Month: July 2023

10 Things To Help Protect The Earth

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10 Things You Can Do To Help Protect The Earth

The Oregon coast is a magical place but the damages of climate change are changing this place
10 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Protect The Earth

Editor’s Note: World Wildlife Fund recently published “10 Simple Things We Can Do To Help Protect The Earth.” WWF works to protect endangered species  and conserve their habitats. Time is running out for many beloved animal species. Please donate what you can to this fine organization. worldwildlife.org 

By D. S. Mitchell

1.) BYOB: In 2022, Americans went through an astonishing and astounding 50 billion plastic water bottles. Please, fill up a reusable water bottle at home and take it with you. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE TASTE OF TAP WATER, BUY A FILTER. Remember that most of the bottled water you buy is just filtered tap water with a label.

2.) Paper Not Plastic: Take your bags with you to the grocery store. Taking your bags to the store when you go shopping can cut down on the 350 bags the average American uses each year. Reducing the number of bags will hopefully reduce the needless deaths  of marine life caused by plastic bags that end up in streams, rivers, and oceans.

3.) Safe Waste: Many items indiscriminately thrown in the trash contain contaminates that poison soil and water for thousands of years. Most communities have special procedures for disposing of items like used oil, batteries, ink cartridges, and paint cans. The new superefficient lightbulbs contain mercury, so they  require proper disposal. Many items can be recycled where they were purchased. Be sure to check with your merchant.

4.) Take A Walk: A 100 years ago nearly 99.9% of Americans got by without cars. They lived close to their work, they took the train, or the bus, and they walked. Using fuel efficient cars is a good thing, but we can save even more fuel by driving less, and walking more.

5.) Switch It Off: In much of America we can no longer see the stars, mostly due to all the electric lights. The lights are so bright they often confuse animals, such as hatchling turtles who are trying to make the ocean before before becoming breakfast for shore birds. It is fine to keep the lights on in the room you are in, but keep the rest of the house dark. Many find the dark to be calming.

6.) Layer Up: In the winter, instead of turning up the thermostat, add a sweater or a sweatshirt. A second layer of clothing will keep you warmer and also help conserve resources and reduce climate change.

7.) Plant A Tree: Planting a tree is good for the soil, good for the air we breathe, and helps in the fight against climate change.

8) Shut It Down: Catalogues are great if you buy the products advertised.  On the other hand, catalogues are a pain in the butt if you don’t buy the products. If you do not order from the company call them and tell them to unsubscribe you. That little gesture will probably save a tree.

9.) Second Time Around: Recycling isn’t just about separating cans and bottles. It can also mean rethinking an item’s use. That old bike might look great with a fresh coat of paint and a basket full of flowers sitting on your front porch. Or, that little bedside table might make a great  addition to your entry area, a place to drop your keys and the mail. Rethink, before you throw an item away.

10.) Support Activism: Please donate to organizations like Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and World Wildlife Fund that are carrying on valuable field work to save our planet and all that inhabit her.

On The Subject Of Race by Oprah Winfrey

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On The Subject Of Race

"Senseless injustices continue with names and different circumstances, but all are Emmett Till." Oprah Winfrey

On the Subject of Race

By Oprah Winfrey

Editor’s Note: The following was published in O Magazine in May of 2017 when O Magazine was still a print magazine.  Oprah wrote these words in her ‘What I Know For Sure’ column. I thought her comments were important to repeat, now six years later.

We Bleed the Same

On the subject of race here’s what I know for sure: We the people of planet Earth have made it far more complicated than it needs to be. Whether you’re type A, B, AB, O, positive or negative, you bleed the way I do, and your pain feels the same as mine. This is the ultimate lesson I’ve absorbed, person by person, from the thousands of interviews I’ve done over the years. Members of every race have heartache. Circumstances may differ, but sorrows are the same.

More Alike, Than Unalike

Joy and triumph are felt by people of every creed and belief. And though it’s true what Maya Angelou always said-“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”- it’s also true that our unlikeness makes us whole. A whole family. A whole community. A whole nation. A whole world. It’s your differences that make you you. 

“It’s So Simple”

I sometimes feel a wave of sadness for us spiritually deprived, unconscious creatures who just don’t seem to get it. Years ago on my show, a grieving mother recounted her dying son’s last words and final breath, “Oh, Mom,” he said. “It’s so simple.” Those words made a lasting impression on me.

A Similar Journey

It is so simple to see that we’re all on the same journey, carving our paths with every choice and experience. With every action and reaction. Quite simply, to live well, we need to love well.

Harm To The Collective Soul

The audacity it takes to judge another because they don’t look or sound or act like you goes against the current of humanity. Every time we discriminate against a woman in a headscarf, the whole of us suffers. Every time we treat a brown skinned man with a Hispanic name as though he’s the “other,” we do harm to our collective human soul.

An Accuser’s Lies

Emmett Till’s accuser has finally admitted-after six decades-that the young boy’s racist murder, a murder that tore the soul of our whole country, was wrong. Shouldn’t have happened. And though she can no longer remember exactly what occurred, she says it didn’t take place the way she testified.

The List Of Names Is Long

The senseless injustices will continue. Trayvon Martin, Laquan McDonald. Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice. Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Indian engineer fatally shot in a Kansas bar in February (2017). The nine good people killed at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. All different names and different circumstances, but all Emmett Till. When will it end?

When we decide to end it.

Mushroom Information

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Mushroom Information

Information on Mushrooms Facts and Folly

Mushroom information was the topic of discussion between David Shadrick and Bill Cook when they met up at the Calamity Politics studio today. Mushrooms and more mushrooms was the consensus of our guys.  Between these two men we are talking 50 years of eating enjoyment. You can also watch the video casts on the Calamity Politics YouTube channel or the David Shadrick YouTube channel.

10 Tips To Stay In Style In This Economy (#1)

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10 Tips To Stay In Style In This Economy (#1)

Editor’s Note: Anna Hessel with a little help from hubby, Wes, will be offering up for the next seven weeks, 10 tips a week on How to Stay In Style In This Economy. Watch for it every Tuesday. 

How to Stay in Style in this Economy…

By Anna Hessel with Wes Hessel

The inflation spike of the last couple years appears to be ebbing. Food costs are still high, and service providers are charging more, but there is hope out there. Save me….Saving money in this current economic climate can be a bit of a challenge, but there are certainly ways to shave your budget without losing out on things you need and want, here are today’s suggestions:

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle
1. Go paperless: online invoices, email, or text notifications can save time (time is money) and postage, not to mention less paper to wind up in landfills.
2. Take extra weight out of your vehicle’s trunk or hatch area, maintain your proper tire inflation levels, and keep your vehicle tuned up to save on gas.
3. Buy in bulk if you can but only if it saves money – compare by per ounce, pound, square footage/yardage, or other unit measurement; the largest size isn’t always the best buy…
4. Try store or “clone” brands – they can offer near or equal quality for better price, but sales sometimes can flip that on their head, instead. Quality products can give you more mileage, so keep track and see which gets you more bang for your buck.
5. Make-your-own type devices such as a SodaStream, or using a juicer can make for fresher, healthier, less expensive choices.
6. Speaking of making, the Maker movement encourages going back to creating things for ourselves, instead of potentially energy consuming and pollution causing manufacturing. It also gives pride in our own work and honing manual skills. Maker spaces provide workspace, training, and resources. This could be crafts of all forms, sewing/fabric/leatherwork, woodwork/carpentry, metalwork – let your imagination run free…
7. Many print publications offer a free sample copy – just don’t forget to write cancel on the invoice when you receive the bill – or their online subscription can be significantly cheaper. Also, investigate services which can access multiple magazines online for one cost.
8. Repurpose – this prevents items from going into landfills and saves you money. A coat of paint, reupholstering, or a new creative way to use something are fun ways to give an old item, new life. DIY can be enjoyable and saves a bundle. Look online for free how-to’s and ideas. Just make sure you know what you’re doing if safety is involved. How about a brightly painted old bicycle with flowers in the basket.
9. Join Freecycle, Trash Nothing, or similar online groups, or try apps like Freebie Alerts to swap items for no cost. Also, many churches or other charitable organizations have clothing or toy exchanges that can be utilized by area residents. But do remember some things are actual trash…
10. Host a clothing and accessories swap, or start a community vegetable garden, if there aren’t ones in your area.

3 Gremlins Facing Health Care In The U.S.

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3 Gremlins Facing Health Care In The U.S.

Americans are taking too many prescription meds

3 Gremlins Facing Health Care In The U.S.

By D. S. Mitchell

On The Front Line

Writing for www.CalamityPolitics.com allows me a grass root platform to discuss health care, and every other area of our political spectrum, for that matter. It does not give me the right to say anything I want about the issues. With that said, I have ground level experience in health care. Because of that experience and exposure to trench warfare in hospital health care I have strong opinions. Client care and results need to be discussed and evaluated for effectiveness. I have a passionate interest in health care, and in this area, I believe my street level experience gives me the right to discuss the issues. Bringing common sense thinking to health care should always be welcomed. I am an RN, and have worked for 38 years in hospitals in Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada.

The Sickest

My two primary areas of specialty are Crisis Psychiatry and Cardiac Intensive Care. Whether the issues are mental, behavioral, or cardiac emergency, many of the issues facing the caregiver, and the client are the same. Despite the obvious differences in the front line needs of the clients, both of these populations are often the sickest in the hospital. One thing I know, is that the health of the American citizen should not be decided by a politician in Washington, D.C. Sadly, that’s where this battle always shows its ugly underbelly.

Gremlin 1: Big Pharma

Suitcases Of Medications

For the first twenty-five years of my career, when I admitted a patient that came to the unit with a suitcase of medications, I believed it was because they were incredibly ill. Like physicians I had been trained to believe in  pharmaceuticals.  Once I was an old nurse, my thinking transformed into, the patient is sick because they are taking so many prescribed medications. I can hear the protests from the audience now. Don’t believe me, just read the labels. These are chemicals and they are toxic and poisonous.

Side Effects

Truthfully, every pill has the potential to cause side effects, some known and some unknown.   When a person complains to his doctor that he is uncomfortable due to the side effects of the medication he is taking, his doctor writes him another prescription to help deal with the side effects.  The patient has pain so his doctor writes him a prescription for an analgesic. When he complains that the pain medication makes him constipated, he is given a prescription.  You can see where this is headed, right?

Advertising Medications

In America, television is the best friend of the pharmaceutical industry.  Constant television marketing has convinced viewers that there is a pill that will fix anything and everything. Unfortunately, many Americans now believe that there is a pill that will make everything in their life better.  Health care policy makers need to take this issue very seriously. I realize drug manufacturers want to make a profit, but I also believe constant repetition creates a need that previously did not exist.

Continue reading

Fun With Word Chains

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Fun With Word Chains

Word chains are fun. Take a look at a few

Fun With Word Chains

By D.S. Mitchell

Political blogging requires mostly research and the desire to tell the world what the hell you think. Sometimes, I get sick of telling the world what I think and I prefer to play. So today instead of talking politics I thought I’d present a few word chains, related in some twisted way, to the current political situation. LOL.

I can change black to white, by changing one letter at a time:  black, blank, blink, clink, chink, chine, whine, white

I can change give to take, by changing one letter at a time: give, live, like, lake, take

I can change tears to smile, by changing one letter at a time: tears, scars, stars, stare, stale, stile, smile

I can change poor to rich, by changing one letter at a time: poor, boor, book, rook, rock, Rick, rich

I can change hate to love by changing one letter at a time: hate, rate, rave, cave, cove, love

Fun and amazing, huh?

I wonder if Jack Smith can take Donald Trump from indicted to convicted, by changing one letter at a time?

***Thank you Rod L Evans, Ph.D for giving me permission to use your wonderful book Tyrannosaurus Lex for the above word chains.

Mushroom Spirituality

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Mushroom Spirituality

Mushroom Spirituality

Bill Cook visited the CalamityPolitics studio for Episode 3 of the Mushroom-Cannabis Chronicles. Bill joined Dave Shadrick to explore the spirituality of mushrooms. The boys are smiling as they discuss the centuries old experience.

Inhale and Exhale to Call His Name

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Inhale and Exhale to Call His Name

The sound of God's name is like breathing in and out
Editor’s Note:
This is not a religious posting, but rather an acceptance that there is something greater than all of us in this universe-D. S. Mitchell

Inhale and Exhale to Call His Name

The Sound of God’s name is like breathing in and out YHWH

Author Unknown
“There was a moment when Moses found the courage to ask God his name. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.
Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels.
But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.
YH (inhale): WH (exhale).
So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.
A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.
Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is giving constant acknowledgment to God.
Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filing their lungs.
So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?
Being alive means I speak His name constantly.
So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?
In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.
In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.
In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.
When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.
When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest most difficult moments!
This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.
All of us, always, everywhere.
Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.”