@jeanne-mayell Agreed!!! I scoffed at those articles. As a single mom raising 2 kids on her own and not being paid a living wage hourly rate and working long hours of overtime and living from paycheck to paycheck and robbing peter to pay paul many times? I used to bark not amused laughter at all the articles on "saving for retirement, build your 401K, buy this stock" When rent is too high and raised every 6 months to yearly and jobs did not offer health insurance or 401K's and child care was so expensive and exes did not always pay as they should and you had to take them to court to get them to pay (ended up getting child care set up to be paid through the courts)..when you make to much to get "help" but not enough to make ends meet.... SMH *sigh*
In my thoughts? In ANY "civilized" country? When everyone has shelter,food and medical care? THEN we can claim "economic well being". In my thoughts? The fact that ,in one of the supposedly richest most advanced nations in the world , we have people living in the streets, their cars and not having enough to eat or place to live much less get medical care....while people like Jeff Bezos,and others who got even richer during the Pandemic pay no taxes? I paid more taxes than 45 for several years!!! and I have never made over 30,000.00 a year! (and that only in the last 4 years of employment) I am sure most of us do!!!
There has to be change!!!
The Happiness Index has been written about numerous times, and it has been largely ignored because we are a materialistic culture, but ultimately, I believe it is the only measure that matters of a society that has advanced beyond subsistence living.
Wealth is a relative term. I am certainly wealthier than the Koch Brothers, though, if you ask the right question: "Do you have what you need?" I do; they don't. My 4 acres and no debt makes me happy; their billions of dollars make them hungry and scared. Who would you rather be?
Until we collectively decide we would rather be happy and healthy than have a lot of money, we will continue to make foolish economic choices.
@walden-ponderer and there in lies the crux. I am rich in my eyes now. I enjoy my modest home and animals and family and friends. We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, clothes on our backs, medicare for me and my grown children have great jobs, health insurance and 401K's. We have had our struggles but through it all we have always had each other and much love between us. I am the richest woman I know.☺️?
The most valuable asset anyone can have (beyond family/friends) is your health. With good health you can achieve almost anything. As Walden Ponderer & JourneyWithMe2 have stated wealth is not associated with money. I am fortunate to have rather good health at the very youthful age of 71 and am grateful for the gifts I have been provided with along the way. There are many that have so much (but are not satisfied) but there are more that have less in a monetary sense but are truly rich and far more content in their lives. I believe it's not who you are or what you have but how you treat others along the way. I live comfortably and have what I need, along with a few wants, and am grateful for each daily gift I'm given.
This site has been one of the most inspiring gifts of late and I try and pass on good energy wherever I go as you all have done for me.
MickieMac - aka Michael J.
Ever since COVID, there is a rise in violent crimes in NYC. Most of my ABC 7 tweets are about shootings and subway attacks. How will this be addressed?
Seems like we move one step forward and then one step back with this stuff.
Trump org is being investigated for possible criminal activity.
Roe vs Wade is again in the cross-hairs of being overturned.
Also I hope that Biden becomes the first sitting president to condemn Israel. I highly doubt it but here's to hoping.
Worth a read! https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/19/capitol-police-riot-commission-489673
and https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/house-vote-january-6-commission/index.html
May the Truth be found and those responsible be held accountable!
Worth a read! https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/19/capitol-police-riot-commission-489673
and https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/house-vote-january-6-commission/index.html
May the Truth be found and those responsible be held accountable!
The amount of gaslighting being done by republicans is expected but always surprising.
Sending good energy to make sure the at least 10 Senate republican also vote to pass the commission.
@enkasongwriter NYC is raw right now, but it will heal, and the recent violence will settle down. I can't say for sure when, time-wise, but I do feel we'll be ok. I see it everyday with my own eyes, but I also feel like it's temporary, and I feel we'll be OK.
Cartoonist Ward Sutton lays it out perfectly: The Republican Identity Crisis -- https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/12/opinion/republican-identity-crisis/
Notice the details. (eg POX news)
This headline/article in the Guardian US this am broke my heart. 22 states!!!! 22 states have/are rejecting the unemployment aid for those still out of work due to covid-19. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/21/us-unemployment-benefits-pandemic-cut-republican-states
This is beyond despicable. If anything causes the fall of the QGOP? It will be the masses of all of us who survived all they did to destroy us and vow to show up in droves to vote these monsters OUT.
Nothing has made it more clear than ever that they have an agenda that does not serve we the people... only them the 1%. The more they squawk about why the 1/6 Commission should not be formed and investigated the more we KNOW how the majority of them were involved and need to be charged and held accountable.
@journeywithme2 The GOP hates their supporters. They gleefully inflict pain on them, which causes them to become or remain angry, and then the GOP convinces them that "others" are to blame for their pain. Rinse, repeat.
There's a professor at Yale who refers to this as sado-populism. Until people realize the pain is unnecessary and vote in their best interests, it won't stop.
@lynnventura. This sounds entirely plausible. Some people are drawn to drink from the well of pain and resentment.
Ever since Israel's attack on the Palestinians, I see a recent spike in anti-Semitic hate.
In addition, the COVID crisis sparked anti-Indian hate, with a recent attack in Little India in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVpaCyO8f5o
There are lots of anti-semitism and islamaphobia all coming out of the woodwork lately. Here in the UK there has been a definite uptick in attacks and protests related to this. Lots of people have been weaponosing and using it for their pent up racist behaviour. It really disgusts me.
There is a lot of stuff going on everywhere to be honest, here in the UK, we have definitely got some crazy stuff going on, especially without out politics - lots and lots of corruption coming out now but it's all being swept under the carpet - because unfortunately, our mainstream media is completely in bed with our government and is mostly controlled by Rupert Murdoch - like in Australia. Sigh. When will that man's despicable influence end?
Sigh. Finding the good amidst the compost this Monday morning is proving difficult. Four GOP officials who in one capacity or another voted to overturn the election results are now running for their local Sec of State offices to be election officials.
The brown shirts are not going away, and neither are their lawyers. I still have faith in the light, but the dark is not going away without a fight.
@walden-ponderer - I am also reading about Republican efforts to change ballot initiative laws in red states. They are working to make it difficult for citizen groups to put initiatives on the ballot. https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/05/23/move-to-kill-ballot-initiatives-in-arkansas-is-part-of-the-national-republican-agenda.
This causes me concern for our democratic values and way of life. I keep waiting for indictments to come out on those who have committed crimes against our democracy, rule of law and theft of national property.
I get hope when I read from others here that spirit lights are guarding our world. I pray that is true and justice will prevail.
@walden-ponderer, @barbarmar22 -- I feel the same way. I take comfort from the positive predictions on this site regarding the 2022 and 2024 elections, but I can't shake the ominous feeling I have that a descent into fascism is a hair's breadth away. I hope what I'm picking up is the darkness of the evil doers' intentions and not a sense of what's to come. I am much better at "feeling" collective energy than I am at predictions, which makes me somewhat hopeful.
@lynnventura, You have helped me over the years in your willingness to see the darkness, even when I didn't want to. I know you to be a great warrior and I am grateful to you for being in this conversation. I agree with you that we must stay vigilant because the darkness is fighting back now like never before. For them it's a desperate fight for survival because they know they are losing. They have most of the money but not the numbers.
Their best bet is to keep people from voting.
So we must continue to raise consciousness and help get people to the polls. We have to write those postcards that encourage and help people of color to navigate the new voter shutdown attempts in conservative states. We must help raise awareness so that everyone votes, no matter what kinds of impediments the Repubs create. We have to donate to progressive candidates and to progressive legal groups.
I wish the battle were over, but it is still going on. After we get hit hard with heat and storms, perhaps this summer and fall, the Republican climate pushback will start looking even more ridiculous. But they will continue their racist efforts and more.
My original 2013 and 2014 visions showed that 2020 was the low point but the new progressive high will be in 2028. We have to keep our eyes on the light, and on rising up as progressives and evolving humans in every way that we can.
Being positive does not mean pink clouding. It's engaging in Active Hope -- staying in the hope, and staying active.