Author: Darlene Mitchell

3 Million Children Die

  By

3 Million Children Die

D. S. Mitchell

Doctor’s Without Borders is a world recognized international medical humanitarian organization. The international medical relief organization was awarded the Nobel Peace in 1999. DWB delivers medical care to patients with NO political or religious agenda. The organization goal is to treat people where the need is the greatest. Helping people threatened by violence and social upheaval, neglect, natural disasters, epidemics or other health emergencies.

Worldwide, malnutrition accounts for 50% of deaths in children under 5 years old. Malnutrition claims 3 million children, making malnutrition the single greatest threat to child survival. Doctor’s Without Borders sends mobile clinics out into the most rural areas, where often conditions are untenable. Malnutrition in these regions is a huge problem. The DWB mobile teams have saved thousands of lives.

In the middle of emergency situations DWB medical teams work to break malnutrition’s cycle. Children under 2 years of age have small stomachs and very specific nutritional needs. If their diets are deficient in just one of the 40 essential nutrients they need, it weakens their young immune systems, and their chances of dying from even a minor infection or disease increases dramatically.

Continue reading

GOP’s Sneaky Tax Plan

  By

GOP’s Sneaky Tax Plan

D. S. Mitchell

The American tax system is not broken and it certainly does not need the type of disastrous overhaul being rammed down the throats of the 99.8% of the American tax payers all for the benefit of about five thousand people, and a boat load of international corporations. Trickle down economics was debunked 30 years ago and why we have allowed the Republicans to bring it back into the tax conversation is beyond me.

On December 2, 2017 at 2 a.m., in the dark of night, without a single public hearing, Senators passed a 479 page tax bill, which included several illegible hand written notes in the margins. GOP Senators passed what could become one of the most important legislative bills in recent history. If the Republicans actually maneuver this monstrosity through the congress it will revamp the national tax code, disrupt our national health care system, while adding trillions of dollars to the national debt, thereby impacting every person in the United States.

From personal experience, I know that 2 a.m. decisions are usually stupid decisions. Decisions, that when viewed from the light of the following morning are often regrettable. So, we ask, why are the Republicans so desperate to pass such important legislation in the middle of the night? Without public hearings, written seemingly by corporation lobbyists, and supported by almost no one, we keep asking, why?

Continue reading

10 Simple Dream Interpretations

  By

10 Simple Dream Interpretations

D. S. Mitchell

Dream content varies from person to person, but there are common themes. Psychologists have long claimed that dreams are nothing more than a reflection of our waking lives. See if you recognize any of your dreams.

If, in your dream:
1.)You are being chased, you are probably avoiding or running away from something in life. Being unable to run in a dream indicates feeling overwhelmed with daily pressures.
2.)You die. It doesn’t mean you are about to die, it suggests insecurity and/or anxiety.
3.)You are falling. It is a subconscious response to real-life stress, something as simple as a leg spasm.
4.)You can fly, you have conquered a stressful situation. If you can control your flight, it is a sign of confidence. If you fly aimlessly you are cautiously optimistic about your success.
5.)Your teeth fall out, you are unhappy with your physical appearance.
6.)You watch a car crash, a big undertaking in your life seems doomed to failure.
7.)You dream of water, it is a representation of your general emotional state. Clear water means satisfaction with work and home. Muddy water is a sign of skepticism and discontent.
8.)You are naked, you are dreading an upcoming event due to feelings of shame, or vulnerability.
9.)You are giving birth, great change is unfolding. Dreaming about babies indicates a desire to behave more maturely.
10.)You are peeing. You may be expressing desire for relief from a difficult situation. Or you may really have to pee, or you may already be doing it.

 

I love Sundays it lets me do silly things. Dream on.

Calamity Politics is an on-line news magazine directed at the politics of the United States. Join us for comment and sarcasm. Join the Resistance.

Dar

Trump Attacks The FBI

  By

The FBI is a world-famous crime fighting organization. It is synonymous with solid professionalism. I have never heard anyone say they didn’t want the FBI working their case after a crime has been committed.

The FBI is like all organizations, imperfect. In the post 9/11 era, its anti-terrorism focus was at times thought to be overzealous, generating complaints from multiple sources including minority communities, and civil libertarians. The fast and loose ways of the J.Edgar Hoover FBI are long gone. The infamous founder of the crime fighting agency was famous for pursuing personal vendettas and agendas. But since FBI Associate Director, Mark Felt was discovered to be “Deep Throat”, the secret source for the Washington’s Post’s insight into the corrupt Nixon administration, a large majority of Americans have viewed the FBI as an honest and neutral bulwark against criminals of all kinds, inside and outside of the government.

Last weekend, in a rush of tweets Trump took aim at targets old and new. Trump criticized the FBI and raised questions about the special prosecutor’s investigation into Russian election meddling and the possible ties to the Trump campaign.

In that storm of tweets, more than a dozen–came after his former NSA, Mike Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. In one of his posts Trump once again denied that he had asked former FBI Director James Comey for a loyalty pledge, or directed him to stop investigating Flynn. Trump called the nation’s top law enforcement agency a biased institution whose reputation was “in Tatters–worst in History!” and urged FBI Director Chris Wray to “clean house.” Trump personally promised in his tweet meltdown to “bring it back to greatness.”

Eric Holder, former FBI Director, tweeted in response, “Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in ‘tatters.’ It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job. You’ll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Avenue right now.”

Trump had seized on reports that a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent, Peter Strzok was removed by special counsel Mueller last summer after the discovery of an exchange of text messages that were viewed as potentially anti-Trump. The agent, had also worked on the investigation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Continue reading

Times Change

  By

Times Change

D. S. Mitchell

I stumbled across some statistics from 1900. Mind you, just over a 100 years ago things were very different from today. I thought the information was both amusing, and eye-opening. Check it out.

1) Average life expectancy in USA was 46 years. 2) Fourteen per cent of American homes had a bathtub.  Eight per cent had a telephone. 3)Mississippi, Iowa, Tennessee and Alabama all had larger populations than California. 4) There were 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads.5) The average hourly wage in USA was 22 cents and the average worker made between $200-$400 a year. 6)  Population of Las Vegas was 30. 7) Ninety per cent of doctors in the USA never attended college.8) The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world   9) Sugar cost 4 cents a pound, coffee was 15 cents a pound, and eggs were 14 cents a dozen. 10) There was 230 reported murders in the USA. 11) Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska were not yet states.  12) Only six percent of American adults were high school graduates. Ten percent of adults were illiterate. 13) Most women washed their hair once a month and used egg yolks or borax for shampoo. 14) Ninety five percent of all births took place at home.  15) Leading causes of death in the USA were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, heart disease, diarrhea, and stroke. 16) Eighteen percent of American homes had a full-time servant. 17) Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.

Hope you got a laugh or two. Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line news magazine. Join the Resistance. *This list of what was going on in 1900 came from “Uncle John’s Fast-Acting, Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader by the Bathroom Reader’s Institute, 18th Edition.”

Dar

Net Neutrality Is A Very Good Thing

  By

Net Neutrality Is A Very Good Thing

D. S. Mitchell

Saturday in the middle of the night the GOP Senate passed a tax reform bill, Trump went psycho on Twitter,  an agitated North Korea fired another missile, Kushner was tied to Flynn and Russian Ambassador Kislyak, and a platoon of powerful men were being brought down for sexual harassment.

Hard to imagine, but amidst all these issues, I believe the end of net neutrality in the United States will become the most important, historically. The internet has been the bulwark of much of the country’s economic growth over the last twenty years, in fact, the internet has produced some of the most powerful and richest companies on the planet. Exemplified by Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.

It has to be admitted that the economic muscle created by the new online giants came at the cost of the brick-and-mortars, the analogs and the manufacturers.  This country’s economic fortunes have been dependent on the enormous growth of these internet entrepreneurs and startup companies, which have changed our world, in some ways for the better, and in some ways for the worse.

The internet, the last great libertarian frontier of entrepreneurship, free from government intervention and the constraints of the physical world, is at serious risk. Net Neutrality is about to be cancelled by the FCC, led by Republican chairman Ajit Pai.

Imagine it this way, you now access the internet to view a website, or stream video at pretty much the same speed as everyone else in the United States. The companies that built the internet must treat all traffic exactly the same, no matter where it is headed, or how it got there.

Service providers claim net neutrality is an unfair burden that limits their ability to recoup their development costs. These ISP’s (Internet Service Provider’s) have made significant investments in the online infrastructure, and they want to be allowed to monetize their investment into more revenue and higher dividends for their shareholders.

The FCC Commission is under Republican control, holding  3 of the 5 seats on the panel. If the FCC moves forward, as it keeps signaling it will, the net neutrality rule will be eliminated. If allowed to do so, ISP’s can soon sell a faster connection to certain destinations, for certain customers. For example, Twitter might benefit from that situation. A customer could load their site faster and at a lower cost than you could another site, a site which does not have the financial ability to pay Spectrum or Comcast, or any other ISP for that matter, to give faster (preferred) service to their site.

Continue reading

A Growing Wave Favors Single Payer Health Care

  By

A Growing Wave Favors Single Payer Health Care

D. S. Mitchell

Across the nation our cities and towns are full of working families, seniors and students who are uninsured or struggling with unmanageable health care costs. Americans spend more money per person on health care than any other industrialized country with worse results.

For many, the lack of access to affordable health care leads to decreased quality of life. It often is choices. The choice of being able to work, or attend school. A choice between food, or medication. For others it boils down to waiting until the health care situation becomes emergent. Sadly, for many it leads to death.

Health care affects all Americans. Whether it affects you, or your neighbor, your sister, your grandmother. Affordable health care crosses traditional boundaries and is one public policy issue that touches us all. It is a unifying thread of need, not of agreement.

The New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt offered new ideas and new solutions for a country without health care and created the first American social safety net. More than eighty years have passed since the first struggles to provide basic health care was initiated in the United States. A lot has happened since the 1930’s but America still is struggling with a realistic view of health care. Public health care policy that serves the most people the most effectively should be the agreed goal.

As I have mentioned in the past it is time we join the countries of the modern world and provide health care for all. Once you decide health care is a human right, not the privilege of a few that are wealthy enough to afford insurance, great movement can take place. Once that thought has been internalized we must take those beliefs to the ballot box. Vote your values and make sure that your elected officials vote our values. We must hold them accountable.

Continue reading

While We Slept

  By

While We Slept

D. S. Mitchell

The bill will hurt most Americans. Remember it was passed in the middle of the night, done without hearings, and without time for basic analysis of the economic impact. Central to the bill is the redistribution of income from lower and middle class income families to corporations and business owners.

Corporate tax rate drops to 20%, while ordinary families are “nickle-and-dimed” by a series of tax changes, not one of which is a big deal, but when added together become significant tax increases on at least 75% of middle class taxpayers.

Additionally, ObamaCare will be repealed in such a way as to sharply cut assistance to lower-income families and raise the cost of insurance for many in the middle-income group.

And Lisa Murkowski was bought off with a pledge to open Arctic Wilderness to oil drilling. I just want to barf, and I hope it lands right on her shoes. Social and environmental issues entangled with the tax legislation, really shameful.

This is what the Republican senators accomplished while you were asleep. I guess the rule here is, don’t close your eyes while the Republicans are in control of the government.

Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line news magazine that keeps you up to date on the Washington political scene. Join the Resistance.

Dar

Quick Tips To Help Organize Your Pantry

  By

Quick Tips To Help Organize Your Pantry

D. S. Mitchell

Here are some quick strategies to organize your pantry. An organized pantry through labeling, and zoning helps reduce prep time for meals and gives you control when unexpected guests stop by.

Start with breaking down your pantry space into 8 zones.  Label the areas, 1.)Home Remedies, 2.)Holiday 3.) Staples 4.) On-the-Go 5.)Weeknight Meals 6.)Baking & Spices 7.)Kids 8.)Guest Snacks.

Zone One: If you have a flu or cold you are in no mood to rummage through multiple drawers looking for cold remedies. Prepare a bin with proven com fort food: Chicken noodle soup, ginger tea, saltine crackers and even medications. Zone Two: Find a hard to reach corner  and fill it with seasonal items, pumpkin pie filling, cranberry sauce, holiday specific table decor. Zone Three: Store dry goods, like pasta, beans and rice in clear airtight containers, this makes it easy for you to restock when products become visibly low.

Arrange canned goods so all labels are visible. Every six months you should check expiration dates and donate food you may not be able to consume by the expiration date. Zone Four: Purchase or find in your garage a three compartment bin. Fill with items you might need to bring breakfast or lunch with you. In first section fill with breakfast bars or small cereal boxes. In the second section fill with microwavable soups, dried fruits and nuts. Keep utensils and napkins in the third compartment. Zone Five: Planning ahead can help reduce stress. Sort ingredients for a week’s worth of easy dinners into separate bins, organizing by meal. For example store taco fixings in one bin and spaghetti fixings in another.

Zone Six: Arrange spices on a two-tier turntable with cooking spices on one level, baking spices on another. Use a larger turn-table for oils and shortening. Store items such as sugar, flour and other baking goods in labeled, stackable canisters. Zone Seven: Remove individually wrapped children’s snacks from their boxes. Store in a large basket on a low shelf with fruit, crackers and other treats so they are easily accessible for the little munchkins. Zone Eight: Place specialty goodies in a basket or bin. Items that favorite friends enjoy or fancy crackers for appetizer trays. You will always be ready for surprise guests.

Armed with a plan, your canisters, your bins and baskets, rearranging your pantry space should only take a couple of hours. Do not take on this project when you are stressed, overtaxed or short of time. Plan on doing it when the family is out of the house and you can work uninterrupted.

Good luck, you can do it. And, you will be glad you did.

Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line news magazine pointing out the activities of our government, for good or bad. Join me for comment and opinion. Join the Resistance.

Dar

12 Stay Young Secrets

  By

12 Stay Young Secrets

D. S. Mitchell

I was standing in the grocery check out line when I noticed a special edition Prevention magazine titled “99 Ways To Live To 100” on the rack in front of me.  I bought the magazine and when I got home the first article I read was “Active At 80+”

The story featured 4 amazing women from 81-87 years of age. Each of the women offered 3 stay young secrets. I thought they were good enough to share with my friends.

Alice Rocky 81: Stay Fit Activity, Yoga. Her “Stay Young Secrets”:

1.) Spend time with people of various ages. Having a broad social network helps you to feel and act younger, it helps you keep in mind that age is just a number.

2.) Recognize that some aches and pains are normal and natural.  It is your body giving you feedback. Listen to it and change , but don’t stop moving.

3) Exercise your brain. Stay engaged intellectually. Volunteer. Do crossword puzzles.

Ruth Heidrich 82: Stay Fit Activity, Iron Woman. Her “Stay Young Secrets”:

1.) Appreciate what you can do, “whether walking a half mile or doing chair yoga, applaud yourself.”

2.) Go meatless. Ruth states it is the most important health change she has ever made.

3.) Focus on the rewards. Exercise improves sleep, lowers blood pressure, reverses Type 2 diabetes, prevents heart disease and osteoporosis.

Florence Meiler 83: Stay Fit Activity, Track & Field. Her “Stay Young Secrets”:

1.) Discover your “thing.” “It can be yoga, Tai Chi, swimming-the key is finding the activity you like enough to commit to it on a regular basis.”

2.) Team up. “Exercising with friends keeps you on track and motivated. The National Senior Games’ motto is ‘Fitness, Fun and Fellowship.’ That says it all.”

3.) Believe in yourself. “We are all capable of far more than we think we are, instead of saying ‘I can’t’ say ‘I’ll try.’ Those words can make all the difference.

Joan Campbell 87: Stay Fit Activity, Swimming. Her “Stay Young Secrets”:

1.) Always have a goal. “It can be anything that motivates you. Goals give you a push”

2.) Avoid scale creep. “If I feel my pants getting tight, I cut my portions. Fish and veggies are my go to dinner.”

3.) Just say yes. “I see daily exercise as an automatic. That way I don’t question it. If I don’t feel like getting out of bed, I motivate myself by thinking how good I will feel afterward, and that always helps me get moving.”

Wow. Some pretty insightful suggestions. I think the information is as good for a 25-year-old as an 80-year-old.

Calamity Politics  is an on-line news magazine that admits to a Progressive bias. Join the Resistance.

Dar