THE WORLD GREATEST ISSUE

DEAR FOLKS,

I WRITE  THIS IN CAPS FOR A REASON. IT HAS DO WITH THE ONLY ISSUE THAT COUNTS, ALONG WITH POVERTY. STARVATION IN ANY FAMILY IS A COSMIC  CRIME. SO IS EVEN MORE THE WOUNDING OF MOTHER EARTH.  THIRTY YEARS FROM NOW WE WILL NOT ASK ABOUT ANY OTHER ISSUE ON EARTH EXCEPT THIS ONE. THE DAMAGE WE WILL THEN EXPERIENCE IS UNIMAGINABLE IF BIG MOVES ARE NOT MADE NOW.  LIGHTS ARE SUDDENLY TURNING ON IN THIS REGARD. THE PRESIDENT HAS FINALLY DECLARED HIS CONCERN IN HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS AND IN HIS STATE OF THE NATION. EVEN THE REPUBLICAN REP ASSA HAS JOINED IN SHOWING CONCERN.  MEANWHILE OUR GAS, COAL AND OIL INDUSTRIES ARE STILL POURING BILLIONS INTO FIGHTING THIS ISSUE. WE ALL NEED TO WRITE REPS, STATE AND NATIONAL.  VAST NEW CONTROLS AND A WORLD-WIDE GREEN INDUSTRY ARE THE ANSWERS. LET US ALL SURVIVE TOGETHER. -  JOHN G 

Chris Hedges

Posted on May 14, 2012

Dear Folks, Here a person who knows our country as a war correspondent and as a son of an evangelical father. In the first he shows the addiction of war and the second the addiction of narrow and dangerous minds. John G

By Chris Hedges

In Robert E. Gamer’s book “The Developing Nations” is a chapter called
“Why Men Do Not Revolt.” In it Gamer notes that although the oppressed
often do revolt, the object of their hostility is misplaced. They vent
their fury on a political puppet, someone who masks colonial power, a
despised racial or ethnic group or an apostate within their own
political class. The useless battles serve as an effective mask for
what Gamer calls the “patron-client” networks that are responsible for
the continuity of colonial oppression. The squabbles among the
oppressed, the political campaigns between candidates who each are
servants of colonial power, Gamer writes, absolve the actual centers
of power from addressing the conditions that cause the frustrations of
the people. Inequities, political disenfranchisement and injustices
are never seriously addressed. “The government merely does the minimum
necessary to prevent those few who are prone toward political action
from organizing into politically effective groups,” he writes.

Response to Nation of Change's view of the election and the inauguration

Dear Folks,

Nation of Change is a powerful liberal group, now led by Chris Hedges. Here is my response to their view of the election and the inauguration. John G

Dear Folks,

I have respect for all liberal criticism. I have criticized Obama a thousand times. However, I also have a perspective none of you have, even Chris Hedges, whose acute mind is beyond mine. I am now 9l years old. I watched as FDR transformed our Italian community with his WPA and CCC, sending our young and old back to work and a regained dignity and hope. I am certain we could have torn the hell out of FDR, since he ---like you and I---are not perfect.

I am saddened as to what I read below (reference coming soon). We have another great president in the body and psyche of an imperfect man. However, none of you see any potential in this guy, seemingly. This election will stand as one of the greatest in our American history, not only because of what Obama represents but also how he and his team mobilized the American people and the people responded so nobly and courageously to vote both against tons of money and attempts to prevent their vote. I am with all of your criticisms, but I am saddened by your cynicism, including you, Chris. Your book on war and Evangelicals are great. As a convert as it were to liberalism, might not you be effected -- as Wm James once suggested of converts who come out of rigid upbringings -- with some of that rigidity as you demand perfection out of Obama?.

"Be you perfect as your heavenly father is perfect"  in Mathews -- translates now per Garey Wills, into "Be you inclusive as your Heavenly Father is inclusive." I change "Father" into "Mother." Are you capable of being inclusive, Chris, even as you acutely criticize?

- John Giannini

Did you know?

Dear Folk,

Did you know?

1. That the so-called debt cliff --- that until last year was never questioned by the congress ---, has nothing to do with lifting our debt ceiling but simply to honor expenditures already voted on by congress?
2. Did you know that our Republican party is the only political entity in the world that does not believe that humankind has caused the present environmental crisis?
3. That Obama sacrificed billions of income in this same process, not just as taxes but also as missed opportunity to remove unnecessary deductions allowed the richest companies in our industrial history?
4. Did you know that since 2005 (under Bush) no gun manufacturing company can be sued?
5. Did you know that Harry Reid has not yet led a vote in the Senate to change the filibuster rules so that any such attempt can no longer be simply a "no" and in which the nay-sayer remains anonymous?  I am certain you know that the number of filibusters under Reid's tenure is up to 350. Under Lyndon Johnson --who had similar long tenure as Senate leader ---only l occurred.  

- John G

Cloud Atlas: A New Potential Direction

by Martin Giannini

Cloud Atlas, both the film scripted by The Wachowskis (The Matrix Trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), and the book by David Mitchell, have so much to offer from excitement to dire prediction, from brilliant story-telling to deep knowledge.


All images below are sourced from: Warner Bros



For one, watching the film on the big screen was a roller-coaster ride of an experience in itself. When I wasn't one hundred percent engrossed and present, it was because I was reflecting on the fact that I was so captured (enraptured) by the film, that I didn't have time or the inclination to stop to think or analyse. Waste of time (mind) you say? I agree! Having read the book first, I had great expectations! Ah… but these are fun aren't they? A line in the book that tickled me didn't feature in the film. One of the heroines, Sonmi, reveals that she succeeded in downloading the works of "two Optimists… Orwell and Huxley." Either the author is enjoying delicious irony, as here we have two of our most famous (Western) dystopian writers, or we are to believe that their texts have been rewritten. In any case, to explore dystopia such as in Brave New World or Nineteen Eighty-Four or Cloud Atlas, can also become a practice in seeing present (and possible future) injustices for what they are, and heeding the warnings of those who speak the "True True".  More...


 


Continue reading on Art of Living's Blog...

Good News?

Could this be the beginning of a groundswell that overturns Citizens United?  Read this article on TreeHugger. 

Vermont Senate Votes Against Citizens United, Corporate Personhood

Awakening a Sleeping Society

Dear Folks,

I am thinking in this period of time when OWS (Occupy Wall Street) is gearing up for a further attempt to awaken a sleeping society, that we must help its leaders consider the many issues that are at stake. Please feel free to comment using the functionality on this blog! 

OWS needs to help people, especially in the South (examples now, Mississippi and Alabama), where l4% roughly of the citizens of these two states believe that Obama is a Christian and over 40% believe he is Muslim. Obama has his problems. However, compared to the nightmare of having another Republican president and a Republican controlled Congress, Obama is a gift to democracy. Free of any more need for monied support if he is elected, he can proceed to act on his authentic values, which I believe are close to OWS. Most importantly, we know from political history that a movement like OWS can profoundly effect the agenda of a president and a national Congress (as well as democratic legislatures and governors in every state)  What is your deepest concern?

Titillating over the Weaknesses of Mitt Romney

Dear Folks,

One of the persons on this group Email I call Power Politics is Gus Wilhelmy. Gus along with one other person in our group, Bernie Curran, were the co-creators of SAFER Foundation. I had the privilege of working for these two guys in the 1970s in which, as one of their managers, I for the first time truly enjoyed management because our "product" was not a well-manufactured thing but a human being, an ex-offender, who needs some help in adjusting to social life. SAFER is now a force in many cities. Gus lays out here the POWER OF TRUE FACTS.  Have you ever tried to read an evangelical or neo-conservative on any issue? I challenge anyone to find any facts or logic in these writings. Today, Doonesbury, the political cartoon, has a guy seeking from an organization (like FACTCHECK in real life) that -- in this story, "produces any fact that you want." The guy wants proof that Obama's stimulus plan produced no jobs. The Fact fellow says, "that could be tricky sir. the Government Budget Office reported the stimulus created up to 3.3 million new jobs."  So in effect, he is saying he can't help the guy. The latter answers, "But it's only for Fox News." The answer: "Oh, you should have said so sir. I'll get it right off to you." See the strip here. 

A Collage of Facts and Images of the 1% and 99

Dear Folks,

We need to continue paying attention to the facts and images of our two national groups, mainly the l %. Elizabeth Warren on the Daily Show: 30% of our largest companies pay more to lobbyists than federal taxes. Even the old very conservative Senator Grassley complained that so many lobbyists appeared at congressional offices to fight off company's like Romney's Baines being required to pay over 30% taxes than l5%, that the bill, he also supported, failed. Warren added that whatever benefit one seeks financially, lobbyists will get such for you in Washington.

John Stewart, said in a whisper: "the poor have no lobbyists." Elizabeth also noted: China invests 9% of GDP on infrastructures, we, 2%. During this week's Republican primary, we learned that Romney earns - without working, only drawing on his investments - $57,000 per day, better than the Middle Class earns. Rachael Maddow also showed the following diagram: First she pictured all presidents from JFK on and including Obama, she then noted that their combined wealth multiplied by two equals Romney's. Further, the superpacks are now so loading up Romney's coffers that in Florida and for several months he had thousands of adds, some amount like 2500 to Gingrich's roughly 500. This is political madness.

A case brought by Chris Hedges against the Obama administration

Dear Folks,

See Nation of Change website. Interesting developments in Occupy including a case brought by Chris Hedges against the Obama administration. Hedges spent roughly l5 years as a war correspondence, and then wrote two books, one on the addiction of war and the other, on the lethal ideas of evangelicals. He grew up in such a family. See the rest in article. This movement is growing. It must continue to grow if our country is to be saved from big money.

Sincerely, John G