Thoughts On 911

 I remember well the events of 911. As the early riser I am, I was watching early morning news as I had my coffee and played on the computer. Hearing that a plane had apparently hit the World trade center, I was mildly interested and looked up to see. Little did I know how that moment would change the world we knew in so many ways.. Is this still current news or is it now history and part of the new American mythos?

There is a quote that goes, "The owl of Minerva only takes flight as the dusk begins to fall." The meaning is that “understanding, insight, wisdom arise when the object to be understood has played itself out, when it has actualized and thus exhausted its potentialities, and now faces only decline.” The “Little Owl” accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom and is considered a sign of wisdom. Will we gain wisdom from 911, or are we still in the midst of it so deep that it will be left to our children or our grand children, who have more distance from the event, to fully grasp how it has changed the world?

Has this endless war on terror now become the norm in the minds of the humans of the planet? How can we give the understanding to the younger generation that this is not theway it has always been? How can we stir the memories of ourselves to remember and foster an attitude that makes this change unacceptable? The war on terror cannot be won, especially when we cannot even define what a terrorist is. You cannot fight an idea. And in this post 911 world I see our country’s military becoming no different than any other “terrorists” out there with the exception that we have many more weapons than anyone else to terrorize with and “we the people” pay for this terrorism.(this is an older chart, but you get the idea)

Is this the world that we wish to resign ourselves to? I sure as hell don't. It is a daunting task to work for peace when the tide of war seems to be constantly rushing toward us with a mighty force, but I for one am going to continue to speak out, demonstrate, make phone calls and write letter advocating different solutions to this endless world of war. I hope you do also will, otherwise what world are we going to leave to our future generations? Join the Peace Movement and do what you can for peace. Locally here in Idaho join the Idaho Peace Coalition (facebook is best).

In closing, please visit the page of  9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows >>> "The vision for September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born when a small group of family members of those killed on 9/11 became connected after reading each others’ pleas for nonviolent and reasoned responses to the terrorist attacks."

Work for Peace

Prison Reform Mini Rant

I stared this conversation on Face Book but quickly realized the issue was too large to clutter up my home page with. This will be brief but may expand as time goes on...

First off is this short article about the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is offering cash-strapped state governments to buy up their penitentiaries and manage convicted criminals at a cost-savings if they will sign a 20-year contract and assurances that the state will keep the prisons at least 90% full.!!! They sent these letters to all fifty states. Fortunately recently they lost the contracts in 4 states, Idaho, my state, included. So perhaps there is hope on this front... The Huffington Post has quite a few articles on this issue. CCA has been sued many times over abuses. Here in Boise they call it "Gladiator School"  because the guards allow inmates to batter each other with disregard as a control technique. Hmmm..

The next little thing is the issue of so many people being sent back to prison for minor parole violations. Things like changing jobs without permission. Or even having a girlfriend/boyfriend without your parole officers permission. This is totally ridiculous! In these times of financial stress on states why do they do this? Fine them instead. Make them do community service hours instead. But send them back to prison at an average cost in Idaho of $19,545 per inmate ... In California it is a whopping $47,102!! In Idaho the budget for the Idaho Department of Corrections is $143.2 million. The actual cost to do the prisons is actually $144.7 million. Do the math. Who suffers with this shortfall? Certainly not the state employees. It is the prisoners.

So one more issue that needs changed drastically. It is about what is called Street Time. if you are revoked, and you were on parole, mandatory supervision, or conditional pardon as described the parole board then you will not receive credit for the time from the date of release to the date of revocation (your street time.) This absolutely needs to stop. I knew people in prison who did well on parole for 3-5-7 plus years and made a mistake that violated them and they were sent back to prison to do their time losing all street time.. Last I heard I think there were 20 states that still take street time.. I will have to do further research on that. Here is some Street Time Conversation.

A Tidbit for thought and further conversation.. "Despite more relaxed attitudes among the public at large toward non-violent offenses like marijuana use, the number of people in federal prison for drug offenses spiked from 74,276 in 2000 to 97,472 in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The punishment falls disproportionately on people of color. Blacks make up 50 percent of the state and local prisoners incarcerated for drug crimes."

So to close for now I just want to say that the issue of reform of our judicial system and prisons can't come soon enough. I hope this gets you thinking about it a little and you join in some way to campaigns to do this reform. Thanks for reading. Start the conversation.

In Brief Some Prison Reform Resourses

  

Ritual of the Hair

He gathered up the tools. Feather, paper, ribbon, dried leaves, seeds and the ball of hair from the past mingled with the hair of the day. The Moon sat waiting patiently, observing his mindful preparations as an owl in flight graced the scene. Fire, Earth, Water and Air were also gathered there in waiting. It seems to him that all is well as the Circle is cast with reverent intent and he takes his place at the focus.

As he takes a breath as deep as an ocean and his exhalation fills the starry sky, he wonders if he noted this as a sigh or just a life affirming action? It matters not, as the ritual now has begun. He begins to write his meme upon the paper in a script that the Gods can understand, all the while with focused intent upon visions of his past, those that seem best forgotten, because they hold ones soul to the ground when you wish to fly. Continuing on he repeats the process on another paper and fills it with visions of the future. Daydreams full of contentment and love. It seems to him such a simple request and he ponders for the moment why it appears many have so difficult a time magnetizing such into their lives. Another breath, this truly a sigh, escapes his lips.

There is no answer to his query as he ties a ribbon, the dried leaves and the feather to his musings of the past and casts them to that starry sky, sending those unwanted anxious memories to the wind, that they may blow far away, never to return. Picking up the paper of the future dreams he wraps the seed tightly in its embrace and holds it up to the Moon as to say, “Remember this is here.” Digging a hole in the dirt before him, he places this magical bundle at the bottom and covers it with the rich soil with the faith that these dreams will take root in the womb of our Mother and manifest their magical destiny.

He stands feeling satisfied that all is well, closes the circle and then walks away, full of hope for the future and waving goodbye to the past... Shanti