KateThoughts

Politics and The Law Of Attraction

I haven't been sure I could put these two concepts into the same sentence, much less balance them in my own heart. I have avoided seeing/looking at so much stuff because all I could see was the "pushing against" that is so hurtful and devisive. And it is certainly true that a HUGE percent of the energy expended, and wasted, by politicians (and ALL of us involved in 'keeping up' with them and the issues), is spent in the struggle-the fight against some one or some thing or some party.

And I find this true of almost every political person or subject that I have encountered. Until Now.

Here is my favorite voice of reason, bringing a new perspective, in a conversation with a politician.
Halleluiah! I hope this resonates with you; I'll enjoy your comments if you care to offer them. 
           (takes about 13 seconds to get going...)

 

BIG: Basic Income Guarantee ~ opinion and links

"The Basic Income Guarantee is an unconditional, government-insured guarantee that all citizens will have enough income to meet their basic needs." This quote is the cut-line of the U.S. BIG Network.
(At this site you may decide to subscribe to their 'News Flashes', or learn about the people behind the movement, or follow many other links. You can even 'Like' them on FB! )

I haven't mentioned this subject in many many moons. I still strongly support this and similar theories,  but I don't find many ears interested in hearing about it, and I lack sufficient economic education to answer some of the questions I get from my more conservative relatives.
I've also completely lost the missionary fervor that used to require me to preach to you about the things you should do, believe, etc... 

So, here are a couple of links for your consideration.

This one (same URL as 1st link) goes to an article that defines BIG (Basic Income Guarantee) and compares it to Alaska's present 'Permanent Fund', which defines any Alaskan resident (of more than one year) a part-owner of the state's resources (oil) and pays an annual benefit.
The article also compares BIG to wage subsidies such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that is in place now in the US, and also compares it to Stakeholder Grants or Negative Income Tax schemes, and some of the many other similar theories.

This link goes to an article called The Many Faces of Universal Basic Income. It is a lengthy one and discusses the dimensions of Basic Income: Universality, Individuality, Conditionality, Uniformity, Frequency/Duration, Modality, and Adequacy. The article also touches on the evolution of policy design.
I confess - the article is very dry to me and some of it took more than one readthrough to be clear. In the main, though, I still believe in and support this system as a VERY MUCH BETTER answer to the present horrific welfare system in operation in this country!

I hope you'll read a bit...give it a little thought...and consider supporting such theories when they begin to be more readily visible on the political horizon.

 

Dry Mills #24 to Mills #22 ~ 11-2-2011

Trailhead









Climbing Mother Nature's stairway

 

 

 

 

 

 

? Worm holes?
or evidence of woodpeckers..?

 

 

 

Ponderosa Pine - bark
Someone told me it takes 70 years, or more,
for the red to start showing up in the bark.

this area has one of the few remaining Ponderosa forests in the world...
...or it did have, before Little Bear Fire.

 

a short rest

 

 

 

Junction.
The trails criss-cross all across the White Mountain Wilderness.

 

Trail dogs; we always have at least one.  : )

 

 

 

Water!

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIG rocks. did I say I LOVE them?

 

 

 

'nother one; taller than I am!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're at the end of this hike, but you can see we could just start down another trail.  We make jokes in this area like:

"Support Your Local Search & Rescue!
Get Lost!"

but one really can get lost easily and someone does so with amazing regularity. That's one of the main reasons this group is so important to me.

Jim E. has led this group for years; he's hiked these trails for more than 30 years and is a trained S & R person with tons of credentials. He carries radios, GPS, and a miriad of other tools that gather info and entertain him/us. He can tell wind velocity; how much elevation we've gained or lost; temps, of course. And one of more of our speedier members also carry radios so we always know where everyone is.
Sometimes I think we must string out a mile or more. But our fearless leader keeps an accurate count, and always brings up the rear. Jim is always last out of the woods and keeps an eye out for signs of trouble. On at least two hikes that I know of (none I walked), hikers had to help out buddies who had broken legs in falls.

Did you know that two staffs (or strong branches) and a 30 gal. trash bag can make a sling strong enough to support an adult's weight?
That's not something I want to know 1st hand, but it's very nice to know that my leaders know it!

 

Cherry Creek Canyon Revisited ~ 10-26-11

So, it's two weeks later, and we're back in Cherry Creek for more fall color!

It's not really clear in this picture, but this IS a natural spring.
My experts tell me that most water, especially high up in the mtns, is fine to drink. But, only if it has been capped and piped up. Don't drink it from the stream or the pool..
So, we could drink this if we catch it from the pipe.
It used to keep that old trough filled; not that much water anymore.

 

walking.
this time we hiked UP the canyon, and returned by the road.

 

Clara: friend, Cheebee, teacher,
psychologist, hiker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony, again
with Fred - also a
hiker and a
Cheebee.

 

 

 

Jim

 

 

 

beautiful

 

me, again.
I think this is the last hike on which
I carried my staff.
Switched to extendable hiking poles
for flexibility of use, weight, ease
of packing.

 

Natural rock wall

 

sweet blossoms
late in the year.

 

Clara

 

rocks & roots

interesting to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny...we went back for the color, but I see I didn't really take many shots that included examples of that.  It was lovely, though. Come see for yourself. :)

And, just FYI, a Cheebee is a fellow Tai Chi student; moniker compliments of Marc. I'll show you a picture of him one of these days.

PS...it's rediculous how tricky it is to get these photos composed on the page!

Salado Loop Trail ~ 10-19-2011

This day dawned clear and cold, so Jim took us to one of many trails that wind around the Ft. Stanton area of the county. There are very broad vistas out here; lots of sky... Just can't get enough SKY!

Parked.
Couldn't take the Sonata here!

 

dry resevoir    

 

crossing the dam

 

 

this structure is
for handling water
overflow - if we
ever have water
again.

 poor horsey; lost his
rock-climbing boot.
And he needs them
on this trail.

Tony..a Search & Rescue
wizard, a Cheebee, a
physicist, and a friend.



hills and drop-offs

 

 

Elk!

water catchment system
for wildlife.

Had some water today!

 

Turkey!

 

 

Raccoon!

part of return trek is
on a road..

 

Sierra Blanca in the distance
looking SW.

 

watering the dogs

This ia all BLM land
or 'My Land', but I forgot why
this is here...  nice to see it in
the distance, though.

Horny Toad!
Don't see them much here.

My landmark for the turn off
Airport Road.

Cherry Creek Canyon ~ 10-12-11

This hike begins (after a drive, of course) with a long push up a medium steep gravel road. Then we get to return down the canyon. The Fall color was just beginning. The hike was gorgeous. The canyon itself is very rocky and only held a little water; not unusual for here these days.We came back 2 weeks later for more color; you'll see that in a later post...

I've begun to learn how the group operates a little, too. There are always one or two who stike off at quite a pace. Only crazy people try to catch up. :) 
And there is a group, one or three or more, who hang back (or can't go faster) and/or like to hear Jim expound on the flora & fauna... we don't see much fauna, actually, we're too noisy.

There is a lot of difference in the pace of these two groups, which leaves all that middle distance for those of us who want some silence on the trail. It is VERY easy (on most hikes) to find a place where I can't see or hear either group. That's my 'Sweet Spot'. And I'm learning all the time to trust my feet more so that I can really see where I am and some of what is going on around me in the woods.

These shots are a few from my introduction to this trail:

view toward west end
of Capitan Mountains

 

Similar view; more
zoom - different angle

 

trailhead

 

 

Cabin's gone now; don't know why; didn't appear to have burned

Early Fall Color!

 

...more..

...still more...

 

Water!

 

did I say that
I LOVE rocks?!

 

your close-up!

 

no bird in it
right now...

 

 

 

 

New Freedoms in Aging; of course!

I look forward to proving this theory, but I hope to get there much sooner than 80 years old:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguuments/im-sexually-liberated-woman-finally---at-80/article11666277/        

Thanks for the link, Marian.

 

Crest Trail #25 ~ 10-5-2011

Crest Trail #25 - the only other trail I had hiked before. :) It's a wonderful hike. The entire trail is over 25 miles long...we didn't do that whole thing, nor would I. Jim (friend,Tai Chi sifu - remember him) has done the whole thing. IN TWO DAYS! Planned for 3; down in 2. Amazing.

TSHG always meets at the base of Ski Run Road, and we always drive to whatever trail is today's choice.
To get to Crest Trail is quite a drive up into the mountains, branching off toward Monjeau Lookout.

There are lots of postings on YouTube about this area: Monjeau Lookout and the White Mountain Wilderness. I'll stick with my photos for now. The Little Bear Fire went thru here...the change is dramatic, but (imho) not relevant to these posts. Look it up if you want to hear about 'disaster', 'should', shouldn't, 'blame', 'devastation', etc.
The real impact of the fire is much more personal than that to me and - for me - requires a different POV. Also for another post.

Only some of these will get captions; most will explain themselves:

Trailhead

 

Cute, huh?!
This was the beginning
of my 'get fit' stuff ~ ongoing...

 

Diamond Peak maybe?
Gorgeous skies

 

 

Crossroads

 

LOVE rocks, I do!

 

 

Monjeau Lookout

 

 

Skyrockets!

 

Jim Edwards
tell you in a min.

 

Color changes
starting!

 

 

 

 

 

Elk Tracks

 

Steps to Lookout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gorgeous hike that was...

RE: Jim Edwards (guy in the Red Jacket) is our fearless leader. His mailing list for this group is over 100. The groups who actually hike range from 6 to 20 people per hike. Jim is an experienced Search & Rescue member, and inveterate hiker, and full of all sorts of knowledge about the flora and fauna of the area. He is extremely patient and unflappable. Really nice man. I hope I die before he decides to quit leading these groups.

Mills Canyon Trail #22 ~ 9-28-2011

This was my first hike with the Trail Snails hiking group, or TSHG as they will be known on these posts.

The group has existed for years, maybe decades. They hike twice a week: Mondays is a longer more difficult hike, and lasting much longer. One expedition recently was exploring in a part of the burned areas. They were never really lost, but fire had burned trail signs and, of course, most landmarks were entirely different. That group got back down the mountain about supper time!!

I don't hike with those folks...yet.

I might never hike with them actually. I like the hiking a lot, but I like lots of other things, too. We'll see over time.

Here are some favorite photos from my first hike up Mills Canyon:

Trailhead

 

First Steps

 

Lovely Light

 

Consenus = Bear
Print! :)

 

 

 

Some Group Members

 

The TurnAround (today)

 

Fall is such a gorgeous season up here.

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the Beginning..

 

 

 

It's an interesting group. My first strong impression is that they talk a lot. Now I know that some talk, some just walk, some want to know the name of everything, and some want to tell you.

I like the group. Even though this hike was an easy one, it was a challenge for this novice. Interestingly, my first hike with this group - this one in Mills Canyon, is one of the VERY few trails I had hiked before!

 

Back to Blogging....yes, I think I remember how.

Yes, our dog took all my attention for awhile...QUITE a while.

Still does, really. But I'm also into Balance in my Life, right? You've heard me say so; I'm sure of it.
Lately there has not been as much as I like. Mea culpa, I'm certain.

Anyway, I'm still distracted, but I'm going to let this blog help me with one of them...the distractions, I mean.  I will be posting here about the weekly (or almost) hikes I take. Yesterday's was the first one in the rain. Yes! Can hardly believe it. Slow and gentle, but still rain! Blessed event. None of us minded and I got to wear my Mickey Mouse slicker! Yeah, you know; the one you bought in Disney World because it started raining and you had to have something and it was the cheapest thing that would do the trick. lol
It turned out to be a one-use item as I suspected, but I'm very happy that it expired on the trail.

For the next MANY posts, I will be putting up photo-journal stype stuff of the hikes. I'll start back with the first one - it's mostly just to have the record here... and I can trim the photo files while I'm at it.  I don't know if this will take several days or several years.

The hope is that, once I'm back in the posting flow, I'll actually write more.

Figuring out how the days should look... want time/ideas/?? for these things:

tai chi, alone, music, burning 500 calories at something fun to me, meditation(godhelpme), archery, Karaoke;

AND THEN...I want enough good time with the people I care about that they know they are loved, appreciated, and respected.

A lot of this stuff can be measured in minutes and a certain quality of intention and attention is required of course. Let's watch and see what happens.

TTFN

AWW!!!  FU%&#ng serendipity; here comes a major distraction and my partner answered for us:
good friends - and I mean really Good, The Best Ever - friends are on their way home and are stopping by for a drink.

In fairness to them and to you, dear reader, I had signed the ttfn just as the phone was ringing. So I was thru writing for today, just thought I might go ....
Change that... we'll take the drinks outside - take care of two birds.

Over & Out