Month: December 2019

DoodleWash

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

I have spent a very long time searching for my art. Searching for something that I could both enjoy and have some hope of doing reasonably well. I’ve got musical instruments, woodworking tools, looms and watercolor paint sets. Not for the lack of trying!

Somethings I do very well, I’m an above average cook, particularly over an open fire. Sauces I excel at. I enjoy cooking for friends and family.

Speaking is another area I do very well at. I speak at churches fairly regularly and I do not shy away from speaking at political gathers either. I keep getting asked back so I can tell others think I do well. Storytelling for families and children is a great joy.

Each of these afore mentioned is a type of art I know but I’m looking for something more and right now that’s where watercolor comes in. I’ve taken two sets of lessons at my adult education center, my instructor told me not to bother coming back, that I was beyond help. Not a pleasant thing at all to hear! LOL

So now I’m watching YOUTUBE videos, in hopes of actually becoming a bit better. and I saw this.

I think the artist has really done a beautiful job; I really like this look… could I DO THIS?

well I gave it a try… Not anywhere as good as her’s but the best thing I’ve ever done.

yay!

I did not have a nice pen like she did so I used a watercolor pencil, black. The gold is a metallic paint marker by Hobby Lobby. The blue and greenish color is some iridescent water color paint I had, I don’t remember the brand , I think Micheals store brand. The wash paint was Caran d Ache.

peace and love

Capitalism is not democracy

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

While I would have thought that as we enter 2020 this would not need to be said : “Capitalism is not democracy”. But here in my home country the USA it needs to be shouted and under scored seemingly everyday. Capitalism is not democracy!

Capitalism takes the position that “greed is good”.

The reality is much different: the hallmark of capitalism is poverty in the midst of plenty. Capitalist greed brings immense suffering and violence upon the working class, by its ruthless emphasis on profits over people. Pope Francis had this to say about Capitalism: “This system is by now intolerable: farm workers find it intolerable, laborers find it intolerable, communities find it intolerable, peoples find it intolerable. The earth itself – our sister, Mother Earth, as Saint Francis would say – also finds it intolerable.” The Pope is standing on the right side of history on this one; Simply put: Capitalism will be the death of us all. And what we need is a big helping of democracy.

But first we need to educate people

Somewhere along the way we have lost our moral compass and even more damning our common sense. We live in a finite world, Capitalism requires consumption, dog eat dog, last white man standing with all the marbles… Capitalists believe greed is good because greed is the garbage chute where workers and resources are thrown while a increasingly few benefit.

war on the workers
spent to bring capitalism to the world NOT democracy.

where ever this life this go around might find you promote DEMOCRACY not capitalism.

keep fighting

What if?

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

“It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.”

~Frank Zappa

Ankole

Ankole, Ankole won’t you give Frank Zappa a ride? Imagine the song he would have written for you, Ankole friend. Perched atop with strings stretched between your horns, plucking away his ride.

Holidays… what do animals celebrate?

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

I was driving to my wife’s family farm this Christmas past, when a crow flew across the road, a distance ahead. Musing to myself I wondered if he? too was on her? way to celebrate the holiday? And so down the mental rabbit hole I went; do animals celebrate holidays? Not human holiday days for I think they would have no need of Christmas, Easter and the like but rather their OWN holidays.

Crow coming home to celebrate.

I quick search on the inter-webs established a few things: 1: I was not the only person to have wondered such a thing. 2: lots of people found the question fascinating. and lastly 3: nobody had an answer.

Bears on holiday.

Needing to get another opinion, I considered Jack. Jack is one of the other souls that I share my home with. He came to live here at 10 years of age. Kind of old for a rescue dog, and more than a little overweight and a stroke surviver to boot. Jack lived his whole life up to this point as a puppy mill stud dog, his whole life inside a kennel located in Texas. black flies had bitten his ears so badly that I was afraid he would never regain his fur, body carried the scars of many battles with other dogs inside the kennel. But sill… his eyes had the magick and when he put his head in my lap there was no question that he was coming home with me.

Jack the Beagle!

What I learned from Jack is that he celebrates a few special days every year. He celebrates the heavy loam rich early spring, right after the thaw he runs and jumps kicking up clumps of freshly thawed sod. He exudes pure joy, he can’t wait to get outside and celebrate. He breathes in the heady scent of spring. While spring itself lasts weeks and weeks for Jack it comes just for one day to celebrate.

spring thaw

Another day of celebration is first snow. Growing up in Texas I suspect he never saw snow over his kennel. But now here in Minnesota we have snow in abundance. Jack celebrates by sitting still in our yard letting the snow begin to cover him up…And then when the moment is just right he bursts into song he connect with the snow and something older. when he is finished he comes back inside curls up and sleeps he is spiritually drained.

celebrate snow.

As far as I know at this time there is only one other day of celebration and the only one that has nothing to do with the natural world and that day is “coming home” day? When we brought Jack home and showed him his very own bed and his very own toys… he celebrated big time he showed off his skills of tossing his toy high in the air and catching it doing it again and again. He jumped into his bed and then out time and time after time… he made the rounds giving everyone kisses and then started all over again. He does this whenever we leave and come back home he celebrates his place and home.

Jack letting one of his toys know who’s the boss!

These are the days Jack celebrates. have you seen animals celebrating their own holiday?

peace and love to you all.

Merry life it is while the summer it lasts

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

Merry life it is while the summer it lasts 

with sound of bird song.

Oh but now the cold wind blasts, 

it blows so strong.

Oh, oh, but this night is long

And it does to me much wrong:

sorrow and mourn and starve.

Good morning, and as always thank you all for giving me this opportunity to share with you.

 it is an honor.  

It seems just yesterday doesn’t it, that we were celebrating May Day or Beltaine  and yet here we are at the other side of the scale… At Samhain or all hallows… with light and dark once again in perfect and  equal balance. Except at this time instead of bright summer days ahead, Mother Earth is taking us all on a head first rush into the dark half of the year. Are we ready?

“Merry it is” the little poem I started with this morning is the earliest surviving secular English poem. And for us to really understand what the author is trying to convey, it’s important to know this, about the times that it was written… sometime Between 1315 and 1317, and after a succession of three wet summers that caused and created a famine in which upwards of half a million people died. It is no wonder then, that the writer of “Merry it is” didn’t like winter and looked back to much happier summer times… Those were scary times for all… for everyone but the very rich… And yet here we go again into the dark…

As the season begin to change, and Mother Earth’s growth cycle comes to its yearly end, the turning of leaves and the ever expanding darkness reveals many new possibilities for us well beyond “sorrow and mourn and starve”. 

The ancient festival of Samhain, commonly held at the end of October, marks the end of the old year’s cycle and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. 

Traditionally it is a time to honor our interconnected world, especially the unseen world of spirit; to welcome the beginning of a time of rest and renewal; and to remember all those who have passed into the otherworld…. Both our ancient ancestors and our beloved friends, and family members. 

Turning back to remember those who have passed before us can be hard, especially if the wound of their passing is still raw…it can be difficult to pause and reflect on very real loss… 

We as people, as humankind, living in these modern times, find ourselves so often disconnected from our families because of moves that have separated us by great distance. 

We increasingly find ourselves disconnected from the land, and the cycles of life… the ebb and flow of seasons… of life and death played out every year in nature indeed everyday in nature… as we go about our daily lives…

For some the difficulty is simply death anxiety… or may even become for some the medical condition known as thanatophobia the fear of death. 

Whatever the reason this time of the year and its seeming preoccupation with the dead is problematic for a lot of us. But for many others it is the best time of the year! 

The light and the dark in perfect celestial balance…

First, let’s take a quick look at Hallowe’en, Hallowe’en really began In the eighth century, when Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints who had passed; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain which took place around November 7th. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Hallowe’en evolved into what is now celebrated, a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating candy and other sweets. All in all becoming less of a religious celebration that honored the saints and all of the beloved dead, into a real commercial bonanza for retailers. Did you know the over a quarter of all candy sold in the United States is sold for Hallowe’en?

Here is this day… filled with everything from spooky movies, candy and costumes and yet at its heart a very religious holiday… and while finding the similarity’s and connections between hallowe’en and the much older Samhain is both interesting and can be even curious at times, whether we agree with all of those connections or not it is pretty much excepted that Hallowe’en as we know it would not be recognizable without Samhain influence on the holiday.

Hallowe’en for me is great fun and made even more by virtue of it being my sweethearts birthday… so every part of our families hallowe’en has that thread… Patty’s birthday, for the children MOM’s birthday… I can’t imagine that ever changing now or in the future beyond us. But Samhain is different…

While Hallowe’en started out as a religious holiday and then over time became what it is now a celebration of the beginning of the greater shopping season… Samhain as I said is different…

I find that speaking with any kind of authority  about the history of Samhain is difficult. Most of that is because we know very little about the history of the holiday. In some ways it exists in a pre-history sort of space. The folks who celebrated Samhain as pagans didn’t leave any writings detailing their holiday. And by the time it was being written about, Ireland had effectively been Christianized. Another difficulty when it comes to speaking about Samhain, many Modern Pagans myself included have attached certain romantical notions to it. In so many ways Samhain and by extension Halloween is our… Pagan holiday. 

What do we know? Well for first… Most of what was written about the Celts came from Greco-Roman writers. And according to those earliest texts Samhain was thought to translate as “Summer’s end” or time “when the summer goes to its rest.” Even if Samhain does not directly translate as “Summer’s end” it’s possible that it was thought of in such a way. Mother Earth Herself certainly agreed with that…

In preparation winter herds were culled and what food that could not be stored or preserved was to be eaten nothing could be just thrown away in the ancient world… so a presumed aspect is of Samhain serving as a type of harvest festival. But is that all there is to it? When we strip down this season to merely a summers end Harvest Festival…

We are missing the very real… power, that late October/early November have over our collective psyches. There’s something spooky and marvelous about Samhain- time, something that was expressed by the Celts and by more modern peoples afterwards. Christians moved holidays to lay witness to the magick and mystery of late Autumn. Fear of the coming dark, coupled with the possibility of supernatural intervention, has remained a part of the holiday since its beginning and is still being celebrated today. 

One of the more magickal aspects of Samhain is referred to and called the thinning of the veil between the world of the living and the otherworld of spirit and the dead. As a Pagan, I believe… and I have experienced supernatural intervention by both Gods and the dead crossing the veil… Not all people not even all Pagans may believe that the “veil is thin” at Samhain, but majority  clearly believe that some sort of border between human and the other… does lift in the Fall. There’s an irrepressible spirit in the air this time of year. It lived with our pagan forbearers and lives within us.

This year past I had the privilege and the honor of spending a great deal of time with my friend Earl Young as he made the transition from this world and the next… He and I discussed that coming transition openly with a lot of back and forth and we generally came to this conclusion… that…On one level, we are each separate beings with our finite little lives. But on a truer level, we are each infinite and eternal. We have no beginning and no end. And we are one with each other and every single thing. I guess Earl and I deeply stirred and mixed everything that the two of us had learned over the course of 60 plus years of living. Pouring back and forth at times from a singing bowl into a caldron and then back… Sometimes this work was hard for us but at other times it was so clear and easy… As my friend faced the veil between this world of here and now and the one beyond of spirit, we bravely looked into the realm of death and transcended our fear so that… first he… but eventually all of us can draw upon the infinite power that is our birthright. Here, everything is illuminated with that special light from beyond the veil that reminds us that mundane is the illusion and only magick is real.

When we take the time or are forced to consider death, we are forced to consider our priorities. In the face of death, a petty argument with a coworker or neighbor seems as inconsequential as it is… Upon the realization that life is short and will come to an end, it becomes clear that time well spent with our loved ones is far superior to time spent watching television or participating on the comments section of a political article on the Internet. When we stop and consider our own mortality, it is easy to realize that we should be working to improve our health and living life to the fullest while we still have it. It becomes more evident to our conscious minds that nobody bypasses the final veil on their way out of this life. We have this in common with every other human we will ever encounter, that alone makes our differences seem minuscule in comparison. This is the wisdom of Samhain which makes it easier to forgive, easier to love.

I see ourselves, each of us… as both the weaver of the veil and part of the veil itself. We make the patterns, we tend to the threads, but at the same time, we’re all threads strung together on the spiral of the universe. We can only weave so far as we can reach at any given time, or the tension, can stress the veil and perhaps even break it. Within the wheel of the year… by its very turning damage can happen to the veil… the seasons or spirits of land, sea and air pull and stretch the shared veil… or we may do it ourselves, by intention or not. 

My last gift from Earl and his family was for me to be part of his life celebration, it was moving… it was powerful… a wonderful celebration. I was very nervous about my role… I wanted it to be perfect… I wanted to do my friend justice and I wanted to convey to grieving family and friends That it was ok to grieve… to cry… it was and still is a bitter loss… but that it was also ok to raise a mug of beer and cheer Earl’s transition… a job well done. I repeated time and time again and then again with everyone the SOUL IS IMMORTAL. And the Goddes as my witness Earl joined in… I have talked to at least three others that saw or heard Earl that night at the brewery… he was happy and veil that night had no hold on him… he was part of it.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you believe we saw our friend or it was the sorrow playing on our emotions. For me, it was an absolute  sign from my dear friend. It was a hello and a check in. It was a reminder of the love that remains after life ends. It was a celebration of the true meaning of Samhain. 

The veil is thin and Magick and Mystery are afoot!

I would like to eat our time together this morning with a prayer to Hecate, for those who may not have heard of Her, I will tell you this She is the Guardian of the crossroads at the center of the veil… She is Queen of both the living and the dead… She holds the lamp and guides our way…

On this Day, I honor the souls of my family and friends who have departed from this world.I honor the spirits of my ancestors, knowing that they watch over my family in this world.I honor the Goddess Hecate, who holds the lamp that lights our way, and thank Her for bringing final rest to those suffering and in pain. I pray that She is gentle when my own soul and the souls of my loved ones stand on Her crossroads.

I honor the Goddess and Mother Hecate guardian of the souls of the living and the dead, and thank Her for watching over the souls of my loved ones, both in this world and the next… and that when our time comes to leave, She take us gently by the hand and lead us true into the next world.

So Mote It Be.

I wish you both Happy Hallowe’en and blessed Samhain So let’s celebrate death. Let’s celebrate life. And let’s celebrate the veil where they meet! Thank you

Joy of Yuletide

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

Good Morning and thank you. It is wonderful to be given an opportunity to speak here again and in particular to speak at this time of the year and share with you some of my thoughts about this, my most favorite of holidays. 

On the way here this morning my car radio played Christmas song after Christmas song. And that while for me that was a deliberate choice, because I had chosen a radio station that at this time of the year ONLY plays Christmas music, I’m sure that whether you wanted to hear these the  sounds of the season or not, it was the same for many of you. Just impossible to escape. 

 As a Pagan following the turning wheel of the year, I find it easy and I do celebrate Christmas. For me, it is not so much about the story of Christ’s birth, although I do love that story, but more about a melting pot of religions, traditions, and our own childhood memories. Today Patty and I put up a tree and decorate the inside of our house and sometimes if I get to it, the outside of our house. We listen to Christmas carols and join in because we know the words, light a yule log, we prepare a big feast, and of course exchange presents. We take time to visit with family and friends. We drive around and look at other people’s lights and holiday displays. We drink egg nog, spiced drinks and hot cocoa. My wife is a tremendous baker and our house at this time of the year; as my daughter says, is filled with the smell of cookies and patchouli. And while patchouli is not generally considered a holiday scent, I feel that both scents that of cookies and patchouli signify a very special time the year… a time set aside…

For two millennia, people from all around the world from every walk of life have felt the same way. I am not alone.

The appeal of Christmas I believe seems to lie in the union of two modes… types if you will, of the human experience, which I would call the Christmas carol spirit and the undefinable very personal mystical… First the Christmas carol spirit… this we may understand as simple, human joy, the tender imagination… there is a reason why some of the mot popular posts on facebook are of kittens and puppies kindness, the affection we have for each other stranger and friend. The music, the secular songs adapted to a sacred theme and other forms of seasonal entertainment, movies and the like. What a sense of emotion, not of sentimentality, but of genuine human feeling, these old songs, movies give us, as though the folks who first performed them are truly our friends, and we find ourselves closely knit together with these Christmas spirits of song and theator.

Another element in this Christmas carol spirit is the deeper connection many of us feel with the natural world at this time of the year… with nature.

For many people, the charm of Christmas is inseparably associated with the country; that connection and charm is lost for so many of us now, our lives and these times are just too vast, too modern, too sophisticated. But the Christmas Carol spirit is different for it is bound up with the thought of frosty fields, of bells heard far away, of bare trees standing against the cold starlit sky, of carols being sung not always by trained choirs but also loudly… by simple folks with no regard to age or accent, pitch or timing, these songs… songs that have been learned by ear and not by book… they are the Christmas Carol spirit that speaks to each of us on these frosty cold winter days. Winter…

Without the idea of winter half the charm of Christmas Carol spirit would be gone, and most of its mystical spirit.

Because this story, transplanted in the imagination of early  Christendom from an undefined season in the hot Middle east to a very different Europe, at midwinter, and because of that the Nativity story has taken on a whole new magic… with the thought of the bitter cold and the birth of a baby born in a stable, with the very real contrast between the cold and darkness of the night and the fire of love for a new born child. It is a powerful story and one that has swept though Europe and much of the world. Within that story, that of a bleak midwinter night, a light pushing through the darkness; when all is cold and gloom… the sun bursts through… returning in splendor, and in our dark world is born the mystical spirit that we have each in our own way waited been waiting for. 

Within that, the Mystical spirit of Christmas, we can begin to see, to recognize… that this time of the year does not and in fact never has, solely belonged to christians. And while the birth of a child in a stable on a cold winter night is the story that has won the heart of many for Christmas; it is, it’s universal appeal to the parental instinct, the love for a tender, weak, helpless, child but potential filled child, that is what so many of us hold close to our heart. And this side of Christmas, is the side that is penetrated most often by the mystical spirit—that sense of the Infinite in the finite without which the best of life is impossible. The Jesus of Christmas has no ethereal form, is not a mere spiritual essence, but a very human child, feeling the cold and the roughness of the straw, needing to be warmed and fed and cherished. Christmas is the festival of the natural body, of this world; it means the making holy the ordinary things of life, affection and friendship, eating and drinking and merrymaking; and for me Christmas has been about being able to blend that story with the pagan joy of the Yuletide season.

When I first began my walk on the Pagan path, I wanted to tie all my belief in Yule into just one day, I wanted Pagan Christmas, Yule and the Solstice to be all one and the same. I was not very successful.  In time I came to understand Yule is a season, and winter solstice is a precise moment in time and try as I might there is no such thing as Pagan Christmas. 

For a while… a long while I really liked to point out all of the VERY Pagan elements in Christmas to my Christian friends and family. And really anybody who was unfortunate enough to have to spend any time or space with me during the holiday season. Godds I was… I’m sure insufferable.

Typical conversation might go something like this: 

Me : so do you like this Christmas tree? It’s really pretty don’t you think? 

Them: yes it is!

Me: you know it’s Pagan right?

Them: I was just going to put this package under the sharing tree…

Me: Presents are Pagan too! And so is taking care of the poor!

Them: well I got to go now…

Me: but we were going to have lunch?

Them: yeah but I remembered I need to go to the dentist….

Yeah I was that guy.

I wasn’t wrong exactly but I was most certainly missing the reason, if you will, for the season. 

I have since taken a much healthier Unitarian Universalist view. This time of the year while sacred to many, is owned by no one group.  An internet search will tell you that between November and January, 29 different religions have Holy celebrations and in December alone 14 Holidays are observed by members of diverse faiths.

And mine is just one. Yule, at its core, at its root, for me is the return of the sun, for the great wheel of the year holds, contains… my core belief in the eternal. And Yule is the key… Japanese poet Yosa Buson wrote “Lighting one candle from another -Winter night”… I can think of no better way to describe what takes place on or about the 21st of December each year and that poem certainly underscores why light plays such an important part in so many of the different ways we celebrate this season. 

One Pagan Story that I would like to share this morning… A kind of Pagan Nativity if you will, and just the same as many fight over the story of Mary and Joseph and Jesus… there is no one way to tell this story either this is but one: Long ago, our land was ruled by two Kings, who were brothers. The younger brother wore oak leaves as a crown, and was known as the Oak King. The older brother wore holly leaves as a crown, and was known as the Holly King. The brothers each felt they knew the best way to rule the land, and they quarrelled over it all the time. The Oak King wanted the land to be bright and hot and sunny for the entire year. The Holly King wanted the land to be dark and cold and sleeping for the entire year. Both Kings loved a beautiful Lady, and she loved them both. She hated to watch them fight. She told them to share the land between them, one half of the year for the Oak King, one half of the year for the Holly King. The brothers couldn’t be persuaded to stop their fighting. One hot day, when the sun was high in the sky, and it seemed night would never come, the Holly King drew his sword against his brother and they fought. Although the Oak King fought bravely, the Holly King struck a mortal blow, and the Oak King fell. “My brother!” cried the Holly King, holding the bleeding body of the Oak King in his arms. The Lady bundled up the body of the Oak King and told the Holly King that he must rule the land. She took the Oak King away. Each day, the hours the sun shone grew shorter. Each night, the moon rode in the sky for  a bit longer. The days grew shorter, and cooler, the nights, longer and colder. Snow started flying. The Holly King could think of nothing but his brother. Finally, the land was bare and dead and all plants slept. Many animals slept through the cold times, and those that didn’t sleep had a hard time finding food and shelter. One night, when it seemed like the sun would never rise again, the Lady came to the Holly King and said, “Don’t despair, your brother isn’t dead. Here he is to take his turn at ruling.” And there stood the Oak King, young again, and healthy, and the Holly King happily stepped aside for his brother to take his place as King of the land. The days grew longer, and warmer, the moon rode in the sky for less and less time. The land grew green again, and the plants and animals awoke. Each year the cycle continued, one brother ruling the green time, and one the dark time. And this is the story our ancestors told to explain how our seasons were created.

Yuletide plays a pivotal role humankind understanding of not only the seasons but how best to insure our survival in times of great stress to our communities… My wife said to me early in this holiday season back around Halloween or Samhain, that she was really feeling the Christmas spirit this year more so than in the recent past, and she felt the reason was that she, we all need Christmas this year more than most. I believe she is absolutely right. And I have kept hearing more and more people say the same thing. It’s been a long year and perhaps our crops haven’t been as successful as we would have hoped for…Christmas, Yuletide call it what you will, is a day for peace, goodwill and the celebration of family and friends. For many, it represents the gift of a child born to bring salvation to a needy world.For others, it is merely a celebration planted in the midst of winter which brightens an otherwise bleary time of year. And for still others it is a time of great magic spinning the wheel of the eternal.

But for all this season… these days offers a time on which giving is a common denominator and kindness is the great equalizer.To know the meaning of the season, one only need experience the joy of a child bursting into a room adorned with a festive tree Pagan or not, under and around which are colorfully wrapped packages of untold possibilities.It is through that child’s eyes we can reclaim optimism for the future… if only for a moment. In the magic of this holy season, the possibilities are endless, the potential unmeasurable and the future is but another step… forward in adventure. For a world torn by war, divided by conflict, battered by economic uncertainty and struggling to chart a path forward through the chaos… of vastly differing visions, it’s healthy we can set aside a time to put away our many differences, embrace those most dear to us and offer good cheer to those around us. With a new year and the promise it holds just a week away, today is a pause in the frantic pace of life that affords us a moment to reflect on what is most important and to take pause, a break from the routine of life.There are many traditional symbols associated with Christmas, and they are drawn from many cultures, religions and times. But they have been woven together over the years to offer a mosaic rich with reminders of peace, hope, love, joy and generosity. However you choose to celebrate this holiday, Patty and I wish you a Merry Christmas, and all the Joy of Yuletide… and a safe and healthy New Year.

Thank you 

Peace and Blessed Be

what to do when the “union” doesn’t want you.

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

https://www.msea-mn.com

It started out as a very exciting day. I was told that I was eligible to be part of MSEA the union for school employees. But that soon ended. I was then told I don’t work enough to join. The union did not want me. I had foolishly believed that ALL workers could have union representatives working on their behalf… not so. Maybe if I had the union in my corner I would get to work more? I’ll never know. The sad truth is I wanted to be an active union member to insure Bernie Sanders got a fair shake during any endorsement process the union might have. I didn’t get a fair shake so Bernie probably won’t either. The union typically takes a lesser of two evils course. Because my voice did not matter to the union anymore than progressive voices matter to the DNC.

WE need… no, we MUST have a workers/labor/democratic socialist party if anything is going to change. Where EVERYONE is included not matter how many hours their boss lets them work.

What that union did to me is push me toward a more radical position with regards to unionization and politics, and believe me there are choices. IWW for one and Socialist Alternative for another and so we’ll see.

“the class which has the power to rob upon a large scale has also the power to control the government” 
― Eugene V. Debs, 

Peace and blessings to all

something a little different

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

My mother said nothing about dragons, but pointed out that one could not say ‘a green great dragon’, but had to say  ‘a great green dragon’.  I wondered why, and still do. — JRR Tolkien

Interesting how we just assume certain things simply because the always were. Class and faith are treated in much the same manner. what if we said feel instead of what we think we’ve been taught?

Monday Musings

Posted on by jeremiahmyer

Hogmanay

“First footing” (or the “first foot” in the house after midnight) is still common across Scotland. To ensure good luck for the house the first foot should be a dark-haired male, and he should bring with him symbolic pieces of coal, salt, shortbread, black bun and a wee dram of whiskey. The dark-haired male bit is believed to be a throwback to the Viking days, when a big blonde stranger arriving on your door step with a big axe meant big trouble, and probably not a very happy New Year!

been thinking a lot about my mother’s ancient homeland.

so much of our history is tied up in war.

The earliest Scots were the Picts. And they seem to have been farmers and were a peaceful people who focused their faith on nature. They believed a Goddess had walked through their lands and that every place where her foot had landed was sacred. Their fierce commitment to their ancestral land is likely what motivated them to become fearsome protectors of it and a dangerous enemy to the Romans Empire.

Blessed be the lands of our ancestors and blessed be the steps She took there.

when peace is offered to all… all will have peace.