Wisconsin concerns

What concerns me most about Wisconsin is that the whole fair employment agreements - public and private are predicated upon the good faith standards put forth by the Hatch Act, the predecessor to the National Labor Relations Board, among others. If a government feels it can just invalidate a large chunk of law, "because times are hard" that is the start of a slide down a slippery slope. The Governor would be wiser to reopen bargaining with the state workers and let the workers decide themselves whether they want to accept some reductions for the good of the whole or strike. In this economy strikes are usually short and decisive as ours was. We wound up splitting the difference. By just killing all of the agreements, the Governor now has a tiger by the tail. A tiger whose rights will be upheld int he Supreme Court. By invalidating contracts he will pay far more in legal bills and lost production rather than going through the bargaining process. Union representation is assured by Federal Law. It is wiser to work with that system than try an end run around it. The crowds in Madison bear that out.

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Rappin. the Canterbury Tales!

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Ben's email got hacked

Dear friends:

My Yahoo email got hacked today. A mail server at a [place I volunteered got hit, then my yahoo account (the only place which does not use strong passwords or kerboros ) got compromised too.

I've changed my password and tightened account security on my \Yahoo account. I will also be deleting most names in the yahoo address book. I have other ways (like Posterous) to reach people in a hurry.

If you need to talk to me about this, please contact me at drben54@gmail.com.

Thanks and sorry,

BEN

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February 8, 2011 - Care, the Source of All Cure A thought for caregivers from Henri Nouwern

As a hospital Chaplain, who sometimes has some really tough cases, this jumped out at me.  This, my friends is why we do this!  BEN

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Care, the Source of All Cure

Care is something other than cure. Cure means "change." A doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a social worker-they all want to use their professional skills to bring about changes in people's lives. They get paid for whatever kind of cure they can bring about. But cure, desirable as it may be, can easily become violent, manipulative, and even destructive if it does not grow out of care. Care is being with, crying out with, suffering with, feeling with. Care is compassion. It is claiming the truth that the other person is my brother or sister, human, mortal, vulnerable, like I am.

When care is our first concern, cure can be received as a gift. Often we are not able to cure, but we are always able to care. To care is to be human.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

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Sarah Palin's Statement on the Tuscon Tragedy

Listen to this - all of it.  Make up your own mind.  Other than the misuse of a Hasidic term, I found the actual speech, rather than just reading the partisan analysis from both sides, interesting.  Ms. Palin and I remain in most ways on opposite sides of the political debate, but this video gives us an unfiltered view of her,  from which we may make our own decisions. 

In High School, at the urging of Mr. Marshall, a conservative teacher, I bought a few issues of William F. Buckley's NATIONAL REVIEW.  Immediately I was taken by some of  "the other side's" thoughtful  iterations of their beliefs. Stupid people did not get published in the REVIEW. (neither did many Liberals <g>.) Still, I remained a fan of Mr.s Buckley's until his death last year, despite remaining a Liberal.  The "other side" (both "other sides")  are being de-humanized in the current debate in the wake of this tragedy.  Sound bites and statements out of context  do not paint an accurate picture. We need to listen to what people have to say.  To all of what they have to say.  And then, make up our own minds.

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"Firecracker" By Frazey Ford

My brother Bob introduced me to the music of the Canadian Group, the "Be
Good Tanyas". This cut by Frazey Ford, founder of the group I find
riveting, even more so when performed live. Here she is at Lilith Fair
this last summer.

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December 30, 2010 - Letting Go of Old Hurts - Reflection from Henri Nouwen

As we head into the New Year, of we are carrying any old hurts forward with our New Year's Resolutions please read and keep this in mind.  I am not sure I can totally do this but I "resolve" to give it a try.  BEN

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Letting Go of Old Hurts

One of the hardest things in life is to let go of old hurts. We often say, or at least think: "What you did to me and my family, my ancestors, or my friends I cannot forget or forgive. ... One day you will have to pay for it." Sometimes our memories are decades, even centuries, old and keep asking for revenge.

Holding people's faults against them often creates an impenetrable wall. But listen to Paul: "For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old order is gone and a new being is there to see. It is all God's work" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Indeed, we cannot let go of old hurts, but God can. Paul says: "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's fault against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is God's work, but we are God's ministers, because the God who reconciled the world to God entrusted to us "the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). This message calls us to let go of old hurts in the Name of God. It is the message our world most needs to hear.

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Share your thoughts on this reflection.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Visit HenriNouwen.org for more inspiration!

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