Hello

An important message to join rather than isolate; and to share rather than divide. Interconnected It’s said we’re all connected by an inseparable bond. We shouldn’t feel rejected as our time expands beyond. Our time here isn’t long; but it doesn’t have to be. One never can go wrong in a giant family. Like the Earth’s mighty oceans, we never fail to join. This is much more than notions; and it’s not tossing some coin. Division leads to weakness; isolation breeds more strife. In unity there’s meekness; we embrace the whole of life. Together now we march ahead; tailwinds blow at our backs. Overcoming fear and dread; there’s no breaking our pacts.

Here's a nice one, inspired from my nickname in high school (say what you will) and the Billy Joel song which I listened to while creating it. The Stranger Waiting on his silent hopes; He steers clear to avoid all slopes. Though his fall will come in time; Bells of hope in his head chime. It took so long to get to here. Yet, he may have gone away next year. A fallen warrior after battle; Thoughts in his mind always rattle. And while some peace is what he seeks; He knows it hangs on jagged peaks. To climb them, he is petrified. Yet he begins his upward stride. Upward bound towards this one goal; The Stranger fights with heart and soul. Obstacles litter the whole way. His climb goes on day after day. Continued struggle is his life; As he toils with heavy strife. He never quit and never will. The Stranger at last has his fill. Though the jaws of death have clasped; Peace is what he has now grasped. 

I don't know how I'm able to write poems that I'm particularly proud of in literally under five minutes.  Here's one that just came to me; but I have no idea from where. Dreams to Action How does the sun rise in joy and pain? On days that seem to invite rain? Reality goes onward still; Despite the dreams that always fill. They fill up our collective mind; Leaving other thoughts behind. Then one day we rise awake; And know for sure what’s real and fake. We formulate out all our plans; Watching how our time now spans. Choices are made and beauty wrought; All stemming from a single thought.

The Chicago Lesson: Why Human Nature Isn’t Inherently Selfish             When researchers analyzed the effects that skipping breakfast has on children’s behavior in school, their results didn’t go exactly as planned.  Naturally, one can assume that if kids get wholesome breakfasts, they’ll exhibit more appropriate behavior than forgoing it.  However, as scientists across the spectrum observed, the kids didn’t eat all they were given.  Why?  It couldn’t be that they weren’t hungry enough, because breakfast is essential for all kids.  The children had others in mind.  What would it mean if they ate well while their siblings didn’t?  As a result, some of the food was hoarded to bring back to their families that were, until recently, in the same boat as them.              These kids aren’t fundamentally different than you or I.  Yes, they’re more deprived than the average American, but perhaps this is precisely why they acted as they did.  Think about it.  How often do the financia

Can be either poetic or lyrical.  I ended up turning it into a hip-hop style with a friend's beat. Live in the Light                                                        Here in the darkness, our vision’s blurred. Radical evil is what’s preferred. This is not natural, that’s for sure. But I won’t be here anymore. I’m going to live in the light. Leave my former evil out of sight. With every step I’m closer to the sun. Into the light where danger will not come. The light is healthy, the light is pure. There’s no disease, the light cannot cure. Just follow your heart, you know what’s right. Out of the dark, and into the light. Why does it have to be this way? It seems like a regression day after day. I want to see peace but it’s scarce and dispersed. The evil are praised and the good are cursed. Let’s put our conscience to good use. Let’s fight corruption and abuse. We could always sit, and not protest. But this puts our freedoms under arr

Not my favorite, but the message is more important. Mother Earth You give and give, we take and take. Now some say you’re about to break. Among the physical and moral pollution, We desperately search for a solution. Chaos spreads on the face of the Earth, Making it hard to find what we’re worth. From Canada to Beijing, We desecrate almost everything. Now all our folly is no longer fun. The war’s nearing a close and it looks like you’ve won.

From my creative writing class with the awesome Mrs. Rossi My Heart is like the Ocean My heart is like the ocean, continuously changing its patterns. The many waves are my feelings for others. Sometimes they support and carry people to their destination. Other times, they crash and turn against my enemies. The ships passing through my waters are the people my heart feels. No matter how far they travel, they’ll never be blotted out of my heart. The rocks and coral on the ocean floor are my past experiences. As time goes on, they build up to create more knowledge and courage. Without them I’d be afraid of every new obstacle. The oil spills, naval wars and accidents are the times my heart is broken. In time they are cleaned up, but have a lasting effect on my heart. My heart is like the ocean. It gives others the chance to experience my feelings and love.

Motivational poem I wrote after being complemented about my writing. Take your Gift and Run with it. There are times when I feel without hope and out of place. Yet through all this I learn to cope and finish my own race. I learn through difficulties; falling down and getting up; While avoiding penalties while I am filling up my cup. We all have our own races to run from the starting line. Everyone has different paces, and that is always fine. Take your gift and run with it before another does. Try to have some fun with this gift just because. It’s not about the finish time or the grandest prize. There’s no special rhythm or rhyme, it’s right before your eyes.

When I was inspired by the beauty of upstate New York The Adirondacks In upstate New York there’s a mountain chain. White pines hold dominion for miles of terrain. We saw it for ourselves, when my family went there. All around us we could smell the fresh mountain air. The blue skies complemented massive greenery. Both came together in perfect scenery. In these mighty mountains did nature truly abound. It was very pure and there was no trash on the ground. This awesome display of beauty is impossible to buy. Yet it provides tremendous wealth for the human eye.

Municipal Resistance           In the spate of companies looking for greater jurisdiction in various communities, locals have proven an effective force in blocking undesirable corporations from moving in”.  From The Electrical Worker and The Nation .           Never has the role of government been a more scorching topic in the national discourse of the U.S. and Canada.  Should some services now provided by local, state, provincial and national government be turned over to private interests?  If so, which ones?           That was the question faced by 13 members of Grand Island, Neb., Local 1597 who maintain the city’s wastewater treatment plant-treating 8 million gallons of raw sewage each day-after they heard that their mayor and city council had lined up behind a plan to turn management of the facility over to a private company.           An operations agreement with a subsidiary of Veolia Environment, a huge private enterprise with operations in 77 countries and nearly

Places of Heaven If I choose to live a life of peace I might find needed rest. My days fold up like a crease as I try to pass this test. A stumble here, but not a fall; I know I’ll carry on. Walking strong and standing tall, till a new day is dawn. Places of Heaven call me and I pursue their distant cry. My eyes can really see this bliss shining bright in the sky. On my trying travel I seek to gather others. As the days unravel, I find out that we’re all brothers. Though some of us depart, the bond is never broken. It stays deep in the heart, every word that’s spoken. Our ways, thoughts and attitudes are all made mention of. From far and distant latitudes, we’re looked on from above. No matter what appears, we all know the way to go. Overcoming our fears, we march on with friend and foe. Now when the day arrives that will take us from the Earth, We shall look upon our lives and appreciate our worth.

Always If I say forever, what do I mean? I can’t see far behind this smoke screen. There’s no deciding on things for sure. There’s no absolute and no total cure. All we’ve got is the here and the now. Yet, it’s enough to make people wow. That’s what matters when it’s all said and done. For everything lost, something else is won. Balance decides if we’re right or wrong. It gets rid of the things that don’t belong. After that, there’s no need for other things. Just follow your heart and see what it brings.

The One I Trust I shall follow the one I that I trust, And turn from my former lust. Like a bird leaving its nest, I will go to live with the rest. I know those who always cared. They comfort me when I was scared. I cherish them as they do me. We are all one family. Together there’s no stopping us. Not even with a greyhound bus. Our power never dies out, As we follow the honest route. On this path we have a choice. We can hide or use our voice. Yet one thing we cannot debate: Never will we separate.

(NaturalNews) Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial power of the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928. Even though it was a natural healing agent effective in destroying Staphylococcus aureus and other noxious bacteria, the pharmaceutical industry got hold of nature's bounty and it became -- along with multiple other Big Pharma inventions -- the nightmare of modern antibiotics, causing as many problems for mankind as they were supposed to help. Because of the overuse of antibiotics, super-bugs have developed that are resistant to all but the most powerful drugs, whose side effects are often dangerous. In nature's infinite wisdom, several other highly effective substances exist with antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties, all able to protect the human body safely and with deep healing powers. You don't have to go much farther than the refrigerator or your pantry cupboard to find safe, delicious foods and herbs to eradicate the most virulent bacteria an

A Bill Of Rights for the Homeless ( The Nation)           This is just one example of serving those in greater need than us that I outlined in my last book excerpt post.           If a homeless person in Gainesville, Florida, is caught receiving money from a motorist, both parties can be fined up to $500.  In Atlanta, Georgia, it’s illegal to ask for money within fifteen feet of a building entrance.  Cities across the country prohibit sitting or lying on sidewalks as well as camping in public spaces, and loitering and jaywalking laws are often more aggressively enforced against the homeless.  Advocates say it amounts to an intimidation strategy, designed to purge the homeless from neighborhoods being groomed for gentrification.           In response, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano recently introduced the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, which would enshrine the right to “life-sustaining” activities such as resting in public spaces as well as panhandling,

Excerpt from Death of the Liberal Class by Chris Hedges           “The best opportunities for social change exist among the poor, the homeless, the working class and the destitute.  As the numbers of disenfranchised dramatically increase, our only hope is to connect ourselves with the daily injustices visited upon the weak and the outcast.  Out of this contract we can resurrect, from the ground up, a social ethic, a new movement.  We must hand out bowls of soup.  Coax the homeless into a shower.  Make sure those who are mentally ill, cruelly abandoned on city sidewalks, take their medication.  We must go back into America’s segregated schools and prisons.  We must protest, learn to live simply and begin, in an age of material and imperial decline, to speak with a new humility.  It is in the tangible, mundane, and difficult work of forming groups and communities to care for others that we kindle the outrage and the moral vision to fight back, that we will articulate an alternative.

Scary Movie Rap (We’re the U.S. Parody) We’re the U.S.; our kids can’t read. We help the rich by robbing those in need. How many gun murders this month? Hundreds. Our knowledge comes from T.V. pundits. We can’t think. We’re heading for the brink, our conscience minds shrink.  It never ends. We can’t make friends from our wartime trends, the scale of justice bends.

A really good article by renowned economist, Joseph Stiglitz about how America's growing inequality hurts our growth in many different ways.  What do you think? JANUARY 19, 2013, 6:47 PM Inequality Is Holding Back the Recovery By  JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ The re-election of President Obama was like a Rorschach test, subject to many interpretations. In this election, each side debated issues that deeply worry me: the long malaise into which the economy seems to be settling, and the growing divide between the 1 percent and the rest - an inequality not only of outcomes but also of opportunity. To me, these problems are two sides of the same coin: with inequality at its highest level since before the Depression, a robust recovery will be difficult in the short term, and the American dream - a good life in exchange for hard work - is slowly dying. Politicians typically talk about rising inequality and the sluggish recovery as separate phenomena, when they are in fact intert

Backyard Lives: Interactions from the Other Side of the Gate             Carlos Veas turned his head toward the encompassing fields around him in mid June.  Driving back to his thousand acre spread; he planned to meet with the CEO of New Growth Agricultural Services at a nearby diner.  The company primarily focused on fertilizer mixtures for commonly grown crops.  Veas was pleased to be meeting with such a man, as his corn wasn’t yielding as much as he expected it to.             Born in 1964, Veas was the first of two boys raised by their father, a laborer turned businessman and mother, who worked at a local food store.  Their father, Ricardo started a farm equipment company after saving money for many years as a plantation laborer.  The business had reasonable success and after ten years of operation, he sold it and purchased sixty acres in San Juan Valley.  Ricardo hired five laborers in addition to his whole family working on the farm.  After four years of successful operatio