Archive for the ‘media’ Category

Just when you think it can’t get any more absurd or bizarre…Herman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich.  Of course, if I were Newt Gingrich, I’d be standing as far from Herman Cain as I could. But then again, I don’t share the common values of 1) objectifying women and 2) being unfaithful in marriage that these two men share.

I want to believe that we as a Nation, not to mention human beings, have reached a point where we no longer believe the image that politicians and media outlets project but rather make our decisions based upon actions not words. If that is in fact the standard then Newt Gingrich is unacceptable as a Presidential nominee.

Mr. Gingrich was disgraced as Speaker of the House of Representatives, has left a trail of unethical and shameful personal behavior, and is a Progressive.  His most admired U.S. Presidents are Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Wilson began the Progressive movement and the drive for big government under which we now suffer and Roosevelt implemented Progressive policies with abandon. In fact, Roosevelt was so power hungry and dismissive of the Constitution that his Presidency led to the passage of a Constitutional Amendment limiting the Presidency to two terms so no individual could ever again so abuse access to power.

I believe that we get the leader we deserve. If we refuse to think for ourselves but instead follow the herd, we will have as our choice either Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich on one side and Barak Obama on the other.  Each of those is noticeably flawed.

If, however, we do our homework and look deep into the policies, actions and character of the leader we seek, Rick Santorum will be the next President of the United States. Remember, we get the leaders we deserve. I hope we deserve Santorum.

I wonder….

 

I have consistently watched the Republican Presidential debates because I like to form my own opinion of what occurred rather than be told by someone else what they saw and heard… especially when its main stream media doing the recap. Last night was no exception. I watched the debate from New Hampshire and my disappointment was palpable.  All of the candidates are, for the most part, missing two ingredients: honesty and passion.

The passion I can live without. I think we all can. While it makes for compelling TV and equally compelling campaigning, I think it entirely possible to have vision without passion. After all, we had a charismatic, passionate candidate in 2008 who took the White House by storm.  In hindsight I suspect most of the electorate, given the opportunity, would gladly rewind and trade-in all that “Hope and Change” for “Honesty and Character.” But hindsight is what it is.

However, while we can live without the passion I don’t think we can live without the honesty.

President James Garfield said, “The truth will set you free but first it will make you miserable.”  We have arrived at this low point in American politics precisely because we have acquiesced in allowing ourselves to be deceived for a very long time. As long as the money was flowing and our lifestyles weren’t affected, we stayed unconscious.  And while we slept, the monster we were feeding grew.  I’ve always believed that people get the leader they deserve.

If we are prepared to face the necessary corrections to get the ship of State, and the culture, back on track then I think we will call forth a candidate who is willing and able to speak truth to us.  If not, then we will have much more to concern ourselves with than the 2012 election.  We will be struggling for our very survival.

I think we are ready for the truth. I think we have exhausted the emptiness of materialism and the alienation of technology.  But it’s up to each of us to make that readiness known. It’s up to each of us to say, “No, I will not choose between two people who have been chosen for me by the powers that be.”

We in the West, raised on Aristotelian logic, think there are only two choices. It’s called a dilemma: “di” meaning “two” and “lemma” meaning problem.  The 2012 Presidential election is not a dilemma. It’s a tetra-lemma taught by the Buddhist philosopher, Nagarjuna.  There are at least 4 possible choices and, maybe even more. And I don’t mean there are 4 viable candidates at the moment. I mean there are many ways out of this situation other than the two obvious ones.  But we have to refuse to respond like trained animals that cannot think for ourselves.  We have to be heard saying, “I reject A or not A” as my only choices.  I demand competency and honesty and until I have that as one of my choices I will not sit down and I will not be silent.

Socrates was one voice. So was Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs.  I’m not comparing missions. I’m only shining Light on the power of one voice imbued with determination and certainty who will not sit down, will not be quiet and demands an alternative way of doing things.

You have one voice.  Are you standing?

Today, on ABC’s “This Week,” Christiana Amanpour interviewed retiring U.S. Congressman Barney Frank. Frank used a Wizard of Oz analogy to compare Mitt Romney to the Tin Man, Rick Perry to the Scarecrow, and Newt Gingrich to the Wizard himself. It was good theater, however ironic.

Isn’t Frank a key player in perpetrating the illusion of “smoke and mirrors” held up before the American public to obscure the den of corruption and cronyism collectively known as Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. His analogy and his dismissive comments about his own role in the mortgage bubble that led to a collapse of the housing market (and the economy) went unchallenged.

Opposite This Week was NBC’s Face the Nation with David Gregory.  Gregory used nearly half his show to interview David Axelrod, former White House Chief of Staff and current head of the Obama Re-election Team and Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican National Committee. There were the usual superficial questions and answers. It was frustrating, to put it mildly, to watch Gregory’s unbalanced approach to his guests. In short, he was easy on Axelrod and hard on Priebus. So much for journalistic neutrality or the integrity of the Fourth Estate.

I have a point.

It isn’t just politics that’s smoke and mirrors. It’s our entire culture. We have moved so far from putting our thoughts, time and energies on what really matters that we have made illusion and distraction the norm. Nowhere is this more obvious, or more egregiously practiced, than by the media. We are daily fed a soup of dirt floating in water and told its minestrone. Then, without questioning what our own perceptions tell us, we consume the dirt and wonder why we feel empty and our bellies ache.

There was another segment on This Week, just at the end of the show. It was an interview with Angelina Jolie. Jolie has just written and directed In the Land of Blood and Honey¸ a docudrama based upon the ethnic cleansing and torture that permeated the Bosnian war and the world’s failure to respond timely or adequately. Jolie made the film to show how war dehumanizes us and distances us from one another.

As between the segments with Frank, Axelrod, and Jolie there was no contest. The story that deserved the most time, and our undivided attention, was Jolie’s. There was no deception or manipulation in it and it served a higher purpose. Perhaps that’s what got it the shortest airtime.

A long as we keep eating the dirty soup, they’ll keep serving it.

 

To be right up front, I didn’t know who Adam Carolla was until this morning. I do now. His interview rant against the Occupy Wall Street crowd has gone viral. Having listened to it I can understand why. It’s a no-holds-barred-expletive-riddled diatribe on where we’ve gone wrong as a society. But for me, it’s the last line Carolla utters that’s worth a follow-up.

Allison Rosen, the interviewer, closes with the observation, “So it’s like global sibling rivalry” and Carolla responds, “That’s what it is. It’s as old as the Bible.”

Enter the consciousness, and the reference point, we need to have about where we are. I am always a bit surprised when I hear someone say that there is no “playbook” or “manual” for living life. Of course, there is. It’s just that most people don’t like some of the advice (or “rules” if you like) and so they dismiss the work in its entirety.

The Old Testament, or Torah as I know it, sets forth the problem and sets it forth early. Cain and Abel. Isaac and Ishmael. Esau and Jacob. Shoots from the same stalk yet one envious of the others portion. Envious to the point of a willingness to destroy…and greedy to boot.

Carolla is right, but for his poor choice of vocabulary. Look around and what you see, from the “99%’ers” to the Islamist terrorists, to the multinational and agri-corporations is envy and greed. More is never enough, it seems. And if someone has “more”…even if they have attained it rightfully through just means and hard work, well…then let’s just destroy them and what they have. It’s positively Biblical in origin. Fortunately, so is the solution.

Do not covert anything that is thy neighbors.

We are all born with our “portion.” It makes no sense, and is an egregious waste of time, to resent someone else for theirs. Make the best of yours. Be grateful for what you have, accepting of what is, joyful for the gift of life, and enthusiastic for possibility. Gratitude, acceptance, joy and enthusiasm negate envy and greed.

Then, with all that spare time formerly used to begrudge and destroy, go about bettering yourself and the world around you. It’s a much better strategy. By the way, that strategy is in the manual.

“Behold I have placed before you today that which is life and that which is good; that which is death and that which is evil… And you shall choose Life, in order that you and your children shall live” [Devarim/Deuteronomy 30:15-19].

 

Today I listened to NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross. I don’t usually listen to NPR because their guests (and hosts) say things such as they did on today’s show. A guest said, “Terry, after you come back from break I have a juicy metaphor for you” to which Gross replied, “Oh good, we love juicy metaphors.” Its talk like that I find  pompous and painful… and I  went to law school.

But when I do listen it isn’t for news. It’s for perspective. I like to know what kinds of thought processes drive people who think and speak as if they breathe fresher air than most of us (no pun intended!).

As I listened today, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as two of Gross’s guests connected to or in support of The Occupy Movement, “pondered” in hindsight why the media, and they, had missed what has turned out to be the undesirable outcome of the “Arab Spring.” The fact that the “Arab Spring” has morphed into an “Islamic Winter” (the Muslim Brotherhood and another right wing Islamic party have won the majority of votes in today’s elections in Egypt) didn’t seem to bother them as much as justifying and explaining away how they could have missed noticing this train wreck waiting to happen.

For me, the outcome in Egypt is no surprise. But then again, I don’t listen to NPR or any other main stream media outlet. I listen to Glenn Beck. And yes, I know the very mention of his name causes agita in many people. However, having listened to Beck for the past several years I am neither uninformed nor ill-informed regarding the events that are currently unfolding domestically and globally. Call him what you will, the man’s gotten it right almost every time.

So what’s the take-away?

I think it’s that at more than any other time in human history, each of us must listen to an inner voice and follow its guidance…regardless of what the masses are doing, what the government is promoting, or what mainstream media is marketing. The experts are antiquated, corrupt, deceitful…or all three. They have only the interest of themselves and a select few in mind.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that as in the evolution of the caterpillar, that self-gorging insect who once filled to capacity with 300 times its body weight in food hangs upside down as Nature covers it with an encapsulating chrysalis in which the caterpillar is consumed and transformed into, and emerges as, the butterfly… so too we.

The self-gorging “powers that be” are maxed out on what they can consume. As they struggle for a way out of the mess they have created, Nature, by way of direct intervention from Source, is constructing a chrysalis which will consume them and from that broken down substance will emerge the best of humankind. The human equivalent, so to speak, of the butterfly.

In the meantime…be truthful, live with integrity and hold to patience. While doing those things, remember to breathe deeply and have trust in both the intention and wisdom of God. That which can create a process which transforms a caterpillar into a butterfly shouldn’t find us too hard to handle.

 

The euro is crashing. Pakistan is irate at the West and it has nuclear weapons. Inflation is on the rise. Iran has threatened to attack Israel and NATO bases in Turkey if its nuclear facilities are attacked.

These are just today’s headlines.But this post isn’t about the headlines. It’s about the effects of those headlines and many others.

Until recently, there was much uncertainty around. Now, the uncertainty is turning to fear. Fear is not an emotion a world in transition can afford to ignore…or indulge. We must be vigilant and aware that in the absence of leadership, much destruction and evil can gain a foothold as we reorganize and reprioritize our world.

Whether in the public or private sector, events have confirmed that our “leaders” are either incompetent or corrupt.  We are, in fact, seemingly without guidance or direction.

This is an illusion.

Guidance and direction are located within each of us. No one will come to the rescue this time. No single individual has all the answers…but every single individual holds a piece of the finished puzzle within themselves. The first order of business is to recognize this fact. The second, to go within and access it. The third, to bring it forth with courage and conviction.

What is in your heart and what are you willing to do about it?

What unexpressed truth are you harboring?

What do you know needs to be done?

You are the leader the world is waiting for and only you can exhibit that fact in your daily life. Begin there. Live the ethics and morality you know are lacking in the world. Demand truth and integrity from yourself.  Don’t await any external solution because the answer is eternal and only available within.

Gandhi said it best: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

And so it will be.

 

Herman Cain was an upset in Florida only to those who do not understand how thoroughly the American public is fed up with career politicians and how desperately they want to be told the truth while being presented with viable solutions likely to solve existing problem.

Romney looks the part but wants it too badly and comes with baggage. No thanks. Perry has the bravado but not the gravitas. Not interested. Bachman has the experience but appears to lack the common sense. No way. Ron Paul has the intelligence but is scary. Definitely, no thank you. Huntsman has experience but lacks depth. Pass. Santorum seems an experienced, decent man with some way too religiously based positions. Translates into not viable.

Which leaves Herman Cain. But not simply by default.

Herman Cain talks straight, thus far seems an honest man, and has proven he knows how to build and lead. This is all very attractive to a Nation in dire need of leadership and someone with the guts to actually see a good idea through to a successful conclusion. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has similar appeal which is why there are those desperately trying to convince him to run. Whether he does or not remains to be seen. In the meantime, a few things are certain.

1.        If Christie jumps in his sheer presence along with Cain’s will most certainly put pressure on all of the candidates to get real or get lost. This would be a welcome turn of events.

2.        The Florida straw vote is likely not an anomaly. Cain really appeals to something stirring in people across this entire country.

3.        Cain’s appeal, and apparent viability at the moment, certainly throw a monkey wrench in the argument the Democrats are trying to sell that Republicans, the Tea Party and, basically, any white person who disagrees with this Administration’s policies is racist.

Paul Krugman is an American economist, Princeton University professor and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics recipient. Charles Krauthammer is a Pulitizer prize-winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. Two very bright men. One of them wrote a factually researched, well-substantiated, thought provoking column on the tenth year anniversary of the terrorist attacks perpetrated on September 11, 2001. The other threw a schoolyard bully’s punch and then left the playground before anyone else could respond.

The former was Charles Krauthammer.  The latter, Paul Krugman, tempts me to give his “column” no time at all. However, in Mr. Krugman’s judgmental name calling and accusations, he teaches us much about what’s wrong with the world and why we have found ourselves so far from who we want to be.

Mr. Krauthammer’s column in the National Review On-line recaps the U.S. response and successes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also factually disproves allegations that the War on Terror is the basis for our current financial difficulties and places the blame where it belongs.  Finally, he gives us pride in our national determination and endurance in the face of adversity.

As for Mr. Krugman… he used his bully pulpit to bully. He accused former President George W. Bush and former New York Mayor Rudy Guilaini of “cash[ing] in on the horror” and unnamed others of “hijacking [of] the atrocity.” He actually goes so far as to call the memory of 9/11 “an occasion of shame.” Mr. Krugman’s opinion piece is a lesson in turning the victim into the perpetrator… in deflecting responsibility from where it rightfully belongs. He offers no facts, piously judges others, and tries to make us feel badly about ourselves as a nation. Let’s learn from his mistakes.

1. Conclusions should be based upon facts, not conjecture.

2. Judgment belongs to Our Creator and when exercised by humankind separates and alienates us from ourselves and one another.

3. Giving others confidence and hope, not criticism and despair, is the answer to both personal and collective growth.

Mr. Krauthammer’s column allows for posting comments. Mr. Krugman’s does not. Deliberately so. He noted that he was not permitting comments “for obvious reasons.” What is obvious to me may be different from what he intended. I post here the email I sent him following a read of his column:

“If you are going to make the kind of judgments and bold statements made in the NY Times Opinion piece ‘The Years of Shame,’ have the courage to allow those who see the world differently from you the courtesy of access to reply.  Free speech, I presume, is one of the founding principles upon which we can agree. What follows that principle in a free society is the battlefield of ideas.

The only thing that is ‘obvious’ about why you would have precluded responses to the piece is your need to strike while insulating yourself from the counter-punch. This was not a courageous act. Being able to take the heat, not just give it, is the sign of a confident individual committed to, above all, the truth.”

 

Over the past three years I have written several posts referencing talk radio host Glenn Beck. The very mention of his name causes a visceral reaction in most people.  You either love him or you hate him.

Loving him, of course, will do no harm. Hating him will destroy you, not him. Hate works that way. Always.

What I find so fascinating about the negative reactions to Mr. Beck is the almost universal absence of facts upon which such vehemence is predicated. There is a voluminous amount of ignorance and misinformation about him. This is because most people only know him secondhand. They have seen video clips or quotes taken out of context and they believe distortions told them by others. Either way, they have abdicated personal responsibility in failing to gain firsthand knowledge of what Mr. Beck espouses or supports. I have not.

For the past 4 years I have listened to his radio broadcasts, watched his nightly show previously on the Fox Cable Network, attended the 8/28 Restoring Honor rally in Washington, D.C. and watched the most recent Restoring Courage events from Israel. You may conclude that I am therefore, by definition, a Glenn Beck “Groupie.” You would conclude wrongfully.

I am a former lawyer who, although deeply spiritual, deals in facts. Facts, I might add, gathered and analyzed by me.  Such has been my methodology in drawing conclusions about Glenn Beck.  Allow me to share them with you.

Glenn Beck is a capitalist and a talented entertainer.  He is also knowledgeable, truthful, sincere and honorable. He is proud to be an American, motivated by a commitment to individual freedom and personal responsibility, and sustained by his personal connection to the Source of All That Is (a/k/a/God).

Today on his radio show, Mr. Beck said the following regarding the public positions he has taken and the mission he is on: “I am standing in a place where I don’t have many friends.” I would suggest a different conclusion witnessed, admittedly, from a different vantage point. The best of humanity is standing in a place where it has few friends as courageous or certain as Glenn Beck.

As for my personal findings regarding Mr. Beck’s character, don’t believe me. But don’t believe anyone else, either. Seek out the truth for yourself. Listen to him with your own ears, process what he is saying with your own mind, and draw your own conclusions. Such an approach would be the actions of a fully conscious, personally responsible, and ethically honest human being.

Does that sound like you?

 

Yes, it would be easy (and I suspect welcome) to blast the media and politicians for the hurricane Irene hype in light of the ultimate reality.  Should I be misunderstood, allow me to say from the outset here that loss of even one life and obvious property damage is not to be demeaned or dismissed.  They are both events that will evoke sadness and necessitate prolonged recovery.

This is about our reaction to the hype.

While its never easy to gauge, in advance, the potential damage from a hurricane such as the size of Irene, the technology available to us now to disseminate information makes it not only possible to spread good news but bad news as well. Not to mention fear… and spread fear they did.  Then we helped by allowing fear to run away with us.

I saw people stocking up on perishables, such as eggs and milk, when the projection was for the loss of electricity. Hello? I also saw people, literally, walking in circles in supermarkets and box stores who had no idea what to buy. They were simply following a line of thinking initiated by former President George W. Bush following the 911 attacks: Support the economy.  As if accumulating more material things could somehow stave off disaster or provide protection.

Then there were those people who refused to participate. At least they refused to participate in the fear. Bravo for them.

I’d like to believe I fell somewhere in the middle. I shopped for some extra canned food; made sure I had batteries for my flashlights and radio, and secured my basement windows from possible overflow flooding.  Then I kicked back and got on with life.  So while I had respect for Nature’s power, I didn’t have much for the media or the politicians.

I think it’s the choice to come from one’s lower self or Higher Self.  Fear is the great manipulative tool used for centuries by those in positions of power. Unfortunately, we have become so accustomed to re-acting to it that we fail to act from a place of thoughtful reflection and focus.

In Judaism, the holiday of Sukkot is one wherein Jews build a temporary shelter, or “sukkah” in which they are commanded to eat their meals and sleep for the duration of the holiday. Why?  As a reminder that for 40 years, against all odds and in the total absence of all things material, they wandered safely through the desert and survived.

To remember protection comes from God.

So, I think Irene has been instructive and if we are wise we will learn accordingly.

1. The media prospers on fear.
2. The politicians cover their rears.
3. We are manipulated by fear.
4. Reacting is not productive or helpful.
5. Our Higher Selves will guide us in the right direction.
6. God takes care of the rest.

Also, let each of us reach out with some form of assistance to anyone who suffered loss from Irene.

That, too, is our Higher Selves.