Thank you Cindy! I love the way you find beauty everywhere and share it with all of us!

Living most of my life in the subtropical climate, I have often thought that it’s easier to keep warm than to get cool but it all depends on how cold or hot. My theory is that more trees, less concrete makes any climate easier to work with. Earth sheltered houses in cold climates and designs like the Polynesian canoe house here help keep the comfort level despite the climate. I’m amazed at the myriad adaptations and designs that work WITH the local conditions to create comfort. I’m looking forward to seeing the new rennaissance in architecture as we shift to more realistic power use. I imagine we will see wildly creative versions of Tolkien’s Elven cities adapted to local conditions all over the world; -)

Back to The Holler expecting hum-drum….but no, The Holler hates hum-drum, so look who chaired the welcoming committee!

Isn’t he a beaut! He’s been hanging around here. His wingspan clocks in at almost exactly 5 inches.
He’s a Ceanothus Silk Moth. His larvae feeds on the wild lilacs (ceanothus) that grow all over Hollerdom.

The adults fly at The Holler in January and do not feed. This is the first one I have ever seen.

If you’re feeling winter weary, here’s a couple of clicks of the tropics to warm you up!

This traditional Polynesian Canoe House is built to catch the tropical breezes and is amazingly cool even on morbidly hot tropical days. Remember Frost saying, if the world ended in fire or ice, he’d “go with those who favor fire?” He is one of my favorite poets, but he must not have spent much time in the tropics…

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Special Report: Money and Lies in Anti-Human Trafficking NGOs

Anne Elizabeth Moore, Truthout: Anti-trafficking organizations are said to do work both progressives and conservatives agree needs doing. Yet despite enormous budgets, and the month of January being dedicated to human trafficking awareness, it’s not clear these organizations can possibly be accomplishing what they claim.

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Paint the Town Red: Syriza’s Historic Victory and the Steep Road to Greek Recovery

C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout: The decisive victory of Syriza, the Coalition of the Radical Left, is a historic event for the Greek left. Still, it would be a mistake to interpret Syriza’s win as reflecting an ideological shift among Greek voters, rather than an act of desperation against austerity.

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Noam Chomsky Blasts American Sniper and the Media That Glorify It

Janet Allon, AlterNet: Noam Chomsky had some choice words about the popularity of American Sniper, its glowing New York Times review and what the worship of a movie about a cold-blooded killer says about the US public. It’s not good.

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Not So Fast, Net Neutrality

Michael Winship, Moyers & Company: Over the last few months, things have been looking good for keeping the internet open to everyone. A little too good, as far as Congress is concerned, which is why members and the corporate lobbyists who write them hefty checks have launched a last-ditch legislative effort to scuttle net neutrality.

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Pardon Granted for One of 17 Women Who Miscarried in El Salvador

Danica Jorden, Truthout: A Salvadoran woman sentenced to 30 years for the alleged murder of her “unborn child” in 2007, when she was just 18, has been granted a pardon. She is one of 17 women currently imprisoned in El Salvador after having unintentionally miscarried during their pregnancies.

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The Deficits Republicans Don’t Want to Talk About

The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: When Republicans whine about the US having a deficit problem, they’re right. It’s not our federal deficit that’s the problem, though. It’s the deficit in our spending on infrastructure, on education and on job creation that’s really keeping our country down.

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In 10 Years, No One in Helsinki Will Even Want to Own a Car: Three Simple Ideas That Are Making Cities Sustainable

Shannan Stoll, YES! Magazine: An app that combines the affordability of ride sharing with the reliability of taxis. Playgrounds built as sponges for reusable gray water. From Finland to California, the cities of the future are here.

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Despite Obama’s Call for Cheap, Fast Internet, Many Cities Aren’t Allowed to Provide It

Leticia Miranda, ProPublica: Obama is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to challenge a wave of state laws blocking the construction of municipal broadband networks, which are high-speed internet services run by local communities. Here’s what you need to know about the president’s proposal.

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Introducing Mrs. Merlin: To Prosecute Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Exposed an Asset

Marcy Wheeler, Expose Facts: The government engaged in a great deal of security theater during the Jeffrey Sterling trial, most notably by having some CIA witnesses – including ones whose identities weren’t, technically, secret – testify behind a big office divider so the general public couldn’t see the witness.

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State of the Union Shows Obama Still Needs Movement Pressure on Climate

Kate Aronoff, Waging Nonviolence: As with most significant progressive reforms in US history, confronting both climate change and extraction will take the pressure of a popular movement that sees climate issues as part and parcel with economic ones.

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The Collapse of Europe? The European Union May Be on the Verge of Regime Collapse

John Feffer, TomDispatch: If the European Union doesn’t come up with a better recipe for dealing with economic inequality, political extremism and social intolerance, its opponents will soon have the power to hit the rewind button on European integration.

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Paul Krugman | A Regime Change in Switzerland

Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.: The Swiss National Bank managed a credible regime change. Unfortunately, it was a change in the wrong direction. By throwing in the towel on the peg to the euro, the bank immediately convinced markets that its previous apparent commitment to do whatever it took to avoid deflation was null and void.

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On the News With Thom Hartmann: We May Have Reached a Climate Tipping Point, and More

In today‘s On the News segment: Human activity has compromised about half of the natural processes that maintain the stability of our planet; BP is being pressured by their investors; the Senate voted 98-1 that “climate change is real and is not a hoax”; and more.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

BuzzFlash

Black NYPD Officers Experience Racial Profiling When Off-Duty

Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: It is pitifully ironic that off-duty Black officers of the New York Police Department have experienced the racial profiling policies of their own police force – but it is not surprising.

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White House Backs Plan to Allow Atlantic Oil Drilling

Read the Article at The New York Times

Natural Gas Line Explodes in West Virginia

Read the Article at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

How “The Left’s Best Chance in a Generation” Won Greece Over: A Guide

Read the Article at Gawker

Gay Legislator Threatens to Spill the Dirt on “Family Values” Colleagues

Read the Article at Crooks and Liars

Netanyahu to US Jews: Get Lost

Read the Article at Mother Jones

Obama Challenges India on Women’s Rights and Religious Tolerance