Dirty Tricks

This morning I watched a news man expressing incredulity that "President Obama and a Democrat Congress actually passed the extension of the Bush Tax cuts and voted against a huge pork-filled spending bill". "Why, this is unbelievable" he went on to say". This is a victory for the American people and he's right. Yes, but only temporary and a small one. Could be the President had no choice because the opposition against not doing so was insurmountable. Maybe, maybe not. Knowing the President's track record, isn't it fair to say that this was unusual, to say the least, i.e., way out of line, for a far left President who has driven this nation into the financial abyss? He did have a big smile on his face, though, as he picked up the pen and signed these two pieces of legislation. "This is a great victory for the American people, and will enable you folks to pay your bills (you poor shmucks), send your kids to school and will even be a boon to small business". What???? Have I lost my mind, did I just hear all this? And, all, with the stroke of a pen. But, I ask you, just who is stroking whom? Have we forgotten that Obama invited former President Bill Clinton for a brief "visit" just before this great bill signing event? Did these two just chit chat about old times, the weather, or, "oh, BTW, how is Monica doing", or quite possibly could it have been perhaps, more of a a pre-2012 planning meeting? So now I'm connecting the dots.....what could have compelled this President to do the unthinkable in record time? What could have compelled he and a Democrat Congress to make such a swift and dramatic turn around? Not the wascilly Republicans who are now in control (if they can ever get their collective a***s together). No, I think it was as I stated above. Clinton knows how to persuade, cajole, manipulate and compromise (when his back is to the wall). And that, I believe, is exactly why he and Obama had their little meeting. Clinton had been faced with the same situation Obama now finds himself in and Obama desperately needed his advice. Clinton: "Ah, Mr. President, you must look ahead to the 2012 elections. You are losing, have lost much of your base that swept you into office in '08. How do you go about getting those votes back? Why, you do exactly this.....sign the Bush Tax Cut extension and squash this huge spending bill that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi so desperately want. They are now "getting in the way" of any re-election chances you have. Why, if you give me the chance I'll even take over the podium for you and field some questions (that you obviously don't have a clue how to answer) while you and the lovely Michelle grab a bite to eat. Heck, I don't mind, (reminiscing) it seems (sigh) like old times". The best part of this is that Reid and Pelosi, because they got trampled by a herd of Bluffalo, didn't get what they wanted and were "in absentia" from this great bill signing event. soule: I personally didn't need to see those two sorry mugs staring at me again, anyway. Politricks, isn't it great? Without batting an eye, you just eliminate the opposition, (don't matter how) even if it's from your own party, because "their services are no longer needed". And let's work with the opposition for the good of the American people. If you believe that one, then it's time for you to check yourself into the local Shrink.

Contemplating Our World

Have you ever picked up a pebble, held it for a moment in your hands and felt its smoothness, wondered about where it came from, what it was made of, how old it was? Or were you more inclined to pitch it away, because it was annoying or interfering with something you were doing? Were you able to watch the Geminid Meteor Showers Monday morning? I wasn't able to be up at 3:00 or 4:00 am but did manage to open one eye and catch one space rock hurtling through the dawn sky with its tail on fire. Have you ever stood under a tree, looked up, and marvelled at how tall it is, how its branches seemingly extend forever and thought, "what a majestic piece of work"? Have you ever looked into a newborn's eyes and seen a piece of Heaven stare back at you? BEING. "Being" is the state where you are, right here, right now. It is the ongoing state of just being alive, being a part of some thing. It is being a part of the ongoing process of creation. You are CREATION. You breathe in, you breathe out. You think thoughts and express emotion. You make the conscious decision to take this path or that one. You think an evil thought and act on it or suppress it. The seconds keep ticking away as you go about your busy day. Every moment we are alive, every act and thought is a state called "BEING". We take this all for granted. If we were to collectively think good thoughts I believe the world would change for the good. For our thoughts are energy, WE are energy. Energy as we all know is a powerful force. On the other hand, if we were to think bad thoughts, then the outcome would be just the opposite. Our walking, blinking, heart beating, talking, our breathing, thoughts, the simple act of pushing a grocery cart, combing our hair, picking up children from school, hailing a taxi, preparing meals, constructing a house, tying a shoelace, even sleeping, is all a state of "BEING". We have been given free will to do good things or bad things. Free will to make a decision to go down this path or take the next. We have many different thought processes going on in our world today. But this has been going on since the Beginning. We have a tug of war going on in this world today. There is a tremenous battle going on between two forces and I fervently believe that this battle is only becoming more brazen, more stronger. It is the battle for our souls. We have groups who know nothing more other than to "wipe people off the face of this planet" just because they do not fit in with their "ideology", ie. thinking. They are actually training and being schooled and exist just for this one purpose. On the other hand we have those who are pushing back against this menace. Soldiers who are putting their lives on the front lines, to keep this menace "in check", politicians, and peaceful leaders are showing the world there is another way. The Dali Lama comes to mind along with scholars and religious leaders. Eli Weizel was on Fox News yesterday morning. A Holocaust survivor who is now a Professor at Boston University. I've never seen or even heard this man talk before but the one thing that struck me about him was his "humanity". Even though Mr. Weizel was marched off to a concentration camp and lost several family members, he does not "blame" the Germans for what transpired. Maybe some people and organizations here in this country should take note. Instead of laying guilt on those who were responsible and angrily denouncing them, he reaches out to those who are guilt-ridden and embraces them with love and compassion. And Mr. Weizel makes no bones about calling a country stupid when their national interests trump peaceful ones. Mr. Weizel has written several books and I am going to research them. I am standing on a beach and watching a wave rising higher and higher. This wave is either going to turn into a tsunami and wash us all away into oblivion or, bring us through and to a new reality. The reality being, that in the end, after we get through all that Almighty G-d has in store for us, we will see a new dawn, a new day, in which all mankind will no longer look upon their neighbor as a target and one that has to be put to death, but with a new awareness of love and compassion. Neighbor will embrace neighbor and, in unison, we will all sing praises to a Creator as the old world (as we knew it) will have passed away. We will then be face to face with the One who made the tree and the pebble. This new world will be His world and His domain, and everything will finally be in its rightful order.

Mulberry Tree

Bury me ‘neath
Ye ole Mulberry Tree
Stately branches
Stretching to Infinity
Wisdom’s notches
Deeply etched
Throughout a gnarled and cobbled trunk
Steadfastly she stands her watch
A silent Sentinel
With her broad canopy fanning out
Spreading like angelic wings
Over the wounded and dying
She stood over them many years ago
She heard many shots
She saw many blows
But never once
Did she leave their side
Her leaves draping their bodies
As they died
Her limbs cried out
But no one heard
Not deer, not fox, not even bird
She watched the seasons
Come and go
In Summer, green
In Winter, snow
In Autumn she was all aglow
But in the Spring was her big show
She bore her fruit
Deep, dark, succulent, sweet and
Dripping down
Loosened from brittle fingers
On to the ground
She’s safe harbor for all
Who cometh near
A true friend you can
Count on
From year to year

The Definition of "Political Correctness", Its Origins and What It's Doing to Our Country

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/30479
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soule: excellent article

Can We Get Our Act Together in Time?

August 25, 2010: If one were to view this planet from above, it would be like peering through a looking glass. It’s teeming with an exuberant, unbelievable, colorful, vibrant, kaleidoscope of life. How did all these different life forms come into being? Was it an unseen hand that divined a prescient mathematical formula that started life’s chain of events eons ago? This unfolding of life has been ongoing for years. From the beginning, scientists have speculated that millions of years ago, microscopic life forms appeared and multiplied and through years of transformation… insects, amphibians, the towering Dinosaurs and finally, mammals (us) appeared on earth. Just like a giant steam engine, this planet keeps chugging along, continuing to sustain a plethora of life. Whether we were “seeded” here, as some scientists have suggested or, by Divine intervention, the fact is that over time, this creative process has never stopped. This balanced, harmonic ongoing process is like a one-of-a-kind precision timepiece. Picture a wizened, old white haired wizard peering protectively over this timepiece. His fragile, worn thin wire spectacles balanced precariously atop his nose, and with utmost care, bent fingers gently, deftly, positioning into place, its innermost working parts.
First, the scientists tell us that microscopic life appeared on planet earth. Could it have been brought here hiding inside the many meteorites that blasted into this planet during the early part of its creation? Climactic changes have been considered as playing an important part. Producing, altering, changing and, in many cases, destroying certain life forms, thus paving the way for new species. Even now, creation continues its slow drumbeat of evolving, adapting, reshaping, restructuring. Should we be surprised anymore at Life and her creativity, resourcefulness, resilience? Question: Why are we here? We could debate the answer(s) to this one for a long time. What achievements, what improvements, what notable accomplishments have we contributed to this planet’s health (and in so doing ensuring our own survival, the continued health of this planet and quite possibly the survival of other planets and other life forms?)
Is it just me or do we humans take more than we give back? Do we think about the long term consequences of our actions to this small planet that we call home? From countries hell-bent on orgies of destruction in all out vendettas to wipe out their neighbors, committing mass murder using nuclear weapons, biological warfare, or (fill in the blanks) to a plain lack of understanding of this planet we live on and the care it must be given, man is sliding backwards.
Thousands of years ago it was all about survival, seeking shelter, food, fighting off hunger and disease. Sadly, for many this is still the case. So just how far have we come? Just how far have we advanced? Are we really a civilized society (collectively?) Could we pause for a moment and take a step back and reflect on where we came from to where we are now? Can we think on some things without name calling or finger pointing? From a biblical point of view man was created by God. But what if this weren’t really the truth at all? What if we were, as some scientists have suggested, “seeded” here by those meteorites that hit the earth eons ago? Meteorites containing small clusters of microbes and bacteria, capable of surviving, growing and adapting into more complex life forms?
Here’s something else to consider. Perhaps we were “created” by another race of “beings”. Maybe they knew, in advance, just how we would eventually turn out and didn’t like what they saw. Maybe we were an experiment and they goofed. They used a little “more” of this instead of a little “less” of that. We turned out just a little too toxic for them. A little too headstrong, a little too violent and they decided they didn’t want us “infecting” their world and thus created this planet for us to inhabit. Or, maybe they ripped around the universe in a frenzy trying to find a planet to dump us all onto and Voila! they bumped into Planet Earth. And just maybe, “they are watching us right now” as we continue our headlong rush back into the stone age where it may be about survival all over again…seeking shelter, food and fighting off hunger and disease. Is this where we are ultimately headed? Is it possible that we could be coming full circle? I’m not an eco-freak or anything like that but I am becoming more and more of the opinion that we are taking more from this planet then we are giving back. We’ve lost respect for and take for granted the things we wake up to each and every day. And it is becoming more and more apparent that mankind is sorely lacking in its ability to settle anything peacefully. This world has produced some wise and noble beings, who guided mankind for a short period of time, teaching us to set aside our differences, teaching us to learn to live peacefully side by side, regardless whether we be Christian, Jew, Muslim or other. But, sadly, this message became lost over a period of time and ended up being swept into a corner with the rest of the dust. These “wise men” were few and far between. And time and again we have seen that the world seems more interested in promoting the troublemakers and limiting or permanently ending the role of peacemakers. I believe, at this point in time, we are in very grave peril. And I believe we are fast approaching an epochal time in world history.

In my humble opinion I believe we may be faced with an “event.” Not necessarily something bad, some End of the World event that some predict may occur in 2012, but an event of another kind. An “Out of This World” event in which someone or some group, will drop out of the sky and pay us a visit. I do believe it has finally come down to this as we have shown that we are incapable of collectively working together toward the one goal required from all of us - and that is to make this world a better place for all mankind.

The Timeth Approacheth

1987: In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside force, a universal threat to make us recognize this common bond we all share. I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish- if we were faced with an alien threat from outside this world. And yet I ask, is not alien forces already among us? It is a clear fact there are only a handful of people who know the truth about this. The truth should be here for all of humanity."
-Ronald Wilson Reagan-

Faith, Hope and Charity

I was thinking this morning that this world is like one of those deflated rubber balls turned inside out; things are going backward instead of forward; it's like viewing the front side of the coin but not being able to see the back; standing before a mirror and gazing intently into it but all that gazes back at you is murkiness; full speed ahead but right in front of you is a concrete wall; knowing the songbird is singing but not being able to hear her song. We are, at breakneck speed, all of humankind, stampeding straight off the cliff. Respect, merit, integrity, humility, courtesy, patience, kindness. What ever happened to those virtues? I know they are still around but it seems they've been buried away somewhere. Are they being taught in our schools, our homes, our churches, synagogues,? I happened to go and renew the tag on my vehicle at the local licensing office. While there, two young women, I'd guess in their early twenties, worked the counter while an older woman was at the other end. One of the young women waited on me and in the course of doing so, delighted in making fun of the older woman who could not hear her remarks. I, a perfect stranger, in to do some business, and this young woman's actions caught me completely by surprise. I thought to myself just how many more of these young people are growing up acting like this? Then several months later, when applying for a job, I showed up at a small business with my application in hand. I walked in and was greeted by a woman who pulled my application out of the envelope and after quickly scanning over the information, promptly "interviewed" me on the spot. The manner in which this woman conducted the "interview", in a public place, instead of privately, in full view and earshot of her other employees, and clearly with some "axe to grind" as some of the questions asked of me and her body language made it quite clear I was fired before I even left her office. Again, what is it about some people who believe they have free will with how they treat other folks? This country has many problems but some of them can be easily cleared up by teaching our young people, and a few adults, how to handle their fellow human beings with more kindness and courtesy. Maybe even Congress will catch on.