The people, for whom the Constitution is written to protect and guarantee our life and liberty, can pass Amendments to the Constitution to better secure our Natural Rights.

The next amendment should be against the idea that corporations are ‘persons’ and therefore protected by the Constitution as an individual would be. The Supreme Court is NOT the last word on the matter – they only help us see the light that is needed to make changes to guarantee Democracy in this country.

10 Ways to Stop Corporate Dominance of Politics: http://www.alternet.org/rights/145441/10_ways_to_stop_corporate_dominance_of_politics

YES! Magazine / By Fran Korten

COMMENTS: 30

10 Ways to Stop Corporate Dominance of Politics

It’s not too late to limit or reverse the impact of the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Here’s how.

January 28, 2010  |  

The recent Supreme Court decision to allow unlimited corporate spending in politics just may be the straw that breaks the plutocracy’s back.

Pro-democracy groups, business leaders, and elected representatives are proposing mechanisms to prevent or counter the millions of dollars that corporations can now draw from their treasuries to push for government action favorable to their bottom line. The outrage ignited by the Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission extends to President Obama, who has promised that repairing the damage will be a priority for his administration.

But what can be done to limit or reverse the effect of the Court’s decision? Here are 10 ideas:

1. Amend the U.S. Constitution to declare that corporations are not persons and do not have the rights of human beings. Since the First Amendment case for corporate spending as a free speech right rests on corporations being considered “persons,” the proposed amendment would strike at the core of the ruling’s justification. The push for the 28th Amendment is coming from the grassroots, where a prairie fire is catching on from groups such as Public Citizen, Voter Action, and the Campaign to Legalize Democracy.
2. Require shareholders to approve political spending by their corporations. Public Citizen and the Brennan Center for Justice are among the groups advocating this measure, and some members of Congress appear interested. Britain has required such shareholder approval since 2000.
3. Pass the Fair Elections Now Act, which provides federal financing for Congressional elections. This measure has the backing of organizations representing millions of Americans, including Moveon.org, the NAACP, the Service Employees International Union, and the League of Young Voters. Interestingly, the heads of a number of major corporations have also signed on, including those of Ben & Jerry’s, Hasbro, Crate & Barrel, and the former head of Delta Airlines.
4. Give qualified candidates equal amounts of free broadcast air time for political messages. This would limit the advantages of paid advertisements in reaching the public through television where most political spending goes.
5. Ban political advertising by corporations that receive government money, hire lobbyists, or collect most of their revenue abroad. A fear that many observers have noted is that the Court’s ruling will allow foreign corporations to influence U.S. elections. According to The New York Times, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) are exploring this option.
6. Impose a 500 percent excise tax on corporate contributions to political committees and on corporate expenditures on political advocacy campaigns. Representative Alan Grayson (D-Florida) proposes this, calling it “The Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act.”
7. Prohibit companies from trading their stock on national exchanges if they make political contributions and expenditures. Another one from Grayson, which he calls “The Public Company Responsibility Act.”
8. Require publicly traded companies to disclose in SEC filings money used for the purpose of influencing public opinion, rather than for promoting their products. Grayson calls this “The Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act.”
9. Require the corporate CEO to appear as sponsor of commercials that his or her company pays for, another possibility from the Schumer-Van Hollen team, according to The New York Times
10. Publicize the reform options, inform the public of who is making contributions to whom, and activate the citizenry. If we are to safeguard our democracy, media must inform and citizens must act.

The measures listed above—and others that seek to reverse the dominance of money in our political system—will not be easy. But grassroots anger at this latest win for corporate power is running high. History shows that when the public is sufficiently aroused, actions that once seemed impossible can, in hindsight, seem inevitable.

Fran Korten wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Fran is publisher of YES! Magazine.

Will the people have the support of our Congressional Representatives?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012903835.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/state-of-the-union.html

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf

President Obama has tried to work with the Republican members of Congress but they have done little to support reform and help move America forward. He met with them again Friday:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/30/AR2010013001492.html?hpid=topnews

Meanwhile a change in China’s attitude: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/30/AR2010013002443.html

http://www.cer.org.uk/articles/70_grant.html

YES magazine is very important: http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/4-positive-practical-steps-for-responding-to-citizens-united

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/stand-up-to-corporate-power/communities-take-power

http://www.movetoamend.org/

Groups around the nation are joining together to fight for Democracy! http://www.ultimatecivics.org/map.php

There is a theory that the ruling that equated “corporations” to people was written in by a court reporter who worked for Railroad corporations, and not by the Justices: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County_v._Southern_Pacific_Railroad

Citizen movements are proving that we can take on corporate power, and together build a future that works for all life.

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/stand-up-to-corporate-power/who-will-rule

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/

And  a final moment to remember those great teachers, one of whom died this week, the great Howard Zinn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn

http://www.progressive.org/zinn

A Just Cause ≠ A Just War

Howard Zinn in the July 2009 issue

I want to talk about three holy wars. They aren’t religious wars, but they’re the three wars in American history that are sacrosanct, that you can’t say anything bad about: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II.

Let’s look carefully at these three idealized, three romanticized wars.

It’s important to at least be willing to raise the possibility that you could criticize something that everybody has accepted as uncriticizable.

We’re supposed to be thinking people. We’re supposed to be able to question everything.

There are things that happen in the world that are bad, and you want to do something about them. You have a just cause. But our culture is so war prone that we immediately jump from “This is a good cause” to “This deserves a war.”

You need to be very, very comfortable in making that jump.

You might say it was a good cause to get Spain out of Cuba in 1898. Spain was oppressing Cuba. But did that necessarily mean we needed to go to war against Spain? We have to see what it produced. We got Spain out of oppressing Cuba and got ourselves into oppressing Cuba.

You might say that stopping North Korea from invading South Korea was a good idea. The North Koreans shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t right. Does that mean we should have gone to war to stop it? Especially when you consider that two or three million Koreans died in that war? And what did the war accomplish? It started off with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea. And it ended up, after two to three million dead, with a dictatorship in South Korea and a dictatorship in North Korea.

The American Revolution—independence from England—was a just cause. Why should the colonists here be oppressed by England? But therefore, did we have to go to the Revolutionary War?

I’d be very careful about rushing from one thing to another, from just cause to just war.

How many people died in the Revolutionary War?

Nobody ever knows exactly how many people die in wars, but it’s likely that 25,000 to 50,000 people died in this one. So let’s take the lower figure—25,000 people died out of a population of three million. That would be equivalent today to two and a half million people dying to get England off our backs.

You might consider that worth it, or you might not.

Canada is independent of England, isn’t it? Not a bad society. Canadians have good health care. They have a lot of things we don’t have. They didn’t fight a bloody revolutionary war. Why do we assume that we had to fight a bloody revolutionary war to get rid of England?

In the year before those famous shots were fired, farmers in Western Massachusetts had driven the British government out without firing a single shot. They had assembled by the thousands and thousands around courthouses and colonial offices and they had just taken over and they said goodbye to the British officials. It was a nonviolent revolution that took place. But then came Lexington and Concord, and the revolution became violent, and it was run not by the farmers but by the Founding Fathers. The farmers were rather poor; the Founding Fathers were rather rich.

Who actually gained from that victory over England? It’s very important to ask about any policy, and especially about war: Who gained what? And it’s very important to notice differences among the various parts of the population. That’s one thing we’re not accustomed to in this country because we don’t think in class terms. We think, “Oh, we all have the same interests.” For instance, we think that we all had the same interests in independence from England. We did not have all the same interests.

Do you think the Indians cared about independence from England? No, in fact, the Indians were unhappy that we won independence from England, because England had set a line—in the Proclamation of 1763—that said you couldn’t go westward into Indian territory. They didn’t do it because they loved the Indians but because they didn’t want trouble. When Britain was defeated in the Revolutionary War, that line was eliminated, and now the way was open for the colonists to move westward across the continent, which they did for the next 100 years, committing massacres and making sure that they destroyed Indian civilization.
Did blacks benefit from the American Revolution?

Slavery was there before. Slavery was there after. Not only that, we wrote slavery into the Constitution. We legitimized it.

What about class divisions?

Did ordinary white farmers have the same interest in the revolution as a John Hancock or Robert Morris or Madison or Jefferson or the slaveholders or the bondholders? Not really.

It was not all the common people getting together to fight against England. The founders had a very hard time assembling an army. They took poor guys and promised them land. They browbeat people and, oh yes, they inspired people with the Declaration of Independence. It’s always important, if you want people to go to war, to give them a fine document and have good words: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of course, when they wrote the Constitution, they were more concerned with the pursuit of property than the pursuit of happiness. You should take notice of these little things.

We were a class society from the beginning. America started off as a society of rich and poor, people with enormous grants of land and people with no land. And there were bread riots in Boston, and flour riots and rebellions all over the colonies, of poor against rich, of tenants breaking into jails to release people who were in prison for nonpayment of debt. There was class conflict. We try to pretend in this country that we’re all one happy family. We’re not.

Do you know that there were mutinies in the American Revolutionary Army by the privates against the officers? The officers were getting fine clothes and good food and high pay and the privates had no shoes and bad clothes and they weren’t getting paid. They mutinied. Thousands of them. So many in the Pennsylvania line that George Washington got worried, so he made compromises with them. But later when there was a smaller mutiny in the New Jersey line, not with thousands but with hundreds, Washington said execute the leaders, and they were executed by fellow mutineers on the order of their officers.

The American Revolution was not a simple affair of all of us against all of them.

When considering war you need to weigh the human cost against what you gain from war. When you think about the human cost, generally it’s an abstraction: 25,000 people died in the Revolutionary War; 600,000 people died in the Civil War; fifty million people died in World War II. But you have to look at that cost not as an abstraction, not as a statistic. You have to look at it as every human being who died, every human being who lost a limb, every human being who came out blind, and every human being who came out mentally damaged. You have to put all of that together when you’re assessing that side of the ledger: the cost of the war. Before you ask, “Was it worth it? Was it a just war?” you’ve got to get that side of the ledger right.

Now, the Civil War was an ugly, brutal war. The 600,000 people died is equivalent to five million today. Plus, there was amputation after amputation after amputation done in the field without anesthesia. The real human costs were enormous. Who gained?

In the Civil War, we learn about the North versus South, the Blue versus the Gray. But who in the North? Who in the South? What class divisions were there?

Poor white people were conscripted into a war that didn’t have much meaning for them. They were being drafted when the rich could get out of the war by paying $300. So there were draft riots in New York and other cities. There was class conflict in the North. There were some people in the North who got rich during the war. J. P. Morgan made a fortune. That’s what wars do: They make some people very rich. And it’s the poor who go to fight in the wars.

There was class conflict in the Confederacy, too. Most whites were not slaveowners. Maybe one out of six whites was a slaveowner. Poor white soldiers in the South were dying at a much higher rate than the soldiers of the North. As the mayhem went on, as the bloodshed magnified, their families back home were starving because the plantation owners were growing cotton instead of food. And so the wives and the daughters and the girlfriends and the sisters, they began to riot in Georgia and Alabama in protest against the fact that their sons and husbands were dying while the plantation owners were getting rich.

I mustn’t ignore the positive side of the Civil War. Yes, emancipation. Freeing the slaves. That’s no small matter. You can say maybe the 600,000 dead were worth it if you really freed four million black people and brought them into freedom. But they weren’t exactly brought into freedom. They were brought into semi-slavery. They were betrayed by the politicians and the financiers of the North. They were left without resources. They were left at the mercy of the same plantation owners who owned them as slaves and now they were serfs. They couldn’t move from one place to another. They were hemmed in by all sorts of restrictions, and many of them were put in jail on false charges. And vagrancy statutes were passed so that employers could pick up blacks off the street and force them to work in a kind of slave labor.

So to say that maybe it was OK that 600,000 people died because we ended slavery is not so simple.

Is it possible that slavery could have ended another way, without 600,000 people dead? That’s something we don’t think of. Just like we don’t think of, “Could we have won independence from England without a bloody war?” Remember, there were other countries in the Western Hemisphere that ended slavery without a bloody civil war.

I volunteered to be in World War II and flew bombing missions over Europe. I did it because it was the Good War, it was the right war, it was a just war. After I got out of the war, I began to go back over things and learn about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When Truman dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, I had just finished my missions in Europe, and was going to go to the Pacific for more missions. So when the war ended soon after Hiroshima, I thought, “Wow, that’s great!” I welcomed it. Did I really know what happened when that bomb was dropped on Hiroshima? Did I have any idea what that meant to those hundreds of thousands of people—men, women, and children? No, I did not. When I began to think about it, then I began to think about the people under my bombs. I never saw them. I was flying 30,000 feet above them.

I began to learn something about the reality of Dresden. And I began to learn that three months before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we sent planes over to firebomb Tokyo, and 100,000 people were killed in one night. Later, when I visited Japan and I visited Hiroshima, I met with survivors of Hiroshima—people without legs and without arms and blind and so on—I began to see what that war meant.

Well, you say, we defeated fascism. Did we, really? Fifty million people dead, and yes, you got rid of Hitler and the Japanese military machine and Mussolini. But did you get rid of fascism in the world? Did you get rid of militarism? Did you get rid of racism? Did you get rid of war? We’ve had war after war after war. What did those fifty million die for?

We’ve got to rethink this question of war and come to the conclusion that war cannot be accepted, no matter what. No matter what the reasons given, or the excuse: liberty, democracy; this, that. War is by definition the indiscriminate killing of huge numbers of people for ends that are uncertain. Think about means and ends, and apply it to war. The means are horrible, certainly. The ends, uncertain. That alone should make you hesitate.

People always ask me, “Yeah, but what else were we to do about this, or that? Independence from England, slavery, Hitler?”

I agree, you had to do something about all these things. But you don’t have to do war.

Once a historical event has taken place—Hitler invades Czechoslovakia and Poland, for instance—it becomes very hard to imagine that you could have achieved a result some other way. When something is happening in history, it takes on a certain air of inevitability: This is the only way it could have happened. No.
We are smart in so many ways. Surely, we should be able to understand that in between war and passivity, there are a thousand possibilities.

Howard Zinn is the author of “A People’s History of the United States.” The History Channel is running an adaptation called “The People Speak.” This article is adapted from his speech on May 2 at The Progressive’s 100th anniversary conference.

http://www.progressive.org/node/139128

Remembering Howard Zinn

By Elizabeth DiNovella, January 27, 2010

I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of Howard Zinn. He was a longtime columnist for The Progressive, and his most recent piece, “The Nobel’s Feeble Gesture,” expressed his dismay about President Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here’s an excerpt:

“I think some progressives have forgotten the history of the Democratic Party, to which people have turned again and again in desperate search for saviors, later to be disappointed. Our political history shows us that only great popular movements, carrying out bold actions that awakened the nation and threatened the Establishment, as in the Thirties and the Sixties, have been able to shake that pyramid of corporate and military power and at least temporarily changed course.”

It was a “classic” Zinn piece—piercing but playful, saying in no uncertain terms what needed to be said. It’s not surprising he was a favorite columnist for many of our subscribers. He was my favorite, too.

On matters of war and peace, he was absolute. In our July 2009 issue, he wrote, “We’ve got to rethink this question of war and come to the conclusion that war cannot be accepted, no matter what. No matter what the reasons given, or the excuse: liberty, democracy; this, that. War is by definition the indiscriminate killing of huge numbers of people for ends that are uncertain. Think about means and ends, and apply it to war. The means are horrible, certainly. The ends, uncertain. That alone should make you hesitate. . . . We are smart in so many ways. Surely, we should be able to understand that in between war and passivity, there are a thousand possibilities.”

Haiti: The Aid Masquerade

Being “Liberal” means caring for all People, not just the rich, but for each free being.  We should have an economic system that is based on the Liberty of All People, and the Employee Free Choice Act should be passed, along with Healthcare for all, and end to all War by this Democratic Congress and this Democratic President, or there will never again be a Democratic or Republican President. The Republican Party is dead. The Democratic Party is on it’s last legs. The sham of the first year of this Presidency/Congressional Session has proven to the American People that Real Change will only come when the “Two Party System” comes to an end. We need a progressive party that will work for the rights of All People.

President Obama has taught us as a Nation that the true power lies in the People, the individual participation of people working toward their goals. Life is Liberty and Congress was founded to protect the Liberty of All People.  A Congress not willing to support and defend the Constitution for the Protection of the Liberty of all People, is  a Congress worth changing. That’s why elections for the House occur every Two Years, so the People will not suffer long under a Congress fighting for the rights of individuals vs. society all encompassing.

The title at least of this website sounds interesting: http://livingliberally.org/

Submitted by KAT on Thu, 01/14/2010 – 3:47pm.

The horror in Haiti is beyond anything we can imagine in the U.S., but this apocalyptic catastrophe has something in common with Hurricane Katrina; in both cases, a terrible natural disaster was made infinitely worse by human negligence and incompetence. How many thousands of Haitians could have survived the earthquake if the country weren’t crippled by chronic poverty, shoddy infrastructure, environmental degradation and a host of other ills that have plagued Haiti for centuries?

Many Americans are rushing to send relief and expressing compassion for the devastated nation. But some influential public figures have done just the opposite. Pat Robertson has stated that Haiti brought this tragedy on itself through “a pact with the devil,” while Rush Limbaugh derides the notion that we should provide any further aid to Haiti because, he says, “We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”

Limbaugh apparently thinks that we’ve already done more than our share for Haiti. It’s a shame to see him use his massive platform to perpetuate this idea, because the reality is that much of what we have done in the name of “aiding” Haiti has in fact been far from helpful.

As Tracy Kidder notes in a New York Times op-ed, many of the projects undertaken ostensibly on behalf of the Haitian people “seem designed to serve not impoverished Haitians but the interests of the people administering the projects.”

Consider, for example, the food aid we send to Haiti. Aljazeera’s Inside USA program ran a report last July called The Politics of Rice that explains how seemingly good intentions can have disastrous implications:

Twenty years ago, Haiti produced enough rice to feed its population. Importing rice from other countries like the US was unheard of.

Today, the country of less than 10 million people is the third largest importer of US rice in the world – 75 per cent of the rice eaten in Haiti is shipped in from the US.

Great for farmers in places like Arkansas and Missouri but devastating for farmers in the Artibonite valley, which used to be Haiti’s rice bowl.

In short, it has been our government’s policy to encourage Haitians to give up farming in rural areas and move to crowded cities like Port-Au-Prince to work in sweatshops manufacturing cheap garments for the U.S. and other markets.

The logic behind this policy is that it’s more “efficient” for U.S. agribiz to produce rice than the small Haitian farmers, and that working in a sweatshop gives Haitians a way to participate in the global economy.

Unfortunately, this approach to “aid” has compelled thousands of Haitians to migrate to overcrowded slums and work in miserable conditions. It also left them vulnerable to fluctuations in the global food supply recently, when rising fuel costs and droughts drove up the price of rice.

Annie Leonard, the environmental activist who created the Story of Stuff video and has a superb book by the same name coming out March 9th, documents the terrible consequences of this misguided philosophy in her book:

…global rice prices tripled over a few months in early 2008, leaving thousands of Haitians simply unable to afford this staple food. The newspaper ran haunting images of Haitians who had resorted to eating dirt pies, held together with bits of lard or butter, in order to have some substance in their stomachs.

Had we devoted our resources to “supporting farmers in developing sustainable farming practices, rather than investing in infrastructure and policies favoring garment factories and export processing,” Annie concluded, “a drought in Australia would not have made people starve in Haiti, half a planet away.”

Haiti lies in ruins and we have played a role in fostering the conditions that helped reduce this troubled nation to rubble. Now’s the time to make amends for decades–if not centuries–of neglect and exploitation. Find out here how you can help.

Originally published on The Green Fork</EM< p>

Take Action Now! http://www.congress.org/soapbox/alert/14561711

Enter Your ZIP Code*:

Putting “For The People” back in Government

If not accountable to the American People then who?

When congress ignores the will of the people, it is time for sweeping changes in every election for every position on every level of Senatorial, and Congressional elections. Now THAT IS CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN !

Ask yourself: Am I happy with the lies, payoffs, special deals for top business like AIG, closed doors, pork barrel, planned tax increases for the middle class, no real job creation, sacking medicare, special health care for congress different from what they propose for us? WHAT. . . ARE YOU KIDDING!

Posted by: salkow

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My first submission to my Congressional Representatives from this Website:

Dear Honorable Representatives,

Healthcare for Everyone is the only acceptable outcome of this political process. If you can’t end the War, then you have to provide for the health of all People. Please do not support continued spending on War, in any form. Show the world that we are a country for Life, Liberty, and Justice; Peace and Prosperity with Compassion, for all.

Thank for your time.

Compassion Creates Peace

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Taxpayers for Common Sense:  http://taxpayer.net/resources.php?category=&type=Project&proj_id=2696&action=Headlines

UPDATE: 1,720 Earmarks in Final Defense Spending Bill
Categories: Headlines By TCS, National Security
Tags: appropriations, Defense Appropriations, Department of Defense, fiscal year 2010
Pub Date: Dec 17, 2009

(December 17) The Senate will soon follow the House in passing a $636.3 billion Fiscal Year 2010 defense appropriations bill, the government’s largest spending bill. The legislation contains 1,720 earmarks worth $4.2 billion, 17 percent less in number and 14 percent less in value from last year (remember these are only disclosed earmarks: Major additions such as $2.5 billion for 10 more C-17 Globemaster cargo planes are not included). The four top Congressional appropriators are responsible for 15 percent of the take: Senate Defense Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) sponsored 37 earmarks worth $198.2 million, and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-MS) 45 worth $167 million. Over in the House, Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha (D-PA) sponsored 23 earmarks worth $76.5 million, while Ranking Member C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) got behind 36 worth $83.7 million.

The bill also contains language requiring competition for earmarks that go to private companies—but only for House earmarks. Huh? Well, the House included language in their Defense bill subjecting earmarks to full and open competition, while the Senate bill said earmarks would be competed to the same degree as projects in the President’s budget—an essentially meaningless distinction since DOD already considers their projects competed. The final bill splits the baby by applying the House language to House-sponsored earmarks and vice versa. What DOD will do with this directive we can only guess.

Here’s a preliminary take on the bill’s earmark highlights.

The big:

• $23 million for the Hawaii Healthcare Network, sponsored by Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI);
• $20 million for the National World War II museum in New Orleans from Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-LA) plus Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA);
• $20 million for Humvee maintenance at an Army National Guard installation in Maine, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

The redundant:

• 16 earmarks totaling $47.2 million for regional counter-drug centers, nearly all of them repeat earmark recipients. These include $6 million for the Midwest Counter-Drug Training Center and $3.6 million for the Kentucky National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
• Eight separate earmarks together worth more than $15 million for strategic languages training. The earmarks are sponsored by various lawmakers across both parties and chambers for programs in their districts, such as the Defense Critical Languages and Cultures Initiative at San Angelo University sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) with Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX).

And the just plain goofy:

• $2.4 million for two earmarks installing disabled access aids and a sprinkler system at New York’s Historical Fort Hamilton Community Club, sponsored by Rep. Mike McMahon (D-NY) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY);
• $10 million for an “Inventory for Defense Applications to Ensure Reliability of Short Lead Times” (phew) from Rep. John Murtha (D-PA);
• $1.6 million for “Hi-Tech Eyes for the Battlefield,” courtesy of Sen. Hutchinson;
• And there can only be one “Highlander Electro-Optical Sensors” at $1.6 million from Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA).

————–

A Progressive President with the Support of a Progressive Congress, formed with a coalition of Party’s to eliminate the power and influence of the Republican Party in all elected offices, to support Liberty, Equality, and Justice for All.  There should be no “backlash” of 2010 and the Republican Party should only lose seats in Congress, definitely, not gain any. They have proven to be a bankrupt, dishonest, thieving Political Party and will go down in History as the worst period of Corruption – like the dreaded ‘Steriod Era’ in baseball – the actions of the Republican Party since Richard Nixon has done nothing but damage the ability to protect and guarantee the rights of All People in the United States of America.

The fact they control the means of thought and the space to voice our opinions does nothing to stop the grassroots organization at the heart of the Obama Presidency. As he continues to organize and invite participation of the People, we can learn from him and his Philosophy to bring Great Positive Change to the way we live in the world.

We don’t need to be a country constantly at war. Even if we have enemies. If Christianity can teach us anything, it can teach us that Compassion and love for our enemies is essential for peaceful transformation to occur. The fact that European Empires have attempted to Dominate the World for the last 600 years is not a vindication of the Power of Christ, but a sign that Greed corrupts people easily and allows for the subjugation of any person that those in Power would choose to silence. The struggle for peace and justice as an exemplification of the meaning of Liberty and a Constitutional Government endowed with the authority to protect our Life, Liberty, and Justice, should be immediately brought to an end when they pass legislation that favors one group of people over the benefit of all People.

George Washington, (1787): “The power under the Constitution will always be in the people. It is entrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and whenver it is executed contrary to their interest , or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can, and undoubtedly will, be recalled.” (The Writings of George Washington, by John C. Fitzpatrick, GPO, 1931-44. Vol. 32:2 as found in The Constitution of the United States  “…its only keepers, the people.” – George Washington

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Democracy is the only guarantee of Liberty.

Learn the Constitution! http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/the-constitution

The House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/

The Senate: http://www.senate.gov/

The President: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

http://www.cbo.gov/

http://www.gao.gov/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×4126478

The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt

010610EgyptianChristiansMurderedduringChristmasMass

The Muslims are killing the Christians. They say it was revenge for a rape of a 12yo Muslim girl by a Coptic Christian in November. Then I found a story about two Coptic Christian girls who were abducted by Muslims in July.  The cycle of “Revenge” can last for centuries. How many more centuries will we allow violence to dominate Peace, when Peace is the only guarantee of our Liberty.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_egypt_christmas_attack

AP story:

Gunmen kill 7 at Egypt church after Christmas Mass

AP – Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church, leads prayers at the Coptic Cathedral …

By SARAH El DEEB, Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Writer – 16 mins ago

CAIRO – Three men in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers in southern Egyptian as they left a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas, killing at least seven people in a drive-by shooting, the church bishop and security officials said.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said the attack Wednesday just before midnight was suspected as retaliation for the November rape of a Muslim girl by a Christian man in the same town. The statement said witnesses have identified the lead attacker.

The attack took place in the town of Nag Hamadi in Qena province, about 40 miles from the famous ancient ruins of Luxor. A local security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that seven were dead and three seriously wounded.

This original story about Christmas in January seems to go without explanation, of itself. Why are they celebrating Christmas in January and what does it mean for Christianity?

Coptic Christians – Wiki – Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, literally: the Egyptian Orthodox Church) is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt. The Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which has been a distinct church body since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different position over Christological theology from that of the Eastern Orthodox and Western churches, then still in union. The precise differences in theology that caused the split are still disputed, highly technical and mainly concerned with the nature of Christ. The foundational roots of the Church are based in Egypt but it has a worldwide following.

According to tradition the Coptic Orthodox Church is the Church of Alexandria which was established by Saint Mark the apostle and evangelist in the middle of the 1st century (approximately AD 42).^[1] The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy See of Saint Mark, currently Pope Shenouda III. Around 95% of Egypt’s Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria,^[2] though other churches also claim Patriarchates and Patriarchs of Alexandria; among them:

• The Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
• The Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria
• The Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem

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Coptic_Orthodox_Cross.jpg‎ (219 × 219 pixels, file size: 60 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

This was a Yahoo search this time. Not Google. And these are not in order

Encyclopedia Coptica: The Christian Coptic Orthodox Church Of Egypt

 

Encyclopedia Coptica is Courtesy of

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The word Copt is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, which was, in turn, derived from “Hikaptah”, one of the names for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt. The modern use of the term “Coptic” describes Egyptian Christians, as well as the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language script. Also, it describes the distinctive art and architecture that developed as an early expression of the new faith.

The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of Saint Mark who brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero in the first century, a dozen of years after the Lord’s ascension. He was one of the four evangelists and the one who wrote the oldest canonical gospel. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within half a century of Saint Mark’s arrival in Alexandria as is clear from the New Testament writings found in Bahnasa, in Middle Egypt, which date around the year 200 A.D., and a fragment of the Gospel of Saint John, written using the Coptic language, which was found in Upper Egypt and can be dated to the first half of the second century. The Coptic Church, which is now more than nineteen centuries old, was the subject of many prophecies in the Old Testament. Isaiah the prophet, in Chapter 19, Verse 19 says “In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.”

Although fully integrated into the body of the modern Egyptian nation, the Copts have survived as a strong religious entity who pride themselves on their contribution to the Christian world. The Coptic church regards itself as a strong defendant of Christian faith. The Nicene Creed, which is recited in all churches throughout the world, has been authored by one of its favorite sons, Saint Athanasius, the Pope of Alexandria for 46 years, from 327 A.D. to 373 A.D. This status is well deserved, after all, Egypt was the refuge that the Holy Family sought in its flight from Judea: “When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son” [Mathew 2:12-23].

The contributions of the Coptic Church to Christendom are many. From the beginning, it played a central role in Christian theology—and especially to protect it from the Gnostics heresies. The Coptic Church produced thousands of texts, biblical and theological studies which are important resources for archeology. The Holy Bible was translated to the Coptic language in the second century. Hundreds of scribes used to write copies of the Bible and other liturgical and theological books. Now libraries, museums and universities throughout the world possess hundreds and thousands of Coptic manuscripts.

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/copticpainting.htm

As Christianity spread south along the Nile River, the oldest places of worship were often established in what was once pharaonic temples, though only occasional remains of the paintings on their wall may still be observed. These places of pagan worship that were converted to Christian use included temples at Philae, Abydos, Deir al-Bahri, Dandara, Luxor, Karnak, Madinat Habu as well as Wadi al-Sebua further south in Nubia, among others. 
Theodosia flanked by St. Colluthus and St. Mary

However, some of the oldest surviving Christian art  may be found at Antione, where the Lady Theodosia had herself depicted in her funerary chapel with her arms outstretched in the attitude of prayer. She is flanked by St. Colluthus and St. Mary, who were both natives of he Antinoe area. Here again, the style is quite different then earlier examples of Christian art. Theodosia’s high social status is portrayed by her ornate garments with woven decorations as well as the general sumptuousness of her monument. Also depicted is Christ, represented between two angles. These images appear before animal and vegetal backdrops. The poses and faces of those depicted within this monument, as well as the folds of clothing treated in a simplified manner, place the images in the Byzantine context of the fifth or sixth centuries. 

The rock church of Deir Abu Hinnis near Antinoe, which was hewn within an ancient quarry, has one of the oldest examples of ecclesial (related to a church) painting, which dates from the end of the sixth century.  A frieze here which continues uninterrupted between scenes and is characterized by a variety of poses, depicts many episodes of Christ’s life, including the massacre of the innocents by Herod, the flight of Elizabeth and John, the dream of Joseph and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. Some evolution of Christian is recorded upon the walls of this church, for another frieze dating from the eighth century depicts Zechariah’s life, with more rigid poses and stiff olds in the clothing. Then, within panels, a separate representation portrays the wedding at Cana and the resurrection of Lazarus. 

Muslims Abduct Two Christian Coptic Girls in Egypt

Muslims Abduct Two Christian Coptic Girls in Egypt

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Posted GMT 7-30-2009 20:23:20

            

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(AINA) — Mrs. Samira Markos, who lives in Alexandria, sent an appeal to Egypt4Christ advocacy, pleading with them to rescue her daughter from forced Islamization. The mother said that her daughter Amira Morgan (born 9/9/1992) was abducted on 7-18-2009 on her way to work in the plastics factory near their home.

Egypt4Christ sent one of its members in Alexandria to verify the mother’s plea and met with one of the family relatives who corroborated the story.

“At 10 o’clock of the same morning someone called me and asked if I was Amira’s mother. He introduced himself as Sheikh Mohammed, and said that my daughter is fine and will convert to Islam,” the mother said. “When I cried and begged him to let me have my daughter back, he said he would let me see her again after her conversion to Islam, and ended the call. I tried calling that cell phone back several time, but there never was a reply.”

The mother went to El-Sennin Mosque in her neighbourhood at 1.30 PM, after the Muslim noon prayers, and asked a bearded man emerging from the Mosque regarding Sheikh Mohammed, he laughed and said they have more than fifty Sheikh Mohammeds.

“When I started to cry at the Mosque entrance, one of them came to me and said ‘Listen, mother of Amira, I am warning you not to report the abduction to the police or do anything, the price will be your son Meena (9 years old) being slaughtered in front of your own eyes. I am not threatening, I’m talking seriously.’” He further said “Listen, your daughter Amira will convert to Islam next Friday, and we are now preparing her for that. Now go home and stay indoors until everything is quietly over.”

After getting this message, Samira said that she was filled with terror, went home quickly and took her son Meena and escaped from the whole region, to somewhere unknown.

Samira Markos lives in Alexandria alone with her two children, Meena and Amira; her husband has been working in Libya for the last ten years.

“All the Muslims in our neighbourhood know about the abduction. I could not get hold of my husband, and even my Christian friends have abandoned me as they are afraid of the Salafis who are in complete control of the region.”

Salafi is the name of a movement or sect in which Muslims try to imitate their Prophet Mohamad in every aspect of life. Salafism emphasize the laws and punishments of Islam, and has been equated by some with radicalism and terrorism.

Another episode of Coptic female abduction took place on 7-22-2009, also in Alexandria, when 18-year old Ingy Basta went to repair her cell phone in the Nozha Airport area, and was never seen again. Her father reported the case to the police on 23/7/2009 but she has not been found yet. Ingy was be engaged on Sunday 7/26/2009 to a Coptic man.

Egypt4Christ believes that Ingy was abducted by the same Muslim group which operates in the Nozha Airport area of Alexandria. On 28/5/2009 their Imam falsely accused a Coptic young man of stealing the donations box from the Zawiya corner (prayer room) of El-Nour Mosque, after he refused to convert to Islam. Maged Saad was found innocent of this theft by the court.

Ms Rasha Nour, Head of Egypt4Christ warns that the Alexandria Governorate has become full of intolerance towards Christians, which could lead to a sectarian strife at any time because of the “gangs of Islamization,” who fill all the neighborhoods in Alexandria. “Those gangs are headed by a group of Sheikhs who are backed by the police authorities, but mainly the State Security in El-Faraana, downtown Alexandria,” says Rasha. “One of these is Sheikh Hassan Saber Khalil who is well known to all the police officers. There are other Sheikhs whose names we reserve and will expose if needed.”

The first to report (AINA 7-18-2009) on the lucrative business of the ‘brokers’ of Islamization of Christians, was the independent Egyptian newspaper Al Fagr (the Dawn) in its May 19 2008 issue, citing the city of Alexandria as an example.

The Christianity I have always been most drawn to is Gnosticism. I am a firm believer that the gnostic texts are “Truer” representations of the ideas, beliefs, and actions of the “True” Christians – those who heard the stories of Eternal Love and changed their behavior because of the transformational information that was shared during initiation.

Is there anything we can know about the person for whom Yeshua has been adapted to Jesus?

And what is it that we know of Muhammad?

http://www.alislam.org/holyprophet/

http://www.alislam.org/library/links/Jesus_death/4_Christianity.html

“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah has full knowledge of all things.” – The Holy Quran (33:41)

I believe there can be Peace amongst the People of God.

The only chance we may have is to find that common ground on which Liberty, Truth, Peace, Love, and Compassion rest.

010309EducationforLiberty

Truthout: http://www.truthout.org/10309_Giroux_Freire

“Thus, for Freire literacy was not a means to prepare students for the world of subordinated labor or “careers,” but a preparation for a self-managed life. And self-management could only occur when people have fulfilled three goals of education: self-reflection, that is, realizing the famous poetic phrase, “know thyself,” which is an understanding of the world in which they live, in its economic, political and, equally important, its psychological dimensions. Specifically “critical” pedagogy helps the learner become aware of the forces that have hitherto ruled their lives and especially shaped their consciousness. The third goal is to help set the conditions for producing a new life, a new set of arrangements where power has been, at least in tendency, transferred to those who literally make the social world by transforming nature and themselves.[4]“

What Paulo made clear in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” his most influential work, is that pedagogy at its best is about neither training, teaching methods nor political indoctrination. For Freire, pedagogy is not a method or an a priori technique to be imposed on all students, but a political and moral practice that provides the knowledge, skills and social relations that enable students to expand the possibilities of what it means to be critical citizens, while expanding and deepening their participation in the promise of a substantive democracy.”

We start the new decade with a promise to renew: To re-create ourselves, the world, and nature so that future generations of human beings can flourish to greater heights than we, ourselves can conceive.

120709MyMercyEncompassesAll

The Koran’s Teachings on Compassion, Peace & Love

Gathered & Introduced by Reza Shah-Kazemi, with a foreward by WEndell Berry

The Religion of Islam:     http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/419/

The Divine Mercy of God (part 1 of 3): God the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy

 

Description: A practical explanation of two of the most oft-repeated names of Allah: ar-Rahman and ar-Raheem, and the nature of the All-Encompassing Mercy of God. By IslamReligion.com Published on 09 Oct 2006 – Last modified on 04 Oct 2009 Viewed: 8253 (daily average: 7) – Rating: 4.7 out of 5 – Rated by: 3Printed: 599 – Emailed: 24 – Commented on: 0 Category: Articles > Beliefs of Islam > About God

If someone were to ask, ‘Who is your God?’  A Muslim response would be, ‘The Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.’  According to Islamic sources, the prophets, while emphasizing God’s judgment, also proclaimed His mercy.  In Muslim scripture, God introduces Himself as: “He is God, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed.  He is the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.” (Quran 59:22) In Islamic vocabulary ar-Rahman and al-Raheem are the personal names of the Living God.  Both are derived from the noun rahmah, which signifies “mercy”, “compassion”, and “loving tenderness”.  Ar-Rahman describes God’s nature of being All-Merciful, while ar-Raheem describes His acts of mercy dispensed to His creation, a subtle difference, but one which shows His all encompassing mercy. “Say, ‘Call upon God or call upon the Most-Merciful (ar-Rahman), whichever name you call – to Him belong the most Beautiful Names….’” (Quran 17:110) These two Names are some of the most frequently used Names of God in the Quran: ar-Rahman is used fifty seven times, while al-Raheem is used twice as much (a hundred and fourteen).[1]  One conveys a greater sense of loving-kindness, the Prophet said: “Indeed, God is Kind, and loves kindness.  He grants with kindness what He does not grant with harshness.” (Saheeh Muslim) Both are also divine attributes signifying God’s relationship with creation. “Praise be to God, the Lord of All the Worlds; the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.” (Quran 1:2-3) In a prayer which Muslims recite at least seventeen times a day, they start with saying: “In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.  Praise be to God, the Lord of All the Worlds; the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.”  (Quran 1:1-3) These powerful words evoke a divine response: “When the servant says: ‘Praise be to God, the Lord of All the Worlds,’ I (God) say: ‘My servant has praised Me.’  When he says: ‘the Most Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy,’ I (God) say: ‘My servant has extolled Me.’” (Saheeh Muslim) These names continuously remind a Muslim of divine mercy surrounding him.  All but one of the chapters of Muslim scripture begins with the phrase, ‘In the Name of God, the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.’  Muslims begin in God’s Name to express their ultimate dependence upon Him and remind themselves of divine mercy every time they eat, drink, write a letter, or perform anything of importance.  Spirituality blossoms in the mundane.  The invocation at the beginning of every mundane act makes it important, calling down divine blessing upon this act and consecrates it.  The formula is a popular motif of decoration in manuscripts and architectural ornamentation. “In the Name of God, the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy.”  Calligraphy by Yousef, a Dutch artist. Dispensing mercy requires someone to whom mercy is shown.  The one who is shown mercy must be in need of it.  Perfect mercy is caring for those in need, whereas boundless mercy stretches to those in need or not in need, extending from this world to the wonderful life after death. In Islamic doctrine, human beings enjoy a personal relationship with the Loving, Merciful God, ever ready to forgive sins and respond to prayers, but He is not merciful in the human sense of feeling sorrow and pity for one in distress.  God does not become human to understand suffering.  Rather, God’s mercy is an attribute befitting His holiness, bringing divine aid and favors. God’s mercy is vast: “Say: ‘Limitless is your Lord in His mercy….’” (Quran 6:147) Stretching to all existence: “…but My mercy encompasses all things….” (Quran 7:156) Creation itself is an expression of divine favor, mercy and love.  God invites us to observe the effects of His mercy around us: “Behold, then, (O man,) these signs of God’s  mercy – how He gives life to the earth after it had been lifeless!…” (Quran 30:50) God Loves the Compassionate God loves compassion.  Muslims view Islam to be a religion of mercy.  To them, their Prophet is God’s gift of mercy to all humanity: “And (thus, O Prophet) We have sent you as [an evidence of Our] mercy towards all the worlds.” (Quran 21:107) Just as they believe Jesus was God’s mercy to people: “And that We may make him a symbol unto mankind and an act of mercy from Us.” (Quran 19:21) One of the daughters of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, sent him the news of his ailing son.  He reminded her that God is the One who gives, He is the One who takes, and everyone has an appointed term.  He reminded her to be patient.  When the news of his son’s death reached him, tears of compassion ran in his eyes.  His companions were surprised.  The Prophet of Mercy said: “This is compassion God has placed in the hearts of His servants.  Of all His slaves, God only has mercy on the compassionate.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy, as Prophet Muhammad said: “God will not have mercy on one who is not compassionate towards people.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari) He also said: “The Merciful shows mercy to those merciful. Have mercy to those on earth, and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you.” (At-Tirmidhi) Footnotes: [1] On the contrary, the ‘Merciful’ does not appear as a divine name in the Bible. (Jewish Encyclopedia, ‘Names of God,’ p. 163)

 

Next: The Divine Mercy of God (part 2 of 3): Its Warm Embrace

 

Parts of This Article

The Divine Mercy of God (part 1 of 3): God the Most-Merciful, the Dispenser of Mercy

The Divine Mercy of God (part 2 of 3): Its Warm Embrace

The Divine Mercy of God (part 3 of 3): The Sinner

View all parts together

 

If Islam teaches us anything, it teaches us Compassion:

http://www.submission.org/friday/mercy.html

http://www.quranbrowser.com/cgi/bin/get.cgi?searchstring=7:155-156

http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/73/1/year-2009/dokument_id-15426/index.html

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=18138

http://www.cokahamabooks.com.au/featuredbook1.asp?StoreURL=cokahamabooks&bookid=9781593761448

TruthOut: http://www.truthout.org/1207098

Meanwhile

War Continues. Our President continues to wage war without authorization from Congress. Congress controls the purse strings, and though there are Republicans who want to continue killing people, we should stop them NOW!

Stop Killing. Stop Killing. Stop Killing. Stop Killing.

That is the first rule. Mercy. Stop Killing.

We can change the direction the world is moving in, and we can create a Future for all sentient beings.

But we must start with Peace. We call upon all nations to lay down their arms and forsake War, killing, and terror of fear of repercussion that allows the world to riot out of control. We are quickly losing control of this Nation of Free Beings, the United States of America, who welcomes anyone from around the world who wants to come and participate in this great example of a Land of Liberty – Freedom for All, Equal Justice for All!

Our ideals are what give us strength Mr. President, and we have proven a resilient people, but we are a Democracy of Free Peoples and we demand an End to War; an End to Imperialist policy in any form; and an end to Privatized Government. Our government is of, for, and by The People. It was sad to hear you quote from past presidents who exercised their War Making Authority in crucial and judicious ways, but you would been easy to quote from any number of the Presidents of the United States who have authorized use of deadly force against people of different countries – we have been slaughtering the world for Profit and improved “Economic Standing” in the world – but we have allowed the corporations to shut down industry in this country as it’s been understood for centuries. They have shipped the jobs overseas and therefore increased the Economic Standing of our direct competitors. We wouldn’t do this in a Free Market World, would we necessarily submit our “power and glory” to another nation or empire? Has any past Empire willingly relinquished control of the world, as they had it at their zenith? Why should we?

Peace.

Peace.

 http://www.japanfocus.org/data/US_military_bases_in_the_world_2007.PNG

The Nobel Peace Prize was given to you Mr. President for the hope that you would have the courage and bravery to stand up to the military interest in your own government and begin to withdraw all troops from their bases around the world. Close Guantanamo Base in Cuba first. (737 U.S. Military Bases = Global Empire) Close all American bases in the Middle East from Turkey to Afghanistan, Colombia, Niger, South Korea, Japan, and all of Europe. Announce to the world that our striking capability has been well proven, and our presidents have been hesitant up to now to use them, but they have fully committed themselves, under the continued Bush Doctrine of “pre-emptive” war with a Nuclear First Strike Capability. Bush announced it to the world and Mr. Obama has agreed to continue the Bush Doctrine by continuing to pursue war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Colombia and Niger and Relinquish our continued occupations of South Korea, Japan, and Germany.

In return we vow to adhere to all Security Council Resolutions passed in the United Nations and work in conjunction with our fellow human beings to steer this planet toward everlasting Peace.

That’s the commitment I was hoping would be offered by a President of Peace or a Peace President. But your continued support of the terrorists who overthrew the government in Honduras, to your continued pursuit of vital resources, which are vital to the success and continued livelihood of all nations: water, air, food, and oil, to your continued employment of Bush’s Secretary of Defense and his generals; to your still unsuccessful attempt to bring National Public Healthcare for All Americans; to your continued employment of former Bush Governor of the New York Federal Reserve and it’s Wall Street gang; to your continued silence on the war and violence that is caused around the world due to American policies, we ask you to Resign as President of the United States. But we realize the unlikelihood of such an event, so we must focus on Control of the Congress, where the People are represented rather than the States or The State.  We are in a vital space where Radical Change can take place peacefully for the benefit of all sentient beings.  The time for Bold Nobel Action is required. Act with Peac e and Compassion and you can’t go wrong.

America’s “Noble” Struggle for Liberty? http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=5564

President’s War Powers: http://www.justice.gov/olc/warpowers925.htm

http://www.nanoethics.org/

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/nanoethics-as-a-discipline

http://nanoethics.blogspot.com/

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470084170.html

The Nobel Peace Prize : Past Speeches

http://nobelprize.org/

THe Acceptance Speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. is Oslo, Norway on December 10, 1964

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance.html

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Nobel Peace Prize 1964

Acceptance Speech

Martin Luther King’s Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1964

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation. I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are travelling to find a new sense of dignity. This same road has opened for all Americans a new era of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights Bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a super highway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create alliances to overcome their common problems.

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that We Shall overcome!

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.

Every time I take a flight, I am always mindful of the many people who make a successful journey possible – the known pilots and the unknown ground crew.

So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who have sat at the controls as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You honor, once again, Chief Lutuli of South Africa, whose struggles with and for his people, are still met with the most brutal expression of man’s inhumanity to man. You honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could never have left the earth. Most of these people will never make the headline and their names will not appear in Who’s Who. Yet when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvellous age in which we live – men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization – because these humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake.

I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners – all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty – and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold.

From Les Prix Nobel en 1964, Editor Göran Liljestrand, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1965

Can you post the audio of this speech here?

Congress Abdicates, While Generals Escalate

111709FutureofPeace

On the Front Lines with the World’s Great Peacemakers by Scott A. Hunt

Foreword by Ela Gandhi

 

 

With President Obama visiting foreign capitals and meeting with World Leaders, he is attempting to establish a new level of diplomacy that shows respect for the people of the world. He was in China today. He will be in South Korea tomorrow, but he is not scheduled to meet with the North Korean leader, Kim Jung Il. He said he would be willing to talk with him directly, but he’s not planning on doing that on this first trip to Asia. Have you been keeping track of the order of which he has visited various countries? (post here)

 

 

“Today, when we think about peace, we inevitably think of Mahatma Gandhi (“Gandhiji”) and his epic struggle to demonstrate that nonviolence can overcome even the most entrenched hostility. If recent events [May 2002] have told us anything, it is that a force greater than material wealth-a force driven by all that is good and humane in our society. The Gandhian ideals loom up again as being the most relevant and practical principles that can save us from further harm.

Above all else, Gandiji’s struggles affirmed the importance of peace, for without it there is neither happiness nor justice nor any meaning to our political or social unions. He taught us the very clear lesson that it is easy to postulate principles but very difficult to put them into practice.”Pix

 

The Dalai Lama is on the cover.  President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize already to help him with his Peace Agenda. We elected him to bring Peace to the World and we should help support his every effort toward that end.

 

Can he bring peace while asking to continue holding secrets from the Free American People?

Truthout: http://www.truthout.org/1117097

 

And this while he is in China. Don’t you wish you could witness the meeting between him and Hu Jintao? I would like to see that discussion.

 

 

Mr. President, welcome to the great Empire of China. We welcome you and honor and respect your military might, bought with the money we loaned you, but when are you going to start paying back your debt to us?

Mr. Hu (what do they call the chinese president?), we have no intention of paying back our debt. As a matter of fact, we have you surrounded and we are going to make sure you are never capable of conquering or warring against any nation, including the island nation of Taiwan, which was for 35 years the only ‘recognized’ China. We allowed Communism to flourish in your country because it was the easiest way to control your huge population, but now that you have quadrupled your spending on building up your own military, we’ll have to put an end to your stretching out into the world. Japan, South Korea, and India are our allies, our military is in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. I met with Medved first because I had to have his word that the European Union would support our efforts in this Resource War that will continue between our two Empires. The East has long influenced the West and the West has been highly influential in the East, but if our two Empires can’t learn to live in Peace, than there will be nothing left after our War.

Mr. President, you may not be able to kill 1.1 Billion people and once we have killed 95% of your population, the 5% of our population that survives will still be enough to repopulate the Empire and the World will have nothing to fear of the Great American Empire anymore. And we’ll make your paper money worthless in the process, bankrupting any chance you will ever have to rebuild anything more than a shack in your country.

Mr. Hu, may the best Empire win.

 

 

Hegemon: China’s Plan to Dominate Asia and the World by Steven W. Mosher

 

 

“For thousands of years, China had the largest population, the most advanced economy, and the strongest army of any country on earth. It saw itself as the Hegemon – the eternally expanding power – and its definition of ‘barbarians’ was the peoples it had not yet conquered.

Steven Mosher believes that although this enduring feature of China’s mysterious face is now often hidden from Western eyes, the ideal of the Hegemon is still deeply embedded in China’s national dreamwork, intirinsic to its national identity, and implicated in what it believes to be its national destiny.” (front cover inside flap)

 

 

If Americans think about China, what would they suggest Mr. President should say to Mr. Jintao?

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091117/ap_on_an/obama_china_analysis

 

Analysis: Obama’s China trip shows power shifting

 

 

By CHARLES HUTZLER and JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writers Charles Hutzler And Jennifer Loven, Associated Press Writers – Tue Nov 17, 2:45 pm ET

BEIJING – President Barack Obama’s first visit to China underscored a shifting balance of power: two giants moving closer to being equals.

In this week’s choreographed show of U.S.-Chinese good will, Obama’s pledge to treat China as a trusted global partner won a return promise of shared effort on world troubles — but not much else.

Standing stiffly together in the Great Hall of the People after a morning of talks, Obama and President Hu Jintao talked expansively Tuesday of common burdens and joint efforts on global warming, nuclear disarmament, the anemic economy and other big issues. They dealt coolly with differences over human rights and trade, leaving them out of public view or reserved for coded language.

Their first formal summit featured none of the rancor that spoiled many previous summits between the nations. If there was any pressure on Beijing to make immediate concessions, neither leader let on.

But Obama went into the meetings with a weaker hand than most past presidents. The battering that economic recession and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have given U.S. prestige is felt nowhere more keenly than in a China that is busily growing and accruing global clout.

“The U.S. has a lot to ask from China,” said Xue Chen, a researcher on strategic affairs at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies. “On the other hand, the U.S. has little to offer China.”

Obama’s outreach here continued the type of pragmatic bridge-building he has used in Europe and the Middle East in hopes of earning goodwill that will produce payoffs down the road.

In China, though, the challenge is of a different magnitude. The Chinese government is America’s biggest foreign creditor, with $800 billion of federal U.S. debt that gives it extraordinary power in the relationship. Its military buildup is rubbing up against America’s influence in Asia. And Beijing feels the global recession, sparked by U.S. financial industry excesses, vindicates its authoritarian leadership.

Gone are the days when a U.S. president could come to China expecting the release of a dissident or a trade concession as an atmospheric sweetener. For Obama, he not only didn’t get that, but not one notable shift by the Chinese toward U.S. positions in key areas such as climate, nuclear challenges in Iran and North Korea, human rights or monetary policy.

For Obama, going back home from a weeklong Asia trip with little more than hopes that he’s laying groundwork for better cooperation could sour, fast, on Americans. He was elected in part because of his promises to restore the battered U.S. image abroad. But if the cost of that is too much listening and too little getting, the public could well grow impatient.

One sign, albeit small, that people are growing weary with Obama’s pragmatic humility overseas: A mini-furor erupted in the U.S. when he bowed to greet the emperor of Japan in Tokyo on Saturday. (How low will he go? Obama gives Japan’s Emperor Akihito a wow bow (Updates with videos, pic) | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times) Conservative commentators are calling it another instance of groveling before a foreign leader.

The effect could stretch beyond foreign affairs. Many Americans still think of the U.S. as an unassailable superpower and don’t want presidents who make them think otherwise. Problems in this area could make it more difficult to forge ahead with already divisive health care reforms, make bold choices on a new strategy for the drawn-out war in Afghanistan, or get re-elected.

For China, Hu and other leaders clearly delighted in the show of face Obama gave them. Far from crowing, however, Hu gave Obama a respectful welcome by soldiers in dress uniforms in the Great Hall of the People and in-depth discussions that ran overtime.

At a state banquet Tuesday night, the People’s Liberation Army band serenaded Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and much of the Chinese leadership with American songs including “I just Called to Say I Love You,” “We are the World” and “In the Mood.”

The joint statement that Obama and Hu issued was the broadest of its kind in 30 years of formal relations. It contained expressions of cooperation in relations between their two often-mistrustful militaries, on a human rights dialogue, on space exploration and on shoring up Afghanistan and Pakistan — as well as the big topics of climate change, economic recovery and defanging North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programs.

Chinese leaders, however, are wary of Obama’s charisma. Though they prevented a nationwide broadcast and censored Web transcripts of a town hall-style meeting he held with Chinese students in Shanghai on Monday, students who attended said they found Obama and his rise to the presidency inspiring. Bloggers cheered his appeal against censorship of the Internet.

“It’s wonderful to have the President Obama here,” Lu Hualin, a middle-aged office administrator in Beijing’s business district, said Tuesday. “I didn’t watch the town hall, but it’s pretty obvious that the Chinese really like him for the energy, intellect and charisma he brings to the conversation. I think we’ll welcome anyone who has an agenda to better the world and work toward world peace.”

Obama’s talk about “shared burdens” among global partners both flatters and troubles a Chinese leadership consumed with guiding a rapidly changing society that is expecting freer expression and rising living standards.

“Obama is more cooperative and respectful. But the secret meaning of this smart diplomacy is to show a smiling face while taking money out of your pocket,” said Jin Canrong, an international affairs expert at Renmin University. “Many partners, including China, are not ready to take on that responsibility.”

Given the conflicting agendas, a danger is that the U.S. and Chinese governments may misinterpret how far each is willing to accommodate the other. Hints of discord were evident beneath the edifice of cooperation in Obama’s and Hu’s joint appearance Tuesday.

On North Korea and Iran, Obama said negotiations provided a way forward but stressed that should they fail both countries would face consequences. With China’s budding energy investments in Iran and worries about instability in neighboring North Korea, Hu merely cited a need for continued talk.

Hu said each country should respect the other’s “core interests” — code for Washington to end arms sales for Taiwan and support for the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan exiled government. The Xinhua News Agency later quoted Hu as saying Washington should also ban advocates for Muslim ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang, the western China region where anti-Chinese rioting flared anew this summer.

Said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs later: “I did not expect, and I can speak authoritatively for the president on this, that we thought the waters would part and that everything would change over the course of our almost two-and-a-half-day trip to China.”

___

EDITOR’S NOTE — Charles Hutzler is AP’s Beijing bureau chief; Jennifer Loven is AP White House correspondent.

 

The AP story about the ‘power shift’ in US/China relations quietly summarizes the events of today with the scope of history without delving too deeply into the motivations of each side.  We need to contemplate the true meaning of Peace so that we can engage China and the rest of the nations with Peace. First, we have to stop fighting.

 

First, we have to stop fighting.

 

We have to encourage our allies to stop fighting also. Starting with Israel, who just agreed to start building more illegal settlements in Palestinian Jerusalem, which Israel has illegally occupied (with our support) since the 1967 war against Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.

Israel Advances Plan to Expand Settlement in Gilo, Jerusalem – NYTimes.com

 

ei: 1967 War (5-10 June 1967)

The Six-Day War

Myths & Facts – The 1967 Six-Day War

 

What do Free Americans think of the continued occupation of Palestine?

What do Free Americans think about the continued occupation of Germany, Japan, and South Korea by US Military forces?  

What do Free American people think about presidents using military force against other nations without an act of war being declared by Congress?

Will Free Americans continue to support representatives who continue to authorize the funds for this constant warring? 

 

We can help bring Peace to this world. Vote for Peace. End War.

 

United for Peace and Justice: United for Peace & Justice 

United for Justice with Peace | United for Justice with Peace is a coalition of peace and justice organizations and community peace groups in the Greater Boston

Submitted by ujpadmin on Mon, 11/16/2009 – 3:27pm.

For weeks, the US military has been openly pressing for an escalation of the war in Afghanistan as more troops are being sent daily. According to recent reports, President Obama is preparing to add another 40,000 troops to those already deployed. If this trend continues we will face another supplemental funding request for a war we can ill-afford.

Where’s Congress? According to reports from the grassroots, when constituents call their offices, most staffers can’t say where their Representative or Senator stands on the issue. They are waiting to hear from the President, many explain. Those who do oppose the escalation prefer to mute their differences with the White House.

 

 

Discover the Networks

 

From the brilliant Hebrew poet Yehudda Amichai:

I, may I rest in peace –I, who am still living, say,

May I have peace in the rest of my life.

I want peace right now while I’m still alive.

I don’t want to wait like that pious man who wished for one leg

of the golden chair of Paradise, I want a four-legged chair

right here, a plain wooden chair. I want the rest of my peace now.

I have lived out my life in wars of every kind: battles without

and within, close combat, face-to-face, the faces always

my own, my lover-face, my enemy-face.

Wars with the old weapons – sticks and stones, blunt ax, words,

dull ripping knife, love and hate,

and wars with newfangled weapons — machine gun, missile,

words, land mines exploding, love and hate.

I don’t want to fulfill my parents’ prophecy that life is war.

I want peace with all my body and all my soul.

Rest me in peace.

 

P93-tFoP

 

Yehuda Amichai – Poets.org – Poetry, Poems, Bios & More

 

 

Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China

111509ReligionsofPeace

A Call for Solidarity to the Religions of the World byFrancis Cardinal Arinze

Understanding Peace

The Essence of Peace

When we say “peace” we mean the tranquility of order.  We mean the situation of justice and tightly ordered social relationships that is marked by respect for the rights of others, that provides favorable conditions for integral human growth, and that allows citizens to live out their lives to the full in calm and joyful development. P1

Every religion has Peace at the heart of its understanding, and as the aim of it’s efforts in the world. But few in power today would claim to be not religious, and yet they wage war…how can we allow these people of the religions to wage war, when they strive for Peace only?

http://www.wcrp.org/

http://www.rfpusa.org/

American should be a fruitful soil for the Peace of all Religions to flourish because we guarantee the Freedom of Religion precisely so people of different faiths can live peacefully together.

Member Religions

 

Buddhism

Christianity

Hinduism

Islam

Jainism

Judaism

Native American

Shinto

Sikh Faith

Taoism

Unitarian Universalism

Zoroastrianism

 

 

 

There is more than just one religion.

 P44 is in China and Time magazine had an article on Yahoo news today about what America can learn from the Ancient Empire of China: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091115/us_time/08599193867100

 

•  

AP – U.S. President Barack Obama arrives at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Nov. …

• Slideshow:President Barack Obama
• Play Video Video:‘Pacific’ President Obama vows full US role in Asia AFP
• Play Video Video:Group decries China’s secret jails Reuters

By BILL POWELL / SHANGHAI Bill Powell / Shanghai – Sun Nov 15, 12:50 pm ET

On the evening of Nov. 15, President Barack Obama, the youthful leader of one of the world’s youngest countries, begins his first visit to China, among the world’s most ancient societies. Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, have much to discuss. Nukes in Iran and North Korea. China’s surging military spending. Trade imbalances. Climate change.

But the visit comes at an awkward moment for the U.S. China, despite its 5,000-year burden of history, has emerged as a dynamo of optimism, experimentation and growth. It has defied the global economic slump, and the sense that it’s the world’s ascendant power has never been stronger. The U.S., by contrast, seems suddenly older and frailer. America’s national mood is still in a funk, its economy foundering, its red-vs.-blue politics as rancorous as ever. The U.S. may be one of the world’s oldest capitalist countries and China one of the youngest, but you couldn’t blame Obama if he leaned over to Hu at some point and asked, “What are you guys doing right?” (See pictures of people around the world watching Obama’s Inauguration.)

Could the world’s lone but weary superpower actually learn something from China? It’s a politically incorrect question, of course. China is an authoritarian nation; its ruling Communist Party deals ruthlessly with any challenge to its hegemony. It remains, relatively speaking, a poor, developing country with huge problems to confront, massive corruption and environmental degradation being Nos. 1 and 1a. Still, this is a moment of humility for the U.S., and China is doing some important things right. If the U.S. were to ask the Chinese what it could learn from their example, it might gain some insight into what it’s doing right and wrong. Here are five lessons from China’s success story:

 

What would you say are the 5 things America could learn?

 

RFP: “With admirable unanimity, the religions of the world teach the Golden Rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. This is a key foundation for peace.

 

The people of the world want Peace, they want peace for themselves and for their families. Now is the time, before we destroy the earth and make it uninhabitable by human beings. We’ve been secretly living with this fear ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki illustrated the violent capability that was now in available for any warring country. We talk a lot about limiting the expansion of nuclear weapons, but the truth is, we live in a world, Right Now, that can be destroyed with the push of a button. We may not talk about, and we may not live our lives as if that is true, but no matter what else is happening with the world, know that someone can destroy the world with a push of a button and the likelihood of something triggering a nuclear event only increases as nations fight nations for global dominance. One of my favorite themes, as you’ve noticed, is the wars of violence and oppression that we inflict on the world, and have done so for decades now.

 

Another one of my new books, which I don’t want to spend too much time talking about today, because I want to focus on Peace, is The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., winner of two Pulitzer Prizes

 

 

On the cover of this book are former presidents, G.W. Bush, R. Reagan, J. Carter, G. Ford, and R. Nixon, 4 Republicans and one , 1 term, Democrat. It would be easy to imagine that an ‘imperial president’ is a Republican president, but we would be keen to look at the terms of F. Roosevelt, H. Truman, J. Kennedy, and L. Johnson; and we should look at how much money they spent on War, how many people they killed, and how many nations we’ve attacked. What would that list look like? Of course, we have to include W. Clinton, and G.H.W. Bush also. And, since we’re looking, let’s look at the current president, B. Obama and know that every day we allow him to continue to command a military at war in 4 countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Colombia), then we are all murderers and rapists. Only those who work vigilantly for peace and justice on a daily basis can have any leg to stand on.

 

US Presidents and Wars

 

 

http://opengov.ideascale.com/a/dtd/3161-4049

 

Why democracy matters: http://www.sevenstories.com/book/?GCOI=58322100034730

I like Bill Moyers: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2008/09/the_imperial_presidency.html

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/12/takeover_the_return_of_the_imperial

http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2009/10/31/the-cult-of-the-imperial-presidency/

 

Obama was criticized for having been a member of the Reverend Wright’s congregation because of a few clips that gained national media attention about his ‘praise’ of America, and when in his honesty, he called America out for its constant violence upon the world, he was ‘bashed’ and slimed to the point that Obama could no longer claim him as a ’spiritual mentor’, someone who had married he and Michelle, and yet, had to be removed because of his ‘fiery rhetoric’. (Post some old news clips here). But what if Obama had learned from Rev. Wright the importance for a Man of Peace to be President of the United States.

 

American Leadership and War 

LA Times: War Presidents

 

War and Peace. It’s time to define our Generation as the one that established Peace between nations and Peace between all peoples. Who can help?

 

Charity Navigator Rating – World Conference of Religions for Peace

 

An Interfaith Calendar would help us see each day the beauty that is Peace and Love in every religion.

 

2009 Women’s Interfaith Calendar | World Conference of Religions for Peace

 

Religions for Peace and Millennium Campaign forge alliance against poverty – Vision of Humanity

 

 

 

1113091933tSupportEconomy

Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism

by Shoshana Zuboff, author of In the Age of the Smart Machine and

James Maxmin

 

“A dazzling blend of business vision, history, social psychology, and economics, The Support Economy starts with a compelling premise: People have changed more than the corporations upon which their well-being depends. In the frustration and rage that now separate individuals from organizations lie the keys to wholly new economic order.”

Front Cover Inside Flap

 

Democracy is the form of government upon which we agree to honor the Liberty of All People by recognizing the Equality of all people.  Corporations that by definition don’t care for people, can’t continue into the future, because people, ultimately, have the power to organize their world in ways that benefit all people, not just the Rich Elite Class that is trying to keep the world imprisoned until the Wealth of Anything can be achieved. We have to think about new ways of interaction that can help benefit all people. Perhaps that is what this book is about?

 

The Support Economy | Fast Company

 

http://supporteconomy.freedomlab.org/2007/04/09/markets-for-trust/

 

http://www.experience-economy.com/2005/12/02/the-support-economy/

 

TruthOut: http://www.truthout.org/1113095

 

The “Abortion” Bill? http://www.truthout.org/1112095

 

President Obama was in Japan, talking about East-West relations:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama

“Indigenous cultures and economic growth have not been stymied by respect for human rights, they have been strengthened by it,” the president said. “Supporting human rights provides lasting security that cannot be purchased in any other way.”

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091114/ap_on_re_us/obama

 

Watch Video Here:

 

Mr. President, when you were talking about justice today, discussing the trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed  in NYC, you said you are “absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it and my administration will insist on it.”  I would hope that that same zeal which you pursue Justice with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, you will also pursue with the former president or presidents, and their staffs, who have acted against the Constitution: Traitors who can be tried for High Treason.

 

The freedom of information Amendment, being passed by the american public, will force presidents, their administrations, and any other Government Representative,  to Act in the light of Transparent Freedom. A new book I received helps give us some understanding of this ultimate battle between a free people and it’s attempted Oppressors.  They say Knowledge is Power – that’s why they hide everything:

 

http://news.google.com/news/more?cf=all&ned=us&ncl=dyJkwVoCXK6xTdMzCvBRuI1NfzaJM&topic=h

 

 

Secrecy Wars: National Security, Privacy, and The Public’s Right to Know

by Philip H. Melanson

Foreword by Anthony Summers

 

http://openlibrary.org/b/OL8743180M/Secrecy_Wars

 

http://library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/doc/displays/Pages/0609FOIA/FOIA.htm

 

AlterNet: Escalating Secrecy Wars | | AlterNet

 

“Any sources and methods of intelligence will remain guarded in secret. My administration will not talk about how we gather intelligence, if we gather intelligence, and what the intelligence says. That’s for the protection of the American people.”
– President George W. Bush, New York Times, Sept. 14, 2001

“The seriousness of the [unauthorized disclosures] issue has outpaced the capacity of extant administrative and law enforcement mechanisms to address the problem effectively.”
– Attorney General John Ashcroft, Letter to the Speaker of the House, Oct. 15, 2002

For an administration obsessed with secrecy, the recent musings of Dr. James B. Bruce might be just what the doctor ordered. In the current edition of Studies in Intelligence, Dr. Bruce recommends “stiff new penalties to crack down on leaks, including prosecutions of journalists that publish classified information,” according to the May 22 edition of Secrecy News.

Last summer, Dr. Bruce, a veteran CIA employee, told the Institute of World Politics that “We’ve got to do whatever it takes — if it takes sending SWAT teams into journalists’ homes — to stop these leaks.” According to NewsMax.com, a right wing online publication, Bruce declared that “Somehow there has evolved a presumptive right of the press to leak classified information. I hope we get a test case soon that will pit the government’s need to prosecute those who leak its classified documents against the guarantees of free speech. I’m betting the government will win.”

In his latest attack on leakers, titled “The Consequences of Permissive Neglect: Laws and Leaks of Classified Intelligence” (Studies in Intelligence: Journal of the American Intelligence Professional — Volume 47, No. 1, 2003), Dr. Bruce maintains that intelligence gathering efforts and secrecy “is under assault,” from the U.S. press which acts as an “open vault of classified information on U.S. intelligence collection sources and methods.” The problem is being exacerbated by “the scope and seriousness of leaks coupled with the power of electronic dissemination [of information] and search engines.”

 

 

This article was written in 2003. People were afraid to say anything in opposition of “the Government” because we had “been attacked by Islamic Extremists, Al-Qaeda, an organization of international millionaires made rich by the oil we want to exploit for our economic development over the last century” or something to that effect.  I guess we’ll learn more about how the attacks which occurred on September 11, 2001 were planned at the trial of almansuri, but we have known very little about the illegal actions the Bush Administration carried out under the pretense of an undeclared War, and which Congress allowed, and often worked in conjunction with the President, to eliminate personal freedom in this country forever. Some people called it the Security State, but others call it the Evil Empire, a term former president Reagan used to illustrate the great threat the Soviet Union posed to ‘world freedom’. It wasn’t more than a term to deceive Americans into believing that it was important, nay even necessary to spend billions of more dollars on our military development, at the expense of the People of the United States, but for the benefit of a small cabal of world terrorists who have danced across the global stage in Emperor’s Clothes…

 

“Introduction

Secrecy and Democracy

I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves, and if we think them no enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome direction, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their decision.  – Thomas Jefferson”  P1

 

We have a lot to learn Mr. President, please help us learn. Help us learn the truth. I hope that’s what Diplomacy is all  about because if we can only act in our “best interest” than this constant Warring on the World has to End.

 

I want to visit the Esalen Institute:           http://www.esalen.org/

 

Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esalen_Institute

Esalen Institute is a retreat center in Big Sur, California, United States, for humanistic alternative education and a nonprofit organization devoted to multidisciplinary studies ordinarily neglected or unfavored by traditional academia “in subjects ranging from meditation to massage, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, art, music, and much more.”[1] Esalen offers more than 500 public workshops a year in addition to invitational conferences, residential work-study programs, research initiatives, and internships. Part think-tank for the emerging world culture, part college and lab for transformative practices, and part restorative retreat, Esalen is dedicated to exploring work in the humanities and sciences that furthers the full realization of what Aldous Huxley called the “Human Potential“.

 

There were a lot of important ideas being developed in the 1960’s that the government worked hard to suppress. The “Human Potential” movement is one of them.

The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in most people. The movement took as its premise the belief that through the development of “human potential”, humans can experience an exceptional quality of life filled with happiness, creativity, and fulfillment. As a corollary, those who begin to unleash this assumed potential often find themselves directing their actions within society towards assisting others to release their potential. Adherents believe that the net effect of individuals cultivating their potential will bring about positive social change at large.

 

Imagine if the last 40 years we could have spent 3.5 trillion dollars on this idea instead of War?

 

From the Economist: Esalen and spirituality | iThou.org

 Spirinomics

 

 

111009 UniversalCompassion

Inspiring Solutions for Difficult Times by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

If only we could ever learn everything in a book. Should we linger on a page or two, instead?

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Universal Compassion.org

Topia.net: Envisioning Universal Compassion: A “Topian” Worldview

Another new book for my library, The Political Mind: Why you can’t Understand 21st-Century American politics with an 18th-Century Brain.

By George Lakoff, author of the New York Times bestseller, Don’t think of an Elephant.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A645846

See him on Daily Show or Colbert Report? Post here.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826586.300-review-ithe-political-mindi-by-george-lakoff.html

I’m also watching The Unmistaken Child                http://www.unmistakenchild.com/film.php

George Lakoff

The political mind is changing as is the social mind. Technosphere is growing around us like a bubble and we are becoming clouded around us with activity, like little atoms combining and recombining in various forms for various purposes. Being at One with that Constant Activity is what life is all about. Always Present. Always Now.

Religious tolerance is a concept few Americans have come to properly understand. We have not yet learned how to enjoy the Freedom that has been recognized as a natural right of all human beings, man, woman, transgendered, because we know everything can change, so it can be hard for us to conform. Conformity has often been cited as the rule of law or civilization, but really its about Control and Freedom. When Ahura Mazda gave to Zarathustra the Emerald Stone of Enlightenment, he buried it underneath a fire,  asking that it never be extinguished. For 9500 years now, that flame has been burning. The village of Chak Chak, or Pir-e Sabz in Iran, which has kept the fire burning since the Aram Muslim invasions of the 7th century. Though the Arab Muslims have long been warriors, the US Military probably has plans to destroy that holy relic. Can someone please tell me if the president is going to send more troops to Afghanistan?

He spoke at Ft. Hood today and I only caught the tail end on the radio at lunch, and I will watch the whole thing tonight, but I’m immediately struck that he made no mention of the “Psychosis of War” the PTSD trauma that most suffer. But more deeply, the depravity we inflict on other nations when we make such a huge fuss over a few soldiers and civilians killed on american soil – we are War, Mr. President, because you continue to fight this unjust war in the name of a false Righteousness. We cannot condemn the man who killed all the people at Ft. Hood, but then how can we rightly look ourselves in the mirror and not feel the same intense repulsion for the bombings and murdering and killing and maiming the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and the dozens of countries we have Attacked over the past 20 years, since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the end of Communism. The mistake we have made was in not supporting the Democracy Advocates who were protesting in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, formerly Peking, China. Or the democracy advocates in 1949 China. Why did we let Communism spread to China?

By not supporting democracy around the world, we have allowed the Peace of the 21st Century to begin with War and Violence around the globe, using CIA thugs and Private “Security” Firms to impose “American Law & Order” on the world. But Mr. President, for whatever reason you have decided to not investigate or prosecute, but have even gone so far as to continue to employ the very people who were directly responsible for carrying out the illegal orders of a President, should also be investigated. The only way peace can come to the world is through an understanding of the Truth, and that Mr. President you have no right to hide! We protested when the last president didn’t want to release photos of the dead soldiers arriving from Afghanistan the last 8 years or Iraq the last 6 years, but everyone must be held Accountable to the American People. Have you assigned a special prosecutor? Was the deal that the Republican Party would get to oppose your every move if only because you are a Democrat, and you don’t investigate or prosecute President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney? But you are continuing some of their policies, some of which might put you under the eyes of Truth and Justice, but you are an Honorable Man and I know you want the Truth. Mr. President, please release all the records of the George W. Bush administration, and everyone who wants to know about the actions of the last 8 years can read for themselves. Can you consider that an FOI request?

I don’t know if the Doctor who killed all those people in Ft. Hood will tell us honestly why he did what he did, but a person has to wonder if he wasn’t trying to show America the hurt we inflict on other countries, so that we may find Compassion within us to End the Wars. Perhaps it’s the big slap in the face that America needs to wake-up….A US Soldier, trained and armed by the Army, has killed 12 people, and wounded several others. We haven’t been able to see the violence our military has done to other people in other countries, and we haven’t yet seen footage of this carnage, but the truth is, WE KILL PEOPLE EVERY DAY around the world. We can stop doing that now.

Compassion Creates Peace – I don’t know what that would sound like in tibetan or pali sanskrit, but I would like to hear it.

Tune in. Will have a whole different meaning next year.

I have faith that we have elected a Wise Man and though he is cautious in his steps, I wish him to take bold decisive action. Lacking that, allow us to see all the documents of his administration. These are Public Servants, and they have no right to hide anything for any purpose. The concept of “National Security” should denote something even more important for all the public to be made aware of: it means we are in danger and the best thing to protect against danger, is not by striking at it first, blind and unknowingly, but to be prepared, adapt, and flourish. Our government is not allowed to have secrets from the american people, that is the purpose of a free press. https://www.opensecrets.org/index.php  has been an important site for me.

http://www.dharma-media.org/ratnashripj/dwnld/ChenrezigWallpaper.html

I haven’t been following any bloggers, but I’m starting to find some:

http://lightseekinglight.blogspot.com/2005/03/also-sprach-zarathustra-bush-bush-kush.html

 I thought the timing of his cartoon was appropriate.

 http://www.irpedia.com/iran/best/1331/

http://www.iaram.ir/index.php?sn=staticPages&pt=zoroastrian&lang=en

Forgive me for contacting an Imam by visiting his website….Religious Tolerance is going to be a hard lesson for Americans to learn. They barely have learned to deal with race, now we want to ask them to think of religion also.

Universal Compassion. Say it with me! Universal Compassion. (How does that sound in tibetan buddhism?)

 If we could know the music of Zoroaster, would it sound like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n3Op_EWyEg

Or would it sound like the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQVxrMZB18

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1208233/posts

http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/chakchak&page=all

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Iran/East/Yazd/

http://clatterymachinery.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/life-and-death-from-beijing-a-poetry-sequence-from-luisetta-mudie-and-dreamer-fei/

http://tsquare.tv/

Japan eyes solar station in space

110809GrowYoungerLiveLonger

10 Steps to Reverse Aging by Deepak Chopra, M.D. & David Simon, M.D.

Yesterday our House of Representatives passed “historic” healthcare legislation:

TruthOut:

http://www.truthout.org/1108091

House Passes Sweeping Health Care Reform Legislation

Sunday 08 November 2009

by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Report

(Photo: wallyg / Flickr)

Saturday began with a morning pep talk from President Obama during a private meeting with Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill and a public appeal from the presidential podium in the Rose Garden shortly thereafter.

“Rise to this moment,” said Obama, who has made health care reform his top domestic priority. “Answer the call of history…finish the job.”

At around 11:15 p.m. EST, more than 12 hours after they began to debate the historic $1.1 trillion health care reform bill, Democrats had secured enough votes to pass the legislation, which would create a government-run plan known as a “public option” to compete with the private sector and extend affordable insurance to 36 millions of Americans who currently lack coverage. The measure would take effect by 2013.

The legislation passed by the thinnest of margins – 220 to 215 – with 39 Democrats voting against the plan and one Republican,
Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, (R-Louisiana), crossing party lines to vote with Democrats. Cao’s vote technically fulfills Obama’s pledge to get a bill passed with bipartisan support. The final roll call vote can be found here.

Thirty-one of the 39 Democrats who opposed the bill are from districts that Republican Senator John McCain won during last year’s presidential election and a third are freshmen lawmakers, the New York Times reported.

“Nearly all of the fourteen freshmen Democrats who voted ‘no’ represent districts that were previously Republican and are considered vulnerable in 2010. Geographically, 22 lawmakers from southern states formed the largest opposition bloc.”

In a statement, Cao said he voted in favor of the bill in order to “keep taxpayer dollars from funding abortion and to deliver access to affordable health care to the people of Louisiana.

“I read the versions of the House [health reform] bill,” Cao said. “I listened to the countless stories of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health care costs are exploding – if they are able to obtain health care at all. Louisianans needs real options for primary care, for mental health care, and for expanded health care for seniors and children.”

This is the first time since 1965, when Congress passed legislation to create Medicare, that lawmakers have approved a bill to expand health care coverage.

In fact, to commemorate that historic day, Democrats gave
Rep. John Dingell, (D-Michigan), the longest serving member in the House, the gavel as lawmakers spent three hours establishing the terms of Saturday’s debate.

The last time Dingell presided over the chamber was 1965, the year lawmakers approved the Medicare bill. Dingell’s late father, who was also a Congressman, introduced a universal healh care bill in 1933 and, in 1955, when
Rep. Dingell replaced his father in Congress, he continued the tradition by introducing a national health insurance bill every year.

“Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America,” Obama said in a statement after the House passed the bill. “Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.”

The House bill requires that Americans purchase insurance by 2013, or pay a 2.5 percent penalty based on their annual income, subject to a “hardship exemption.” It also mandates that large businesses provide employees with coverage.

The legislation would prohibit health insurance companies from denying coverage to people who have a preexisting condition. Additionally, the bill would eliminate the federal antitrust exemption that shields health care providers from investigations into price-fixing and other unlawful business practices.

To finance the bill, couples who earn more than $1 million annually and individuals who earn more than $500,000 would pay a 5.4 surtax and through changes to Medicare and Medicaid. The combined savings would generate about $500 billion over 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who was the sponsor of an amendment that would have allowed individual states to create a single-payer system – essentially a Medicare-for-all bill – voted against the legislation. Kucinich’s amendment was stripped from the House bill at the request of the Obama administration when it wasunveiled more than a week ago.

“Instead of working toward the elimination of for-profit insurance, HR 3962 would put the government in the role of accelerating the privatization of health care,” Kucinich said in a statement explaining why he voted against the bill. “In HR 3962, the government is requiring at least 21 million Americans to buy private health insurance from the very industry that causes costs to be so high, which will result in at least $70 billion in new annual revenue, much of which is coming from taxpayers. This inevitably will lead to even more costs, more subsidies, and higher profits for insurance companies – a bailout under a blue cross.

The day was marked by fierce debate on both sides of the aisle. Republicans used fear-mongering tactics to try and derail the legislation, such as claiming that people who fail to purchase health care coverage, a requirement under the Democrats’ plan, would be prosecuted and jailed.

One Republican lawmaker, Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, went so far as to use a seven-month-old baby (the daughter of one of his staffers) as a prop.

“This is Maddie. Maddie believes in freedom,” Shadegg said during a floor debate. “Maddie likes America because we have freedom here. And Maddie believes in patient choice health care. She asked to come here today to say she doesn’t want the government to take over health care. She wants to keep her plan.”

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Republicans should be embarrassed at their “shrill, dishonest rhetoric.”

Securing the minimum 218 votes needed to pass the legislation, however, came at a cost.

Pro-life Democrats won a concession from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Friday to vote on an anti-abortion amendment sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, (D-Michigan), a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

His provision, which passed by a vote of 240 to 194, with the support of 64 Democrats (62 of who are men), bars the federal government from funding abortions via the public plan. [A list of Democrats who voted for the amendment can be found at the bottom of this report].

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, (D-New York), who voted against the Stupak amendment, said the provision “defies logic and is absurd.”

“This is a bill to extend health care to all Americans,” Nadler said. “It should not be used as a political football to change existing law regarding abortion coverage.”

Democratic leaders indicated they will likely make serious changes to the amendment when they meet with Senate Democratic leaders to meld the House bill with the Senate bill.

——–

The 39 Democrats who voted against the House bill health care bill are:

Rep. John Adler (NJ)
Rep. Jason Altmire (PA)
Rep. Brian Baird (WA)
Rep. John Barrow (GA)
Rep. John Boccieri (OH)
Rep. Dan Boren (OK)
Rep. Rick Boucher (VA)
Rep. Allen Boyd (FL)
Rep. Bobby Bright (AL)
Rep. Ben Chandler (KT)
Rep. Travis Childers (MS)
Rep. Artur Davis (AL)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN)
Rep. Chet Edwards (TX)
Rep. Bart Gordon (TN)
Rep. Parker Griffith (AL)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD)
Rep. Tim Holden (PA)
Rep. Larry Kissell (NC)
Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (FL)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH)
Rep. Jim Marshall (GA)
Rep. Betsy Markey (CO)
Rep. Eric Massa (NY)
Rep. Jim Matheson(UT)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)
Rep. Michael McMahon (NY)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA)
Rep. Walt Minnick (ID)
Rep. Scott Murphy (NY)
Rep. Glenn Nye (VA)
Rep. Collin Peterson (MN)
Rep. Mike Ross (AR)
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC)
Rep. Ike Skelton (MO)
Rep. John Tanner (TN)
Rep. Gene Taylor (MS)
Rep. Harry Teague (NM)

The Democrats who voted in favor of the Stupak anti-abortion amendment are:

Rep. Jason Altmire (PA)
Rep. Joe Baca (CA)
Rep. John Barrow (GA)
Rep. Marion Berry (AR)
Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA)
Rep. John Boccieri (OH)
Rep. Dan Boren (OK)
Rep. Bobby Bright (AL)
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (CA)
Rep. Christopher Carney (PA)
Rep. Ben Chandler (KY)
Rep. Travis Childers (MS)
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN)
Rep. Jim Costa (CA)
Rep. Jerry Costello (IL)
Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX)
Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper (PA)
Rep. Artur Davis (AL)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN)
Rep. Joe Donnelly (PA)

Rep. Mike Doyle (PA)
Rep. Steve Driehaus (OH)
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC)
Rep. Bart Gordon (TN)
Rep. Parker Griffith (AL)
Rep Baron Hill (IN)
Rep. Tim Holden (PA)
Rep. Paul Kanjorski (PA)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Rep. Dale Kildee (MI)
Rep. Jim Langevin (RI)
Rep Daniel Lipinski (IL)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA)
Rep Jim Marshall (GA)
Rep. Jim Matheson (UT)
Rep Mike McIntyre (NC)
Rep. Charles Melancon (LA)
Rep. Michael Michaud (ME)
Rep. Alam Mollohan (WV)
Rep. John Murtha (PA)
Rep. Richard Neal (MA)
Rep. James Oberstar (MN)
Rep David Obey (WI)
Rep. Solomon Ortiz (TX)
Rep. Thomas Perriello (VA)
Rep. Collin Peterson (MN)
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Rep. Nick Rahall (WV)
Rep. Silvestre Reyes (TX)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (TX)
Rep. Mike Ross (AR)
Rep. Timothy Ryan (OH)
Rep. John Salazar (CO)
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC)
Rep. Ike Skelton (MO)
Rep. Vic Snyder (AR)
Rep. Zack Space (OH)
Rep John Spratt (SC)
Rep. Bart Stupak (MI)
Rep. John Tanner ( TN)
Rep. Gene Taylor (MS)
Re. Harry Teague (NM)
Rep. Charles Wilson (OH)

Americans can be easily deceived. When the powerful elite can control the actions through the beliefs which are fomented through the Media, they can also control the government by electing the officials that will most benefit them in their continued pursuit of Wealth. Wealth that they are unwilling to share with others. This unwillingness to share is at the heart of corporate capitalism, but it is anathema to our health and well-being. Finally Congress has taken the first step to guarantee the health of every American, which should be understood as a fundamental Right of Liberty, right after Life. If the concept of Life and Liberty can mean anything at all, we must be healthy enough to continue into the future. We know that with the medical advances now taking shape, that the People can finally benefit from the investment we have made through taxing and spending. We spend on only what benefits all the people and healthcare for all is an evident benefit for all people. So, why are the Republicans so opposed to the legislation? Why do Republicans fight so hard for the ‘Right to Life’ of unborn fetuses and yet seize every opportunity to abuse, segregate, and sometimes even kill, those they don’t see as Equal? The Republican party has done more to corrupt and bankrupt the United States than any party in any other country over the last 45 years. How do they continue to be reelected, at all? I can’t understand it. I know there are people who consider themselves Republican and I have to suspect anyone who calls themselves Republican as being Racist Snobs, those crusty old white folk who think they can still control the world through violence and oppression. Somehow, they have gotten the ear of Our President, because he has not yet stopped the Wars in Afghanistan (8 years and counting) or Iraq (6 years and counting). World War 2 lasted only 5 years, fighting on a global scale two very dangerous opponents, Germany and Japan, countries which we still occupy militarily, though for what reason, can’t begin to be explained, let alone understood. Health for all Americans will be a shame if it is anything like the Veterans healthcare system, which has been found, even during our time of war, as being a system of failure. Our Government governs the way we, the People, want it to govern, and I can’t believe, deep down in the heart of each of us, that we want Corporate power to continue to exploit the fruit of our labor, creativity, and ingenuity through unbalanced tax structures and too much free spending.  How can the Republicans possibly justify the continued spending of billions of dollars on illegal wars around the globe and not vote to pay for the healthcare of every American? Congress must first stop spending money on War and start spending money on Peace and let the balance be swayed!

How is it, Republicans, that you can claim to be Patriots and act like vultures? How can you hold your heads up high and claim any moral ground? You believe in killing Iraqis and Afghanis and now, Pakistanis, with impunity, you believe in the death penalty and enslave thousands of colored people in prisons for life, for years, even when they’re innocent, and now you are funding the creation of private militaries that will be unleashed on the public in the case of an emergency through contracts with FEMA, but how, how can you justify yourselves to the rest of the country? How can the people of the Red States , continue to vote for a policy of death and destruction, when it happens against the majority of the people? Certainly, if the Republicans held the number of seats in the Congress as their constituency would suggest, then they would hold a mere 4 seats in the House and 2 seats in the Senate. How then, can their agenda continue to be passed? How can they continue to dominate the “public political discussion” when we have a smart, bright, well-spoken, compassionate man in the White House and his Party in control of Congress? If it shows the People of America anything, it is that the Republican Party must be put to rest, as a new third party emerges that allows president barack obama to really push forward his bold agenda for reform to help bring more peace and justice to this country and to this world, than any other president has ever been able to offer. He is in a unique position to bring peace to the world for this timje and for all future times. With the help of the Obama Party, Barack can move away from the powerful democratic interests and move the democratic party toward a more progressive platform – one that understands the importance of the times we live in, the literal destruction of the World, slavery, and corruption in every corner of the globe for the exploitation of human beings, all of whom are Free and Equal. Yet, the language of the political class continues so that they can suck dry the American public and force thousands of more into prisons and government supported mental health facilities. Is this possible? Yes. Anything is possible. That is the beauty of being alive.

a link to some interesting places in the world:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/04/unique-vacations-travel-lifestyle-travel-adventure-tourism_slide_2.html?partner=yahootravel

Japan’s solar station in space? http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/japanspaceenergysolartechnology

AFP/HO/File – This file graphic illustration released from Japan’s Institute for Unmanned Space Experiment Free …

by Karyn Poupee Karyn Poupee – Sun Nov 8, 6:20 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan’s space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

The government has just picked a group of companies and a team of researchers tasked with turning the ambitious, multi-billion-dollar dream of unlimited clean energy into reality in coming decades.

With few energy resources of its own and heavily reliant on oil imports, Japan has long been a leader in solar and other renewable energies and this year set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets.

But Japan’s boldest plan to date is the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), in which arrays of photovoltaic dishes several square kilometres (square miles) in size would hover in geostationary orbit outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Since solar power is a clean and inexhaustible energy source, we believe that this system will be able to help solve the problems of energy shortage and global warming,” researchers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the project participants, wrote in a report.

“The sun’s rays abound in space.”

Who is going to let any country build a solar powered laser that can aim anywhere in the world? Maybe we can find a way to solarize the oceans? Then we can get power from the oceans, which are 3/4ths of the earth’s surface, surely that would be enough to power the whole world. There would be generating stations along the oceans of every country and sent through networks to every place that wants some. Is someone working on that idea?

Yes! http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Mid-ocean_20Solar  Not sure how old this website it, but it’s google to know someone is working on it!

http://bestgreenblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/floating-solar-panels-for-ocean.html

Maybe its even an older idea: http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1118/unlimited-solar-energy-from-the-ocean.html

Maybe this would be a good book to read, not one currently in my library but certainly one I’m looking forward to reading:

Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches by John W. Dean (Author)

We can’t trust Republicans. That’s what we’ve learned over the last 45 years. It’s time to remove all of them from public office.

Healthcare for All Americans:     Health Care for America NOW – About Us

Call your Representatives Now, and if you’re in a demcratic district, call everyone in a Republican district and offer them condolences for the death of their party.

Compassion and Hope may become words associated with Obama for all of history. If only, we the People, take control of our government and force it to protect and defend all of our rights! If we need to adjust the Constitution to do so, then we can take those steps.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&safe=off&q=healthcare+for+all+americans&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=a573SpjZHpGgsgOM8rTwCQ&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQsQQwAA

A Courageous Vote!!

Obama’s plan: Health Reform

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/21556735/detail.html

This website looks interesting: http://anewphilosophy.pnn.com/articles/show/50452-on-health-care-for-all-americans

though the post is from August when the healthcare debate was nothing more than people screaming ‘death panels’ as if that were actually being proposed. Perhaps those people were from  some other country that won’t allow you to live and flourish to the fullness of your potential, but that is not America!

The Democratic Party:   The Democratic Party

The Republican Party:    Health Care – GOP Solutions for America – GOP.gov

The Green Party:             National Green Party: Bring Medicare For All back to the table

The Peace and Freedom Party: Platform of the Peace and Freedom Party

The Socialist Party:          Free, Quality Healthcare for ALL: Build the Movement for Single Payer!

The Communist Party:   CPUSA Front Page

The Libertarian Party: Americans rejecting goverment-run health care plan | Libertarian Party

The new, Obama Party:  Free Healthcare for all Americans. Those people who are just visiting this country, can pay for their own healthcare. Are their provisions on that in the bill? I actually hope not, but you never know what those nasty Republican people will try to sneak into the bill.

http://ourfuture.org/healthcare

I don’t know who these people are, but anyone who calls it “ObamaCare” doesn’t really want healthcare for all Americans, do they? http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/communist-party-usa-mobilizes-for.html

But, let’s return for a moment to Deepak Chopra:

http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/deecho/part29.shtml

 “Most people think and act within the narrow limitations of what they have been taught during childhood, without questioning the basic assumptions that structure their worldview.”

 http://www.igrowyounger.com/