Seek calm...
...among the chaos.
After three weeks of roller coaster climate change weather—summer temps, tornadoes, snow, a day of spring then summer again—today I have decided to plant my brassicas in their raised beds. They are no longer comfortable in their pots and they crave the deep soil of the garden to stretch out in the sun and relax.
Don’t we all crave some time to just stretch out in the sun? Not think about the price of gas or ICE in airports or the death toll that is still mounting in destroying Palestine joined by Lebanon and Iran? My garden gives me that space to consider just what’s in front of me, what is important for the future—food and seeds—and how we find stability again in this failing democracy.
I’m not an economist but even I can observe one outcome of all the statements and retractions out of the lying liar’s mouth: it’s intentional control over the stock market and there is probably a whole lotta insider dealings going on for Donnie Darko’s friends and family. Our lives may be permanently shattered with lost wages, higher prices, eviction notices but his will be more than fine and probably lived quite comfortably…outside the US. Of course he kind of blew up his chances of retiring to Qatar in that big beautiful plane they gave him as a bribe. Hows that working out for ya, Qatar?
Like Qatar, lots of folks in the US are foolishly putting all their hopes for a sane future on a ‘blue wave.’ The Dems will make everything right again huh? The Dems will invoke the 25th amendment and put Donnie in jail? The Dems the Dems the Dems…
Which brings us to a proposed new speaker of the House. Let’s for a moment contemplate who that would be and most likely the Dems will put in Hakeem Jeffries. Let me enumerate for you where Mr. Jeffries loyalties lie and they aren’t with you. If you want his full rap sheet of donors here it is.
Basically, he’s one of AIPAC’s largest recipients in the 2024 election at over $866,000. He brought in the highest contributions from—get this—Retired Americans PAC, which frankly, pissed this boomer off. And if you’re retired and reading this, put your glasses back on.
Their campaign ads are focused on fear mongering about losing our Social Security, Medicare and affordable prescription drugs. Right there is a red flag. If your candidate was truly working for your benefit they would be fighting for Universal Health Care and that solves two of those issues. Will Jeffries??? Has he?? NO!
But if the Dems take over, this is the guy who will be the Speaker and decide who is on committees, what bills will be brought up for a vote, and his loyalties are not with you, but his donors—AIPAC, Black Rock, MetLife, Lockheed Martin and retired folks quaking in their boots and voting out of fear. Yikes!
There is a far better way to get money out of politics, and it’s quite simple.
Put independents into office. Now. Today. With independents, preferably Green Party, in Congress, their voices will be the moderating and sane calls for a Speaker who will actually do the work for the people, NOT for those PAC’s and corporations who own him. That’s how you get money out of politics. Vote for candidates who only have ties with you, the voter. (Wow, I’m so smart sometimes I surprise myself.)
It’s one of the main reasons I vote Green. I know they can’t be bought. Will lose their endorsement from the Party if they do. Until we get enough members of Congress elected to throw out Citizens United, this is the path to a cleaner, less corrupt Congress.
It’s not easy being Green because Dems will fight us to get on the ballot with every trick in the book. They talk a good game that resembles most of our Green Party platform and principles and do little or nothing to really enact them. They fear us getting a toehold because they know our Green Party members will throw them under the bus when they oppose votes on Universal Health Care or no more money to the defense department before an independent audit, or actually funding free higher education and taxing the wealthy again or raising the minimum wage and over-ruling the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade. Yeah, thank the Dems for not codifying it when they had the opportunities.
I know, if you vote Dem you aren’t agreeing with what I’m saying so here’s my challenge to you: go to OpenSecrets.org, put your Congressional representatives in the search box and see who funded them last election and how much and then you’ll understand what I’m saying: their donors come first, not you. They just want you to tick that box out of fear when you could help us put another box on the ballot and let the Green Party work FOR you, not Israel, not corporations, not big pharma, not the weapons industry. Think about it. Then do some research.
Tomorrow night is another Green Livestream at 7pm CST with a very special guest: North Carolina Green Party US Senate candidate, Brian McGinnis. You may have heard of this Marine veteran who stood up in a Congressional hearing in his uniform to denounce the invasion of Iran and was forcefully removed by State Capitol Police and Senator Tim Sheehy, who broke his arm in the process. Yeah, that’s how much some of our Senators just love a good war. Cause it makes them money from their donors. Are you starting to see a pattern here yet?
Well, it’s past 9am, a little overcast and cool and my cabbage and cauliflower are calling. If you haven’t started gardening, I strongly suggest this is the year. If you danced around it during COVID, this is a year to crank it up. And plant a tree. A tree that will outlast you and your family and the neighborhood. If you think that all that destruction and debris and gases and particulates from the bombing in the Middle East stays there, you are wrong. Those poisons will encircle the Earth carried on unpredictable winds and impact weather, water and soil for a very long time. Our trees are our greatest allies to protect us and our children’s futures. In the midst of this chaos, hugging a tree restores calm and renews us energetically faster than any drug.
Keep calm and plant a garden (with some **heirloom seeds from Palestine) and join the Green Party campaign in your state to get Greens into the House and Senate and governor’s positions—- where they belong.
You know you want to.
Illinois Green Party - see our slate of amazing state office candidates!



