Saturday, November 11, 2006

Redefining our world

Each year The Washington Post has a contest where readers are
asked to supply alternate meanings for various words.
And winners are...


1. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you
have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat
stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you
absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.



For more go to comments.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Rumsfeld resigns as Bush seeks "Fresh Perspective"


I heard again how Rumsfeld thinks that the average citizen doesn't understand the complexities of this war he has been blundering about in for the last 5 years. He has said the most unintelligable things that any person in leadership has uttered possibly in the history of mankind. My favorite is the unknown knowns, and the unknown unknowns. Good God.

One less crackpot leading young men to meaningless deaths, and countless thousands of innocent Iraqis killed by flawed policy and incompetence. War is obsolete. When will we get it? Although he has served many years and perhaps has done some good, he leaves in disgrace and with Iraq and the "war on terror" in chaos, although the president who has infaliblity, in his own mind anyway, lets him go with high regard. Heck of a job, Rummy.

I saw this cartoon in the USA Today. It's by Mike Smith

Update: A little history of Rumsfeld and Saddam and the sovereign Iraqi nation and biological weapons of mass destruction and mass distraction. Written by Robert Scheer at Truthdig.

Update:Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse
A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo.

Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.


Is this the you know what hitting the proverbial fan?


me in the EE

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Deer Medicine

Early this morning. Glad to have new break discs and front-end alignment as I came upon the most beautiful buck in the middle of the road. Less than 15 feet apart, we stared eye to eye for over 10 seconds before he turned and ran away. So let's see what the deer medicine is:

Woodland dreams of intuition come with the graceful deer. I greet you, brothers of the forest. Your gift of magic will brighten my life. Transformation will come to me. Like you, I stand listening to the drum beat of life, Poised to follow my guiding spirits. Gentleness and Innocence

Deer teaches us to use the power of gentleness to touch the hearts and minds of
wounded beings who are in our lives.

Don't push towards change in others, rather gently nudge them in right direction
with the love that comes from a Deer totem.

When a Deer totem shows up in your life, a new innocence and freshness is about to be awakened. There is going to be a gentle lure of new adventures. There will be an opportunity
to express the gentle love that will open new doors for you.

This afternoon after a visit to the hospital for pre-op, Buck, my partner and I, stopped at Lake Greenwood. For just a few minutes soaking in the beauty of the water and the fall colors. Yum.


me in the dEEr

Busheleon talk*

Some of the lastest from dear leader ... the president has called [for] a "new era of cooperation," Bush is already looking for areas of common ground with Democrats.

So why was it that he was the most uncooperative president up till now? Puhleeze!

There are just way too many serious problems that have been created by this man and his administration, (Lies about why we went to war, outing of CIA agent, Valerie Plame, Secret meetings with oil execs, Constituional threats, like the discarding of FISA, incompetence like Katrina), the list goes on and on and some that were narrowly avoided(Social Security Reform, for one). But now we have Bush saying in the face of defeat, "new era of cooperation" like he thought of it.


GET REAL.

Would I condemn him? No. I don't condemn anyone. I forgive. But that is not to say that we should disregard laws of the land. We must bring truth to light or suffer the consequences of further atrocities in the future. If laws have been broken, we need to hold people who took on responsibility responsible. No one has power, but responsibility, yes. The people, regardless of how divided we are, no matter how ignorant we are, no matter how biased we are, have the power and the responsibility to demand the very best we know for all Americans. We hand over the responsibility, not the power. No one in office should ever forget that.

Politics for some is equivilent to manipulation. Manipulation of anyone for any reason. Service, true service is so much better. Service to all, not just your party, your friends, your interests.
Here's hoping for service from our new leadership in the two houses. Honest and loyal to the ideals of the United States of America.


*as a chameleon changes color to protect itself from predators, Bush changes his language, his talking points, to adapt to criticism and defeat to seem to be ahead of the "game", which is way ahead of him.

Rep. John Murtha's response to Bush's press conference.

Coming attractions

me in the EE

Outlaw Empire Meets the Wave


A new book by Tom Engelhart: "Mission Unaccomplished"

The wave – and make no mistake, it's a global one – has just crashed on our shores, soaking our imperial masters. It's a sight for sore eyes.

It's been a long time since we've seen an election like midterm 2006. After all, it's a truism of our politics that Americans are almost never driven to the polls by foreign-policy issues, much less by a single one that dominates everything else, no less by a catastrophic war (and the presidential approval ratings that go with it). This strange phenomenon has been building since the moment, in May 2003, that George W. Bush stood under that White-House-prepared "Mission Accomplished" banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared "major combat operations have ended."

That "Top Gun" stunt – when a cocky president helped pilot an S-3B Viking sub reconnaissance Navy jet onto a carrier deck and emerged into the golden glow of "magic hour light" (as his handlers then called it) – was meant to give him the necessary victory photos to launch his 2004 presidential reelection campaign. As it turned out, that moment was but the first "milestone" on the path to Iraqi, and finally electoral, hell. Within mere months, those photos would prove useless for anyone but liberal bloggers. By now, they seem like artifacts from another age. On the way to the present "precipice" (or are we already over the edge?), there have been other memorable "milestones" – from the president's July 2003 petulant "bring 'em on" taunt to Iraq's then forming insurgency to the vice president's June 2005 "last throes" gaffe. All such statements have, by now, turned to dust in American mouths.

Click on book image to read full article at Antiwar.com.

Orion the Hunter



Constellations

What's up with Orion, now very clear in the western sky around 5:00-6:ooam? I got a good look at Betelgeuse , (60,000 times brighter than our sun! One of two first magnitude Super-Giants) this morning in the upper left of the constellation- (Orion's right shoulder) But there's something more and it's on Orion's Sword!

Orion (the Hunter) climbs the sky. Orion's belt, Mintaka at right, Alnilam in the center, and Alnitak at left, runs through the middle of the picture. Betelgeuse is the bright reddish star at upper left, Rigel the bright star at lower right, Bellatrix the star to the right of center above the belt. Saiph is centered near the lower edge of the picture below the belt. Orion's head is marked by the trio of stars at the top of the picture just left of center, the brightest of which is Meissa. The the red glow in the middle of Orion's Sword is the Orion Nebula, which is lit by Theta-1 Ori.
The pink circle in the image is of a star with two circling planets.

THE ORION NEBULA

The Orion Nebula, which appears to surround the central star in
Orion's Sword , is a vast cloud of interstellar gas and dust some
20 light years across that is lit by a quartet of hot stars (the Trapezium) at its apparent center. Some 1500 light years away, the Trapezium and Nebula lie in front of a cold, dusty "giant molecular cloud" that hosts regions of intense star formation. The stars of the Trapezium electrify a blister on the front edge of the molecular cloud, which makes it glow.

More technically, energetic ultraviolet starlight (most of which
comes from Theta-1 Orionis C) ionizes a portion of the molecular
cloud, that is, it strips electrons from the nebula's atoms, which
are mostly hydrogen. When the charged ions recapture the free electrons, the energy is given back up as (in part) optical light in the form of emission lines.


This image of the Orion nebula, taken by NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and released November 7, 2006, shows an infrared and visible-light composite that indicates that a 'gang' of four monstrously massive stars at the center of the
cloud may be the main culprits of mayhem in the
familiar Orion constellation. The stars are collectively
called the 'Trapezium' and can be communally identified
as the yellow smudge near the center of the
image. Swirls of green in Hubble's ultraviolet and
visible-light view reveal hydrogen and sulfur gas that have been heated and ionized by intense ultraviolet radiation from the Trapezium's stars.



Great stuff in the Cosmos!

Close view of Betelgeuse

Here's a close up of Betelgeuse. I never noticed how it pulsed before this morning. I've been looking at Orion for a long time now, Even the picture pulsates!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

On the Rumsfeld Resignation

There are still alot of unknown knowns about Rumsfeld as well as unknown unknowns which we seem to learn each new day. But who will be nominated to replace the superlocutious super pooper pants is now a known unknown (Robert Gates)where as Bush's busheleon brain, (stay the course- neverbeenstaythecourse-capturethedynamisim- constantlyadjustingthestrategy-freshperspectiveand finally let's work together) is still in the unknown unknowns always the last to get it but preaching as if he always knew, as if he is the new knew of unnew unknew. Whew.



Please quote me on that.

Update on Bush's new "bipartisan tact" from Unclaimed Territory

"It is vital to remember that we already have a constitutional crisis in our government. The choice is not whether to create one (since it already exists), but whether to confront and battle it, or acquiesce to it (as the Republican Congress has done). While it is nice that Democrats have taken over the Congress, it is vital to remember that we have a President who has repeatedly made clear that Congress is irrelevant in our system of government and cannot limit the President in any way. Re-establishing the rule of law -- and the principle that the President is not above it -- is still the most compelling priority for our country."
Update article by Chris Floyd: The Deeper Reality Behind Rumsfeld's Resignation

As Don Rumsfeld is tossed overboard by the panicky Bushes (who value loyalty to themselves above all other virtues but never, ever, practice it toward others; there will be many more bodies left behind as the Family rallies to clean up Junior's mess again), Steve Gilliard steps in below to remind us that what we are actually dealing with here is not politics, not some Beltway horse race, or some idiotic media game of "who's up, who's down." The issue is mass murder -- thousands of Americans, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis -- and human suffering beyond imagining for millions more.

This is the reality. This is what really matters about Rumsfeld and the other architects of the war crime in Iraq. And although all the talk about the election's political ramifications for the Bush Administration is entertaining and diverting, as most gossip is, and not without some importance, on the most essential level it is a moral obscenity.



me in the rumEE

Election Results


List of news about yesterday's elections:

Resurgent Democrats win control of House

Gay Marriage Ban Rejected ion Arizona

Democrats take majority of governorships


Bush disappointed at Republicans' Losses

South Dakota voters axa restrictive abortion law


Update:
Concessions give Democrats control of Senate

Monday, November 06, 2006

Quick, get the door, but it ain't Pizza



Pot Users Relying on Home Delivery by Tom Hays, Associated Press Writer



NEW YORK (AP) -- In a city where you can get just about anything delivered to your door - groceries, dry cleaning, Chinese food - pot smokers are increasingly ordering takeout marijuana from drug rings that operate with remarkable corporate-style attention to customer satisfaction.

An untold number of otherwise law-abiding professionals in New York are having their pot delivered to their homes instead of visiting drug dens or hanging out on street corners.

Among the legions of home delivery customers is Chris, a 37-year-old salesman in Manhattan. He dials a pager number and gets a return call from a cheery dispatcher who takes his order for potent strains of marijuana.

Within a couple of hours, a well-groomed delivery man - sometimes a moonlighting actor or chef - arrives at the doorstep of his Manhattan apartment carrying weed neatly packaged in small plastic containers.

"These are very nice, discreet people," said Chris, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition only his first name be used. "There's an unspoken trust. It's better than going to some street corner and getting ripped off or killed."

Read all at link above.

Saw this at The Raw Story



me in the wEEd

Quotes


"Force is the weapon of the weak."
Ammon Hennacy


(July 24, 1893 - January 14, 1970) was an American pacifist, Christian anarchist, vegetarian, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement and a Wobbly, and was known for establishing the "Joe Hill House of Hospitality" in Salt Lake City, Utah and never paying taxes.


saw this quote at antiwar.com

Sunday, November 05, 2006

On Saddam's Sentence

No joy for humanity is felt here for yet another killing in the name of "justice". I have no elation to witness the "good" killing the "bad". It is a deception to point one's finger to another and say, see we are rid of him, he who was evil, he who had harmed so many, while all the while setting aside one's own aggressions and multitudes of "sin." See here , here , here, here. I was pleased to find this article by Mike Whitney at the Smirking Chimp titled."Bush's Carnival of Blood". From it:


This is a dark day for Americans and Iraqis alike.

Killing Saddam Hussein isn’t justice; its vengeance. Only Bush believes the two are the same.

How are we supposed to feel now that we know that Saddam will be hanged for his crimes?

Elated? Energized? Jubilant?

Will it wash away the oceans of blood that Bush generated with his misguided and tragic war?

The administration clings to the foolish notion that killing Saddam will somehow justify their unprovoked invasion and slaughter of 650,000 Iraqis....

....After the verdict was announced, Saddam issued brief a statement to his people which made him appear reflective and patriotic. He said:

“Pardon and do not take revenge on the invading nations and their people…and unify in the face of sectarian strife.”

Saddam's message of forgiveness and reconciliation won't be warmly received in Washington where they were hoping that he would fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness. That was another miscalculation. Saddam may be a brutal tyrant but he was never a coward. His courtroom performance will only strengthen the resolve of the resistance and make life that much more difficult for occupation forces.

The whole charade has been costly blunder for the Bush team; nothing was gained.

Saddam’s death will have the same effect as the appalling photos of the hooded prisoner at Abu Ghraib which offended the sensibilities of decent people everywhere. It's just another addition to the long list of transgressions against the Iraqi people.

This isn’t justice. It's an example of a nation’s dark shame.
Oh, dear humanity, when will we come to see that there is a better way? As Bush bloats about vindication for invading Iraq, he and his followers are simply unaware of the damage being done and remain ignorant and uncaring. If anyone would have asked if killing over 600,00 people to get rid of one dictator would be the right thing to do would you have said yes? If anyone had lied and then caused so many deaths for this purpose would you congratulate him and hold him in high regard? Is there anything that you would trust this person to do honestly after that?

Bush claims it to be a milestone in Iraq's young democracy. There is no milestone or democracy, only a sad and sorry state of affairs, made worse by ignorance in high pleaces and supported by unthinking, unfeeling and UNchristian neochristian americans and all those who are vindicated by man's inhumanity, man's separation from his divinity, from love for each other.


“Although Saddam and his allies carried out those crimes, it should not be forgotten that Saddam’s Western supporters also paved the way for him to carry out those oppressive acts and crimes.”
Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman


more here: Rumsfeld and Hussein: Partners in Crime
So, by all means, let's talk about Saddam Hussein's guilt and how much fun it will be to kill him. But let's remember who supported him for decades. And let's ask ourselves what the 650,000 Iraqis we've killed already were guilty of. Wasn't the plan to liberate them, not murder them? Here is guilt aplenty for Rumsfeld, Bush, and Cheney, and the corporate interests they serve.

Peace to all.


me in the EE

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Barber's Adagio for Strings

All Things Considered, November 4, 2006 · In November 1938, conductor Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the premiere performance of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." The concert was broadcast from New York to a radio audience of millions across America.

Celebrated for its fragile simplicity and emotion, the "Adagio" might have seemed an odd match for Toscanini, known for his power and drama as a conductor. But according to Mortimer Frank, author of Arturo Toscanini: The NBC Years, despite the director's force and intensity, he was capable of "wonderful delicacy and tenderness and gentleness."

The year 1938 was a time of tumult. America was still recovering from the Depression and Hitler's Germany was pushing the world towards war. Toscanini himself had only recently settled in America after fleeing fascist Italy. The importance of the broadcast performance during this time is noted by Joe Horowitz, author of Understanding Toscanini: "Toscanini's concerts in New York... once he was so closely identified with the opposition to Mussolini, the opposition to Hitler -- these were the peak public performances in the history of classical music in America. I don't think any concerts before or since excited such an intense emotional response, and I don't think any concerts before or since evoked such an intense sense of moral mission."
Read all at link above. You can also listen to the piece there.

Feeling a depth of sadness I have not felt in along time I sought out my friend Kahlil Gibran and he said: "Sadness is but a wall between two gardens." So is this Adagio a most beautiful wall and perhaps not so solid, not so insurmountable, perhaps more like a veil. Oh thank you, sweet friend. Thank you.

me in my sadness in the gardens of the EE with Barber, Toscanini, Gibran, John, Jesse, and you...

A little bit about my day


Today. Things I did, am doing.

Music: Beethoven, "Moonlight" Sonata, some vocalizing, William Blake's Songs of Innocence for guitar and voice and other instruments. I have a cut on the tip of my left index finger (!) So not much playing.

Also: creating a new CD of the Eternal Ecstasies through my d-music site. I have 3 CDs there now. One is solo piano, "Shaman's Hand",which is the edited version of the background music for The EEs, "Morning Sun", which is songs for voice and guitar and other instruments, and then "The Eternal Ecstasies", which are the readings of Mystic John Suter.

Food: Yummy, Golden Butternut Squash Soup. Campbells has it in a box. Something I discovered in Taos, New Mexico, on a little vacation where I met a lady from Mad Town, Madison Wisconsin, my home state. We had a great time for a few days doing different things in the area.

Health challenges: Squamos cell carcinoma. Anal/rectal tumors are not fun. But I've lost a lot of wieght, not that I wanted to, and have an opportunity to do some healing work which involves watching what I think, what I feel at all times. Every time anger, frustration, anxiety rears it's ugly head the pain increases. Every situation is an opportunity for kindness, patience, love, healing, laughter, remembering the EE.

This morning's featured Constellation: Canis Major. Do you know it?

Friday, November 03, 2006

War Crimes, Quotes


August 14, 2006 | Puppets pose inside a Veterans for Peace convention in Seattle this summer. On November 14 a group of lawyers and other experts will come before the German federal prosecutor and ask him to open a criminal investigation targeting Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other key Bush administration figures for war crimes.

Saw this at truthout.org



"Anyone who has proclaimed violence his method inexorably must choose lying as his principle."
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

found at Antiwar.com and:

"Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it."
Noam Chomsky



War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. from??? you tell me...


Me in the italicized EE (he he)



Thursday, November 02, 2006

EE talk

There are two things to the unenlightened mind, that which is and that which seems to be. Not knowing which is which leads to many systems of beliefs, whether secular or religious or spiritual, or whatever label one uses.

We tend to test our perceptions out on or with or against others as a way of validating our beliefs and temporarily claiming the "this is what is and all else is not" authority. It's the little ego making claim to something that it cannot grasp in limited concepts. It is the proverbial cart before the horse.

Those claiming secularism over religion are doing so with limited understanding of both and vice versa, those claiming religion(their concept of it) over secularism seem to have an even greater limitation of understanding and indignation to boot when challenged.

Jesus, (not his name, as you may know), the "man of God" or the beholder and extension of, (I am the vine ye are the branches), what IS, is as scientific philosophically as anyone has ever been and more so than most.

What limited minds make of religion and the "Big J", by their belief and some by disbelief changes not what really IS. We muck about in the seeming claiming what we percieve to be is what IS. But perception cannot grasp being, always perceiving as if detached and separate-a false premise, so what follows is false.

Law, reason, truth, permeate all things and not limited by what seems to be. We all fall short in our awareness of what is. Knowing that we do not know is the doorway as "Jesus said: I am the open door which no man can shut. I am, the being which IS, I am and no limited concept, (perception, misperception) can imprison what IS- not even and especially my own, no matter how good these concepts make me feel temporarily or how horrible they make me feel so that I might attain something greater as if seeming ever leads to being- as if illusion is real.

Peace to all here.


me in the EE

Star-like mingles with the Stars

Keith Olbermann's special comment on Kerry's Joke Part 2

Keith Olbermann's special comment on Kerry's Joke Part 1

Quotes

I learned nothing from war. War is not an activity for human beings; war is for criminals—rape, robbery and murder.


Roman Podabedov (Russian anti-tank gunner)





thanks to Antiwar.com

Seymour Hersh slams Bush at McGill address

Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh slams Bush at McGill address By Martin Lukacs The McGill Daily

“There has never been an American army as violent and murderous as the one in Iraq”

“The bad news,” investigative reporter Seymour Hersh told a Montreal audience last Wednesday, “is that there are 816 days left in the reign of King George II of America.”
The good news? “When we wake up tomorrow morning, there will be one less day.”


“There’s no reason to see a change in policy about Iraq. [Bush] thinks that, in twenty years, he’s going to be recognized for the leader he was – the analogy he uses is Churchill,” Hersh said. “If you read the public statements of the leadership, they’re so confident and so calm…. It’s pretty scary.”

An interesting comment by Conservative Andrew Sullivan: the president was "so in denial," comparing the Rumsfeld endorsement to applauding the job FEMA's Michael Brown did on Katrina: "It's unhinged. It suggests this man has lost his mind. No one objectively could look at the way this war has been conducted, whether you were for it, as I was, or against it, and say that it has been done well. It's a disaster. Other pro-war reconsiderations here.

When speaking of the devil...During an interview with conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh, US President George Bush expressed deep concerns about the possibility of the United States leaving the Middle East, raising fears that extremists could topple governments to "control oil resources."

ISN'T THAT A GOOD DISCRIPTION OF WHAT THE U.S. HAS DONE AND IS DOING? Forget about bringing peace and democracy and freedom and stories of WMDs, regime change, mushroom clouds, yada, yada, yada.

Add to the Discumbobulation of this administration and these times for the USA: "Horrific Irony" of an award given to Michael Chertoff, presider over the abomination that was Katrina and other Home-land insecurities.

Discernment is not required in the EE, but does come in handy when so many seem to be caught up in illusion. Peace to all. A peace that passeth understanding. We would not judge, only record their deeds, and enter not further into a world percieved and acted out by others for their own purposes. In the end we are all learning, all part of a greater whole, all part of the perfection which simply IS- concious of it or not.

me still in the EE

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Bush and Kerry -Bad pokes and bad jokes

I've decided not to give up very much time , effort and attention to what the President's been saying lately during his political tour, using fearmongering and deception to stir up the Republican base. I saw this article at the Smirking Chimp. Bob Geiger has some good points about Bush and Kerry, whose 'flopped joke' has kindled a wild-fire. Take it away Bob:

Our President is a Lying Scumbag


It's difficult to pick any one day when George W. Bush is [worse] than another. He's clearly the sorriest excuse for a president in our country's history and yet, amazingly, he still finds ways to be even worse almost every day. *

He hit another low on Monday when, while speaking at a Republican rally in Texas, he spent the majority of the speech saying that if people vote for Democrats the terrorists win.

"Some say, immediate redeployment. Some say they wouldn't spend another dime on our troops in Iraq," said Bush. "Some say that the idea that we're going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong. Well, however they put it, their approach comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."


Update: Keith Olbermann's commentary: Bush owes Troops Apology, Not Kerry


*When I recently heard him, (Bush) on the radio I thought he same thing.

Graphic is also from Smirking Chimp.

me in the EE, where are you?????

Thursday, October 26, 2006

How to Scare a Bee


Heard this on NPR this morning after a story about the sequencing of the bee genome:

Renee Montagne: Steve, do you know how to scare a bee?
Steve Inskeep: How?

Renee: Boo, Bee



Can you Bee-lieve it?

me in the (B)EE



Tuesday, October 24, 2006

So who supports the Troops?

A complete list of the IAVA Congressional Ratings is here on their website. The IAVA is the Iraq and Afganistan Veterans of America. I saw this posted at Daily-Kos here where Bob Geiger has made a list by grades, "A" being the best and "F" the worst. From the Daily-Kos website:

As you'll note, based on the over 300 votes the IAVA used in its calculation, all Senate Democrats have been more supportive of the troops -- when it comes to their actual votes, over the past five years -- than any of the Senate Republicans.


For those of you in South Carolina, where I am, our two dear Senators scored as follows: Lindsey Graham, "D-" and Jim DeMint, "F". Lindsey Graham has recently made a statement to the press saying the Iraq war was a mess, I believe he said "quagmire"and that we need a new policy, which now we have because Bush isn't using the phrase "stay the course" any more. That solved alot of problems right there. He also spoke out against Bush's new "torture" bill, but gave in, in the end. This from an article by William Rivers Pitt tiltled, "A Study in Constant Motion."


"What you have is not 'stay the course,'" said
Snow, "but, in fact, a study in constant motion
by the administration and by the Iraqi
government, and, frankly, also by the enemy, because there are constant shifts, and you
constantly have to adjust to what the other
side is doing."

Was that Tony Snow or Tony Snowjob???

Click on picture for link to another artice by Bob Geiger called, "It's Stay-the-Course Wednesday" at
The Smirking Chimp.


Long-time South Carolina Rep. John Spratt, D, scored an "A." Even though his last letter to me was pretty vague, (it was about supporting a Department of Peace, which he said when or if it ever did come up for a vote he would "consider" my opinion), I guess has my vote still, after all he is NOT a Republican, not that all republicans are bad. Mostly the ones in office.

Another Senator I watch is Russ Feingold from my home state Wisconsin. He scored a "B."

Thanks to Daily-Kos and IAVA for this information. How did your Senators and Congresspeople do?


me in the EE

Monday, October 23, 2006

The "Goodwill" of Frank W. Benson

From Yahoo News Photo:



This is a handout photo provided by Goodwill Industries of the Columbia-Willamette showing the 1923 watercolor by the American impressionist Frank Weston Benson Friday, Oct. 20, 2006. The painting dropped off at Goodwill by an anonymous donor sold for $165,002 Thursday during an auction on the organization's Web site. (AP Photo/Goodwill Industries of the Columbia-Willamette)





Frank Weston Benson's masterpiece paintings of American society at the turn of the century are some of America's most popular works of art. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, a descendant of a long line of sea captains, Benson first studied art at Boston's Museum School where he became editor of the student magazine.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Another Great Wagnerian Singer


I've been studying the role of Lohengrin lately and found this on the web.

At a Lauritz Melchior, (the Greatest Heldontenor) site:

Franz Völker

The German tenor Franz Völker was born 1899 and died 1965. After short studies he made his debut 1926 as Florestan at the opera of Frankfurt/Main, where he stayed until 1931. Later on he sang at the Vienna State Opera and at the Berlin State Opera. To his rôles belonged lyrical Wagner parts as well as Mozart and italian opera. After World War II he sang at Munich until 1952. Franz Völker's voice had a noble, well-focused quality, highly musical control and an exemplary cultivated legato. His greatest successes were at the Bayreuth festivals from 1933 until 1942, where Völker sang Lohengrin, Parsifal, Siegmund and Eric. Franz Völker was considered to be the best lyrical Heldentenor in his best time. His performance of Lohengrin was world-famous. His vocal art is preserved as an opera singer and song recitalist, his recordings of light music can hardly be counted. Especially his Wagner records are on the highest level we can think of. Hear him with Lohengrin's grail narration In fernem Land from Wagner's Lohengrin, recorded in 1927.

For something on the lighter side check out my d-music site for some older songs I just posted there. Try "Only LoveComes." There's lots more.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Pat Tillman's Legacy

In an article by brother Kevin:



It is Pat Tillman's birthday November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice.... until we get out.

Somehow the more soldiers who die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.


Read all at link above.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Blind leading the blind

from By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

(my comments)

WASHINGTON -

President Bush signed legislation Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation of terror suspects and smoothing the way for trials before military commissions, calling it a "vital tool" in the war against terrorism.

Another inane law inacted because of perceived evil which is only one's own evil projected outward in the "world." The United States falling deeper into the insanity of fear, and doing all it can to maintain that fear disguised as strength.


Bush's plan for treatment of the terror suspects became law just six weeks after he acknowledged that the CIA had been secretly interrogating suspected terrorists overseas and pressed Congress to quickly give authority to try them in military commissions.

Admission of lies, but no repercussions for doing so. Quick, pass a law so that we look like we're doing the right thing when all along violating our own and international law. Who cares, as long as it looks like we're getting terrorists off the streets? I mean "suspected" terrorists. Maybe YOU?

"With the bill I'm about to sign, the men our intelligence officials believe orchestrated the murder of nearly 3,000 innocent people will face justice," Bush said.

Look in the mirror if you'd like the orchestrators of the murders of 10's of thousands of innocent people to face justice. Oh I forgot, evil is only projected outward. I'ts not that I think you are evil, only ignorant, and a perfect child of God, however unknowing.

A coalition of religious groups staged a protest against the bill outside the White House, shouting "Bush is the terrorist" and "Torture is a crime." About 15 of the protesters, standing in a light rain, refused orders to move. Police arrested them one by one.
That's because we live in a "free" society and have the right to speak opposing views, then be arrested.

"It is a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill that he knows will save American lives," Bush said. "I have that privilege this morning."
The only "bill" this president could sign that will save American lives is his own admission of incompetence, resignation, and apology to all the people of the world.

"We will answer brutal murder with patient justice," Bush said. "Those who kill the innocent will be held to account."

O.K. What about shock and awe? Brutal murder times infinity. Justice is patient, also karma and the Law of Compensation, and let's add the Law of Attraction, too. Are you saying that killing innocents when killing terrorists, (perceived as they may be, without court of law) is honky- dory?

The law protects detainees from blatant abuses during questioning — such as rape, torture and "cruel and inhuman" treatment — but does not require that any of them be granted legal counsel. Also, it specifically bars detainees from filing habeas corpus petitions challenging their detentions in federal courts. Bush said the process is "fair, lawful and necessary."
When insanity utters WHAT IS, as in "the process is fair, lawful and necessary," one can expect to find that their assessment is insane and now we have what is "unfair, unlawful, and unnecessary."


"The bill I sign today helps secure this country and it sends a clear message: This nation is patient and decent and fair and we will never back down from threats to our freedom," Bush said. "We are as determined today as we were on the morning of Sept. 12, 2001."

So before Sept.12,2001 there was a lack of determination, a lack of responsibility, awareness when there were reports scuh as Bin Laden (Al Queda) intends to use aircraft as weopons to attack inside U.S? And if we "shall never back down from threats to our freedom", why are you so intent on taking those freedoms away in the name of security which you boast about but have also failed so miserably?


"Over the past few months, the debate over this bill has been heated and the questions raised can seem complex," he said. "Yet, with the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few. Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously? And did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?"
When incompetence and insanity take things seriously one is in for quite a ride as we are on now. With the distance of history, as Bush says but knows nothing of, will he be seen as a war criminal and our Legislatiors as accomplices? Reacting to 9/11 as a bully would to being pushed is no serious action. Killing 10's if not 100's of thousands of people for one act of violence is not serious action. It is bumbling insanity, brute and blind force, only because we have it to wield, but not without devastating consequences. We did not do what it takes to defeat the "threat" and still are not, even though big talk and bigger action seems to sway alot of people to thinking we have and are.


The American Civil Liberties Union said the new law is "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history."

"The president can now, with the approval of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero.

And surely to be withdrawn when wiser minds prevail. The national and international outrage will rise eventually. You can't drop a rock in the pond without creating waves and those waves come back soon enough.


The swift implementation of the law is a rare bit of good news for Bush as casualties mount in Iraq in daily violence. Lawmakers are increasingly calling for a change of strategy and political anxieties are jeopardizing Republican's chances of hanging onto control of Congress.
A rare bit of good news for Bush? Let's draw attention away from one debacle to what seems to be some progress in this delusional war on terror in order to get some good news before the masses. And if these great new interrogation laws help in the war in Iraq that'll be super.

Bush needed the legislation because the Supreme Court in June said the administration's plan for trying detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.

It's not that I hate George Bush. It's just that I'm not fond of insanity, incompetence, and deception, not to mention arrogance, used in positions of responsibility. Don't tell me that if and when January, 2008 rolls around and George Bush and company leaves office the whole world, if not annihilated, will not breath a collective sigh of relief.

Peace, yes, to even GWB and the GOP and the American people, too

me in the EE

Also (October21,2006) here: Bush's Absolute Power Grab by Carla Binion


"On October 17, George W. Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006. This new law gives Bush power similar to that possessed by Stalin or Hitler, and grants agencies within the Executive Branch powers similar to those of the KGB or Gestapo."

"Bush justifies this act by claiming he needs it to fight the "war on terror," but a number of critics, including former counterterrorism officials, have said the administration has greatly exaggerated the threat and used illogical methods to combat terrorism."

..."The war on terror is bogus. Terrorism shouldn't be treated as if it were a nation to be battled with the military, but should instead be fought with police work and intelligence agencies."

"Terrorism is not an enemy, but a method. Even if the United States were to wipe out every terrorist cell in the world today, terrorism would be back tomorrow."

Read all at link above.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Tiger by William Blake

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Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?



You can hear some of my songs from Blake's "Songs of Innocence" at my dmusic site.
Video for "Star-like mingles with the Stars" from Tennyson's Sir Galahad coming soon!!!!!

Found the Tiger animation here. He's the guy I got the "The Prophet" quotes from, next post.


me in the EE
meEE

Good and Evil, Crime and Punishment


From "The Prophet" of Kahlil Gibran:

And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."

And he answered:
Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters.
You are good when you are one with yourself.
Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.
And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.
For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.
Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance."
For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.
You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,
Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.
And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.
You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.
Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.
Even those who limp go not backward.
But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness....


Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said,
"Speak to us of Crime and Punishment."

And he answered saying:
It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,
That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself.
And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed.
Like the ocean is your god-self;
It remains for ever undefiled.
And like the ether it lifts but the winged.
Even like the sun is your god-self;
It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent.
But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being.
Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man,
But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening.
And of the man in you would I now speak.
For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime.
Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.
And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,
So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.
Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.
You are the way and the wayfarers....

The book, the author/artist that has had the greatest impact on my thinking, not that it has changed my thinking, but has confirmed and clarified my thoughts on many things. Thank you, Kahlil.

And thanks to the folks at BlondeSense for reminding me of this.

me in the EE with Kahlil, of course, and you, too!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Gay...Nature's Way


"We may have opinions on a lot of things, but one thing is clear -- homosexuality is found throughout the animal kingdom; it is not against nature."

From an article titled: Museum's gay animals upset Christians

From my former State: Polls show Ariz. leads groundswell for equality


Only 38 percent of polled voters support Arizona's harsh constitutional ban, with police and fire unions the latest to come out in opposition.


Another article at PlanetOut: Average coming-out age now 13, survey finds


Bonobos are reknowned for thier "advanced", hmmm, creative and open sexuality.

Perhaps the bonobo's most typical sexual pattern, undocumented in any other primate, is genito-genital rubbing (or GG rubbing) between adult females. One female facing another clings with arms and legs to a partner that, standing on both hands and feet, lifts her off the ground. The two females then rub their genital swellings laterally together, emitting grins and squeals that probably reflect orgasmic experiences. (Laboratory experiments on stump- tailed macaques have demonstrated that women are not the only female primates capable of physiological orgasm.)

Male bonobos, too, may engage in pseudocopulation but generally perform a variation. Standing back to back, one male briefly rubs his scrotum against the buttocks of another. They also practice so-called penis-fencing, in which two males hang face to face from a branch while rubbing their erect penises together.

The diversity of erotic contacts in bonobos includes sporadic oral sex, massage of another individual's genitals and intense tongue-kissing. Lest this leave the impression of a pathologically oversexed species, I must add, based on hundreds of hours of watching bonobos, that their sexual activity is rather casual and relaxed. It appears to be a completely natural part of their group life. Like people, bonobos engage in sex only occasionally, not continuously. Furthermore, with the average copulation lasting 13 seconds, sexual contact in bonobos is rather quick by human standards.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Voters for Peace


"I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression a public position in his or her campaign."

Monday, October 09, 2006

Simone's Artwork (3) Bless the Children

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Simone is my niece. She speaks English and Portugues. My sister speaks Spanish, Portugues and English, (she married a Brazilian). Every now and then I get to see some of her art work via e-mail. I think she's doing great work. Her teacher uses the major artists and styles of art to educate the children. I didn't learn about the famous artists until I was in college! The top painting is in the style of modern artist Romero Britto. The bottom one is in the style of... can you guess? Keep up the good work, Simone!

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

On the Route 10.03.06


If yesterday morning was exceptional, (see previous post below) then this morning was exceptionalER. Wow. The sky was crystal clear in every direction. So at around 5:50 am I got out of my car and did some viewing. Even better sightings of Orion, Hydra, Monoceros and Lepus, easily seen below Orion and shown in diagram to right.

Also, I remember seeing Leo, Little Leo, Ursa Major and Minor going north or left from the first group. Then Cassiopeia, Perseus and Auriga in the north and northeast. Continuing on to Triangulum, Aries and Taurus and then Orion again.

The best viewing in a long time.

As I was thinking about the stars I got to thinking about Light Years. What we see now is what was happening light years ago. Think about it!

"... to measure really long distances, people use a unit called a light year. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second). Therefore, a light second is 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers). A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year, or:

186,000 miles/second * 60 seconds/minute * 60 minutes/hour * 24 hours/day * 365 days/year = 5,865,696,000,000 miles/year

A light year is 5,865,696,000,000 miles (9,460,800,000,000 kilometers). That's a long way!"




Cool Fact
A light nanosecond -- the distance light can travel in a billionth of a second -- is about 1 foot (about 30 cm). Radar uses this fact to measure how far away something like an airplane is. A radar antenna sends out a short radio pulse and then waits for it to echo off an airplane or other target. While it's waiting, it counts the number of nanoseconds that pass. Radio waves travel at the speed of light, so the number of nanoseconds divided by 2 tells the radar unit how far away the object is!



me in the EE




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Monday, October 02, 2006

It's called tyranny and the illusion thereof

"There is no week nor day nor hour when tyranny may not enter upon this country - if the people lose their confidence in themselves - and lose their roughness and spirit of defiance."
- Walt Whitman



Fatal Vision: The Deeper Evil Behind the Detainee Bill by Chris Floyd, TO UK Correspondent
t r u t h o u t | Perspective. From the article:

It was a dark hour indeed on Thursday when the United States Senate voted to end the constitutional republic and transform the country into a "Leader-State," giving the president and his agents the power to capture, torture and imprison forever anyone - American citizens included - whom they arbitrarily decide is an "enemy combatant." This also includes those who merely give "terrorism" some kind of "support," defined so vaguely that many experts say it could encompass legal advice, innocent gifts to charities or even political opposition to US government policy within its draconian strictures.

All of this is bad enough - a sickening and cowardly surrender of liberty not seen in a major Western democracy since the Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag in March 1933. But it is by no means the full extent of our degradation. In reality, the darkness is deeper, and more foul, than most people imagine. For in addition to the dictatorial powers of seizure and torment given by Congress on Thursday to George W. Bush - powers he had already seized and exercised for five years anyway, even without this fig leaf of sham legality - there is a far more sinister imperial right that Bush has claimed - and used - openly, without any demur or debate from Congress at all: ordering the "extrajudicial killing" of anyone on earth that he and his deputies decide - arbitrarily, without charges, court hearing, formal evidence, or appeal - is an "enemy combatant."

Trumpeting his successes in the Terror War, Bush claimed that "more than 3,000 suspected terrorists" had been arrested worldwide - "and many others have met a different fate." His face then took on the characteristic leer, the strange, sickly half-smile it acquires whenever he speaks of killing people: "Let's put it this way. They are no longer a problem."

Bush proudly held up this hideous system as an example of what he called "the meaning of American justice." And the assembled legislators ... applauded. Oh, how they applauded! They roared with glee at the leering little man's bloodthirsty, B-movie machismo. They shared his sneering contempt for law - our only shield, however imperfect, against the blind, brute, ignorant, ape-like force of raw power. Not a single voice among them was raised in protest against this tyrannical machtpolitik: not that night, not the next day, not ever.


Now the killing will go on. The tyranny that has entered upon the country will grow stronger, more brazen; the darkness will deepen. Whitman, thou should'st be living at this hour; America has need of thee.

All this being said, let's remember, what seems to be cannot be. That is why it is temporary and fleeting. That is why it never was. These illusions are held up by humans believing in the "magic" of their misconceptions. So, be at peace knowing all is well and that which seems to be is not. Align yourself with "what is" or not knowing "what is" know that "what is" needs no illusions. Wishing peace to all that all will come to realise illusions cannot be. The physical world is an extension of reality to be sure but it is not cause, it is effect. What is is not effect, it is what IS. It is not the interpretation of reality. It is what is real. Darkness surely is followed by the dawn. Those who seek, find. It is here and now and always. Peace.


me in the EE




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On the Route Log 10.2.06

On the Route logs are a way for me to share the things I experience and perhaps just think about while out on my early morning paper route.

This morning's musical highlight: my own songs to William Blake's Songs of Innocence. I have about half of them recorded and you can hear three of them in draft form here at my dmusic site. OK, I just went there and it's been changed. You can hear one "Piping Down the Valleys Wild" on the main page and on the music link you can here two more at the bottom of the page. These are songs with, I hope, singable melodies and simple arrangements for small ensemble. Someday I'd like to arrange them for ensemble singing and stage interpretation.

Constellations:
I love to stop and check out the night sky when I can. Last two nights, (mornings) have been very clear. This morning was exceptional. Looking at Orion in the SE, it was easy to see Gemini, Canis Major and Minor, Lepus, Taurus, Aries, (not so easy to see), Triangulum, Perseus, and Auriga. Monoceros, Cancer and the head of Hydra are also in this area but difficult to make out until they rise a little more in the sky. Ursa Major is high enough now in the northeast to see the whole constellation, most know only the "dipper shape". Oh, and also Leo is coming up now, but not all there quite yet. To the north I could see Ursa Minor, which has the "North Star" around which all the Constellations revolve and west of that Cassiopeia, the "W" or "Lady in the Chair". She is also a good Constellation to use to locate others.

If one picks out a certain time of the night, or morning, and certain location in the sky it is easy to see many constellations as they take their turns in that position through the year. If you can stay up for hours at a time you can learn a lot more in a much shorter time, of course. See the sidebar for the Interactive Sky Chart link.

Other thoughts this morning: Tomorrow I teach someone to fill-in for half of the route, actually one of the two that I do, so that on Wednesday I can have a colonoscopy done. I have had, quite literally, a pain in the butt for a long time now. The result of a screening showed that my PSA was in the normal range. The doctor did feel a hard mass in the rectum. This is not the same as a boring mass near the rectory, although I have suffered with both! Getting older is interesting, no? I feel that these are the symptoms of the low level mental and emotional distress I have put upon myself, my illusions getting the best of me. Actually, the body's perfect response to the confusion and limitations of my thoughts and emotions. The body and mind being extensions of the same thing. However hard I try to limit what is unlimited and perfect and in Eternal Ecstasy, always in all ways. Of that I am certain.

Politics: Iraq, NIE, Supreme Court, the latest Washington Sex Scandal,

Other news: Two Americans win Nobel Prize in Medicine


Peace to all.

me in the EE, really



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Sunday, October 01, 2006

False Metaphors and Misconceptions, Willful Misleading Perceptions: Recipe for Illusions

"The war on terror is a false metaphor that has led to counterproductive and self-defeating policies. Five years after 9/11, a misleading figure of speech applied literally has unleashed a real war fought on several fronts -- Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia -- a war that has killed thousands of innocent civilians and enraged millions around the world."


From an article byGeorge Soros title: "A Self-Defeating War"

"With American influence at low ebb, the world is in danger of sliding into a vicious circle of escalating violence. We can escape it only if we Americans repudiate the war on terror as a false metaphor. If we persevere on the wrong course, the situation will continue to deteriorate. It is not our will that is being tested, but our understanding of reality. It is painful to admit that our current predicaments are brought about by our own misconceptions. However, not admitting it is bound to prove even more painful in the long run. The strength of an open society lies in its ability to recognize and correct its mistakes. That is the test that confronts us."


"It is not our will that is being tested, but our understanding of reality. It is painful to admit that our current predicaments are brought about by our own misconceptions."

Misconceptions as well as perceptions are never true. They cannot be by definition. What is true is what IS. You must be one with it to get it, and you cannot NOT be, although you can deceive yourself into thinking that you are separate from all else. All is one. Therein is the peace that passeth understanding. A little thoughtfulness about the nature of beingness and it's all-enveloping aspect, allowing each one to find his way within what IS and always will be. Peace to all.

me, as always, in all ways, in the EE

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Got Liver? (Re-post)

This is a plea for help.
My dear friend and partner of almost ten years, Jesse Bannister, has been finally properly diagnosed with Nonalchoholic Steatohepatitis with Cirrhosis of the Liver meaning he will need a transplant.
He has been to many doctors in the last 2 years and not one has made a proper diagnosis till recently. He lost his job due to illness last November and tried to do real estate, became an agent, and then became too ill to work. Things came to a head when I finally ask him to go to the hospital after his 40th birthday, June 28th. That was in early July when he finally went to his sister's in another town and she took him the next day. I don't blame him for not going here, as we have a hospital with a notorious reputation.

The picture above is the one he chose for his real estate image. The picture below is the most current one. He told me he wants to live and has become very disciplined about his diet and already has lost almost 100 pounds. His goal wieght is 175 and he's at 198. He's has had an eating disorder all his life which along with genetics contributed to his condition.



So here's the plea.
Jesse, "Buck", needs a transplant. The doctor told him he had only a few weeks to live had he not gone for treatment.

Unfortunately, he cannot receive the transplant workup or be put on the transplant list unless he has some sort of health coverage such as Medicare and/or Medicaid or can show an ability to pay the costs of the workup and surgery.
Because the agencies are taking so long to make a determination we are requesting help from family, friends and their contacts. Besides having to raise money to insure his transplant workup gets done as soon as possible he needs to cover the several thousand dollars he already owes for his treatment. Since he has no income his care, treatment, and the cost of medicines have to be covered by family members or received on credit. Every day he goes without the workup and his name on the transplant list is a day that he may have missed an opportunity for a new liver.

Even with Medicare and/or Medicaid the out of pockets costs will be enormous. These will include things like immunosuppressive drugs, hotel expenses for family members to be close during the surgery and recovery, as well as hospital and doctor expenses not covered by the insurance.

You can learn more about Buck at his blog, Got Liver?
There is information there on how you can help financially if you would like to.
Thank you also for your kind thoughts and encouragement.

Link on Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Link to Cirrhosis


Thanks so much. me in the EE

Keith Olbermann come back against Bush and media in defense of Bill Clinton

Keith Olbermann comments on Bill Clinton's Fox News interview

A textbook definition of cowardice

From his article, (link also has video):

The Bush Administration did not try to get Osama bin Laden before 9/11.

The Bush Administration ignored all the evidence gathered by its predecessors.

The Bush Administration did not understand the Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S."

The Bush Administration did not try.

Moreover, for the last five years one month and two weeks, the current administration, and in particular the President, has been given the greatest “pass” for incompetence and malfeasance in American history!


After five years of skirting even the most inarguable of facts—that he was president on 9/11 and he must bear some responsibility for his, and our, unreadiness, Mr. Bush has now moved, unmistakably and without conscience or shame, towards re-writing history, and attempting to make the responsibility, entirely Mr. Clinton’s.

Of course he is not honest enough to do that directly.

As with all the other nefariousness and slime of this, our worst presidency since James Buchanan, he is having it done for him, by proxy.

Thus, the sandbag effort by Fox News Friday afternoon.

Consider the timing: the very weekend the National Intelligence Estimate would be released and show the Iraq war to be the fraudulent failure it is—not a check on terror, but fertilizer for it.

The one thing that the current administration prides itself at, political manipulation, may well be it's undoing. Manipulation only seems to work for a while and in short doses and with those who are easily misled. Constant manipulation is difficult for anyone to accomplish successfully, it's not really part of who we are, though it may seem to be. Seeming is not being, is it? Not last time I did a reality check.


Peace to all.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Follow up to Lindsey Graham post below

Saw this at TruthOut original New York Times Editorial:

A Bad Bargain

Here is a way to measure how seriously President Bush was willing to compromise on the military tribunals bill: Less than an hour after an agreement was announced yesterday with three leading Republican senators, the White House was already laying a path to wiggle out of its one real concession.


About the only thing that Senators John Warner, John McCain and Lindsey Graham had to show for their defiance was Mr. Bush's agreement to drop his insistence on allowing prosecutors of suspected terrorists to introduce classified evidence kept secret from the defendant. The White House agreed to abide by the rules of courts-martial, which bar secret evidence. (Although the administration's supporters continually claim this means giving classified information to terrorists, the rules actually provide for reviewing, editing and summarizing classified material. Evidence that cannot be safely declassified cannot be introduced.)

The deal does next to nothing to stop the president from reinterpreting the Geneva Conventions. While the White House agreed to a list of "grave breaches" of the conventions that could be prosecuted as war crimes, it stipulated that the president could decide on his own what actions might be a lesser breach of the Geneva Conventions and what interrogation techniques he considered permissible. It's not clear how much the public will ultimately learn about those decisions. They will be contained in an executive order that is supposed to be made public, but Mr. Hadley reiterated that specific interrogation techniques will remain secret.



Read all at link above.

So we thank Graham and company for their fine efforts, meaningless as they were, once again. However, I still in my heart of hearts hope for great things from Colin Powell.


me in the EE

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Bush Family and Iran

An interesting read from Robert Parry who broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek.

The Bushes & the Truth About Iran by Robert Parry
September 21, 2006

"Having gone through the diplomatic motions with Iran, George W. Bush is shifting toward a military option that carries severe risks for American soldiers in Iraq as well as for long-term U.S. interests around the world. Yet, despite this looming crisis, the Bush Family continues to withhold key historical facts about U.S.-Iranian relations.

Those historical facts – relating to Republican contacts with Iran’s Islamic regime more than a quarter century ago – are relevant today because an underlying theme in Bush’s rationale for war is that direct negotiations with Iran are pointless. But Bush’s own father may know otherwise.

The evidence is now persuasive that George H.W. Bush participated in negotiations with Iran’s radical regime in 1980, behind President Jimmy Carter’s back, with the goal of arranging for 52 American hostages to be released after Bush and Ronald Reagan were sworn in as Vice President and President, respectively.

In exchange, the Republicans agreed to let Iran obtain U.S.-manufactured military supplies through Israel. The Iranians kept their word, releasing the hostages immediately upon Reagan’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, 1981.

Over the next few years, the Republican-Israel-Iran weapons pipeline operated mostly in secret, only exploding into public view with the Iran-Contra scandal in late 1986. Even then, the Reagan-Bush team was able to limit congressional and other investigations, keeping the full history – and the 1980 chapter – hidden from the American people.

Upon taking office on Jan. 20, 2001, George W. Bush walled up the history even more by issuing an executive order blocking the scheduled declassification of records from the Reagan-Bush years. After 9/11, the younger George Bush added more bricks to the wall by giving Presidents, Vice Presidents and their heirs power over releasing documents."
Read all at link above.

The secrecy of documents has been reported in the news I've heard, but the in-depth analysis, well let's say, it's just not done. It's sort of like getting clues all the time, but no follow-up. These stories involve time and patience, something that is are in our society of fast food, fast fun, immmediate gratification. I'm as guilty as anyone. But I do have one principle in mind when I hear and see things: I'm not hearing and seeing the whole thing-- ever. Therefore, I'm always asking why. Thanks to all the people who live seeking out what is beneath the surface of events. So many of us do not know, but what is worse, so many of us don't know that we don't know and yet have such strong opinions about what we see and believe.

All these things cannot change what is true, WHAT IS. Thank goodness what "is" is not subject to that which seems to be. That is why you may have a peace that passeth understanding, even in the midst of chaos. It is not that you cannot see the seeming, or be aware of it and it's affects on those around you, but you are not subjected to it, or a victim of it, it having no undo influence on your inner peace.

me in the EE