Thursday, October 25, 2012

What's Up With That #6 Taboo

O.K., here's what I don't get.  Mr. Romney is proud to be of the Mormon faith.  He has been Mormon all his life, as is his family.  He'll say, and rightly so, it has shaped his life.  Yet, no one else is supposed to bring up the fact that he is a Mormon, and his beliefs might be built on his experiences as a practicing Mormon.

Why is this taboo?  What's up with that?

In my 58 years of life I can count on one hand the number of times I have missed church.  The only times I don't show up are if I am throwing up or something disgusting like that.  If I'm on vacation, I go to church.  Always have, even as a child.  I have been a member of the same denomination the whole 58 years.

I'm not saying this to sound saintly, but to make the point that it has shaped my life.  Everything I think, or do, how I spend my money, or where I volunteer are all based on my experiences of being a member of my denomination.

So I would think that Mr. Romney's outlook on life, his opinions, belief system, all that kind of thing, has been formed in the bowels of his religious upbringing; a religion that doesn't allow people of color or women to be in the church hierarchy or have positions of power.  Take a look at their website and check out the leaders.  The First President and all the twelve Apostles are the whitest looking bunch of middle aged to elderly males I have ever seen. An organization couldn't have more testosterone or be more vanilla.

My husband and I went to Nauvoo for a day trip a few years ago.  After touring some of the buildings and hearing how mean all the non-Mormons were to the Mormons ad nauseum, we went into the visitor's center for a talk by a Mormon tour guide.  A member of the audience asked why Mormons discriminated against women in the church. The spokesman said that Mormons respected women, and their purpose.  He then pointed out the window to a garden filled with statues of women in various poses; women praying, courting, teaching children, and one called "Fulfillment" that has a woman sewing a quilt.  Most of the statues had women with children.   He told us that women had their place and they should be content that their sole purpose in life was to marry for eternity, have lots of children and be fulfilled as a mother and wife.  He said that the fulfillment provided by such things was all a woman needed.

We slowly backed out of the building and left Nauvoo never to return.

If that is a person's belief and it makes them happy then good for them, it's a free country.  But, could being raised in a religion that teaches that kind of belief not affect your attitude on women?  Really?

The Mormon church also doesn't have people of color in any position of leadership in the church because the leaders have to trace their genealogy back to the apostles and according to the Mormons, the apostles were white guys.

I'm thinking while looking at the church leaders that some creative genealogy must have been involved.

Mr. Romney has not shared how these beliefs have helped to make him who he is today.  Why does everyone shy away from asking him?

If I could ask him questions, I'd ask him if he agreed with those particular dictates of Mormonism.  I'd ask him if he could separate his religious beliefs from his political life.

No one minded asking John Kennedy those kinds of questions.  When he ran for president he made a point of saying his Catholic beliefs would not affect how he governed.  That didn't stop people like Pastor Dunn from Grace Presbyterian from preaching to his congregation not to vote for a Catholic in the White House.  But now, it's frowned upon to mention the "M" word. 

I know I'll get some flak about this so if you want to comment and tell me it's a shallow post, go ahead, I don't agree with you.  Hey, I just want to know "What's Up With That"?

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

What's Up With That #5- Hipocrites

Four years ago at this time, I and everyone I knew were being bombed with crap from nut-case, fundamentalist Christians screaming that President Obama wasn't a Christian.   Day in and day out ad naseum, we were told that Christians shouldn't vote for him because he wasn't religious enough.

Where are they this time?  I've received nothing.

Might this be due to the fact that Mitt Romney is, dare I say it, a Mormon?  No one seems to mention the elephant in the room.  Fundamentalist Christians don't believe that Mormons are Christian, in fact, they consider and teach that they are a cult.

So, how can they throw their enthused support behind a Mormon?  I guess they hate Obama so much that they'll forgo their principals to get him out of office.

I'm surprised I'm not hearing the screech of, as the Dilbert comic strip once put it, "Paradigms shifting without a clutch."

Ouch, their little brains must be throbbing.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

"What's Up With That # 4 More, Women Hateing Republicans

OK, I've not posted for a while, life getting in the way and all that.  When I did my last "What's Up With That?" rant about Republicans hating women,I thought that I was done with the subject.  I mean, I commented twice on the women hating antics of certain members of the Republican party, we get the idea, subject closed.

To my surprise, as the long, hot, dry, summer painfully wore on, more mind boggling comments were made by our conservative friends.  These comments were so blatantly sexist I could only pick my jaw up off of the floor, shake my head, and exclaim, "What's Up With That?"

As we all know by now, Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for senate in Missouri justified his argument against providing abortions for raped women by claiming that the body has a natural defense to getting pregnant in cases of “legitimate” rape. (As opposed to non-legitimate rape, what ever that is.  Wow, our bodies are very discerning.)

Of course the poo hit the fan after that thick headed comment.  The National Republican Party disavowed any connection to Mr. Akin, his comment or his views.  What else could they do?

That's all well and good, but then they nominated a Vice-Presidential candidate who not only made similar comments, but co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Akin to redefine rape as "forcible rape". (Once again, as opposed to non-forcible rape.)  I guess if you're not violently forced to have non-consensual sex it doesn't count.  So sorry to all the rape victims who were "roofied".  Too bad, you're out of luck!

With that in mind, can we really believe the Republican Party doesn't in their "heart of hearts" agree with Mr. Akin?
 
These aren't the only idiotic comments being made by Republicans. These guys have friends who say things just as idiotic as they do! Republican Congressman Steve King  said and I quote, "I've never heard of a woman getting pregnant from statutory rape or incest". 

Really? What is wrong with these guys?  Is Mr. King endorsing statutory rape or incest?  I'm not sure the point he's trying to make.

In their rabid frenzy to stop abortion at all costs they are sacrificing women on the altar of their agenda.

They claim to love and respect women, but I don't see it. 

Monday, June 18, 2012

What's Up With That? #3

I really do believe that Republicans hate women. 

It sounds crazy, and I've given it a lot of thought, but the evidence is becoming pretty strong.  In any and all situations they take every one's side except women. 

They mess with reproductive rights attempting to send us back to the bad old days siding with male church hierarchy, they vote against the Reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act siding with God knows who (rapists and abusers?), and now they block the Paycheck Fairness Act.  What the heck is their problem?  Did a woman scare them as a child?  Do they have mommy issues?

Republicans filibustered Democrats’ effort to pass a bill that would have opened up far more avenues for women to sue businesses when they suspect pay discrimination.  The legislation, known as the Paycheck Fairness Act, would shift burdens of proof toward businesses to defend their pay decisions, and would give women the right to sue for compensatory and punitive damages. It would allow women to file a class-action suit and would make them specifically have to opt out of the class.

All I can say to that is "Whoo hoo"!  It's about time.

Democrats fell more than a half-dozen votes shy of the 60 needed to head off the filibuster, but said they’ll force the Republicans to vote on it again in the walk-up to this year’s election.

Like I've said before,  I remember when my mom found out in the 1970's that the man who held her managerial job previously, received a salary twice as large as hers. She confronted her boss and he said,” Why do you think we hired a woman? We can pay you less.” She went to the State’s Attorney for justice and was patronized, and informed, “that’s how life is”.

That whole frustrating ordeal was a real wake up call to the inequities in the male female dynamic in the world.  She wasn't a feminist before, but she started to turn that direction.

I've known many women since who have suffered financial discrimination in the workplace, which is why companies don't want you sharing the details of your salary with your co-workers.  They don't want you to know you're being screwed.

Who 's side are they taking against women? Those poor sad corporations and businesses. My theory is that if corporations and businesses did what's right in the first place, they wouldn't have to worry about law suits. And yes, it was said during the Republican Primary contests, "Corporations are people", but evidently not female people.

Friday, June 15, 2012

What's Up With That #2


Here's another "What's Up With That" moment.  I shake my head in wonder.

Who in the world could be against the Senate Bill S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011 .  Simply put, it was a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.  I mean really, who is FOR violence against women?

Apparently 31 Republican Senators are.

Here is the "Roll Call" of shame of the "Nays" from the April vote:

Barrasso (R-WY)
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lee (R-UT)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)

Paul (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Wicker (R-MS)




Could the "Party of NO" be so out of control that they'd actually take a position of insensitivity to violence against women just because the original bill was signed into law by a Democratic President?

I had a friend who was wearing a tee shirt from the what used to be "Women's Strength" in Peoria.  The shirt said "You can't beat a woman".  She was at some event downtown and a complete stranger walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "You wanna make a bet?"  Then he leered and walked away. 

Until that type of climate for women is gone, bills such as S. 1925 are necessary.

Monday, June 11, 2012

What's Up With That #1 Addendum

Before we leave the subject of the wealthy versus the shrinking middle class, I need to say one more thing.

After the last blog was published, I read yet another editorial in the PJS about Fat Cat Unions destroying the economy.  You know, those wealthy teachers and road workers who suck so much money out of state budgets.

I know what they mean.  I see those evil teachers, after having to take classes and in most cases get their Masters to keep their jobs, getting so rich off our tax dollars that they almost quit their second job.  You know, the one they have to take to make the mortgage on their middle class home.

(If you want to see what happens to non-union people in the teaching profession, go to a food pantry some time and see the day care workers and teacher's aids standing in line because they get paid so little they can't make ends meet.)

I see those road workers, after spending 12 hours a day in the broiling heat or freezing cold, hopping in their  BMW's and going home to their mansions.  Or, maybe it's a Chevy truck and a house in the suburbs.

Unions gave us five day work weeks, paid vacations, benefits and much more.  Without them, those things will go away, for management as well as union workers.  If you find that hard to believe, Caterpillar is a prime example.

Every time they take something away from union workers, they take it away from management.  If union workers lose some vacation days, so does management.  Lose health benefits, so does management.  And so it goes.  If they no longer have to provide union benefits because their are no unions, soon no one will have them, and the gap between those at the top and those at the bottom will become a chasm.

I suppose that will work out alright.

The wealthy can live in their mansions on the hilltop,and the peasants and serfs can live below, looking up at the rich and serving their every need.

Friday, June 8, 2012

What's Up With That? #1


Have you ever just sat down and thought, “What’s up with that?’  I do it more and more as I get older.  The world is a mysterious place that never ceases to amaze and boggle my mind.  I know why the phrase “WTF” is prevalent in today’s social media, it seems apropos for many situations.
Most of these WTF moments cause me to rant and rave in the privacy of my own home.  But, my husband is getting tired of listening to me, and ultimately, what’s the fun of a one man audience?
So, I’m going to share some of my “What’s up with that?” thoughts one at a time, and see if writing them down helps the fog to clear.
The first phenomenon I would like to ponder is the recent trend of people (many of them middle class or lower) falling over themselves to be apologists for the rich.  God forbid anyone makes a suggestion that the rich aren’t paying their fair share, or corporate heads are overpaid, or are screwing (I couldn’t think of a more polite word) their employees.  Don’t even think of mentioning corporations who don’t pay taxes, or getting rid of tax breaks for the rich.  Katie bar the door!  You’d be smashed into smithereens by masses of people stampeding over top of each other to stick up for those “poor rich folks”! 
I read the editorial page, and am amazed at the letters defending the wealthy top percent.  God love ‘em, I didn’t realize they needed the help.  However, I do understand that if some of their tax breaks disappear they might be forced to keep their third vehicle a year longer, or maybe have to do some of their own lawn work.  My heart goes out to them.  Maybe Willie Nelson could organize a rich-aid concert.   
A friend told me that she didn’t think the rich should pay more taxes because they were “job makers”.  Really?  They were in hog heaven during the Bush administration and how’d that work out?  Just where were those jobs they made?  Can anyone say India and China?  They sure as heck weren’t here!
Meanwhile as the old depression era song says, “The rich get rich and the poor get poorer”.  The income gap is bigger than ever before, and the middle class is shrinking.   Union jobs, aka good jobs, are disappearing and budgets, state and federal, are being balanced on the backs of the middle and lower class, while the rich just skate along fat and happy.  Just look at Wisconsin.  Their shrewd governor was able to convince a majority of the state that their problems came from those awful teachers and road workers.   Of course he just winked at the wealthy, while giving them the old secret handshake.  I can hear the CEO's now, their little mouths salivating while they rub their soft white hands, “Let’s move to Wisconsin, we can pay the non-union workers a pittance, and make record profits for ourselves.   Whoo hoo!  “Can anyone say bank account in the Cayman Islands, and a winter home in the Bahamas?
So, next time you feel like being an apologist for the rich, just remember, the rich have no intention of being an apologist for you.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Mother's Day

The nation sets aside Sunday May 13th as the day to honor those women who have loved, disciplined and worried about us our entire lives.  Those women who will always think of us, no matter what our age, as “kids”, and who, no matter how important we think we are, will wipe a spot off our face with spit and a hanky; our mothers. 

Where did Mother’s day come from?  Is it just a Hallmark holiday as some say?  Let’s see.
The earliest Mother's Day celebrations may have been the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.
During the 1600's, on the fourth Sunday of Lent, England celebrated a day honoring the mothers of England called "Mothering Sunday".  
On that day the wealthy would give their servants the day off, and they and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers.  They usually brought along a special cake called a “Mothering Cake” to add a special touch to the festivities.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church", commemorating the belief that the church gave them life.  Over time, the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration, and people began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
In the United States, Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) suggested the first Mother's Day in 1872 as a day dedicated to peace.  Every year, Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts.
In 1907, a woman from Philadelphia, Ana Jarvis, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day.  Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, the anniversary of her mother's death. By the next year, churches in Philadelphia were also honoring mothers on that day.
Ms. Jarvis and her supporters started a letter writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day.  They were amazingly successful.  By 1911, almost every state celebrated Mother's Day.  President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May, the anniversary of Ms. Jarvis’ Mothers death.
     In 1911, Joyce Hall and his brothers formed a wholesale postcard business that they named Hall Brothers, the forerunner of Hallmark.  They introduced the Pansy Card, the first Mother’s Day card in 1939, long after the establishment of Mother’s Day.  So, it seems that Mother’s Day is not a holiday created by Hallmark to sell more cards. 

I’d like to close with a few “Motherisms” that I’ve seen on the internet.
Mother taught me about logic….”Because I said so, that’s why!”
Mother taught me genetics…”You’re just like your father!”
Mother taught me about religion…”You better pray that will come out of the carpet!”
Mother taught me about my roots…”Shut that door.  Were you born in a barn?”
Mother taught me about anticipation….”Just wait until we
get home!”
Happy Mother’s Day!



   











   
















Sunday, April 29, 2012

WE’VE COME A LONG WAY BABY


Lately the newspapers and airwaves are full of comments about the new "War on Women".  In this case it's primarily concern about a  war on women's reproductive rights, but in the not too distant past, the war was raging about many aspects of women's lives.  That's the fear of many who remember the "bad old days",  that we're regressing little by little back into those unenlightened times.

I admit, unfortunately I'm old enough to have lived through some of that history.
I had the privilege of meeting Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, and had three unpleasant encounters with an amazingly nasty, foul mouthed Phyllis Schlafly.
I marched for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Peoria and Springfield, and lobbied the Illinois General Assembly, along with busloads of farm women bearing baskets of homemade bread to soften them up.  Then we watched in frustration as ratification failed.
Four decades ago, my male pastor informed me that women would never be allowed to enter the ministry.  If they wanted to serve God, they should teach in a parochial school.  For some unknown reason, it also took a male reproductive organ to light candles, serve on council, (unless you wanted to be the secretary), and pass an offering plate.  Now I have been blessed to have had a woman for my pastor.
No matter what the weather, girls had to wear dresses to school and church.  They also didn’t cut grass, take out the garbage, or have organized sports.  Those were boy things.  The only decent options presented to high school girls for non- homemaking careers were teaching and nursing.
A survey I conducted for one of my women’s studies classes at ISU back in the early seventies concurred with the prevailing attitudes that people wouldn’t use a woman lawyer, and would only go to a woman doctor for less serious ailments. 
Once, in high school, I was surprised to find myself in the non-college track English class.  My previous teacher, tracked me down, took me aside and told me I didn’t belong there, get out now.  I went to my advisor, only to have her tell me that it wasn’t necessary for a woman to go to college, that she could have a fulfilled life with a high school education.  Just find a man.  She advised me to take home economics.  I bugged them until they changed my class schedule, but it wasn’t easy.

At college, I once peeked at my records while my advisor was out of the room.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that when I told my high school advisor I wanted to try pre-law, he put in my records I wanted to be a legal secretary.  I had never taken a secretarial class in my life.  I have the utmost respect for secretaries, but that was not a skill set I had.
I remember when my mom found out that the man who held her managerial job previously, received a salary twice as large as hers. She confronted her boss and he said,” Why do you think we hired a woman? We can pay you less.” She went to the State’s Attorney for justice and was patronized and informed, “that’s how life is”.
I remember the “shot heard round the world” when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the tennis “battle of the sexes”.
I could reminisce for pages, but I don’t have enough room.  Suffice it to say, as they said back then, “we’ve come a long way baby.”
But, we’re not there yet.  Women are apathetic about their rights, not appreciating the hard won battles of the past.  If they’re not diligent, those rights could slip away.  They still receive an average of 80 cents to a man’s dollar in the workplace.  The glass ceiling is above their heads, only now in stealth form, and just the thought of a woman running for president brings all the sexists out of the woodwork.  Lawmakers seem more adamant about laws protecting the flag, or English, than laws protecting women, especially our poor sisters.
So, as the new "War on Women" heats up during this election year, let’s remember the old adage, “Those who ignore the mistakes of the past, are bound to repeat them in the future.”





      






Friday, April 27, 2012

Plastic Peeve

On the front page of the Peoria Journal Star today, a headline announced that legislation is being considered to do away with plastic shopping bags.

May I comment?

Whoo hoo!

Consider my pet peeve, the plastic shopping bag.  I hate them.

On a personal level, they’re a pain.  They fall over in the car, dumping groceries to roll around in the back, driving me nuts.  Baggers insist on putting just a couple items in each bag, leaving me with an army of the things to load and unload, and then I’m stuck with them.  They multiply at night when no one is looking, then jump out and attack whenever I try to walk past their storage area.

I’ve stared at what I thought was a cool bird for long periods of time before realizing that it was just a white or brown plastic bag stuck in a tree.  And, as dumb as that sounds, I was glad to learn that it’s a common mistake.  “Bird Watcher’s Digest” has had several articles about those blasted bags being the nemesis of bird watchers.

If you’ve ever paid attention as you drive the country roads in Central Illinois, there are plastic bags stuck in trees and bushes in unbelievable numbers.  Just look around, you’ll be amazed. Those ubiquitous plastic shopping bags are everywhere.  They are multiplying in the wild and we need thin the herd. 

On an environmental level, studies estimate that Americans alone use over use over 84 billion plastic bags annually.  Besides being unsightly roadside attractions, they take hundreds of years to break down as they flap from trees, clog storm drains, float in the breeze, fill the bellies, and kill animals that mistake them for food, and clutter landfills.  As they decompose, tiny toxic bits seep into the waterways and the earth, poisoning the planet for hundreds of years to come.

Plastic bags are made from oil, gas, and coal by-products, wasting resources and polluting the Earth by their production.

So, next time the bagger asks paper or plastic, get a jump on the legislators and say paper, or better yet say “No” bag.  Many stores now sell canvas reusable bags, or bring any canvas bag from home.  If you’re stuck with plastic bags, many stores, such as Krogers, have recycling bins inside their front doors.  Consider recycling instead of filling up your local landfill.

With lots of tiny steps in the right direction, we can get closer to the goal of getting rid of those darn bags, before the legislation wheels even start to churn.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Congress Wants Your Church to Spend $50,000?

Holy Moly -Congress Wants Your Church to Spend $50,000?


The lines at our local food pantries are long enough, but if the members of our illustrious House have their way, they could get a lot longer.

The House of Representatives just proposed to cut more than $169 billion from SNAP, formerly the food stamps program. Here's the best part, some representatives argued that feeding hungry people is really the "work of the churches".

These representatives are essentially saying that every church across America, big, small, and tiny, needs to come up with an extra $50,000 dedicated to feeding people, every year for the next 10 years,  to make up for these cuts. The Hartford Institute for Religion and Research estimates there are 335,000 religious congregations in the United States. If the proposals by the House of Representatives to cut SNAP by $133.5 billion and $36 billion are enacted, each congregation will have to spend approximately $50,000 to feed those who would see a reduction or loss of benefits.  And, that doesn't count the volunteer hours involved.

Really? How much volunteer time and money do these guys think we all have! They are so out of touch with everyday people that what they believe has no foothold in reality!
 
Our food pantry at my church has been in existance since 1983. Many of the same volunteers have given countless hours for 30 years. Our hope and prayer is that the need goes down, not up! We really don't have the energy to do this forever! It is impossible (unless no one is working at a job at your church) to get a steady stream of volunteers and new faces (so that the regulars don't get burnt out), to work for free. Do any of these guys in the House, (and I say guys literally) ever volunteer on a regular basis? If they did, they wouldn't foist new responsibilities on the already over extended. 
 
Most of the churches of this nation do a yeomans job of honoring Matthew 25:31-46, by their comments, the House members are disrespecting that commitment.  Shame on them! 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Earth Day 2012

In case you missed it, or even if you didn’t, the nation celebrated “Earth Day 2012” on Sunday April 22nd. There were many local and national events on that day, and there are more to come through out the next couple of weeks.

I admit I’m old enough to remember the first “Earth Day” in 1970. Actually, a short story I wrote for an “Earth Day” writing contest sponsored by ISU around 1973 was the first time I received compensation for my writing. My story, titled “Unbalanced”, won first place in the fiction category, and I received a whopping $5.00.

In 1969, US Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, came up with the idea of “Earth day”. He was concerned that across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was overwhelming, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue was not on the nation's political agenda. People were concerned, but the politicians weren’t. He thought that if he could tap into the concerns of the public, and direct the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, he could generate demonstrations across the country that would force the issue onto the national political scene. At a conference in 1969, Senator Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a national grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment. The result of his announcement was more than he could have imagined. Inquiries poured into his office from all across the country. When the first “Earth Day” was over, 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities had participated.

I can remember some of the demonstrations on the ISU campus during the early 70s. The protests themselves were pretty exciting, but the added entertainment provided by the “streakers” made those events even more memorable. However, that’s another story.

Forty two years later, we’re not only still celebrating “Earth day”, but its message is as relevant as ever. We continue to consume or destroy our air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and bio-diversity. This is not a sustainable situation in the long term. We can stick our heads in the sand for a while, but eventually our bottoms are going to notice a problem. When it’s all gone, we’ll have nothing left except a wasteland.

Maybe, in honor of “Earth Day” you’d like to resolve to personally have less of a negative impact on the earth, but aren’t sure how to go about it. Here are some simple things you can do to begin the process of being a better environmental steward.
• Lower your thermostat. Buy a programmable thermostat.
• Reuse your water bottle. Reuse everything at least once, especially plastics, like disposable plates, silverware, and cups. Also baggies. • Start a compost pile in your back yard.
• Buy foods locally if you can. If it’s in season, buy it at farmer’s markets and produce stands.
• Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Recycle your newspapers, glass, and anything else you can. Things that we can recycle locally include; newspapers, glass bottles and jars, tin and aluminum containers, plastic, mixed waste paper (cardboard, phone books, magazines, junk mail, office paper, brown bags); and used motor oil. Also, electronics and appliances.
• Buy products that use recyclable materials whenever possible, or products made from recycled materials.
• Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Given a choice between plastic and paper, opt for paper. If you must use plastic grocery bags, recycle them for doggie poop bags or for small trashcan liners.
• Consider organic cleaning products like vinegar, borax, and baking soda.
• If you have a baby, try using cloth diapers.
• Consider buying a fuel-efficient car or a hybrid.
• Recycle your technology. Retro Tech in Peoria accepts your old electronics and appliances for recycling.
• Switch to fair trade or shade coffee. (Bird friendly)
• Plant trees.
• Reduce waste. Throw fewer things out. If you have clothes, furniture, household goods, toys etc. that you don’t want anymore, don’t drag them to the curb. Take them to one of the many places in town that accepts used items, such as “The Church Mouse” on Main St. in Peoria. This is a store full of pre-loved items run by the Lutheran Women of Greater Peoria, who use the profits to help non profit agencies, such as Lutheran Social Services.

So, on “Earth Day” and beyond, let’s remember the words of Chief Seattle, Chief of the Suquamish people. “This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
Amen!