It is Really Simple!

You don't need a bunch of laws.  You don't need new regulations.  We don't need the Dark Prospects of a Trump Administration.  We could enforce and Honor the laws and Treaties and obligations we already have.  Lets look at the Dakota Pipe Line.  It (the Demonstrators) is on Private Property.
The Pipeline goes through an Indian Reservation (that is OK, we have Never honored those agreements!), meaning it Belongs to the Indians.  God knows we took everything else!  The issue is Water, or the Law, or Private Property, of Rights of Indians or Oil, all depending on how you look at it.  It is no big deal to me if that pipeline leaks (lie they all do!), I live in Oregon.  We have clean water and lucky for us, no oil.  But it is Thanksgiving and we killed off a lot of Indians to appreciate this day.  Can't we talk about something nice?  The police don't belong on Indian Reservations, nor Private Property where no one is likely to get hurt.  The Only argument I can see to Stop the Protesters is WE WANT CHEAP OIL.  Yeah, Happy Thanksgiving!
Trump wants to same the compressor plant in Indiana. That is a good thing.  Don't send those 1,400 American Jobs to Mexico.  The Power is in US.  Don't Buy Crap from Mexico.  It is really That Simple.  Check the Tags:  made in Mexico, China, Bangladesh. Do Not Buy It.
I remember years ago, even Walmart tried to support American Made Products.  Next to each other, 2 products, American and Foreign with a $3 Dollar difference in price.  The American, better made and made here at Home didn't sell.  We want Cheap, face it.  Walmart knows this.
We have met the enemy and he is us.

If Gardeners Ruled the World!

In American Politics we don't have a Cabinet Position for Chief Organic Gardener but maybe we should.  I think people who like to garden should rule the world.  Our experience with the soil and nurturing tiny seedlings to full production is a transferable education applicable to any Cabinet Position.
We don't make quick uneducated decisions.  We research a lot, spending the Winter months pouring over catalogs, always wanting our next year's garden to be better than last.  We invest heavily in the infrastructure knowing the paths we create will determine which plants thrive and which may get stepped on.  We are protective of the smallest while honoring the biggest and want equal sunlight and nutrients for all.
We like diversity in our garden and realize that is Nature's Way.  Different plants growing together make the garden stronger, encourage pollination and help fend off dangers to the garden.
We realize that a garden is a lot of work and expect those who pick its harvest will contribute to its weeding and watering.  We are protective of its boundaries and will fence off predators.
We nurture and baby the struggling plants, hoping for their survival.  We save seeds from the successful plants, knowing their history and valuing their contribution.
We don't mind getting dirty and realize that this is a labor of love.  Many of us have flowers spread among the vegetables, liking their color and realizing their scent attracts honeybees.  Good for all of the garden.
Perhaps most of all, Gardeners enjoy sharing.  It is part of who they are and sharing their bounty with others creates the most joy.  It is a special kind of giving, not even particularly to people who may need it.  Just an act of giving because that in itself is so wonderful.
I have never met a gardener who didn't give something away!      

No One Wants the Truth

It is a bad sign when we blame others for our shortcomings.   The nasty Jews the Germans killed off in the War.  Oh, first just the "Bad Ones", the criminal Jews and no one cared, then the "probably criminal" and added the sick and infirm, the Gypsies to the list, then, of course "all of them" by the train car loads.
It is funny that Rural America pushed Trump to win this election.  Rural America and farmers.  Who will pick their crops now?
It is always bad when someone gets up the ladder by stepping on those below.  The Truth is Humans are a selfish lot and blaming others is the easier thing to do.
We are so quick to forget the oiling of  Louisiana, the Entire Coastal Area, Destruction of the Gulf Coast.  The Exon-Valdez oil spill that trashed the Alaskan shoreline.  The Dakota Pipeline, a bunch of Indians are after clean water, what the heck is that about when I can get bottled water at Walmart!
We want Cheap Gas and just won't admit it.
I think secretly we hate this planet, want to use it all up.  I see more Trash every day, the new normal.
We keep our cars clean.  It is just expected that we toss the garbage out the window!
The latest statistic I read:  we watch television (streaming Netflix) 600 hours a year!
The "New Normal"  live in a cubicle, throw trash out the window and watch Netflix.
and Cheap Gas, at any cost.  Seriously? 

No Politics, Please!

just blog about tomatoes and grandchildren and maybe the weather, oh, no, not the weather! The deniers are in charge and there is No Global Warming!  By declaration, they said so!  Life would be so pleasant if we just didn't talk.  as in, not voting, can't be bothered.
This "revolution" could have happened at any time.  We could have had our jobs back a long time ago.  We just don't want to go to any effort or expense to get them back.  It is easier to have others force this upon us.  We always had the opportunity to "Buy American", but face it, Walmart is so easy, just down the street, one stop shopping and cheaper!  We want cheap gasoline and will frack the hell out of the earth to get it!  Open up those coal pits and let the miners die of black lung disease, the air get filthy, the water poison.  Drill, baby, drill.  We have not destroyed the Oceans...enough!
    Is any one old enough to remember that previous to our entering WWII there were Serious Debates in our Congress as to which side to join?  We are just a hair breath away and it is frightening.
   We want to go back in time and "Make America Great Again".  Great but not gracious.  In the 1950's and '60's when our Freeway systems were constructed, when NASA was created and we did go to the Moon, we had a Progressive Income Tax.  In those days the wealthy paid their share.  Income tax went to 90% and they still grew richer.  No one is talking about that now.   I wonder where the money will come from?  Reduce SS, Reduce medical, Reduce Education.  It will come from the working poor.
   I am not really worried about all this,  History Swings this way and that and Our System still moves slowly.  Women will suffer now and maybe for 100 years to come, just more of what they had for the last Centuries.  I hear they are tougher.  Minorities have always gotten the short shift. We only believe in equality as long as we get ours!  I worry about the Planet, the garbage, the strip mining, the water and air we breath.  We have never been good stewards of this planet and I think we will get worse.
Like spoiled children.  What a Wonderful Gift we have been given, and we just trash it.

Discombobulated!

Is that really  word?  That is how I feel.  How you could ever explain American Politics to a foreigner is beyond me.  A reality Star for President! Seriously?  and naked photos of the First Lady to be on the Internet.  Really.  Sons who shoot endangered species for sport. Open pussy grabbing season. Open up the coal mines, bring on Armageddon, drill Baby Drill.  Cancel Row Vs Wade, set women Back a hundred years!  Tax Cuts for the 1%er's!  And I am worried about who he will surround himself with:  Sarah Palin, Mike Huklebee, Chris Christie, and others.
I am not mad at Donald Trump but I am disheartened at those who voted for him.  42% of single White Women!!!!  What in the World were they thinking?  It must be better to be loved by a wife beater than on your own.  I am reminded that female genital mutilation is favored by more African Women than men!  We simple fail to vote our own interests.
I think we can get over this, maybe recover.  There are more elections in two years.  I am not sure the Earth can take more trash and am more worried about that.  I don't want the water of Mexico or the sky of China.  Always wearing masks and drinking bottled water as the new normal.
Either way he will soon become our President, then we will see what we have done to ourselves.
Whatever happens don't blame him.  We did it.  and saying "I didn't know that would happen" will be the only excuse we can come up with because   we    are    that    stupid.

Pass the Torch?

Metal Work during the Middle Ages used to be a Secret Society and you could be put to death for teaching the wrong person the trade.  Keep it mysterious and secret and you can get more money for it!  It was a Guild Trade with long apprentices and high expectations.  I have been searching for an appropriate student to take over what I have started for at least the past five years.  You would think this would be simple, yet there is so much more to it than "just welding".
I can teach anyone to  weld in about five minutes.  It is mostly about losing fear and not being afraid to get dirty.  Like any trade, practice makes perfect.  When I started welding about 26 years ago I brought to this trade 20 years experience in the Construction Industry and a lifetime "eye for art".
My competition were, perhaps, better welders, but they were trailer builders and had, maybe 2 or 3 set designs for fencing and gates.  Frankly none of them very good.  I brought my designs and creations to the local Home and Garden Show for 25 years without missing one and could get $50,000 worth of work from a single Show and I did this twice a year.   You would think I would have people standing in line to take over what I started!
I never wanted to Sell this business.  In reality, without me, it is just a welder in a shop.  I wanted to give it away, but give it away to someone who would take it.  That takes someone willing to put up with the "wax on, wax off" kind of experience!  It is not just welding and fabrication I have to teach but art appreciation and the satisfaction of a "job well done".  Passion, and the constant desire to do the next job better!  This should be true with every job, with Life, and whatever we do.  It should be incorporated into who we are.  Yet, it is almost impossible to find!   I have taught over a dozen people to weld.  I can't teach Passion!   You want to be a good welder?  Study Art!  Spend hours pouring over abstract paintings.  Reconnect synopses.   Dream.
    My latest and maybe last apprentice I found on Craigslist about a year and a half ago.  I had some cleanup and construction around my house and needed help and he offered to work for $10 per hour.
I told him I couldn't pay anyone less than $12 so we got off to a good start.  Most workers, even good ones do what they are told and minimize the task, doing nothing more, reaching no hire than expected.  Carlos always does much more.  When confronted with an unexpected situation he will research the issue and tell me what he discovered on YouTube the next morning.  To improve a job he will put in his own time.  I know lots of people who won't do this and Carlos does it every evening!
As the construction progressed and came to a close I offered to teach him to weld.  Without pay.
Carlos is a fast learner and that lasted less than a week.  He would weld on scraps, learn a bit on fabrication and study on the Internet in  the evenings. Always better the next day.
A year and  half later he can make $2,000 in a week!!!  I think I have found some one.

 Nice measurements, great fabrication, perfect fit and strong enough to tie a horse to!

Sort of Like a Tomato!

Well, certainly the Same Gardening Principles Apply:  Good Soil and Good Amendments, all Organic and No poisons!  I don't smoke it although I probably should because of the neuropathy left from the Chemo when I had cancer (all Gone now!).
Well, it is Totally Legal in Oregon so I had to give it a try!