from a fwd. from my buddy C. up in Astoria.
it seems like this knowledge is coming from a lot of different angles these days.
thanks for the quote brudda
--
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a-Albert Einstein
part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts
and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for
us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few
persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this
prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living
creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
e=mc^2 changed my life. when i finally realized the simple truth and beauty of this statement
i understood what Einstein is referring to in this quote. We as human beings, flesh and
blood, earth-bound, food cravers, are just another form of energy in this situation we
find ourselves in. and indeed, the whole set up in the world, 'the way things are'
in this earth, as far as human societies are concerned, is all in our heads. that's why i get
frustrated with people who say 'that's the way it is, has been and always will be',
because they're flat wrong. that may be how it is, but it certainly isn't how it always has
been and there is only our collective consent that allows it to continue to be in the future.
What is 'it' you ask? for starters the basic issue of who slices and how they slice the pie.
The list goes on.
Indeed, our circle of compassion must grow to include everyone and all life on the planet.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
more on e=mc^2
Monday, August 27, 2007
fcc public comment
i just have to mention this real quick.
i watched bill moyers again this week and one of his guests was michael copps, a commissioner on the FCC. he's a leading proponent for controlling media ownership. i clicked on the link for the FCC comment page and was flabbergasted. you have to have a part time job just to file a comment. its ridiculous. it wasn't so hard a couple years ago when the issue came up and 3 million people made comments that were 99.9% against allowing for more media consolidation.
sorry i don't have the link, but you'll find it at bill moyers site.
i watched bill moyers again this week and one of his guests was michael copps, a commissioner on the FCC. he's a leading proponent for controlling media ownership. i clicked on the link for the FCC comment page and was flabbergasted. you have to have a part time job just to file a comment. its ridiculous. it wasn't so hard a couple years ago when the issue came up and 3 million people made comments that were 99.9% against allowing for more media consolidation.
sorry i don't have the link, but you'll find it at bill moyers site.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
musings
i'm feeling pretty down. the outlook does not seem bright.
i keep on cause i can, i guess, but look at the future increasingly as something to be avoided.
i know its negative thinking but its also science.
my individual and our collective security is increasingly uncertain.
wtf?
its easy to slip into a narcissistic fatalism mode, 'the world is going to hell anyway so why bother, i'm gonna have as much fun as i can while i'm here...' i just hope this time it isn't as long as the last time.
no i'm not there yet, but i just don't know...about life and what its all about. this struggle for money to pay the bills and the mortgage, this struggle for some imagined future utopia, this struggle to shine the light of truth in an ocean of darkness.
who am i to claim to have any modicum of truth?
when will the pendulum of social justice swing back, or is that metaphor completely erroneous to begin with?
we need health care dammit
this is fucking bullshit
why don't we all demand it. i mean, for real, if the 40 million or whatever the number is, of us uninsured Americans just got together and voted for universal health care, we could get it. but the lords of empire are too skilled at dividing and conquering. and i really can't blame the wal-mart slave whose too tired to give a damn about writing an email to his/her congressperson.
but for real, we need to wake up in this country now. you gotta ask yourself, don't i deserve health care as my right as a human being? whose gonna pay for it? you might ask. the elite should pay for it. tax the rich. they've benefited the most while we've suffered, so they should pay for our health care. the truth of the matter is, if us 40 million didn't go to work as an organized union, we could shut this country down. the lowest paid do the most critical work. think about what your life would be like if all the janitors stopped working. talk about a mess. you couldn't live like that. when i was doing entry level construction, digging a ditch, i realized the nobility of manual labor. you can have the fanciest plans in the world, but until someone grabs the shovel and starts moving earth, not a damn thing is going to get built. the people who do the real work, the work where the rubber meets the road, food harvesting, garbage collection, ditch digger, these are the lucky many who change the physical world hopefully for the better. but for some crazy reason we allow the decision makers to make all the money. why? all they do is make a decision. we do the real work. we live in a democracy don't we? and we clearly have the numbers, do we not?
don't get me wrong, i'm not advocating a general strike by any means.
i just think people with low incomes should vote in their own interest and vote for some real change. republicans especially and many democrats as well are bought and paid for by industry and corporate elites, who absolutely, unequivocally do not have our interests in mind. people at the top think they're better than everybody else. the fact is the people at the top are the worst. say what you want about bill and melinda gates, but to continue to support and and bolster an obviously failed system that is unsustainable and unjust is immoral. the elite have created the system to suck the wealth, health and money right on out of the very economy that supports itself. they are primarily responsible for changing it, but unlikely to do so unless by force. hopefully that will be negotiated peacefully and not violently as happened in 1776.
i keep on cause i can, i guess, but look at the future increasingly as something to be avoided.
i know its negative thinking but its also science.
my individual and our collective security is increasingly uncertain.
wtf?
its easy to slip into a narcissistic fatalism mode, 'the world is going to hell anyway so why bother, i'm gonna have as much fun as i can while i'm here...' i just hope this time it isn't as long as the last time.
no i'm not there yet, but i just don't know...about life and what its all about. this struggle for money to pay the bills and the mortgage, this struggle for some imagined future utopia, this struggle to shine the light of truth in an ocean of darkness.
who am i to claim to have any modicum of truth?
when will the pendulum of social justice swing back, or is that metaphor completely erroneous to begin with?
we need health care dammit
this is fucking bullshit
why don't we all demand it. i mean, for real, if the 40 million or whatever the number is, of us uninsured Americans just got together and voted for universal health care, we could get it. but the lords of empire are too skilled at dividing and conquering. and i really can't blame the wal-mart slave whose too tired to give a damn about writing an email to his/her congressperson.
but for real, we need to wake up in this country now. you gotta ask yourself, don't i deserve health care as my right as a human being? whose gonna pay for it? you might ask. the elite should pay for it. tax the rich. they've benefited the most while we've suffered, so they should pay for our health care. the truth of the matter is, if us 40 million didn't go to work as an organized union, we could shut this country down. the lowest paid do the most critical work. think about what your life would be like if all the janitors stopped working. talk about a mess. you couldn't live like that. when i was doing entry level construction, digging a ditch, i realized the nobility of manual labor. you can have the fanciest plans in the world, but until someone grabs the shovel and starts moving earth, not a damn thing is going to get built. the people who do the real work, the work where the rubber meets the road, food harvesting, garbage collection, ditch digger, these are the lucky many who change the physical world hopefully for the better. but for some crazy reason we allow the decision makers to make all the money. why? all they do is make a decision. we do the real work. we live in a democracy don't we? and we clearly have the numbers, do we not?
don't get me wrong, i'm not advocating a general strike by any means.
i just think people with low incomes should vote in their own interest and vote for some real change. republicans especially and many democrats as well are bought and paid for by industry and corporate elites, who absolutely, unequivocally do not have our interests in mind. people at the top think they're better than everybody else. the fact is the people at the top are the worst. say what you want about bill and melinda gates, but to continue to support and and bolster an obviously failed system that is unsustainable and unjust is immoral. the elite have created the system to suck the wealth, health and money right on out of the very economy that supports itself. they are primarily responsible for changing it, but unlikely to do so unless by force. hopefully that will be negotiated peacefully and not violently as happened in 1776.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
the way forward
whats it going to be?
so many viewpoints
so many conflicting 'facts'
whats a person to do?
one knows how different things could be
one knows how much better things could be
but things just stay the same
things just get worse
endless war and poverty
climate destabilization
whats a person to do?
wage peace they say
i think i do
but is it enough?
write to representatives
i do but apparently our numbers are too few to make a difference
so whats it going to be?
the way forward
so many viewpoints
so many conflicting 'facts'
whats a person to do?
one knows how different things could be
one knows how much better things could be
but things just stay the same
things just get worse
endless war and poverty
climate destabilization
whats a person to do?
wage peace they say
i think i do
but is it enough?
write to representatives
i do but apparently our numbers are too few to make a difference
so whats it going to be?
the way forward
Thursday, August 16, 2007
enlightenment and the founding of the nation
i watched an innocuous program the other day on opb about free-masonry. referring to the dan brown novel angels and demons and other conspiracy minded viewpoints, the program pointed out the connection of freemasonry and the founding of the nation, as well as the enlightenment period.
i find it sorrowful that we can look at an era in decades past and refer to it as 'the enlightenment' as if it had come and gone. but indeed that is what has happened. we live in a new dark ages in terms of intellectual honesty and integrity, pursuit of truth through reason and logic, and pursuit of happiness in general.
according to this show, these are the values held by the founding fathers. certainly not was it religious dogma. freedom of religion, right?
however, ever since that moment of brilliance in the late 18th century, when the framers and founders framed and founded this country, we continued on more or less the pattern of empire that has gone on since recorded history. today, the USA dominates global trade policies and it enforces the sale of oil in US dollars. petroleum is the lifeblood of 'modern' civilization and we're running out. there is no question that we live in a de facto monarchy these days. when the ruler does what he wants and not what the people want, when the ruler lies and takes the nation to war, that's pretty much a monarchy in my book. when the ruler says he can detain, interrogate, torture and even kill who he wants, when he wants, without a fair trial, that's a monarchy.
people think its about ensuring national security. its destroying the nation. it's rotting the core.
bush is exactly the kind of president the founding fathers anticipated when they included the articles for impeachment in the Constitution.
at least that's how i see it. who am i to say? just one of many.
i find it sorrowful that we can look at an era in decades past and refer to it as 'the enlightenment' as if it had come and gone. but indeed that is what has happened. we live in a new dark ages in terms of intellectual honesty and integrity, pursuit of truth through reason and logic, and pursuit of happiness in general.
according to this show, these are the values held by the founding fathers. certainly not was it religious dogma. freedom of religion, right?
however, ever since that moment of brilliance in the late 18th century, when the framers and founders framed and founded this country, we continued on more or less the pattern of empire that has gone on since recorded history. today, the USA dominates global trade policies and it enforces the sale of oil in US dollars. petroleum is the lifeblood of 'modern' civilization and we're running out. there is no question that we live in a de facto monarchy these days. when the ruler does what he wants and not what the people want, when the ruler lies and takes the nation to war, that's pretty much a monarchy in my book. when the ruler says he can detain, interrogate, torture and even kill who he wants, when he wants, without a fair trial, that's a monarchy.
people think its about ensuring national security. its destroying the nation. it's rotting the core.
bush is exactly the kind of president the founding fathers anticipated when they included the articles for impeachment in the Constitution.
at least that's how i see it. who am i to say? just one of many.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
one year of corvallis open forum
this coming weekend will mark the one year anniversary of the corvallis open forum. we will be in LA and won't be able to be here, though will definitely be in spirit.
corvallis open forum hasn't become a city wide phenomenon, but i feel like we're starting to have a level of legitimacy, as Dan insists we do. the forum is chugging along. attracting new visitors and participants every week, not many people have become regular attendees, but some have.
i think what we're doing is still worthwhile and valuable to the community. i think if more people participated and brought in different perspectives it would make it more interesting.
in a democracy called America, when so much is riding on our votes and our everyday behaviors, as we awaken to the fact that we are all interconnected parts of the larger whole, we must communicate across traditional boundaries and unite in order to have confidence in the future as something to look forward to. that's my opinion.
We provide the space for that communication to occur. we provide a 'new' kind of activity for anyone interested. it doesn't cost anything in terms of money, only time and concern and patience and respect.
The corvallis open forum is changing the world before our very eyes. If we didn't go there every week with our signs, chairs, soapbox, sign up sheet and timer and of course, our intention, there'd just be the tree and the grass and perhaps a few people milling about, but they more likely than not would not be listening to other people speak about something they care about, or speaking themselves about something they find important. I think this is the kind of social change we need in this day and age. Granted we need real leaders and real policies that improve everyone's lives, not just a handful of rich pigs, but we also need to re-connect with each other, and experience the de facto unity of all life.
corvallis open forum hasn't become a city wide phenomenon, but i feel like we're starting to have a level of legitimacy, as Dan insists we do. the forum is chugging along. attracting new visitors and participants every week, not many people have become regular attendees, but some have.
i think what we're doing is still worthwhile and valuable to the community. i think if more people participated and brought in different perspectives it would make it more interesting.
in a democracy called America, when so much is riding on our votes and our everyday behaviors, as we awaken to the fact that we are all interconnected parts of the larger whole, we must communicate across traditional boundaries and unite in order to have confidence in the future as something to look forward to. that's my opinion.
We provide the space for that communication to occur. we provide a 'new' kind of activity for anyone interested. it doesn't cost anything in terms of money, only time and concern and patience and respect.
The corvallis open forum is changing the world before our very eyes. If we didn't go there every week with our signs, chairs, soapbox, sign up sheet and timer and of course, our intention, there'd just be the tree and the grass and perhaps a few people milling about, but they more likely than not would not be listening to other people speak about something they care about, or speaking themselves about something they find important. I think this is the kind of social change we need in this day and age. Granted we need real leaders and real policies that improve everyone's lives, not just a handful of rich pigs, but we also need to re-connect with each other, and experience the de facto unity of all life.
defazio won't impeach
according to the honorable Peter Defazio, representative to the US Congress, impeachment is not going to happen. He said that its impossible, and that it would completely disallow other bills to be passed. He seemed to be narrowing the scope by talking about impeaching Cheney, he didn't really mention impeaching Bush. He said that if we impeached Cheney, Bush would appoint F. Thompson as new vice president and he would be elected as president and we'd have four more years of 'this' administration. Well what about impeaching them both?
I think Democrats would ensure their re-election by starting impeachment proceedings because they would be putting defending the constitution, protecting it by using it, to restore checks and balances according to the framers' design. so politically speaking its a win win. the people are tired of the bullshit and will support enthusiastically any effort to start cutting through it.
One thing Defazio did not address was the precedent being set. I think he mentioned getting a democrat elected to the white house being the priority in order to eventually investigate, prosecute and convict all of the criminal behavior committed by this administration. He didn't really address what Dennis Kucinich would do with the expanded powers of the executive branch established by the current powerwielders.
I think its simple. The framer's anticipated an over-reach by the executive branch so they gave congress the ability to check the executive. when the congress fails to do what it's supposed to do according to the Constitution, then who knows what the hell is going on. The possibility that our system of government is indeed a cover and facade for the actual powers that be, the 21st century aristo-corporat-military industrial complex, that democratically elected, representative government is failing in America, becomes a little more real. Then what? Whats a patriotic, concerned, citizen to do now?
That answer is also simple. We must unite and organize and do what we can. How? thats not so simple, of course. The greatest power that an average person has, in my opinion is the power of the purchase. We have an opportunity to use that power in a few months, by not exercising it. Here in the blissful warmth of summer, I'm thinking ahead to December, the shortest days of the year, Christmas time, when rather than going out and spending a ton of money for crap that my relatives and loved ones don't really need, I'm going to not shop. So i'm going to have to find another, perhaps more personable and meaningful way to celebrate the season. Don't shop this Christmas and send the powers that be a message, express yourself with the most effective method you have. Don't shop because you want to tell the world that you are protesting the sorry state of the world and the so-called leaders who are responsible. Don't shop and focus on Jesus Christ and what his message was. Love each other as you love yourself. That means see each other as ourselves, that means tearing down the boundaries of class. And 'race', gender, age, ideology, and perhaps even habit.
We need to unite for the common good of all the people of the world.
I think Democrats would ensure their re-election by starting impeachment proceedings because they would be putting defending the constitution, protecting it by using it, to restore checks and balances according to the framers' design. so politically speaking its a win win. the people are tired of the bullshit and will support enthusiastically any effort to start cutting through it.
One thing Defazio did not address was the precedent being set. I think he mentioned getting a democrat elected to the white house being the priority in order to eventually investigate, prosecute and convict all of the criminal behavior committed by this administration. He didn't really address what Dennis Kucinich would do with the expanded powers of the executive branch established by the current powerwielders.
I think its simple. The framer's anticipated an over-reach by the executive branch so they gave congress the ability to check the executive. when the congress fails to do what it's supposed to do according to the Constitution, then who knows what the hell is going on. The possibility that our system of government is indeed a cover and facade for the actual powers that be, the 21st century aristo-corporat-military industrial complex, that democratically elected, representative government is failing in America, becomes a little more real. Then what? Whats a patriotic, concerned, citizen to do now?
That answer is also simple. We must unite and organize and do what we can. How? thats not so simple, of course. The greatest power that an average person has, in my opinion is the power of the purchase. We have an opportunity to use that power in a few months, by not exercising it. Here in the blissful warmth of summer, I'm thinking ahead to December, the shortest days of the year, Christmas time, when rather than going out and spending a ton of money for crap that my relatives and loved ones don't really need, I'm going to not shop. So i'm going to have to find another, perhaps more personable and meaningful way to celebrate the season. Don't shop this Christmas and send the powers that be a message, express yourself with the most effective method you have. Don't shop because you want to tell the world that you are protesting the sorry state of the world and the so-called leaders who are responsible. Don't shop and focus on Jesus Christ and what his message was. Love each other as you love yourself. That means see each other as ourselves, that means tearing down the boundaries of class. And 'race', gender, age, ideology, and perhaps even habit.
We need to unite for the common good of all the people of the world.
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