Different Rules

It seems to me that the two political parties in DC play by different sets of rules.  One party is willing to distort the process, block all progress on actions that do not align with their agenda and drive compliance with their ideology from their members.  The other party is concerned with process and procedure, expresses a willingness to compromise and has a diverse range of individual beliefs that sometimes do not align with party ideology.

The funny thing is, at least from my view, there is no need to identify which party is which.

Right to Work for less

It's like groundhog day in NH politics.  Every two years, a so-called Right to Work bill comes before the NH Legislature.  This has happened in NH for the past 20 plus years. Why?  Because the anti-unionists only have to win once - labor must win every time.  So they keep coming.

The argument this year is that so-called Right to Work will bring businesses to NH.  I just don't get it.  The default position of Taft-Hartley (the law that gave birth to Right to Work) is that agency fee must be negotiated between the employer and the employees.  It must be agreed to by both parties - that's how contracts work.

So, if you own a business, and you support so-called Right to Work-type environments, why would you agree to a contract that allows it?  What our elected officials are telling us is that business owners prefer a law that prohibits agency fee (simply a portion of union dues that non-members pay to cover the costs of negotiating and administering a collective bargaining agreement from which they benefit) rather than simply not agreeing to it as part of a negotiation.

This makes no sense to me.

Bullshitter-in-Chief

Excellent article over at The Conversation about Trump as bullshitter rather than liar, and why that is much more dangerous.

It seems to me that we've created a culture of citizens who are constantly in bias confirmation mode.  It's a hyper-partisan environment that reminds me somewhat of how we view our sports teams and sometimes even our families.  We're constantly scanning the environment for information that supports our view of our sports team or political point of view, and we easily dismiss or ignore contrary information.  Even if we might benefit from that knowledge.

I know that I am susceptible to this phenomena.  Less so now that I've eliminated almost all sources of broadcast news, radio and television.  My news is now limited to an occasional scan of newspapers and a blog or two.  Combined with a daily meditation program, I think I'm blunting the spoon-feeding of emotion that we call journalism.

On the other hand, I also understand that there are real-life implications for the agenda that our dear leader has.  Real people will be impacted in harmful ways.  The funny thing is, I simply don't get the sense from Trump that he cares about any of this - one way or another.  Almost in the same way that I have no interest in camping or knitting.  The sense I get is of a person who wants to take advantage of a population looking for information to confirm their bias and their fear of others.

That's what makes his bullshit so dangerous.

Stoned

Nothing upsets the apple cart quite like physical discomfort.  I've had quite a week.

Woke up on Tuesday morning, around 4 a.m., feeling like I was being stabbed with knitting needles in my side.  It was not fun. I had a good sweat going and the pain was spasmodic and taking my breath away.  It was searing, primal pain.

Naturally, I woke my wife up and told her that I thought my appendix was bursting and I needed to go to the ER at Concord Hospital.  Luckily, this is only 1.5 miles from my house.

It wasn't that easy, though.  It had been freezing raining all night and there was about 2" of ice on the truck.  I was useless in trying to help clear everything.  Not only was I in severe pain in my side, but I also have something going on with my right shoulder - not sure what it is, but it has basically left me with the use of only my left arm.

We made it to the ER.  I think the intake person had my diagnosis right off the bat, but didn't share it with me.  By this time, while I'm giving my info, my side pain has increased to an almost intolerable level.

After they wheeled me into the exam room, the ER doc told me she suspected that I had a kidney stone.  They pumped me up with morphine and threw me into a CT machine (can't wait to get the bill!).  The scan revealed that it is a kidney stone - a relatively small one at 2 mm.  The bad news is that most people begin to feel the pain of stones as they enter the bladder.  My stone was just leaving the kidney...yikes.

In any event, my stone is journeying down the ureter, from kidney to bladder.  Occasionally, I feel a bit of cramping in my lower back that reminds me that the little bugger is there, but, for the most part, I'm pain free.  I'm told to expect some issues where the ureter connects to the bladder, as it narrows at the junction.  Can't wait.

Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright

Staying away from the television and emotion-laden news reports has proven to be good for my emotional health.  To gain viewers and ratings, the 'news' shows simply push and tug at our emotional triggers. This is particularly true of cable news and you should avoid these travesties at all costs.

Please don't feed the animals.  That's what I'm reminded of when I think of the people who watch Fox or MSNBC.  These channels are providing political programming that serves to enrage people by engaging their lizard brains and causing anxiety.  There's no cerebral engagement going on here - it's pure tribal and primal.

The further you get away from this commentary, the less impact most of the B.S. has on you.  Sure, it's possible that the ideologues who hold political office are pursuing their agenda.  And it's equally possible that this agenda is at odds with yours.  But getting wrapped up in the anxiety and fear being propagated by the cable programming is not the solution.  It's not even part of the solution and in most cases is making things worse as it solidifies a hyper-polarized environment.

The solution is to get involved.  Volunteer for an organization you believe in - help advocate for them at the legislature.  Talk to your friends and family about the work you're doing.  Post your volunteer activity on social media to inspire others to follow suit.  Donate money to the cause and work hard.

Make a difference.  Don't worry about a thing.

President Camacho

I dunno if I'm going to be able to stand four years of Trump.  The first press conference his administration holds was to sling propaganda and lies about the number of attendees at his inauguration.  The press secretary insisted that it was the most attended event in the history of the world - this despite demonstrable evidence to the contrary.  There are pictures...although, according to Trump, they've been photoshopped.

Trump also took a quick trip to Langley to speak at the CIA.  The president packed the hall with his supporters who cheered and applauded his speech to create the illusion that CIA professionals were in his corner.  It is textbook manipulation by a dangerous demagogue - very Orwellian.

We're in for a helluva ride, folks.  Trump's approval ratings are in the mi-30's.  This is an unsustainable level where one catastrophe leaves the new president isolated and under siege.  Lincoln once said that you can fool some of the people all the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Let's hope he was right.

A Time To Act

Kelli and I participated in the Women's Rally in Concord today.  We arrived around 10 to a packed Statehouse lawn - some estimated the crowd at 5,000 plus.  It was a great turnout.

I was very moved at the diversity and peacefulness of the crowd.  The mood was supportive and energetic with a strong sense of defiance - we are not moving backwards.  Maybe there's an awakening happening.  Maybe not.

Rallies are good for bringing people together to share our hopes and dreams for a better country and world.  But a rally does not move the needle much if there is no call or move to action afterwards.  We need to pack hearing rooms at the legislature and folks to turn out to phone banks to call neighbors.  People need to contact legislators and run for office.  None of this matters if the rally simply melts into the past.

There was an unbridled enthusiasm at the Statehouse today.  The weather was great and people of all ages, colors and ethnicity were united, if for only a few hours.  None of us are strong enough to stand against the machine alone. But together, together we have a chance.

We are better together.

The Day After

There will be a day after.  The earth will spin, the sun will shine and life will go on.  Humans have great capacity to overcome the most difficult and unspeakable troubles.  Very few of our first world problems rise to that level.

Get a grip.  Take ownership of what you face and remember that having a plan is no substitute for putting one foot in front of the other. Figure it out and do something about it.

What's Next?

Most of us are caught in the trap of observe and react.  We glide through life, carried by the events of the day as if we were in a canoe on a river without a paddle.  It's easy and comfortable to do - simply sit back and let life flow around you.

The challenge with this is that if you're reacting in the moment, you're seldom creating.  And the trouble with reacting is that it robs you of the opportunity to be creative.  You know the feeling - a day late and a dollar short.  How many times has that happened to you?

Instead, spend some time each day observing and predicting.  Write your predictions down.  Look forward and see the change before it happens.  Right or wrong, the practice of observing and predicting helps you become adaptive rather than reactive.  Being adaptive makes space for creative practice and taking ownership of your situation.

BCR8TVE

Outer Limits

All systems have limits.  Natural and man-made, systems have built-in growth limits that, when exceeded begin to fail.  I believe that we are approaching or beyond the three main civilization sustaining systems on our planet.

Our environmental system is nearing collapse and we are at or beyond the point of no return. As Al Gore says, the planet will be fine, it's just human civilization that's in trouble.  If only 80% of what climate scientists predict is true, the climate extremes heading our way are sure to be catastrophic.  World-wide famine and drought, ice cap melt and health pandemics threaten our very existence.  Our planet is over-crowded and unsustainable.

The economic system is top-heavy and creating far-too many losers.  The wealthiest eight men in the world have as much wealth as the bottom 50% of the world's population.  Our economy is giving off all the cues that trigger fear, anxiety and uncertainty in the population.  Economic uncertainty can lead to the paradox of thrift, exacerbating our economic woes.  The economic system known as corporate capitalism, where everything becomes eaten or discarded, is not sustainable.

And, finally, our political system is beyond the limits for which it was intended.  The founders of the US lived in a country with a population of about 5 million people.  The system that they created worked well for a fairly homogenous culture.  Add 250 years, 300 million people of diverse ethnicity race and religion, and approximately 3.4 million square miles, and the system is beyond ineffective and teetering on farce.  It's not so much that the political system is unsustainable, it's more that the system is inadequate to manage and solve the growing challenges we have in the other systems.  It is simply not designed to handle the speed and intensity of the challenges of today.

Listening Practice

So much of our current discourse is confrontational.  Our worldviews are locked in and we have very narrow perspectives with short horizons.  Try sitting back as an observer at any gathering of people and just listen in.  Don't look for opportunities to contribute - simply sit in silence with the intention of listening and observing.

What I have noticed is the practiced approach people take to be heard, rather than to listen.  Quick to comment, judge, and disagree.  Often, as you practice being an observer, you can begin to pick up the individual conversation patterns.  You begin to successfully predict when a person is not listening but waiting to jump in to the conversation with his or her brilliant insight.  Then, disappointment registers as the insight falls deaf on ears that are equally distracted by minds stuffing them with tongues.

Occasionally, you encounter a listener.  A person who is listening with attention and speaking with intention.  Curious.  Asking a few questions to probe deeper into the conversation and reveal a truth that will form a connection.  What you also observe in this moment is a surprised speaker.  Real conversations, conversations that matter, are a rarity in our culture.  So rare that we sometimes do not know how to properly engage as the speaker.

We can change this - we have skills that are the cutting edge of 10,000 year-old technology.  We can talk to each other with intention.  The intention to make connection and build relationships.  To discover truths about what really matters to us.  And to listen as though our lives depend on it, because, in so many ways, they do.

Practice listening.

Don't misunderestimate Trump

One thing that's become clear about Trump throughout the campaign and nearing inauguration is that his outbursts and tweets are by design.  Clearly, like a comedian silences hecklers in the audience immediately, Trump takes the same approach with public critics.  Trump seems to follow the George Carlin model of intimidating the heckler into submission.  Use crude, obnoxious language and your broad platform to publicly humiliate the critic.

The language and behavior also violates our cultural norms so deeply that it creates uncertainty and fear.  Trump and his team have become experts at serving up cues to stimulate our collective amygdala.  A frightened populace is much easier to control, almost freely submitting to the authoritarian.  George W. did this with 'Terror Alerts' - Trump is simply finding everyday rhetorical devices to engage our lizard brains.

It's easy to sit back and mock him and ridicule his communication.  To Trump, his critics are wrong about everything, and they may be.  He is playing the long game.  It's how he became PEOTUS.  Keep us in the swamp of uncertainty and fear and present himself as the only answer.

On Being A Patriot (fan)

I have a tortured relationship with the National Football League.  For years I've struggled with the on-field violence; head trauma especially, but there is no shortage of gruesome injuries from the contact of large men running at each other at 15 miles per hour. It can be difficult for me to watch.

This dilemma is compounded by the off-field behavioral problems of more than a handful of young players. These men have been thrown into the spotlight, often at a ridiculously young age, and glorified because of their athletic prowess. It's too common to hear about a player in trouble today - domestic abuse, drugs (particularly PEDs), road rage, gun issues and general mayhem. Whether the cause is environmental, emotional, trauma-induced, or related to drugs and alcohol, there is something about the structure of this violent sport that undrergrids these circumstances.

There is beauty in the sport.  A great catch or brilliant move by a player can be fun to watch and, of course, as a human I like being part of my tribe, rooting for my 'warriors'. It can be very good theater and entertainment.

My struggle has been further compounded by the injection of politics into the sport, particularly the local team, the New England Patriots.  It seems there is a close relationship to president-elect Trump, at least through the owner, Bob Kraft, coach and quarterback. I certainly respect opposing political views but view sports through an entertainment prism - I don't like this development and it would not matter to me one bit if the political affiliation were reversed.

Hyper-partisan politics is seeping into every part of our lives and we need to stop it. It affects how we engage with our friends and families.  It has an impact on where we shop and dine.  It appears that it is even impacting where we choose to live. Sports is an arena that brings our tribe together to root for the home team. It transcends race, ethnicity, gender and most, if not all, of the opposition is in good form - it's about the sport and team.

This could be the straw that breaks me.

Intentional

I'm working on making my life's work intentional. It's not as easy as it sounds.  It involves the hard work of figuring out what you want and why you want it. 

The Robert Fritz model suits me a bit better than the Buddhist tradition though they are not incompatible. For me, Fritz works better because the process is less esoteric, more straight forward.  Using this model, I have identified four fundamental choices and am working on primary and secondary choices that are designed to fulfill the fundamental ones. 

Blogging and writing are primary choices for me. Looking forward to exploring and sharing more of this in the weeks to come.

The Effort

I watched the NE Patriots play the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. The Patriots mostly dominated from start to finish and handily won the game. They are an amazing example of sustained excellence.

I was particularly interested in a newcomer, Michael Floyd, a receiver recently cut by the Arizona Cardinals after a DUI incident. The way the NFL works, players cut during the season are technically waived, which allows teams to 'claim' the player, starting with the lowest ranked (worst) team and moving up in ascending order. At the time that the Patriots claimed Floyd, every other team save one, the Cowboys, had passed on him.

Not surprising, really. DUI is a serious offense and generally signals deeper underlying issues, maybe even addictions.  Add in that Floyd would potentially provide help to just a handful of playoff-bound teams and that he would have a few short weeks to learn enough of the playbook to be a factor, and its more surprising that any team grabbed him. 

The Patriots roll differently. They saw a player with tremendous upside who might be in need of a better situation. The team trusts its veteran players to infuse the new players with the winning culture. They provide the needed resources for players with an imperfect history to make a course correction. The team does not define players by their worst moments. 

I was greatly impressed by newcomer Floyd. He played hard and turned in two exemplary effort plays. One in which he dragged four opposing players into the end zone for a score and another in which he hustled to make a clean, but brutal block to free up his teammate for another score. It was great effort by a player with a second chance. 

Effort is a character-defining trait. Effort does not guarantee success, but indeed, it's the only thing that delivers it. Well done, Michael Floyd. 

You Are Here

I smile whenever I see this phrase on a sign.  Usually provided on a local map of some sort and most notably at a mall or shopping plaza. You are here.  Generally identified by a dot on the map that distinguishes you from being 'there'.

I enjoy the phrase because it can have many different meanings. The obvious, of course, is the geographical here, which is the intention of most of these signs. They are making the case that you simply don't know where you are. In many instances, this is probably true and the sign is most helpful. 

It can also have other meanings. Yes, you can be here physically, or meta-physically. 'You' can refer to you, or us, or to some other person whom we may never know. It is also refers to 'you' in a certain place in time, right now.

It's great that the sign tells you that you are here, in this spot, at this point in time, but leaves the next location to you to decide. Another reminder that life is a series of choices for us, and that while we may not always know where we are in any given moment, we can adapt, re-orient, and move forward toward the destination of our choice. 

It's a good reminder for us. We are always 'here'. Now. Until we're not.

Run For Your Life

Dr. John Ratey has done some interesting work on the brain/body connection. His studies make clear that an active body exercises the brain in significant ways. In fact, he says that our brain evolved to move and without exercise or movement, our brains atrophy. This is a big problem as we age and face difficulties in keeping our bodies in motion.

Ratey also points out that our brains are more effective while we are standing - about 7% more effective.  This is why most presenters stand while giving their presentation even if most are unaware of the impact. 

Ratey cites studies done at poor schools where physical fitness has been given priority.   These schools have experienced significant positive change by introducing a vigorous PE program to start the day. Almost like boot camp activities. Behavioral problems have all but been eliminated, test scores have skyrocketed and obesity problems have been cut to a fraction of the national average.

I've been pretty fortunate over the years. I have a few rusty hinges, but am able to stay very active with a workout regime five days per week. I also have a stand up desk which gives me that 7% edge. Now that I know I have it, I'll have to figure out how to exploit it!

Legacy

I just finished Legacy; What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.  It's a quick read that provides a bit of insight into one of the most successful teams in the world. The success has been sustained by building so much of what they do into the culture.  Work ethic, honesty before harmony, team, dependability, preparation, commitment, passion, and so much more have become the core of the unit.

I find the difference between what the All Blacks do (or the NE Patriots - so many similarities) and what I do to achieve success to be embarrassing.  The All Blacks play a sport with virtually nothing at stake - it's entertainment for entertainment's sake.  Sure, it's a business and there are fans and money involved, but at the end of the day, there is virtually no value add for the community.  At least that's how I view it.

Contrast that to the labor movement, and specifically our local union.  We are organizing our members, negotiating for contracts that support families and helping to defend workers against an ideology that wants to destroy the voices of collective labor.  Why aren't we approaching our work like the All Blacks?  Why are we not committing to each other like the players do?  Daily preparation, showing up and giving it your all, even when you don't feel like it, because your team is depending on you.

Am I giving it my all?  Am I holding back?  Would my character and determination be enough for the All Blacks?  Am I showing up with my best self every day?  How am I improving - making marginal gains that lead to big improvements?

Albert Schweitzer once wrote; " Example is not the main thing in influencing others.  It's the only thing."  I may not be able to drag people along with me, but I can continue to live and speak into my values.  Those that this inspires will come with me.