We are adrift
in a sea
of uncertainty
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Path Towards National Transformation
Here is an intense hunger for change that has projected Barrack Obama into the Presidency. I would like to outline a number of points that represent what I believe are the ingredients for real, substantial and meaningful change in the state of the Nation:
• The necessary first step that must precede any significant transformation whether within an individual or society is honest and thoughtful self-analysis. There is no failure that is amenable to correction, if the fault is not recognized. Honest self-appraisal is an attribute that can be learned. The skills required to better understand one’s own motivations and behavior can best be acquired through education. Unfortunately, formal education often reinforces erroneous ideas rather than helping to unravel personal or popular myths. Improving education is a vital link to a meaningful future for any human community.
• That old and hackneyed dispute between proponents of big government versus small government needs to be discarded. The abysmal failure of government in the past eight years that had its beginnings during the Reagan era has demonstrated the need for “smart” government. Government plays a critical role in the life of the nation; it serves or should serve at the behest of the people: not some of the people, but all the people. This requires open government and not government tailored along the lines of an imperial presidency. This requires a government that is guided by practical considerations, science, ethics and reason and not bounded by the constraints imposed by ideology whether from the left or the right or the dictates of any particular religious belief.
• Real progress towards a genuine open and free society requires leadership that embraces the real human diversity that is a wondrous and unique quality of the American experience. The nation can no longer afford a politics fueled by bigotry, mistrust, narrow interests and fear. The majority community can not demean or dehumanize any group(s) within society and then be surprised when that group(s) becomes indifferent to or rebels against the interests of everyone else. Behavior spawned by bigotry and discrimination is essentially counter-productive.
• Open government and the laws that is promulgates must be founded on ethical principles and grounded in reality. The ultimate test of any social paradigm is whether it stands up to the rigors and dictates of experience. Reality is, after all, the ultimate testing ground. What does not work should be subject to modification. Governance based solely on ideological principles is destined to failure, for ideology is rigid and unbending by its very nature and not amenable to modification.
• Science, technology and the methods that are representative of scientific enquiry must be an essential part of government policy and problem solving. Furthermore, a basic understanding of scientific principles should be an essential ingredient of public education. This is especially important given the increasing concern among those in the scientific community regarding the dangers posed by increasing environmental degradation and the prospects of accelerated global warming. The government has a legitimate and necessary role in directing resources towards dealing with this formidable issue and its many and serious ramifications.
• A truly free and open press is a vital counterweight to political and economic power. Freedom of speech and the press, when functioning properly, provides a means t o curb the abuses of power and the powerful. Members of the press need to abandon the narrow interests imposed by the powerful and fulfill their role in the culture with integrity and purpose.
• A viable and vital society requires a vibrant economy. An economy based on debt, unrestrained greed and not founded on real productivity can not sustain itself. There can be no economic progress without educated, skilled and adequately paid labor. The economy is so intimately tied to the quality of life of its citizens, that access to freely available and universal health care is an essential component. Health care provided by the private sector has shown itself to be grossly inadequate and exceedingly inefficient and needs to be supplanted. In addition, efficient and reliable productivity is not possible without an adequate and well-maintained infrastructure. Ensuring these aspects of the social order is an important role for government, for government is the true representative and agent of the legitimate interests of all the people.
• To transform the seemingly dismal future of human societies on the planet, it is imperative to truly embrace peace. Peace acquired through violent and deliberate aggression is no peace at all. War represents an abysmal failure to achieve national goals by any other means. The formulation of international policy based on the limiting idea of national supremacy and the furtherance of empire will ultimately bring grief and lead to unnecessary calamities of death and destruction. The pursuit of peace requires the willingness to embrace all humans as true equals to ourselves and not as a means to further selfish national aspirations. To live a life of peace is to transform and expand the idea of family. To live peacefully in the world is to decry and abandon any behavior that necessarily brings suffering to others. Without this transformative idea, human societies will continue to go through the same tiring cycles of death and destruction that has so plagued human history.
• Finally, it is essential for any successful society or nation to embrace art and unabashedly support the artist, for without art, the life of the community would seem far less inspiring. It is art that is the conduit through which a culture retains its sense of balance and sanity.
• The necessary first step that must precede any significant transformation whether within an individual or society is honest and thoughtful self-analysis. There is no failure that is amenable to correction, if the fault is not recognized. Honest self-appraisal is an attribute that can be learned. The skills required to better understand one’s own motivations and behavior can best be acquired through education. Unfortunately, formal education often reinforces erroneous ideas rather than helping to unravel personal or popular myths. Improving education is a vital link to a meaningful future for any human community.
• That old and hackneyed dispute between proponents of big government versus small government needs to be discarded. The abysmal failure of government in the past eight years that had its beginnings during the Reagan era has demonstrated the need for “smart” government. Government plays a critical role in the life of the nation; it serves or should serve at the behest of the people: not some of the people, but all the people. This requires open government and not government tailored along the lines of an imperial presidency. This requires a government that is guided by practical considerations, science, ethics and reason and not bounded by the constraints imposed by ideology whether from the left or the right or the dictates of any particular religious belief.
• Real progress towards a genuine open and free society requires leadership that embraces the real human diversity that is a wondrous and unique quality of the American experience. The nation can no longer afford a politics fueled by bigotry, mistrust, narrow interests and fear. The majority community can not demean or dehumanize any group(s) within society and then be surprised when that group(s) becomes indifferent to or rebels against the interests of everyone else. Behavior spawned by bigotry and discrimination is essentially counter-productive.
• Open government and the laws that is promulgates must be founded on ethical principles and grounded in reality. The ultimate test of any social paradigm is whether it stands up to the rigors and dictates of experience. Reality is, after all, the ultimate testing ground. What does not work should be subject to modification. Governance based solely on ideological principles is destined to failure, for ideology is rigid and unbending by its very nature and not amenable to modification.
• Science, technology and the methods that are representative of scientific enquiry must be an essential part of government policy and problem solving. Furthermore, a basic understanding of scientific principles should be an essential ingredient of public education. This is especially important given the increasing concern among those in the scientific community regarding the dangers posed by increasing environmental degradation and the prospects of accelerated global warming. The government has a legitimate and necessary role in directing resources towards dealing with this formidable issue and its many and serious ramifications.
• A truly free and open press is a vital counterweight to political and economic power. Freedom of speech and the press, when functioning properly, provides a means t o curb the abuses of power and the powerful. Members of the press need to abandon the narrow interests imposed by the powerful and fulfill their role in the culture with integrity and purpose.
• A viable and vital society requires a vibrant economy. An economy based on debt, unrestrained greed and not founded on real productivity can not sustain itself. There can be no economic progress without educated, skilled and adequately paid labor. The economy is so intimately tied to the quality of life of its citizens, that access to freely available and universal health care is an essential component. Health care provided by the private sector has shown itself to be grossly inadequate and exceedingly inefficient and needs to be supplanted. In addition, efficient and reliable productivity is not possible without an adequate and well-maintained infrastructure. Ensuring these aspects of the social order is an important role for government, for government is the true representative and agent of the legitimate interests of all the people.
• To transform the seemingly dismal future of human societies on the planet, it is imperative to truly embrace peace. Peace acquired through violent and deliberate aggression is no peace at all. War represents an abysmal failure to achieve national goals by any other means. The formulation of international policy based on the limiting idea of national supremacy and the furtherance of empire will ultimately bring grief and lead to unnecessary calamities of death and destruction. The pursuit of peace requires the willingness to embrace all humans as true equals to ourselves and not as a means to further selfish national aspirations. To live a life of peace is to transform and expand the idea of family. To live peacefully in the world is to decry and abandon any behavior that necessarily brings suffering to others. Without this transformative idea, human societies will continue to go through the same tiring cycles of death and destruction that has so plagued human history.
• Finally, it is essential for any successful society or nation to embrace art and unabashedly support the artist, for without art, the life of the community would seem far less inspiring. It is art that is the conduit through which a culture retains its sense of balance and sanity.
My Life
My life is a complete disaster.
(I just wanted to make
the rest of you feel better)
.....Oberon.....
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
non-profit suggestion
Observe Production Economy...
. . tools design balance by budget...
There are RELATIVE styles of recognition.
. . patterning experience to extend interest*
Conceptual Values distort norms for contrast.
. . this style of risk should not be punitive...
*Mathematic relations materialize
conceptual RESPONSE abilities...
Maintenance habits are symptomatic...
hygienic attitude to health entitlements,
considering what is emerging care standards...
Support is a service that must care more
than profit (or the cost is that
we experience discouragement pathology)
Denial reflexes fuel depression?
CARE to appreciate!
. . tools design balance by budget...
There are RELATIVE styles of recognition.
. . patterning experience to extend interest*
Conceptual Values distort norms for contrast.
. . this style of risk should not be punitive...
*Mathematic relations materialize
conceptual RESPONSE abilities...
Maintenance habits are symptomatic...
hygienic attitude to health entitlements,
considering what is emerging care standards...
Support is a service that must care more
than profit (or the cost is that
we experience discouragement pathology)
Denial reflexes fuel depression?
CARE to appreciate!
Peace - an end
Peace is a word
Of the sea and the wind.
Peace is a bird who sings
As you smile.
Peace is the love
Of a foe as a friend;
Peace is the love you bring
To a child
Searching for me
You look everywhere,
Except beside you.
Searching for you
You look everywhere,
But not inside you.
Peace is a stream
From the heart of a man;
Peace is a man,
whose breadth
Is the dawn.
Peace is a dawn
On a day without end;
Peace is the end, like death
Of the war.
words by Pete Sinfield from a song by King Crimson
Of the sea and the wind.
Peace is a bird who sings
As you smile.
Peace is the love
Of a foe as a friend;
Peace is the love you bring
To a child
Searching for me
You look everywhere,
Except beside you.
Searching for you
You look everywhere,
But not inside you.
Peace is a stream
From the heart of a man;
Peace is a man,
whose breadth
Is the dawn.
Peace is a dawn
On a day without end;
Peace is the end, like death
Of the war.
words by Pete Sinfield from a song by King Crimson
Dawning of the Age of Aquarius
In mid February a rare astrological concentration brings together a number of planets together with the North Node - denoting higher purpose - in Aquarius that energizes and inspires the possibility for transcendental breakthrough in some perhaps seemingly intransigent situations.
We measure our global sense of both space (latitude and longitude) and time (universal time - UT or GMT) from the prime meridian located at Greenwich, England. So we can perceive the collective influence of this momentous astrological event by looking at the alignment from this globally ‘centered’ perspective.
When we do something extraordinary the exquisite emerges.
At dawn on 14th February the day dedicated to St Valentine, the patron saint of Love, the Moon in Libra enters the seventh house of relationships. And Jupiter and Mars are aligned in Aquarius in the twelfth house of spiritual transformation.
Forty years ago, the intuitive words of a song called Aquarius, brought the dawning of the new age into our collective awareness:
When the Moon is in the seventh house
and Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Then love will rule the planets
and peace will steer the stars
At dawn on 14th February the Cosmos actually embodies this perfect alignment to support our collective manifestation of love and peace and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
We measure our global sense of both space (latitude and longitude) and time (universal time - UT or GMT) from the prime meridian located at Greenwich, England. So we can perceive the collective influence of this momentous astrological event by looking at the alignment from this globally ‘centered’ perspective.
When we do something extraordinary the exquisite emerges.
At dawn on 14th February the day dedicated to St Valentine, the patron saint of Love, the Moon in Libra enters the seventh house of relationships. And Jupiter and Mars are aligned in Aquarius in the twelfth house of spiritual transformation.
Forty years ago, the intuitive words of a song called Aquarius, brought the dawning of the new age into our collective awareness:
When the Moon is in the seventh house
and Jupiter aligns with Mars.
Then love will rule the planets
and peace will steer the stars
At dawn on 14th February the Cosmos actually embodies this perfect alignment to support our collective manifestation of love and peace and the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Dominos
I saw naked children
running on the beach
joyously soaking in the sun
oblivious to the seemingly important.
Left with only the now
we become aware of the moment.
Clearly seeing the present
life reveals its miracle
neatly arranged dominos
all ready to fall.
Raising Consciousness
I have an innate anxiety built into my brain.
It happens whenever I'm on line somewhere and the time comes for a person ahead of me to pay for their goods or services and one of them has a hard time with English. I start getting nervous for the struggling speaker, knowing the frustration they must feel. Mostly I fear for the reaction of the English-speaking party, who in my experience is generally frustrated or even angry at the barrier presented. I've seen this drama unfold many times before in my life, but didn't quite fully grasp its meaning till today at the Post Office when the same premise emerged yet no conflict occurred.
It struck me that the presumption of English is a terribly destructive force in society, much like the presumption of heterosexuality: we build our entire understanding of the world upon its foundation and rarely question its fairness or applicability. Somehow this presumption justifies our anger. Should it? It seemed to me so lovely to see both parties today earnestly working through the divide to help one another. Why can't we just err on the side of empathy?
It reminded me of Richard Dawkins' exercise of showing maps of the world to students from opposing hemispheres where the orientation of north and south are reversed. He termed it "raising consciousness".
Always feels good to have it done.
For more, visit Rants, Raves and Rethoughts
It happens whenever I'm on line somewhere and the time comes for a person ahead of me to pay for their goods or services and one of them has a hard time with English. I start getting nervous for the struggling speaker, knowing the frustration they must feel. Mostly I fear for the reaction of the English-speaking party, who in my experience is generally frustrated or even angry at the barrier presented. I've seen this drama unfold many times before in my life, but didn't quite fully grasp its meaning till today at the Post Office when the same premise emerged yet no conflict occurred.
It struck me that the presumption of English is a terribly destructive force in society, much like the presumption of heterosexuality: we build our entire understanding of the world upon its foundation and rarely question its fairness or applicability. Somehow this presumption justifies our anger. Should it? It seemed to me so lovely to see both parties today earnestly working through the divide to help one another. Why can't we just err on the side of empathy?
It reminded me of Richard Dawkins' exercise of showing maps of the world to students from opposing hemispheres where the orientation of north and south are reversed. He termed it "raising consciousness".
Always feels good to have it done.
For more, visit Rants, Raves and Rethoughts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
Rumi
The National Security Agency
We're listening to every word,
we're reading every e-mail,
we know who you are,
we know where you live.
The Tsunami of Greed
Recently, Mr Pat Cox, former Irish President of The European Parliament, scholar and politician, diagnosed the root cause of the economic recession here in Ireland as being the tsunami of greed that had enveloped the mythical and legendary green isle. The land of mythical leprecauns had become the land of the mythical Celtic Tiger. Most Irish people swallowed whole this myth of inevitable progess and increasing wealth. With greed and selfishness the core values, there seemed to be no hindering the onward flight of the legendary Tiger. However, some few perspicacious souls like Eddie Hobbs (financial adviser) and David McWilliams (economist and journalist)saw through the myth and saw that the Celtic Tiger was but an inflated toy made of rather brittle plastic. Now the economic bubble has burst and the Tiger is a deflated, sad and lifeless mess.
Our national economic boom was a myth based upon a vastly over-priced housing market. The basic economic law of supply and demand brought the whole rotten mess collapsing down. Now we have an oversupply of houses and apartments and what has come to be termed "ghost housing estates" in many rural areas around the country. Bankers lent too much money to builders who in turn cannot sell the houses at vastly over-inflated prices. Added to this, we have been dealt the second blow of the international economic crisis.
However, this short post will not attempt too much analysis of the economic situation as its writer is poorly equipped to do so. However, it would seem to all and sundry that what has caused both our national crisis and indeed the international one has been nothing short of naked greed and selfishness. The world needs leaders at this moment in time. Barak Obama, the US President, is one such towering leader with principles and ideals. He is standing up to all those who have been sucked into headless and heartless capitalism. He is to be praised for capping the earnings of CEOs at $250,000. We need to follow his leadership here in Ireland. We need such leaders in the world today. Mr Obama can walk the walk as well as talking the talk.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Magnificent Deception
...it's as worth to watch as John Zerzan's SURPLUS, Thomas Toivonen's DEAD SOCIETY, Peter Joseph's ZEITGEIST and ADDENDUM, etc... here's ThinkFree.ca and DivergentFilms' limited edition version of The Magnificent Deception, Rob Menard's newest video on the concepts of Freedom, Law, and Commerce, and how they relate to Persons, Humans, and Freesouls-On-Land. This is the preview version of the Sequel to Bursting Bubbles of Government Deception.
good matter for thinking!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Gay marriage
If those gays want to get married,
I think we should let 'em,
they have the right
to be as miserable as the rest of us.
(hee hee)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Hamas seizes food,medicine,and blankets
In Jerusalem hamas takes away supplies meant for people in Gaza, the hamas organization said they were taking the supplies because they may get to people not supportive of their terrorist organization, way to go shitheads you discovered another way for the world to hate you, i didn't think it was possible but you found a way. So how is this supposed to help your global image, and the people of Gaza's view of your organization, i mean come on we closed Guantanamo bay, can you wait at least a month before you piss us off again. Stop this inhumanity hamas and don't be such douche bags to people who don't support terrorism.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Zeitgeist
When the power of love
overcomes the love of power
the world will know peace
.....Sri Chinmoy Ghose.....
patriot parasites
The paradox behavior of those trying to sell us the "Trickle Down Theory"
is how it turned into the "Suck It Up Parasite."
Money used to be building blocks now it is sand.
The foundation to build on is supportive credit for participation.
Getting healthy (and active) is the job that relates effort to contribution.
Filling forms is automatic credit to reverse tax needs
by integrated interviewing to practice understanding agreement.
Representation could be the evaluation exercise that qualifies advertising intent.
Supportive attitudes encourage, but discouragement makes victimizers critical.
We have become critical consumers (slaves) other than appreciative tribute givers (entitled patriots.)
is how it turned into the "Suck It Up Parasite."
Money used to be building blocks now it is sand.
The foundation to build on is supportive credit for participation.
Getting healthy (and active) is the job that relates effort to contribution.
Filling forms is automatic credit to reverse tax needs
by integrated interviewing to practice understanding agreement.
Representation could be the evaluation exercise that qualifies advertising intent.
Supportive attitudes encourage, but discouragement makes victimizers critical.
We have become critical consumers (slaves) other than appreciative tribute givers (entitled patriots.)
I Like Ike
In the councils of government,
we must guard against the acquisition
of unwarranted influence, whether sought
or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced
power exists and will persist. We must never let the
weight of this combination endanger our liberties or
democratic processes. We should take nothing for
granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable
citizenry can compel the proper meshing
of the huge industrial and military
machinery of defense with our
peaceful methods and goals,
so that
security
and liberty
may prosper
together.
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation, 01.17.61
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Guernica
Post Guernica now!
plaster it on all the walls,
on freeway billboards, schools,
work spaces, churches, and restrooms.
it moves the bowels in a most agreeable manner,
the smell of shit brings one down to earth again.
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
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