Outcomes Count Most

What if instead of a feelings advocacy we had an outcome advocacy that put equitable outcomes before our guilt and anguish? What if we focused our human and fiscal resources on changing power and policy to actually make society, not just our feelings, better?

- Ibram X. Kendi

It's not the number of clients served, it's the number of clients who benefited from our services.

The Republic's Demise

Are We Giving the Republic Away?

The new defense is, everything he does is in the public interest. Therefore, whatever he does, no matter how corrupt, is permissible. Then, what's the next step? Throwing your political opponents in jail? We already have a trial without evidence and witnesses. Do you understand where this is all going?

Alan Dershowitz, a member of Trump’s legal team, said a president could do virtually anything — including engaging in a quid pro quo for a purely political benefit — as long as it's in service of winning reelection. (Politico)

Politico also quoted Adam Schiff on this issue. Dershowitz’s view gives a president “carte blanche” to use his or her office to further his or her own political interests, rather than the interests of the nation. It puts the president above the law and the constitution.

Isn't this what happens in Putin's Russia. Isn't this what happened in Hitler's Germany? 

How will you be remembered?

A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's.

- Richard Whately

Our Calling

God didn't call America to do what she's doing in the world now. - Martin Luther King Jr.

What is our calling? It's based on the founding ideals found in the Declaration of Independence.

When writing the Declaration, Jefferson mentioned four ideals that have shaped all of The United States' history. These ideals were Equality, Consent of the Governed, the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and finally, the Right of the People to alter or abolish the Government.

How have we fallen short?

• Racism
• Inequality
• Segregation
• Discrimination
• Hatred
• Greed
• Hatred

All of these fueled by fear. That fear comes from the top. We will not reach the ideal or Dr. King's dream unless we are will to stand up for a just America.

Change is Essential

A Change is Coming

Without change there is no progress. There is no progress unless we all become motivated to make the change.

Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator and change has its enemies.
- Robert F. Kennedy

Calling for change and doing nothing leads to cynicism and apathy.

Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused. . . . If one feels that there is nothing “we” can do — but who is that “we”? — and nothing “they” can do either — and who are “they”? — then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic.- Susan Sontag

If you're looking for reinforcement, the motivation comes from those who are willing to join together in a common goal. Sometimes the motivation comes from inspirational leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes the strength to move forward comes from music like Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony or the Spiritual, "A Change is Gonna' Come."

Whatever it is, use all the tools at your disposal. It's takes perseverance and a willingness to be in it for the long haul. No matter the change, there will be those vested in keeping things the way they are. They might have the power for now, but their hold on power is subject to change. Their words will trip them. Their power will evade their grasp, if we are willing to speak up and are motivated to action.

Proverbs 11:17 “Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.”

Eating Chocolate and Generosity

Giving makes you feel good

In fact, when researchers looked at the MRIs of people who gave to various charities, they found that generosity stimulates the reward center in the brain and releases endorphins. –live generously.com

Neuroscience has demonstrated that giving is a powerful pathway for creating more personal joy and improving overall health. While the brain is remarkably complex, the neurochemical drivers of happiness are quite easy to identify. Dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin make up the Happiness Trifecta. - Psychology Today

 It’s the same feeling you get when you eat chocolate.

Chocolate contains a variety of chemicals some of which make us feel good by boosting our endorphins (those feel good hormones). Chocolate may also boost serotonin levels that help us to feel relaxed. Some forms contain caffeine, which give a boost of energy along with the calming effect. -sharecare.com

Now imagine what it would be like to live generously and eat chocolate.

Mass Shootings

There's been another mass shooting over the weekend. A gunman or gunmen opened fire at a backyard party in Fresno. At least four are dead. (As I write this, there is a second shooting in Oklahoma at a Walmart!)

Deadly Backyard Shooting

As tragic as these shootings are, it's only the tip of the iceberg in this country. According to statistics from bradyunited.org, 310 people are shot in the United States every day. The effects are much broader than the glaring headlines created when there is a mass shooting.

• 100 people are shot and killed
• 210 survive gun injuries
• 95 are injured in an attack
• 61 die from suicide
• 10 survive a suicide attempt
• 1 is killed unintentionally
• 90 are shot unintentionally
• 1 is killed by legal intervention
• 4 are shot by legal intervention
• 1 died but the intent was unknown
• 12 are shot but the intent was unknown

DAILY GUN VIOLENCE IMPACTING CHILDREN AND TEENS (1-17)

Every day, 21 children and teens (1-17) are shot in the United States. Among those:

• 4 die from gun violence
• 2 are murdered
• 17 children and teens survive gun injuries
• 8 are injured in an attack
• 2 children and teens either die from suicide or survive a suicide attempt
• 8 children and teens are shot instances of family fire — a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun found in the home resulting in injury or death

Over 113,000 are shot every year. I would think gun owners want to be a part of the solution. Yet, nothing gets accomplished. Congress and the President are doing nothing, shielding themselves in the second amendment. There is something bigger than this. It is a guiding principle in the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers thought it so important they put "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness toward the top of the Declaration. None of this make sense if we're all afraid of what our neighbor may do with his or here second amendment rights. 

John Lewis offers a perspective on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

 There is no motive available at this time for the shooting in Fresno, but maybe Americans are not mature enough to bear arms without some limits put on that ownership. Those limits may not end violence, but this is not a zero sum game. Reducing the violence should be a the goal.

Public Radio stations are offering perspective on guns and gun violence. My station, Connecticut Public Radio, is a part of this collaborative.Guns and America over the course of two years, Reporting Fellows at 10 partner public media stations, representing a diverse range of communities all over the country, will report on gun issues, from the cultural significance of hunting and gun ownership to the role guns play in suicide, homicide, mass shootings and beyond.