TREE HOUSE NEWSπ‘
Land of Whispering Pinesπ²
Good morning! I pray that you be well, at peace, provided for, & blessedππ
I do not have a lot to report from the Newsroom this morning. I was out in my green space with my coffee this morning, with my light jacket, it was rather pleasant to watch the sun come over the trees, and listen to the birds.ππ¦ Have as prosperous a day as is possible, and thank you for reading the news. π°
TODAY'S DISCUSSION:
GOOD TIMES
WHEN WERE THERE TRULY GOOD TIMES?
- Google Search -
Childhood Innocence and Wonderment
Why can't we retain the gift of our childhood into our adulthood? That childish innocence, of wonderment and curiosity, adventurer, and explorer within all of us. That gift, or that instinct within us all, may be the only straw to world peace.
In My Opinion:
The good times were when people were happy and grateful for what they had and made due with what they had. We had no TVs, cellphones, and didn't even have school buses; we walked the mile to school and played imaginary games along the way. We did have the two-way radio and a dial-up telephone. We had one of those rather large stand-up tube radios, an antique my dad put together, which ran on a car battery, and a gramophone (record player).
I had my Radio Flyer wagon, my doll Bobbie McGee, the bush or the lake, in a row boat, or on the backroads with my CCM bicycle, in the land of imagination.
We had movies at the local theater every two weeks or so, and many of those movies, as well as magazines, comic books, and many other books of interest, were food for the imagination. A bicycle became a car, or an airplane, especially when coasting down that steep hill on a boardwalk. Walking on the trail behind the house became a safari in the jungle.
Stuff like that. Now I'm getting a little too old and slow to do that stuff for real, so I wrote and drew pictures about what I was imagining, on almost any topic of interest, you know, the kind that took me beyond the written words on the pages I was reading or writing.
The path that went up the hill behind the house became an adventure in the jungle. I even dressed for the part and stuff like that. Even up into my adolescence and adulthood, I used to play dress up, especially on boring rainy days. I spent a lot of my time exercising and expressing my imagination at the kitchen table, either drawing or writing something, or both, or "McGivering" something in the toolroom in the basement.
I feel sad for those who never had a chance to be a kid, chase butterflies, pick pretty colorful flowers, and follow their imagination and dreams. No matter the stumbling blocks of life, if I fall, I just pick myself up, dust myself off, put a band-aid on my scraped knee, and proceed walking around the obstacle.
From the time we are born and open our eyes, we begin to take in information in our conscious and subconscious minds. Like knowing the difference between what was negative and something positive, even if we haven't yet differentiated what was negative or positive, black and white, it is quite surprising to find there are only shades of grey. But we certainly felt something was off plumb when it was negative. We recoiled from it like it was a venomous snake.
Suppose people could go back (or feel back to how they reacted to that specific experience back then), if we would and could allow ourselves to feel back to how we felt about such a negative proposition in the past, or how positive an experience it was. It's usually the good memories that take priority in the remember me times, so it is for me, anyway.
If we could go back to those experiences, it would likely modify the proposition at hand to accommodate all parties involved. A True Democracy with Honesty and Empathy for its people, there would be much less strife in the world. People's lives would be more synchronized and harmonised, we would know without doubt that people are more important than money.
- Google Search -
Democracy functions best when infused with honesty and empathy, fostering trust and understanding among citizens. Honesty ensures fair decision-making, while empathy promotes consideration for all perspectives, leading to more inclusive and legitimate democratic outcomes.
From the time we are born and open our eyes, we begin to take in information. What was negative, even if we didn't recognise it as a negative, was that we certainly did feel something was off plumb, enough so that we recoiled from it like it was a venomous snake.
Too Much Empathy; The man says: BONEHEAD!π You know who you are, for a smart guy who claims to be a genius and built a starship that never made it off the ground and put a torch to his own car company. I say good old KARMA is working like a charm
BREAKING NEWS:
Dow set to soar 1,000 points after Trump team dramatically lowers tariffs with China
US stock futures surged after President Donald Trump's top trade officials brokered a surprisingly dramatic de-escalation in trade tensions with China over the weekend, dropping tariffs to much lower levels, which some economists say could stave off a US recession.
Dow futures rose 1,000 points, or 2.4%. S&P 500 futures were 3.1% higher, and Nasdaq futures gained 4%.
US stocks were set to erase all their losses since Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" trade announcement, which placed a 10% tariff on practically all goods coming into the United States and set significantly higher tariffs on dozens of countries. Trump paused most of those tariffs just days after they went into effect, but jacked up import taxes on China, eventually to 145% on most Chinese imports.
- Live Updates The US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%
- -CNN- breaks down US-China tariff agreement 0:53
- Pre-market stock trading coverage from -CNN-
Updated 7:53 AM EDT, Mon May 12, 2025 - CNN -
Trump's tariffs could boost some 'Made in America' small businesses. But for many, they only hurt
Fabric is sewn at the Faribault Mill factory
It takes about 20 steps for tufts of raw wool to become a signature Faribault Mill blanket, and it all happens under one roof in this southern Minnesota city.
It's a symphonic process that has been honed over 160 years, and now one where employees (including third- and fourth-generation mill staff members) work alongside a blend of state-of-the-art machinery and 19th century equipment from start to finish.
The only things missing from the mill are the sheep themselves: Many of them are busy grazing fields a few states over in the Rocky Mountains.
Published 6:00 AM EDT, Mon May 12, 2025 - CNN -
CANADIAN NEWS:
Yale professor moving to U of T due to 'far-right' Trump administration's pressure on universities
Some top U.S. academics are seeking employment north of the border after President Donald Trump's administration froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from institutions unless they agree to his demands. CBC's Dale Manucdoc has more details on a phenomenon called "brain drain" β and how it could benefit Canada.
Prof. Jason Stanley made a decision after policy changes at Columbia University A Yale University professor is leaving the U.S. and taking a position at the University of Toronto (U of T) due to what he says is a "far-right regime" under President Donald Trump.
"The United States is in the process of an autocratic takeover and it's directed by a regime that I don't think will want to leave power," said Jason Stanley, a professor of philosophy.
"Its not just Donald Trump. It's the machine behind Donald Trump."
- April marks the biggest travel decline yet since Trump was re-elected as president*
- Updated: 31 minutes ago
- Canadian university teachers warned against travelling to the United States
- Doctor says political mayhem in the U.S. pushed her to come home to New Brunswick
Posted: May 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 40 minutes ago
- CBC News -
Rise in for-profit agency nurse costs in Ontario hospitals' exorbitant,' says researcher
Hospitals turn to staffing agencies when they can't fill shifts, which further exacerbates staffing shortages Ontario hospitals paid for-profit staffing agencies $9.2 billion over a decade, a finding that comes as one hospital aims to stop its use of temp services by September.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives commissioned Monday's report, titled Hollowed Out: Ontario Public Hospitals and the Rise of Private Staffing Agencies, focusing on increased spending on private agencies for nurses, health professionals, and administrative support staff from 2013-14 to 2022-23.
Hospitals and long-term care homes turn to these same staffing agencies when they can't fill all of their shifts with employees. The Agency health-care workers allow them to continue providing services during staff shortages, and the charge triples the regular hourly rate, hospitals have set.
Working to be AagencyFree'
Meanwhile, at Markham Stouffville Hospital, staff are working to reduce reliance on private agencies that provide temporary hires such as nurses to fill shifts in the emergency department, oncology, and other units.
"Our goal is that by the end of September, we'll be agency free," said president and CEO of Oak Valley Health, which includes the Markham hospital that serves a fast growing region northeast of Toronto.
Posted: May 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago
- CBC -
NATURE'S SOUNDS AND MUSIC:
πͺ·πΎ~Body And Spirit, Healing The Emotional, Physical, Mental & Spiritual plane~πΎπͺ·
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zsRnOGTFa4
Comment, Paula Koval:
ReplyDeleteGreetings and a good Monday to Everyone! Thank you for visiting.
Today's Tree House News covers events that affect all of us to varying degrees.
Who among us hasn't had recollections of happier times or occasions that had such significance that they're alive and well in their instant recall memory? There's a bonus to such reminiscences; visualizing one often leads to savoring another. Time travel is real. Only the mind can go. I'd not be pleased returning to the late Sixties at my current age!
I don't need a smartphone to keep me occupied. I have one for my convenience, mainly to gather the necessary information. A mobile phone gives me a measure of personal safety and allows me to call ahead when I'm running late. I don't bother with TikTok or give time to other social networking groups aside from Good Morning From the Tree House.
I don't need an alter ego or an anonymous existence. Give me a radio or Internet receiver that can get what I heard on my AM radio 63 years ago, a TV to watch the real news (not the stuff on Faux Noise), and an occasional movie, and I'm happy. No alternate reality for me. I'm tolerant of the real one.
"Life, I love you, always groovy!" - Paul Simon, 59th Street Bridge Song
Cindy wrote about democracy and what makes it work successfully. BEWARE! There are people on the web whose aim is to convince readers that democracy is evil and that America and democracy are enemies. Please see the image below.
My opinion: This is scareware. Our republic is built on democracy and self-government by the people. America is a republic, a **representative democracy,** in which the people vote for House of Representatives and Senate members to make laws that will benefit the people, or so we pray.
The first paragraph of this item is written to make you question democracy and its necessity for America to survive. Why do that? Because Trump wants to be president for life. He and his coterie want to end elections and have a nation where democracy is gone, but calling it a republic still goes on, like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the People's Republic of China.
Are there countries that are democracies and not republics, places that don't confiscate your wealth or property?
Yes. Switzerland. Many wealthy people have left their homelands for Switzerland for lower taxes, privacy in banking, a stable currency, freedom of person and property, and a good standard of living. Please see the link below:
https://www.aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch/ .../political...
Don't let anyone scare you with the idea of democracy in America. It's a bullshit. Be afraid of who started the lie, and Trump, the dude who would be president for life.
The Premier of Ontario is Doug Ford. He is a member of the Progressive Conservative party, whatever that means. He is a wealthy man who is interested in enriching himself and his friends who own large businesses, including private medical clinics, long term care facilities, and medical temporary help agencies.
Instead of his government hiring more nurses and aides, Ford's policy has been to hire contract help at hourly rates double or triple the hourly wage paid to nurses and aides on the provincial payroll. He has also fought hard to underpay doctors, including family practitioners and specialists.
Last year, physicians took the province to arbitration because Ford and his band of thieves offered the doctors a raise of 1.5%. The arbitration board awarded the medical practitioners an immediate 5% raise to make up for increases already denied them, and 10% increases for three years.
Ford is rich. He can leave the province for medical care, but we can't.
The sooner the screws are put to him for robbing the people by paying unnecessarily inflated prices for nursing personnel, and for the Ontario Place giveaway, the better. My dream is to see him in handcuffs going into an Ontario Provincial Police car.
I appreciate your time. Have a nice evening, and **don't be confused about democracy!**
REPLY, The Fairy Lady:
ReplyDeleteTHE POWER OF BELIEVING - FAITH AND BELIEVING!
- Google Search -
The power of believing can manifest in various forms, from personal achievement to collective action. Quotes like "Believe you can and you're halfway there" (Theodore Roosevelt) and "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" (Eleanor Roosevelt) highlight the importance of self-belief and envisioning a positive future. Belief can also drive perseverance and inspire resilience, as seen in quotes like "You can do anything, but not everything" (Henry Ford).