In 1961, Eisenhower said, “in the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
Here we are 48 years later ...
The checker in the grocery store starts sneezing, I notice she doesn’t use a tissue but rather wipes her nose on her sleeve and continues bagging my groceries.
I can’t help but wonder since she is an hourly employee, possibly even part time, she probably doesn’t have health care. So that means, she is not able to take care of that flu/infection but instead is oblivious to the fact that everyone that goes through her line is going to share her gift of germs. Do I send her a thank you note?
Which made me start thinking, if we all had universal ...
Here in Asheville, North Carolina, a mecca of progressive living, we have an incredible wealth of traditional healers. Yet because of insurance constraints most of us cannot even afford to have what should be seen as “well-being care.“
Insurance will not cover anything that is out of the box. And that affects all of us. As we watch the saga of health care take center stage in Congress, I can’t help but wonder where is the grassroots outcry?
We can’t get national health care coverage because it has been cited as too expensive. Dying is not too expensive and cutting off a ...
We have all seen this sight: a dilapidated building looking like it is going to fall in on itself … plastered with that ominous sign … Warning! Danger! This building is condemned. Unsafe! DO NOT ENTER!
And so we tread lightly around this building, making sure we are at a safe distance. Noting that at any time, we are going to come back to this space and it will no longer contain this dangerous building. At that moment, we exhale, leaving behind the ominous sense that danger eluded us yet again.
Using this metaphor, can we not say that America is in ...
Now that we are facing obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, food sensitivities and allergens in such massively high numbers, do we need to ask the very ugly question: Has our food been purposefully modified to make sure that both greed and consumption keep the profits flowing? Are we eating food that is contrived and altered to make sure that every aspect of the medical field is always keeping profit centers growing and the corporations are amassing fortunes on our ill health?
What other reason could there possibly be for the state of our bodies?
We smell cooking grease and think it is ...
So here we sit past the 100 days of our first African American President. Status quo has certainly been shaken up by seeing the “White House” not have, umm, white residents. Perhaps the new name should be finally the “People‘s House“?
But I am digressing, at the elation of having a new order. The slave rightfully becoming the master. A black man now sleeps well in the master bedroom. What incredible images that raises. What does that do to the nation... and to each one of us in particular?
Living in Western North Carolina, yes, the bible belt… as part of a ...
Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity & Courage in a World Gone Mad is a little book with a big message. Frances Moore Lappe — author of fifteen books, including the three-million-copy bestseller Diet for a Small Planet — distills her world-spanning experience and wisdom in a conversational, yet hard-hitting style to create a rare "aha" book.
She challenges us on the power of "frame,” our core assumptions about how the world works. And she maintains that ordinary people can empower a new "frame" through which livable solutions can emerge worldwide. She writes, "My book's intent is to enable us to see ...
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