Just A Few Thoughts …

What many Republicans fail to understand.

Filosofa's Word

I frequently write about the income disparity in this nation.  I’m not a fan of great wealth, see it as unnecessary hoarding while others do without, and I do support government-funded programs that help people in need.  One person often comments on these posts with his opposing view, saying the wealthy earned it, let them keep it … all of it.  Of course, there is a fallacy in that the majority of very wealthy people actually inherited most of their wealth and have not done much to earn it at all, apart from hiring wise people to advise them in their investment strategies to increase their wealth.  Recently this person, whose comments I largely ignore, said that if people simply learned to “invest more wisely”, there wouldn’t be poverty.

Wisely, I did not respond to his comment, for at that moment my answer would not have been calm and reasoned. …

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Ponder On This …

Robert Reich brings up some important points about making democracy stronger.

Filosofa's Word

Robert Reich’s opinion piece in The Guardian today is especially relevant … he covers a number of topics, all of which point in the same direction … the destruction of the democratic principles that were once the foundation of this nation.

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Republicans have taken up the politics of bigotry, putting US democracy at risk

Robert Reich

There is no ‘surge’ of migrants at the border and there is no huge voter fraud problem – there is only hard-right attack

Republicans are outraged – outraged! – at the surge of migrants at the southern border. The House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, declares it a “crisis … created by the presidential policies of this new administration”. The Arizona congressman Andy Biggs claims, “we go through some periods where we have these surges, but right now is probably the most dramatic that I’ve seen at the border in my lifetime.”

Donald Trump demands…

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Ode to Joy~

Gorgeous flowers and a memorable “Ode to Joy” from Cindy Knoke.

Cindy Knoke

Signs of spring.

A jolt of joy!

Blossoms cheer,

weary hearts.

Ode to Joy,

hope and faith.

Cheers to you and Happy Spring~

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There Can Be No Compromise On Voting Rights!

So-called “laws” are slipping through behind some of our backs or even if they’re not fair. Liberties for some may be taken away.

Filosofa's Word

Every person 18 years of age or older has the right to vote in the United States.  Per the Fourteenth Amendment, states will lose their congressional representation …

“… When the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime.”

Since 1787 when the Constitution was first amended, we have passed laws to include women “inhabitants” and to lower the legal voting age to 18 instead of 21.

In the Fifteenth Amendment, the right to vote is not to be …

 “… denied or abridged on account…

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A Day Late

Hate should not find a safe harbor In the United States.

Filosofa's Word

On October 26^th, 1966, the UN General Assembly passed resolution 2142 (XXI), proclaiming March 21^st as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid “pass laws”. Proclaiming the Day in 1966 which signifies the struggle to end the policy of apartheid in South Africa, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

I am late with this post, for yesterday was March 21^st, but it doesn’t really matter if it’s a day late, for every day should be a day for eliminating racial discrimination.  Recent events here in the U.S. – the brutal murder of George Floyd and countless others by police, and more recently the hate crimes against Asian-Americans –…

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Bloggers Rock~

Paintings done for Cindy Knoke by a blogger friend.

Cindy Knoke

Look what I received in the mail from my blogging friend Leslie. She painted this and did a post about it which you can see here: https://swo8.wordpress.com/2021/03/10/the-go-go-boys-by-l-martel/

Leslie, like so many of you bloggers, is multi-talented. She is a Canadian musician, artist, writer and so much more.

You may remember the photos of my twin grandsons that I posted awhile ago.

Leslie saw them and felt called to paint the twins because they reminded her of her sons at this stage, who were close in age and used to crawl into each others cribs. Here is a post about Leslie:

https://swo8.wordpress.com/about/

The reason I love blogging is very simple.

I love blogging because of my blogging friends.

I love being part of a community of talented, creative and genuinely kind people.

A creative community of all of you!

Thank you Leslie for your kindness. You have touched the heart of…

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Still here… An update… #cancer

Sue’s update on her present condition and thankfulness for the help she’s given.

You’ve got to be carefully taught – one more time for emphasis

What are we teaching our children? It matters a great deal.

musingsofanoldfart

With yet one more racially motivated mass shooting, this time toward Asian-Americans, the need to bring out this old reference to carefully teaching bigotry seems sadly, still appropriate. Fear of the unknown has been a powerfully seductive and horrific teacher. We need to call it out and teach the opposite, the stuff that Jesus fellow taught.

For those of you who have seen the play or movie “South Pacific” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, you may recognize part of the title as a pivotal song in the story –“You’ve Got to be CarefullyTaught.” The play involves a woman who falls in love with someone and then realizes his children are half islanders. She has a hard time coming to grips with her bigotry as according to the song, we are not born hating; hatred has to be carefully taught. A sample of Hammerstein’s lyrics follow:

“You’ve got to be…

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Windblown stone

Windblown stone by Sue Vincent.

Sue Vincent's Daily Echo

Still stuck at home…possibly for good now… I can still share memories and previous visits to places that have special meaning for me. Some, like Brimham, were magical, both in their own right and to the eyes o the child who wandered between the rocks…

When I was a child I was taken to a magical landscape… one of many my parents and grandparents shared with me; gifts I loved then, but have only fully learned to appreciate now, when I realise how lucky I was. Raised in the city for most of my childhood, I might have known only the pollution stunted trees or the green regiments of parks, instead I learned to love the forests that whisper secrets from hoary, moss-grown bark and the thick undergrowth where enchantment awaits. They read me books and wrote me stories… any tree could be the Faraway Tree, and Seelie, the water-fairy…

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Blooming Holler ~

Gorgeous blooms of the California Holler taken by Cindy Knoke.

Cindy Knoke

The Holler spring bloom is on, and I am home to photograph it for a change, so I am going to post a series on Holler spring flowers, starting with these beauties. The Cup of Gold flowering vine grows prolifically, and the blooms are humongous, about eight inches in diameter.

Hong Kong Orchid Trees have stunning blossoms that blanket the trees in spring.

Matilija Poppies are one of my favorite flowers and are Southern California natives, with huge fried-egg blossoms, about eight inches in diameter.

Reliable African Iris propagate beautifully at The Holler.

Wild Stinging Lupine cover bare areas, are beautiful to look at, but not nice to touch.

The Californian Fuchsia is native to Southern California but I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was in the fuchsia family but was stumped with identification. So my talented blogging friend Eliza Waters, who has a degree in horticulture…

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