July, 2013 - Bettina Network's Blog

Archive for July, 2013

Live by the Rule of Law – OR –

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013

copyright 2013 Bettina Network, inc.

Live by the Rule of Love!

As a host family in the Bettina Network I’ve met all kinds of people, had thousands of conversations around the breakfast table and sometimes have great evenings with complete strangers in front of my wood burning fireplace.  Conversations which changed my life and have often made me reflect on the condition of my soul.  That is one of the hazards of having a Bettina Lifestyle House – or whatever we are called these days.

None of these breakfast conversations have made me reflect so much as the conversation about the “Rule of Law” to which we hold as a country.

What is amazing about that is we also claim to be a “Christian” country. – not to ignore my non-Christrian brothers and sisters, but it is who we claim to be and the reason today for the great political divide in this country.  We have almost become the country of the ‘saved’ and the ‘damned’.

The Rule of Law has never struck me as hard as it did listening to all the comments on the various cases which have caught the media’s attention of late – Zimmerman, Martin, Bradley Manning, and on and on.

In this country where the Rule of Law is supreme – Martin was killed, Zimmerman was exonerated and freed, Bradley Manning was tortured, tried and convicted and on and on we go, closer and closer to the depths of hell.

When the decision goes against the just and is clearly not justice, we revert to much talk about how we are a nation under the “Rule of Law” .  We tell ourselves to remember that and continue to live under this Rule of Law- even though it is not always perfect –  and we must accept that or our entire system will be destroyed and undermined.  We threaten those who weaken with talk about  the unwashed many who will run amuck and rob, kill, rape, and commit general mayhem if we don’t respect our Rule of Law.  Without it, we claim, we will all be at risk of being harmed.  We are told it is not perfect, but it has created a great nation – the greatest nation on earth and without this Rule of Law, we are told,  we will be overrun with  mad people running around doing all kinds of unspeakable things with no controls and nothing to stop them.

But Martin was killed and his killer was exonerated under our Rule of Law —— wasn’t that mayhem out of control?  Maybe we deserve to be a nation under the “Rule of Law’ because we can abdicate responsibility, reason, sanity, but mostly we can abdicate love – that which demands the most of us.

Christianity claims to be ruled by a God of Love. Christianity claims that the God we worship is Love,  but Christians don’t want that concept to enter into their considerations when making and changing the institutional structures under which they will live.  As a country, we refuse to live under the “Rule of Love”.  It is a great mythical and theoretical concept to talk about, but not to live under.  It has nothing to do with our reality.  But still Christianity claims that Jesus came to bring in a regime which eliminates the “Rule of Law” and takes it to its next step.  As a nation and as Christians, we hold up the “New” Testament which is all about moving away from the law into the gospel and the gospel is about love not law.  In fact, one could almost say Christianity denigrates the Rule of Law.  It is not an eye for an eye…………….it is better than that!  By your fruit………….

I called a friend of mine, also a host family in the Bettina Network, who has these breakfast conversations with strangers about the most intimate things – to try to talk through what has been and is troubling me.  She talked about how the Zimmerman/Martin case exposed the hypocrisy of the “Rule of Law”, but that just didn’t do it for me.  It didn’t go far enough.

Since religion is at the core of all politics I would like to ask our editor to throw open the blog to writings about religion.  Why are you who you are spiritually?  Why do you need to convert others?  Why do you refuse to convert others because you are one of the chosen few and don’t want those others to join? Why do you live under a rule of law when your religion dictates that you live under a rule of love?  How can you claim to believe one thing and live another? How can you define God to be who you need God to be and ignore the reality of God and God’s kingdom breaking in all over this world of ours?   Why are you running around trying to patch up those holes where God’s kingdom is breaking in so the structure you, your friends and your family helped create won’t fall apart and will remain in tact in this process?

I heard a young person constantly bragging about her family.  They had a Radcliff degree – she had a degree from a college just as prestigious – and went to a private grammar schools considered to be one of the New England Establishment’s schools that the ‘elite’ attend – and her mother supposedly came from a prestigious, wealthy community in New York.  It was very painful to listen to her put up this smoke screen because she and they have done nothing with all that background except live in pain and want and tragedy.  This young person has the God-given talent of a beautiful voice, which she trashes on a regular basis and when given the opportunity to use and develop that talent trashes the opportunity as well as the voice.  What is that about?  Raise those issues to her and she will trash you!  How does that happen?

Sin, in Christianity, is defined as the absence of God.  God is defined as Love!  Sin is the absence of Love! Isn’t that how all of this happens?  It is such a huge responsibility and such a huge burden to live under the rule of law.  Yet not only do we live under this rule, but we raise our children to do just that.

It is such a treasure and joy to live under the rule of love.  What a place this country would be if we could move on – out of the shadow of the laws which have enslaved us for so many years into the light of love which has freed us.  That kind of freedom seems to be what we are most afraid to embrace – and so we live our lives in such a small, carefully defined place with those better than we are and those less than we are carefully defined and kept in their places by this Rule of Law.  We give up everything we have, including our lives to maintain those carefully crafted laws of oppression.

We set forth a body of laws which maintained Jim Crow as legal and the law of the land and we forced our citizens to live under that law – preserved and reinforced by the Supreme Court of these United States and today we glorify that same Court without calling it into question and demanding acknowledgment for its wrongs.

We maintain that Rule of Law because it maintains the status quo – the oppression, the poverty, the homelessness, the suffering of all the people who live under those laws.  That Rule of Law maintains the status quo of the wealthy, the powerful, the dictators of high-brow culture, whether right or wrong  – and we consider ourselves the greatest nation on earth because we live under this Rule of Law.  We call it the greatest ever created.

The loneliest place to be in this society – all over the world – is in that place of a child without a group; a half-breed who does not belong to one group or the other.   We ostracize such a person – trash them – try to hide them – scapegoat them for the sins of the rest of society.  We elected one as President of these United States and the anger, hostility, horribleness thrown at him is beyond and beneath all of us, yet some of the seemingly nicest people do it and hide behind their political designation as their claimed reason.  This half-breed president strikes terror in the hearts of those who most cherish the rule of law.  Is that what is wrong with that young person with the beautiful voice?  She lives with a mother who holds up her “Yankee” history as great, while her children look on as half-breeds and incorporate into their souls their brokenness and inadequacy because they are not such a great and glorious part of this New England Establishment?

If you live, even partially under the Law of Love it shows – in how you look; in how you take care of yourself; in how you relate to others; in how you take on the responsibilities of being a part of a whole, in how you are not afraid to speak truth.  Every minute of every day it shows and those around you see it.  God is Love – not Law.  Law cannot be fair and just.  It was created by all of us and it embodies all of our sins, our flaws, our weaknesses, our biases and then those who most benefit from this Rule of Law throw in the demand that we all live by it or be negatively judged by it.

We expect and demand that Rule of Law to maintain a society in which we are judged and agree to be judged by a Rule of Law set in place to maintain the privileges of those in control and maintain the oppression of those who are under the heavy foot of the privileged.

God forgive us!

I nominate this Rule of Law for Bettina’s Hall of Shame!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

A Guest Responds – Popcorn and Mosquitos

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

Thank you for the recipe for an exceptional snack.  I tried it and it was sensational.

I had to make two tries before I got it right. The main problem was keeping the popcorn crisp while adding the simple syrup and the chocolate.  I messed up the first try and had soggy popcorn.  The second try it was perfect.  I let the syrup cool a bit before pouring it over the popcorn.  Hot simple syrup right off the stove is guaranteed to give you a mess.  The same thing with the chocolate.  I added heavy cream to the chocolate chips while melting them, stirred the pot until it was all blended and when cooled a bit, added it on top of the simple syrup and the popcorn.  I think the experience of doing this is actually what made it work the second time.  I was too anxious with my first try and thought I knew it all the first time I made this snack.  The blog read like it would be a snap.  Once you figured out how to keep the popcorn crisp through the entire process and into the eating of this snack, it was a snap.  But until then it was a worry.

When I melted the chocolate chips and poured them over the popcorn, it was a bit stiffer then when I added heavy cream to the chocolate while it was melting.  The chocolate, with heavy cream added did not harden on top of the popcorn, which added to the texture and taste of this fantastic snack.  I suspect whichever way you use the chocolate it will be a matter of personal taste.

The snack lasted about two minutes and I made lots for just three people.

My second comment is about mosquitos.  I’ve read lots this season about what to do to fend off mosquito attacks – from staying inside when its dawn and dusk to all kind of remedies.

One I got from a stay in a Bettina home, which I haven’t found on your blog, worked.  It has been tremendous for me and my children.  Vitamin B1.  We take one Vitamin B1 capsule before going out – about 15 minutes to 1/2 hour before going outside and whether its high sun or dawn or dusk we have had no mosquito bites.  According to the breakfast where I picked up this tip, your skin would smell like mosquito repellant even though the only thing you did was to take this one Vitamin B1 tablet.  Sure enough, my skin smells like mosquito repellant.  When I get that odor I know I am good to go outside for several hours.

Hope this helps someone!

Ed. Note:  The blog recipe the guest is referring to is:  An Incredible Snack – Bettina Style, published May 28, 2013 and can be found categorized in Bettina’s Blog under Bettina’s Cookbook

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Jose Mateo Ballet School – A Review

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

by: Luisa Kay Reyes

Luisa at the Ballet Barre

Luisa at the Ballet Barre

 

 

Ed Note:  While not being a reviewer/critic by profession,  Ms. Reyes has a love of music, art and dance.  Musically, she specializes  in opera and is passionate about ballet.  She is a trained vocalist and pianist, having studied, among other places, at Oberlin Conservatory.   She has a Masters Degree in Library Science and is a licensed attorney. You will see her reviews and other articles in the blog from time to time.     Ms. Reyes is currently a Project Manager with Bettina Network, inc. 

 

“When my colleague, knowing my passion for ballet, sent me an e-mail she received announcing the Adult Ballet Classes offered at the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre School, needless to say I jumped (or did a jete!) at the chance to experience what they offered.

Looking closely at the summer schedule, I noticed that for the most part the Adult Ballet Classes were held Monday through Friday from six o’clock in the evening until seven-thirty in their main studio, which is located right in Cambridge.  In fact, the studio is merely a block past the main Harvard University campus.  Being preoccupied most of the week with other activities I decided to pull out my black ballet leotard and pink tights on Friday.  And walk right on down to the ballet school ( when the temperature was over 90 degrees).

With my hair up in a bun, I walked past the Harvard campus.   Past all of the street musicians that line the sidewalks in front of the campus and, yes, I’m ashamed to admit, I walked right past all of the beggars sitting along the way holding up cardboard signs with their various pleas for money written on them with a black marker of some sort.  I also walked past a group of old-fashioned Mennonite ladies dressed in their pastel calico dresses with their hair pulled up nice and neat underneath a white cap on their heads. They were joined by some of their men folk who were dressed in long pants and white shirts.  It looked as though the Mennonite group was busy setting up an evening evangelism outreach,  complete with Gospel Tracts and a choir that was warming up to sing.

When I reached the corner of Bow Street I wasn’t sure whether  I should proceed straight ahead,  so I stopped and asked a young fellow for directions.  He was gracious enough to look it up in Google on his phone, but the map it pulled up confused us both more.  I continued walking and encountered the same fellow just a block away, who apologized profusely for not being able to be of more help.  I assured him I was directionally challenged and quite used to getting lost and that I was also certain I would eventually find my way.  Which when I turned around, I did.

The signs in front of the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre were rather inconspicuous.  What stood out first was actually the sign for the Old Cambridge Baptist Church.  The ballet theatre school is housed in the old Church building, although the theatre has no religious affiliation.  The Church is a grey stone building, reminiscent of the grey stone Church buildings one sees in the British Isles.

As a transplanted Southerner who is accustomed to running from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car to the next heavily air conditioned building, what I immediately noticed upon entering the old Church building was that it felt very warm.  And when I went to pay my thirteen dollars for the class, the lady at the desk informed me that true to Boston form there was no air conditioning,  but the dance studio had lots of fans that would keep us cool.  She then directed me to the room where the adult class would be held. It was a spacious room that was once the sanctuary of the Church.  All of the people who walked into the room commented on how they loved that particular studio because the room felt so serene.  And I have to concur.  The feeling was lovely.

I set my dance bag down on what looked to be an old pew bench on the side of the room and began my warm-up stretches along with the six other ballet aficionados who came to class.  While the teachers vary depending on which day of the week one takes class, our teacher this Friday was Molly Wheat.  Who proceeded to give us the pattern for our plies and commented on how impressed she was with us as we were the “true diehards” of ballet to be taking class in this “101 degree heat!”  (It wasn’t actually 101 as far as we know, but it certainly felt like it!)   We were accompanied in our dances on a grand piano by a very skilled pianist who adeptly transitioned from folk songs to the Brahms Waltz in A flat Major right on tempo.  Once we were in the center, Molly choreographed some lovely Romantic (as in Romantic Era) adagios and waltz routines that really brought out the ultra feminine ballerina in us all.  So in spite of  dripping with perspiration, we executed pirouettes and pique turns beautifully.

After class was over, we all thanked Molly and the pianist for a very nice class with our ballet curtsies.  And rushed either for bottles of water that we brought with us or we ran to the water fountain and drank as much cool water as we possibly could, all the while promising to come back next week.  As we exited the building, we encountered an elegant statue of a ballerina in honor of the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, reminding us just why we all love ballet so much.”

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

A Bettina Guest Comments on Zimmerman-Martin

Wednesday, July 17th, 2013

You don’t have to copyright my comment!  It is free to whoever wants to use it.

I’ve been a guest at Bettina homes for many years.  My regret is that I was not at the home in Harvard Square to be a part of the discussions that I know took place over this trial and its verdict.  They have some really unbelievable conversations – especially on race.  So, I have to join the conversation via email.  I understand,as a former guest in the network, my comments are accepted for Bettina Network’s Blog?  If not, let me know.  If yes, I will see it published – except, like most people, please don’t publish my name.  I am not afraid of backing up my comments, I just don’t want anyone to pick up my name and start to harrass me.

My contribution to the conversation comes from listening to the juror.  It was clear racism was deeply embedded in the jury deliberations. In the USA denial is the way racism continues and the way folks are able to go to Church on Sundays and feel good about themselves even when they have participated in some really low-down racism.  They neither own up to nor are they even conscious of their sin.  In this case, I think they were – the tears show some unconscious understanding of what they were doing.  The juror saw Zimmerman very positively and could relate to him.  Martin, however, in her comments, deserved what he got.  How dare a Black man think he could question being stalked and treated in a demeaning way by someone like a Zimmerman.  Afterall, Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch person – Martin was the hoodie wearing ‘punk’ – according to Zimmermans description.  She said, she felt he was fully repentant and would be careful with his gun in the future.  I wonder if that is true – or if he got the taste of celebrity from killing a Black man and will want more?  So he becomes even more reckless and irresponsible with his gun.  There are always two sides and her and the jury’s racism only allowed them to see the side which cast Zimmerman in a positive light and Martin as a stereotype.  Her comments about Martin, as she quoted Zimmerman, were of a man looking in windows and clearly as someone who did not belong in the neighborhood because he was Black.  Has anyone explained to her and the rest of the jury the definition of profiling?  By the way, how could she quote Zimmerman who he did not testify at trial?

If you had any doubts that the Martin-Zimmerman decision was racist,or that the make-up of the jury was crucial to getting Zimmerman exonerated by the State of Florida, her comments erase those doubts.

I think this was a done deal before the trial – and I am not alone in that opinion.  The Department of Justice was considering filing charges against Zimmerman because the State of Florida was refusing to do so (by dragging its feet).  I think when they discovered the DOJ was coming, the State of Florida got its act together and started this trial, but did not intend for it to be a fair trial.  A public show so DOJ didn’t come in to get a conviction after they covered for this neighborhood watch person for almost two months.  To go forth with the kind of jury they picked – and to look at the history of convictions of Blacks in Florida and the refusal of the Florida prosecutors to charge some Blacks under the ‘Stand your Ground’ law – I don’t see how Trayvon Martin could get any kind of justice.  It was a clear stacked deck before the case even started to be tried.

Thanks for the platform!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Please ask your readers to sign the petition

Monday, July 15th, 2013

Thank you for your writings about the Trayvon Martin – George Zimmerman encounter.  It was special and I learned a lot.  You said everything I wanted to say.

The NAACP has a petition on its web site which you can sign asking that the Department of Justice file a case against George Zimmerman, who violated Trayvon Martin’s right to life.

You can sign this petition at

www.naacp.org/page/s/doj-civil-rights-petition

you may have to go back to the site several times because it has been overloaded with people trying to sign the petition. Be persistent – don’t give up – keep going back to the site until you are able to sign the petition.

All of Us At Bettina’s

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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Martin-Zimmerman and they Followed Historical Patterns

Sunday, July 14th, 2013

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2013

Don’t you know, just about every table talk conversation today is about the Zimmerman/Martin case and practically every sermon in many different denominations and religions includes some reference to it.

This is our contribution to the conversation:

1) George Zimmerman was not tried by a jury of his peers.  Wasn’t it in the 1960’s and 1970’s that lawsuits abounded because Blacks were tried by all-White juries and those law suits proved that the results of such cases had nothing to do with justice and more to do with allowing the racism of the society penetrate and skewer Court decisions?

Lawsuit after Lawsuit proved that and change happened – until now!

How is it then, that a jury of five white women with white children and one minority woman who the press has never identified as to race – sometimes she was Black, sometimes she was Hispanic – is a jury of Zimmermans’ peers.  This decision had nothing to do with justice and this jury did nothing except let the racism and sexism of this society enter the Court system through the front door with a special escort to make sure those twin isms knew where to go.

When one reflects on the fact that the children were White and the women were going to consider this case from the biased perspective not of – what if your child was Black and went to the local grocery store wearing a hoodie or just went to the grocery store in his neighborhood where there was an overzealous, out-of-control neighborhood watch person out there on the street; but what if your child was the White kid named some form of Zimmerman who had to go through a trial because he was doing what he claimed was his job and felt perfectly justified in shooting Trayvon Martin to death after the neighborhood watch person provoked the incident which allowed him to do this huge violence against another human being?

Zimmerman was not charged for 45 days after the fact.  Who said “justice delayed……………”  What happened in those 45 days?  When someone confesses to shooting someone to death, there is an immediate arrest in this system because the evidence is subject to be skewered, disappear, witnesses tampered with and on and on and on.

2) George Zimmernan was a neighborhood watch person.  There were many comments that he was a wannabe policeman, but those comments from the media seemed put out there only to cover the ugly facts of what happened.  Why is a neighborhood watch person in the street in his car watching for ‘trouble’ with a gun?  Was he trained in the use of a gun?  Did he have to make regular trips to the shooting range to make sure he knew how to shoot a gun and his skills were up to where they should be?  Was he ‘fit’ in the way police and other law enforcement officers have to be, in addition to keeping up their skills with their weapons?  Had he been vetted psychologically to know he was able to be responsible with a gun in this neighborhood watch job?  Was he encouraged to carry a gun by law enforcement?  Why was he not immediately removed from this neighborhood watch duty when it was clear he was not sure of his own ability to fight off any possible attack on himself  without the use of a gun?  I didn’t hear any of these questions raised.

Zimmermans’ personality – character – ethics – kept him from following orders from those who knew better and advised him as to what to do.  To ignore those orders, get out of his car to stalk a Black man in a ‘hoodie’ after telling the police who this Black man was using very  negative racist and demeaning terms is a personality, character and ethics exposure. This could not have been the first time this side of Zimmerman was exposed to those who elected him or allowed him to be the neighborhood watch person.  What was their motive to ignore these warning signs and allow him out with his gun.

Zimmerman is a man whose own defense witnesses said could not fight – he was too fat to defend himself in a fist fight on the street.  He couldn’t punch, etc.  He must have been very insecure being a neighborhood watch person – why else was carrying a gun?  He knew his limits and he knew his temper – is that what made him so quick to pull the trigger?  That is a very insecure person who is looking for trouble when he goes out on a job where he is supposed to be simply a neighborhood watch person observing the neighborhood for signs of trouble and if he saw possible problems, his ‘job’ was to alert the police.

With a gun, Zimmerman was not an ‘observer’ who would quickly alert the real police to trouble.   He was someone who was armed and ready and willing to use his weapon at the least provocation. He has shown that is true by his actions against Trayvon Martin.  Zimmerman was ready to use his weapon and to provoke an incident during which he could use his weapon – which he did.  In the Mafia he would be a made man.  In the gang world, he would be welcomed as a member, in the Florida police force ………………?

Has Zimmerman now overcome his half-breedness and is now welcomed into the arms of the majority group?  Is this what it takes for a half-breed to become a full-fledged accepted White Person?  Zimmerman didn’t make it by birth, but he has absolutely shown he is ready to take his place in a racist, sexist, classist system which  is prone to violence against its minorities and is against giving its minorities justice in its court system.  Review cases over the past years and see what you come up with!  When the jury has spoken, justice has been served.  No one commentating on this case has been willing to say other than the jury system has delivered justice.  A jury system has delivered that kind of justice to a whole lot of Black folks over the generations – are we dissembling to take attention away from that fact?  Are we throwing out a red herring to get folks to look in every place except at the truth?

3)  We are all being told the jury has spoken and justice has been served because we are the best nation in the world and our justice system is the best there is!!!!!!!  Tell that to the generations of African Americans who have been through our justice system and have seen results come through like Plessy vs Ferguson and a whole lot more.  I could go on here and take time to list pages of such cases in which the same kind of justice we have just seen is traditional in this country when African Americans are involved.

When has this country’s justice system ever convicted a White man for the murder of a Black man?  And clearly Zimmerman was White.  His mother may have been hispanic or some other kind of minority, but his father was White and that is the determination in this country.  He stands up as a White man and is respected as such.

4) This great system of justice will now reward Zimmerman and he is the man of the hour – he will shortly be the multi-millionaire of the hour as the offers pour in.  I heard talk that his brother may even benefit since the media is talking up how ‘professional’, how ‘well spoken’ is his brother. All we could say is – how self-serving was his brother and how unbelievably horrible in the way he mocked what happened and put himself and his family on that top line where we are the best, most caring people in the world.  A family that has produced a George Zimmerman has lots of problems the brother has not let slip out.

All on the back of Trayvon Martin.  Trayvon Martin’s life was taken so this man can succeed.  Zimmerman followed the book, written over the generations – the racist, ugly names; the provoked violence for which the Black is blamed, the holier than thou attitude at the end, that the Zimmerman family seems schooled in……………….   This name calling and showing the spite and vicious racist attitude the Zimmermans have towards African Americans has been slathered over and will soon be buried deep under everything else.  Just the fact that the arguments in court were around who was the aggressor says the red herring had already been thrown and Zimmerman was a free man.  After Zimmerman started the fight – the court argument takes up at the point where they could picture Martin as the aggressor and all is well – the jury acquits and justice is served.  For who? Certainly not for the African Americans in this country.  This was a case about racial profiling which resulted in the death of an African American and the courts’ have said ‘ justice was served because the African American was the ‘aggressor’ – and now let the real aggressor go free.

5) The aggressor was clearly George Zimmerman.  Trayvon Martin was going home from the store – he was not breaking into a neighborhood where he did not belong, he was going back to his father’s house.  This 17 year old child, who had never been in trouble of any kind, had an exemplary record, was going home and was followed and threatened by one George Zimmerman who then shot and killed him and there was a question in the trial as to who was the aggressor!  Well – who was the African-American!  In this society, in its criminal justice system,  there is no question that in that circumstance the Black man was the aggressor – let the facts be selectively chosen to prove this case – AND THEY WERE.

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

 

Helping you Keep Cool in the Heat!

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2013

Do you have a difficult time coping with the heat and high humidity?  A recent breakfast conversation around a Bettina Network table just might come to your rescue!

We can’t guarantee results, but this breakfast conversation was intriguing and we tried the suggestions.  It worked for us.  Which reminds me, if you want to be one of those who tests suggestions from Bettina Network breakfast conversations, let us know, we will send you the conversation and you send us your results.

There were many suggestions on how to deal with the heat and high humidity.  The one which intrigued us was the massage with Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Juice.  We’ve heard that before and may have written about it, but given the weather around the country we thought we would take a flyer and risk repeating ourselves.

Everyone has their favorite thing to do when the temperature rises.  We heard about hot tea on a hot day to cool off! We heard about sitting in front of the refrigerator with the door open – one we would not recommend.  We heard about taking hot showers so you could come out of the shower and cool off.  But the Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Juice worked for us.

Take a shower – warm, not hot.  No soap please, just plain water.

After the shower and after you dry off, give yourself a massage with the Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Juice.  You will find it is cool to begin with and as you give yourself a massage you will feel yourself begin to cool down.  If you do this before bed you will sleep comfortably or you can even give yourself a massage, get dressed and go out.  No, you don’t have to rinse it off.

How to find Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Juice?  We tried several and wound up liking the  “Lakewood” brand best.

I went crazy and also massaged my hair and scalp with the Aloe Vera Gel.  Since I was not going out I took the risk of looking horrible to everyone who came into the house if things didn’t work with the Aloe Vera Gel.  I was pretty sure it would not make my hair fall out, but I wasn’t sure about anything else.  I know a couple people in the Bettina Network have tried it, but haven’t shared their trials or results with me.

It worked beautifully.  I have been looking for something organic to give my hair a fuller look since it is starting to thin. This accidental side effect of this experiment worked perfectly.  I added a bit of organic, virgin, expeller pressed coconut oil and that gave a tiny bit of a sheen that I liked.  The two are a perfect combination.  Since then, I also tried clipping a capsule of vitamin E into my hand and massaging it on top of the Organic Aloe Vera Gel and that worked even better.  Which one to use, I think, is probably dependent upon the texture of your hair and how dry or how oily it is.

Another version discussed was Organic Aloe Vera Gel with an infusion of peppermint.  Not only did we find this combination cooling, but it gave us a nice smell during the day – and it is difficult to smell great on a hot day.  Either you try perfume and alienate everyone you come in contact with or you use nothing and maybe you will or won’t make it through the day.

Being a child of the heavy marketing that has gone on over the past few decades, and having been gullible enough to buy their messages it took a while for me to realize they were  selling you the same product in different packages and under different brand names and at different prices, I have developed a horror of smelling and a need to be ‘clean’ – television commercial ‘clean’.   I’ve used every tooth paste, deodorant, lotion, perfume, hair product, etc. that has been advertised to be the person pictured in the marketing and advertising. In the long-run, however, that only hooked me into spending money for nothing except to hurt my health, slowly, over a long period of time, but hurtful nevertheless.   First I was paranoid about having a bad body odor, now it is about just smelling at all.  I even give ugly looks to people who smell of very expensive perfume and other products guaranteed to give you a body-smell-good day if you pay the very high price for the products.  When you think about it, their high price is totally justified because they have to pay for the product ingredients (about 3% of the total price) and that huge marketing and advertising bill.

The only substances we used besides the Organic Aloe Vera Gel and Juice was our favorite Organic Apple Cider Vinegar splashed under the arm in the arm pits.  I wasn’t ready to take a chance of the Aloe Vera Gel alone taking on the job of keeping me smelling nice and fresh on a hot and very active day.  It might have been able to do that, but someone else will have to try that experiment.  My apple cider vinegar splashed on top of the Aloe Vera Gel worked the entire day with not even a hint of a smell.

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

Open That Car Door Wide before Entering

Thursday, July 4th, 2013

copyright 2013 Bettina Network, inc.

We had a guest recently, a frequent visitor from Turkey, who was going with us to an estate sale.  His area of expertise – both education and research – is in materials.

He got to the car door, opened it and stood there for a minute or two.  I wasn’t sure what was causing his hesitation.  I thought maybe he was having second thoughts about going or not, thus his hesitation to get into the car.

When I asked if everything was alright, he said fine, but with the materials they use these days on the inside of cars I hold the car door open a minute or two before getting in because I want to make sure there is an exchange of air before getting into a car.

Wow!  That took some thought.  Hadn’t ever considered off-gases in cars from the materials used in making them as being harmful.  Nor had I ever thought to open the doors and windows before getting in and breathing in all of what would be in the air inside the car.

It has taken a couple weeks, but I am now pretty proficient at opening the car door – waiting a minute or two – and then getting in and going about my business.

It took that long because a lifetime habit of opening the car door, jumping in and going off to wherever is hard to break.  That moment of thoughtfulness had to be programmed into my brain and set as a habit.

I now notice when I get into a car that the air coming in feels fresh – so something was going on before I opened the door that the difference in air would feel so dramatic.  To stay healthy one must always be vigilant and aware of everything going on around us.  The difference these days is with health and lack of health that a few moments over many years in the wrong place can cause.

We pass this along for your consideration and use.  This is just one more good bit of information coming from the experience of bed & breakfast.

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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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______________________________________________________________

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.


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