On a cold wintry day, thinking of those without permanent homes

Unknown homeless person. Public domain photo.

On this cold wintry day, I'm reminded of those in our midst who have no permanent homes. The challenges are difficult enough in the heat of summer; what must it be like in 20-degree weather?


On August 13, 2010, my friend Julie Costa and I volunteered for a couple of hours at an emergency shelter. First published at the Examiner.com, I offer a glimpse of that experience in the article reprinted below.
 
by Virginia Bergman

The pre-adolescent girl twirled the two hula hoops around her slender hips a hundred times – she counted – while younger children raced back and forth on three wheelers at the emergency shelter provided at St. Mark’s Catholic Church on Dayton Avenue in St. Paul Friday evening, August 13, 2010.

A five-month-old baby girl with strong legs propelled her walker for a few minutes before a volunteer paused to scoop up the irresistible infant.

At the center of the large room, cooled by a couple of well-placed fans, several guests, including a 12- or 13-year-old boy, sat around a table playing cards – no one mentioned that it was Friday, the 13th. When the hula hoop star stopped by to kibitz, one of the women told her she was cute. With a shake of her ponytail, the young girl replied, “No, I’m not; my hair isn’t styled!”

“She hates wearing her hair in a ponytail,” her mother explained.

At a nearby table, a Somali woman, covered from head to toe in traditional Islamic dress, tended a fussy toddler who appeared not to feel well. The woman offered a snapshot of her personal history. She explained that she left the failed state of Somalia to come to America in the 90s. She shuddered as she spoke of the violence and killing still rampant in her homeland. Now in the seventh month of pregnancy, she and her husband have separated and since she is no longer able to work, she has lost her apartment.

Another woman summarized one painful experience after another that ultimately brought her and her three children to St. Mark’s that evening. Smiling through tears, she expressed a strong faith that God would lead her and her children through their present difficulties. She later found a table off in a corner where she could sit quietly and read for a time.

The volunteers were glad to watch over the younger children and give their mothers a brief respite from their care. Ours was an easy assignment. The kids helped themselves to snacks laid out for them and occupied themselves with the variety of toys on hand.

St. Mark’s emergency shelter also offered its clients a selection of used clothing and assorted toiletries, a shower for their use, and curtained cubicles in a separate area for sleeping.

All told, the shelter served six women and 12 children that evening brought there from the Family Place, a day center for those without permanent homes.

St. Mark’s is one of many area churches, synagogues, and schools that participate in Project Home, a program sponsored by the Saint Paul Area Council of Churches. Project Home provides 40-60 beds of emergency shelter for families in Ramsey County each night.

As the evening shift for volunteers came to an end, a husband and wife team arrived to spend the night at the shelter where they would be available to respond to the needs of those they came to serve.

When I arrived home, I saw my apartment and its furnishings in a new light; volunteering for a few hours at an emergency shelter will do that for you.

Who gunned down the alpha wolf in WA State?

What's behind the insane killing of vulnerable wildlife? This email from Jamie Rappaport Clark of Defenders of Wildlife just hit my inbox.

Dear Virginia,

Wolf hatred has spread west to Washington State.

Yesterday, we learned that the alpha female of the Teanaway pack was shot and killed, throwing the entire pack’s future into jeopardy. Disturbingly, the killing may have been intentional and a criminal investigation is underway since wolves in Washington State are protected under both state and federal law.

Fear and demonization of wolves is like a virus. Help Defenders stop the wolf hatred from spreading any further.

Defenders of Wildlife and our conservation partners are offering a reward for any information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the wolf’s killer.

There are barely 60 known wolves in the entire state of Washington. With the tragic loss of the alpha female, the fate of the Teanaway pack is now uncertain. This is a major blow to wolf recovery in the Pacific Northwest.

Please support our efforts to protect the Teanaway wolf pack and other vulnerable wildlife.

When you support Defenders, you stand with us to give a voice to vulnerable wildlife like wolves that have no voice of their own. You support expert field staff on the front lines of the battle to protect wolves. You support the best wildlife lawyers in the country. And you support our Washington, DC team who go toe-to-toe with those on Capitol Hill who want to exterminate wolves.

Defenders of Wildlife has been winning life-saving wildlife battles since 1947. But we are only as strong as our supporter base – people like you, who love wildlife and are willing to do their part.

Please support Defenders with a generous donation today.

Thank you for all you do.

 Sincerely,

Jamie Rappaport Clark

President, Defenders of Wildlife

 

Have Americans botched democracy?

Congress less popular than cockroaches?

One of my favorite columnists, Nick Kristoff at the NY Times, concludes his op-ed yesterday titled "America's Broken Politics" by suggesting that we Americans have botched democracy. And on the day after the 2014 midterms, he made a good case for that conclusion.

Kristoff wrote:
 

Let’s face it: The American political system is broken.

The midterm elections were a stinging repudiation of President Obama, but Republicans should also feel chastened: A poll last year found Congress less popular than cockroaches.

So congratulations to those members celebrating election victories. But our democratic institutions are in trouble when they can’t outpoll cockroaches. Which didn’t even campaign.

“Politics is the noblest of professions,” President Eisenhower said in 1954, and politics in the past often seemed a bright path toward improving our country. President Clinton represented a generation that regarded politics as a tool to craft a better world, and President Obama himself mobilized young voters with his gauzy message of hope. He presented himself as the politician who could break Washington’s gridlock and get things done — and we’ve seen how well that worked.

I’m in the middle of a book tour now, visiting universities and hearing students speak about yearning to make a difference. But they are turning not to politics as their lever but to social enterprise, to nonprofits, to advocacy, to business. They see that Wendy Kopp, who founded Teach for America in her dorm room at Princeton University, has had more impact on the education system than any current senator, and many have given up on political paths to change.

A national exit poll conducted by Edison Research found that a majority of voters disapproved of Republicans and Democrats alike, and only 20 percent trust Washington to do what’s right most or all the time.

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How could this happen in six short years?

A Minnesotan, I celebrate this morning the re-elections of Gov. Dayton and Sen. Franken. And with the Republican sweep of Congress, I feel sad for the country.

Tom Edsall at the NY Times offers the big picture on the morning after:

Democrats counting on favorable demographic trends to carry their party to victory in 2016 should consider three significant developments reflected in the outcome of Tuesday’s elections.

The first is that the Republican establishment, at least for the moment, has wrested control back from the Tea Party wing. This will make it more difficult for Democrats to portray their opponents as dangerous extremists.

The second, and more important, development was the success of Republican candidates in defusing accusations that their party is conducting a “war on women.” The effectiveness of Republican tactics on this front is sure to influence strategy in two years, threatening to undermine a line of attack that has generated a gender gap and has been crucial to past Democratic victories.

The third was the powerful showing of Republican gubernatorial candidates in two Midwestern states important to Democrats in presidential elections: Wisconsin and Michigan.

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A thinker who doesn’t like to lead

Hi Katalusis readers,


Just so you know, I did my duty this morning and voted. Afterward, I backtracked to yesterday's Washington Post and found confirmation for what I've long suspected:  being a thinker is not enough for the president of the United States - other qualities are required. 

 

Pundits are just now discovering a major difference between Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, as cited by Eilperin and Nakamura at the Washington Post: “Bush is a leader who didn’t like to think,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a global political risk-management firm. “Obama is a thinker who doesn’t like to lead.”

In their article titled Where did Obama go wrong? Eilperin and Nakamura write:

The week after his reelection, President Obama was a man full of promise and promises: His job-approval rating stood at 54 percent, the 2010 tea party wave that had knocked his first term off balance appeared to have receded, and he seemed as sober about the future as he was hopeful.
“With respect to the issue of mandate, I’ve got one mandate . . . to help middle-class families and families that are working hard to try to get into the middle class,” he said at a news conference in the East Room of the White House in November 2012. Obama acknowledged the dangers of “presidential overreach in second terms,” but he put forward an expansive, legacy-building agenda: a major fiscal deal, immigration reform and action on climate change.

Two bruising years later, he has registered progress only on addressing climate change, and a president who once boasted of a barrier-breaking liberal coalition is under fire from his own party as his Republican rivals are poised to make gains in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

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So what do political candidates do with all that money?

Forgive my cynicism. Prior to the 2008 Democratic primary, I truly got into the biennial political fray, especially during presidential elections. This time around, I’ve routinely cleared out my inbox from the daily onslaught of requests for money from the Democratic Party. And maybe for the first time, I’m asking what on earth political candidates need all that money for? Jeez, the TV networks must make out like bandits during run ups to elections; pity the candidates - I’ve turned them off during their feverish pitches. Not to worry, folks: Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the political process, I’ll do my duty and vote this Thursday.

Anyway, in these closing hours before the 2014 midterms, I noticed an item describing Obama’s attempts to resuscitate his one-time zealous followers on behalf of the Dems, while McConnell stokes the fire for Republicans:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Clashing views from the White House and Republicans about the nation's trajectory are closing out the final week before Election Day.

President Barack Obama on Saturday emphasized economic growth during his tenure while the Senate's Republican leader depicted events he says seem to be spinning out of the White House's control.
Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in their parties' radio and Internet addresses, did find some common ground.

They agreed that many Americans' wages are still falling behind. But Obama blamed Congress for not acting on measures such as the minimum wage, and McConnell faulted Obama for policies he said have failed.

"We've got to harness this momentum and make the right choices so that everyone who works hard can get ahead," Obama said. He stressed the need for policies that make the economy friendlier to women.
"In difficult times, the American people expect real leadership from Washington," the Kentucky senator countered. "What they don't need are more unworkable ideas that often make the problem worse."
The sparring heading into Tuesday's voting underscored the prominent role that Obama has taken in the midterm elections even though he is not on the ballot. Republicans have tried to make the election about the president, especially in states with Republican majorities where Obama's unpopularity runs deeper than in the country as a whole.

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Mindfully addressing the difficulties and challenges of daily living

Tara Brach

I’ve been using the mindfulness tool RAIN for the past several weeks to help me respond to the inevitable difficulties and challenges of daily living. I awoke this morning realizing that I no longer need fear whatever lies ahead in my life journey - RAIN will always be available to me. I’m indebted to Mindfulness teacher Tara Brach for introducing me to this effective, easy to use tool. Tara explains:

About twelve years ago, a number of Buddhist teachers began to share a new mindfulness tool that offers in-the-trenches support for working with intense and difficult emotions. Called RAIN (an acronym for the four steps of the process), it can be accessed in almost any place or situation. It directs our attention in a clear, systematic way that cuts through confusion and stress. The steps give us somewhere to turn in a painful moment, and as we call on them more regularly, they strengthen our capacity to come home to our deepest truth. Like the clear sky and clean air after a cooling rain, this mindfulness practice brings a new openness and calm to our daily lives. 

I have now taught RAIN to thousands of students, clients, and mental health professionals, adapting and expanding it into the version you’ll find in this chapter. I’ve also made it a core practice in my own life. Here are the four steps of RAIN presented in the way I’ve found most helpful:

• R  Recognize what is happening
• A  Allow life to be just as it is
• I  Investigate inner experience with kindness
• N  Non-Identification.

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