I'm Outraged!

 I trust you guys, let’s kick the bums out.

Wow, I read that some of the environmentalists have expressed outrage that our President, you know the one, the one that ripped out the rose garden (organized it), the one who bashed out part of the White House, is now upping the production of Roundup, the herbicide known to produce cancer.

•  President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to promote the production of phosphorus and glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide.

•  Glyphosate, also marketed as Roundup.

 

And that same person who inhabits the White House appointed RFK as Secretary of Health and Human Services. He's the one who was going to make us healthy again.

Where is RFK?

What?!!!! He aligned with the President?!!

It’s for homeland security, they say. Translation: if we don’t make it, “they” will and we will have to buy it from “them.”

In other words, both of those men care more about corporations than they do about the people. And both have vowed to serve the people.

 

Isn’t RFK one of the lawyers who, in 2018, won a $289 million suit against Monsanto?

I will answer my own question. Yes, in 2028, RFK was one of the lawyers who won the case for Dewayne Johnson, a public-school groundskeeper in San Francisco, who used the weedkiller Roundup as part of his job and later developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  

“In 2018, Johnson was the first person to hold Monsanto accountable for allegedly knowing for years that Roundup was a carcinogen.”

There was another verdict for $80 million, another for $25 million to Edwin Hardeman, who used Monsanto herbicides from 1986 to 2012 to treat poison oak overgrowth and weeds on his California property. In 2015 Hardeman learned that he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

The jury ruled that Roundup was a “substantial factor” in causing Mr. Hardeman’s cancer.

I suggest spraying the rose garden with Roundup and make both MAGA and MAHA sleep in it.

No, I wouldn’t wage war on the roses.

Instead, let’s kick the bums out.

Most animals I know are smart enough not to soil their beds, yet we soil the earth, the very thing that sustains us.

Imagine.

“Glyphosate is now found in a range of popular American foods, including cereal, pasta, granola, snack bars, crackers, soda, cookies, and beer. Scientific evidence suggests that probable harm to human health could begin at glyphosate levels as low as 0.1 parts per billion (ppb). Many foods tested have glyphosate concentrations many times above this amount. Glyphosate has also been found in tap water. One study found glyphosate in the urine of 93% of Americans tested.” 

 

See if you qualify for a case 

 

 

 

 

 

Knights on a White Horses

 The Monks and Aloka are home in their temple in Texas after their 2,300-mile Walk for Peace.

February 17, 2026

 

And here’s a new honoring of the Walk;

 

 

Last night I watched Steven Colbert interview Rep. James Talarico, who is running of the office of Senator for Texas.

What a sweet guy, and why oh why would such a nice guy be banned from the airways?

Talarico promotes the separation of Church and state, now how absurd is that? And he is a Christian who says that God has two laws: one, to love God; two, to love one’s neighbor. That's it.

How radical.

Love your neighbor includes Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Gnostics, Agnostics, Atheists, and the many others I don’t know about. For us to become a “Christian” country is to ignore our basic premise, one that we have guarded for 70 years—and that is that we welcome all faiths, and we practice the separation of Church and State.

The FCC ordered Colbert, in no uncertain terms, NOT to have Talarico on his show. So, what did Colbert do?

He had him on his show.

First, Colbert gave notice on his time slot that Talarico would be appearing that night, but his interview would not be aired on the TV channel. It would be on YouTube.

Here is the link:

Rep. James Talarico On Confronting Christian Nationalism, And Strange Days In The Texas Legislature.  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTJ7Pz_59A/

 

Of course, the real reason is that the present administration is afraid that Texas will elect a Democratic Senator and flip the state.

Geesh, and Nixon resigned when he was caught breaking into the Democratic Headquarters. Boy, have we come a long way. Now it is blatant interference, stealing, lying, and oppression.

Hey, we’re better than that. We came from good stock—immigrants.

And…

If you heard me complaining that I had to take a continuing ed course for my Real Estate License, here’s proof that I did.  

I also said that I’m not selling houses. But I have a voice, paper, and a pen, and I will continue to throw out tidbits of information if anyone is interested. If not, ignore it.

 

But not this: 

Once upon a time, a man named William Levitt had the funds and smarts to capitalize on a good thing. Veterans were coming home from the war, marrying, starting families, and needing homes. And they had the VA bill to help them.

Remember the cookie-cutter houses of the 50s? That was Levittown, Levitt’s brainchild. He mass-produced 17,000 homes with a covenant that ran with the land—meaning it applied no matter how many times the house sold. That covenant stipulated that the owners could sell only to white people.

A violation meant risking losing the property.

Levitt’s was a large development, but not the only one. Levitt charged only a $100 down payment, zero dollars for Vets, but not black vets.

Levitt set the stage for a housing shortage.  Although built in the 50’s by 2017, 75% of the Levitt houses were white, 14.6% were Hispanic, 7% were Asian, and only 1% was black.

I’m telling you this to emphasize how hard it is to get people to change, and that discrimination has long-reaching consequences.

Enter: A Knight on a White Horse:

Times were bad in the 60’s with rioting and burning in the streets. President Lyndon Johnson, long an advocate for Civil Rights, asked why the black community was so stirred up, especially after Kennedy’s Civil Rights Act.

The answer? There was still a great disparity between the blacks and the whites.

At the time, a Fair Housing Bill was languishing on the Senate floor, being argued over, and fought over.

Johnson called Congress, and said, "Pass that Bill." 

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) passed the very next day. April 11, 1968.

Now it is unlawful to deny the purchase of a home based on Race, Color, National Origin, Age, (except for 55 and older housing) Religion, Familial (meaning children), Disabilities* and Sex* (gender).

*These two came later.

And notice that one individual can affect the quality of the day and the status of individuals.

Be a rider of white horses.

A Valentine for You

 

“Eighty percent of everything that is true and beautiful can be experienced on a 10-minute walk.”—Anne Lamott

I need to take a walk.

 

Lamott said she got that quote from her husband.

I read her Substack post this morning and found that it’s Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine's Day!*

 

Lamott spoke of love, the magnificence and sloppiness of it, and she said she almost sent her husband a card that said, “I love you to the bottom of my butt.”

That girl is a joy!

And I was reminded once again that Lamott called God GUS, “Great Universal Spirit.”

I think I will call a book “Dear GUS,”

Lamott’s book Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life, was the first book I read on writing (and life). Published in 1995!!!! My gosh, 30 years ago!

In Bird by Bird, she was a single mom struggling with a newborn. Now she is a grandmother, and so am I.

I still have the book with its original cover, but I see it has been reissued with other covers, and it is a bestseller.

Way to go, girl!

And oh my God GUS, my Real Estate re-licensing goes on and on! I thought it was over. And I don’t sell houses.

What is this, my ego—wanting to keep my license? I worked hard for it a year ago, and I didn’t want to lose it, so last month I took their required 30-hour continuing education course, dreaded it, but actually enjoyed it. (It was the best RE course to date.) I had to wait until my birthday month to file it with the state, so two days ago I attempted to do that, and found this: “You must take the State and Federal Fair Housing Course.” (Another 2 hours)

Ok, I did it, reluctantly paid their $300 to get my license, and then, this morning, I got an email: “Your license isn’t complete until your Principal Broker files it with the State. You must pay $150.”

Augggggh!

The end of the month is coming up, and if I miss it, they will charge me again.

At least I get 2 years before another renewal, and being a licensed Broker may give me some clout, for I have a few things to say about Housing history and how it is instrumental in advancing Civil Liberties.

Would you believe, according to that continuing ed class, Real Estate Agents rank in repetition behind Politicians and Used Car Salespeople?  I’m sorry, used car people. And consider this: when we sold our house in California, our Real Estate Agent told us he was giving $10,000 from his commission to a former girlfriend because she was the one who got him into Real Estate.

You will find good people everywhere.

I’m of the ilk that if people behaved themselves, we wouldn’t have to pass so many laws, also, I realize that when people are working on commission only, it is rife for skullduggery.

Contrasts.

While you are out walking and noticing little flowers that are poking their heads out of what were bare sticks all winter, (Winter? It’s February) your heart also aches because shootings, bombings, and general unrest or malaise still exists in our country.  I need to go back to my idea of, “It depends upon which window you look out of.” Rather like the photographer’s lens, it depends on what they focus on. Prettiness can be framed right in the middle of a disaster.

This week, after walking in spirit with the Buddhist Monk’s Peace Walk, I felt an after-Christmas drop when it ended, and found on my computer that Political business as usual still abounds.

Dear GUS, don’t let the people who were moved by the peace movement forget how thrilled they were with it.

And dear ones, “Do not be sad it’s over. Be glad it happened.”

I believe an awakening is happening. The propaganda machine will try to persuade you that it isn’t, but don’t believe them. Look over here: There is peace in people. There is joy in people. We are awakening after a long sleep.

And you know about awakening a sleeping giant.

They are formidable.

 

A Valentine card for you: click on picture:

 

https://jlcards.com/rq6vW3/