Blessings in Disaster

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
As citizens, we often look at the documents of the founding of our country as if they are not part of the world that we live in, they are separate from our day-to-day lives. Yet, it is the direct and simple truths of many of them that make them so special in the annuls of time and writing.

Recently I have been going through a life lesson that has been a direct assault on some of my personal biggest fears. I saw it coming, I knew I was going to need to deal with it, and yet, I put myself through two years of, probably, unnecessary pain and anguish.

Nearly three years ago, I panicked. I was in a place of no money, about to face the real possibility of eviction and a car that was not currently functioning.

In late October two things happened; first, a friend wanted to leave a living situation with two other friends and on paper, well, it looked like it would cut the expenses nearly in half (later I would find out the difference in the utilities would demolish that theory). I had also been looking for a job, and though I really did not want to reenter an industry that I had been in previously, I can always get a job in it. If the job had been acquired just two days earlier, the fiasco of the living arrangement could have been completely avoided.

I was aware that the new employer was a good man, but, as we all do, had a few issues and was known to be a bit volatile. With my past experiences, I thought I could handle it, right…

The new roommates were friends and while living with others always has its challenges, worst case, you go hide in your room for a bit and let whatever pass, sure…

If I had known what the Universe was planning for me, I would have run away screaming like a maniac and considered finding a pretty monastery to cloister myself in.

Instead, I was in a self imposed illusion of safety, at best. The fools paradise started to show its true colors; one roommate was a disaster, so much so that when they gave notice before Christmas, I was elated and thought about throwing a party at the very idea (you know those moments, polite behavior requires you to say "are you sure this is what you want?" But, inside you are doing the Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy-Dance).

A few days later, during a discussion of what we wanted in a replacement, the other roommate gave me notice that he was moving as well, well that sucks! Now there are any numbers of reasons I could list that would make it obvious that neither was going to be any help finding replacements and I was working my butt off on the new job.

So on February 1^st I was holding the bag on just short of $1900 a month in rent, work was showing what the reality of the situation was, but I was now stuck. I was working six days a week, plus taking in extra work whereever I could get it.

It was not a complete disaster, the electric bill dropped from over $300 to about $45 (LA DWP stock dropped substantially), a friend ended using one spare bedroom to finish recording an album, some other friends rented the other bedroom for a couple of months while visiting from Europe. It was hard work, but it had some great times.

It took seven months, but when I moved out, I paid the final rent, 1^st and last on the new place, and for the first time in my life, paid movers instead of doing it myself, I consider that to be a major success!

Now that Phase One was complete, it was time to learn the other part of the lesson, Oh, you did not get part one? Stop freaking out! The Universe knows what you need and will provide if you will just let it.

Phase Two was going to be more than just working through it, it would require entering the dark caves of my being and facing some of what have become surprisingly powerful issues with me, the Job (cue dark dramatic music)!

I was quickly aware that this was not a good situation to be in, there were major clashes between my personality and that of my employer. As it was to turn out, it was to be a question of how much a "paycheck" was worth and just what was I willing to participate in to acquire one. As it turned out, I have become quite surprised at just how much!

In the last few months I have been trying to work on other projects while dealing with the issues at work (I really do think "work" should be added to that list of four-lettered words not used in polite society). I saw things deteriorating around me and I began desperately looking for alternatives, should I just get another job in the same industry, pays the bills but not likely to be particularly fulfilling. Should I go into another industry, or maybe the Universe has something else in mind.

I must have been ready, not that I necessarily realized it, as the whole situation finally collapsed in on itself, or in laymen's terms, I got fired. When it happened, I was pissed! After I cooled down, I was predominantly relieved and now a couple of days later, I actually want to thank my former employer for it, I am off the fence, a direction toward tomorrow has been placed at my feet and I will see where it goes.

So back to where we started, The Declaration of Independence, or more directly, when the Universe or Spirit guides you toward things, be willing to pursue them for often one has to declare independence from the now to create tomorrow. The alternative can be a very uncomfortable drop kicking, just saying.

Syria, 9-11 and Growth

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”

“A man's memory may almost become the art of continually varying and misrepresenting his past, according to his interests in the present.”

George Santayana
In our own national pride and belief in American Exceptionalism we refuse to look up from our narrow view of the world and realize that we just cannot fix the world. Oh, we can punish, maybe we can slow the problem for a moment, but create a long term solution, not with guns or rockets, troops or covert missions.

The problems of the Middle East have been brewing and stewing for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and the festering of what started as local issues has become a collection of cultural hatreds that can only be solved by the people involved.

Look at the aftermath of the Iraq war, peace is not really known there, Shia and Sunni are still fighting, cultural minorities are hardly safe and welcome in the country, was this the goal of all those years of blood on our hands as a nation, is Iraq better than it was before?

Now we have Syria. We are banging the war drums and it is beginning to look like the politicians may just give the go ahead, will it solve the issue?

Bashar al-Assad, presuming he authorized the chemical attacks, has shown that he is a desperate man and is not interested in any kind of justice. You can attempt to punish men like that but they just get more desperate, and desperate men are capable of atrocities that our minds cannot wrap themselves around.

Sadly, as much as I mourn the loss of life that has and is likely to come, if you hand power to someone else without them being actually ready and prepared, you have not solved the problem, at best you have put a Band-Aid on it. The problem will return in a cultural conflict, it cannot do otherwise.

It seems that if power is handed to someone, they are rarely aware of just what a potentially dangerous and deadly responsibility it truly is. Sadly it takes going through the crucible to burn away the lust for power and make one appreciate peace, not pretty, but true. By going through the crucible, the emergent leader(s) are in a much better place to know the value of what they do, their friends and comrades were sacrificed to "win" the goal so the power has an extremely personal value.

When countries like ours insert themselves into the conflicts of others, especially cultural ones, we create an illusion we like to call stability, but our history of cultural insertion has not shown that we make good choices. Our people who supposedly "know" what they are doing actually come off in the rear-view of history to appear something akin to gullible.

Just because someone supported us in fighting their battle, does not mean that they are the leader that needs to rise, or that they have any interest in following the path that we would want them to, not that I find that to be a particularly brilliant motivation. Look at our history of imposed leadership in the Middle East, the Shah of Iran (that turned out well), Saddam Hussein (another success).

We like to say that our involvement is over the support of Israel, and somewhat it is, but if we take an honest look, it is about money as oil. What is really sad, is that about a hundred years ago, the people of the region felt, 'Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans'^[1] and now we have become the selfish and duplicitous.

I like to think that under all the greed for oil, that part of it is that as a nation we see a collection of our fellow humanity in pain and are just clueless how to help them, but instead of sitting back and figuring out the big picture and actually creating long-term solutions to the benefits of the residents, we see a place where we can charge in like General Custer and in our pride just make it worse.

Every time someone talks about the US entering some country's civil war, I think of an old "Doonsebury" cartoon from the Vietnam era. B.D., our pro Vietnam War Conservative has managed to get lost in the rice paddies of a foreign country and be taken prisoner by Phred, a Viet-Cong "terrorist". In the strip I am thinking of, they are discussing the early years of the war and B.D. just is not getting why Phred doesn't see American involvement into the war his way, so Phred asks him, what would he think if the Vietnamese had shown up in Gettysburg and started handing out chocolate and chewing gum?

Now we have Syria, as much as the questions being asked are about chemical warfare and the response that should be made, once again America is threatening to react instead of thinking. For sure the Military-Industrial Complex is lobbying hard for the war, war is BIG business. What frightens me the most is that being so close to the anniversary of September 11^th, can our slow minded politicians separate the two? I would love to be able to say that I am sure they will make the right decision, but now all I can do is hope.

What is that decision? That is the question. Do we really currently know enough about what we are getting into? Are we seeing, or can we see, the big picture? What happens if we take the path being placed before us and President Assad does it again, are we ready to go round two, or three or all out war?

Large chunks of the Middle East are going through amazing growth now, it is violent and painful to be part of and to watch. If we have any hope of lasting success in the area, I think we may just have to sit back and let them do it, on their own, without big-brother walking in and forcing solutions that they are not ready or willing to accept. Left to themselves, they will likely come to them on their own. Can we have the faith, that as human-beings, they will learn an extremely hard lesson on their own, as it should be.

Footnotes:

1. Fawcett, L. (2005) The International Relations of the Middle East UK: Oxford University Press p 285

A Constitutional Preamble for the 21st Century

Today is the 4^th of July, also known as Independence Day.

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Wikipedia - Independence Day (United States)
Sadly, as the years have gone by and the dumbing-down of the masses has continued, Independence Day is quickly becoming the American equivalent to "Cinco de Mayo" with bar-b-ques and fireworks. Yes, I do know that Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Day of Independence, but in the U.S. it has become the Mexican equivalent St. Patrick's Day, basically a reason to get plastered, but since it is a federal holiday many get holiday pay for it.

As much as that is somewhat to be expected, what is actually much more sad is that the promise that many aspects of the foundation of the United States foretold, freedom, justice and this wonderful experiment in Representational Democracy, is in danger of falling to the wayside in the near future.

As a nation, there is what appears to be a very dangerous formula in the works and the outcome would be the destruction of the shining beacon that is the potential for a nation.

I was recently re-reading Baird T. Spalding's "Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East" and I was touched by how one of his guides on the trip was so enamored with the United States and its promise to the world for the future.

In recent years though, we have been witness to a fundamental shift in how America runs and the goals for which it appears to be pursuing, sadly from my perspective, they are as "Un-American" as anything Joseph McCarthy would have come up with.

I could go into detail on where we stopped being President Lincoln's vision of a "government of the people, by the people, for the people," and his belief that it "shall not perish from the earth." We have allowed ourselves to become a government of the Rich, by the Powerful Media Conglomerates and for profits at all costs without even thinking about the consequences of these changes.

So I have decided that the Preamble to the US Constitution, which was ratified nearly 12 years after the Declaration of Independence and is the highest law of the land, should be modified to address the view of those who have been given the country on a silver platter as follows:

We the [Rich and Powerful] People [and Corporations] of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union [for the protection of our profit margins], establish Justice [based on Christian Sharia], insure domestic Tranquility [through mind-numbing mass media], provide for the common defense [against the proletariat], promote the general Welfare [when we absolutely must or their labor is needed], and secure the Blessings of  Liberty  [Profitability] to ourselves and our Posterity [only], do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America[, Inc.].

American Fantasy #1 - The Republican Party Supports Christian Values

I really have no interest in writing about politics, as far as I'm concerned George Carlin got it right years ago;

Poli: Latin for many
Tics: Small blood sucking creatures

In today's world though, politics and religion have become so intertwined that to talk about the one requires thinking of the other (just where did Separation of Church and State go?!?).

In some ways, I guess the current religio-political nightmare has shown some improvement; in the election of John F. Kennedy it was wondered about electing a Catholic and now we have a Mormon running and making it through the "Christian Litmus Test" (that may have more to do with the Mormons being overwhelmingly Republican and voting in line with the Christian Right than with Christian acceptance).

The Creation of the Modern Neo-Conservative Republican/Christian Alliance

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In the late '70's and into the '80's the United States the influence of Francis Schaeffer [ Correction: where Francis Schaeffer was also instrumental with these Christian Leaders, I meant to reference Paul Weyrich ] began to grow within the Christian Right and he has often been referred to as the Father of the Modern Christian Political Movement. He is often credited by many of the "players" of the movement such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Gary Dobson as a major inspiration.

When I think about the union of these two groups, I have always wondered about what a strange set of bedfellows they make. Both are absorbed in value systems that seem on fundamental levels to be at odds with the other.

The Republican Party has been solidly a pro-business party since 1896 in the eyes of many. As a party there is the fundamental belief that business should be given a freehand and as little interference from government as possible (a dangerous idea to my view if you have no consequences for bad behavior).

This view has laid the fundamental groundwork for two financial crashes, though some say the Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression may have also been manipulated into being by the supported business interests of the party, greed often appears to run hand-in-hand with many of these policies.

The Party's stance on Personal Responsibility is another area where they seem to be at odds with the ideals of the Christian theology. I agree that people should be responsible for themselves as much as possible, but even with the best planning and intentions, things can go wrong and a safety net to help one recover would seem to be in line with Christian values.

The business policies of the party the last few decades has been such that many people have been forced out of their jobs and yet the party feels no compulsion to help them through the transition, seeming to take a "it's their own fault" attitude. The more extreme members seem unable to see any link between the policies and the results.

The Riding of Christian Voters for Republican Aims

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With the underlying core values of the party of late, I have always thought that unbeknownst to the Christian Right, the Republican Party has been taking them for a ride. Many members of the party may subscribe to Christian Values, but the aspect of the party that is all about business, money and corporate culture are only interested in the voting blocks, not the issues if one looks at how they run their businesses. My Dad often said that "actions speak louder than words" and in this case, what are their actions?

• Closing employment opportunities here and shipping them where they can basically get away with slave wages
• No regard for those that have been harmed by their actions
• Destruction of resources in the name of profit and little to no regard for the damage caused
• Negligence in their operations where it was in the interest of the "bottom line"

The people who operate in such a fashion likely find the Christian Conservatives easy bedfellows, the vast majority of things that the Christian voting blocks ask for cost little to nothing. The Christian voting block is not asking for money to feed the poor, educate their children, supply health care, redress the damages caused in the service of business' bottom-line (you would think those who follow a teacher who says things like; when you feed the poor, you feed me, would want these things).

In the last few years we have seen that these voters will often vote against their own best interest in support of candidates that are clearly owned by the business interests. If a candidate does not cut the financial mustard, they are accused of being pro-choice, anti-Israel, pro-gay rights or same-sex marriage. The "dog and pony show" kicks into high gear and sadly the voters drink the Kool-Aid with a smile on their lips and a song on their heart.

So I repeat, I do not think that the Republican Party leadership is Christian any more than they absolutely feel they have to be so they can manipulate a large block of votes on election day. I have noticed several leaders of the Christian Political Arm starting to admit to thinking the same thing.

So look at the actions of the party, outside the realm of religious thought and see if it truly supports the philosophy that Christianity teaches. See if the party will support you when you cost it money.

Many people consider Fox News to be the voice of the Republican Party,  a friend of mine recently told me that that is an illusion. Fox News, in his opinion, is the mouthpiece of Corporate Culture and the Mega-Rich and will drop the Republican Party the moment the party is no longer in step. Is it possible that the Republican Party feels the same way about the Christian Right?

"The 65" and the true power in the USA

"The 99" are the people that have been left behind by the few with all the money and power in our country, though I suspect it has become a cancer throughout our modern world.

Sadly, there are a third who have drunk so much of the Kool-Aid that they will never be willing or able to see that they are slaves in the deepest of bondage. In the days of African slavery in this country, there was the expression of the "House Nigger" who believed they had the best their life could offer, maybe they did for the world and time they lived in, but they were so tied to this belief they would never be willing to act against their bondage.

This third will listen to their Corporate Masters and do as they are told for a collection of reasons that will mainly be nothing but justifications of their fear of rocking the boat, their belief that they do have some life and their fear that it could be worse. It very well may be that they are eternally lost; that their belief in what has happened to them is truly just, they are to be pitied and held up as examples of what the 1% has done, do not hate them for they are lambs that have succumb to the indoctrination they are for slaughter on the alters of greed and power.

"The 65" can change the nation!

The 1% may hold the money and power to flood the market with their message, "The 65" still carry the majority where it truly counts, the ability to actually cast a vote. This is why the 1% are trying so hard to exclude people from being able to exercise their right to cast that vote.

It will require taking a chance for electing people who care about you, even if they do not share all your beliefs and opinions. The media is owned and operated by the Masters and that small percentage that is not, lives under the tyranny of having their advertising revenues cut by the other side of the same Board Rooms that own the rest of the Media. It truly is a leviathan that we have allowed to grow on Wall St and in Washington, amongst other places.

The simple fact is that in the long run, this is a war of attrition, they cannot win this battle unless "The 65" or "The 99" let them.

"In 1917 Gandhi said that the people's victory against the British was a mathematical certainty. "100,000 English cannot control 35 million Indians who choose to disobey." Two years later, in April 1919, after the British proposed new laws which would deny Indians basic civil liberties, Gandhi demonstrated this power of disobedience by calling for a "national day of prayer and fasting" which had the effect of a national strike. He understood the power of right and the power of non-cooperation, and used them successfully for the first time."

"Mohandas Gandhi: The Art of Nonviolence"
by Peter N. Herndon
This simple idea brought the British Empire to its knees, the very same principle will throw our attempted Masters into a tailspin, for the 1% is only three-million people, of which I suspect the actual brokers are far less than that, but before you think that is so much and impossible, "The 65" are around 200,000,000.

Calling "The 65" to take action...

I call on "The 65" to unify under the banner of reclaiming our Nation, removing the Masters and what they have been allowed to become through our negligence as a nation. Some will be Christian, others will not be, some will support the right of a woman to choose while others will not, some will support Love in whatever its form and celebrate it with all the rights and privileges, responsibilities and obligations of marriage and yet others will not. These are the illusions used to control you for if you truly believe in American Freedom, it cannot be just yours alone, but the freedom for others to choose differently; without this, it is not freedom, but hypocrisy.

Throw off the chains of your Masters and use that large mass of grey matter that your God or evolution put there for a reason, not just to keep our heads from imploding.

You want an idea of just how simple it is to have a bloodless-coup? If "The 65" can get together and vote for the big picture and not get lost in the divisiveness that will be used to manipulate and control them, in as little as six years the entire system can be overthrown without a single act of violence. It should actually be much faster than that, this is actually a worst case scenario. In reality, a single election in 2012 with a united voice will change enough of the current structure to force them to change on their own.

"The 65" and the NEW Revolution

Changing this country does not require a Revolution of Blood in the traditional sense, the blood that counts is not red, but in America it is the blood of the green; that is the second way you bring them into control, their bottom lines, but that is for another day and another time.

Think about where the power of "The 65" can be applied, work with your fellow countrymen, they may not agree in all things, but they do agree with you on the big issue reclaiming the United States from the 1% minority, that is where the war really is.

History Repeats Itself... again

I am often amused by watching the statement from George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" happen again and again.

We are getting ready for mid-term elections in the US and the same old tricks are coming out, I sometimes wonder what it says about a country that falls for the same trickery every two years?

One REALLY obvious example is in California with Prop 19, an initiative to legalize marijuana and tax it along the same lines as alcohol and tobacco.

Most people are unaware that pot was criminalized in the 1930s at the behest of the cotton industry that did not want the competition from hemp. Sadly, the hemp plant is both hardier and less detrimental to the fields unto which it is grown and can yield several crops per year where cotton tends to leach the soil of its nutrients and being notoriously difficult to grow and process. The other use was an excuse.

I often think of George Carlin's famous discussion of pot use in one of his acts where he posed the question, "What's the worst crime a pot-head is going to commit? Steal a Twinkie?" The crime attributed to drugs is most often either victimless, use or possession, or due to the unavailability by criminalization and that raising the cost.

We have apparently not learned the lesson of 1919 with the prohibition of alcohol with the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution and the subsequent 1933 repeal with the 21^st Amendment. As a nation, the US should have learned a lesson that you cannot prohibit anything as long as there is a demand for the product. Apparently not.

We spend millions and billions pursuing the illegal drug trade in this country and the D.E.A. admits that illegal drugs are more available now then at any time, in other words, it has been not only a complete failure but a waste of resources that could just as easily been put to much better use.

On top of that, we have made many people excruciatingly wealthy as the suppliers and overloaded our jails with non-violent offenders that did nothing more then be in possession of a substance that as adults should be their choice.

I am neither for nor against drugs from a moralistic point of view, people will do what they want no matter what I or society says, history has shown this to us repeatedly.

Know what the largest killer of illegal drugs is? Overdose. This is most often caused by the lack of regulation and quality/quantity control. People are used to getting some drug at some level of potency and then they get something much more potent and die.

If people want it so badly, let them do it, or take away their alcohol and nicotine as well. Maybe Canada has a good idea with tobacco. They tax the hell out of it to pay for the additional costs of dealing with the later health effects caused by its use, maybe some variation could be used here.

For me it breaks down as follows, why can we always come up with the money to do something that history has repeatedly shown does not work. Since we are so busy spending money on these wastes, we cannot fund education and public programs that could benefit all society. I get so tired of hearing how children and the ill are constantly getting funding cuts when we throw away this money.

I am waiting for someone to explain the logic of this to me as I just do not get it.

The site for the Proposition

Loving an Opposing Inspiration

Earlier today, I ran into someone on Facebook that I had not heard from in ages, Joni Eareckson Tada. Now it turns out that it is really more of a fan-page as she does not actively participate from the look of it.

When I was a kid, I ran across the book "Joni" which touched me in a way that few books ever have. It is the story of a young woman, Joni Eareckson, with everything ahead of her that has a diving accident one summer and ends up a quadriplegic and her coming to grips with that and the skills she found after-wards. I was so impressed with her artwork that I used to own a piece many years ago.

I had the pleasure of meeting her in 1981 during my great Southern California adventure that I have written about in the past.

One of the things that surprised me was the near immediate response that I received from several friends that were shocked that I would "Like" her since she is a signer on the Manhattan Declaration, a call for assorted Christian members to not comply with laws against their religious beliefs in areas like abortion and same-sex marriage. I believe that I had heard about it on the news, but I did not pay it any heed, why should I?

One of the areas that the Christian Right has never understood is that a law saying such things may happen do not require you to partake in them. I have always found it somewhat laughable to listen to people who act as if legalizing same-sex marriage means straight men are going to be required to do so or that Roe v. Wade is going to force women to have abortions.

We seem to have developed a culture in this country where if someone disagrees on any one subject, especially a hot button topic, that we are supposed to shun them and disavow any knowledge, friendship or support. I will not do it.

I have found Joni to be a shining star in my life who made me rethink many things in my life over the years and a pillar of strength when I have had tough times, no matter how bad, I still have functional arms and legs.

One of the pieces of the book I have always remembered was a place where Joni's power-wheelchair tipped over in a parking lot and she scraped her face quite badly. Her reply was something like; "why my face, the only place I can feel?" I have had days like that where it was like why this one thing when it was so important, at least in that moment.

I may not agree with everything she thinks and may even be diametrically opposed in some, but that will never take away from the respect I have for her in so many other areas of her life.

Many of the friends that responded badly felt that I had betrayed them, I would say that I have proven my worthiness as a friend in that I will stand by them when they do something I disagree with, it will take more than one thing to get rid of me.

I would say that it is more Christian to show love and compassion for someone against you on some issue than many self-proclaimed Christians offer to those who differ from them. It is easy to love someone who is always with you, but it takes a bit of work to get beyond some disagreement and still be there for them. I believe Jesus commented on this when he talked about loving ones enemies.

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To Joni,

My heartfelt appreciation for your story, your beautiful artwork and for making a young man feel welcome when the opportunity presented itself nearly 30 years ago.

My prayers and hopes, along with Reiki healing energy, to help you get through this troubling time with your recent diagnosis.

Shanti,

Robert

One Idea for a Revolution

As a Life Coach, I get asked about all areas of life, but on many cases, I get asked REALLY difficult questions about the world around us more from the perspective of a Spiritual Teacher. Some times the answers I have to give are more difficult to express than just about anything I address in Coaching.

What makes the answers difficult is most often not the subject, but that they tend to fall back into the laps of those asking, both individually and as a group.

It is human nature to want to pass the responsibility for things somewhere else, on God, on them (whoever they might be, this week) and my personal favorite; the government.

In a few days it is the 4^th of July and in the United States we celebrate our independence and the freedoms that are supposedly guaranteed, but we see being given away on a daily basis. How do we do this and why?

One common way is through manipulation of public perception and that is becoming easier and easier. In my opinion, it began largely when some bean-counter figured out that if his newscast could acquire higher ratings they could charge more for the advertising space, hence the evening news stopped being about informing the public and became about profit.

Many people disagree, but look at how your news has changed, how much REAL information of value do you get? Rupert Murdoch is estimated to be worth some $6.3 Billion and one of his largest holdings is News Corp, better known as Fox, so I do not really think you can deny that there is money to be made in "news".

That takes us to the next level, corporate control of information. Back in the old days, like 50 years or so ago, corporations were very limited and could only be involved in a single industry and could not purchase other corporations without serious overview. Today, with surprisingly few oversights, a corporation can buy most anyone else, has little if any ethos unless it is financially prudent.

How unfettered do you think your information is when it is filtered for its affect on the bottom line, by the parent company of the station/network or a large buyer of advertising space that can threaten to withhold its advertising revenue for failure to submit to their wishes? (BTW, did you know that the Florida State Supreme Court has ruled that it is not illegal to misrepresent the news intentionally?)

I saw a Michael Moore interview where he was talking about the irony of his being carried and distributed by the very companies he denounces in his programs. I think he was right on target when he said that he takes advantage of the lack of corporate morals in that they may not like his message, but there is money to be made by distributing it.

Now do not get me wrong, I am not a fan of modern corporate culture with its lack of conscience in search of profit, they are just taking advantage of what "WE" the people have allowed to become with our apparent attitude of "do whatever you wish, just leave me alone to watch my favorite TV."

Americans seem to live on soundbites, more than 15-20 words and they lose interest, and most sad of all is that the rest of the world seems to be falling in right behind.

I am not anti-TV or anything else, but it is the responsibility of the public to take the time and effort to become informed of the facts, and no, your favorite mouthpieces of ideology or political affiliation rare count as information, more opinion (OK LOUD opinion).

The world is changing around us and if people think it is too much work to fix it now, what makes you think it is going to get any easier in time?

Thomas Jefferson, the principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence, once said that for this country to function properly that "Every generation needs a new revolution" he also warned, "If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions."

People have begun to fear their governments when it should be the other way around.

If you wish freedom and independence it must be earned by the work of your mind and action. So the next time you are overwhelmed by the idea of something "wrong" in the world around you, look at your part in it and begin your personal revolution of thought and knowledge.

Oh, and one last thought, be very aware of the dog and pony show that you will find in front of the facts, those who can will do anything they can to get you off focus and off on a tangent.

Talk about timing (Bad)

Tuesday last week, I wrote an entry about simple ways to practically start empowering yourself and to begin the creation of a world you want to live in. The basic starting point was like the ice crystal analogy:

Do you know how ice forms? A single crystal will form and that starts a chain reaction as more and more crystals form adjoined to the first.

We tend to want to change the world since we see SO much wrong with it, just as we do with out other issues and our serious spiritual growth, we are always looking "out there" instead of looking where all the answers lie, within.

One of the issues I made reference to is becoming informed and the lack of real news that we get on television and many radio stations, and it struck me as an interesting coincidence that I would run into it headlong that very evening; enter James Arthur Ray.

James A. Ray is a fairly well know teacher of the Law of Attraction that I have been aware of for a couple of years. A friend had loaned me CDs of a couple of his talks and I had seen him on "The Secret" but other than that I was not really a fan. So the very night I wrote the last entry I went to to the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey to see him in person.

I really enjoyed the couple of hours that I spent there, but I had become curious as to something that had happened recently that seemed to be troubling him terribly. As the evening progressed, I wondered if he had recently been diagnosed with cancer or something or if his family had been in an accident or some other personal tragedy since he did make reference to the press and how they have been spinning "it."

As I left the Ritz, my friends and I ran into a television reporter from a Phoenix television station who answered the question that had been buzzing around my head.

For those like me, who don't watch the "news" very often, Mr. Ray had been leading a retreat in Sedona, AZ when 2 people passed away and several others became ill. Later a third person passed.

The reporter did what he was expected to do; ALL his questions implied that James had done something wrong, his failure to grant interviews on the subject was suspicious. I asked the reporter if there was any information or evidence of any wrong doing at the event, he was hesitant to admit "no."

In today's world, the police tend to assume guilt, news agencies are in the business of selling news (gotta raise those ratings for more ad revenue) and sadly the masses eat it up whole since it must be true if it is on TV.

Do I know what happened in Sedona? No. I wasn't there but I will wait till there is some actual evidence before I jump to a salacious conclusion.

What do I know? The fasting and sweat lodge techniques are very powerful but also potentially quite dangerous, care must be taken by both the coordinators and participants.

Hold the families that lost loved ones in your hearts as well as the people who became ill and also hold James Arthur Ray, the trials of being in such a situation is extremely difficult and as much as the others are looking through things with a microscope, I am sure that he is doing even more to himself.

A Small Begining to the New Revolution

"...where Life and Spirit become One!™" Practical Lesson #1

---

Is Hell freezing over? We actually seem to be having a change in the weather here in Southern California...

The day is overcast and there is something like a 40% chance of rain today and nearly a guarantee for tomorrow. God knows we need it, but I and everyone who thinks about such things is concerned about the burn areas, no coverage and 4" of rain makes for soup and mudslides.

On occasion, I go on about the press and it's apparent lack of real news and the dumbing down of America.

When I was a kid, we used to watch the local news for, oh my God, local news, weather and sports. Afterwords the Network news would come on and give us the National and Inter-National stories for the day.

Now maybe it's just LA (somehow I doubt it) but the lead stories this morning were the latest collection of killings and robberies and "Storm-Watch '09." The joke about Los Angeles is sadly true, "LA is the only town where a light sprinkle get a 'Storm-Watch'."

The other day I heard a headline that went something like; "State Study Determines Danger of Landslides in Recent Burn Areas." Someone actually spent tax dollars to determine this? No wonder we are broke in the State of California, which reminds me of the story "Will California be the Country's First Failed State?"

Do you ever wonder why you hear about Government cutting the funding for Education and then they complain that the students are either dropping out or failing to pass their courses? Hospitals and Social Care programs lose money then more people enter the uninsured rolls and get the majority of their health care in emergency rooms (THE most expensive way of dealing with issues). What outcomes do you expect?

Why is our nation loathe to have business and the more successful pay an equal share with what they tax me? Remember that story a few years ago of an executive that actually announced that he was somewhat ashamed that he paid less in taxes on his 6 or 7 figure salary than his secretary did on her 5 digit one?

Every time someone mentions raising the upper level tax rates, the claim of unfair tax increases for this group gets voiced. Here's a little research project for you, look at the tax rates of, oh say, 1980. You will find that the tax rate on all income over $88,000 for a single individual was 50%, today the top rate on the IRS rolls is 35%, period (by the way, the maximum corporate income tax is 38%, at least till you get to 18,333,333 when it drops back to 35%) these numbers are from IRS instructions for 2008 1040 and 1120 forms.

When this subject and others like it come up I tend to hear all sorts of bitching about them, but I rarely hear anything constructive, little less relatively solution oriented. So here are a few ideas that could be the basis of a beginning to correct these issues. Lets start a new American Revolution of awakening the masses and striking terror into the hearts of the power brokers...

   EDUCATE Yourself   
My more paranoid and/or conspiracy theory friends and acquaintances believe that the failure of the educational system is a deliberate attempt to keep the common folk from uprising since they are/will be to stupid to do otherwise.

In this age of the Internet and nearly unlimited information, you can become a PhD in nearly any subject you please without spending a lifetime in school. Sure, you need to be careful as far as verifying the validity of information you find on the Internet, but, trust me, so does the information from TV and Radio "Talking Heads" as they nearly all have "their" perspective and biases (does anyone REALLY believe Rush Limbaugh is truly an objective individual on his show?). As I have discussed previously, even our institutions of learning are not exempt from excess posturing and biases by professors, no matter what your perspective.

   Make your voice heard   
I'm not talking about just showing up at protest marches, but writing and emailing the decision makers in their respective fields. Write the News Director of your local TV stations and express your disappointment at the lack of REAL news on the program.

Contact your elected Congress and House of Representative members. I hear people complain about the money and power of the special interests in Washington, but they only have money, YOU have the votes that keep them in office and trust me, THEY know it.

   Show your support financially   
In today's world of Corporate Culture and Bean-Counters that do nothing but look at the bottom line, hit those you disagree with where it hurts, their pocket books!

I, for example, think that Walmart should offer both full time hours to their employees and health insurance. As it stands now, they expect the public to pick up the tab since they will not offer much of any health-care benefits. They say that it would raise their costs and then the prices they charge the consumer, so explain Costco which offers excellent wages and an excellent benefits package and they do not have nearly the volume of Walmart.

The defeatist will say, how can my little financial protest stop these major corporations and though by yourself it cannot make much of a dent. But, imagine if millions were to join you? How many people walking away from company X and shopping at company Y before company X gets the message? 100,000? 1,000,000? As the expression goes, "it starts with ONE" be it a step or dollar.

   Start with yourself   
In all of these, the point starts with a single focal point, YOU! The simple fact is that the power is yours and only you can give it up.

Do you know how ice forms? A single crystal will form and that starts a chain reaction as more and more crystals form adjoined to the first. The big picture will take care of itself, but you have the knowledge that you are doing your part, others will follow.

   On election days, GO VOTE!   
My mother used to tell me that America is a great country and asks so little of us, it really only asks that we inform ourselves and make our voice heard on election day.

Here's something you might find interesting, in 2004 George W. Bush was re-elected by a 51% vote amongst the estimated 61% of registered voters that cast ballots (he called this a mandate, gads!). Some estimate that only 60% of people who are eligible actually are registered, that means about 18-20% of the people who could have voted actually voted for Bush.

Think about this, if the people who are dissatisfied with government today could come together and vote as a block to support REAL reform in Washington, it would only take 6 years to perform a complete overhaul of the Federal Government. Talk about a bloodless coup!

People may have to let some of their personal issues take a beating in the short term, but try voting for substance, vote for the big picture; reclaiming the government of the people, by the people, and for the people back to the people.

Sadly, people tend to be a bit like lemmings, they will follow the crowd off a cliff until someone offers another alternative. Stand up and offer that alternative!

The world truly is what we make of it and if we wish to sit on your butt and just whine about "it going to the dump" and refuse to do something about it, then I say shut the f' up if you are unwilling to be part of the solution. Doing nothing makes you just as responsible, but are you REALLY going to be happy with what you are responsible for?

By the way, I hear people throwing around the word "fascism" and tend to think of the fanatical cult of one, like a Hitler or Mussolini. Mussolini once defined fascism as follows:

Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power

So the gauntlet has been thrown down, put up or shut up, and decide what is more important to you. If you want government to be more responsive to the people than to business and special interests, get off your ass and do something.

All good actions are never in vain, so I ask you to consider these simple ideas and consider joining this small beginning to the new revolution.

Free Speech vs Hate Speech

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is where one will find the guarantee of Freedom of Speech . In recent years, the question has been raised as to what roll and to what extent the government should play in it's legislation of "Hate Speech" laws. Let's use a recent example.

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern originally became known to me a year or so ago when she declared "I honestly think it's [homosexuality] the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam..."

Well the other day she was at it again when she made the following declaration as part of her new signature drive on the "Oklahoma Citizen's Proclamation for Morality".

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month [June 2009 as 'LGBT Pride Month'] to an immoral behavior;

The proclamation also declares the federal government "is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built."

As would be expected, a crowd of less than happy protesters made themselves heard shouting things like "shame on you" and "hypocrite." She felt that the protest was "...a wonderful demonstration of intolerance." All I can ask is did she READ what she was proclaiming?

My favorite was the response of Pastor Paul Blair of the Fairview Baptist Church who said:

They don't feel like we should get involved and interfere in what they are trying to say, we had hoped they would show us the same respect.

Are they kidding? These pronouncements were made in the Oklahoma State Capitol and they expected what, humble silence?

When was the last time you had an LGBT protest show up at a church picnic or a funeral? Does the LGBT community stage protests in front of their Churches and decry the perversion of Jesus' teaching or the hatred spewing forth from many pulpits in America? Maybe they should... Hmmm...

I was taught, by Southern Baptist parents, that to stand by and say or do nothing was to lend my support and sadly most churches say nothing about the insensitive, little less the absurd, that is carried out in the name of Jesus.

Chuck S. Thornton, the Deputy Director of the ACLU Chapter of Oklahoma responded:

I think it's very unfortunate, frankly, I haven't seen scapegoating like this since pre-World War II Germany. She blames all these things upon a great moral crisis...but nowhere in this parade of horribles does [she] mention greedy Wall Street executives or government regulators who were asleep at the switch.

Now I expect that comparison to Germany and the term "scapegoating" to be taken poorly by her and those who think like her. So let's ask if such a statement would be justified or an overly dramatic one.

Scapegoating can be defined as a practice by which angry feelings and feelings of hostility may be projected, via inappropriate accusation, towards others. Another description would be the creation of an "us" versus "them" mentality where the "them" are the cause for all the woes that the "us" are blighted with, the "us" tend to be beyond reproach and have little to no fault in the situation.

...[They have] achieved... the ability to control and manipulate the mass media to their own advantage.

LGBT school children were openly ridiculed by teachers and the bullying of LGBT in the playground by other pupils went unpunished.

Oh wait a moment, that first quote wasn't Rep. Kern, it was Adolph Hitler from "Mein Kampf" and the second was taken directly out of an article on Jews in Germany during the rise of Hitler between 1933, when the Jews had become the "Untermenschen" - the sub-humans, and before the Krystalnacht of 1938, I just replaced the words "Jews" and "Jewish" with "LGBT". If you watch and listen, you hear many LGBT students reporting this exact behavior today.

There will always be those who cannot see the difference between disagreeing on something and using Hate Speech.

Pat Robertson and other "religious" leaders are perfectly welcome to say that they do not agree with the LGBT community, Same-Sex Marriage or abortion but when you instill hatred and incite people to violence against another then you have crossed the line from Free Speech into the realm of Hate Speech.

I disagree completely with the "traditional" interpretation of Jesus' teachings that have come down to us from Catholicism and into the assorted Protestant movements, but I would never deny those who believe it the benefits of society or suggest in any way that violence of any kind be directed towards them.

Hate Crimes are the fruit of Hate Speech and those in positions of influence need to be specifically careful to make sure that when they disagree with any group or idea that they take care so as not to incite those looking for an excuse into rash and deplorable behaviors toward those that are on the other side of the argument.

I think Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, summed it up beautifully before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week when he said;

One has to look at the unfortunate history of our nation. There are groups that have been singled out, that have been targets of violence. We have to face and confront that reality.

and

Hate Crimes victimize not only individuals but entire communities, perpatrators of Hate Crimes seek to deny the humanity that we all share regardless of the color of our skin, the God to whom we pray or the person we choose to love.

Happy Independence Day!!!

After the last 8 years of the previous administration and what some are referring to as a somewhat stilted if not shaky start to the new administration, maybe it would be a good idea to have a slight High School Civics refresher.

Let's start with the purpose of today, it is the celebration of the July 4^th, 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence which formalized the resolution of Independence that had been approved two days earlier.

This document was a synthesis of some current documents as well as based upon the 1689 document called "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown" and later shortened to "The Short Titles Act 1689" and commonly called the English Bill of Rights.

While the American Declaration of Independence was not the first such declaration ever made, it was to signal the start of the systemic failure of European Colonialism in many aspects.

On this day, most American think of fireworks, bar-b-ques and if you are a little older, John Phillips Sousa marches. I tend to think of the fact that this day was the beginning of a long and sometime excruciatingly bloody trek that would eventually bring us to where we are today.

So on this day where we celebrate our Independence and many also think of their freedoms, enjoy and take just a moment to ponder this great experiment in history called Democracy and appreciate it before it disappears through neglect.

One of my co-workers has a bumper sticker that sums it up so nicely (even though it refers to the Constitution instead)

I would rather have someone burn the flag and wrap themselves in the Constitution, than to burn the Constitution and wrap themselves in the flag.

Think about it...

Gay Pride vs Robert's

Warning:
The following contains some language that may offend some...

It's officially Gay Pride Sunday in Los Angeles... The festivities are in full swing and the parade starts in about 10 hours and I am going with a group of wonderful friends.

But as much as I enjoy Gay Pride, there are two aspects of it that really yank my chain.

1. I've never exactly understood what it is that I am supposed to be so proud of. To me, being gay is like being Caucasian, it's just who and what I am.
   
   I'm not proud of being 5'8" (172 cm), I'm not proud of naturally blond hair (though it's now turning grey/silver) and I'm definitely not proud of a genetic tendency to be short and stocky... If I'm not proud of those genetic traits, why should I be proud of the one that makes me gay?
   
   Those who think it is some kind of choice are either too stupid to awaken to the fact they didn't choose their heterosexuality and they obviously have never been on the receiving end of one of their rants of hatred, thinly veiled behind a "philosophy" of love, you know, the hate the sin but love the sinner... Right...
   
   To wake up one day and say to oneself, I think today, I will make myself a second class citizen, a pariah of society and unwanted by my family... If that truly were true, I would DEFINITELY be in need of a therapists help.
   
   The simple fact is that God made me the way that I am and he shows this particular paintbrush of uniqueness all over nature, so it is only "unnatural" as far as people judge it.... Screw 'em!
   
   Many people tell me that I should be proud of having survived everything being gay has brought into my life, while it is true they actually had a lot to do with me becoming the person I am today, but what a sucky way to go about it (guess I may be a spiritual drama queen after all).
   
   
2. The other aspect of Gay Pride that gets to me is that I am so not the typical fag. I cannot dance, I couldn't care less about fashion (I actually found out that Jimmy Choo is a designer and not an accent issue for "Jimmy's Shoes" from "The Devil Wears Prada") and I am completely un-color coordinated.
   
   All the things people seem to think I should be as a gay man are completely outside my genetic makeup, I just don't have those genes...
   
   I don't know much about them, but I like cars, I also like computers, stereos and tearing stuff apart to see how it works.
   
   As far as sex goes, the straight-boy fantasy of the gay-sex-life is something I have NEVER really been either capable of, little less comfortable with.
   
   I live in LA where 9's and 10's run around like crazy and I am a 40+ cute, but nothing that's going to grab your attention and lets face it, men are visually stimulated creatures.
   
   There are times when I see the guys in the clubs and I feel like an alien visiting from another dimension since NONE of it makes any sense to me.
   
   As much as I would love to get laid more often, like a few times a decade, I just cannot become part of the 2AM discount sale at the local gay watering hole, I can't stay up that late and I want to choose or be chosen, not stuck with as the best option left (this isn't third grade dodge ball team selection).

So, I guess I will enjoy the Pride Parade, torment a few fundies by knowing their Bibles better than they do, and celebrate that we had the courage to tell the judgemental assholes out there to just go fuck off and be what we were made to be.

The simple fact seems to be that gay or straight, we all have our issues.

I think I got the gay genes that turn into shamans and others of service to their community, kind of lonely a lot of the time, but ultimately rewarding in the long run, even when it seems futile...

Guess God does have a sense of humor after all.

A new dawn in Washington DC...

Today, as of 12 noon EST, George W. Bush has joined the ranks of the 11.1 million people that were listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as unemployed last December. Eight years ago, the rate was 5.7 million, nearly half of today.

This, as well as many of the other woes of the country, are not specifically his fault, but he, his party and politics as usual have had a lot to do with the creation of the situations we find our nation in.

Our new President, Barack H. Obama, has run on a platform of change, not a particularly new platform but he has definitely worked it to his advantage during the campaign season. I hope he can fulfill at least a quarter of what he has said.

One of the things that I hope both he and his administration are aware of is that playing the race card will only work for a short time before the American people stop finding it clever and just find it patronizing.

Larry Elder, a local radio personality and author, wrote a book several years ago called "The Ten Things You Can't Say In America" where he discusses one of his recurring themes, about how "White Condescension Is as Bad as Black Racism" about which he says "Blacks Are More Racist that Whites" (titles of chapters 2 and 1 respectively).

In the discussions he talks about how we seem to expect less from someone who is perceived as part of a minority group. I am hoping this is not something that will be a basic tenant of the current administration or the media.

My expectations of the new administration are just as high for this administration as it would be for any other. I have no plans of cutting it some slack because the point-man is of African decent, neither should you.

During the campaigns, we heard MANY people go directly after the fear buttons of the populace, fortunately it seems that it did not either work as well as some would have hoped or the American people are starting to show signs of stirring. We heard scare tactics like:

• Since his father is a Muslim, he's going to install sharia (Islamic law) upon the land
• His middle name is Hussein and on many occasions called him Saddam Hussein Obama to associate him with Saddam Hussein
• He is a socialist (a major power word for Republicans) and will undo capitalism

Now that he is President we will see what he will make of the opportunity that has been placed before him.

As far as his predecessor, George W. Bush, we will see what history will make of his administration as well as see what kind of ex-President he will become.

Some Presidents do a much better job as ex-Presidents than they did in office, look at Jimmy Carter. As President, let's be honest, he was a bit of a wet noodle and not a particularly strong leader. After he was out of office, he has become quite the example of what many hold dear in a leader as well as a human being to the extent that he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Somehow, I just do not hold such lofty goals for the departing administration (may the universe PLEASE surprise me on this one).

I am reminded of a joke that may likely play itself out over the next year or so...

Boris Yeltsin was starting his first day in office as President of the Russian Federation when he came across the outgoing President Mikhail Gorbachev cleaning out his desk.

President Yeltsin asked him if he had any suggestions as to how to perform the duties of President to which he was now responsible.

Former President Gorbachev told him, "When you get into a jam that you cannot get out of, open the center drawer of the desk and you will find two envelopes. Take the first one out and follow its instructions. Later, when a second unsolvable situation comes up, take out the second and do likewise."

Time went along as it does and eventually a situation arose that President Yeltsin could not find a solution to. He remembered the envelopes and pulled out the first on which read, "Blame the previous administration."

He followed the instructions and sure enough it worked like a charm.

More time passed and another situation came up and after trying everything he could think of, he opened the second envelope which read, "Sit down and write two letters..."

Lets hope that there is more than a joke that describes this new administration and that they truly do succeed in creating the change that this country both deserves and in my opinion needs.

Let us hope that we truly are seeing a new dawn in Washington DC that works to the benefit of the masses instead of an elite of businessmen and corporations. Hope springs eternal.

An Open Letter

I don't know what insanity took over me to actually send this, but I just mailed the following letter to 365Gay.com's submission department, the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Hello,

I am a life coach and spiritual teacher, not a legal scholar in any sense of the word, but I have been wondering about this legal question ever since I heard about the ballot initiative that became Prop. 8 after the California Supreme Court overturned Prop. 22.

If there is any validity to the questions, I would appreciate if this could be forwarded to someone who could put it to good use.

As you know, in 2000 California voters passed Proposition 22 which placed the following text into the California Family Code as Section 308.5:

Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

This single line of text was overturned by the California Supreme Court as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution.

Proposition 8 placed the exact same text, literally, into the State Constitution as Article I, Section 7.5. Now the questions are as follows...

1. Since this line of code has been determined to be in violation, does it cease to be in violation now?
   
   
2. Does it make a difference that this exact code was found to be invalid before it was even qualified as a ballot initiative? I think this may be the first time that a law has been added after being declared unconstitutional.
   
   
3. In what ways would this invalidate Proposition 8 and if nothing else, does this create any kind of Constitutional Crisis since it introduces an ambiguity into the Constitution?
   
   
4. If the above is correct, how does one go about bringing this to the attention of of the Supreme Court, or whatever process this has to go through to have it ruled upon?

I have heard several cases are being brought into the court, but they seem to the same old cases that never seem to go very far very fast. This would seem to be the most direct and expedient path if it is valid.

Once again, if this is of any validity, would you please send it on to anyone who can make use of it.

Thank you,

Robert A. Burgener

We will see if I get any responses...

End of A Season

Tuesday is finally over and we have a new President of the United States.

Congrats to President-elect Obama on a substantive victory. I may not be your biggest fan, but I did vote for you over Senator McCain.

Here in California, there were several initiatives, there are ALWAYS several, to look at and while most were bond measures, and there were a couple that caught my interest.

Proposition 8:

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

California Proposition 8, a law that is identical to one that was declared as unconstitutional, was passed by a narrow margin. There is a slim chance that it will not go through when the absentee ballots are counted, in California the absentee ballots tend to be more liberal or progressive than conservative, we will see…

If Proposition 8 should pass, there is a question that I have about the constitutionality of it as follows. Last May I wrote a blog entry titled “Same-sex Marriage & the Conservative Right” where I mentioned the lack of difference between previous Proposition 22 which put the exact same text into the California Family Code as Proposition 8 puts into the California Constitution.

The California Supreme Court threw the Family Code law out since they determined that it violated the “Equal Protection” clause of the State Constitution. So my question becomes this, does inserting it into the Constitution make it constitutional since it still violates the “Equal Protection” clause? Some would say yes, but I wonder about what challenges could be made since this text was already determined to be unconstitutional. It’s one of those legal questions that make some lawyers go hmmmm……

The other aspect of Proposition 8 was the campaign that was used to get voters to go along with it. I would have expected the usual “restore traditional marriage” ads of the past, but I did not see one pro-8 ad that dealt with anything other than same-sex marriage being taught in schools. If you did not read anything else about the proposition, one might have thought that Proposition 8 was about educational curriculum.

The initial ad discussed that in Massachusetts a teacher used a book, showing one called “King & King”, and when some parents balked they were told that they had no right to protest the curriculum or to pull there child out of class.

The case itself, Parker v. Hurley, the premise was that they were not notified of materials they found offensive; from the brief:

In January 2005, when Jacob Parker ("Jacob") was in kindergarten, he brought home a "Diversity Book Bag." This included a picture book, Who's in a Family?, which depicted different families, including single-parent families, an extended family, interracial families, animal families, a family without children, and -- to the concern of the Parkers -- a family with two dads and a family with two moms. The book concludes by answering the question, "Who's in a family?": "The people who love you the most!" The book says nothing about marriage.

Where this case fell apart legally was that the law they sued under to block this requires notification and an opportunity to exempt their children from "curriculum which primarily involves human sexual education or human sexuality issues." This has been interpreted as sex education and other related classes. The subject of the class was "what makes a family" which the courts determined did not qualify under this law.

This is not how the case was presented in the advertising for the pro-8 position. Sadly, this is hardly the exception but has started to become the rule as of late. Another good example of this is the so-called Texas Sodomy case where you here the far-right saying that sodomy is now legal in the State of Texas.

If one actually looks into the case, you find that sodomy has always been legal in the State of Texas if you are a heterosexual couple and the law that was challenged and eventually dismissed was only making it criminal for same-sex couples.

I sometimes wonder when we will start requiring political campaigns to actually be direct and honest to the subject. I mean sure there will be some mention of same-sex marriage in schools when it becomes legal, but the proposition has nothing to do with education.

Proposition 4:

WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATION OF MINOR’S PREGNANCY.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

This is a situation that required much thought to decide on my vote.

What made this so tough for me was that where there is a certain validity to the idea that not all families are positive experiences for a young girl and it may be difficult for her to discuss an unwanted pregnancy with her family, I also wonder just how much of a right to information the parents have?

In this country, we tend to hold parents as the responsible parties for the actions of their minor children. If a child vandalizes a neighbors property, the parents are the ones who are obligated to reimburse the damages. In some places, if a student does not go to school, the parent can be fined for the truancy.

If we are going to hold parents accountable for the actions of their children, how can we expect them to do this when we keep denying their right to know what their child is doing under the auspices of "right to privacy" for said minor?

How I voted is between myself and the booth, but this was something that made me think.

In case you don't live in California, Proposition 4 did not pass by a 52% to 47% margin.

Politics, Religion and I – pt 1.5

I have been kind of procrastinating on doing this second part... I am really not that interested in it.

I also realized that even though I have my issues with both parties and their apparent merger into variations of a single theme, the problem really is not the politicians, the special interests or the corporations. The simple fact is that even though they may pay lots of cash to a candidate, they cannot vote. So in the final analysis, the blame for the current state of affairs in this country truly is the population for their complete lack of involvement.

Those who do not understand, or do not want to understand, the relationship of man and the universe enjoy being victims of the world, you can only be a victim if you choose to be, it cannot be thrust upon you. It can be very comforting to pretend to be innocent victim, but we truly are neither.

The simple truth is that countries get the governments they deserve, not by being good or bad, but by what they allow to be carried out in their names.

As much as many, if not most, people want to blame those in "charge" the simple facts are that the American populace has dropped the ball and may soon find themselves without any voice in the government that originally was of, by and for the people.

If the disenfranchised majority in this country were to get off its backside and would work together as a unit, there could be a complete revolution in this country without a single drop of blood being shed. All the fighting would be in the voting booth and within six years, everything could be different.

Sadly, in this country, we are more interested in voting for our favorite American Idol candidate than political figure.

I am reminded of the story of a young student and teacher talking about the difficulties in finding God when they come to a river.

As they are crossing, the teacher grabs the head of the student and plunges it under the surface. The student starts to struggle for air and after a few moments the teacher releases his student's head.

When the student catches his breath, he looks up at the teacher with astonishment in his eyes, not understanding why his teacher would do such a thing.

The teacher looks at his student and tells him, "When you want God half as much as you wanted air, then you will find Him."

When the American people want change more than they want mind numbing excuses for entertainment, then they will get it. It takes work, but not nearly as much as many feel, first we wake up and then we start to awaken those around us.

So go out and make some noise and start waking your friends and neighbors. Become involved for if you do not, freedom and rights can be taken away from you and many might be surprised just how close we are getting to loosing it already.

Politics, Religion and I – pt 1

This blog is not really about politics, but in today's world, with religion and politics becoming more and more intertwined; I spend a lot of time discussing politics with clients, students and practitioners. I am always reminded of the following line:

When religion and politics ride in the same cart, the whirlwind follows.

Rev. Mother Romallo
"Dune" by Frank Herbert

So lets get into it and see what we can make of things...

First of all, I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, I am what George Carlin used to refer to as a free thinker. I find out as much as I can about the issues and/or the candidates and then make my own decisions.

I will listen to the corporate media in this country for their perspective, but I am quite aware of the fact that they tend to slant their presentations and their coverage based upon their own needs, read financial. I have no doubts that the media in America has a vested interest in politics for both access and financial reasons.

The access can be many things, but one that I became aware of in 2001 was from several friends at Disney who said that the ABC News division had been made aware that if they presented stories that were not in the interest or perspective of the Bush administration, they would find access restricted. What does that mean? Two quick examples...

1. Every media outlet, supposedly, has members in the White House Press Core. While the administration would not evict a reporter from a network or outlet, they may never be called upon to ask questions during a press conference or just very late into it.
   


2. We all see those lovely interviews on Sunday morning and other times with the big players in Washington. What does a network do when they can only get 2^nd or 3^rd string interview?

I think the part of this that bothered me the most was that I have always been a firm believer in the concept of a free press and this was a slap in that ideal's face. It became even more frightening to me after September 11, 2001 and the things that happened in Washington and the media afterwards.

The Republican fall from grace

I was raised in a Southern Baptist Republican home. I was taught many things that have stayed with me until this day and in many ways find myself agreeing with many policies of "conservative" politics. Now before you freak out about this, understand that when I speak of "conservative Politics" I am referring to it as it was by Barry Goldwater, the father of conservatism.

This form of conservatism involved the concepts of self-responsibility and government staying outside of the privacy and sanctity of the home. Funny, the neo-conservatives of today would classify Goldwater as a left-leaning liberal by their current stances.

For me, the Republican Party started to fall out of favor during the Reagan/Bush administration. I became quite aware that many of my friends were getting ill with GRID, as AIDS was called at the time, and the administration did not care. The people getting this strange illness were homosexuals, drug addicts and immigrants; people the Ronald Reagan didn't count as part of his America.

I always found it a touch ironic that he later cut the funding for Alzheimer's disease and the same disease would be a substantial player in his own later life and death. There was a joke (?) that went around for a while that went something like: He forgot 100,000 Americans during his presidency and later forgot everyone else as well. A touch crass, but many people still hold strong feelings about the lack of care by the "Compassionate Conservatives" of the time.

During the Clinton Presidency, the Republican Party continued to show its true colors by spending years and millions trying to remove Clinton from office. The looked into and screamed about every appearance of impropriety. Basically they came across, to me at least, as a bunch of spoiled children that were unhappy they did not get their way.

Later, as a nation, we were told that when President Clinton wanted to do something about Osama bin Laden, that there was nothing to it and all he was trying to do was divert attention from the Monica Lewinsky scandal that was going full force at the time, August 1998. Three years later we would find that the target had been valid.

By the time the current administration came into power, sic, I had pretty much lost all respect for the party as a whole, but I also realized that the party has been co opted by two differing factions with completely different goals, one though was more than willing to manipulate the other. These two opposing forces that seem to have united are the Religious Right and the Corporate Elite, for lack of a better name.

The Religious Right has a morality that is based upon its belief structure and the only aspect of it that gets to me is their attempts to encode these beliefs into the law of the land. I support the privilege to live as one chooses, but forcing others to abide by it is just wrong. Sadly, these people tend to believe that morality is about rules and regulations; if this is the case, then lawyers are the most moral individuals out there.

The other group that has seized power in today's Republican Party is the Corporations and "Special Interests." Now I have no problem with business making its voice heard, but it has been a serious mistake to allow Corporate culture all the rights and privileges of the citizenry with none of the responsibilities or moral ethics required of individuals. Corporations only do the right thing when it is profitable to them; this has been mandated by the Supreme Court in some of their decisions.

I think that the Religious Right is in for a rude awakening when they awaken to the fact that they have been used as a voting block and the "Business" side does not share their morality and will dump them as soon as they become a burden or less than profitable.

To be continued...

A warning between now and November 4, 2008

The California Supreme Court's lifting of the Same-Sex Marriage ban and its expected repercussions, both in California and Nationwide this November, reminded me of a joke I heard as a kid...

A farmer was at the market and while passing some livestock, looked down and saw a large, masculine rooster with wonderful plumage and features. The gentleman selling the chickens assured the farmer that the animal of his affection was an excellent replacement for the elderly one he had at home.

The farmer bought the animal and upon arriving home, set the rooster loose in the yard. After a short while, it spotted the old rooster and started to attack and become the head of the flock.

The other rooster may have been old and past his prime, but his intelligence was still sharp. As the young rooster approached he managed to stop him and said, "Listen, you don't have to kill me. I won't get in your way, I just want to live out the rest of my days in peace."

The younger rooster was stopped for a moment, but then asked, "and how do you expect to do that?"

"I'll tell you what I have in mind," the elder went on, "I cannot fight you, so lets do this the easy way and we both can get what we want. When the farmer comes out, you start chasing me around the yard and after a bit, I'll fall down and play dead. The farmer will throw me out and onto the trash heap, voilà, we both win. I can sneak away and enjoy my golden years and you get this lovely brood of hens."

The young rooster thought about this for a moment and decided that it was a lot easier than having to fight this old-timer. So he agreed.

Later that afternoon, the farmer came out of the house and almost immediately, the young rooster started chasing after his elder while squawking and making all sorts of noises.

The farmer seeing this cussed under his breath and went back into the house and grabbing his shotgun, took aim and bang shot the young rooster.

While reloading the gun, the old rooster heard the farmer muttering to himself, "Damn it, third queer bird this month."

Though this blog is not really about politics, the fact is that between the Religious Right (ick) and the Republican Party, both have learned that is much easier to manipulate the public through their fears and hatreds than to take a chance by stating actual positions and take the chance of making a mistake or alienating someone.

The upcoming elections will likely be a PhD in manipulation and the fear of "Radical Muslim" attacks is likely to be brought up and I wouldn't be surprised if we start having changes in the "Terror Alert" system, you remember that do you not? Just before any vote that would benefit the Republican platform and be debated out easily, would be proceeded by the latest raising of the "Terror Alert Level," we spent nearly 3 years being conditioned like Pavlov's dog to do whatever Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld wanted by this technique. It's basic Fear 101.

If this were not despicable enough behaviour, now the Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell clones can spend the next several months going on about how we must save marriage from the homosexual agenda and such silliness.

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The point I am trying to get across is that no matter what your beliefs, religious or political, expect many people to try and sway your position, including this piece. At least I am honest about it and I am only trying to warn you that others will use much more "knee-jerk" techniques that have shown to be very effective in this country.

Elections and voting in general are serious things, take the time to get more than sound bytes that do not give a complete position. If a political message evokes a strong response, whichever way, look into it, find out who put it out and what are their objectives. Many corporations are going to be gunning for Democrats because they fear the reversal of tax credits and possible increased taxation on some of their insane profits, like the energy companies in particular.

So be awake, be aware and definitely engage your brain, unless you think that those decisions should be taken out of your hands. There are many people and groups out their who are interested only in their positions and don't care about anything else, don't help them unless you agree with those positions.

And so it begins...

A month ago, I wrote about the fact that the California Supreme Court determined that discrimination along the lines of "separate but equal" had been overturned and Same-Sex Couples would be allowed to legally use the term "marriage" and as of 5:01pm today, it has taken affect.


I just finished watching the first same-sex couple in Los Angeles, Diane Olson and Robin Tyler, together for over fifteen years, get married on the steps of the Beverly Hills courthouse where they had been denied a marriage license every Valentines Day for the last eight years they had applied for it.

In San Francisco, the mayor of that city was also performing a marriage of a couple that had been together for fifty-five years; Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84.

Of course some closed-minded pin-head, not very enlightened of me, but when you hear someone yell "you will be burning in Hell" during a ceremony, I loose my perspective a bit. Agree with it or not, have some respect, but if there is anything that the Religious Right (ick - they are not right and if they would actually read their Bibles, they would know it.) has shown, neither respect for differing opinions or common courtesy can be expected from them, sad is it not?

The part of this whole argument that really gets to me from the, self-proclaimed, moralists is that with all their arguments, they obviously have no idea what a marriage is supposed to be. It's not about the genders of the parties involved, but commitment to become two who come together as one.

May all those in the Gay and Lesbian community that decide to enter into marriage do so for the right reasons, love and commitment, and in time, maybe we can show these closed-minded individuals what a marriage is supposed to be.

Would it not be hilarious if we turned out to be better at keeping marriages together than our Christian brothers and sisters who think we will be the death of marriage?