Wednesdays are the day when I typically am able to get out and mow both yards at the house. Recently, in order to cut down my carbon footprint, my family invested in an electric lawnmower which has an approximate 2-hour run time, more than enough for my suburban yard, which I've let go a bit. When we moved in several years ago, I would argue that the majority of the lawn was a 50/50 mix of grass and weeds, green weeds, so that's OK, some dandelions, and some clover. I'm not sure what happened over the winter, but this year, the yard has become predominantly clover, which is currently in bloom with small olive-sized white flowers, all over the lawn, like a 70/30 split. It's a simple function of species competition in a diverse mini-ecosystem comprised of whatever the birds drop on it along with wind-carried seed and adjacent propagation of species due to available resources and proximity to other plants of the same species. Hence, the clover. And the insects love it, specifically the bees and other nectar-dependent insects, and the birds that eat them. The resident song sparrow seems to thank me every morning as I leave for work.
This is good.
Researchers at Penn State have identified that "In the United States, over 24 million acres of lawn surround our homes." Largely, the types of grass used for these lawns are non-native water hogs, and therefore no good for local flora and fauna. Subdivisions that knock down native forest species displace otherwise natural habitat that some of our most vulnerable species depend on for survival. Also, by maintaining lawns, we are creating acres and acres of fringe habitat where shrubs and low-growth plants provide an easy source of nutrients to one of New Jersey's largest nuisance animals: the white-tailed deer. While deer are suited to be forest dwelling, nature was able to regulate their success by keeping the food higher up, thereby reducing their ability to thrive and breed. With our self-imposed lawn/fringe habitats, we've created our own traffic problems. Just ask Princeton Township, who hires sniper squads to annually cull the deer population and reduce vehicular/deer incidents with the resulting meat donated to the local food bank.
But, I digress. I don't have a deer problem. Quite the opposite, I've got a yard that is literally buzzing, and I love it. Ever hear of clover honey? No, I don't have a beehive on the property (yet...not sure if there is a local ordinance prohibiting it). However, the majority of honey on the market is clover honey, which just means that bees collect the majority of their nectar from clover flowers. There are plenty of other kinds of honey out there. In California you may be lucky enough to buy avocado honey. In the mid-west, there's buckwheat honey which is darker in color and contains different minerals, potentially healthier for consumption. But the maintenance of my field of clover has other ancillary benefits:
Clover is affordable, as in free, and easy to grow.
A nitrogen-fixing plant, clover brings nutrients to your soil and requires no fertilization. When mixed with other grasses, clover can reduce or eliminate the need for regular fertilizing.
Clover is drought tolerant and grows despite lack of water once established. This contrasts starkly with traditional lawn grasses, which usually need watering all season long.
Full sun or partial shade? Clover is tolerant of many conditions and outcompetes other weeds.
Clover is versatile. Add to a regular lawn to help invigorate tired turf or plant a full clover lawn on its own for lush, year-round greenery (depending on your geographical location).
The bees! Don't like bees? Then, simply mow your clover before and after it blooms.
As a former pet-owner, ‘good-bye’ burn marks; clover will not turn yellow as quickly as a regular lawn when pets are around.
Goodbye watering. Goodbye reseeding. Goodbye fertilizers and herbicides to kill weeds which are unsafe for pets and kids. Hello clover. You can call it what you like, that I'm lazy in my lawn maintenance or that I've created a problem for the neighbor's lawns. Yeah, sure, but my adjacent garden is doing fine. I've created a habitat for native pollinator species, and the kids can easily slip-n-slide on it, or play soccer on it, or study the bees on it without issue. And, creating a diverse ecosystem with multiple plant species is good for a harmonious environment. Diversity rules and thrives! Now, if only I could teach that to the Trump administration.
The phrase is "it's far easier to ask for forgiveness than permission." That seems to be the mantra of this administration: act first, see the ramifications of the actions later...and, no matter how the facts stack up against them, defend, defend, defend.
I'll admit that this post is largely due to the fact that, at 7:30am this morning, I had Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of" blaring at top volume in my car. For those not in the know, it's a rightfully angry song, championing the fight against an unjust authoritarian regime which discriminates against minorities. Back in the day, it was police brutality against blacks, but we fixed that up fine (read: sarcasm). The song can easily be ported to what's happening now at our borders.
"Some of those that work forces, are the same the burn crosses."
The comparison of this administration to the KKK and early Nazi actions in the late 1930s have been made again and again. Whether the administration is intentionally singling out Jews, blacks, hispanics, etc. will be for history to decide when all the facts come in. But, with statements like "both sides are to blame" and constant tirades about Chicago and South Americans seeking asylum make you believe that this "nationalist," American first, administration is a transparent cover for a new white supremacy movement.
And then there's Israel. Strangely enough, conservatives and this administration are "all in" on Israel, which, at first, confused me. With the President's unwillingness to denounce some of his supporters, or Breitbart, or actual Nazis with torches, he's been on the Israeli band-wagon from day one. Most recently, the administration used Israel as the reason why this country is backing out of the Human Rights Council of the UN. Why? Two separate reasons I think. One: what is Israel? To the untrained eye, Israel represents a successful ethno-state. It's proof that, by holding unwanted nationalities at the borders in inhospitable desert conditions, that you can successfully create a monotheistic society. It can be done! The white christian, Trump-ian citizens in this country use Israel as the primary example of possibility. Also, it's a place where Jews can go "home," much like how they want blacks to go back to Africa, and all hispanics to "return" to Mexico, regardless of their nationalities.
"They're the chosen whites."
Two: it's far more difficult to be in bed with actual dictators in North Korea and Russia when you're a member of an organization that is outspoken against those regimes and those like them. Israel's perceived treatment of Palestinians is the convenient screen this administration is using to get further into bed with actual tyrants that Trump would like to model himself after: Kim Jong Un, Duterte, and Putin. At least he would like to be "loved" like them.
Which brings me to our detention system of migrants seeking asylum in this country. The forcible removal of children from immigrant families seeking asylum has never occurred before in either Republican or Democratic administrations. The action further demonstrates that this is clearly at the will of the President and his administration. Call it what you want, but the separation children from their families and detention of all of them is, at the very least, unpalatable. If that level of shocked sarcasm isn't hitting you in the gut, maybe it's because I didn't deliver it in its original German. Note that "detention centers" is the politically correct name for internment and concentration camps. The Trump Administration just hasn't built the showers or ovens yet. No, that's not too strong a parallel: remember the fear-mongering he fostered against Muslims? His inaction against White Nationalists commiting hate crimes/parading with torches? The administration is quick to criticize these alternative names for detention centers, but keep in mind that, during WWII, when the United States took the majority of Japanese Americans and put them into internment camps, they didn't separate the children from their families. The current policy is significantly worse. The only good thing to come from it is that the Administration has been unified in its awfulness, and that (some) Republicans are scrambling to make this go away before this too will be added to the liberal arsenal of why conservatives should be voted out in November. And, yet, maybe this is the way of the Trump Administration to drain the swamp, by actively working against the incumbent GOP politicians. It's clear that the message the White House would like to send Republicans is: back the President, or else face the political consequences. It's already clear that, even without congressional support, he's able to move his nationalist agenda forward.
My hope is that, Democrat and moderate Republicans can come together and vote out anyone who openly or passively supports this wannabe dictator's agenda. Things are moving in the right direction as the immigrant detention policies have started drawing criticism from conservative religious groups who have, seemingly, just realized that their Christian values should extend to all people, all children, and that their message of "Pro-Family" is severely challenged by this President's border policy. (Not to be mistaken with their anti-gay views which are stupid and outdated. ed.) Duh. For the rest of us, we're going to keep marching and keep protesting unjust overreaches by this Administration. My family marched in the March for Women, March for Science, March for our Children, and most recently, March against the DHS and the Contract Detention Facility in Elizabeth, NJ. We'll keep marching and keep pointing out the anti-human, racist, sexist, anti-semitic "policies" that this Administration endorses until this philandering, pussy-grabbing, ass-hole is out of office.
Following the political changes in this country is exhausting. If you can block out all of the infidelities and petty character assassinations, there's still so many sweeping decisions that impact my family in both the short term and the long term. For example: because I live in NJ, the revised Federal tax laws will likely screw us in the short term. And, this administration's policy on ignoring climate change means that I need to take my children to see the glaciers now before they've completely melted.
It's this second part that is especially disturbing. The Tax laws, as one-sided as they are, will have exploitable loopholes...and plugs for those holes, and more loop holes. The natural world, however, doesn't have any escape. As the ferocity of natural disasters increases (floods, hurricanes, droughts, etc.), so does the bottom line of costs associated with clean-up and restoration, only to be knocked down again. And, the paths of destruction are symptoms of the larger issues associated with global warming. Ignoring those causation only to treat the symptoms seems like a losing battle.
I know it happens to every generation, but conversations about "when I was your age" are going to change dramatically, at least for my children. Currently, the amazement is that, in 1993 and 1994, you could buy gasoline for less than $1/gallon, and the baby boomers saw gas prices at a fraction of that. I'm afraid that my kids, instead of talking about gasoline prices, will compare their childhoods by how many natural wonders they were able to see, and that's a terrifying, but completely possible outcome. In addition to the melting glaciers, questions my children will likely be asking in 30 years will be more like these:
Remember when we could grow apples outside?
Remember when we could spend more than 15 minutes at the beach without getting sunburn? Remember when there were whales? Remember when going further north meant cooler temperatures? Remember when you could drink water from a well in the ground?
I hope that I'm exaggerating. I hope that this, in 30 years will seem like the silliest post. However, we know that ignoring the issues don't make them disappear. As the global temperature increases, so do our oceans. By 2060, most of New Jersey will be on a constant flood watch due to ocean rise. While this article is from 2015, additional studies have shown that we are exceeding expectations already, and the global warming is accelerating. Yes, it may hurt our economic bottom line, however we can't ignore it any longer regardless of the political leadership in this country refusing to acknowledge this very real threat. This story has slipped away from us as we learn every day who the President has screwed and when (literally and metaphorically). It's time to resurrect this cause and start beating the drums for sustainable material development and energy efficiency improvements to ensure that future generations of all species, including ours, will be able to continue to thrive.
I dislike the Eagles and I also dislike the Patriots. Who was I going to root for during the 2018 Super Bowl?
First, let me apologize to those who care not a wit for American Football, the NFL or my sports team preferences. There are tons of other issues that are far more important than overpaid sports legends and the machine that enables them to become who they are. Specifically, there are the issues of inner-city poverty, cancer, childhood obesity and school shootings that are far, far more important than a team winning a "world championship" where no other countries are allowed to participate.
That said, there have been a couple of changes in the NFL that have drawn much criticism. In its efforts to sideline (see what I did there) the controversy regarding the peaceful on-field demonstrations against minority social injustices, the NFL issued a new policy regarding protests at work. Namely, if you must demonstrate your 1st Amendment rights and protest during a game, you must now do so in the locker room. It's the equivalent of the NFL saying "Yeah, we hear you...but we don't want you to piss off our sponsors or our (declining) TV audience, one that perceives that you're disrespecting our flag and our Anthem [which they're not, ed.]." Take your ideals off of our field of play or get penalized financially. Why would they do this when, statistically speaking, fewer players knelt during the anthem in 2017 than 2016...except on week 3, right after the President said that any player who kneels should be fired?
What? The same law that protects their ability to kneel, protected a man whose "grab 'em right in the pussy" comment got him elected President!
There's no law requiring your to honor the flag or the anthem. And, any President who uses his podium to influence hiring and firing practices in a private company is ethically challenged at best, like he did when he called team owners and scolded them to make this issue go away. All it did was bring the matter back to the forefront. Why would he stoke the fires enough to reignite the issue? Perhaps it was because, in September 2017 he was taking heat for his stance on the Nazi...sorry, White Nationalists rally where he declared that "both sides are at fault." Perhaps because he was pissy that some of the Golden State Warriors decided that, due to his defense of those same Nazis, they weren't going to visit the White House to be honored for their championship win, and so he cancelled the visit by the team entirely before more people could call him out as an alleged racist. Sound familiar? Perhaps he's got a chip on his shoulder from when he attempted to sue the NFL for direct competition of his $8 million dollar team (10 times less expensive in 1983 dollars) in the US Football League, a competing sports league. While he won his lawsuit, the judges awarded him $3 for his efforts, and shortly thereafter his $22 million investment went bust and the entire USFL folded. Boo hoo.
So, here we go again. The President is still spreading the narrative that NFL players don't care about their country, the flag and it's anthem. The players maintain that what they are protesting is police brutality against minorities, blacks and people of color. The President doesn't care. Once he discovered that only a delegation of the Super Bowl winning Eagles were willing to make the trip to Washington, he cancelled and rebranded the event as a celebration of patriotism. This move stank of his pandering to the public who believes him over the players in the NFL, who are overwhelmingly black (70% of NFL players identify as black). How many Eagles players knelt during the 2017 season? Zero. What were the pictures that Fox News was broadcasting of Eagles players kneeling? It was the players praying before the game, something that happens before every game played and even before the anthem is played. Talk about #fakenews.
Here's the thing. Those players that Trump would have fired for not standing during the anthem...those terrible Americans, are some of the most generous humans I can think of. They regularly use their wealth to contribute to charities and causes that improve the lives of so many. Like, Patrick Peterson (Arizona Cardinals) who donates to help inner-city children have the resources to succeed during and after school. He also visited Haiti with Missions of Hope to improve conditions there. Or, how about Vic Beasley (Atlanta Falcons) who created a foundation dedicated to the scientific discovery of new treatments for many childhood cancers. Or, Charles Johnson from the Carolina Panthers who built affordable housing units for seniors in Rock Hill and Columbia SC as well as providing college scholarships to students who attend his alma mater, Hawkinsville High School. And then there's JJ Watt, who raised over $37 million for victims in Houston after the hurricane devastated that city...as well as paying for all of the funerals for the children who were murdered recently in the suburb of Santa Fe. Most recently in the news, Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia Eagles) created his foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children in underserved communities, and Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles) who donated 100% of his salary for the 2017 season to charities, specifically scholarships to students from his home town, Charlottesville, Virginia, the same location where the President's defended Nazis marched and killed that woman.
That being said, this is but a short, short list of how individual NFL players give back to their communities. It's a complete misrepresentation to say that they don't care about the United States and don't honor its citizens. And, by stoking this particular fire, along with major news outlets contorting the news for their viewers, the President completely misses the point about the objectives of our nation's athletic leaders. As much as it pains me to say this as a New York Giants Fan, I have immense respect for the players on the Philadelphia Eagles players who have been vocal about our nation's social inequities. With that, Fly Eagles Fly and NFL players in general, keep doing the work that our federal government keeps defunding: affordable housing, cancer research, community development, and education.
