Archive for the ‘Change’ Category

Adbusters, a Public Relations firm located in British, Columbia, is a company with a website of interest to me. It should also be of interest to you…if you want to understand the manipulation and money fueling the “Occupy” protestors nationally.  Adbusters is financed in part by the Tides Foundation, a George Soros organization. Soros, you may or may not know, makes sport of manipulating global currencies and politics. Which means manipulating you.

On their website today, Adbusters is advising and directing the protestors as follows:

“We’re living through a magical moment … OCCUPYWALLSTREET has catalyzed into an international insurgency for democracy … the mood at our assemblies is electric … people who go there are drawn into a Gandhian spirit of camaraderie and hope for a new kind of future. Across the globe the 99% are marching! You have inspired more than you know. People are digging into Act One of the long Spring.”

A few observations:

1.  Democracy is not an American aspiration. Democracy is mob rule. We live in a Constitutional Republic by deliberate design of the men and women who were sufficiently educated and enlightened to know the difference.

2.  Gandhi never advocated defecating on police cars, carried signs that said “Eat The Rich” or espoused getting “all the Jews out of the country.” Gandhi was abut peaceful, unwavering commitment to the dignity of individuals and national self-determination.

3.  It’s apparent that “digging into Act One of the long Spring” is a planned strategy intended to unfold over time while making unequivocal demands accompanied by continued disruption and unrest.

If there was ever a time for individuals to think for themselves, rather than as a monolithic herd, it’s now. Group think will get us mob rule. Just look at the photos of the rebels who found Ghadaffi. While I have no love of the deceased dictator, rational and civil people who think for themselves don’t pull and pick at a body as animals over a carcass might do.  And that’s giving short shrift to the animals, since they do it for the sole purpose of obtaining nourishment.

Let’s be conscious and aware that whether it’s Vice President Biden giving out false statistics on crime rates in Flint, Michigan in order to scare us into passing President Obama’s jobs bill… or a Canadian P.R. firm doing the bidding of its financial backer by cleverly manipulating public opinion and passions…it’s up to each of us individually to discern truth from fiction and have the courage to act upon our findings.

Unless you are willing to do that, you’re in for more Hope and Change. By the way, how has that worked out for you thus far?

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.

Many of the “king makers,” power brokers and financial backers of the Republican Party are aggressively trying to engage New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to announce his candidacy for the 2012 Presidential nomination.  A general concern for the viability and/or electability of the current array of candidates has people still shopping for the candidate who can beat Barack Obama, or whoever is the Democratic candidate in 2012.

I, too, would like to see the Governor enter the race.  But my reasons are not those mentioned above.  I don’t think it’s about beating Barack Obama.  Despite what others may think at this juncture, it’s my conclusion that Obama is a one term President.  His failed economic policies combined with recent unfolding scandals, such as Solyndra, Lightsquared, and Chicago union leader Dennis Gannon guarantee it.

Beating whoever the Democratic candidate will be is not the issue, although those with political and ideological “dogs in the hunt” will reason so.  It’s about restoring a sense of truthfulness, leadership and accomplishment to the Presidency.  It’s about telling the people of this nation the truth and thereby giving them an opportunity to do what Americans do best… rise to the occasion.

Chris Christie is an attractive possibility because he instills in us the certainty and sure footed-ness that we want in both our own lives as well as in our leaders.  He exemplifies the qualities that speak of true leadership capability. He keeps his word. He is courageous. He is an independent thinker. He speaks truth to power. He teaches confidence through self-confidence. He sees what needs to be done. He is a man of action. He accepts responsibility.

The world is standing at the precipice and gazing into the abyss. There is much confusion and fear as we face the unknown. There are those who would exploit this moment and encourage us to take the next step into that abyss.

While each of us must ultimately take personal responsibility for our decisions, even the Jews of ancient Egypt required a leader to show them the way. We are sent the leaders we need. If it turns out that Chris Christie steps up and answers the call, let’s be grateful for the opportunity to turn from the abyss and pray we have the clarity to know which way to go.

This is about why Texas Governor Rick Perry should not be the Republican Party’s Presidential nominee in 2012. We have come to the end of the line in our ability to knowingly close our eyes to the character of those we elect to public office. It’s no longer acceptable that we decry, after the fact, having gotten exactly what is was we willfully refused to see before the fact.

When then candidate Perry was running for Governor of Texas he was interviewed by a local television reporter who asked the candidate, if elected, would he serve out his term?  Governor Perry answered “Yes.” When the reporter pressed him to confirm that he would not then run for the office of President, the now Governor said he would “not” and reiterated he would serve out his term as Governor of Texas.  If Governor Perry is the 2012 nominee, and is elected, he will not serve out his term as Governor of Texas despite having given his word to the contrary.

Strike one.

In the recent Tea Party Debate, Governors Romney and Perry got in a verbal back and forth over the legality of Social Security.  Governor Romney said that calling it a “Ponzi” scheme, as Governor Perry had, was frightful to seniors. Governor Perry countered that in Governor Romney’s book, he too called the Social Security System“criminal”… as is a Ponzi scheme. However, in his book, No Apology: Believe In America, Governor Romney called the actions of Congress in taking money from  Social Security an act that, in the private sector, would be deemed criminal.

Strike  two.

When Barack Obama was running for the Presidency, I read a book by Shelby Steele titled A Bound Man. It is the reason I did not vote for Mr. Obama. After reading it, I believed that I understood something about Obama and I thought that what I understood presented a danger to the nation.  Very few others must have read that book.  In fact, very few others did any kind of inquiry into who he was, what he stood for, or his level of integrity. We got what we refused to see.

When Rickard Nixon ran for President, he already had the nickname “Tricky Dick.” We got what we refused to see.

I’m not waiting for strike three from Governor Perry. He has shown himself, to me, to be a man upon whose word I cannot rely. While I have also eliminated a few of the other Republican contenders, I feel it important to address Governor Perry directly and outwardly as the press, and some polls, see him as the “frontrunner” or “the one to beat” and I think the flaw is glaring… as I did with Obama.

Regardless of his or her policies, we must have a leader with integrity on whose word and in whose judgment the American people can rely. We are all out of time to delay or err. This next President will determine a lot more than fiscal or foreign policy. This one will determine who we are as a People and what we value. Who we elect as our next President will tell us much more about who we are than who they are.

Here’s something to ponder. Have we finally seen the negative impact of technology on society? Today, the College Board released the 2011 high school graduating results from the national SAT exam. The scores? Well, a drop in all three areas tested reading, writing and math and the overall lowest scores ever recorded.

Surprised? Not me. I have an 18 year old daughter.

My daughter is not the norm she’s the exception.  She scored above average on her SAT’s and is an honor student, we’re not working hard to get help with student loans. But, let me tell you why.

I don’t watch television. Ever. I haven’t for decades. I was cured of it when years ago I was on assignment in Los Angeles in a furnished, rental apartment with no television.  It took me only days to realize how the quality of my life improved without one. So, when my daughter was growing up, there was mostly very little, and sometimes no, television.  I never used it to babysit her and believe me that was exhausting.  It’s a lot harder to interact with a child and fill their time with meaningful activities and conversation than it is to plop them down in front of that box (or monitor) and go your way.

As she got older, I similarly limited her exposure to computers, video games and the like.  Even after 9/11/01, when my ex-husband and I got her a cell phone at age 8 (for safety reasons) she was permitted to use it only for an emergency or the need to contact us.

Absent all that technology, she read. And then she read some more. She consumed books and I believe as a result, tested the second highest score in reading comprehension in the national GEPA’s in 8^th grade.

What’s my point?

There’s an upside and a downside to everything. Technology has made the world smaller, our ability to complete things faster, and expanded the potential for any individual with a computer to learn about anything of interest. It has also made us less social, less articulate and less able to think for ourselves. Clearly, it has also made our children less able to read, understand and calculate.

Is it the only cause? Probably not. Absentee parents have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility as do pathetically inadequate public schools. But I for one think it’s as good a time as any to ask ourselves whether we are in control of the technology and its prevalence in our live or whether we have abdicated responsibility for that as well and it is running us.

I hope we figure out the answer very soon before we’re too stupid to figure it out.

P.S. My daughter is a talented creative writer at age 18 as well. But that’s no surprise, is it?

I’m writing this post at the same time I’m watching the Tea Party Presidential debate on CNN.  I had to write now because I am concerned that if I don’t express my feelings in the very moment that I’m experiencing them, time may diminish the power of my ability to communicate them to you.

These seven  men (Romney, Perry, Santorum, Gingrich, Cane, Huntsman, Paul) and one woman (Bachman) are intelligent, articulate, and impassioned. That’s nice, but not as important as the fact that I think they are, overall, telling us the truth.  Even though its not pretty. And while we have tuned in to hear the questions they are asked, and the answers they provide, I think the greater question is “Do we really want to hear the truth?”  Or, are we guilty of the accusation Jack Nicholson made to Tom Cruise in the movie “A Few Good Men” when he said, “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!”

Can you?  Can we?

Because the truth means that each of us has to take personal responsibility for how we got to where we are and personal responsibility for what we do in our own lives in getting us out of here. It means re-prioritizing our values, reallocating our time, renewing our commitment to personal integrity, and remembering that we are… above all… in this together.

Leadership starts with us but it doesn’t end there. If we are ready to meet those demands and standards in our own lives then we will get the leadership we deserve. However, if we want the bumper sticker promise and the quick fix we will not only get more of the same, we will meet the real enemy and have found it to be us.

I can handle the truth. Can you?

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.

If you watched Glenn Beck give the keynote speech from Jerusalem this morning, you experienced a glowing moment in human history.  If you missed it, it’s not too late. The intention and purpose of the speech can be summed up in two words: Rights and Responsibilities.  I say it’s not too late because, if you understand what those words truly mean, its not too late to go live them in your own life.

As for Rights, for more years than I care to count, we have treated them with disregard.  We have failed to understand their source and, by so doing, acted as if our individuality and the power of self-determination rests better in the hands of a “capable” few over the many.

As for Responsibility, we traded our dignity and the very connection to one another that makes us uniquely human… to make free willed-based choices and live with the consequences of those choices… for the illusion that if we did not look under the rock, nothing sinister could possibly be concealed there.

We were foolish, adolescent, myopic and flat-out wrong.  The refusal to acknowledge the Source of our freedom and the willing abdication of what action freedom demands of us, has brought us to this moment. Now we must take the more difficult road home… but it is the only road worth taking… for all others lead to enslavement.

We have two choices in life. Always. To be in service or to be en-slaved.  For several thousand years we have periodically been enslaved. More so than not. This is not the first time. But it may well be the last time.  There is an expression among people who believe in reincarnation. “You do it again ‘til you get it right.” It presupposes endless chances.

I am not so sure. Sometimes we run out of “do-overs.” Such may be this time.

The technology has outpaced spiritual and social development. Violence has reared its ugly head. The world is looking for scapegoats. It has looked before and found them before…as  too many turned a blind eye and a deaf ear thereby allowing the slaughter of millions. Repeatedly.

Glenn Beck’s message is more than we can “never forget.” His message is that we cannot permit blindness, deafness and the violence that inevitably accompanies them to… this time… define who we are or to silence open acknowledgment of the Source of All That Is.

Know your rights, their Source, and the responsibility that being blessed with them requires of you.

Yes, the burden is great but the reward is greater. And just as devaluation of rights leads to enslavement… so too does refusal to bear the burden of personal responsibility lead to a world wherein violence and destruction reign by fear unopposed.

This is a do-over.  Let’s get it right this time.

Katy Perry did a good thing.

Then she did a fearful thing.

Yesterday, Katy Perry tweeted that her prayers were with the people of Israel.  According to Perry, the tweet was in response to a request by a follower on Twitter to pray for Israel.  Perry gave what appeared to be an innocent and seemingly heartfelt response to the request.

That was the good thing.

Following Perry’s tweet, she was barraged in her Twitter account with hateful and threatening tweets by other followers who clearly took offense at her offering up a prayer for the wellbeing of Israelis.  So, the pop artist quickly sought to undo what she had said by explaining that her tweet was merely in response to a request and that she opposes violence everywhere.

That was the bad thing.

Not that opposing violence everywhere could be wrong, in fact it’s commendable.  What was wrong was for her to be so intimidated, either for her physical safety or for a potential decrease in her fan base, that she retreated and sought to distance herself from her original comments.

We are moving out of a world where the “powers that be” have ruled by the use of intimidation and fear for thousands of years.  We will only succeed in that effort by refusing to be manipulated by fear any longer. It is only by knowing, with certainty, what we value and then being willing to stand for those values no matter who or what opposes them, can we hope to make the real and lasting change we desire in moving toward a more humane, compassionate and peace-filled world

Whether or not I am a fan of Katy Perry’s music (my teenage daughter is although I have, on occasion, deleted songs from her mp3 based upon Perry’s lyrics) Perry is none-the-less a role model by nature of her fame and demographic.  Therefore, how tragic that what she has exemplified by her backpedaling is cowardice and expediency rather than courage and principles.

My understanding is that Katy Perry comes from a traditional Christian home.  If that is in fact the case, she needs to return to the founding principles of that faith and stand fast in them. That will surely bring her more lasting success than either her lyrics or fan base ever will.