Category Archives: Welcome

Preview of Balance Midyear Reading by Eric Francis

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BALANCE is my new 2016 Midyear Reading, covering the astrology of Jupiter in Libra and more — which means it extends well into 2017.

We are under the most dramatic astrology I’ve ever seen that says wake up and pay attention. Yet without paying attention to yourself and how you feel, you won’t have much to work with. Before you wake up, it’s necessary to rest.

These readings are designed as a moment of respite; and a moment to genuinely reflect on your own life — with the added gift of astrology helping you tune into the moment, and your inner environment. This is the gift of astrology: to provide a way into your inner realm, no matter what may be distracting you outside yourself; or no matter what may be on your mind from the past.

We live in tumultuous times, but also exceedingly rich ones, for those who can see the potential. I am here to help you recognize the possibilities that a time of exceedingly fast change opens up, and help you find the inner resources to make the most of our moment.

Understanding Trump’s Use of Language

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Here is Part 2 of George Lakoff’s series on Donald Trump, posted by kind permission of the author. You may read the first article here. — Amy

by George Lakoff

Note: This is a follow-up to my previous piece, ‘Understanding Trump’. Please read that piece first.

The Responsible Reporter’s Problem

Responsible reporters in the media normally transcribe political speeches so that they can accurately report them. But Donald Trump’s discourse style has stumped a number of reporters. Dan Libit, CNBC’s excellent analyst, is one of them. Libit writes:

His unscripted speaking style, with its spasmodic, self-interrupting sentence structure, has increasingly come to overwhelm the human brains and tape recorders attempting to quote him.
Trump is, simply put, a transcriptionist’s worst nightmare: severely unintelligible, and yet, incredibly important to understand.
Given how dramatically recent polls have turned on his controversial public utterances, it is not hyperbolic to say that the very fate of the nation, indeed human civilization, appears destined to come down to one man’s application of the English language — and the public’s comprehension of it. It has turned the rote job of transcribing into a high-stakes calling.
…
Trump’s crimes against clarity are multifarious: He often speaks in long, run-on sentences, with frequent asides. He pauses after subordinate clauses. He frequently quotes people saying things that aren’t actual quotes. And he repeats words and phrases, sometimes with slight variations, in the same sentence.

Some in the media (Washington Post, Salon, Slate, Think Progress, etc.) have called Trump’s speeches “word salad.” Some commentators have even attributed his language use to “early Alzheimer’s,” citing “erratic behavior” and “little regards for social conventions.” I don’t believe it.

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Understanding Trump

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Editor’s note: I have to confess to being rather a big fan of George Lakoff. He’s done some hugely important work on deconstructing language (especially that used by the right wing). This is the first in a two-part series on Donald Trump, published with the author’s kind permission: an exciting and enlightening analysis that in my view cannot be widely enough shared or understood. — Amy

by George Lakoff

There is a lot being written and spoken about Trump by intelligent and articulate commentators whose insights I respect. But as a longtime researcher in cognitive science and linguistics, I bring a perspective from these sciences to an understanding of the Trump phenomenon. This perspective is hardly unknown. More than half a million people have read my books, and Google Scholar reports that scholars writing in scholarly journals have cited my works well over 100,000 times.

Trump speaking in Arizona. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Yet you will probably not read what I have to say in the New York Times, nor hear it from your favorite political commentators. You will also not hear it from Democratic candidates or party strategists.

There are reasons, and we will discuss them later in this piece. I am writing it because I think it is right and it is needed, even though it comes from the cognitive and brain sciences, not from the normal political sources. I think it is imperative to bring these considerations into public political discourse. But it cannot be done in a 650-word op-ed. My apologies. It is untweetable.

I will begin with an updated version of an earlier piece on who is supporting Trump and why — and why policy details are irrelevant to them. I then move to a section on how Trump uses your brain against you. I finish up discussing how Democratic campaigns could do better, and why they need to do better if we are to avert a Trump presidency.

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Pulling Back the Veil: Final Thoughts on the UpToUs Caravan and Modern Activist Culture (Part 1 of 2)

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Protesters outside the DNC. It’s up to us to make a change. Photo by Callie Mitchell.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

“Things are not getting worse; they are getting uncovered. We must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.”

This quote, originally from a Facebook post by activist writer/blogger Adrienne Maree Brown, started showing up on social media in early July. As I begin the process of writing a final article for my series on the UpToUs Caravan, it comes to my mind, and it stirs my heart. It conveys a sentiment that I am feeling deeply these days: that of gravity, hope, human potential, and the work yet to be done.

It’s been two weeks since I arrived home from my cross-country trip, and three weeks since the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. With a little distance from the experience, I’ve started to piece together some insights and commentary, though I anticipate an inevitable feeling of inadequacy when it comes to delivering something comprehensive. We live in complex times—but then again, did we ever not?

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BALANCE is now published!

Hospital Hotel Parts 3 and 4: Shopping Spree and Special Delivery

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Editor’s Note: My friend Marcy Franck has returned home, but she has more stories about her experience volunteering with Syrian refugees on Chios, Greece. You can read her prior posts on Planet Waves here, including parts 1 and 2 of the Hospital Hotel series. Any donations made at her YouCaring page will continue to go directly to aid. — Amanda P.

Shopping Spree

By Marcy Franck

Part 3 of 4

I have taken orders for 15 families and think, My God. What have I done?

Marcy in the amazing warehouse filled with clothing, shoes, toiletries, and snacks sent or purchased by private donors. Humanity lives in every box, piled high to the giant ceiling. Photo by Marcy Franck.

Even with my donors’ generous donations, I can’t buy everything they need.

I think of the single widow pregnant with twins, the old man with a heart condition, the girl with legs that don’t work the way she needs them to, the boy with epilepsy, and I am afraid to let them down.

I freak out in a chat with my Facebook friend who has volunteered on Chios before. She says, “Why don’t you look in Toula’s warehouse?”

“Toula has a warehouse? I only know of the other one, and it’s pretty sparse right now.” I said.

“No! Go ask Toula and see what she can do for you.” I had met Toula on my first day here, because I heard she was amazing and I wanted to introduce myself. She is a local hotel owner who also founded Chios Eastern Shore Response Team — CESRT almost a year ago. With a giant team of volunteers, CESRT does everything from sea rescue to distributing clothes. And she is totally crazy in the most amazing way.

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The Hospital Hotel, Parts 1 and 2

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Editor’s Note: My friend Marcy Franck has returned home, but she has more stories about her experience volunteering with Syrian refugees on Chios, Greece. You can read her prior posts on Planet Waves here. Any donations made at her YouCaring page will continue to go directly to aid. — Amanda P.

By Marcy Franck

Part 1 of 4

Everyone lives in the camps, whether you are elderly, pregnant, seven days old, or have a broken leg. You live in your tent or, if you are lucky, a “container,” which is a portable plastic room with a small window and a door.

Entrance to the Hospital Hotel; photo by Marcy Franck.

Entrance to the Hospital Hotel on Chios, Greece; photo by Marcy Franck.

But the UN attempts to help some of the most vulnerable people — those who are very sick and would absolutely not do well in the camp environment. For a select few of these people, there is the Hospital Hotel. Inside you’ll meet the kindest people in the world with stories that will shatter you. They are “survivors” in a way that my American self absolutely can’t relate to. They all have extensive medical needs, which is how the hotel got its nickname.

It’s a neat building in the center of town, walking distance from the other two camps, with rooms arranged around a central staircase.

Maja, a Swedish volunteer, took me to visit on my second day. She had made friends with one of the residents and, while she was visiting, got to know a handful of others who told her what they needed for supplies. Maja took me with her to deliver their requested items, which she had purchased with her own savings and packed into separate kitchen-sized garbage bags labeled by room number.

News spreads quickly in a small community, and after knocking on a couple of doors to deliver bags, more people came out to see what was going on.

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Spotlight on Reader Responses from the UpToUs Caravan Series

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The Wells Fargo Convention Center in Philadelphia, where the Democratic National Convention was held.

The Wells Fargo Convention Center in Phila., where the Democratic National Convention was held.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

By Amy E. Jacobs

Hello again, this time from my desk in Arvada, CO (a suburb between Denver and Boulder), where I am grateful to finally be sitting after a 28-hour solo drive back from the east coast. I took some time post-convention to rest up and see some friends, including a trip to Kingston where I spent some time with Eric and had several insightful conversations about my experience. I arrived home on Friday.

I am planning a final article on the UpToUs Caravan, in which I will attempt to summarize the main themes that surfaced over the course of the journey, and some of the potential lessons to be learned. There are so many powerful experiences that I haven’t been able to include thus far, due mainly to the depth of commentary necessary to communicate them — each one could really be its own article. Once when I described this predicament to Eric he told me “you’ve got to just stick your teaspoon under the waterfall.” So that’s what I’ve been doing, though now that I’ve got a bit of distance from the intensity, I hope to offer a slightly more cohesive picture soon.

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