The Betrayal of The Commons

 

by Richard Thieme

The cornerstone of capitalism, it has been said, is a handshake.

The legal embellishments that constitute the law books lining the shelves of any lawyer, those laws are footnotes to the many ways people have betrayed trust, betrayed the letter of the law, the spirit of the contract, the meaning of the handshake.

Trust, not money, makes the world go around. Money is an emblem of the exchange of trust. It doesn’t exist except as an invention.

And trust has been broken.

Yes, it’s all smoke and mirrors, and everyone who looked already knew that. That isn’t news. The news, as Alan Greenspan said pathetically in front of Congress, was that the moguls and bankers and investment gurus did not act according to their own self interest. They did not just risky things but insanely stupid risky things and thought they could hide from their karma. They betrayed the
trust of one another when they made deals, invented bogus instruments or used good ones unwisely, and they betrayed the trust of all of us. Nor will they pay the penalty they should. They never do. They never do.

(Read the rest of this article at www.commondreams.org  )

A Rush to Action

Recently the Congress has once again reacted to persuasive news that required an immediate response. They bailed out the financial industry when Paulson and the President told them there was a major catastrophe that would occur if they did not. Rather than prudently going over the books and insisting on due diligence before they rushed to action, they gave the now famous $750+ billion bailout to financial institutions without setting quantifiable goals and requirements.

As the dust settled, it became evident that the financial community did not use the money as the government assumed it would, and so as other sectors of the economy fail, the process of getting federal financing is much less forthcoming – as it should be and most certainly should have been at the first salvo of Paulson’s dire warning.

The reactionary mode of the Congress is not new. And much as we would hope they would have learned from a recent debacle they endorsed because they were warned of dire consequences if they did not, it is incumbent upon us to hold our representatives accountable for actions that jeopardize our country. The prior rush to action based on “irrevocable evidence” of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq cost us trillions of dollars and the lives and well-being of millions of people. Congress was sold a bill of goods then and was probably sold a bill of goods now with warnings of massive losses should the financial institutions not be immediately bailed out. Yet, this kind of knee jerk reaction is based on fear-based assumptions without due diligence, and we must demand better from  those who we rely on to be the overseers of our nation’s well being.  

Being caught up in a frenzy is a dangerous thing. We saw it when the doors of Walmart opened on the day after Thanksgiving when people were trampled in the rush to be the first to get bargains. People lose their sense of reason when they are inflamed by fear or whipped into frenzy by external prompting that sway impulses. It is again a reminder that rushing to action without due diligence and measured thought can ironically lead to the very negative consequences that were assumed would occur if action was not taken.

Washington D.C. is filled with drama and reactionary politics. We have seen it in the campaigns of the last election and we see it daily as one side accuses the other of oversight or incompetence…and the media feeds it with sensational reports that sell advertising. Yet, a voice of reason and a steady hand is needed during these very complex times. The stakes are too high for continuous bating and switching and all the rest of the petty squabbling that goes on ad nauseum. We need grownups in Washington who have reasoned self-discipline, and who are able to separate themselves from the rush to judge in favor of a more prudent line of inquiry that leads to solutions that are steady handed and lead to a meaningful recovery.

Let your congressional representatives know that you want mature leadership on their part, and that you expect nothing less than their best effort for the betterment of the country, not just for their party or re-election!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Laughter is good exercise. These are some old classics. Enjoy!    :)

 

My doctor is wonderful. Once, when I couldn’t afford an operation, he touched up the x-rays.
-Joey Bishop

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
-Ronald Reagan

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.
-Zsa Zsa Gabor

If you look like your passport photo, you’re too ill to travel.
-Will Kommen

Insanity doesn’t run in my family. It gallops.
-Cary Grant

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.
-Robert Orben

Misers aren’t fun to live with, but they make wonderful ancestors.
-David Brenner

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.
-Dave Barry

I’m not going to vacuum ‘til Sears makes one you can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr

To attract men, I wear a perfume called New Car Interior.
-Rita Rudner

If you love something, set it free. Unless it’s chocolate. Never release chocolate.
-Renee Duvall

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for 30 years she served us nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.
-Calvin Trillin

I haven’t spoken to my wife in years. I didn’t want to interrupt her.
-Rodney Dangerfield

My grandmother was a very tough woman. She buried three husbands and two of them were just napping.
-Rita Rudner

My husband wanted one of those big-screen TV’s for his birthday. So I just moved his chair closer to the one we have already.
-Wendy Liebman

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
-Douglas Adams

I have an aunt who married so late in life that Medicare picked up 80 percent of the honeymoon.
-Don Reber

I hate housework – you make the beds, you do the dishes – and six months later you have to start all over again.
-Joan Rivers

My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.
-Henny Youngman

Inside me there’s a thin person struggling to get out, but I can usually sedate him with four or five cupcakes.
-Bob Thaves

Thanksgiving

Our country is a magnificent experiment in so many ways. We are young and brash in comparison to many of the world’s other countries, but we are also big hearted and exuberant in our likes and dislikes, in our expression of dress and style, and through the multiple ways we live with one another and manage for the most part to get along. There is no other country that takes all the people of the world and creates one nation where each can live and flourish according to their own abilities. Not by virtue of birth, nor tribal position, or gender – Americans are uniquely endowed with the capacity to dream big dreams and through effort, make those dreams come true.

We are a nation that houses major religious differences and diversity, yet we have proven that we can accept one another’s right to religious freedom, and for the most part we coexist in a state of accommodation and mutual respect. Our forefathers wanted it that way.

In spite of our differences, and our individual preferences, we are a nation that has proven for over two hundred years that this formula can work. We have shown that people from all walks of life can live together in a free society that upholds the values of dignity, individuality, and possibility. It’s an enormous feat if you really think about it.

So…in spite of all the things that we constantly point to as “wrong” with our country and society, let’s take this next few days to count the many good things that we are privileged to have. Let’s put aside our petty bickering and finger pointing, and look at one another with pride and delight that we are Americans. We are living in an incredible country that offers us so much, and at this very special time of year when it is important to count our blessings – we give thanks for all the good that is ours.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and many thanks to our magnificent country that has made it possible!

Replacing the God of War With A God of Peace

   Crime and Punishment in America is based on the God of War concept – and it leads to the same recidivism over and over again, just as the Middle East is engaged in the same eye for the eye engagement because they are wedded to the God of War.

   What does this mean, the God of War? It is the Old Testament judgmental deity who elevates one group over another and inflames them to war against all that defile its identity or grip of power. This is a relentless “god” who never rests until vengeance is extracted. And the problem is that this God is viewed from several different perspectives- each claiming to be the only true inheritor of its divine stamp of approval. Yet there is no pleasing this god. Its lust for revenge is legendary. All one need do is read the bible or the Koran. A never ending fear based loyalty is demanded and extracted. The penalty for disloyalty is death – often through torture.

   When one strips away the indoctrinated level of fear, one has to ask – “how could this god have created the universe?” And the answer is…it did not. This is a subservient god to the Ego based identity of the tribal hierarchy. There can only be one king, one dominant figure, and the rest is subservient to that figure who rules by force and innuendo. Instilling fear and holding ruthless justice over one’s head can hold a tribe together – but it leads to resentment, bitterness, disregard for life, and it stifles the true potential inherent in all humans – the divine gift of creativity, love, and compassion.

   As long as we worship at the feet of the God of War, the earth will continue to go through the ravages we see of one group against another “in the name of God, Allah, Justice” As long as we allow this patriarchal view of god to lead the way, our road is filled with slings and arrows, because that is the only way this god controls.

   As we move into a new millennium, we move into a new vibration – and the possibility is to depose this warrior deity and replace it with the force of life, light, and forgiveness. This is the creator God that Jesus spoke of…the one who asks us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies as ourselves, to forgive them – for they know not what they do.

   This God seeds life abundantly. This is the verdant green God that brings the lilies of the field and the rich forests and meadows. This is the God that clothes and feeds the earth in light and love. This is the One who holds us in the palm of hand and comforts us in times of trouble. This is a compassionate God – the only one who could forge creation into the living beauty it is. And until we claim and acclaim this Creator God, we will continue to extract an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth until the world is littered with the corpses of an insatiable war god who knows no peace.s

Alcohol Fuel Advantages

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2008/11/13.html

David Blume Interview II – Alcohol Fuel Advantages

An expert in alternative fuels and sustainable agriculture, David Blume discussed the advantages of using alcohol-based fuels, which he said are 98% pollution free. In addition to making us less dependent on foreign oil, using such fuels can help reverse global warming– the increased growth of plants used to make the fuels takes out CO2, he explained.

Many different plant sources can be used to make alcohol. Corn, he noted, doesn’t have that high of a yield compared to a plant such as sweet sorghum, which generates 1,000 gallons per acre. Reports that growing corn for making ethanol was leading to starvation were untrue, said Blume, who pointed out there was actually a surplus of corn, and the U.S. only uses 5% of its farm lands on corn.

The oil companies have employed multiple strategies to curtail the use of alcohol-based fuels, such as buying corn futures at high prices, and claiming alcohol can harm car engine parts, he stated. Cars can actually run on up to 50% alcohol without any conversion process, said Blume, who added there are some 2,000 alternative fuel stations in America. He encouraged people to start their own small plants or stills– such enterprises can inject money into local economies.

Prayers for the President-Elect

As Americans, we are faced with the results of an historic election. Unfortunately, as with any major change that will expand consciousness, groups that are stuck in a mindset that resists any form of movement out of their limited viewpoint will resist and do whatever they feel is their right to keep the new from coming about. It has always been this way, and today is no different.

Our President-Elect will be facing huge challenges as he begins his term in office, and on top of all the other crises ahead,  he also has to face the roots of prejudice against him that is spilling into hate mongering among certain fundamentalist  and racist groups who see him as ending their view of what America should be.

For all of those who value democracy, regardless of whether we voted for him or not, our new President-Elect and his family need our prayers. Please keep him in your prayers and circle him in  a light of protection. This election has been of major importance on multiple levels, and we must be the guardians for the democratic process we hold dear. Where you see hatred, sow prayers of love and light. Where you see prejudice, speak up for inclusion rather than exclusion. And where you see the roots of potential violence, please report it to your local authorities.

Prayer is a powerful ally -  it shines a light before us to illumine the dark and clear the path ahead!