The Fruit of the Tree

There is a tree and it’s producing fruit. How do we judge that tree? Is it good or is it bad? We judge it by its fruit perhaps. Does it nourish and sustain us or is it poisonous? I suggest we judge things by their fruit.


There is a party that claims the mantle of fighting our national debt and governmental reform. Wonderful! Yes, we need both things. We need change. Things have gone horribly wrong. We have much fear. We are in a mess, a pickle! So what are the fruits of this wonderful party, this “tree party?” Attacks on healthcare reform, worker’s rights, women’s rights, Social Security, environmental protection, consumer protection, education and alternative energy all seem to be their low hanging fruit. They believe that smaller government with fewer taxes and regulations will save this country. Empower the wealthy and they will in turn create the jobs that will save our country and the world. They believe they can budget and tax cut their way to prosperity, if only they can get rid of the “clinging vines” that impede them.

Missing from their tree are things like tax reform so that the wealthiest 5% of Americans and corporations pay their fair share of taxes instead of being rewarded with tax cuts, loopholes and tax breaks that lead to jobs going overseas rather than staying in this country. Missing are things like cutting defense spending so that we are not buying weapons that even the Pentagon says it does not want and finding a way to end three wars that are sucking billions of dollars we don’t have. Missing are true regulation and reform of the financial, insurance and energy industries with the will to reign in the massive power and influence their lobbyists have in Washington. Missing from this tree is a plan to care for the poor, the elderly and the disadvantaged in America and not just see them as parasites on society. Missing is compassion and real solutions for the real poor and middle class Americans going through hard times right now.

There is a snake in this tree, however. It’s bidding us to come…take a bite of this “tree party’s” fruit! THEN…you will have all knowledge. Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

Food for THOUGHT…

A Drought of Good News

Every morning I wake up here in South Texas and look to see if it rained overnight. March, 2011, was the driest on record. Rain keeps my garden growing and refreshes the Earth. I fear Texas is headed for another drought much like we had two years ago. I miss the rain. I miss the ability of the Earth to refresh itself.


So too, there is a drought of good news, not just here in Texas but around the world it seems. Every morning I’m greeted with the latest on Libya and the Japanese nuclear plants spewing radiation. I hear the pundits speculating on our government about to shut down. I mean what does that mean? Our government is about to shut down?! Then of course I hear that our schools facing devastating funding cuts because of the federal and state budget crisis. I hear that we are still recovering very slowly from our economy’s near meltdown in 2009 and that the government shutdown and layoffs from budget cuts could take us right back into the worst recession in our history. I hear talk of privatizing Medicare and having to wait until I’m 70 to collect Social Security, if it still exists when I’m 70.

Everywhere I turn there is bad news and worse news and I’ve stopped watching the nightly news and can barely stand to listen to my beloved NPR. Instead, I look for diversions to take my mind off of things, diversions like work. But even my job is filled with bad news and pending crisis. Will the state take over the Alamo? Will there be layoffs and cut backs? I want to run away from all this doom and gloom. I feel so helpless against Mother Nature with her tornadoes, droughts , earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, but even more helpless against our own stupid humans, leaders, politicians, greedy corporate CEO’s and their manmade disasters. Is there no relief from this drought of good news?!

We have a pill for just about everything, why not…bad news? Perhaps we could seed the clouds and force it to rain good tidings over the Earth. Life without good news, without hope of better things to come is wearing me down.

Food for THOUGHT…