – either one would cause the pile to warm up with metabolic activity. If there is too much green material and not enough carbon material it will get slimy – then add more dry leaves, straw, and newspapers well mixed in… If it is starting to smell “bad” it has gone anaerobic ( bacterial decay without oxygen) due to not enough high carbon material – like straw, fallen leaves, etc. I love a nice active (warm), sweetly fragrant compost pile ( "like a walk over the forest floor after a rain")

Notes 2/17/12

1. I suspect that none of us dispute the idea that the earth travels around the sun. We take this scientific theory as a fact. Yet just 400 years ago Galileo was put under house arrest for defying the church by stating this belief. I suspect that we all accept the idea of the relationship between virus and bacteria and disease… yet these ideas are never once mentioned in the Bible. Why is it that many people are so slow to accept the idea of evolution?

Point Reyes - N. California

The simple principles are evident in the world around us. Organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support. Offspring contain small differences due to variations in the genetic code. Those organisms best suited to an environment will be most likely to survive and pass on their genetic variations. Over vast periods of time the variations add up to produce major changes in organisms – in some cases leading to new species.

Clouds and water - Tuolomnie

Such an idea does not deny the existence of a creator God, any more than a belief in the sun-centered universe does. In recent years it has been demonstrated that evolutionary changes occur much more rapidly than first expected… Just look at the development of drug resistant bacteria and development of new varieties of weeds that do not respond to weed control agents.

Church in Chamula - S. Mexico

2. I recently had a conversation with a friend who is angry at the Christian church – listing all the beliefs and atrocities over the years condoned by the church. It’s true the church, as an institution, has often been resistant to accept reasonable change or has chosen the politically expedient route. I tried to explain to my friend that there is a whole spectrum of “Christians” – from those who are totally resistant to change – attempting to hold on to an ideal from the distant past and those who are seeking to interpret what it would mean to try to follow the teachings of Jesus.

Dietrich Bonohoffer, a progressive theologian, who became a 20th century martyr killed by the Nazis

Jesus has a deep sense of his relationship with God. He lived to alleviate suffering in others – He was a friend to the poor and the socially and economically ostracized. He did not turn his back on the outcasts of society. He ministered to the oppressed and responded to the sicknesses of mankind… He gave to all people a new way of being in relationship with the Divine. And he gave us the call to go and follow in the example he set for us… This does not seen to be the Jesus that many "Christians" proclaim to follow.

Ironically, some of the most caring people that I know have no connection with the church.

Be Kind

3. I have had to deal with a certain duality in my life – I believe strongly in the scientific method of problem solving. Observe, Hypothesize, Test, and form Tentative Conclusive. I also have a belief that reason alone does not explain the totality of all there is. The older I become, the more comfortable I am with living with unanswerable questions. Everyone encounters “ the Great Mystery” in different ways – True of those in the Christian faith and those of other beliefs.

Good Friday - Chiapas Mexico

The Bible is a collection of writings by many different authors, written at many different times in human history- since the early Agricultural revolution – back into the times of tribal herdsmen in the semiarid lands of the Middle East. It is the story of the evolving understanding of how different groups experienced “The Holy” in their lives.

Art Print found in a small Kansas church

Today we do not take seriously for out lives some of the rules laid out for the early Hebrew people. ( the Biblical book of Leviticus tells not to mix two different types of fiber together when making cloth, also not to plant two different kinds of seeds in one garden field, etc,)

4. Since the “age of enlightenment, we “modern people” generally believe that reason can explain everything. But we all experience “holes” in our reasonable worldview.

The elements of the Christian communion

Many people today are somewhere between accepting a scientific world world view and trying to hold on to a traditional view that rejects much of science. The question is how do you seek to grow spiritually and remain honest to what we know to be true of the world. In recent years there has been a growing movement of "Progressive Christians" who cut across many different denominational lines. Those of this belief say that "We take the Bible seriously but not literally."

The central place of the church in traditional European life

The Bible can best be understood by looking at the historical context and political events of each portion. There are many portions of the Bible that can help us in our search for connection with "The Holy" today... but some portions are only of historical interest. Progressive Christians attempt, as best we can, to take seriously the attempt to follow the examples set in the life of Jesus... An integral part of attempting to lead a Christian life is to be in community with fellow seekers after the way... That's why I am a member of a Progressive Church.

The Center for Progressive Christianity is one of the sources used by many churches that subscribe to these beliefs: http://www.tcpc.org/template/index.cfm

Saint John represented by a Czech peasant figure

Comments on the Evolving Occupy Movement

Pictures this week are copies of Smithsonian museum display items,

also street art found in Mexico/

I continue to keep an eye on the Occupy movement – When it first emerged the leaders were filled with a vision of optimism – At the time, their was great national angst with our run-a-away banks and mortgage companies who follow policies of “do anything you can get away with”. We have seen millions of Americans lose their homes due to “Robosigning”. Even the recent legal penalties against the large agencies are not nearly sufficient to restore people to their lost homes… http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/foreclosures/index.html

Tenaments - c. 1930

We have seen "Fanny Mae" ( established by the US government ) establish policies that led to their benefit from each foreclosure. We have seen large American companies, aided by relaxed restrictions under past Republican administrations, able to move their operations off shore to increase their profits by employing cheap foreign workers. ..a major contributor to our large unemployment problem. It surfaced this week that President Obama asked Steve Jobs ( a year ago ) to consider moving iPhone operations back to the US – and Mr. Jobs answered that it would never happen… Republican policies are fiercely fighting to weaken unions…

American Worker -

Who makes work place decisions the "Company" or Union Collective Bargaining

So the record is clear – roughly 99% of American people are suffering due to the policies that benefit the top 1%. And we have a Republican party ( and many Democrats too!) focused on the wishes of the 1% because thats where reelection money comes from… Recent demographic studies show that the top profit earners (the 1%) are getting richer…and the incomes of the poor continue to drop. The “Middle class” is slowly disappearing.

So when the Occupy movement appeared I thought that this might send a message to our leaders that there is “a lot of unhappiness in the heartland”. Maybe our elected reps would take their eyes off the big money Super PACs for a moment and feel the frustration of the people.

Worker in Mexico with few rights - "Take what the boss offers"

At first the Occupy movement was centered in tent communities with daily discussion groups, free lending libraries, free volunteer services, and whatever else volunteers chose to share – When the tent communities were broken up and the movement became more mobile the focus of the group also changed… Now “actions” were voted on in community gatherings. The actions then started to become more disruptive.

Rise Up - Farm worker

If an action results in workers or small shops not being able to work that causes loss of support within the community. Any large street action will have a very few folks just bent on causing disruption – they may not even be part of the movement – these are the ones to break windows and paint nasty graffiti, and start the violence. Police response has repeated been disproportionally harsh against mostly peaceful demonstrators. I am concerned with the growing number of demonstrators willing to respond with violence against both the police and against property. I am concerned that these folks feel like if it OK to do what they choose with someones property because they hold a "democratic election" to do so...

Street art during a protest

History tells us that mass protests are more likely to be successful when the participants are committed enough to be totally peaceful. Gandhi’s movement was able to gain freedom from Great Britain through total commitment to nonviolence . Great commitment and strength of character was necessary to stand up to the British army - many were injured or killed.

Civil Rights March - MLKing

The same can be said of the movement to end Apartheid in South Africa. Martin Luther King also found success by following principles of non-violence. The decision by the Occupy movement to permit violent responses causes the movement to begin to feel like the Weathermen movement (read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather Underground

I fear that the lack of focus within the group , the non commitment to non violence, and shrinking support from the general public will lead to the failure of the group… I dont think the anger will go away -

Rise Up Son of Corn

The goals of the movement have shifted – from education and sending a message to politicians to one of disruption of the powerful agents of capitalism. I hear various reasons for the morphing of the movement. Some say that the change is due to the frustration that the many in the group feel with their inability to bring about any change. Some say that the movement lacked a single clear goal, also no defined leaders.. I have heard that problems were incited by government provocateurs to which police can respond with a heavy hand and crush the movement. Perhaps it is within the nature of large leaderless groups to drift.

Sign on Garage Door: " You respect my drive way - I'll respect your car"

Is it possible for an amorphous group of individuals – self-selected by their anger at the government and their willingness to take action … if it possible for this group to be guided by democratic decision making processes. The group making the decisions is not representative of the American public who is feeling the pain and led to the original movement. I hope that this man-power and energy can be focused into working in the upcoming election. Now we have to see what effect the super pacs have on the potential for an honest election - Is it true that American elections can be bought by the vast money of the Koch Brothers, et al.