Insight vs Elephant in Living Room

We all know about the elephant in the living room.. I realized a couple of days ago that I've been tripping over one for nearly 2 years now. This is more than a tad embarrassing, mitakuyapi..
I design things all the time. Beadwork patterns, powwow outfits, solar heaters, ways to improve the mileage of vehicles while cutting emissions without computers, bale buildings, and on & on. More than one person has asked if my mind ever shuts down.. The answer is, probably not. I know I'm a restless sleeper.. High energy people are like that, I guess. Regardless, I am.
About 2 years ago, I doodled a design for a passive solar heater that would hang on the outside of a wall. I built some for myself, then filed it under "the 2-year plan", which means I might get to "doing something positive" with it in 2 years or so, or I might never, or somewhere in between. This was before $2 and $3 / gallon fuel, obviously.
Then about a year ago, I read an article on someone else's design for a passive solar heater that hangs on the outside of a wall, and while it felt awfully familiar, it didn't ring any loud bells for me. Until a couple of days ago, when I was looking for something else, and came across my old design doodles in my files.
Em-barr-ass-ing! No wonder the article and the design of the units seemed awfully familiar.
Not to mention - I've been racking my brain for ways to get the tiny company I founded in 2000 back in the market we had to withdraw from due to inability to meet demand for our product with the equipment we had, and insufficient money to build or buy the equipment we need to meet demand.
It has never been a matter of "need to make market" with us; it has always been a matter of "how to meet demand". Yes, lucky us on one hand, and pity us on the t'other. Funding Indn projects is not popular in the U.S, no matter what the hype says.
Please, don't say "write a grant" - I'm a good grant writer, but we've struck out repeatedly with that approach of late because we insist we plan to hire non-drinking, non-doping people with a strong bent towards other ITI (Indigenous Turtle Islanders. You call us Indns or "Natives"). Indn Preference is federally mandated and there are gobs of incentives for it, not to mention, if we don't preferentially hire our own the way majority-culture types preferentially hire whites, I believe we're kicking ourselves in the shins. That's stupid, so we try hard not to do that.
I've been out of work since early November 2007, and out of 'spare' cash since about mid-January, 2008. I've heard more ridiculous excuses for not hiring me than I can shake a stick at. My current favorite is, "we don't want to hire you because you have a college education, and our process is patented. Our belief is we must do everything we can to protect our patented process from thieves." Takoszja, I don't want to work for any company that believes 'everyone else is a thief', and that includes me..
Personally, I - like nearly everyone else - find the making of windows to be supremely boring work. I want a job, not a career, so I can pay my bills & build the equipment I need to get 'my' company - with one food product and two non-food products - back in the marketplace. Period. I could give a flying damn about stealing anything; especially something as expensive as a patent. They have an offensive - and stupid - attitude. There's a lot of that around of recent times, as we all know.
I was searching through my notebooks for an old design the other day and found my design for passive solar heaters. Bells rang, things banged, and I saw the elephant! Right there where it had always been, smack in the middle of my living room! Or in this case, my office.
I had recently figured my personal carbon footprint at an online site, and found it to be between 6,000 and 7,000 lbs. of carbon per year (compared to an average of 20,500 lbs/ year for most people in the U.S.).
The passive solar heater would not only cut that for me, but it would cut the carbon footprint of everyone who heats. Lessee, now, that's most of the country, sooner or later, isn't it? I believe it is. Up here in the northern tier states, it's 5-6 months of every year.
Now this is exciting, takoszja! For about $500, I can put together a web site, information brochure (preferably email, not paper), and manufacture and sell enough units to get my tiny little company back in the market(s)! We can support the 501c3 I also head at a level it has only dreamed about for the 35 years of its existence. We can make a Difference!
I am a Sun Dancer, therefore, a Pipe Carrier. The prayer that orients my Channunpa, and therefore, my entire life, is called the Prayer of The Four Winds. I am the woman who Dances The Four Winds. This prayer is a prayer to heal the Sacred Hoop of the world. If anything would help heal the Sacred Hoop of the world, it would be something like these passive solar heaters, which cut the carbon footprint of everyone who uses them because they cut the amount of fuel needed to heat a building - be it a house, a shop, a chicken coop, a trailer / mobile home, or an apartment.
Now all I have to do is get a job so I can put the $500 or so together & get this out there. I find this so exciting I don't feel embarrassed any more for having not seen the elephant in my living room (OK, office) for so doggoned long. All of this will happen because I doodle and I save the doodles. Pilamiyaye! Wopila tanka!, Takuskanskan.

The Character of Love

The character of love is derived from a wide variety of things and has a wide variety of aspects. Butterflies in the stomach, n-n-nerves, becoming tongue-tied, feeling so0o klutzy when you ordinarily feel coordinated, sweaty palms and dry mouth, the warm fuzzies.. the list is long. We've all had some - maybe all - of these symptoms at one time or another. If you haven't, keep looking - you haven't run out of time yet. There is no set age for any of this to happen, and it isn't "only" for physically young people. Sixty is the new forty, after all, so what does that do for the other decades, hmm?

What constitutes real love, anyway? What happens to and between two people when they hit the jackpot and find true love?

Not everyone is built for great emotional highs and lows, but most people feel a definite rise in their feelings. The phrase "walking on air" is common, and people in love often begin dancing to the music in their hearts even though there is no music anyone in the vicinity can hear.

The Irish say that "love that isn't madness isn't love". But then, the Irish are "the men that God made mad, for all their wars are happy, and all their songs are sad" (G. K. Chesterton; The Ballad of the White Horse). Still, the Celts, the Picts, and the Irish all have contributed great things to the world of love and romance.. Remember Gene Kelly, "just singin' and dancin' in the rain"?

The Italians say that amore (ah-MOR-ay) - love - is a gift from the gods to men and women, of "a delightful insanity".

Johnson Last Horse was my sister Linda's father, and he taught me, "Love is not a barter thing. It is not a case of 'I'll love you if you'll love me'. Love is a gift to the lover and the loved." I think that is probably the most profound piece of truth anyone has ever taught me, because it covers every kind of love, not just romantic love. Yawahshte miye / You bless me. And everyone you or I have passed it on to. Wopila tanka, Johnson. Profound thanks, Johnson.

One of the chief characteristics of real love, regardless of kind, is that it empowers everyone involved. It makes them stronger inside. It makes them kinder. Love heals. Real love 'shouldn't' hurt, but just as in the legend of the Sleeping Beauty, sometimes you both have to labor mightily to get past the thorns to get to the 'happily ever after' part. Love is never greedy or pushy or arrogant. Love is kind, and real love is eternal, because "love is not a barter thing" and our spirits are eternal.

These denote the character of love.

Evil, Atheism, and the Existence of Devils

In the articles so far written about this subject on various sites I've read lately, "arguing the existence of the devil", the level of ignorance of the writers is so painfully apparent it is embarrassing to the rest of us.

Therefore, let us get a few things understood from the outset about Christianity, evil, and the possibility that there is such a thing as a devil:

(1) Christianity is NOT the "only" religion. ITI Traditionalism, is both a spiritual and a religious way; there are many varieties because there are many ITI cultures; there is not and never has been "an Indian culture" on this Turtle Island. Shinto, Bhuddism, Islam, Wicca, and Masonry are all spiritual ways having religious protocols, and name only a few of the many religious ways found among humans here on the earth.

(2) Christianity is NOT the "only valid" religion. To repeat, ITI Traditionalism, Shinto, Bhuddism, Islam, Wicca,and Masonry are all spiritual ways having religious protocols, and name only a few of the many religious ways found among humans here on the earth.

(3) Christianity is NOT the "first" or "first valid" religion. ITI Traditionalism has existed far longer than Christianity, and there are many other spiritual and religious ways that have, as well.

(4) Anyone who does not subscribe to Christianity is NOT "automatically" an atheist. This perspective is so ridiculous it doesn't deserve the dignity of further discussion. It shrieks of the ignorance of anyone who claims that all non-Christians are automatically atheists, though. Such people should do a long, intensive meditation on the old teaching, "it is better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you might be a fool, than to open it and remove any doubt". 'Hoof IN mouth' disease is another name for it, to speak tongue-in-cheek.

(5) Christianity is NOT "the number one" religion - anywhere. Even "if" a majority of people in any locale claimed to believe in the Christian way, that does NOT mean they actually follow its precepts. The behavior of far too many people who claim to be "good Christians" proves that.. The behavior of those who claim to 'follow' the Christian way does so even more.

(6) Simply because a person does not subscribe to Christianity does NOT mean they don't believe in the existence of evil. There are more devout people among nearly every spiritual way in the world than there are among so-called Christians. I, for one, much prefer quality to quantity, any time.

Now to the question of whether or not there is such a being as a devil. We must first answer whether or not such a being has a form, and if it has, does it have more than one form?

Since humans are visual creatures, whether evil ever has a form of its own or not is irrelevant. What is likely is that evil takes any of a variety of forms so that humans can relate to it. Mengele, Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer... all come to mind as candidates for evil taking a form so that humans can relate to it. Since the human being does not exist that can frighten me so far as my considerable experience has shown, then evil for me takes some other form(s). For me, human over-population is absolutely evil, and so is its nightmare progeny, global warming. I am the woman who Dances The Four Winds, which is a prayer to heal the sacred hoop of the world, so it is easy to see how I would see evil through this. For you, it may be otherwise.

Since evil is a reality, and it takes many forms, and evil definitely has strong effects throughout the life of every entity on the earth and has throughout time, then it may be said that at times, evil inhabits some physical entity and that becomes "a devil".

In the Traditional Way of my People, the Lakota, there is no such thing as "a devil", but there definitely are evil spirits. Similarly, there is no "hell"; there is only life here on the earth, which is definitely a place of suffering - often, considerable suffering.

The assaults on all ITI Traditional ways and cultures by so-called "missionaries" of the Christian way are definitely evil. Forced adoption of ITI children to non-ITI people, is definitely evil. Anything that makes an effort to destroy our Traditional spiritual and cultural ways and fabric is evil. Fortunately, we now have the Indian Child Welfare Act to prevent most such non-Indn adoptions, and we ITI have been becoming stronger and stronger in our efforts to not only stop the actions of "missionaries", but to reverse them.

Is there only one way to define evil? Probably. Anything that causes personal or cultural suffering is evil, no matter how 'well-intended' it is said to be. Evil comes into everyone's life because everyone at some time or other invites it in or doesn't do what they must to prevent evil's entry. Is that the work on one entity? No. Just as there are 404 Good Spirits, so there are many nasty ones. It is about balance, and the exact number doesn't matter.

Stephen Hawking and the Reality of a Creator

I've been reading a book on Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist who has ALS.
Dr. Hawking wrote a book in 1988, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME; FROM THE BIG BANG TO BLACK HOLES. In it, he asks, "So long as the universe had a beginning, we could suppose it had a creator. But if the universe is really self-contained, having no boundary or edge, it would have neither beginning nor end: it would simply be. What place, then, for a creator?"
The analogy for the shape of the universe he uses is that of the earth, having a point - somewhere - at the top, widening to the equator, then becoming smaller to a point - somewhere - at the bottom. Since there is no place on the earth that is identifiable as the point of beginning of the earth, so there can be no point of an end to the surface of the earth. Dr. Hawking takes the position that because this is so for the earth, if it is also true for the universe, then there is no need or place for a creator.
He further posits that there is no place for a creator - i.e., no reality of one - because, without a point of beginning, there is no possibility of "anything existing before time".
I believe Dr. Hawking is wrong, and that his position has a basic flaw. This basic flaw stems from the logic he uses to make his position. He appears to believe that if we cannot measure either "time", or the point at which "time" began, nothing existed before it except possibly energy, and nothing could have. Simply because there is no point of beginning - of time or anything else - that we mere humans can measure does not automatically insure that nothing came before the thing we call "time". In fact, 'nothing' has been proven to be impossible to exist; nature abhors a vacuum and there are no true vacuums to be found anywhere.. If there were, the basic laws of physics would be nullified. In short, Dr. Hawking depends on humans' ability to measure and quantify the universe in order to define both the universe and the reality, or lack thereof, of a creator, and his position is based on a premise that is a direct violation to the most basic laws of physics.
Moreover, the lack of a point of beginning or ending of the earth or any part of the universe in whole or in part proves the reality of a Creator, simply because it reflects the eternal nature of the Creator, Which has not beginning or ending Itself.
While Dr. Hawking is welcome to espouse any theory he cares to, the lack of ability to measure a thing does not prove it doesn't exist. The most basic laws of physics speak to this. What this lack does prove is that human technology is not infallible, may never achieve the perfection he seems to believe it can, and in any case, since physics has long ago proven that there is no such thing as a 'true' vacuum – i.e., a space containing absolutely nothing, there may well be a creator.
More than that, I believe absolutely that the universe is a logical creation, and that this in and of itself proves absolutely that there is indeed a creator. To believe in the logic that allows physics and mathematics to exist and to describe the mysteries of the universe and then to claim at the same time that the universe happened by accident is completely illogical. If the universe happened entirely by accident, logic could not function. Predictability would not exist. Chaos would rule, rather than entropy and predictability. The Big Bang may have happened, but it did not 'just happen'. There was a logic – a creator – that made it happen, if it happened at all.

I am a Traditional person of my Lakota People. We have a creation story, as does every other culture on earth. I will tell a part of it here, because it reinforces my position.

Our Lakota Creation Story teaches: Long, long ago, before measurable time existed, and so, before the world (= universe) existed, everything existed, but it was formless. We Lakota call this formless condition 'being in the void'. A void is not an empty space; no such place exists. Void means “the absence of physical form”. Yet, there was life, because everything is made up of spirit (energy) at its most basic.

A proof of this would be lightning. We can see lightning and its effects, but we cannot see the parts that make it up, and we know it is pure spirit, pure energy. Yet, among our People, there are those wakan (mysterious / holy) people who can call the lightnings – the Wikangli Oyate – and work with them. These are the heyoka – sometimes called the Thunder Dreamers.

Anyway, the many parts within the void may not have had form, but they did have a connection to each other; we say, "they were related"; and they knew this and that they made up a whole, because the world (= universe) is composed of spirit at its most basic, and spirit has no one form itself, yet It is everywhere.

For whatever reason, suddenly the group consciousness began to wonder what Its various parts were like. It wondered about this for awhile, until finally Its curiosity was so great It decided to find out.

It began to separate out some of its most basic spirit energy, since Power has many levels, and what eventually formed, was Inyan, the Rock, which later became the Earth.

As the most basic spirit energy separated out and formed Inyan, the Rock, some of the Power of Takuskanskan – Something Holy Moving, which is spirit / energy, which is always moving – also leaked out. As it turned out, it had to be this way, although we don't know why, or need to know why, and it could not be reversed without great difficulty.

The color of this Power was bright blue, and became the disc of the sky. This shade of blue is the holiest of the colors. The point when Takuskanskan began to separate out some of Its most basic spirit energy and it became Inyan as it solidified into having form, is when Time began.

We Lakota have known these things far longer than the majority culture has existed. And, whether we argue Dr. Hawking's question from the perspective of the newcomer, physics, or from that of ancient knowledge from my people's culture, we know his question and his belief that there is no Creator, is wrong and his logic is flawed; that he has apparently overlooked some basic tenets of physics and logic. Just because something has always been does not mean there is no creator - it means there must be a creator, since only the form, or lack of it, is the point of contention. The universe IS the Creator, then; resolving Itself into Its myriad parts, in order to learn what It is really all about. The ongoing formation of the universe is a voyage of self-discovery by the Creator. Hechetu ye.

YOU CAN Combat Global Warming - Easily

It's true. YOU can do a number of simple things to combat global warming, easily and effectively.
On the Rez, the 3R's usually refer to tires for the motorized ponies; Round, Rubber, and Rolls.
Off the Rez as well as "On", the 3R's refer to Recycle, Re-use, Renovate.
(1) Sort your trash and recycle aluminum cans. Aluminum is an ecological nightmare to produce, 'new', because it takes huge amounts of electricity to remove aluminum from its original bauxite ore. Not to mention, mining is not friendly to any part of our Holy Mother the Earth. I have read estimates that enough energy is wasted producing 100 lbs. of new aluminum as is needed to power 100 'average' homes! I have not checked this out, but I will. No matter how much it really is, it is disrespectful to our Holy Mother the Earth and Her bounty to waste it.
(2) Buy fabric shopping bags and use them. Plastic shopping bags do not biodegrade, and they 'live' for decades, mangling and killing all manner of beautiful and innocent People of other Nations; our neighbors on this earth we all share. Moreover, I read that the manufacture of plastic bags wastes something like 12 million barrels of oil a year (!).
(3) Own a home? Rent one? Even some apartment dwellers might be able to use this one.. Passive solar heating save fossil fuels and money. A simple thermosiphon solar heater can save a bundle if you have a south- or southwest-facing wall to put it to work on. Easy to build, requires no maintenance, has no fan, uses no electricity, and the design goes with any style. Take a look at Gary Reysa's article(s on it in the Mother Earth News, or go to his web site, BuildItSolar.com for ideas, instructions, and inspiration.
I enjoy winter camping, and my dog, Chalki ("coal") goes with me everywhere anyway.. It get down to zero F and even below in the winter up here, so I made a small collapsible version of Gary's thermosiphon heater to hang on the side of the camper to warm it up in there and keep Chakli more comfortable on those c-c-cold days. Even on a cloudy day, it can raise the temperature enough to notice.
I love it. It fits right in with my favorite Theory of Operations, the KISS! Theory. Keep It Stupidly Simple! As you can tell, I love low-tech.
(3A) Variation on thermosiphon heater. Windows. Clean glass windows let in a lot of infrared radiation (heat). If you're worried about fading of your art and furnishings, figure out ways to let the sun shine in and heat your place without allowing fading. There are all kinds of solar films available to do this.. Or rearrange your furniture! Cover it while you're gone. Then, be sure to cover those windows at night to keep the heat in.
(4) Remember the 3R's On the Rez? Round, Rubber, and Rolls? Refers to tires, right? Keeping them properly inflated means saving fuel, because they Roll better when they're Rounder.
(5) Walk more, drive less. Not only saves fuel, it shaves off the moder American nemesis .. wahSHEE (washi). Fat. Yes, it takes longer. If you just used that for an argument not to walk more and drive less, you need to slow down anyway. Whether you live longer or not, you'll feel better.
(6) Begin using LED lights instead of CFLs wherever possible, for greatest energy savings. LED lights have the huge environmental advantage of not containing any mercury, as well. I have an LED flashlight that runs on 4AAA batteries that is amazing in the amount of light it puts out. It is a small spotlight, even at a distance. I have LEDs running off batteries that are charged by solar panels for walk lights.. Safety lights are LED too, along with Yule lights.

There are plenty of options - you do the next 6 - 7 and let me know what you come up with. Pilamiyaye.

Beadwork as Love

People have been making and attaching beads to anything and everything since the first of us figured out how to do it "lila ota ehanni" - a really long time ago. (For those who want pronunciation guide: 'i' = 'ee', 'a' is 'ah', 'o' = 'oh', 'e' is 'eh'; the 't' is tongued lightly in this case, & the 'h' is hissed slightly as if you were trying to clear your throat softly while speaking. Lakota is a nasal, glottal language.)
Regardless, it is human nature to decorate, embellish, combine whatever catches our fancy so as to make the nifty, niftier. Somewhere far back along the run of time, back in the days when time more likely sauntered, someone decided to put a hole in something, and made the first bead. Or maybe s/he noticed that some woods, such as chokecherry (champa), have a soft center that can be pushed out, then they cut off a small piece, carved away some or all of the bark, and strung it on a thong. Who did it or where they lived is immaterial, however and wherever it happened, beadwork was born, and we Two-Leggeds got a new spiritual-therapy tool to boot.
Beadwork is relaxing, whether you do it or handle it. It is not something you can just whip through from start to finish. It requires focus, and some small amount of finger coordination. Anyone can learn to bead if they have passable eyesight and finger dexterity. I have taught beadwork to children as young as four, and to old men with work-enlarged, work-hardened hands and fingers like cigars, and everyone in between.
If your eyesight isn't terribly sharp at short distances, there are lighted magnifiers in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices to help you enjoy this ancient, but timeless, fine-artwork medium.
You have no patience, you say? I'll tell you a secret, takoszja - patience is at least as much learned as it is inborn. Patience is a virtue in everyone's culture.
Beads can be made from almost any material, and have been. Materials include paper, both from sheets and mache', salt and bread dough clay, earth clays, metal, glass, pottery, porcelain, wood, and plastic. Did I miss any? Hope not!.. Probably did, though..
There are 'tons' of really nice books on beads out there.. on bead collecting, bead making, and what to do with beads and how to do it, to name a few. Take a look..
I have been with various men over the years, most of whom loved beadwork. Some of them did it, some just wore it.. All of them said that when they looked at beadwork, they felt calmer inside. I was with a wonderful Lakota man for about 15 months when he was murdered. I remained 'alone' for 9 years before I met another man I had any interest in taking up with. We were together about 3 days shy of a year when he was killed by someone trying to mug him for $300, in 2006. My inspiration left me when he went, but the relaxation I still get from creating beautiful things in beadwork, even though the patterns are someone else's right now.
Like "everyone, everywhere", I've always gotten a sense of relaxation and spiritual calming from looking at and handling beadwork, especially when it is either very well done, or the work of someone whose talent may not be the greatest, but who really loves what they do.
That last reminds me of a remark by a little boy from some time in my past.. His mother was very busy with something, so instead of making cookies to put in his lunch, she bought some "name brand" kind and put them in instead. He bit into one at lunch, made a wry face and looked at it and put it back in his lunch box with a sigh. Another little boy asked if there was something wrong with the cookie. The first boy shrugged and said, "needs love".
Truly, when something is made with love, it shows. Beadwork makes love tangible as much as it does anything else.

On Whaling

Whales have been hunted by us Two-Legged ITI for centuries; with the People of the Northwest coast of this Turtle Island centering their cultures on it. I refer to such as the Tlingit, the Haida, the Inupiat, and such.

The whale is a tremendous source of food, cultural pride, cultural preservation, and for males, an important means to attaining status as a man among these Peoples. In the Traditional Way of such ITI Peoples as these, nothing of the whale was wasted. Pity that can't be said for the Caucasians, who began commercial whaling perhaps 100 - 120 years ago.

Among the ITI for whom whales are a central part of their culture, every part had a use. Skulls, especially of younger whales, became central parts of altars, in the same way that a buffalo skull is in my People's Way. I have seen such altars, which is a huge honor. I was given this honor because certain spiritual people among the People whose whale skull altar I was allowed to see wanted to honor my Sun Dance commitment, and to make a connection between our cultures. The feeling of that altar - of the strength, age, wisdom, courage and serenity - was indescribable.

When I later heard the whales singing as I listened via a speaker on land, I was overcome with a feeling of connection with ancientness I have seldom felt anywhere other than at the Sacred Places of my People. Only this time it was a connection with a Sacred People, having a perspective on us land-dwellers that words are insufficient to convey.

Such altars are seldom allowed to be seen by whites, because of the destruction of our Sacred Bundles by missionaries and collection of our Sacred things for museum collections. But like so many parts of our ITI Traditional world, many of these things do still exist, hidden away and revered in secret. Our elders still caution us about who we let know about these things, and to disclose no details that would endanger the safety of these Bundles, because the washichu have damaged our Ways too much over the past 516 or so years already; and history has taught us that no matter how much 'some' members of the majority culture can be trusted, others never can be.

Commercial whaling began, as so much else in the majority culture, out of greed, ignorance, arrogance, and total disregard for the sacredness and sanctity of the Web of Life - the Sacred Hoop of the world, of which we are each a part. And the ridiculous belief that the resources of the ocean were "limitless".

Nothing else in the universe - certainly nothing in our biosphere - is truly limitless, so how any otherwise reasonably aware person could make such a claim is beyond me. There is only one explanation - such people are blinded by greed.

"Humans" / Two-Leggeds are not the only People who live on our Holy Mother the Earth's bounty, after all. We share her with the Standing Nation (plants, anything that grows upright), the Winged Nation, the No-Leggeds, the Invisible Little People, the Rock Nation, and of course, the Water People, which includes whales. Just because we cannot count the total number of something does not mean it is without limit.

Depending on species, whales live can live upwards of 100 years - or could, until the advent of huge ships, fishing nets, trawlers, oil rigs (especially in the Arctic). Their magnificent songs are means of communications across miles of ocean that we are unlikely ever to understand.

Whale songs speak of food sources, currents, temperatures, the birth of more whales, the need to mate, and likely, just keeping in touch with friends or family. I don't doubt that there are more reasons.. Some humans run off at the mouth as if they can't stop; perhaps whales are occasionally afflicted in this way too. I hope not, but we don't know.

Whales' communications systems are complex and sophisticated, and having been designed to work across unbelievable distances in the ocean, their hearing is incredibly sensitive. Whale strandings of recent times are certainly due to navies of the world making noise that interferes with whale communications, and I do not doubt that at least some strandings occur because of such things as loss of leaders, being driven to insanity by the noise levels of naval equipment and communications systems and tests, probably because of loss of sufficient foods of one kind or another, and likely on occasion because of grief. Any beings as intelligent as whales must certainly have emotional connections, and therefore are sometimes struck by grief - likely from the actions of humans.

The behavior of Japan in regard to the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on whaling is reprehensible and utterly without honor. All whales are threatened at best, and endangered with extinction at worst, yet Japan continues to blatantly lie about its whaling activities as if it believes the rest of the world is too stupid to see the truth. What a terrible comedown for the Japanese culture - which has been touted for centuries as being based on honor. There is no honor in Japan's actions in the matter of whales. What a pity those responsible don't commit harakiri.. It wouldn't bring back any whales, but it would stop or significantly slow the needless slaughter of these magnificent members of the world community.

But then, any country that is truly honorable wouldn't lie as Japan has, anyway. And just because there is no country in the world that has a sterling record regarding truth or the environment, does not give Japan carte blanche to continue as it has. That is the childish argument that because one gets away with something, everyone can. Hogwash! One size never did fit all; it only fits 'some'.

In addition to the activities of such groups as Greenpeace and the Australians who are currently shadowing the Japanese whaling fleet, we of the rest of the world need to take steps, too. Such steps as economic boycotts by everyday citizens as well as by our governments, for example. Every country needs to trade with the rest of the world if it plans to continue.. This is a truth as old as human existence. Economic sanctions have been enacted by governments for other reasons - this is another good one. But if the "leaders" lack the courage to do it, then the citizens need to boycott on their own. Citizens are what make up every nation's Gross Economy, after all.

Those ITI People for whom whaling is a central part of their Traditional culture have a Right, not a privilege, to continue whaling, and even though the ancient methods can take a long time to kill a whale, they are honorable, being connected to ceremonies and to ancient connections between whales and those members of the Two-Leggeds who hold whales sacred.

The ITI People who have this spiritual connection to whales and whaling do not kill whales out of greed; they kill whales out of ancient cultural contexts that enable their Traditional Ways to continue. Indeed, those Traditional Ways cannot continue without whaling in their old ways. There is nothing commercial, arrogant, insensitive, or greedy about it.

But so long as commercial whaling continues or is allowed to, regardless of what excuses are offered as 'reasons' for it, Indigenous People are denied our Traditional Rights, our Traditional cultures are in danger, and ultimately if whales are extincted, the entire world suffers, since we supposedly-superior humans have no idea where whales fit in the Web of Life.

It was only a few years ago that I read that no blue whales had been seen in 6 years, so scientists were 'afraid' the blue whale had become extinct. Indigenous Traditional People all over the world began to do ceremony in hopes that the blue whale was not extinct, and while they are in terrible danger, it turns out they are not extinct, so then our ceremonies turned to ceremonies of thanksgiving. No matter how many people pray on this matter, however, without accompanying physical action on the part of the world's humans to make commercial whaling stop, the effort will not be enough.

Stopping commercial whaling is not exclusively or even mainly about some governments telling others what they can or can't do. It is about showing respect for one another and that includes all the different kinds of People of the world, including the Water People, such as whales.

Japan claims that its culture is grounded in honor.. Then SHOW it, Japan. Walk your talk. Stop commercial whaling NOW. Otherwise, you show yourself for honorless, lying, untrustworthy people, because actions speak louder than words - past and present, and they always will. There's much to admire in your ancient culture; it's your current version of your culture that lacks honor. Help us honor you; stop lying and whaling NOW.

Do Rate of Pay and WorkOutput Automatically Correlate?

Recently I was on a discussion board about whether or not people do more work if they are paid more.

In order to write to this question of whether or not people work more if they are paid more, we must make an assumption. I truly detest making assumptions, and in my businesses, Rule # 1 is "Never assume anything! It will catch you up every time, due to lack of some key bit of information." The assumption here is in regard to the word "paid"; and the assumption is that 'paid' means 'money', not the total package of various kinds of financial-type pay and perks that we generally term 'compensation packages'.

For at least the past 25 years, the Number One source of articles in management magazines has been on the subject of Employee Absenteeism and its causes. I've never had the problem, for the simple reason that I see employee absenteeism as the employees saying in the most emphatic terms they know, "I'm REALLY not happy with my working CONDITIONS, so I've found other things to do that make me happier, and when I can't stand any more of the stressors in my job, I won't come to work; I'll go do stress-relieving things instead." Actions speak louder than words.

Sad thing is, there is a "massa-slave" mentality in American business, and from what I've seen, it has always been there. When I was on the Chamber of Commerce for a small town where I had a business some time back, everyone except me complained constantly how they "couldn't get any decent help" or how "everyone they hired did poor work or was so0o lazy". I finally got tired of hearing this 'stuff' repeated, and one day I said quietly, two things: "If you can't get any decent help, it sounds like your criteria need revision. I don't have that problem.." and "If they are all so lazy, why do you think that is?" Made myself hugely unpopular that day, of course, not that I care much.. They made their problems; I tried to see problems ahead of time and prevent them from taking root.

I only lost 6 guys in 20 years; most companies lose 6 people every couple of months, every year they are in business. It isn't one-sided, takoszja.. It isn't 'only' the employees' 'fault'.. partly because, in any company that is incorporated, everyone is an 'employee'. Therefore, the 'bosses' are really talking about... themselves and their approaches to their teammates, aren't they.

Just as the best helping hand you will ever get is at the end of your arm, so the source of the majority of your problems is you. You "let" them in, or you "bring" them in. Once in awhile, you just don't see the elephant in the living room and when it steps on you, it hurts more than you would expect.. but no one is perfect, nor should you be expected to be perfect. You just keep working at improving.

Companies talk about their 'great' jobs, for example, but the truth is that their description is hype, not fact. Micro-managing the employees' behaviors when it isn't needed is a big cause of absenteeism. I hate having someone checking up on me constantly when it's unnecessary to the job. It tells me the checker believes I'm incompetent or a goof-off. If I'm that way, my 'helpers' must certainly feel the same way, with the possible exception of new hires that haven't proven themselves yet. And there's always, "it ain't WHAT you say, it's the WAY you say it; it ain't what you PLAY, it's the WAY you play it", as the old song says. I'll give you an example.

I was working on a job last year and the chief inspector came and watched me installing safety bar blocking in walls that had been finished, but the framers had left it out. Sloppy communications and attitude cause this. I had to cut a hole in the wall, remove the sheetrock, install the wood that would hold the load of the safety bars when they were in use, then put the sheetrock back so the mudders could come in and cover the holes and make the wall look right again. He didn't say a word for the time it took to do the first one, but he wasn't more than three feet behind me or doing anything else, so he was obviously watching me work.

There aren't many females working construction, even fewer as trim-and-repair carpenters, so I expected him to come watch me sooner or later. He needed to know if I was competent or not. This isn't micro-managing, it's necessary to the job, and I was new there, so I didn't mind it. Part way through the second one, I asked him, "are you happy, or is there something you'd like me to do differently?" He said, "No, just keep working, please." OK - I kept on as I had. Half an hour later, he said one word, and left. That word was, "nice." Ahhh! Thank you, Mr. Inspector.

While the job itself was a royal pain in the psyche because there was so much that had to be redone (and shouldn't have had to be), I looked forward to going to that job because no one checked up on me unnecessarily. In fact, that inspector was heard to tell someone that when he saw my name on a punch list, he didn't have to inspect it because he knew it would be done right and meet Code. Ahhh! Again!

Predictably, if he or my supervisor had come and checked up on me constantly, I would have hated going to work every day. I don't doubt you are the same way.

I am of the opinion that if you make your instructions and expectations succinct and clear, you will get better results from your 'helpers', and my experience says I'm right.

I had another job with a similar job description at another site maybe three years ago, where the project boss checked up on me constantly but never either said he didn't like the way I did my work, or made suggestions as to how he might like it changed, even if I asked him. I finally asked him why he came by to check my work, since I noticed he didn't do that to everyone.

He said, "Well, you're an Indian and you're female, so I figure I have to make sure you're still on the job and working." I asked him what else he thought I'd be doing, if not working, and he turned red and walked away.

I filed a complaint with his company and with the state labor relations board, because you and I both know, takoszja, that he was saying indirectly that he believed the garbage about Indian females all being "always only out to get a man in bed". I wanted to nail him to a wall with big nails, needless to say, but my elders taught me to "consider the source and rise above it". It generally isn't that difficult to step over a dung pile, but some days....

So - Money isn't everything. It isn't the most important thing, either. Being treated as if you matter is important.. Being shown respect for your existence as another human being is important. Helpful team-like attitude throughout everyone in the company is important. You can add your own perspectives to this list.

I lost only 6 guys in 20 years in my first "big" business because I treated them like human beings. I had good criteria, high standards for everyone including me, I insisted we communicate, I said what I meant and meant what I said, there was no favoritism or establishment of in-groups and out-groups, I respected the intelligence and abilities of the people I hired, and I insisted on knowing if there was a problem in the offing from anyone's perspective so we could minimize any need for "Chinese fire drills to" repair damage..

None of this is very difficult, you know. Our secretary was a gay male; I encouraged a brain-damaged man to come in as he pleased and work on anything that he felt comfortable with; and I didn't micro-manage, for all that I kept close tabs on the cost of everything and how fast it went. It takes work to be a good 'boss'. That's the magic formula.. Show respect and insist that everyone else show it, too, to everyone. Some people go out of their way to make it hard to do this, making for grit-your-teeth days.

But basically, if you make the work place an enjoyable place to come to work in, people will work more and harder than if you simply give them more money. Actions speak louder than words and money doesn't buy harmony, after all. Now if more businesses would internalize that..

Voter IDs are a BAD Idea

The current buzz used as 'reason' for requiring photo ID in order to vote is tied - lock, stock & cookie cutter - to "preventing fraud" and/or "preventing terrorist influence". Both excuses are flatly insulting at best, and just plain ridiculous at worst.

(A) The "preventing fraud" argument assumes from the get-go that 'everyone' commits fraud, or will, given the least chance. Now THERE'S a sad commentary on the majority culture.. This argument assumes there is no such thing as honor or respect anymore, for anything, apparently. I don't buy that.
"Everyone" is most definitely NOT represented by the scum we read so much about in the headlines of late. I speak of those who should be role models, but who instead show up as object lessons.. doped-up sports figures, lying and/or thieving CEO's of corporations, televangelists & other majority-culture 'religious' figures, and so on.

I've never been a sports figure of any note, but I am the CEO of both a for-profit and of a non-profit corporation, and I am positive that the jerks paraded before us via headlines & other media are NOT representative of most CEO's. That isn't 'denial', that's a lifetime of experience talking.

As for the majority-culture religious figures who have dragged their sorry selves through all manner of muck in recent years.. there's no such thing as "all" of any group being only one way, so they aren't representative of religious figures, either. There never has been & there never will be; despite efforts to try to fit everyone into one category by this ridiculous photo ID law. "All" religious figures are not saints, NOR are they all fakes. Experience has taught me that the majority are devout and just plain humans.

(B) The "preventing terrorist influence" argument is so ridiculous & full of holes it shouldn't merit any discussion. Since so many others have commented on it, though, it appears another voice needs to be heard on the matter.
My argument on this premise is, if a picture of a person will prevent "terrorist influence" in voting, then why have votes been bought & sold in the majority culture before it came to this Turtle Island? There are pictures of Presidents involved, here, but if 'a picture' is all that's needed to prevent terrorist influence...

OH! Do I hear cries of outraged denial here? Again, quoting from my very full files of life experiences.. when I was a college student, working my way through university, my uncle - who was the local sheriff - came to my door one night with a hefty box full of things most self-supporting college kids would crawl naked over sharp rocks for - REAL food. Meat (we Indns eat LOTS of meat! yum, yum!); fresh fruits & vegetables.. and about $10 cash.

He told me he 'just wanted to encourage me in my studies'. As he turned, he said, "don't forget to vote.." & out the door he went. It took me about a minute to mull over how he meant that last remark; then I decided to test him, so opened the door & said, "Uncle Nick? I can't take your gift."

He looked at me with Big Eyes & said, "Why not?" I said, "It's a GREAT gift, but if I eat these things and buy gas to get to classes, and then I vote for you, I'll feel as if I might have been influenced by them when I vote. And if I don't vote for you, while you wouldn't know it, I'd feel as if I lied to you in taking them. So here.." and I handed him the box.

His eyes got slitty and he snarled at me, "That rag-heap car of yours will get so many citations from now on, you won't be able to pay the fines!" Then he threw the box in his car & left.

My car got pulled over so often for awhile, the deputies took to apologizing for it, and the judge finally made them stop. A photo ID wouldn't have done a blessed thing to stop my uncle from bringing his version of terrorist into my life. As is easily seen, 'terrorists' are definitely not all foreign-born, or of any other single caste.

I realize the argument might also have been made that there is a 'need' to keep track of us citizens. To that I reply mos emphatically, "NO! This is a FREE land. That includes the RIGHT, not the privilege, to move within it freely. That means, by definition, 'no tracking of the anyone's movements unless it has been PROVEN that a specific individual is a threat to others." There is no such thing as a free country where a non-convict doesn't have privacy of movement. ONLY in Totalitarian regimes is there a requirement to track individuals, because Totalitarian regimes (= police states) can only maintain their grasp of temporal power through terrorism; and that especially includes being able to track anyone anywhere anytime.

Moreover, since we Indigenous People are citizens of Sovereign Nations within the borders of what is commonly called the U.S., as well as citizens of the U.S., we have the Right to vote also, but not all Indn nations issue photo ID cards, despite "enrollment" - which was begun as a means to keep track of us.

My Nation issues a Letter of Blood Degree. No photo. Since the great majority of Indn Nations live in poverty similar to that of Third World Nations, 'thanks' to the bigoted perspectives of the majority culture and its bonehead government bureaucrats, we can't afford the equipment to produce photo IDs, even if we wanted them. Which the majority of us don't. We treasure our privacy. Thus Traditionally, we do not want our pictures taken, let alone 'shared' between agencies of the majority culture government. (You won't find a picture of me on my page. Likely, ever.)

The U.S. Constitution is, after all, over 85% from Indn documents and ways.. The words about 'land of the free' and 'privacy' came from us. This push for photo IDs flies in the face of such concepts.

In short, there is no true reason for requiring photo ID in order to vote. Here, if I am willing to assert who I am in an affidavit when I go to the polls, I am automatically assured that I can vote. Anything else is anti-Constitutional, insulting, and unnecessary.
Thank you for hearing me in a good way now.

Negativity, Annoyance, and Divorce Rates

Hanh. A new study has come out that says that negativity and annoyance in a marriage only get worse over time.

Golly day! What a surprise! To you too? (Duh-uh..) In view of the statistics about divorce rates, I wonder that the researchers should find this.

On reading further, they report that "older couples" tend to simply try to avoid confronting the problem, while younger couples don't. Another huge surprise, isn't it? No? Hmmmm! Older people come from a different cultural perspective, even within the majority culture. And they didn't grow up with video games focussed mainly on killing each other.

When the interviewees were asked the same questions about their friends, coworkers, and children, their answers showed that negativity and annoyance did not get worse over time, however. I'm not so sure I believe this.

Think about it .. If your coworkers drive you distraction, do you just suffer in silence? My observation is, only for awhile; then you go to either the coworker and try to get them to stop doing whatever-it-is, or you go to your supervisor and ask for help.

If your friends do things that bug you, do you really just blow it off and continue the 'friendship'? I don't believe that, either. That isn't a friendship, in my mind, because it doesn't do anything to help you both weather the storms of the world.

If you're a parent and your children bug you, you discipline them after awhile, yes? Yes!

I have a degree in one of the hard sciences. When I see a study like this, I get kind of squirmy inside, from embarrassment at what some people put out as "research results", ,when common sense says "tain't so! tain't so!" I mean, don't these people have contact with the rest of the world? Are they so isolated that they don't think about what they say they observed, vs. what is routine in daily life for the majority of people? Do they isolate themselves to such a degree that they lose touch with common sense?

Thanks for listening to my rant.