My Tribute to Bill Moyers

During these last few months, while listening and reading everything I can on politics, I've come to a few conclusions.  Most people who vote party line, have it ingrained in their heads that today's parties are still the same, as in the days of yore.  The standards were set, and followed, agreed upon, year in and year out.  

So, what good does it do, now, to talk about change in one's party?  The only sameness, these days, is that it takes money to buy these parties out - But, as the prices go up, so does the amount of favors that are given in return.  

People, the lobbyist is now holding a bigger purse, accumulating party favors at bid price, and changing the way we live side by side, middle class workers versus big business - These are BIG Corporations, Enterprises that can't be touched, so it may seem.

There's a lot of shaking of heads among us, not knowing what can be done to counter this predicament, hence leaving an uneasy, useless feeling; and therefore nothing is done, and nothing changes - All questions are left unanswered.  All laws and bills are left in the hands of the highest bidder.  Let's not rock my boat, as it were.  “’They’” must know what they are doing, right?”  Let's not cause hard feelings between us. Let's leave well enough alone, it’s out of our hands....it’s that simple.  Talking about politics, with confirmed believers in their party, is like trying to rip a bandage off of a festering wound.  

And as I watch Bill Moyers' discussions each week, I see that there IS a little bit of hope that surfaces from them, not much, sometimes, but just enough.  No matter what, Bill always asks that same question, "What can be done - what can WE do, if anything, to change all this....."  I see him as a man of integrity, someone who always looks for hope for the future of our country, for the lives, us, who inhabit this complex world we live in;  always echoing his audiences unanswered question, 'what can we do to change?'  

I admire him for tackling subjects that I'd never think to approach.  I admire him for his gentle give and take, an approach that heals, and doesn't rip and tear those sore wounds; bringing restoration to a nation who wants to heal their wounds from within.

I encourage each and every one of you to listen to his program.  It's intelligent discussion at its best.  I never stop learning by listening.

http://billmoyers.com/

A letter from Bill Lathrop, President - UFCW Local 1167

VOTE NO ON PROP 32

Proposition 32, a measure on November's ballot, is the most anti-worker measure we've ever seen.  It threatens our jobs, wages, retirement, contracts and more.  In short, it silences union members while giving even more power to corporate special interests and CEO's to attack our rights.

Proposition 32 pretends it's about "stopping special interests" but that's a lie.  Its millionaire anti-union backers don't care about reform.  They don't care about our jobs.  They certainly don't care about us.  They care about their profits, and they'll do anything to get us out of the way.

Prop 32 was carefully written to weaken unions and silence workers.  While the anti-union millionaires backing it say it's balanced, it's actually full of special exemptions for all sorts of corporations, Wall Street firms, billionaire CEO's, big insurance companies and SuperPACs.  Not surprisingly, the very same corporate interests behind the measure all have their own exemptions in Prop 32.

Don't be fooled by their lies.  The fact is, the measure's backers intentionally designed it to confuse voters in order to cover up their real agenda - to silence our voice and eliminate our union's ability to fight for things like jobs, good wages, workplace safety and retirement security.

This measure is the first blow of a one-two punch.  If anti-union CEOs behind Prop 32 eliminate our voice, they'll waste no time cutting our jobs, wages and retirement to boost their own profits.  Prop 32 is bad for our families, communities and the state's middle class.  We must defeat this deceptive measure.

We urge you to vote NO on Prop 32 this November, and ask your friends, family and co-workers to do the same.

To learn more, visit www.CaliforniaLabor.org/NoOn32.  To volunteer, please contact Joe Duffle at (909) 877-5000.

In Solidarity,
Bill Lathrop, President
UFCW Local 1167

Stand Up and Be Counted

My political platform for today

What amazed me, I think the most, was what I'm hearing from  the people who stood up on stage, in front of this huge convention floor of people, and told their side of what and who Mitt Romney is, on a personal level. 

The companies that Mitt Romney invested in, were not people to him; people who worked hard all their lives to simply eek out a living, provide for their families - These companies represented a profit to Mr. Romney, and dissolving these companies, dissolved these people into the system of foreclosure, and the unemployed.  

----And it boggles my mind to think that there are so many uninformed, good people out there, who actually think Mitt Romney is what this country needs.

----And it boggles my mind to see just how much President Obama has accomplished in just four years in office.  Never before in history, has so much good been done. 

He fights for those who can't stand, the voices that are weak, and allows us to speak.  He hears our words.  He's a man of honor, and fights tooth and nail for the people of our country, so don't underestimate what more can be accomplished in the next four years.  

Don't take us back to a devastated economy, as we were four years ago, by voting for Mitt Romney.  

Do the right thing for you, for all of us, and re-elect President Obama.

A Review - The Light Between Oceans – by M. L. Stedman

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-light-between-oceans-ml-stedman/1107086384

I just finished reading this novel last night. M. L. Stedman has to be one of the most outstanding writers of this century! I've never been so captivated, by not just character and story, but the atmosphere surrounding this lighthouse.  It was inescapable; a living thing, breathing life into all that it touched.... This will be in my review of The Light Between Oceans....once I stop crying long enough to write it!

Fortunately, I have stopped crying, but it was not easy reading these last few pages.  When I showered this morning, I am sure a pound of salt washed down the drain.  The salt air, my skin absorbed from these eloquent lines of Stedman, and the tears I shed for every one of these characters.  No, not just ONE character, but ALL of them.  I even shed tears for the Lighthouse, and the island it was on, if you can believe that!

The one word that jumps out at me from this reading is the word LOVE. 

This author didn’t miss a beat in showing us all sides and ramifications of that word.  She gave it to us in actions, deeds, requests, withdrawals; matters of the heart, the mind, the soul;  matters of the individuals, of the families, as adults, as children - nothing was missed in the telling of this story, even the love given to this Lighthouse was shown in glistening clarity.

Solitary confinement lurked around in this story – The distance one takes to protect oneself.... We dove into this solitary ocean like swimmers diving for treasures....we found love was being held captive by shy yet turbulent creatures. 

The message was deep, so very deep Stedman made us dive, and it hurt at times just trying to find that love, but when you did the brilliance shown like this solitary candle light from this Lighthouse.  Even though this Lighthouse never had a speaking part, it had a voice that spoke out like the light it gave...crystal clear, through storms, through calm, through uncharted territory, it spoke to the reader, as it spoke to the sea.

I love stories where there is no accounting for characters.  Predictable or unpredictable, that is the question we all have while reading.  I never knew until the end page what I was to be expected from this writer.  The only thing I did know throughout this story was, it holds something so personal that only the individual reader can interpret for themselves. 

We all make a life in this world and it’s up to us as individuals to interpret our own circumstances; making choices the best we know how, but not always knowing the outcome until it happens. The choices are ours, the responsibility is ours.  These characters had many choices in their lives, they may not have been the ones you would have made, or maybe they would. I can’t answer for you.  I only know I was torn in so many directions while reading these circumstances that these character’s faced, I didn’t know which line of thought my own mind wanted to follow.  It was real, as real and true as life itself.

I recommend reading this book if you take life seriously.    I recommend reading this book if you find your own choices too hard to make....after reading this book you will think twice, taking a double take on your own life.  I recommend reading this book....