Come on; wake up, people!

Please go over to OpEdNews and take a look at an article entitled "How can a business run more progressively? Are we treating people fairly" and then think again if you EVER consider shopping at Wal-Mart again:

I have an acquaintance that works in management for Wal-Mart and he HATES his job. He is required to be tough, aggressive and mean to the employees under him. They had him fire a group of people to see if he could do it before he became a manager. The people hadn't done anything wrong and should not have been fired. It was a way to find out if this potential manager had what it takes to command a group of underlings.

Just unbelievable.

And now look at this:

I was appalled when I found out that Robert Ringer's book 'The Art of Intimidation' was being taught to women in business situations so they could join men in intimidating in the business world. I believe that kind of mentality (which is still being taught in business schools across the land) is one of the problems with the world today. It is why we move corporations to other countries and use slave labor so we can make the products we sell less expensive. Instead of management learning to intimidate we should be learning to work toward consensus and learn how to build loyal employees by treating everyone fairly.

And this:

The third point I want to make is we vote by where we shop. I enjoy listening to people like John Perkins on Free Speech TV's Keynote, who said we are voting by where we shop. John Perkins founded the Dream Change Coalition which is an organization that inspires executives to clean up pollution, reshape corporate goals, and form Earth-honoring partnerships with indigenous cultures. One of his books that influenced me most is Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I have been telling this story to all of my acquaintances and to anyone that would listen so we would NOT shop at Wal-Mart. Sure we vote where we shop but we need to rethink how we live as well and not buy things we don't need when there are people living among us that cannot afford the food or rent. Do a little research before you buy.

What really gets to me is people who justify shopping at Wal-Mart because "they're all like that." No they're not! I like the last sentence in the excerpt above: "Do a little research before you buy."

Definitely the quote of the day

And it was said on Fox News, no less:

When we have taken steps that have violated the Geneva Conventions, we rightly have been criticized, so as we move forward I think it's important to again live our values, to live the agreements that we have made in the international justice arena and to practice those.

-- Gen. David Petraeus

Puerto Ricans are NOT foreigners!

Here's a correction from today's Washington Post:

The May 27 editorial "The President's Pick" incorrectly referred to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as the daughter of "immigrant" parents. Judge Sotomayor's parents were not immigrants but were born in Puerto Rico after passage of a 1917 law that automatically conferred U.S. citizenship on island-born residents.

Really, there's no excuse for that sort of editorial ignorance in the first place.
~~~

Today's Quick Vote

Well, this is encouraging:

Do you expect the Senate to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor?

Yes - 88%

No - 12%

It's from the CNN website.
~~~

Leno, the great

This is just too good!

Judge Sotomayor said she seemed overwhelmed today, and she said it really won’t sink in until she hears Rush Limbaugh say he hopes she fails.

- Jay Leno

Quote of the day

From Sojourners:

This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear. I strive never to forget the real-world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.

-- Judge Sonia Sotomayor, explaining her philosophy as she was nominated to the Supreme Court.

What has happened to single payer?

Now here's a title for you: How Can We Expect an Industry That Profits from Disease and Sickness to Police Itself? That's by Bill Moyers and and Michael Winship and it's worth reading. Here's a sample:

In 2003, a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama told a local AFL-CIO meeting, “I am a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program.”

Single payer. Universal. That’s health coverage, like Medicare, but for everyone who wants it. Single payer eliminates insurance companies as pricey middlemen. The government pays care providers directly. It’s a system that polls consistently have shown the American people favoring by as much as two-to-one.
...
So what’s happened to single payer?

A woman at his town hall meeting in New Mexico last week asked [President Obama] exactly that. “If I were starting a system from scratch, then I think that the idea of moving towards a single-payer system could very well make sense,” the President replied. “That's the kind of system that you have in most industrialized countries around the world.

“The only problem is that we're not starting from scratch. We have historically a tradition of employer-based health care. And although there are a lot of people who are not satisfied with their health care, the truth is, is that the vast majority of people currently get health care from their employers and you've got this system that's already in place. We don't want a huge disruption as we go into health care reform where suddenly we're trying to completely reinvent one-sixth of the economy.”

What a let down.

I don't see how we could have any more of a "huge disruption" than we've already had with this year's economic crash. Our health care system is an inefficient behemoth. It needs to be disrupted.

UPDATE: Here's a comment to the above article that I think is really good:

Here's my plan for getting Congress motivated to actually represent their constituents for a change.

How can they possibly represent us when they don't have a clue what our lives are like? How can they possibly understand what dealing with the U.S. "health"-"care" system is like when they've all got state-of-the-art insurance?

Solution #1: Figure out what percentage of the U.S. population is uninsured and what percentage underinsured. These percentages will be applied to members of Congress. The insured, underinsured, and uninsured will be determined by lot.

Solution #2: The salary for each representative and senator will be no more than the median income of his/her constituents.

I bet we'd have some reform PDQ, and probably some better-qualified candidates for higher office.

I bet so too.

Memorial Day, 2009

Just 'cause it soothes my soul

War: the real thing

There's a book review in this morning's New York Times by Chris Hedges entitled "What War Looks Like". It reports on a book called The Photographer by the late Didier Lefèvre and cartoonist Emmanuel Guibert . Here's the one paragraph I really wanted you to see:

The disparity between what we are told or what we believe about war and war itself is so vast that those who come back, like Lefèvre, are often rendered speechless. What do you say to those who advocate war as an instrument to liberate the women of Afghanistan or bring democracy to Iraq? How do you tell them what war is like? How do you explain that the very proposition of war as an instrument of virtue is absurd? How do you cope with memories of children bleeding to death with bits of iron fragments peppered throughout their small bodies? How do you speak of war without tears?

I, of course, do not want to see the book. I'm afraid I'm not emotionally armored enough to look at pictures like that. But I know. I know what war is really like and I don't know how any person of faith, how any decent person, can not recognize how morally wrong it is.

This is a nuisance

Dear readers,

I've lost internet connection at home so posting will be sporadic until that is up and running again.

Thanks for your understanding!

Peace,
Ellie
~~~

Ain't it the truth?

"This man needs friends."

Okay, you must - I mean, really, you MUST! - go over and read Garrison Keillor's column for this week. It starts out like this:

Only one out of five Americans is willing to describe himself or herself as a Republican these days, and frankly I am tempted to become one of them. For the variety, and because they need me and because when I heard former Vice President Cheney talk about the meaning of Republicanism the other day — "We are what we are," he said — I felt drawn to the simplicity and dignity of that. And I have never been a Republican, just as I've never been to South America, and that makes it tempting.

I look at pictures of Machu Picchu and think, "Why don't I get on a plane and go?" And I look at Dick Cheney and think, "This man needs friends." I voted for Obama, and will vote for him again in 2012, Lord willing, but in the meantime, it's a free country.

Of course, if you're humor impaired, don't bother....
~~~

Come on; have a heart!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Well, you know I say this to you every now and then. Go adopt a dog or cat (or rabbit or hedgehog or potbellied pig!) from a shelter, please. Did you know that between three and four million dogs and cats in the United States are euthanized every year for lack of adoptive homes?

AND did you know how really, really good it is for your children to grow up with pets? Here are some examples:

• Children who grow up in homes with pets have less risk of developing common allergies and asthma.
• Playing with dogs may help lower blood pressure.
• Kids with pets get outside more- to go for walks, run, and play- and enjoy all the associated health benefits.
• Pet owners require fewer doctor’s visits.
• Emerging readers often feel more comfortable reading aloud to a pet.
• Nurturing a pet is an acceptable way for boys to “parent play”; to practice being caregivers.
• Feeding and caring for a pet encourages childhood responsibility.
• Children with pets display improved impulse control, social skills and self-esteem.
• Sharing the love and care of a family pet forges an additional common bond among siblings.
• Pets offer security and stability. Nearly 70% of children confide in their pets, confident their secrets will not be betrayed.
• Cuddling a pet reduces stress, loneliness, and anxiety.
• And pets provide a natural gateway into the animal kingdom- love for one’s pet as a child often translates into an adult belief that the relationship between humans and animals is one of mutual support.

I had not thought of having pets as acceptable "parent play" for boys before. That's really a very positive benefit.

The above list is from Care2 Make a Difference.

~~~

Obama echoes George Bush today. Sheesh.

I was in the car this afternoon with the radio on and I heard the President say that his first responsiblity is to protect the safety of the American people.

No, no, no!

Mr. President, your first responsibility is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Okay. I know he was being rhetorical. I know he was up against that evil Cheney. But still. He should know better. He does know better. He's a constitutional scholar, after all.
~~~

Cheney

Well, I felt compelled to read an opinion piece I saw because it was entitled "Dick Cheney is crazy. Really."

Of course, I agree but I wanted to see why the writer thought so.

Take a look at this:

The other thing we learn, especially once we get to Dick Cheney's age, is that death comes for everyone, even oneself. A sane person comes to grips with this and acknowledges that perfect safety is impossible, and that there are some things no decent person would do in order to save his own skin -- killing and maiming small children, for example. Those who don't learn this -- those who sacrifice others, many others, so that they might live, are also crazy.

If we don't give Cheney the benefit of the doubt, we have to say that he is pretending to be a man who is crazy with fear in order to once again achieve the sort of power that he lost when Obama was elected president. In that case, he's still crazy, he's just more coldly, viciously, sociopathically crazy than he is crazy with fear. If we don't give him the benefit of the doubt, we have to say he is crazy with evil.

Personally, I don't know which to pick -- I don't know the man. But I do know that he is neither laughable nor unimportant, and that every word out of his mouth, repeated in the press and the blogosphere, is destructive to us as a nation and to the psychological health of those who listen to him.

And I completely agree.
~~~

"Framing" and the fate of the earth

Please go over to Alternet and read the article by George Lakoff entitled "How We Talk About the Environment Has Everything to Do with Whether We'll Save It" . Lakoff, of course, has popularized cognitive science with his many speeches and articles about the importance of "framing" and he explains this basic concept toward the beginning of his article. Here are a few points he then makes:

First, the public's very understanding of nature has to change. We are part of nature; nature is not separate from us. Nature nurtures us. The destructive exploitation of nature is evil. What is good is the use of nature that doesn't use up nature.

Second, the economic and ecological meltdowns have the same cause: the unregulated free market and the idea that greed is good and that the natural world is a resource for short-term private enrichment. The result has been deadly, toxic assets and a toxic atmosphere.

Third, the global economy and ecology are both systems. Global causes are systemic, not local. Global risk is systemic, not local. The localization of causation and risk is what has brought about our twin disasters. We have to think in global, system terms and we don't do so naturally. That is why a massive communications effort is needed.

Fourth, the Right's economic arguments need to be countered. Is it too expensive to save the earth? How could it be? If the earth goes, business goes.

And there are more.

Somehow, we need to get this word out. And quickly, too.
~~~

The President on abortion

This is from his Notre Dame speech:

So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions; let’s reduce unintended pregnancies. Let’s make adoption more available. Let’s provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term. Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women. Those are things we can do.

Now, understand — understand, Class of 2009, I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it — indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory — the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.

I'm showing you this mainly because of the last sentence here. How refreshing to have a president who recognizes that demonizing one's opponents often results in creating a caricature of that person's position.

Quote of the day

This really bothers me that this was done:

The Pentagon said Monday it no longer includes a Bible quote on the cover page of daily intelligence briefings it sends to the White House, as was the practice during the Bush administration.

The above was in an email from Sojourners today.

For Jonathan

Thank you for the following:

And you're right; it's the same as it ever was.

I'm distressed about what has happened over at your place. I tried to email you twice last night but both messages bounced back. I guess you have disabled your account. I would love a way to contact you.

For what it's worth, I have experienced you as VERY pastorally sensitive.

Love,

Ellie

Near-unanimous consensus

Few things exasperate me as much as people invalidating the reality of global warming just because some part of the world has a particularly cold winter or a really devastating ice storm. What were they doing in science class, anyway --- flirting? Throwing spitballs?

I want to call your attention to an article entitled "Humans Seem Hell Bent on Committing Mass Suicide -- But There's Still Hope". Here's just one paragraph:

The world’s scientists, traditionally competing for grants and laurels like the Nobel Prize, rarely agree. For the first time in scientific history, however, climate scientists have not only reached a near-unanimous consensus that human-made global warming threatens humanity, but have formed a global organization—the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—to try and prevent it. Their most recent report states: "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Eleven of the last twelve years (1995-2006) rank among the twelve warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature [since 1850]. ... [Climate change], together with sea level rise, are expected to have mostly adverse effects on natural and human systems [including] ... increased risk of deaths, injuries and infectious, respiratory and skin diseases ... water and food-borne diseases; posttraumatic stress disorders ... increased risk of deaths and injuries by drowning in floods; migration-related health effects."

What part of "for the first time in scientific history" do the global-warming deniers not understand?

Quote of the week

I wish this were shouted from the rooftops:

[Water-boarding] is torture... Give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders.

-- Jesse Ventura

Ventura was water-boarded as part of his Navy Seal training. Yes, I'd like Mr. Richard "Five-deferments" Cheney to experience just a little bit of that training.
~~~

Now here's an observation to ponder

Sojourners sent this out today:

It is more difficult to fight poverty in a rich country than in a poor one.

- Mother Teresa

What do you think?
~~~

Blaming the government

Sometimes I want to share an article with you primarily for the title. An example is a piece by Thomas Frank "You Can't Starve Government and Blame It Too" . And I'm very glad to see that it was published in the Wall Street Journal. Here's part of what it says:

The regulators did fail us. They were too cozy with industry and too blinkered by the free-market faith to see the reality unfolding under their noses.

But what ought to make conservatives choke is the fact that those failing agencies were also the product of years of conservative governance, with its well-known hostility to bureaucrats and its apparent determination to make federal work unattractive.
...
So this is how it works with conservatives at the helm: We starve government agencies of resources, we keep their employees' pay well below their private-sector counterparts, we make sure they know what we think of them as they wait their turn at the photocopier. Then we demand they protect us when there's a problem with extremely complex financial instruments, whose designers are defended by some of the best-paid lawyers in the world.

I don't know why all this isn't glaringly obvious. And, by the way, I don't like government-worker bashing jokes. They are as offensive to me as racist jokes.

Health care and the pressure on Obama

This is from Alternet and it's important:

Our health care system is a structural rip-off that burdens American families and creates an unfair treatment gap based on people's financial means. While many politicians have campaigned on the promise of health care reform, once elected they shirk their responsibilities, succumbing to pressure from powerful medical groups, insurance companies, and individuals such as anti-reform frontman Rick Scott. These powerful medical lobbyists use their influence to stand in the way of progress in the name of profits. We must put an end to it, and now is the best time to act.

According to research cited by Democratic pollster Celinda Lake (PDF), 70 percent of Americans -- including almost 2 out of 3 Republicans -- want major health care reforms, with the choice of a public insurance plan open to everyone added to the current mix of Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.

With significant grassroots pressure on members of Congress and the Obama administration to challenge the status quo, we might just be able to avert a looming public policy disaster.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once famously said to a group of activists from the progressive movement of that era who were arguing for him to act on an issue as vital to them as health care is for America's future, "I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it." It's time to make sure Obama and his administration do what they know is right.

I agree. Oh my, I agree. Put the pressure on, folks. Check out the various oganizations that are applying pressure as a group. (You can see a list in the original article if you click through.) And you can also email the White House directly. Here's how: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
~~~

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday poetry blogging

Oh, I like this:

O Karma, Dharma, pudding and pie,
gimmie a break before I die:
grant me wisdom, will, & wit,
purity, probity, pluck, & grit.
Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind,
gimmie great abs & a steel-trap mind,
and forgive, Ye Gods, some humble advice--
these little blessings would suffice
to beget an earthly paradise:
make the bad people good--
and the good people nice;
and before our world goes over the brink,
teach the believers how to think.

-- Philip Appleman

What can I say but Amen. And Amen again!
~~~

Torture and the Religious Right

This is from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

At long last, a prominent Christian conservative has called waterboarding what it is: torture. Last week, Richard Land, an official with the Southern Baptist Convention, said the practice is unethical and “violates everything we stand for.”

“There are some things you should never do to another human being, no matter how horrific the things they have done. If you do so, you demean yourself to their level,” said Land, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

His comments, though belated, are welcome. He breaks a telling silence about torture among the most politically active leaders of the religious right, who had a tendency to endorse all decisions and embrace all practices of former President Bush. Indeed, Land had nothing to say about waterboarding when Bush was still in office, though many reports confirmed the administration’s use of the practice years ago.
...
Even as reports leaked out about simulated drownings, chaining prisoners to the ceiling and slamming them against walls, there were few voices raised in protest. Much of America stood by quietly as our ideals were trampled, international law violated and our moral standing eroded.
...
At the very least, Land and his fellow theologians might have been able to curb the enthusiasm for torture among their own parishioners. Perhaps they could have added to their condemnations of homosexuality and abortion a reminder or two about the words of the Galilean they purport to follow. “Love your enemies,” he said. It’s not a torture-friendly gospel.

-- Cynthia Tucker

I really like her last two sentences. I've never understood how the religious right folks square their convictions with what Jesus actually said.

Just plain nuts

Look at this:

Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

We're out of our freakin' minds to do this. Really.

Why capitalism is killing us

This is very powerful and insightful, I think:

We are so used to the idea of possession in our society that it isn’t easy to get any perspective about it. Most Americans assume that it’s “just human nature” to want to own things. Yet more than 90 percent of all the human beings who have ever lived have been hunter-gatherers, and for most such people mobility has been so important that possessions were shunned as a useless encumbrance. A few tools and weapons might have been in one person’s possession, but the sense of “mine” and “yours” was very weak indeed.

Private ownership of land is also a very recent concept. The original inhabitants of the U.S. thought it ludicrous to imagine that a person could “possess” a segment of the land, which so obviously belonged to all living things and therefore to no one in particular. Human beings lived off the land on this planet for millions of years before anyone was arrogant enough to claim ownership.

-- Philip Slater

Utterly shameful

This was sent to me by Paul Rogers.

Quote of the week

This is from Sojourners and I think it's very important:

Delaying medical care is a characteristic of poverty. For people living close to the edge, taking off a day to visit a doctor or staying home sick is literally taking food out of their mouths.

- Paul J. Gertler, a professor of economics at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, in response to why some in Mexico self-medicated before receiving hospital treatment for swine flu.

This is also part of why it's so terribly wrong to claim that health care coverage is each individual's "personal responsibility" (i.e. why we shouldn't have universal government financed health care.) Everyone's health is affected when those who cannot afford medical care don't receive it.

Today's Quick Vote

From CNN:

Do you trust the U.S. banking system?

Yes - 35%

No - 65%

Interesting, isn't it?

Somthing to think about

Henry Finlay (May 1, '95 - May 5, '09)

Henry Finlay

My wonderful, wonderful cat, Henry, died "the good death" peacefully in my arms around 12:30 PM today.

His kidneys had failed and he had stopped eating and drinking. It was time.

Henry was magnificent in every way - beautiful, possessed of great dignity, and more affectionate than any other cat who has ever shared my life. He specialized in nose kisses and ear nuzzles! He was the "old man" of the family and never lost his "top kitty" status --- even after he got sick.

I am, of course, grief stricken - especially losing him so soon after my beloved Izzy.

But I am grateful and always will be. Grateful to have had the opportunity to give him a forever home when he needed one and even more grateful for all the emotional and spiritual support he has given me for thirteen years now.

Rest in peace my sweet boy. You are purring for the angels now.

~~~

Church and State again

Tulsa Interfaith Alliance sent out an email a little while ago that called attention to the book entitled The Religion Commandments: The Religion Commandments in the Constitution: A Primer by Gene Garman. Here's Amazon's Product Description:

It was the national Congress, but "not with my approbation [approval]," said James Madison (Hunt, Writings, 9:100), which unconstitutionally hired the first congressional chaplain. It was during the Civil War when the words "In God We Trust" first appeared on some national currency, but it was not until 1956, by an act of Congress, when those words first appeared on all U.S. currency. It was in 1954 when Congress put the words "under God" into the national pledge of allegiance, which pledge no longer represents all American citizens. Therefore, the monumental lesson to be learned: religion liberty is in most danger when the national Congress and state legislatures are in session. "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion and Government in the Constitution of the United States, the danger of encroachment by ecclesiastical bodies may be illustrated by precedents already furnished in their short history," James Madison, (William and Mary Quarterly, 3:555).

It's really important that we all be clearly informed abut the Constitution on this matter. I understand that there's best selling book out there from a right wing perspective arguing just the opposite. For the life of me, I don't see how they do it -- but they do.

If you haven't explored this much, you might like to take a look at the webstie of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Gene Garman, by the way, is a religion major graduate from Baylor University, Waco, Texas and has a Master of Divinity degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Traditionally in this country, Baptists have been VERY strong supporters of separation of church and state. Sadly, the support has dwindled hugely over the last few years. Many people don't realize that those of us against tearing down that wall are as concerned about the potential for the government's interferece with religion as we are religious interference with government.

Be Kind to Animals Week

The Humane Society sent me an email saying that this is "Be Kind to Animals Week" .

Then, my friend Evelyn Duncan sent me the following:

It just hurts my heart so much. Yes, it really does.

Please, dear people, can you find it in your heart to give a little cat a forever home? Trust me, it'll give you GREAT karma -- OR a thousand years off Purgatory (whichever you prefer!)

Okay, okay. If you're allergic to cats, a dog will do. A dog is FINE. Dogs are GREAT!!! :-)

Quote of the week

In my humble opinion, that is:

The same conservative gang that remained mum when George W. Bush praised Putin’s “soul” and held hands with the Saudi ruler Abdullah are now condemning Obama for shaking hands with Hugo Chávez, “bowing” to Abdullah, relaxing Cuban policy and talking to hostile governments. Polls show overwhelming majorities favoring Obama’s positions. But his critics have locked themselves in the padded cell of an alternative reality.

~~Frank Rich

It's in yesterday's New York Times right here.

Tidal power

Had you heard of this? It's a cool renewable energy source:

Tidal energy can be generated in two ways, tidal stream generators or by barrage generation. The power created though tidal generators is generally more environmentally friendly and causes less impact on established ecosystems. Similar to a wind turbine, many tidal stream generators rotate underwater and is driven by the swiftly moving dense water. Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power. Historically, tide mills have been used, both in Europe and on the Atlantic coast of the USA. The earliest occurrences date from the Middle Ages, or even from Roman times.
...
British company Lunar Energy announced that they would be building the world’s first tidal energy farm off the coast of Pembrokshire in Wales. It will be the world’s first deep-sea tidal-energy farm and will provide electricity for 5,000 homes. Eight underwater turbines, each 25 metres long and 15 metres high, are to be installed on the sea bottom off St David’s peninsula.

I found it here.

Art, science and creativity

Remember Mr. Rogers? Something he said came to my attention today and I ended up going looking for other stuff. I found the following and I like it very much:

There would be no art and there would be no science if human beings had no desire to create. And if we had everything we ever need or wanted, we would have no reason for creating anything. So, at the root of all art and all science there exists a gap - a gap between what the world is like and what the human creator wishes and hopes for it to be like. Our unique way of bridging the gap in each of our lives seems to me to be the essence of the reason for human creativity.

~ Fred Rogers

Bumper sticker repeat

Yes, I've posted this before but it's definitely worth repeating these days.