My Hands

The modern world seeks to conquer nature, to bend it to it's will and to use it wastefully until it is all gone and then simply moves on, leaving the waste behind and looking for new places to take.

The modern world is a monster! A monster who is always hungry and devours natural resources, destroying the very resources it requires to live.

Indigenous cultures of America knew the evils of civilization, and fought hard against. Native Americans lived in balance with nature, taking just what they needed, living in harmony with wild animals, living without destroying the natural world. Their spiritual world was bound to their treatment of the natural world.

From birth on—and probably from conception, but I’m not sure how I’d make the case—we are individually and collectively enculturated to hate life, hate the natural world, hate the wild, hate wild animals, hate women, hate children, hate our bodies, hate and fear our emotions, hate ourselves. If we did not hate the world, we could not allow it to be destroyed before our eyes. If we did not hate ourselves, we could not allow our homes—and our bodies—to be poisoned.

Does love imply pacifism?

The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does not exist, nor that the material world is all there is. It means that spirit mixes with flesh. It means also that real world actions have real world consequences. It means we cannot rely on Jesus, Santa Claus, the Great Mother, God, or even the Easter Bunny to get us out of this mess. It means this mess really is a mess, and not just the movement of God’s eyebrows. It means we have to face this mess ourselves. It means that for the time we are here on Earth—whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether we are condemned or privileged to live here—the Earth is the point. It is primary. It is our home. It is everything. It is silly to think or act or be as though this world is not real and primary. It is silly and pathetic to not live our lives as though our lives are real. The culture’s problem lies above all in the belief that controlling and abusing the natural world is justifiable.

Within our culture, economics—drives social decisions,
not community well-being,
not morals,
not ethics,
not justice,
not life itself,
economics—drives social decisions.

http://www.endgamethebook.org/index.html

"Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice

Bless the beasts and the children
For the world can never be
The world they see"

Enough!

Have you seen this?

azgoddess shouted out about this book last week. I think it needs more attention. We need more outrage about what we are letting our executive misleaders accomplish with our money and our country.

Reviews:

Publisher's Weekly: The former president of Ford and Chrysler, is back to sound a howl of anger against the sad state of leadership in the U.S. today. Iacocca gives a rundown of sins committed by George W. Bush and his administration.

Booklist: Iacocca is outraged. Now 82, he has seen the U.S. overcome some of its worst crises, including the Great Depression and World War II, through great leadership. As the CEO of Chrysler Corporation, he brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy and worked with the government to overcome the fallout from the 1970s oil crisis. Now, he says, our government has fallen under the grip of arrogant ideologues and spineless detractors.

Excerpts:
"Had Enough?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!"

"I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. "

Munchies

420. It is about hemp.

A plant that can be used for other things than for its euphoria producing properties. It doesn't have to be smoked, the "high" can also be obtained from ingesting the leaves or infusing the leaves for tea.

Hemp seeds (from varieties without THC) are a common cooking ingredient, hemp seed oil is high in omega-3 and omega-6 oils. It is a health food that is often overlooked. It is also used in birdseed. The fibers from the stalks can be spun into thread for highly durable clothing. At one time, hemp was the most popular fiber used for rope and was a common cash crop in early America.

I'm still amazed that a person can go to jail for growing a plant, when this "crime" can be committed with no victim. The crime and victims are in the organized distribution and are the result of government prohibition. There is no victim if I plant a seed and grow this "herb" myself.

It is not that I'm a "stoner". I think the government prohibition has created the underground market. Remember alcohol prohibition?


General Hemp Links:
2 Nature - Organic Hemp Seed Oil Body Care Products
Hemp food, protein powder and bodycare plus more useful information.
Essential oil of Cannabis sativa L. strains, by Vito Mediavilla and Simon Steinemann
Plant Cultures: hemp botany, history, uses
Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity
The Emperor Wears No Clothes
Hemp For Victory American Department of Agriculture video
The Human Exchange Musical Programs (The H.E.M.P.)
State Taxation of Harvested Marijuana Exhibit

Hemp industry
(INEEDHEMP)Divine Tribe
Hemp Industries Association
The Hemp Report (subscription)
IndustrialHemp.net
Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance
International Hemp Association
North American Industrial Hemp Council
Open Directory Project - Business/Agriculture and Forestry/Industrial Hemp
Industrial Hemp Directory
National Non Food Crop Centre
Hemp For Victory Blog

Earth Day

Friday Blogging

It is April 20. 4/20.

What is your reaction?

Less Traveled Path

This is what the voices in my head are screaming at me now.........about the Virginia Tech tragedy.

To all the news programs:

Quit glorifying the mentally ill killer. Let's remember the victims and give the killer no air time. If someone else is thinking about doing something similar, the way the news is paying attention to the killer and his message, that someone is deciding that it would be worth it to go ahead with their plans. Look at how the news is making him a martyr! Shame on the news.

To the people watching the news:

Unless it is a program or article honoring the victims, turn it off. Quit watching and reading news about the killer. What you view decides what they program and publish.

To the victims, families:

Forgiveness is the only way. Nothing will turn back time and reverse this horrible event. It was a random act, like a bolt of lightning. Don't give in to the dark monster of revenge, anger, and regret. It will destroy you from the inside out. Remember your loved ones honorably.

We need to learn from this tragedy. Don't let the killer's sickness infect you, also.

"Well Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable
And Lightness has a call that's hard to hear"

- Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls

Tuesday Peace Blogging on Wednesday

I was going to post this yesterday, for a off-topic Tuesday Topic with Blogs For Peace. Because of the tragic event this week, I postponed this post until today.

Peace for Iraq? - That, it would seem, is up to the Iraqi people. Am I wrong? Tell me!

End the War in Iraq? - We are not at war, we are occupiers of a foreign land. There is a civil/religious war being waged in Iraq. The average American citizen has nothing to gain or lose from our current actions in Iraq, other than selfish pride.

We went into Iraq and removed an evil dictator, when our own military, intelligence, and allies advised against it. The evil dictator was already contained, and containment was a better option than the violent history of the region. Our leaders didn't listen, and now there is more violence, bloodshed, and murder than when that evil dictator was in power. He was powerless beyond his own borders. Our leaders had ulterior motives. The war and current occupation has been a monumental failure.

Our leaders are now the war criminals in Iraq. Saddam wasn't even in tried in a World Court, we let his political opposition have him, try him, and execute him. It was a sham. As phony as our current president executive misleader.

Now, let's take a look at the current situation and analyze it.

The majority of Americans want peace in Iraq and they want to bring the troops home, even those in the military, and right-wingers that once supported this conflict.

Well, since I'm always playing the devil's advocate, I have to say "Whoa, not so fast!".

We have to be aware, bringing the troops home will NOT bring peace to Iraq. If we leave right away, there is going to be a huge humanitarian crisis in Iraq. I foresee escalation of the civil and religious conflicts, and genocide, if we leave now. The massacres in the streets would continue, but at a much more rapid pace. We are responsible for the current state of affairs in Iraq.

What are are options?

There doesn't seem to be any. The "Stay the Course" plan has steered the "Ship of Freedom" right into a huge iceberg, and all we can do is bale water, but we need a lot more manpower to bale fast enough, so it is sinking fast. There is not enough manpower. Even with the surge, which has been little more than a tiny bandage on a huge festering wound.

I left the following comment, as an analogy of the situation, on one of Morning Martini's blog posts:
"A big building is on fire, and we are trying to use squirt guns to put out the fire. The fire is getting worse, so we use more squirt guns and manage to put out the fire in a little corner of the building, but the rest of the building is still burning out of control, and the corner where we put out the fire will soon reignite from the fire that still burning. We need a new strategy, or we need to just let the fire burn itself out, but the little bit we are doing is not ever going be successful."

Our phony leadership in this country has created a no-win situation in Iraq? What are the options now? Do you want to get beat up with a baseball bat or a lead pipe? (Lead Pipe? HHMM, a little too much influence from this blog.)

The House and Senate has offered a slow withdrawal option with continued funding for this occupation, but our phony presidential failure rejects those options, saying he will punish the troops if we don't give him the support that only he wants, a bottomless hole which to throw billions of dollars, and no withdrawal timeline. He will not negotiate. There is no common sense in his option. Should we stay where we are not wanted, with limited resources, wasting our time and money? We need smarter solutions.

Stayed tuned - In a future post, I will try to come up with alternatives to make receiving our ass-whooping a little less painful.

to be continued.......very soon.....really

Everyday's A New Day

Everyday.

All of us are saddened and shocked by the tragedy that happened yesterday at Virginia Tech.

That kind of violence is happening everyday in Iraq. Can you imagine having to live in that kind of environment, everyday?

The violence on the campus of Virginia Tech is over. The traumatic mental recovery of the survivors and witnesses is just beginning. I wouldn't wish that kind of violence or mental trauma on anyone, friend or foe.

Now is not the time to assign blame for the way the tragedy was handled, it is over, lets learn from the events at Virginia Tech, to better handle these situations in the future, not waste our time beckering on what went wrong.

The tragedy in Iraq is still unfolding. Those in charge have not learned anything from their mistakes and mismanagment of that situation. It continues, everyday.

The trauma of the violence will be in their minds, until their mind is gone, or until they die, The scars won't disappear.

The Virginia Tech rampage happened to American people, some of them were our children. It happened on American soil.

Does it make all the violence in Iraq less tragic?

OUTRAGE.

NEXT.....

While I don’t agree with the ignorant statement that cost Imus his job, I've never like his juvenile sense of offensive humor, so I've seldom heard his brainless comments.
However....

This is the United States of America, and we have the freedom to show just how ignorant, bigoted, or misogynistic we are, if we desire. We also have the freedom not to listen to that crap, but be aware; it still invades our society and pollutes the innocent minds of the young, as well as older "citizens" who are ignorant, gullible, and misinformed. Some people choose to pollute themselves with this trash.

The times when I did listen to his garbage, I turned it off. I've never been forced to listen or agree with his obviously sick mind. The drug and alcohol abuse have taken their toll. He is street garbage insulting women in pursuit of an admirable career, why would anyone listen to his mean-spirited and negative oriented views?

I'm glad he said it, and I'm glad the advertisers were outraged enough to pull their ads, which ultimately led to his firing. One less asshole on the airwaves.

The bad thing is that he will most likely profit from this controversy, much more than if we'd just ignored this hurtful comment. Controversy is almost always profitable.

One other point I would like to make; this whole episode also demonstrates the racism, and lack of Christian values (forgiveness) of the Reverends Sharpton and Jackson. Reverse racism is STILL racism. There are many, many more prominient entertainers and newspeople that have been using the same kind of degrading language against women for years, and yet they ignore them. This group of people include other neo-conservative news people, rap artists, religous leaders, talk radio hosts, politicians, comedians, etc, etc, etc.

I urge you to keep letting them speak. I also urge advertisers and corporations that support these individuals to let us know what they support and what offends them. I will continue to support the products and people with ideology I accept, and ignore those that disgust me.

There are many more Imus' to deal with as well. Here are just a few examples:

(Please notice the list is purposely racist. A sad fact is that racism against your own race is still acceptable in our society.)

Limbaugh: “The government's been taking care of [young blacks] their whole lives”
Boortz: Rep. McKinney “looks like a ghetto slut”
Boortz: Islam is a “deadly virus” and “we're going to wait far too long to develop a vaccine to find a way to fight this”
CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: “[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' ”
Carlson: “[G]rouchy feminists with mustaches” control the Democratic Party

.

Twelve Plus One

Human:
How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

Golden Retriever:
The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?

I hope none of you are suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia.

I know, I know, not much substance today. Some days are like that. I'm not feeling very literate today, and I haven't had any coffee yet. I might be back to update this after the brain is fueled up.

Coming Attractions - Next Friday is 4/20. :-) Support Hemp Products!

Out of the Cage

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

1922 — 2007

His Life

"We could have saved the Earth, but we were too damned cheap."

"Who is more to be pitied, a writer, bound and gagged by policemen, or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?"

If I Were A Blogger

Yesterday, as I was scanning the "interweb" for the information on Jesus Christ Superstar music for my Easter Jesus post, I was reminded that the director of that movie, Norman Jewison, also directed my favorite musical of all time, Fiddler on the Roof.

The story for the musical, was adapted from Sholom Aleichem's Jewish folk tales about family, faith, tradition, and the persecution of the Jews in nineteenth century Russia. The stories of Tevya the Dairyman and his daughter's are even better than the movie, but without the music.

One my favorite scenes in the movie is when Reb Tevya is talking to G-d, and pondering his fate of being a poor farmer. If I Were A Rich Man, was adapted from Sholom's folk tale If I Were A Rothschilds.

[VIDEO]
[Jewish Punk Music Version]

I don't have anything philosophical to relate to this song, I just enjoy the movie and the music. I understand the voices in Reb Tevya's head.

"Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum"

Ok, Time for a deluded old man to throw some shit.

Heaven On Their Minds

Click on the picture of the Easter Jesus for some Holiday Fun.

In Honor of Easter, I'm posting the lyrics of Heaven on Their Minds from the Rock Opera Jesus Christ, Superstar.

These words STILL ring as true today, as they were when Jesus tried to teach us about a "Higher Love". Very few understand what he was trying to teach us.

[Video]

This is Judas singing:

My mind is clearer now
At last
All too well
I can see
Where we all
Soon will be
If you strip away
The myth
From the man
You will see
Where we all
Soon will be

Jesus!
You've started to believe
The things they say of you
You really do believe
This talk of God is true

And all the good you've done
Will soon be swept away
You've begun to matter more
Than the things you say

Listen Jesus
I don't like what I see
All I ask is that you listen to me
And remember
I've been your right hand man all along
You have set them all on fire
They think they've found the new Messiah
And they'll hurt you when they find they're wrong

I remember when this whole thing began
No talk of God then, we called you a man
And believe me
My admiration for you hasn't died
But every word you say today
Gets twisted 'round some other way
And they'll hurt you if they think you've lied

Nazareth's most famous son
Should have stayed a great unknown
Like his father carving wood
He'd have made good
Tables, chairs and oaken chests
Would have suited Jesus best
He'd have caused nobody harm
No one alarm

Listen Jesus, do you care for your race?
Don't you see we must keep in our place?
We are occupied
Have you forgotten how put down we are?
I am frightened by the crowd
For we are getting much too loud
And they'll crush us if we go too far
If we go too far

Listen Jesus to the warning I give
Please remember that I want us to live
But it's sad to see our chances weakening with ev'ry hour
All your followers are blind
Too much heaven on their minds
It was beautiful, but now it's sour
Yes it's all gone sour
Ah --- ah ah ah --- ah
God Jesus, it's all gone sour

Listen Jesus to the warning I give
Please remember that I want us to live
So come on, come on, listen to me.
Ah --- ah
Come on, listen, listen to me.
Come on and listen to me.
Ah --- ah

The Right To Be Confused

I'm participating in Blog Against Theocracy. For instructions, click on picture or the link.

I don't know if this qualifies, but this is what the voices in my head forced me to write.

One Man's Confusion, Clarified

Ask me "Do you believe in God?", and I will respond; "Define 'God'".

If your definition of God is the popular Judeo/Christian/Islamic interpretations, defined and explained in the Bibles known as Tanakh, Koran, Old Testament or New Testament, then my answer is "NO", I know that God does not exist, literally. I am a Bible God atheist. Well, not exactly. Yes, I'm spiritually confused, like most people I've ever met.

God is not found in books, or from men telling me their definition of God.

The "Bibles", translated from language to language, and rewritten to conform to modern society, have their origins in the books of Moses, the Torah, the "Pentateuch" or "Chumash", the first five books of the Old Testament. These books were written in Hebrew and are to be read in Hebrew. According to the books, God said not to change anything, not even the smallest "iota" , a small dot in the Hebrew text. Then why did we do that? The translations from Hebrew to Greek, then from Greek to English have changed the meaning and teachings of much of those writings. There is no way to conform to those writing, literally, when we don't even know much about the original writing.

Then what is my "definition of God"?

There is beauty, mystery, and power within our universe. This is God.

There is a spirit within all of us, outside our thoughts, that connects all life in the universe. Life not only of animals, but of plants, ecosystems, planets, the universe, and whatever is beyond that. This is God.

There is something more than what we know, or can ever know, with our limited intelligence. It is so simple, that humans cannot understand it. This is God.

It doesn't mean the "Bibles" are untrue. I believe the books were originally created to be a symbolic, metaphoric explanation of what man cannot explain. God does exist. For each person, God is different, personal, and cannot be defined the same from one person to another. I do not worship a God, but I have faith that something exists. I worship life, that is a true gift from God.

I have said before, we are eternal, only if we see ourselves as part of the whole, the one, the universe. We are made from this debris, and we will eventually return this material back to the planet or universe, to be used again.

Evolution is true, scientists and churches have recognised that evolution and faith are compatible as long as you don't interpret the Bibles literally.

The study of DNA provides a link to us and all life on the planet. Can this be God's way? Yes.

Morality, religious conservatives say, comes from these "Bibles". I have seen morality from other animals. Morality is not a learned philosophy, it is an instinct. No amount of religous study can give a man higher morals. A mother's love, the willingness to put others lives ahead of your own, the selfless love that causes animals to do things for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. I have seen it.

The conflicts caused by religious conservatives are not based on morality, they are based on selfish pride. Morality is a trait of life, not taught from a book.

Attaching yourself to literal interpretations is not wise, nor necessary, for a believer. There is much compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age our planet and the relation of all living things, linked by evolution and genetics. St. Augustine of Hippo, from the fourth century, also had similar interpretations of theological literature.

We need to study and learn about God's creation. Science gives us clues and faith fills in the gaps, between what we know and what we don't understand or will never know.

Now, are you still confused about what I believe? Yeah, me too.

How can we use interpretations of ancient folklore to rule people and create laws when there are many different ways to interpret those texts, either literally or symbolicly. Religious Liberty is the only choice of "civilized" society? To revert back to the ignorance and prejudice of governments which rule people on the basis of beliefs and ancient writings, instead of ethics or morality, would be like cutting away the brain God gave for us reason, logic, and wisdom.

Another Link: First Freedom First
Scientist Believer: Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D
Rabbi Gellman: Is God Real?

A Blog in which I say "Banana Bread anyone?"

Happy Birthday to a fellow Blogger; Angry Ballerina.

I made some Banana Bread for the occasion, want some. It's nice and moist, now. (See the picture on the left)

A Blog by Me has become one of my favorites, because her "rantambles" are much like the voices in my head. She's angry, moody, caffeinated, fast-driving, shoe buying, and spiritually-confused, much like myself, but I'm a middle-aged, grumpy, delusional, health freak man, people expect that from me.

I like her taste in music, also, well, except for Goldfrapp. (That's a lie, I like that music, I just won't admit it publicly. EEEEEEPPPPPP!, I just did) Alison Goldfrapp looks like an Angry girl herself.

Banana Bread

Bongs for Obama

First we had the chocolate Jesus, now Obama Jesus. Oh wait, Ray Nagin, that is redundant, isn't it?





At least he has a robe on. How are we supposed to judge his manhood if it's covered up. What is that around his neck, did Jesus wear a tie?

Is that a halo. Is he Jesus or an angel???

Geezus, it is easy to annoy Christians.

Turning Inward - Redux

I have always been called "melancholy". I think I'm more "pensive" or "reflective". Ever since I was very young, as far back as I can remember, which is just before I started kindergarten, everyone is always asking "what's wrong?", or why I was in such deep thought, but I was just being who I am.

As a young child, I would prefer pictures of myself and others who are not smiling, that had a serious look on their face. When others would laugh, it didn't make me smile, it annoyed me. I preferred friends that weren't always bubbly and smiling and in good mood all the time. When I did try to join in the humor that others enjoyed, it didn't make me laugh, it usually made me mad, or sad. That is because the humor I have seen most of my life always comes at the expense of someone else, it is evil, cruel and degrading. I was often the target. Yes, I can see the humor in myself, and I have laughed with others at some of the oddities of myself, but to do this constantly is not interesting.

Also, when I was a child, an extended period laughter caused me to have severe asthma attacks that would take several hours to recover from, so I tried to keep from laughing so much.

Now, I am single again, and every now and then I scan the personals and dating sites. My personality is the total opposite of what people are looking for. "Must have a good sense of humor", "loves to laugh", "makes me laugh". I'm doomed to being alone. Yes, I've dated, but I always get the comments that I seemed "preoccupied" or sad, or that I was off in my own little world. That is just me, that is the way I've always been, even when I was young.

I have always preferred the company of females over males, because I have never understood the male personality, even though I am one. I've never like sports, though I am an avid runner. I don't like action movies, the action in those movies are incredibly uninteresting. The movies I like best, are what's known to many as "chick flicks". Dramas where the stories are character-based and not event-based. Romantic comedies that have a serious theme. I can name many, there are too many.

As I grow older, some have commented that I'm becoming more serious or depressed . I get teary-eyed when I witness happy-endings, or hear news about how someone has helped others and they have had a great success. Lost dogs finding their owner's again have always made me feel this way. Children growing up, being successful, and having children of their own, wabi-sabi.

I'm just rambling. blah, blah, blah.

"There is nothing more sad or glorious than generations changing hands."