Sunday, August 21, 2016

Pyramids of fear cannot withstand the winds that blow

It's an event if you are ready,
a disaster if you are not.
You are never really ready enough,
So you deal with what you've got.
 
Japan gets typhoons
Here they call them hurricanes.
Tornadoes, direcho's, storms
They are a cost of living on land and breathing air.
 
Anything built can decay and fail.
Man-made disasters result from man.
We have to find a way to reach the arrogant.
Who stand astride pyramids held up by people
Who are oppressed and full of fear.
 
So hear the words of the Lord of Time
Those who rule with fear commit an awful crime.
That dooms them like some ancient pharaoh
Pyramids built of fear cannot withstand the winds that blow
 
Channeled by Christopher H. Holte

Friday, August 19, 2016

Lies Have Wings

Lies have wings.
But truth is a tortoise
Ever chasing the rumors let loose by the loose.
And those who would fight lies
seem armed with spitballs and rubber bands.
As much as I've come to understand.
Poisonous myths poison us all
 
Yet old lies become legends
Our story tellers take lies and fashion myths and parables.
If horses could fly, and no one would die,
then the entertainment would be harmless and free
But the cost of grown people telling lies
is too much for me.

Christopher H. Holte

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Inherited Delusion

Inherited delusion,
Children mindlessly duking it out in front of me.
Parent's delusion animating a circular conversation....
spoken with tears and fists.
 
What an ugly fight,
But somewhere there is light
And maybe there is fertile soil
Surviving all that dark oil.
 
The father lost his fight.
He wandered away in defeat
and sleeps in an unmarked grave.
 
The Mother lost her fight.
She drowned her pain in poppy oil and alcohol
and now she sleeps alone.
 
But their ghosts possess their children in the night!
 
Somewhere there is light
Some kind of flower is growing in the night.
Ready to warm the day.
 
Who would think that you can beat someone you love?
Or label them with poison and save them?
But a person possessed?
 
Monkey see, monkey say,
our children do what they saw their parents play
And these sad children are acting that way.
Echoing parents, grandparents, present and ancient wars.
And a sad reenactment of hate.
 
Break that spell
Let's talk about our feelings
Without ever saying an unkind word
Or touching without permission.
Let's do what our parents couldn't do
And help these ghosts step into the light.
 
Christopher H. Holte, 8/16/2016

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

A Child's Universe

The Universe narrows to you and me.
My fathers eyes are all I see.
I orbit around his voices sound.
and all is right with the world….
 
A cave of warmth and strength.
A circle that narrows and expands.
My world a warm place safe from cold.
My fears can calm and subside.
 
In his Arms so strong and brave:
Refuge from pain and fears,
he dabs a cloth upon my tears,
and heals my sense of time.

This version is for my Dad, whose Birthday is August 19 1933

Original: http://fraughtwithperil.com/cholte/2012/02/27/a-childs-universe/

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Economic, Democratic Subsidiarity and local democracy

Greece in 2015, Puerto Rico Now, What to do?

Almost a year ago I blogged a series on the Eurozone and what was happening to the Greeks and what that means for us:

"The privateers give a Broadside to the Greeks",
Privateering through Banks and the EuroZone and
Going Greek on the Whole World
And I showed that neo-liberalism is not Bill Clinton, us Democrats and Company. It is our Republican movement:
Neoliberalism versus Economic Policy that Really works

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

I want Unicorns

I want Unicorns, I said!
They gave me donkey's instead!
I must have Unicorns!
Donkeys are no fun!
Unicorns smell nice,
They dance above reality
and fly up into the clouds!
Donkeys stink. They get dirty totally
And you have to shovel up behind them!
Give me Unicorns instead!
 
I want unicorns!
Reality is smelly and messy!
People have to work together
and clean up each other's messes!
We have to fight real enemies
Who think they are Elephant's
Or Ganesh taken form on Earth!
I want Unicorns!
I don't want to have to convince anyone!
Do what I say or I'll walk away!
Darn Donkeys need a carrot,
Or they won't walk my way!
 
Christopher H. Holte, watching the Berners, 7/26/2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

Two Strategies

Good Bye Representative Schultz:

I imagine you have mixed feelings about your role as Democratic National Chair. On the one hand, you've been trashed and subject to contradictory expectations. At the same time the job you've been doing as Chair was one of two full time jobs with built in conflict of interests between doing both excellently at the same time. You are also a Representative from Florida. The DNC chair should go to someone not holding a current elective office. One of your jobs is protecting the competitiveness and integrity of Democratic primaries. That means making sure that the party is not an "incumbent protection machine." As an incumbent your wearing those two particular hats looked bad all along.

Nevertheless, Up until the 2014 election I made donations to the DNC when I had the funds, and supported you 100%. After the election I with-held support for you. I think you could have done more to vigorously elect a house and senate for Obama. And you did things that didn't help him.

There are two DNC strategies. One involves trying to use scientific calculations to pick which folks are going to win and support them; while writing off "losers." The other involves using a different kind of strategy, long term propaganda and is known as the 50 state strategy.

You gave lip service to the 50 state strategy while pursuing the "invest where one is most likely to succeed" strategy. I thought that was and is counterproductive as we humans are fickle and if we write off populations we guarantee losses. But we can never guarantee wins. So the long term strategy will get us solid majorities and the short term thinking so prevalent now will guarantee us minority status.

I also didn't like the way you took your time with some IT projects and similar. Those also are related to the 50 state strategy. So I'm glad you are stepping down and wish you'd done so on Nov 10 2014.

Your conflictive relationship with the Bernie campaign just illustrates the feckless way you've done your job at times. In some areas you've done well. But you didn't seem to even get the importance of managing party functions in a way that brings people in, give an appearance of openness, and let us Democrats have a say in how our party is run. I don't agree with the Bernie campaign's efforts to make our primaries open, but we do need to improve our primary process and make our party more open to participation.

Open primaries as Bernie envisions them would just lead to mischief from Libertarians, Republicans, the far left and big money. Democracy is in participation. Not simply the forms. And our role as democrats isn't only to vote for you and send you money. This is our party too. This is also how we defeat the corrupt Citizens United Decision. If the party provides a neutral vehicle for candidate selection and a powerful tool for the general election, we can't be beat. That tool is two way communication and quality reporting. It can be provided by volunteers if the party provides the resources.

We win elections when we have consensus. And we get consensus by getting involved. So I can't blame you for the Bernie-bots or Russian infiltration of our system. But we can do much better! We need a two way system and more participation. We get that through involving people in the internal operations of the party, by electronic voting and polling. We don't get there by being treated as subjects.