Ignoring the White House Noise

Yes, it is time to turn off the noise machine of the donald. His entire communication style is to deny, mislead, tweet, disguise, and distract attention from where it needs to be focused. That means we need to move on from his nonsense agenda, and set our own. Indeed, observe his reaction to his own lies; the book he hates he denounces and wishes to control its publishing and outright censorship. Where are the powers to do the same with him and his lies? Oh, just forget him. He does not speak for the American people. He chooses to misspeak continuously; and then to air it all over twitter. No; we need and deserve a better form of leadership. We will have to do it ourselves.

First, the media must identify with the American public what issues matter the most and then report on them. This will require panels of multiple experts and speaker/writers on topics of broad importance. Then report on what these groups talk about, conclude, and suggest for our future consideration. Poll the people for their thoughts as well; let the data speak. Let the match and analysis speak for all of us.

Second, politicians of every kind and stripe need to focus on just the issues that they have authority over. City and municipal entities, focus on your communities and make them strong and safe. County governments? Do the same as cities and municipalities. Your region should be well served, stable, economically viable and self-sustaining. States do likewise.

Third, what public institutions do we all need to fuel our forward momentum in dealing with the future? Certainly, local schools are one such institution, viable and vibrant public libraries are another, and colleges, universities are the base of another important segment of public institutions we need to prepare for the future.

Fourth, what cultural and social skills and strengths do we need to ensure our quality of life is cared for? Arts, music, theater, literature and much more is one important aspect of what I’m talking about. So are public and private charities that do the work we all need done but which no private enterprise or government entity is willing to do. There is a lot of room for each of us to make a difference in our communities. Don’t ignore these opportunities. Learn about them and lend your hand, your interest and your expertise. Please! We need you to do this. I’m not good at many things, but I am good at some things. This is most likely true for each of us. So, don’t be bashful; if you are interested in something, go to a charity or organization and talk with them. Find out what they need. Learn more about their mission and vision. And then, lend your hand to their efforts. Doing things there will teach you much more. You may find this was the best thing you ever did. Or, you may learn this was a mistake. If the latter, withdraw from this engagement, and find another. Again, don’t be bashful. Engage in what matters to you and to your community. And learn about what matters.

This is our country and culture; it is not solely that of the occupant of the white house. What really matters is what we say matters. It’s about time we remember this and move on with what needs to get done.

Ignoring the buffoon in the white house will get us back on track. Maybe our tactic will cause him to reform his behavior and stop tweeting, stop opining at every moment, and get down to the work at hand. There’s much for him to learn and understand; preferably before he opens his mouth or phone again.

Meanwhile, the real work is up to us. Are you ready?

January 9, 2018

NIMBY - Treating Teen Drug Addicts

I didn’t create a drug addict. I’m not a drug addict. I’ve been asked to volunteer my efforts and care to helping teen drug addicts. And I have for over 5 years now.

These are suburban, white teenagers from the western suburbs of Chicago for the most part. They are our kids, your kids, someone else’s kids. But they are kids. And they are Americans. They are our neighbors in a larger sense. And we help neighbors, don’t we?

Recently a public hearing was held in Wheaton, Illinois, to consider a proposal by a professional health service agency helping with drug addicts. The residents of the immediate area – a professional office and shopping district, not a residential neighborhood – claimed such an operation would lower their housing values. They were adamant. They were forceful. For all I know the authorities in Wheaton will give in to the public sentiment of this small slice of the population. This is not the community, mind you, but a very small bit of it.

Do we listen to this ‘bit’ or do we cast our minds to larger audiences? A public official must consider the entire community, not just a small slice of it. And those officials must also counter claims of lower housing values with the reality of the market. Will a drug treatment operation likely lower housing values within some distance, or radius?  Outside expertise is needed to determine if the emotional claims are true or just hot air.

My thought is it is hot air. I doubt housing values several blocks away will be affected in any way.

I do know that I volunteer to help Wheaton youth drug addicts. Yes, Wheaton, your kids. They are every bit at risk as the inner-city youth you look down on. Inner city youth have much more to be afraid of, and risk escape in any manner possible. Wheaton youth – and Downers Grove, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Lisle and many other towns – are escaping the blankness of life caused by comfort and lots of money. They don’t see themselves competing successfully in such a society. And they witness the absence of parents from the home as they scramble to succeed at careers that provide empty lives at home.

Think about that. Think about the horror of the lives of those kids. Think of the drugs they take because others around them are doing the same. Think of the escape they are conjuring for themselves. It doesn’t work; you know that; I know that. But how, then, do we adults help these kids understand the world around them in a constructive way, one that is expansive and fun and exploratory?

We can help them in drug treatment programs. We can’t help them outside of those programs. You can, the parent, by changing your lives to nurture your own kids. But if you don’t do this, someone else has to. And you say no to a program near your back yard?

How numb are you to the realities of life? These kids are living out their lives in desperation and fear. They have something to fear, don’t they?

What then is the excuse for the rest of us who do nothing but let the epidemic of drug use in America continue unabated? Do we care as a nation? Hell, do we care as a community?

Do we understand the term community? Perhaps we all need to look up the word and its definition. Something is missing in our lives. It’s time we found out the what and brought it back under our own roofs.

January 8, 2018

Finding a Leader for Democrats

Age has something to do with selecting a political leader. We want someone who won’t die in office due to ill health or old age. There have been exceptions, of course; notably Reagan, trump, Eisenhower, and others.

Using age as a limiter, however, is smart. Bernie Sanders is too old – 76 now; 79 if he wins the 2020 election. Hillary is in her 70’s and should be eliminated from consideration for that reason. Trump is 71 and should be eliminated due to age, too.

Yes, I think we should be looking for leadership in people in their 50’s and 60’s. Joe Biden is a good and decent man; he deserves our respect; but not our support for President; he is in his 70’s and that’s the point of no contest.

Age does not limit the usefulness of a person. Far from it; older persons have experience, maturity of spirit, and wisdom to share; but such sharing does not include vital leadership. Elders are good behind the scenes team members.

So, who do we have among the Democrats that would be a good candidate for president in 2020?

Here’s a long list:

Current Democrat Senators:

Elizabeth Warren

Kamala Harris

Kirsten Gillibrand

Cory Booker

Tammy Baldwin

Current Democrat Congress persons: [Note: I'm from Illinois and observe our politicians more closely; undoubtedly other talents exist in other states; I'm unaware of such talents]

Mike Quigley, Illinois

Jan Schakowsky, Illinois

Brad Schneider, Illinois

Bill Foster, Illinois

Juaquin Castro, Texas

Others with leadership skills:

Gov Andrew Cuomo, New York

Gov. Mark Dayton, Minnesota

Gov. Terry McCauliffe, Virginia

That’s it for me. I’m sure there are others who would be good but I am unaware of them because they have not been much on the national stage. That alone is a problem for the Democrats. They do not support or nurture fresh faces and minds for national leadership.

Back in the day I would have suggested many republicans for national leadership. Not today. The GOP is narrow, not internationally minded, not focused on peace but on militaristic power scenarios. They also actively work against investing in the American people: defund healthcare, education, research, science expansion, etc. They fund rich people, not ordinary everyday people. That is their legacy for 30 years and evidently going forward.

The job now belongs to Democrats and they will need to step up to the task.

I’m open to suggestions as to what talent resides in the Democratic Party currently. Speak up folks. The future belongs to those who prepare for it and have the guts to do the hard work.

January 5, 2018

Ramifications of Political Falsehoods

When the truth is skewed, misreported or baldly misrepresented, it is difficult to determine what is the truth and what is not. That is where we find ourselves today.

The Washington Post analyzed trump’s white house tenure and counted 1950 misrepresentations/lies in 347 days of office. That’s quite a bit. But it is typical of a propagandist. The tool of those who want to mislead you is propaganda – a deliberate misstatement of reality. Why? Because they know they confuse the situation and soon thereafter, we are dealing with reports, not facts.

That’s how Hitler did his deeds of evil. So too Gadhafi, Syria’s Assad, Putin, Stalin, Lenin, and so many other despots and evil doers. They simply told others what they wanted them to believe. In time there were too few benchmarks left to k now what was fact and what was not.

In is out; down is up. I’ve been saying this for years.

We have observed this in the republican hatred of Clinton – both Bill and Hillary. Unfounded complaints, lawsuits and investigations. No wrong-doing was found other than a sexual peccadillo of Bill’s. And that was not illegal. Nothing has ever been proven against Hillary, but that doesn’t stop trump from making his wild claims, or the republicans for many years making the same claims.

Obama was hated by those who are white supremacists; or even those who are simply racists. They cast distrust on Obama merely because he was a black man in the ‘white’ house. Not possible in American, you say? Oh, very possible says I! We have 8 years of proof of this skullduggery.

When Americans believe what they read or hear, we are all in trouble. So many wanted to believe trump that they ultimately did. Then they couldn’t admit they made an error. And we have the governance debacle we face today. All because of lies, propaganda and simple-minded belief in fantasy.

Well, I won’t tell you what is ahead of us because of all this. I will tell you, dear readers, that we have much trouble ahead and that is the only thing that will bring some people around to alertness. Only then, when they are hurting and mad and confused, will they finally admit that trump is a colossal error and highly destructive as well.

It will take years of hard work to clean up the mess. Foreign affairs is just one area. International peace is another. So too international economics. Domestic ills will be even worse as runaway inflation, crumbling health care industry, and a stagnating economy take tolls on the average American Joe. No one needs to believe me. But they will believe their own experience.

I only hope propagandists will have the grace to keep silent as we weather the hell and make the repairs.

Our nation is of, for and by the people. For good or ill, right or wrong, we are responsible for our own nightmares. Why? Because, one way or another, we caused them.

January 4, 2018

Mental Health Issues

It does not take a scientist, a psychic or rocket scientist to know that mental health problems plague America. Our nation is most likely not alone in this quagmire, either. A look at other nations and their outbursts of domestic mayhem, points to similar pains America also suffers.

In New Jersey, a 16-year old on New Year’s Eve kills his mother, father, sister, and girlfriend of his grandfather. The grandfather and brother escape to tell the story. No known motive yet.

A lesbian couple with two of their children are bound and gagged and then their throats were slashed. This occurred before Christmas in Troy, New York (Albany/Schenectady/Troy capitol region). No known motive yet. An older son was not home at the time and his life is spared.

A young man in Colorado early on New Year’s Eve creates a disturbance; police arrive and they are ambushed by the man; five police officers are shot; one dies. No motive yet known.

These events are domestic. They are citizens killing citizens. This is not an international conspiracy or a political act. It is pure derangement of solo souls compelled to act out a drama only they can see. The rest of us observe and process. We attempt to make sense of the nonsensical. It is and remains a mystery, until…

Yes, until. One day we begin to realize the complex story behind each act. One day we capture the essence of what must have been going through the mind of the perpetrator of the horror. And we are led reluctantly to the conclusion that a deranged personality is and was at work.

We can seek other answers but few fall into our hands. For me the complexity has one simple reality – life became so overwhelmingly complex that the inner soul snaps and strikes out at anything resembling order and cause of personal pain. Mental breakdown is as good a term as any.

I will leave the psychiatrists and behaviorists to parse out more exact causes. However, clearly the person could no longer retain personal control over his or her life. They snapped and they did the unthinkable. It is what it is and the rest of us should ponder how things became so complicated.

What can we do to lessen the stress these people feel? Do we even see the stress building in them? Can we take steps to help them ease their predicament before the horror event occurs? What can you and I do to keep our community whole and healthy?

Something is wrong; we need to understand it. Then we need to fix it as best we can.

But can we? I don’t know but I want to fix it. How and with what tools can this be accomplished? And who has the skills to do this?

Good questions, all. Where are the answers?

January 3, 2017

New Year’s Resolutions

I can’t say I’ve been very good at making resolutions. Certainly, I have not been good at keeping the ones I made! I suppose I’m not alone in this behavior; I may be somewhat alone in making the admission, however.

Having said that, I did make two resolutions one New Year’s Day and kept both of them.

It was twelve years ago. It was January 1, 2006. I vowed to quit smoking. If successful, I also vowed to quit drinking alcohol. I managed to do both and early in the year.

Smoking ceased on the day I made the resolution. I smoked my last cigarette at 5 pm on January 1^st, 2006. I bought the ‘patch’ and used them as instructed for 30 days. I bought another month’s supply but kept forgetting to use them during the first 8 days of the second month. I had quit! And I never looked back.

I had smoked for 44 years with one interlude of cessation lasting 7 years. I smoked 4 packs a day. When I returned to smoking after the 7-year interlude, I went immediately back to 4 packs a day. That taught me the nature of addiction. The brain knows its pattern and will demand a return to it at the same level or higher. Never lower. That’s the physical reality of the brain altered by the substance it abuses.

On March 21, 2006, I tackled the second resolution. I walked into Central DuPage Hospital and admitted myself to alcohol rehab. They accepted me. One week in residence there, I had ceased drinking and kicked the desire for it. Two weeks more of half-days, and I was learning the methods to remain sober. Seven more months of weekly group sessions, and I had cemented the methodology to remain sober.

And I wanted this outcome. I needed this outcome. The two came together. And it has been a successful transition from abuse to sobriety. That’s my story. I own it. It is public. Twelve years later I am still clean of cigarettes and alcohol. And my brain couldn’t be better, clearer or more resolute in keeping it that way.

The journey has had its moments of struggle, but the more I live it the more I realize that the future belongs outside of me and into the lives of others. That’s what got me out of the ditch and back on the road. And that keeps me on the path of positive outcomes, too.

2006 was a difficult year of accomplishment and ill health. So, too, 2007. But now I’m whole again and I intend to keep it that way.

Happy New Year, indeed!

January 2, 2018

Happy New Year!

May this be truly a happier new year than 2017. The past year has been a real poop. In health, finances, future outlook and political outcomes. The latter has been a real downer mainly because of the nonsensical nature of the battles. Real damage to the national infrastructure; blaming and bullying, too. The very nature of this white house is negative, not positive. If we the people are to survive well into the long term future, we must be focused on desired outcomes, not the how, the who, the when or why. What is it our people need? What are the building blocks of a self-sustaining society? What is the definition of ‘quality of life’ most of us agree with? For those who disagree, will the difference harm them or the rest of us? If not, we will have found the perfect balance of agree-disagree.

Instead we focus on difference. That is the crux of the problem. I have a conservative acquaintance who thinks my position on gun ownership is wrong because the US Constitution guarantees the right to bare arms. He thinks I don’t agree with the constitution. He is wrong on that point if that is what he thinks. I agree with the constitution. I think it has been interpreted far too strictly in favor of gun ownership and the chaos that has resulted.

What I really am focused on is the number of gun deaths in the US. I want that number to decline. I don’t know what we have to do to make that happen, but I don’t want to undo the constitution. Surely there are other ways and means to reduce gun deaths in America without upsetting gun owner rights?

If that is so, then when do we get started on finding the solutions? Instead of being obstructionist, what can we do that will lead to positive outcomes?

The same is true about everything else conservatives and liberals argue over. How clean is our environment to be? And how do we get it there? Do we outlaw all rules and regulations that protect the environment in order to trim the reach of government? Or do we actually agree on the ways and means to achieve the outcome of a clean environment, one that is healthy for you and I and our kids to live in?

And education: what do we have to do as a nation to produce educational process and nurture for all of our citizens so they are productive, creative, adaptive to change, and happy? Is the current system working? Or not working? If it is working in some capacity but not others, what do we do to fix that? If we don’t do anything, what are the likely outcomes? I’m suggesting a cost/benefit analysis here buffered by the values we can agree on to define what the outcome ought to be.

And infrastructure: what are the common elements we need for public activity to function safely and properly? If some elements benefit just a portion of our society, ought this be paid for by all of us via some factoring into the price of goods and services being produced from such infrastructure? Or is the common good so expressed in the outcomes that we all ought to pay for the infrastructure via tax structures? We need to do some thinking on this issue, don’t we?

And all the other elements we commonly attach to governance structures: what are the functions, what are the desired outcomes we want, and how do we manage our affairs to achieve the results we want in an economical, practical manner?

Governance is a management construct. It performs functions for defined purposes. The electorate needs to be aware and up to date on all of those issues so it can guide the elected office holders as they make decisions that manage the government enterprise. Those elected do not have unlimited power; they are limited by us. It is always the right time to make certain our powers are current and in effect. It is the elected who must take care to conform to our wishes.

In America we the people have the power. It is a sad reality that we the people have done a poor job of doing our jobs. Government has run amuck in many cases. It is in the throes of even more ‘amuck’ that before, thanks to the poor understanding of the issues by a minority of the electorate.

Let us resolve to do better – much better – in 2018. Without that resolve we will accomplish nothing. And the know-nothings will have once again achieved the power to destroy what the rest of us have so carefully built over the past 300 years.

Be aware. Very aware. Or 2018 will turn out worse than 2017.

It is in our hands. All of our hands. We best learn how to talk to one another to make a difference in this new year.

Yes, happy new year, but work for it and earn the results!

January 1, 2018