Friday, December 29, 2006

Rest in Peace, Mr Ford

I believe, all in all, Mr Gerald Ford was the right man for our country at the right time. Why he recently withheld his opinion about the Iraq war I do not know. I believe we needed that point of view especially from someone of his stature. But I believe we needed that point of view from everyone. Another thing I didn't know about him was his inclusiveness towards gays and lesbians.

He may not have sought the Presidency, but performed well in office, all things considered. I believe anyone who wants to be president should be suspect at the get go. We need great leaders, not ego trippers, war mongers, and corporate hacks.

We need someone who serves all the American people and so doing, the world at large. Someone who will be a peacemaker by making peace. Someone who will uphold the constitution at all costs. Someone who will govern and not merely act politically.

Someone who is inclusive and fair minded. Someone who will reverse the current spiral of negativity and disrespect for truth.

Notice the war mongers coming forward and those opposed to it. Didn't work well for Republicans in the midterms.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Quote for Peace


"Man has no right to kill his brother. It is no excuse that he does so in uniform: he only adds the infamy of servitude to the crime of murder."

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Walk for Change, for Peace


"Walk the halls of Congress with Gold Star Families for Peace. Lets let the 110th congress know what is expected of them from Day 1. We will be insisting that an immediate exit strategy from Iraq be implemented. We will insist that all funding for the War stop and the money spent on rebuilding Iraq. We will be insisting that hearings begin immediately into Bushco's crimes against humanity and the lies told to the American people. We will demand IMPEACHMENT."

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

On the Route/Blue Heron


Today I had the honor of seeing a Great Blue Heron at one of the many ponds in and around Newberry, SC where I live. I ran home and got my camera after I had finished my route, of course! (I don't always finish my route before I video stuff!) So here it is. Sorry it's shakey, no tripod and very windy. Hope you find nature at least as fascinating as I do. If you have been to this blog before or to my YouTube site you have possibly seen other videos I've made. They include: Great Egret, Beaver Pond with turtles, muskrat, beavers, red-tailed hawk. One of the most unusual creatures I've seen so far is a Little Green Heron. Really odd and awesome. However, I did not have my camera that day! Here's another link for Great Blue Heron.




Saturday, December 23, 2006

Quote for Peace


"Where is the justice of political power if it...marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?"

Kahlil Gibran

From The Prophet:

And an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion."
And he said:
Have I spoken this day of aught else?
Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?
Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?
Who can spread his hours before him, saying, "This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?"

All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.
He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.
The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.

And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.
The freest song comes not through bars and wires.
And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.
Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,
The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.
For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.

And take with you all men:
For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.
And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.
Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.



me in the trEEs

Thursday, December 21, 2006

In the Midst of Madness

"When once a republic is corrupted there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption . . . every other correction is either useless or a new evil."
Thomas Jefferson

How long shall we go before we wake up to the madness that is being wrought by the idiocy, desperation and lies of our president and administration. The corruption and destruction and mayhem, there are so many words to describe it, is multiplied by more corruption as Jefferson says above, being useless or a new evil.

But when you are so convinced of your righteousness and the evil in the world that only you can irradicate, or die trying, actually allow others to die for you and your madness, there is only one thing to do. Admit no wrong and go full steam ahead with failed policies until something or someone stops you. Are you ready for Iran?

My question to my fellow Americans: How much longer do we suffer the idiocy of fools? As Robert Scheer points out:

The convenient lie behind all of this is that U.S. military occupation is the indispensable agent of Mideast enlightenment. No, we have become the enablers of Iraqi madness, be it in the form of torture or the ascendancy of religious tyranny in Iraq, where daily life has been reduced to an unmitigated horror.

Yet, like a junkie who needs one more hit to get his life in order, Bush is hooked on the drug of military might. If the Democrats continue to feed his dangerous habit they will only help Bush visit greater mayhem upon Iraq while undermining the core values of our own country.

God Bless us everyone, indeed! End this disaster now. End war now.


me in the EE

Christmas Greetings from my sister

This cracked me up. Have you seen it. A Screaming Banshee Holiday.




me in the banshEE

Get those tips out for the Holiday

Rhea at The Boomer Chronicles has a very good post about tipping people for the holidays. I deliver early morning papers, and have for over eight years. I've seen my tips grow through the years, but it's still mostly the same people tipping, around 25% of my customers or less. This year I tried to guilt them a little by saying something about my over 8 years of service. I think it work as some folks tipped for the first time ever. Rhea links to Eons (I'll check that out too). Some of the list:

* Barber: Cost of one haircut, plus possibly a small gift.
* Beauty salon staff: $10 to $60 each, giving the most to those who provide the most for you, plus possibly a small gift.
* Child’s teacher: Gift certificate for a coffee shop or bookstore; a book; fruit basket or gourmet food item; or joint gift with other parents and children. Not cash. Check the school’s policy.
* Letter carrier: Postal regulations allow carriers to accept gifts worth up to $20, but not cash.
* Newspaper carrier: $10 to $30.
* Nursing home employees: Gift, not cash.
* Building superintendent: $20 to $80
* Handyman: $15 to $40


my bold!


me in the EE

Winter Solstice Today !!! (for me anyway)

For those of us in the Northern Hemiphere, and the USA, we shall have our Winter Solstice this afternoon of evening depending on where you are in the country. For us here in South Carolina it will occur at 7:22 pm. Of course for the southerners, the REAL southerners, as in Southern Hemisphere, it's their Summer Solstice, the beginning of summer. Our days will start to get longer now, more sunlight, yeh!

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum.

Here's some links to sites about the Solstice:

Winter Solstice

Ancient Origins: Solstice
from this site:

The early Germans built a stone altar to Hertha, or Bertha, goddess of domesticity and the home, during winter solstice. With a fire of fir boughs stoked on the altar, Hertha was able to descend through the smoke and guide those who were wise in Saga lore to foretell the fortunes of those at the feast.


WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATIONS:
a.k.a. Christmas, Saturnalia, Yule, the Long Night, etc. at Religious Tolerance.org


from this site which has many forms of celebrations and history:


INCA RELIGION: The ancient Incas celebrated a festival if Inti Raymi at the time of the Winter Solstice. It celebrates "the Festival of the Sun where the god of the Sun, Wiracocha, is honored." 16 Ceremonies were banned by the Roman Catholic conquistadores in the 16th century as part of their forced conversions of the Inca people to Christianity. A local group of Quecia Indians in Cusco, Peru revived the festival about 1950. It is now a major festival which begins in Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheater a few miles away.

me in the solsticEE

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Coca in your tummy

Peru President, Alan Garcia, has suggested the use of coca in salads. The coca plant is used widely by indigenous peoples who live in high altitude areas. We drank coca tea when we visited to help boost our energy levels in those high altitudes.

From the article:

"I insist that it can be consumed directly and elegantly in salad," Garcia told foreign correspondents at the Government Palace.

Garcia's comments put him in the company of leftist presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who have publicly promoted mixing the high-calcium leaf into everything from toothpaste to soft drinks.

Coca has for centuries been considered a medicinal and ceremonial plant in Andean culture, and Garcia said it should not be vilified as useful solely for producing the illegal narcotic.


The Q'ero shamans used coca, chewed it all the time. They also used it for divining purposes and in special ceremonies of which we were allowed to take part.


The picture shows me with some of the many village kids in the high Andes, ok, not SO high Andes at Salka Wasi, home of Don Americo Yabar, advocate for the indiginous people and
Shaman/healer. We were playing guess which hand with pieces of candy. The kids loved it. I did too. Notice the band in the background.

Now is the time of change say the Q'ero Elders.

The prophecies are optimistic. They refer to the end of time as we know it - the death of a way of thinking and a way of being, the end of a way of relating to nature and to the earth. In the coming years, the Incas expect us to emerge into a golden age, a golden millennium of peace. The prophecies also speak of tumultuous changes happening in the earth, and in our psyche, redefining our relationships and spirituality.

The next pachacuti, or great change, has already begun and it promises the emergence of a new human after this period of turmoil. The chaos and upheaval characteristic of this period will last another four years, according to the Q'ero. The paradigm of European civilization will continue to collapse and the way of the Earth people will return. Even more importantly, the shamanic elders speak about a tear in the fabric of time itself. This presents an opportunity for us to describe ourselves not as who we have been in the past, both personally and collectively, but as who we are becoming.

One morning while waiting for our bus I overheard the school children singing before class. Many of them stood in front of the rest and sang traditional Q'ero songs. I went over and filmed them and sang for them.

In school they learn the Spanish language. One day Marilyn Markham and I played with some of the children who had made a kite out of a plastic bag. The terrain is very steep in most places around this area several miles outside Cuzco.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

On the Route

Sometimes a news item catches my attention while I'm out on the paper routes in the early morning listening to npr. This afternoon I saw a similar story at BlondeSense. It's a story about the "evil weed", marijuana and how it is the boggest cash crop in the US. (Duh) however illegal. What a waste of manpower, and money, (keeping it illegal). There's been a ten-fold increase in production since the war on drugs was initiated.

Another story I heard recently was about "Laughter" Hasya Yoga. I know this to be true as Sunday I was out and about and listening to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me also on npr. I get such a giggle out of those guys and I always feel so much better. Reminds me of my old friends. One is Deede, who always made me laugh and vice-versa. Then there was John, oh my god we laughed. Also Michael M and I had some very good times.

And while I'm at it, all those hilarious times in high school and college, with friends smoking pot, many times, just having fun.


me in the hEe hEe

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Six brutal truths about Iraq


General William Odom, one of the earliest advocates of an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, attacks some of the mythologies that are interfering with an honest debate about how to proceed in the Middle East and says the media have failed to recognize dramatic changes in the region.


Truth No. 1: No "deal" of any kind can be made among the warring parties in Iraq that will bring stability and order, even temporarily.


Truth No. 2: There was no way to have "done it right" in Iraq so that U.S. war aims could have been achieved.


Read all here. Highly recommended. SAw this first at Antiwar.com.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Winning Hearts and Minds?

A powerful article by Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory, "Winning Hearts and Minds"

As you may recall, one of the primary "justifications" for invading Iraq was that we were going to reduce anti-American resentment in the Middle East -- which fuels terrorist recruitment -- and therefore make the world safer for our country. They were going to so appreciate everything we did for Iraq and Afghanistan that they would realize how great we were, like us much more, and therefore not want to attack us anymore. How is that going?


Attitudes toward the U.S. from those in the Arab world have suffered greatly as a result of American foreign policy in the region, according to an Arab American Institute/Zogby International poll released today . . .


In 2002, the favorability rating of the U.S. among Moroccans was 38%. Now it's 7%.

In 2002, the favorability rating of the U.S. among Jordanians was 34%. Now it's 5%.



Read all including many excellent comments at link above.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Why the Warmongering?

An interesting article by Ralph R Reiland titled Warmonger Rationale quotes from Lawrence H Keeley's book, War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage.

From it:

"Essentially states are class-stratified political units that maintain a monopoly of deadly force – a monopoly institutionalized as permanent police and military forces," writes anthropologist Lawrence H. Keeley in his book, War Before Civilization: The Myth of the Peaceful Savage.

For a minority ruling group that's coercively siphoning off resources and lowering the take-home pay and living standards of the majority of the population, war, argues Salerno, has the advantage of directing the attention of the majority to an outside enemy, a foreign state, a foreign ideology.

"Convinced that their lives and property are being secured against a foreign threat, the exploited taxpayers develop a 'false consciousness' of political and economic solidarity with their domestic rulers," writes Salerno. Persistent war making by a nation's governing elite against allegedly threatening aggressors becomes "a perfect way to disguise the naked clash of interests between the taxpaying and tax-consuming classes."

War, rather than being a mistake or an aberration, is as unavoidable as death and taxes because it serves the interests of the governing class, according to Salerno's analysis: "A permanent state of war or preparedness for war is optimal from the point of view of the ruling elite, especially one that controls a large and powerful state."

My thought about war isfrom that book called the bible: "there shall be wars and rumors of wars but it shall not come nigh thee." Maybe I'm paraphrasing? There have always been plenty of conflict for those seeking it, for whatever reason. Ego, the little ego of man's separation psychosis may be fearful, may be glory seeking or both. How many deaths does it take? How many lives spent in madness? Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.

May you be at peace in your knowledge of what Is and has always been. One thing, that being perfect, perfect being, not the seeming to be, which can never be.

Peace.

P.S. Did a spell check for nigh and look what I found.

Spirited away: why the end is nigh for religion by Carol Midgley

Christianity will be eclipsed by spirituality in 30 years, startling new research predicts. Our correspondent reports on the collapse of traditional religion and the rise of mysticism....


...Those who think they can find the god within are swiftly put right. “To try to find the solution in oneself is bound to fail because human nature is fallen,” says Maiden. “Christianity isn’t about us trying to make ourselves better people. It is about God trying to do something for us 2,000 years ago which redeemed people.”

Perhaps he is right, but some of those losing their religion were brought up with just the kind of dogmatic beliefs that Maiden is describing. Take Julie Wise, 44 and a mother of two, who was raised on a Lancashire farm in the Church of England tradition. Three decades of religion failed to touch her, she says, and it was only in her thirties, when she went to an exhibition in Manchester and saw a man performing Infinite T’ai Chi, that she felt truly spiritually touched. “It was like divine intervention,” she says. “It was one of the most beautiful, meaningful things I had ever seen.” She is now an Infinite T’ai Chi practitioner and performs “soul readings”, a way, she says, of seeing life patterns and energies that haven’t been released in the past.

I lost my religion,
don't want it back anymore
Going to go on from here
through love's open door.

me in he EE

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Defeating Terrorism

An interesting idea from actor Alec Baldwin titled: Defeating Terrorism: An Oddly First Step


There is a way to defeat terrorism while building new and better alliances in the Arab world. It will be an enormously complex and difficult diplomatic puzzle. But the first step might be oddly simple. Get rid of the CIA, which has outlived its usefulness and is an embarrassment to this great country, and rebuild and reform US intelligence capabilities to fight this new type of threat.

Read the short article and then the comments also at link above.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

From Catholicism to Atheism to Divine Science to Isness

My spiritual quest has taken a few, fascinating turns. As I sought truth, or to know if truth even existed I came to outpicture that which I was being awakened to internally. I remember thinking in high school that I wanted to know the "truth" and that no one I knew knew it. Those were the end of my Catholic years and for a brief time my atheist years which really were a cleaning out of the old concepts of God and religion. My strengths were and are in philosophy, art, logic, and spacial perception, which is to say I have a pretty good idea when something is what it "is" or when something "seems" to be. This has to be done with concepts as well as physical things if one is to master essential ideas and ideals.

One of the most unlikely of many unlikely teachers that came my way was Irene. She was/is a Religious Science Practitioner. She was also attuned to all the new thought churches including Divine Science and Unity. Now in spirit, having left the physical experience some years ago. She is doing healing work for me, with me, through me now. What is, the ISNESS, as I had come to call it, awaits all to come "home" to itself, to become conscious of it, the you of you, the Is of what Is. There is only one thing. It is simple, but easily discarded by us with our many dramas, and fears, and ego trips. We are not what we seem to be because seeming cannot be. I had at one time sought out my spiritual family. I have found so many beautiful souls in so doing. We are one thing, that which IS. At any moment in time and space we may accept that and seeming miracles follow. Why seeming? Because what is always was and will always be. It's amazing that we have forgotten that and in our forgetting have created such chaos and despair. So the miracle is simply returning to what IS, who we really are in consciousness, and all else fades away to the nothingness it is, the seeming to be.

I am relearning that everything we experience, we experience for our growth towards greater consciousness. Whether we grow or not in any particular experience is up to us. But until we do we tend to have the same lessons repeated over and over. Since we are eternal there is no rush to "get it right." "Getting it right" is simply understanding one thing: who and what we really are to a greater and greater extent. The more inclusive and expansive your concepts, the closer you get to consciously knowing what Is. Isness always is. There is no changing it. It is the Alpha and the Omega all at once and eternally so, not having restrictions of time or space. So we are connected eternally to it, we are it's extension IN the physical world, but not OF the world.

Healing is being One, being whole. Thus conflict is no more, dis-ease is no more. Seen for the illusions that they are, the nothingness that they are, outpictured by us because of our misconception if what IS.

My cancer is now one of my teachers. When I stray away from my conscious connection with what IS, I put off healing. But healing comes fast and sure as I remember my connection to what IS and to all those who are part of me and I a part of them in the all encompassing ISness, the One thing that truely IS and has always been and will always be. In that am I healed and whole and Holy. In the embracing with love all that IS, and the laughing away of all that seems to be. In my seeking for real answers I found this. As I have said at some very pivotal times in my life: I expect great things from this relationship and in so saying I did get that which I set forth.

May all those who love come together with those willing to form a "Coalition of the Loving" and awaken to the Aquarian Age of Love.

Let the Church say "Amen."


Peace to all.

me in the EE

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Opera


I've studied singing for many years, as well as classical piano. My teachers of voice include Rico Serbo and Giorgio Tozzi. I sang with the Arizona Opera Chorus for several seasons, and one time got to step in for a missing tenor and soing a solo part. I also sang as soloist in many recitals, in oratorio including Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem. I have been looking at the role of Lohengrin lately. There is so much beautiful music for the tenor. Here's what the Metropolitan Opera has on the web--pretty cool.