When the Smart-Ass Old Squirrel Says What You’re Thinking!
These are simply a collection of my thoughts on random situations and issues on any given day. Kind of journal but more a collection of rants that I just had to get out of my head! Someplace where I am able to let go, write my rant and move on – or pound out an essay that counters lies, deception, power grabs, conspiracies, and injustices. None of these are polished or edited, they are a stream of consciousness that may be used as replies to social media posts or simply a historical record of my perspective. I’ve tried to always have faith that smarter, cooler, more judicious minds prevail but….lately I’ve been highly disappointed with people in general – those I thought were able to discern truth from fiction-are NOT; were diligent in researching their choice for public office BEFORE they voted-NOPE again: and able to detect some of the most obvious ulterior motives-I guess I was wishing again and not basing these wishes on reality. I’ve also at times been pleasantly rewarded to find more people every day who feel just like I do – can’t tolerate the hate, racism, greed, hubris, and are actively working to bring some peace and order to our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and community at large. To them Thank YOU!
Baby Boomers – We Been Robbed
The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a “Federal Benefit Payment?” I’ll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you. Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it.
The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a “Federal Benefit Payment.” This isn’t a benefit. It is our money paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too. It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that’s close to $180,000 invested in Social Security.
The latest blow to struggling family farms: Rising interest rates
Bob Merrill remembers that in the 1980s, grown men cried in his kitchen before handing over their farm to the bank because they couldn’t pay the interest on their loans. (Kristina Barker/For The Washington Post)
Shane Merrill lives in a small town in South Dakota that’s 1,400 miles from Wall Street, but he watches the numbers as avidly as the traders.
Merrill isn’t an investment manager. He’s a family farmer. Right now, as he drives a tractor and planter to get soybeans in the ground, he’s also checking financial news on his smartphone. He’s worried, he says, about interest rates shooting up.
To keep his farm going, he has to borrow about $1 million a year from the bank, a common scenario for family farmers. Merrill takes out a loan in the early spring to buy seeds, fertilizer and fuel and aims to pay it back, with interest, after the fall harvest.
What is Environmental Justice?
THIS IS NOT Environmental Justice! This is another example of the lies and half-truths that industry shills are using to convince the general population that the extreme extraction economy will somehow bring prosperity and widespread wealth to them and their...
Trump – Weinstein – And the Grandfather Next Door
For the last few days we've been bombarded with the news that a powerful movie mogul has been sexually assaulting young women for decades. Some people have been approaching this subject like it's something new - like we hadn't heard the stories about the 'casting...
Hate: Fight or Ignore
On Saturday, August 12th, the nation and the world witnessed the quiet university town of Charlottesville Virginia erupt into chaos around a park with a statue of a Confederate general. Statues like this one are positioned all across the south to remind the nation that many were willing to die in order to continue to subjugate an entire race of humans. They are monuments to those whom led the rebellion and are considered heroes to some of their decedents and those who have co-opted the tenets of those who consider themselves superior to all races.
In the wake of the murder of a young vibrant caring woman and the intentional wounding of many more our president for almost three days refused to denounce the organizers of the alt-right protest as his supporters. All he had to do was name them, call out their agenda, and order his AG to immediately investigate the leaders of the many white supremacist groups. Instead he insinuated that it was all groups who were at fault. Said that extremists were to blame…well, he also calls those who rightfully demand clean air and water or equal justice under the law, or economic equity, or racial justice as extremists – so NO it wasn’t all!
In the beginning…. there was just this little squirrel
What major issue is hovering ominously over Trump and his administration and those who worked on his campaign and transition team? Yes, Russia but why Russia? Simple – MONEY! Greed! This can be proven, and I believe that all the bragging and bluster about his billions and billions of dollars and what a success he is – “never been anyone in all of history more successful” – blah ditty blah ditty YAK – will be proven false. So yeah, it’s about money he owes to foreign governments. Probably not just Russia. Lies you say? We could clear all this up if he would release his taxes.
Environmental Justice History
I'm adding this to my site - cause it's origin is on the Energy dot gov site and it's 2017/Trump is President - Pruitt is EPA - And the ex gov. of Texas, the one who couldn't remember the Energy Dept. and didn't know what it's role was in the government is running it...
So Who’s This “BJSquirrel”?
Well, I’m just a regular squirrel, out here in the country, no special squirrel really. Not famous, and really don’t want to be… I like where I’m at. I’ve got a good thing going with my family, friends, community. But what was good is being subverted and what could be good is being destroyed by extreme greed. My home, the trees are even at risk from being exploited for profit. More about that later.
I’ve met some amazing humans over the years – those who know we need to slow down, use less, be thankful for what we’ve got left, and rebuild our communities to be less dependent on global resources. And more about that later too…. for now my goal is to point out the obvious to the humans that seem to have lost their Original Instructions, what they call common sense. From fouling our clean water reserves to obliterating forests, we’re not so slowly killing ourselves. And as you might guess, these are really important to a squirrel!
Since the Euro-squirrels came here to this continent to escape persecution of all sorts, some to escape their crimes, others seeking fortune, our natural resources have been exploited to the peril of all living things. Our lands were divided up by a new government that marginalized, demonized, and killed with abandon. They called these lands savage, and the humans who’d lived here from the beginning of time were monsters and evil. Their factories, mines, even the boxes they live in replace a once vibrant society where humans and animals lived in harmony…relative harmony. At that time humans recognized that they were a small part of the world around them. We were blessed with everything we needed to survive and thrive from birth til death. The lands provided food, shelter, medicines, and comfort.
It’s true that my ancestors could climb a tree on the east coast and not touch ground til they reached the mighty Mississippi River. Soon after the invaders came though these mighty forests were taken with abandon. There’s tails – um tales that we could even talk to the humans – we taught them which plants, nuts, berries they could eat. Natural law also dictated that some must die for others to live and when those times come we go back to our Mother and the cycle continues.
There’s so much more to share and that’s what this blog is, sharing lessons I’ve learned – lessons that others teach us – wisdom that’s been passed down from generation to generation before they are lost forever.
I’m going to share a lot of that wisdom, humor, references from Twitter…Yes, Twitter. I wasn’t a squirrel who saw the advantages of joining the echo-chamber of celebrities, and wanton consumerism – there’s some of that still going on I guess but now, this has become, along with Facebook, a platform for discussion. And the discussion is now about where we are as a country, domestically and globally.
So why would an old squirrel be interested in joining this conversation, well, cause we all need to be more connected. We need to encourage others to be active in our communities, local government, help make the decisions that effect/affect everyone! And hopefully in a good way! I’ll leave it here…. for now enjoy some of my favorite tweets – just a variety of the ones that stood out for one reason or another.