With a news week like this in the rear view one could hardly blame anyone for feeling an inability to breathe.

Then again, such emotional exhaustion is what’s often counted upon by the ideological opposition.   When they talk of “overwhelming the system”, they are not just talking about societal constructs – they’re also talking about overwhelming your mind, or more specifically your sense of peace.

That way when they create only a half-dozen or so progressively created crisis’s at a time there is a tendency to feel relief.   Until they are stopped, progressives will always find a way to push the envelope still further:

To borrow from Chip Bennett:

This is the treehouse. We engage in conversation.  [Stories] such as [these] represent, to many of us, an example of how our society continues to decline. We discuss it for catharsis; we discuss it to consider strategy to change the societal decline we observe; we discuss it because we are humans, who are wired to process information through such means.

And the people having the discussion – each of whom has found his or her own branch in the tree? They’re my neighbors, too. Just like Charlie Mayes is my neighbor.

The VA boasts one of the largest federal workforces and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki bragged in 2010 that two-thirds of it is unionized. That’s a whopping 200,000 union members, represented by the likes of the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees International Union.   Who were the Orc Footsoldiers who conspicuously helped elect the “Hoax and Chains” ?

Yep.   A self interest exists.   So we know firing “Ship-sinky” is not going to resolve anything, but that’s not the issue.  Knowing the root issue is the stuff from which solutions are forged.

That knowledge is why we assemble.  Remember:

The reason ya’ll are assembled here ain’t because of the likes of me.  It’s because ya’ll like each others company.  Each of you enjoys a little community of peeps, and you’ll share your flashlights on the path so each can find their way safely.  Look to your left, and your right, and you’ll find a great friend to lean on, laugh with, and cherish.   That is what brought you to this place.  Remember that.  

Sometimes things seem weird, and uncomfy, and yes at times a good screamin’ is needed, it clears the air.   Like sittin’ on the porch listenin’ to the neighbors have at each other, it can be unsettling.  But, if you know em’ well, you know that is just life, and tomorrow they might just be listenin’ to your version.

There are some really smart flashlight guides amid our association.   The willingness to share and learn is what makes the Treehouse journey different.

The key thing to always remember is:

YOU ARE NOT ALONE !

Remember that.

The rest is just details.