Shame and Shaming, Get Your Foot Off My Neck

Liberals feel unworthy of their possessions, Conservatives feel they deserve everything they've stolen.                                                Mort Sahl 

Many years ago criminal acts were punished by people being put into the Pillory to be publicly humiliated on the public square. It was a wooden device, the head and arms trapped the criminal like a oxen yoke that they couldn't escape. Sounds reprehensible, inhumane doesn't it? However there are reprehensible, egregious acts committed each day from the highest office in this country by the current GOP administration. The list is a long one: depriving people of their health care and insurance; allowing old people to starve; putting children, separated from their parents in cages; invading the privacy of women's medical treatment; fouling our clean air and water; denying that there is a climate crisis--- all this is no big deal to the Republican administration. Despite the verbiage of caring for this country and the people therein, our #45 currently spending many millions on golfing and self aggrandizement.  The travesty of the President against the wishes of the Pentagon putting on a parade for himself is a huge waste of money to say nothing of an embarrassment for any thinking person in this country. Then the kicker: we're paying for it in more ways than one. Has the Republican administration bothered to add up what the President has spent superfluously on himself? The Pillory I say!

I regard it as a crime to knowingly depriving hungry children when we are one of the richest countries in the world. Then the for profits that are being given  and starving people of food when there is a surplus of food in this country. It has been seriously recommended that the Meals on Wheels program be cut. It has been recommended that our contribution to foreign aid be drastically cut. This announcement came when many countries in Africa are on the verge of famine. What seems even more disgusting is our 45th golfs each weekend at Mar-a-Lago and his wife remains in NYC all at tremendous expense to us and then, with the stroke of a pen, he takes away money that could be used to feed people. Someone make sense of this for me.

One of the important issues currently addressed in schools across the country is combating bullying. Yet one of the biggest bullies in the country just got elected president. He is notorious for his lack of empathy and disdain for those of us he says are "bleeding hearts". That he would choose an entirely ill suited and ignorant woman, Betsy De Vos, to be in charge of the schools is an enormous insult. She has a prejudice against the public schools and does not understand some of the basic rights of handicapped children. 

Many of 45th's fans are good, loving, and supposedly religious, and yet they make no connection to what the 45th is doing to the country. They can't seem to believe that they elected a greedy, insufferable person who is trying to cut social programs, many which directly benefit them and meanwhile will give extensive tax cuts to the wealthy.  How is this "loving one another" or even caring for their fellow humans? I fail to understand. Is their love so narrow that they feel love should be limited? If so why? Love is vast and as Walt Whitman stated "contains multitudes." 

• All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks, and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God designed us to occupy.
  • Sarah Grimke July 17, 1837

I read the above quote in the county building in New Orleans in an exhibit of women's rights. There is a book based on the life of Sarah Grimke and her sister, The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. The Grimkés, the author learned, were abolitionists and "among the earliest major American feminist thinkers." In the late 1830s they were also, she writes, "arguably the most famous ... women in America."

Although this was written 180 years ago by a suffragist and abolitionists the quote still remains sadly right on. All I ask of our oppressors today is they take their officious foot off, not only my neck, but the country's neck as well. Allow, once again people the right to vote, stop the gerrymandering and the photo ID crap. Stop invading the rights of women, specifically using laws to control her body and her privacy. What is between a woman and her doctor is none of your business. If you think it is I have an interest in their Viagra prescriptions and I want to see a full report on their sperm count. 

Supposedly the 45th is a champion of jobs yet with the gutting of the EPA, defunding schools, penalizing states for not going along with his climate change denial, is taking thousands of jobs from the American public. Interestingly these are in areas that are critical to all of our health and well being. Want clean air and water? Take the foot off our necks. Perhaps that is why the Pillory came into my consciousness. Put the yoke around the people who are behaving in an appalling manner and attempting to steal from us our basic rights. Shameful behavior must have consequences.

Americans have always prided ourselves as being heroes, as being there for the downtrodden and welcoming with open arms the ones who are suffering in other parts of the world. Knowing that our vetting practice is more than 2 years long for refuges to become available for citizenship, why suddenly are so many afraid of refuges. It is the young white men who have 74% of the time committed the terrorist acts. Should we by their logic start screening all right wing young white males between the ages of 17 and 50? 

What has happened to our generosity, our American spirit, our kindness? Nastiness has creeped in with the creeps. Speaking of creeps, most of us would never let our girl children around someone who is as disrespectful as 45th or Bill O'Reilly. 

I have been asking the same question, respectfully, of everyone that I know who voted for the 45th: "please tell me, and make it based on truth, what is admirable about our 45th and why should I respect him." I have not gotten an answer yet to that question. Oh, yes they say he's a good businessman. Really? He has six bankruptcies that can be documented and numerous lawsuits. That doesn't seem to be good business to me. Why should I respect a man who would deride a handicapped journalist and lies constantly? If you have some insight, please help me out here. 

I would like to put him and a few of the more reprehensible men in public office in the Pillory. Why you ask? This is possibly the only way they might feel the full import of their lack of empathy for our country and the average citizen. Their acts are shameful and yet they feel no shame. 

Mom never needed Meals on Wheels, just think of the many who do

susansmagicfeather 2017 copyright Susan R. Grout all rights reserved

Really Easy Homemade Yogurt

I am a huge fan of plain yogurt. I have it on my granola almost every morning. Several years ago I got tired of all the quart yogurt containers piling up ad nauseum in my recycling bin. I thought, I really should make my own yogurt again. Many times in the past I've made my own yogurt and it was sometimes successful, sometimes a not so funny, runny disaster relegated to the trash. So I gave up. 

Years ago there was a recipe for homemade yogurt in Sunset Magazine with detailed, explicit instructions. I figured, what the heck, I'd give it a whirl. The recipe makes one quart of full fat yogurt and took constant watching, calculating and measuring. I did it because I wanted to see if I could make decent yogurt. Any of you who know me and how I cook know that eventually this was not going to cut it for me.

 Here is an old post on that very subject:  http://susansmagicfeather.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-im-not-allowed-to-write-cookbook.html 

I figured out a way to do this very good recipe in a more expeditious manner. I use our elderly microwave and know it well, but it is old** so I urge you to check your results when heating the milk frequently at first so you know the temperature of the milk and it doesn't over heat. Please read the recipe through so you know the steps to take and when to take them.

Using the microwave to heat the milk was a major modification of the recipe. Now it doesn't require constant tending. Here goes.

Yogurt, one quart you will need:

4 cup Pyrex measuring cup in which you put:
3 1/2  cups of milk,  [can be all whole milk, I do 2 cups of whole and 1 1/2 of non fat] whisk in:

2 tbsp. instant nonfat dry milk  I use Bob's Red Mill and sometimes use more like 3 tbsp because I don't carefully measure.

You want to have : 3 tbsp. plain whole-milk yogurt with active live cultures, at room temperature in a bowl nearby. Important! Do not add this 3 tbsp. plain whole-milk yogurt until after the milk has cooled [after cooking to 195] down to 115! 

1 Quart mason jar that you are going to fill with hot water to warm

Food Thermometer [important to test the temp of the heated milk] 

1. In a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup put 3 1/2 cups milk and then  whisk the 2- 3 Tbs. nonfat dry milk powder. Microwave for 11 minutes [remember as I stated my microwave is ancient] check your milk after 6 minutes or so and see what the temperature is. The goal is to eventually get to 195 degrees.
2. While the milk is heating, put hot water in the mason jar so that it's nice and warm.
3. Also while the milk is heating in the micro, have a medium sized bowl partially filled with ice and some water. I then put the Pyrex measuring cup filled with the 190-195 temp milk, into the ice water. Clip a food thermometer on the side of the Pyrex to record the temperature. It needs to go down to 115 degrees. Watch it. This can happen fairly quickly [8 to 10 minutes...] for the milk to cool to the desired temp of 115 degrees. 

 4.After the yogurt is 115 degrees, moving rather briskly, dump the warm water from the glass jar and then whisk about a cup of the 115 degree milk into the 3 tbsp whole milk yogurt in a bowl.  [The reason it must not be over 118 degrees is it will kill the yogurt bacteria, runny mess will ensue.]

5. In the drained quart mason jar and put all milk, both mixtures in it. Seal the canning jar with a proper lid. Then wrap the jar in old towels, I secure these kitchen towels with rubber bands. Put the wrapped jar into a slightly warmed oven 100 degree or less. Make sure the oven is turned off and leave the yogurt in the oven for no less than 4 hours. Eight hours in the turned off but warm oven is fine. Unwrap and refrigerate before eating.

I think this is a brilliant way to achieve excellent yogurt that sells for $7 in our little food co-op. Go for it and end your dependence on plastic containers.
You will be pleased and so will any pals who help you eat the results.

**When our sons were in high school they wanted to be able to make burritos as a quick before dinner snack and so they bought us this very micro in 1987. Thing still runs perfectly, thank you Z and J and thank you Consumer Reports.

susansmagicfeather 2017 copyright Susan R. Grout all rights reserved

What Exactly Is the Cost of Giving?

Love the scene outside our window. Mama Robin at work

Kindness doesn't cost a cent.                                         Susan R.Grout 1985

Unto whomsoever much is given, of them shall much be required.                  Luke 12:48

Teach us to give and not to count the costs.            Ignatious Loyola 

 The list is long indeed for the benefits of generosity and kindness. Science can back up that statement, studies consistently show lower heart rate, better overall health and impressive good feelings you get from a donation to a good cause. It's almost as if you are rewarded more that the receipent. I strongly advocate being generous and loving for not only your mental health but physical health also. Another benefit from being generous is those people tend to live longer when they do acts of kindness and are generous.

Note also if the one who is generous has an ulterior motive ["what's in it for me?" says the donor who really only wants their name in the paper] the benefits are not so grand. 

I have learned kindness from the unkind and tolerance from the intolerant.                 St Augustine

I, on occasion, have verbally sledgehammered people who have shirked paying their taxes. One fact I got wrong: I said that $11 Billion has been stolen from our country by tax cheaters, hiding the  money in off shore accounts. Then I learned the figure is closer to $110 Billion. Of course this means that there is plenty of money to help anyone in need in this country with change left over. Think of the programs we could have: the college educations at low to no cost, the children that could be fed, the roads repaired, the people employed to fix those bridges and roads and on and on. 

What besides churlishness is stopping the Congress and the members of our Government from collecting those taxes? Do they need to rewrite a couple of laws requiring that off shore accounts be scrutinized and inspected for fraud and duplicity? Is there any justification for the people to hide their money in off shore accounts, thereby avoiding taxes? If there is a good reason, I'm open to hearing it. 

The new T government claims they want a balanced budget and a strong infrastructure, yet their answer is to gut the programs that help women and children; gut the EPA threatening our air and water; ramsack the ACA and then boost the already bloated pockets of the wealthy. Make sense of this for me.

Even the birds and animals know how important it is to feed the babies. Call it instinct but they appear to have more sense than some members of Congress. The money is there, use it for kindness and caring. We need to insure that our future is secure. 

susansmagicfeather 2017 copyright all rights reserved Susan R. Grout

Who is Responsible for Over 74% of Our Domestic Terrorism?

There is no problem so big or complicated that it can't be run away from.                Anon

The chief cause of problems is solutions.         Eric Sevareid

It is remarkable that when something is easy to see, even obvious to the naked eye that certain people will go to extraordinary lengths to disavow what's right in front of them. Hint, hint the big T's pronouncements. He claims he can fix anything. Even terrorism.

Unless you live in Fiji or a cabin in the wilderness that has no Internet connection, or cell coverage you must have heard that our atrocious leader has devised a plan to eradicate terrorism from our shores. How he is going about this is by forbidding entry to anyone who is from one of the countries that he doesn't do business with. Never mind that the country where the preponderance of men responsible for 9/11 are freely allowed to enter this country. If you are looking for logic from the current White House, please look elsewhere. Our atrocious leader has also decided that any immigrants to this country are immediately under suspicion of being terrorists. Green card, whoa, you are a problem, even if you are working for Microsoft or Amazon, who knows what you have hidden up your sleeve.

Look, just look, at the facts and statistics on who has been responsible for more than 74% of all the domestic terrorism in this country. T wants to solely focus on ISIS. Yet, here is a small summation, and it states "the facts tell a different story," according to the Time magazine article of February 2. Big shock, it isn't the Muslim community:

The Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism has found that right-wing extremists — including white supremacists, sovereign citizens and militia members — were responsible for 74% of the 372 extremist-related murders from 2007 to 2016. And of the 45 police officers killed by domestic extremists since 2001, 34 were killed by right-wing extremists.

These numbers demonstrate the importance of promoting antiterrorism efforts that are broad enough to tackle the wide range of extremist beliefs that have taken root in this country. We also must address the proliferation of radicalizing materials that are readily available to anyone with an Internet connection and embolden both white supremacists (Dylann Roof, for example) and Islamic extremists alike.

I am perplexed as to why these mostly young white men who committed mass murders believe that violence is the answer, that the hateful and most prejudice among us [KKK, neo Nazis, etc.] are to be revered. Upbringing? Bullying? Horrible video games that promote violence? Low intelligence? Inability to read and write? Here are some guesses: In my gut I believe that it is a combination of causative factors for these young men, 1. wanting to belong to a group that is somewhat sensational; 2. ugly recruiters who flatter the vulnerable saying they will be doing a wonderful thing by joining the hate group 3.past bullying and/or shaming vulnerable young men 4. hateful rhetoric that promotes this kind of action for the cause of eradicating who they have been taught to hate eg. people of color or Jews, etc. 5. fear that they will disappoint the group, or won't make their mark in history [fame, really infamy...] and that is off the top of my head. Wish there were better studies. I'm going to see if SPLC has done extensive studies. 

Really, has anyone done a study as to why these young men are so vulnerable to the dark side? Hatred and fear are important components as to why young men turn to violence. Those who promote both hatred and fear [name calling, unfounded accusations like Mexicans are rapists, etc.] against our fellow citizens must be called on the carpet and confronted about their irresponsibility. 

By not acknowledging the race bating, no matter how subtle, we are all participating in encouraging hatred and fear of our fellow citizens. This is not political correctness, it is necessary to our survival as a democracy that we strive to have a more perfect union. Remember that. If you hear divisiveness, stand up to it, call racism by it's name.

Here is an explanation from Ta-Nehisi Coates on why we have shirked our duty to calling out racism:

The shame reflects an ugly and lethal trend in this country’s history—an ever-present impulse to ignore and minimize racism, an aversion to calling it by its name. For nearly a century and a half, this country deluded itself into thinking that its greatest calamity, the Civil War, had nothing to do with one of its greatest sins, enslavement. It deluded itself in this manner despite available evidence to the contrary. Lynchings, pogroms, and plunder proceeded from this fiction. Writers, journalists, and educators embroidered a national lie, and thus a safe space for the violent tempers of those who needed to be white was preserved.*

Let's all of us continue in our opposition to the ridiculous and harmful executive orders coming from the current White House and his "trusted adviser" who is a radical isolationist. Show up, speak up. Don't turn away ignore or minimize the hatred. 

This painting was at an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum

*All of the underlines are mine not the authors.
susansmagicfeather copyright 2017 all rights reserved Susan R. Grout         

Women Will Save The World

A slice of the wonderful energy from the Seattle March

If you can make people believe absurdities, you can get them to commit atrocities.                     Voltaire 

I am continually baffled by the acceptance of T supporters for all the ridiculous things he does, says and tweets. Really, the bar is so low for his beliefs and actions that it's about six feet under. With the true believers of T apparently there's no deal breaker. Can you think of one?

For example, the "underestimate" that is being argued about endlessly and senselessly by T and his minions concerning the number of people attending his Inauguration is funny. Get real folks, we have pictures to disprove their false claims. Instead they are trying to feed the American public "alternative facts". Facts are facts folks. Look up the word in the dictionary or google it. Facts are facts. Hasn't anyone mentioned to T that there's a country to be run with real issues to address like climate change, women's rights, the plight of immigrants, and job creation to name just a few. But no. T's crisis is that he's jealous that Obama had one third more people attending the 44th Inauguration that the 45th.  If you live in the world of "alternative facts" let me modestly propose a few to you. I am without qualification the best, most articulate, sexiest woman you will ever, ever meet. All of my writings and thoughts are golden and original and the best thoughts you will ever come across, in fact they are beautiful, so beautiful you won't believe it.

Here  is an underestimation that I can attest to and get behind. I had the privilege of attending The Seattle Woman's March on the 1/21/17. The estimate was for 50,000 people. The actual number was almost three times the projected number. It was calm, exhilarating, peaceful, determined, amusing, creative, lively and so loving. Did anyone estimate that in the whole world 56 million people would march in solidarity with the Woman's march? The 56 million declared their support for women's rights, declaring that science is not a liberal conspiracy, that Planned Parenthood is needed and helps women, that we do need Affordable Health Care, that Medicare should never be privatized and that we are collectively appalled that a man who sexually assaults women is allowed to live in the White House. We have a vast array of pictures from around the world proving that T is unpopular and unsupported by more that 56 million people world wide. So it turns out and with great irony, that T did successfully unite people--- world wide. T united all of us against misogyny, vulgarity, lies, disrespect, anti-intellectualism and immaturity. This is not who we are, this is not how any of the other nations want our leaders to be. By definition what narcissists want is what is good for them. Wealth? Yep, at the expense of others, yep. The ex President in Gambia just ran off with the entire wealth of the country when he fled office. Is this what we have in store for us? My bet is yes, on him feeding his greed frenzy and impoverishing the country. Any bets to the contrary?

How could anyone ever tell you
you were anything less than beautiful?   Kate Wolf

How difficult is it to grasp that women's rights are human rights? Ask any 4 to 11 year old girl about how they feel about being a female and a human. They will look at you like you are crazy. Of course they are human. Yet this silliness is what is being fed to many women world wide that they are less than human and so should be paid less money for equal work, less respected verbally and physically, less listened to because their opinions don't count as much as their male counterparts. These little girls will tell you in no uncertain terms how very stupid this is. Just look at them. Girls are beautiful. They are to be cherished. We hold these truths to be self evident that all people are created equal.

Sadly, a man in the highest office in the world is saying/has said it's not a problem to grab their genitals. Is this what you want for your daughters, granddaughters, babies, teens, nieces, cousins, young women, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, friends? This cannot be tolerated and women all over the world just declared WE ARE GRABBING BACK. Watch out!

susansmagicfeather copyright 2017 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved

Who Is the Fool on the Hill?

Day after day, alone on the hill, the man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still. But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he's just a fool, and he never gives an answer...      John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Tomorrow is the big brouhaha of the Inauguration and to my Republican friends and relatives I am a puzzle. Why can't I give the guy a break, a chance to show himself worthy of the greatest office in the world? Trust me, he has shown himself.

Basically I keep hearing the same complaint "you liberals need to get over it. You lost and now we need to be united."  Several things are wrong with this criticism. First of all why has the label liberal become a pejorative? If you will kindly look up the definition in any dictionary--- to be liberal minded is a definite plus. Here is a sampling definition about liberal: "holding, expressing or following political views or policies that support civil liberties, democratic reforms and use of governmental power to promote social progress; freedom of individuals to act or express themselves as they choose; anyone who is tolerant of ideas or behavior of others. Broadminded, a tendency to give generously." Tell me, tell me, what is scary and/or offensive about being liberal? I have encouraged literally hundreds of people in my role as counselor to be broadminded, to be open to new ideas and to be generous with others. I consider this an act of being a grown up, of being a kind, good, loving person and a good citizen to boot. If you want to test my theory on liberalism just read the definition above and with the phrase "will not allow" as opening of each section of the definition. Clears things right up doesn't it?

Trump tower in Chicago

And nobody seems to like him, they can see what he wants to do, and he never shows his feelings.  Lennon and McCarthy

Secondly my beef with the people who voted for the enormous T and yet can't tell me one good, true reason why I should admire and respect him. Believe me I've asked. I'll ask again: does anyone have a good honest reason why I [or any of the other people who voted for HRC or another candidate] should admire and respect this man? Being elected is not a good enough reason especially knowing that he lost by 3 million votes. Not only that but just consider, if you will all the interference. Most spectacularly by the Russians that both the CIA and the FBI agree is verifiable, then Comey's pitch to the public about Hillary's emails 11 days before the election which turned out to be a ruse, the fake news, and all the hatred and lies thrown at HRC. She still won.

Thirdly, the disrespect and venomousness with which Obama was attacked by the Republicans for the past eight years, starting with the birther crap, then the dictum to block every good thing the man proposed, and also not voting for his Supreme Court nominee. Obama is a man of substance and character who turned this country around from a near Great Depression into a viable economy. For that he was chastised and ridiculed and yes, they hurled the racist remarks at him, which they vehemently deny, but it was rampant. So now I'm supposed to turn around and be all supportive of a man who I believe is not competent to run a dog kennel [and with his narcissism wouldn't have the heart to do it anyway]. Just look at his swamp appointments for his cabinet. It is as though he tried his hardest to be contemptuous of each of the positions for his cabinet. The "drain the swamp" man is a con and his followers lap up his words, not his actions which are despicable. I sincerely believe anyone of my grandchildren ages 11 to 15 have more intelligence, kindness and competence than this man.

And nobody seems to like him...he's the fool on the hill, sees the sun going down and the eyes in his head sees the world spinning round.                     Lennon & McCartney

I don't want to walk around all grumpy and embarrassed that this man is in our highest office. So I, along with literally millions of men and women all across this already great nation are taking to the streets on the January 21st to state publicly that this man does not represent what is good, honest and fine in the United States. 

We have an atrocious uphill battle because the Republicans have refused to even hold hearings on the Russian interference [hello, $25 million dollars to investigate Hillary for many years and found...nothing]. Rather than just shake my head in disbelief I'm becoming more active in the Democratic party. At this point because all they care about is staying in power, the Republicans won't even take the advice of the FBI  and the CIA  when it was a clear security breach that the Russians interfered with our election. Can you even for one minute imagine what hollering would occur if in fact this was the Obama administration. The vitriol would be flying. 

If you are puzzled by those of us who are protesting just put all the repulsive and simplistic words uttered by T in Obama's mouth. Really, try it. I know it's difficult because Obama is a respectful, intelligent, kind, broadminded individual who would never press himself on women, or make fun of a disabled person or stiff a contractor, or go bankrupt numerous times and brag about not paying his taxes. But for the sake of this post just try to imagine...

They can see that he's just a fool, and he never gives an answer...

susansmagicfeather copyright 2017 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved

Don't Turn Away

How I Feel about Mr. Narcissist

There are many times in my life when I wanted to shut down, tune out and drop onto my couch. The plan of ease--- to envelop myself in novels and magazines. Certainly November 9th was one of those days but guess what, I had helped create and organize a gathering for over 100 people in our small town and that was not an option. I am forever grateful that I showed up, listened, talked and energized myself and others that evening. Groups of like minded, loving people helps the spirit.

I recently read the Smithsonian Magazine from September about the African Americans experience in our country and the rough road to freedom from slavery. [In no way is our current situation similar to what the African Americans suffered after the civil war but we do have to cope now with a grossly uneducated person about to walk into the White House with no experience and overwhelming prejudices. Let me continue.] One of the articles described Sankofa, the non profit organization founded by Harry Belafonte and his daughter Gina. Belafonte recalled that Usher, the singer needed help. He was angry about the people getting murdered by police officers. So in order to bring awareness to the general population they made a video titled "Chains". The video forced viewers to stare into the eyes of unarmed people who were killed by police. If the camera detected a wandering gaze, the words "Don't Look Away" appeared and the video stopped playing. The film centered on images that are painful to look at and worse to address. People being killed for being black, yellow or brown. 

Today I am focused on all of the people who have turned away, looked away from their citizenship, their duty to vote and enabled the T to become, arguably the most powerful person in the world. How when so much was at stake could anyone do that? What made these citizens sit at home, blithely go to work and walk out on their civic responsibility? Baffling to say the least. They decided to turn away.

How can those who were non participants become part of the solution of this terrible problem that has been thrust into our lives?  I urge all of you non participants to do several small things. 

1. Make a phones call to your political representatives. 
No matter how unresponsive you believe them to be, do it anyway, numbers count. Do the call with as much politeness as you can muster and tell them of your concerns. Honestly it takes seconds. Remember what's at stake: they intend to cut off funds for various environmental projects and want to privatize social security and medicare, and disassemble the ACA. It's going to take every last one of us insisting that they listen to the majority. We are the majority. HRC won by 3 million votes.

2. Participate at the local level    The local level being the various boards, community organizations or of course the Democratic party. Consider running for office, precinct committee officer, school board, county commissioner, dog catcher, whatever. It is vastly important that we have generous, kind, intelligent people in our governments large and small. Right now the biggest roles are being filled by ill equipped and unqualified people that have no business being trusted by these high offices and in fact want to disrupt the various cabinets they've been appointed to.

3. Write, speak, march, show up.  It is no longer okay just to grouse at home or with your friends, we need action and plenty of it to make a change. Letters to the editor of papers small and large, attending meetings and discussing issues that are important to you and the community you live in, marching down the street and showing up to be a voice for change. Word of advice, screaming and being obnoxious is unnecessary and may even hurt your cause. Forceful, focus, insistent and persuasive is more accessible. Hence, no screaming at people, even if you're frustrated and angry. Go throw rocks into the water, or write a blog about the stupidity of certain people, it helps especially if you couple the anger with all of the good actions mentioned here. Think about it, do you react well to being screamed at?

4. Give generously to causes you care about. Want to have clean air and water? That is absolutely threatened by T's choice. His choice is a climate change denier and now will be heading the Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club want our environment safe and protected, help them. Women's rights? Planned Parenthood is a protection for women and deserves our support. Human rights? the ACLU was one of the only organizations who stood up to the government when they incarcerated the Japanese during WWII. Remember no Germans were incarcerated, it was definitely a racist imprisonment. Racism is overt now, don't turn away, don't look away. Stand up for your neighbor, your fellow citizens as you would want them to stand up for you if you were a minority. 

5. Seek goodness and humor, do acts of kindness every day 
One of the things that I endlessly talked to my clients about was be aware and amused every day even if it feels like there is nothing to be amused about. I've taken to re reading Calvin and Hobbes, such good bed companions and a guaranteed laugh per page. The other thing is so simple: kindness doesn't cost a cent and yet it pays such great dividends. Be kind no matter what. Make someone laugh or smile every day. 

6. Help create the kind of world that you want a beloved child to inherit.    It is that important.

 The best reason to fight for clean air and water and human rights

 

 susansmagicfeather copyright 2016 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved

Year in Review with Photos

The mysterious case of the man in the Arbutis

Greetings and happy holidays to all. Here is my annual year in review with photos. Enjoy and love one another.

wonderful walks on an Autumn day

Realization that there can be light at the end of a rain storm

love a young lady with a wicked sense of humor

Thanksgiving always splendid with these girls

Grout family up for a good time at Thanksgiving

Chicago for a wedding with Jim and Colleen Grout

More Chicago with Trisha and Peter

good hike with this crew

San Diego

San Diego with all, a ball

Glorious scenery and the best fun in San Diego in the fall for our birthdays.

Cousins and grands at Groutfest

good sports in SD

The Grout family 

love to travel and eat our presents for Xmas

I Don't Care How You Voted, Remedies for the Future

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.      MLK

I have a very long uphill battle to face. I am going to do this with as much dignity and love as I can muster for four long years.  My heart is heavy with concern about the new administration and I yearn for a time when kindness and caring for others and this poor earth were with us. 

I don't care if you voted for a 3rd party, I don't care if you didn't vote, I don't care if you voted against Hillary and for Voldemort. I'd like you to read this.

What have we done, America? We have placed this man, T, in a position of power who is not only ill prepared for the job but is also a human being who cares nothing about anything but his own family and, of course, himself. On a daily basis I've been baffled that so many Americans have not only been conned by him and his rhetoric but also apparently found nothing wrong or objectionable about his misogynistic, hate mongering, insulting prevarications on an hourly basis, and that they actually voted for him. Please, I want to understand this. 

Is this truly who we are? It is no wonder that the young adults of this country have taken to the streets. I agree with them. We need to shout out to the world that this man does not represent us or our values. He represents hatred and fear. We are better, finer than that. 

How can we give him, as his supporters all suggest, a chance when he has made himself perfectly clear with his actions and words exactly what he intends to do with this country. Remember his actions: stiffing employees and contractors; not a penny of his own money to charity; bankruptcies; physical and verbal disrespect for women; contempt for many different races and minorities; copious name calling; saying he'll put his children in charge of his money, not a blind trust, as every other president has done...etc.  This is what we have to present to the world as the USA. I say, No! that is a false picture of who we are. I believe we are better than that. 

I also want to understand how putting a prominent "climate denier" in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency helps the environment? This is truly someone who is deaf and blind to science. This demonstrates his stunning ignorance about the condition of the earth. Human induced climate change is accepted by 99% of all competent, qualified scientists working in the field. The 1% who jumped on the denial bandwagon are paid by the oil and gas industry. 

Voldemort has appointed a known racist to be his top advisor, Stephen Bannon. If you don't know about him, here is a sampling:

Here's everything you need to know about Stephen Bannon. President-elect Donald Trump recently named Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist and senior counselor. The move to name Bannon — who has a long history of bigotry — to such an important role makes a mockery of Trump’s pledge to be a president for “all Americans.” Before joining the Trump campaign, Bannon oversaw the rise of the Breitbart News Network, a far-right website that caters to white nationalists. There, a former editor says, he "aggressively pushed stories against immigrants, and supported linking minorities to terrorism and crime.”  Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] Features on Bannon   Read SPLC President Richard Cohen’s statement on Stephen Bannon White Nationalists Rejoice at Trump's Appointment of Breitbart's Stephen Bannon Sign our petition and say "No" to Stephen Bannon Bannon in the News Steve 'Turn on the Hate' Bannon, in the White House (The New York Times) Trump draws sharp rebuke, concerns over newly appointed chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon (The Washington Post) Steve Bannon: Appointment of 'white nationalist' must be reversed, critics declare (The Guardian) Here's why it's fair — and necessary — to call Trump's chief strategist a white nationalist champion (Mother Jones) How Donald Trump's New Campaign Chief Created an Online Haven for White Nationalists (Mother Jones) From the SPLC Archives Read the SPLC's extremist file on the Alternative Right View the SPLC's map of hate groups in the United States Read our report, The Year in Hate and Extremism 2016 Trump Campaign Hires Breitbart Exec Stephen Bannon, Cozies Up Closer to the Alt-Right Is Breitbart.com Becoming the Media Arm of the 'Alt-Right'? Whose Alt-Right Is It Anyway?

How can I/we forgive all that he verbalizes, acts and represents and move on to hope and love? 

I don't care if you voted for a 3rd party, I don't care if you didn't vote, I don't care if you voted against Hillary and for Voldemort. I do care passionately that if you say you're not a racist, or a bigot, or a misogynist that you prove it. I believe passionately that if you say you love the earth that you do not aid in it's destruction. 

What are you going to do? What action are you going to take to combat hatred with love? Loving, folks, is doing not just thinking. If you say you are going to pray for healing and for this country to heal and yet you sit idly by as the hatred is spewed before you and you do nothing, how is this love? If you are repeating racist and sexist remarks as though they are entertaining, how is this love? If you do not give money to the poor but instead force the poor to continue in their cycle of poverty and offer no jobs merely criticism for their lives, how is this love? If you take health care from people because you object to anyone having benefits from the government, how is this love? 

It is not enough to know what is right. Courage also is needed to do what is right.                      Arthur Dobrin

I am working on forgiveness. I have to for my own benefit and for all those I encounter. But, like the Jews who had to forgive the Nazis for their own sake, I will not, as they did not, ever forget. Hatred does not help. I am asking a big favor of all of you to back up your assertions of not agreeing with Voldemort's statements with some positive action. I firmly believe in the goodness of people.

One way to be assertive against racism, hate and misogyny is to give generously to positive organizations that can further a good future for our children and grandchildren based on love not hate. Here is my small list of the charities that deserve your attention and will work for love, goodness and compassion: 
1. Souther Poverty Law Center: as mentioned above they have an excellent program that teaches tolerance. They help any group that is being target by hate.
2.Planned Parenthood: they do support all women with cancer screenings, preventing pregnancy with birth control etc. Abortion is a tiny portion of what they do for women but the only thing the right-wing haters seem to care about.
3. Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Defense Fund: they work wit a wide variety of land owners and corporations to bring about environmental positives; when all else fails they will sue governments or corporations that are polluting the environment.
4. Sierra Club: a very positive group with a long history that also works in ways that complement the efforts of the NRDC and the EDF to protect our environment.

Ask yourself, how am I loving and what am I doing to help the most vulnerable in our country? Currently hate crimes are on the rise and the KKK is rejoicing in this election. Is this what you want and desire? Please prove otherwise.

As for me, besides donating, I called Paul Ryan to encourage him and his chronies not to cut Social Security and Medicare, which he very much wants to do. How about the corporate welfare? That could be cut. I am also going to stand up for anyone who is abused, interrupt anyone who is targeting the vulnerable and take it to the streets if necessary. 

Join me in being loving and forgiving through action.

susansmagicfeather 2016, copyright Susan R. Grout, all rights reserved

the only pussy I want to see grabbed

When Anxiety Is Running the Kentucky Derby In Your Life

A lot of people are afraid of heights, not me I'm afraid of widths.       Stephen Wright

Some families fight depression and must learn ways to overcome it. Not ours, it's anxiety that races through the family faster than the horses at the Kentucky Derby.   Susan Grout

BEFORE

There are many therapeutic blogs out there giving outstanding advice on how to deal with anxiety. I've found personally that curing yourself of anxiety is entirely personal. Some believe that there's a universal remedy like taking even slow cleansing breaths, and trust me this does help.  However, lately we've all had days of nail biting stress, now it's time to call in the horse trainers to still the racing thoughts.

Since this is entirely personal I will regale you with my own favorite stress/anxiety reducers. 

AFTER

1. I paint. Not portraiture or pastoral scenes but the walls of my house. Nothing calms me more than this activity and the intense satisfaction of seeing a wall that's dull and tired become bright and beautiful. 
2. I play guitar and sing. Mind you, this is not a concert worthy quality performance but the sheer joy of expression is always deeply appreciated by me. I say, "Sing as though no one is listening", and by god no one is...
3. I do yoga, several postures almost every day such as the cat/cow, tree pose, plank and Warriors I, II and III.
4. If I have trouble sleeping and my mind is restless, the three part breath is quite useful. The act of filling up the body with new breath leads to new thoughts and encourages calm thoughts.

   

   Action and charity combined

5. Forest bathing: I do as the Japanese recommend and get out to a forest and drink in the purity of the trees.
6. Become a knit wit: I love to watch movies and knit. My latest project is knitting head bands that I then donate to the Thrift shop or "Nana's House" a little store that allows kids from 2 to 12 to purchase inexpensive items to give to their families at Xmas.
7. Write a check to your favorite charity or send a thank you note to someone who has done a kindness to you. Works for me.
8. Get out of the house. I love to ride my bike when the weather is better than the constant rain we've had, but walking in the rain is pleasant.

A sneaky way I have of ridding myself of anxiety is to give ideas and therapy tips away. So thanks for reading, I appreciate you all. 

Loving is doing so if you are being exceptionally loving to yourself [as I have been today] it really helps to reduce the anxiety load. Gives a new meaning to 'hold your horses' and certainly quiets the internal Kentucky Derby. 

susansmagicfeather  copyright 2016 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved