Blogger, Artist, Social Media, Web Designer, Photographer- I blog about nouns-people, places and things, even when it's negative I try to put a positive spin on it. @tinawinterlikfb https://tinawinterlik.blogspot.com
“I blog about nouns — people, places, and things.
Even when it's negative, I try to put a positive spin on it.”
Today, I’m pausing to acknowledge something big:
This blog has reached 1,000,000 views.
It’s not just a number — it’s a reflection of years of writing, creating, witnessing, documenting, surviving, and sharing. Over 2,400 posts later, through personal storms and global ones, I’ve stayed committed to speaking from the heart.
There were times when I didn’t know if it mattered. Times when the world felt too heavy, or too loud. But I kept blogging — for those who needed connection, for those who were searching, and honestly, for myself too.
This blog has never been about chasing clicks or followers. I turned off comments when things got ugly, and I’ve kept it that way — not out of fear, but self-respect. Not everything needs to be a debate. Sometimes, it’s okay to just speak and let it land where it will.
So, to the quiet readers, the kind souls, and the passersby who stopped for a moment and found something here — thank you.
I don’t need applause. I just needed to be heard.
And 1 million times… I was.
"Reconciliation Means Something Very Different in Canada and the U.S. — And That Matters" by Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
When I hear the word reconciliation here in Canada, it immediately brings to mind the ongoing and urgent efforts to repair the damage done to Indigenous peoples through colonization, residential schools, land dispossession, and systemic injustice. For many Canadians, reconciliation is a process of truth, healing, and responsibility — one rooted in the 94 Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
But recently, I came across the term "reconciliation bill" in the context of U.S. politics, and it made me stop. At first, I thought it might be a bill related to Indigenous justice in the U.S., or something tied to racial healing — but I was wrong. In the U.S., reconciliation means something completely different.
Reconciliation in Canada: Healing, Justice, and Indigenous Rights
In Canada, reconciliation refers to our collective responsibility to recognize and repair the legacy of colonialism. This includes:
Confronting the trauma caused by the residential school system
Restoring Indigenous languages and cultures
Supporting land back initiatives
Addressing systemic inequality in healthcare, education, housing, and justice
Honoring treaties and promoting nation-to-nation relationships
Reconciliation in Canada is about truth, respect, and restoring dignity to Indigenous peoples.
Reconciliation in the U.S.: A Budget Trick
In the United States, however, “reconciliation” is a budgetary procedure — a tool used by Congress to fast-track certain legislation related to taxes, spending, or debt. It allows a bill to bypass the usual 60-vote requirement in the Senate and instead pass with a simple majority (51 votes). This process has been used to pass major and often controversial legislation, including tax cuts, healthcare changes, and stimulus bills.
So when U.S. politicians talk about a “reconciliation bill,” they’re not talking about justice or healing. They’re talking about money — and using a loophole to get around political gridlock.
Why This Matters
Words matter. When Canadians hear the word reconciliation, it stirs deep emotions, a sense of responsibility, and a call to action. But if we’re not careful, these important meanings can be diluted or misunderstood — especially when American political jargon dominates media headlines.
We must protect the meaning of reconciliation in the Canadian context and keep reminding people that this isn’t just a buzzword — it’s about acknowledging truths, restoring rights, and building a future based on respect and justice for Indigenous peoples.
Let’s not let a technical term from another country override the powerful and necessary work still being done here at home.
Want to learn more? Check out the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and support Indigenous-led initiatives in your community.
Hi Everyone, Please watch this moving video and please SHARE WIDELY!!
STAY STRONG!!! STAY FOCUSED!! SENDING LOVE AND LIGHT FROM CANADA!
Come on World show your support.
This election will affect all of us whether you are from the U.S. or not.
"For united we stand Divided we fall And if our backs should ever be against the wall We'll be together, together, you and I"
There's nowhere in the world that I would rather be
Than with you my love
And there's nothing in the world that I would rather see
Than your smile my love
For united we stand
Divided we fall
And if our backs should ever be against the wall
We'll be together, together, you and I
For united we stand Divided we fall And if our backs should ever be against the wall We'll be together, together, you and I
And if the world about you falls apart my love
Then I'll still be here
And if the going gets too hard along the way
Just you call, I'll hear
"Because love's such an old fashioned word And love dares you to care for The people on the (People on streets) edge of the night And loves (People on streets) dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves This is our last dance This is our last dance This is ourselves Under pressure Under pressure Pressure
"
I, I can remember (I remember) Standing, by the wall (by the wall) And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads) And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall) And the shame, was on the other side Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever Then we could be heroes, just for one day We can be heroes We can be heroes We can be heroes Just for one day We can be heroes
Edited: Sorry forgot to add the video. Here it is!
Unlike Bundy, who claims his ancestors were homesteaders on
his ranch in 1877 and never ceded it to the federal government, the
Danns, two Western Shoshone sisters, were not trampling over land set
aside for sensitive plants and animals. Nor were they getting rich off
the land while, in essence, robbing the taxpayers of grazing fees.
WATCH THIS VIDEO
The
Danns have lived without running water or electricity their entire
lives. Their tribe, the Western Shoshone, have lived in Nevada and parts
west since time immemorial. The land was Shoshone land, and the U.S.
formally agreed that was the case when it signed the 1863 Treaty of Ruby
Valley, which explicitly stated that the Shoshone would never have to
give up their land. That is, until the U.S. began encroaching on the
land, claiming it for its own without the tribe's consent or knowledge.
The
Danns' battle goes back to the early 1970s, when the federal government
first sued them to stop grazing horses and cattle on land the U.S.
claimed as its own. The Danns said the land was Western Shoshone land
that the U.S. had taken illegally, and refused to pay grazing fees.
Mary
waged this battle until her death in 2005 at age 82, in an accident
while she was repairing a fence. Carrie, 82 years old, is still
fighting. READ MORE HERE
The land surrounding the Danns' ranch sits atop one of the
most significant deposits of gold ever found in the United States. Only a
few months after the Danns' horses were first rounded up, Nevada's
headlines blared about gold finds in Crescent Valley, at the exact
locations where the horses were removed.
Most of the world's largest
gold mining companies have some interest in the land, which involves
using cyanide to extract minuscule amounts of gold from rock.
Because
the gold dust sits under the water table, it also involves pumping
20,000 to 70,000 gallons of water per minute every day and moving tons
of soil and rock, leaving open pits. The extraction methods are so
energy-intensive that the production of a single gold ring generates 20
tons of waste land.
Carrie Dann is no Tea Party hero. But she vows to fight until her last breath.
"Right is right," she said in an interview. "And wrong is wrong."
The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of waste material.
The production of one gold ring generates 20 tons of waste material.
Update 4:52 2016-01-06 Oregon tribe says armed activists 'desecrating' land
The leader of an Oregon Indian tribe whose ancestral property is being
occupied by a small, armed group opposed to federal land policy says the
activists aren't welcome and need to leave. http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/oregon-tribe-activists-1.3392166?cmp=abfb
Update 4:08 2016-01-06 Well I don't know much about the US and their laws or even if what this lady is saying is correct but I thought I would post it so you can decide for yourselves.
And a Judge posted this Open Letter that I only read part of but you can check it out for yourself.
These Aren't the First Armed Whites to Take Over That Oregon Land: Just Ask the Native Paiute People AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
—we’re going to talk for a moment about the land dispute that’s going on in Oregon. Jacqueline Keeler is with us. We are going to turn to the issue now of land rights. The armed militia members have demanded that the land be, quote, "returned" to them. But who really has a claim to this area?
JACQUELINE KEELER: Yes. Well, I’d like to start off saying that today, in January, this is the 137th anniversary of when 500 Paiutes were loaded onto wagons and walked, under heavy armed guard, from their—from the lands where the Bundys are right now holding it and to the Yakama Reservation in Washington state, some 300 miles, knee-deep in snow. And they were forced to march, shackled two by two. And so, that’s some of the background there.
MY GOODMAN: When you were writing about the Cliven Bundy standoff in 2014, you wrote, "If the Nevada rancher is forced to pay taxes or grazing fees, he should pay them to the Shoshone." Explain.
JACQUELINE KEELER: Yes. The Shoshone—most of Nevada is actually covered under the Treaty of Ruby Valley, and that was signed 1863. And it did allow for passage, you know, of military and also settlers crossing the land. But it did not give up any land. So, the Shoshone have never officially signed a treaty to give up land.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/1/5/these_arent_the_first_armed_whites
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authorities plan to cut off power to militia at occupied Oregon refuge
“After they shut off the power, they’ll kill the phone service,” the
government official added. “Then they’ll block all the roads so that all
those guys have a long, lonely winter to think about what they’ve
done.” Snowstorms
are expected in the wilderness surrounding the refuge on Tuesday, which
is some 30 miles from the town of Burns. At night, temperatures are
forecast to plummet to -8C (18F).
"And we’re not just talking NBC, but ABC, CBS, CNN, the Associated Press, local media … you name it. Ammon Bundy — the son of the infamous Cliven Bundy who dominated the news cycle for weeks in April and May of 2014 during a standoff then — has now taken the Donald Trump mantle of media domination and will likely continue to until this standoff is over"
In truth, though, Cliven Bundy’s abhorrent personal views about slavery
have nothing to do with whether his land grab was right or wrong. The
animating issue in Oregon is slightly different than in Nevada, but not
categorically so. It’s either legitimate to occupy federal land with
weapons, and threaten to use them against agents of the government to
settle petty squabbles, or it is not.
Update: Oregon militants post new video from refuge, plead for help to 'prevent bloodshed'
WOWOWOWOW!
Read this story, I wasn't really sure what all this fuss on twitter with the #OregonUnderAttack was about but it's serious. These people have been abused by the system and people are standing up for them. But it could get messy so please pray and share and educate yourself and others. This could happen to you and your family. What would you do??
Hammond Family
What ever the truth, keep an openmind, are environmentalist terrorist? Course Not!
Is protecting your land, being a terrorist? Ridiculous!!
The short summary is: in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers (“Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,)
who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning
themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven
Bundy family and approximately 100/150 (and growing) heavily armed
militia (former U.S. service members) have taken control of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in the wildlife reserve. They are prepared to stay there indefinitely.
Here are excerpts!! Please read this article to inform yourself.
(a4) By the 1990’s the Hammonds were one of the very few ranchers that
still owned private property adjacent to the refuge. Susie Hammond in an
effort to make sense of what was going on began compiling fact about
the refuge. In a hidden public record she found a study that was done by
the FWS in 1975. The study showed that the “no use” policies of the FWS
on the refuge were causing the wildlife to leave the refuge and move to
private property. The study showed that the private property adjacent
to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge produced 4 times more ducks and geese
than the refuge did. It also showed that the migrating birds were 13
times more likely to land on private property than on the refuge. When
Susie brought this to the attention of the FWS and refuge personnel, her
and her family became the subjects of a long train of abuses and
corruptions.
(e) Shortly after the road & water disputes, the BLM & FWS
arbitrarily revoked the Hammond’s upper grazing permit without any given
cause, court proceeding or court ruling. As a traditional “fence out
state” Oregon requires no obligation on the part of an owner to keep his
or her livestock within a fence or to maintain control over the
movement of the livestock. The Hammonds intended to still use their
private property for grazing. However, they were informed that a federal
judge ruled, in a federal court, that the federal government did not
have to observe the Oregon fence out law. “Those laws are for the
people, not for them”.
(f) The Hammonds were forced to either build and maintain miles of
fences or be restricted from the use of their private property. Cutting
their ranch in almost half, they could not afford to fence the land, so
the cattle were removed.
(g) The Hammonds experienced many years of financial hardship due to
the ranch being diminished. The Hammonds had to sale their ranch and
home in order to purchase another property that had enough grass to feed
their cattle. This property included two grazing rights on public land.
Those were also arbitrarily revoked later.
(i) In the early fall of 2001, Steven Hammond (Son) called the fire
department, informing them that he was going to be performing a routine
prescribed burn on their ranch. Later that day he started a prescribed
fire on their private property. The fire went onto public land and
burned 127 acres of grass. The Hammonds put the fire out themselves.
There was no communication about the burn from the federal government to
the Hammonds at that time. Prescribed fires are a common method that
Native Americans and ranchers have used in the area to increase the
health & productivity of the land for many centuries.
(j) In 2006 a massive lightning storm started multiple fires that
joined together inflaming the countryside. To prevent the fire from
destroying their winter range and possibly their home, Steven Hammond
(Son) started a backfire on their private property. The backfire was
successful in putting out the lightning fires that had covered thousands
of acres within a short period of time. The backfire saved much of the
range and vegetation needed to feed the cattle through the winter.
Steven’s mother, Susan Hammond said: “The backfire worked perfectly, it
put out the fire, saved the range and possibly our home”.
k) In 2011, 5 years after the police report was taken, the U.S. Attorney
Office accused Dwight and Steven Hammond of completely different
charges, they accused them of being “Terrorist” under the Federal
Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. This act carries a
minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of
death. Dwight & Steven’s mug shots were all over the news the next
week posing them as “Arsonists”. Susan Hammond (Wife & Mother) said:
“I would walk down the street or go in a store, people I had known for
years would take extreme measures to avoid me”.
Just to add another twist to this, consider this, the true rightful owners of the land...but then no one owns land...we are just supposed to take care of it right?
YouTuber AsoOmii Jay teamed up with Time Vision Productions to try out a social experiment called the "Blind Trust Project."
In
order to test how Canadians would react, a blindfolded Muslim man stood
at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, with signs that read "I am a
Muslim. I am labelled as a terrorist," and "I trust you. Do you trust
me? Give me a hug."
"I learned my lesson well," ...I never heard this song and I really didn't know who Ricky Nelson was. I asked my friend to make me a Cd and he put this song on there. I was very intrigued and so I looked it up and I then I found the whole story. So sweet and sad. :(
Powerful Message to Remember: You Can't Please Everyone, So You Got To Please Yourself!
Wish I had more time to watch but I have homework.
Heard some interesting perspective from real people. I didn't know it was like that...I never thought to much about it. :(
Sad! I'm saying a prayer for everyone there.
But it will be interesting to see how this interactive documentary turns out. Who else will adapt this idea to their town. What world issues could be solved by similar experiments. Could great things be learned and come out of this project.
This is a great piece, http://youtu.be/bV_041oYDjg with all the turmoil going on the US right now in regards to the debt, and around the world, this is a nice video to remind us of our relationship. Lets all say a prayer and keep positive that things are going to work out for "ALL" of us. Take care today everyone, wishing you all a relaxing Sunday!
and I'm sure you'll agree. I was really surprised that the first video - Wall of Love has 300 views. I thought there was a mistake, but there wasn't. I only put it up 2 days ago, so that is wonderful. Let's see what happens now. Please watch and let me know what you think.
"Shrewdawg" called this the Wall of Repentance, but I disagee with the name. We didn't do anything wrong, some very challenged people did some horrible thing, and I'm not apologizing for their terrible behavior, just as the George Moen, President of Blenz says in his video here.
Last night we went down and took photos of the "Wall of Love". Angel put little gold hearts on the wall - we said we were "Putting a lil' Love on the Wall"
Then some people were making little flags. So Angel made one too!
Art Therapy & The Teachable Moment
We all have a choice to live in LOVE OR FEAR!
Which do you choose?
We had been Downtown less than 2 hours
before the riots started.
We watched live footage on the news and
listened on twitter, in shock & traumatized by
terrible scenes of senseless violence.
We worried about loved ones who
were out working and watched
helplessly as beloved heritage
buildings were being looted
and burned.
Cars were burned.
Innocent people terrorized!
I wanted to show my child that while there
are "challenged people" that will do
terrible things, there are also many,
many good people in this world.
"Puttin an lil' Love on Wall" was very
therapeutic for me and for my 8 year
old daughter as it allowed the energy
surrounding the event to channeled
towards good.
Music by "Prism in the Ether" by Fireproof_Babies
(feat. audiotechnica)
ccmixter.org/files/Fireproof_Babies/27213
is licensed under a Creative Commons license:
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Please Watch the excellent films
2012 - The Revolution Has
Begun, A Message of Hope
Ingrid Tamboline was determined to come down to join a clean-up crew, but wound up conceiving a mini-flag-making project for passersby who want to make a more artistic statement. "I started finding some old rags and ripped them up into squares."
