a new path

-


as i've been perusing Facebook these past months Mike Carpenter keeps coming to mind - always chillin', always Zen in thought, always observant of the ordinary and elevating that ordinary thing to something more.

and then i look at my rant and raves on this site and on Facebook and i realize i've missed the mark. instead of doing good, i've concentrated on the banal, the superficial and the things i cannot change.

i've also realized that the things that polarize us into our little communities, those things that set up the fences to keep our tribe in and the others out, to foster hatred and mistrust of others not like us is exactly what i've been doing.

it is not a good thing, it is not helpful to the earth i live on and the universe.

i've determined in the sorry ass state of affairs in our world that there are too many of them - those who want to control your life and demand you follow what they believe, think like them, act like them. and if you don't, you are vilified, made fun of and hounded into submission.

i have become one of them. it is wrong, it is unkind and it is unnecessary. being "right" politically, spiritually or morally is too subjective for any person to decide their way is "the one true way" and all others are wrong.

i no longer wish to be engage or be ...a part of their universe. therefore, i shall not.

i have lacked compassion and not been mindful.

it is the beginning of spring. slowly but steadily the earth is renewing itself. so shall i.

it the time i have left i am turning a new leaf. no longer will there be rants and screeds and amazement at the actions of a world gone haywire.

for too long we have lived as adversaries. we spend more time fighting, posturing and arguing that time trying to solve the problems we face together.

if we are so full of and believing in the faith of our choosing, why do we as a world continue to ignore those very words and concepts when e want our way.

we now use faith and religion as a club against those who don't believe our way? Not a Christian, let us save you. Not our brand of Christianity? let us convert you. Refuse to follow our path? let us destroy you.

the same holds true for social and political beliefs. the name of the game is conquer and destroy.

it seems many of us secretly want Orwell's 1984. we want everyone to be like us, believe like us and act just like us.

Tolerance is evaporating like a shot glass of water in the dessert.

the phrase "live and let live" is no longer operative. it has turned to "live like me or be destroyed".

around the world millions die from lack of food, medicine, clean water and the unrelenting desire of some to conquer and eliminate those found not to be worthy of life. Whether it's Tibet, Darfur, Somalia, Croatia or the US, the drive to eliminate grows stronger every day.

we have lost basic human decency, the compassion to help our fellow man because he or she needs help. there is no litmus test for compassion or human decency. both are always the right thing to do every single day.

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

- Dalai Lama

somewhere along the line, I, like so many others, stopped being kind and started, in my case, being a smartass with a quick line to wound and put down.  i forgot to be kind.
helping the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and healing the sick are always the right thing to do. most religious texts and dogmas say so. basic human kindness has given way to basic human greed and fear.

there is no, nor should there be a litmus test for compassion. yet we continually put up conditions prior to offering help to the helpless. or, governments can't act because those in power continue to push, not for speedy resolution to hunger and sickness and the humiliation of poverty, but gum up the works by not doing what's best, but doing what's politically advantageous. the stalemate ensues and nothing is accomplished.

being compassionate and helping our fellow man is so simple. yet the powers of the world would rather argue semantics than do the right thing. that is the saddest part of our world. we see a world starving for help and we refuse to jump in the pit with them and help. we'd rather sit up top and talk about their condition.

Actually doing something doesn't seem to be an option on the table.

the age of instant everything has brought us to a point where information is transmitted, twisted and chopped up to be used to support every and any position.

truth no longer exists as an absolute - it has become whatever you wish to believe.

Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron says it best:

"The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new."

all you have to do is watch world leaders, dictators and wanna be leaders to realize how true that statement is.

So our world goes. One only has to listen to the healthcare debate last week to realize everyone has their position and have no concern other than to pound their wishes, their demands into the ground and not consider the other persons point of view.

meanwhile, people get sick, people can't get medical care, cant get treated for disease and die in the richest, most medically advanced country in the world.

why?

Sadly, this same type of meeting happens all over the world every day. In Haiti there were arguments about how to save people and take care of them. the arguments went on and on - people suffered and died.

when you're more concerned about your own tree, it's impossible to see which forest you're in.

we are all hugging our own trees.

it's time to step back and see the forest.

that's my plan.

"Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt." - Paul Tillich

my answers hurt. so today i choose to face the pain and take a different path. as Thoreau wrote:

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence."

and now, onward.

-

thought

-

He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being.


Paul Tillich
 
-
 

goin' back in time

-
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France

1983 Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes to #1 and stays #1 for 37 weeks

1987 The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.

1993  a bomb exploded in the garage of New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others

1998 Oprah Winfrey beats Texas cattlemen in beef trial

healthcare meeting obscene

-

I was watching the healthcare opinion posturing show yesterday and realized why our country is in such trouble.  not one of these politicians had the balls to set aside his or her ego and do what's best for the country intstead of what's best for his or her politicla career or fundraising efforts.

It was an obscene display of al that's wrong with American government and politics.

At the beginning of the meeting everyone drew a line in the sand and the pissing match commenced.  Seven hours later the country was not one inch farther along. 

At least everyone got great soundbites to show the folks back home and ones to appease the great pundit gods that reign on the airways.

Did anything get accomplished?  Hell no.

The Dems want us to work of their script, the Repubs want to start with a clean sheet of paper and go slow.  Neither wants to give an inch.

What happened to the days when politicians did what was best for the country, when they put asside differences to find common ground and move forward based on that commonality?  Partisanship rules the day with a big ugly hammer, banging away at the 80% of us who sinply want Congress to do its job and solve a problem.

Is that too much to ask?  Apparently so.

Now politics is a blood sport - take no prisoners, force your agenda on everyone else and do everything possible to stall the proces suntil you get your way.

Worst of all, it doesn't matter what's best for everyone. It's all about "ME ME ME".

None of these so called public servants have the least interest in doing what's best for all.  They simply want to get re-elected and raise money.

Yesterday was further proof that our political system is broken.

John Lennon said it best and may have the only solution to change the system

You say you got a real solution

Well you know
We'd all want to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well you know
We're all doing what we can
But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you'll have to wait

You say you'll change the constitution

Well you know
We'd all love to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well you know
You better free your mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow

- Revolution
 
We did it once before and look at the results.
 
It may now be time for another revolution.
 
-
 
 
 

thought

-

"Be like the earth. Weather the storms of life. Take the beating. Wait patiently for it to pass because it will pass. And then, as soon as possible begin healing and rebuilding yourself. Work harmoniously with your circumstances. Be patient and persevering. In the confrontation between stream and rock, the s...tream always wins – not through strength, but through persistence.

– The Buddha


-

way back when

-
1836 Inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver.

1870  Hiram R. Revels, R-Miss., became the first black member of the United States Senate as he was sworn in to serve out the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis

1913 The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, was declared in effect.

1964 Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) became the world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.


1969 Beatles begin recording Abbey Road album
 
 

 

thought

-
“You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?”

- Rumi

-

in earleir times

-
1803 the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison ruled itself the final interpreter of constitutional issues.



1868 the United States House of Representatives impeached President Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate

1920 The German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.


1983 A congressional commission released a report condemning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as a "grave injustice."
 
2008 Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.
 
 

thought

-

"The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”

- Rumi

back in time

-
1836 The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.

1945 U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi and raised the American flag. The moment was captured in a Pulitzer Prize winning photo by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.
1954  the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh

1991 President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.


1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly.
 
2000 Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album "Supernatural," tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for "Thriller."
 

thought for the day

-

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.


Buddha
 
-
 
 
 

back in time

-
1821 Spain sells eastern Florida to United States for $5 million

1879 Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y.

1924 Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.
 
1980  in a stunning upset, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-to-3.

2006 Apple's iTunes store sells it's 1 billionth song

CPAC, Cheney/Biden and Booze - Always a Good Combo

-

CPAC

If Woodstock was three days of peace, love and understanding, CPAC was three days of bashing, bitching and bemoaning the state of the US and the world as seen through the eyes of uber conservatives.

Winding up with the always amusing and seldom accurate Glenn Beck, the conference was a spotlight on everything they don’t like or can find fault with.

We got all the usual rantings and ravings about how bad everything was.

What was glaringly omitted was the smallest details of what these conservative tin foil hat experts would do if they actually ran the US.

No plans on healthcare, the war, the economy, education.

Nada, zip, zilch, zed.

Now that they’ve once again vented their collective spleens on everything they disagree with, let’s see a plan - a real live actual plan of what they would do to “cure what ails America”.

Until then, CPAC is a group of malcontents with a lot to bitch about and nothing to offer

-

Once again the Oklahoma legislature, bullied by Southern Baptists and other temperance advocated, has rejected the idea that wine can be sold in grocery stores.

Several major grocery chains have indicated their willingness to come to Oklahoma - and Bricktown - if they can sell wine.

But no, the anti alcohol folks are afraid kids will be able to buy wine if it’s sold in a grocery store.

Grow up and smell the reality.

I started buying beer, booze and wine when I was 16. I always found a way to get it. Age and where it was sold has little influence on my ability to purchase.

The liquor store near the University of Tulsa never carded me, nor did any of the pubs in the area.

Face reality Oklahoma. Whether their parents are giving it to them, they’re stealing it from their parents, having someone buy it for them or ponying up to the register and paying for it themselves, kids will get booze if they want it.

Let’s bring new business into Oklahoma. Let grocery stores sell wine, let wineries in and out of state ship their wines to Oklahoma addresses.

It’s time for those opposed to alcohol to stop foisting their beliefs on the majority of Oklahomans who like a drink and are tired of the hypocrisy of alcohol laws

Oklahomans like to drink - get over it.

-

Cheney/Biden

Listening to the Cheney/Biden verbal smack down last Sunday I couldn’t stop laughing.

It’s just more of the same political rhetoric pitting the left against the right. It's all posturing with no substance. If these guys, especially Cheney were really concerned about making our country better, they'd be putting aside partisan differences (now an impossibility) and working together to solve our complex problems.

This is just political flaming spear throwing 101: it accomplishes nothing except to inflame the base and raise money.

What is funny is that when Bush was in office, Cheney (and others) repeatedly said that if you spoke against the President’s stand and plan on terrorism, it was “aiding and abetting the enemy” and tantamount to treason?

Why is now okay for those same Republicans to blast the Obama Administration?

Treason must be in the eye of the beholder.

thought

-

“When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.”

Thict Nha Hanh

a long long time ago

-
1842 1st known sewing machine patented in U.S., John Greenough, Washington D.C.

1878 The first telephone directory was issued, by the District Telephone Co. of New Haven, Conn.

1885 The Washington Monument was dedicated.

1947 Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.

1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule

1965, former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot and killed by assassins identified as Black Muslims as he was about to address a rally in New York City; he was 39  
1970 Jackson 5 make TV debut on American Bandstand


1975 Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up.
 
1988 TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart tearfully confessed to his congregation in Baton Rouge, La., that he was guilty of an unspecified sin, and said he was leaving the pulpit temporarily. Reports linked Swaggart to a prostitute.
-
 

on this day

-

1809 The Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state.

1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth as he flew aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule

1965 The Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface.

2003 Fire broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others.

 

thought

-

“In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.”

- the Dalai Lama

this day a long time ago

-
1807 Vice President Aaron Burr arrested in Alabama for treason; later found innocent

1878 Thomas Edison received a patent for his phonograph.


1881 Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.

1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order giving the military the authority to relocate and intern Japanese-Americans.
1945, during World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima

1981 George Harrison is ordered to pay ABKCO Music $587,000 for "subconscious plagiarism" "My Sweet Lord" with "He's So Fine"

2004 Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's collapse. (He was later convicted and sentenced to more than 24 years in prison.)


2008 An ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him. .
 

thought for the day

-

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

- Christopher Robin to Pooh

-

a long time ago

-
1564 The artist Michelangelo died in Rome

1861  Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.

1885 "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain was published.


1930 Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. Originally classified as a planet, the icy rock was downgraded to "dwarf planet" in 2006.


1970 Five of the Chicago Seven defendants were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic national convention. The convictions were later overturned.


1972 The California Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.

1979 Snow falls in Sahara Desert
 

thought for the day

-

“When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh

a long long time ago

-

1801 The House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, choosing Jefferson to be president

1865 Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in.


1938 1st public experimental demonstration of Baird color TV in London

1959 1st weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2, 9.8 kg

1962 Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin"

1976 The Eagles' album "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" was released.

1996 World chess champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue," winning a six-game match in Philadelphia.

thought for the day

-
"Carpe diem!  Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.”

 - Horace

-

today's history lesson

-

1804  Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli harbor to burn the U.S. Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates.

1937 Wallace H. Carothers, a research chemist for Du Pont, received a patent for nylon.

1948  NBC-TV aired its first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre," which consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels.


1959  Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
 
1968 The nation's first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala.


 

a few musings

-

Listening to the Cheney/Biden verbal smack down on Sunday I couldn’t stop laughing.

It’s just more of the same political rhetoric pitting the left against the right. It's all posturing with no substance. If these guys, especialy Cheney were really concerned about making our country better, they'd be putting aside partisan differences (now an impossibility) and working together to solve our complex problems.

This is just political flaming spear throwing 101: it accomplishes nothing except to inflame the base and raise money.

What is funny is that when Bush was in office, Cheney (and others) repeatedly said that if you spoke against the President’s stand and plan on terrorism, it was “aiding and abetting the enemy” and tantamount to treason?

Why is now okay for those same Republicans to blast the Obama Administration?

Treason must be in the eye of the beholder.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isn’t it odd how scared conservatives are of trying suspected terrorists in open court in the US.

Don’t they trust our system of justice?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loved some of the comments coming from the 5th District Congressional candidates debate.

Quotes are courtesy of NewsOK :

"He (Kevin Calvey) said they (terrorists) want Americans to convert to Islam "and we’re not going to do that.”

Don't Christian Churches send thousands and thousands of missionaries around the world to covert “heathens” to Christianity?

It wasn’t that many years ago that Christians used blunt force to force people to convert.

“James Lankford wants footnotes for bills passed by Congress to show where the Constitution allows for the bill.”

He obviously doesn’t know that much of what is determined to be Constitutional isn’t explicitly defined in the document.

“Lankford said he opposed holding civilian trials for any of the terrorists being held by the U.S.
"The O.J. Simpson trial will look like Judge Judy,” Lankford said if terrorists were tried in civil court.”

We’ve tried over 300 alleged terrorists in the US, in Federal Courts without disturbances.
Lankford doesn’t appear to made similar comments when the Bush Administration tried terrorists in Federal courts.

Why does Langford think it’s wrong now? Shouldn’t Republicans be excited that Obama is continuing a Bush policy?

“(Rick) Flanigan said he would never compromise on a bill that violated the U.S. Constitution.”

I wonder whose definition of what is Constitutional he will use? SCOTUS? Liberty University Law School?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

thought for the day

“When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly”\

- Patrick Overton

history on the Ides of February

-
1809 - the U.S. Supreme Court rules the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state.


1898, the U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 260 crew members and escalating tensions with Spain

1933 President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.

1958 - "The Dick Clark Show" debuted on ABC-TV. Connie Francis, Pat Boone and Jerry Lee Lewis were the first performers to appear on the show.

1962 - Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth on the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule

1964 - The Beatles released the single "Eight Days a Week" and the album "Meet The Beatles." the album goes #1 and stays there for 11 weeks

1978 Leon Spinks beats Muhammad Ali in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1992 Jeffrey Dahmer found sane & guilty of killing 15 boys

1995 - Population of People's Republic of China hits 1.2 billion

It's my Birthday back in time

-

1894 Venus is both a morning star & evening star

1929, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone's gang were gunned down.

1971 Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in White House

1978 1st "micro on a chip" patented by Texas Instruments

1989 Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses," a novel Khomeini condemned as blasphemous.


 

Ten Zen Commandments

-

Living skillfully is never accidental. It is a combination of intention, integrity and intensity.

- Victor M. Parachin


1.Pay attention.

2.Awaken your mind.

3.Open your heart.

4.Follow your own light, not someone else's.

5.Don't cling to anyone or anything.

6.Be flexible: not too tight, not too lose.

7.Be mindful: be here while moving there.

8.Practice compassion.

9.Meditate as often as you can.

10.Choose joy.
 
-

thought

-

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.

-

another history lesson

-

1635 The Boston Public Latin School was founded. (It is now the oldest public school in the United States.)

1866 Jesse James holds up his 1st bank, Liberty, Missouri ($15,000)

1924 King Tut's tomb opened

1943 Women's Marine Corps created

1945 Allied planes bomb Dresden Germany; 135,000 die

1959 Barbie doll goes on sale

1982 Dark Side of the Moon, is on charts for 402nd week

2000 Charles Schulz's final "Peanuts" comic strip ran in Sunday newspapers, the day after the cartoonist died at age 77.

pre Valentine's Day thought

-
“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”

-

histories mysteries

-
1870 Women in the Utah Territory gained the right to vote.


1915 The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C.


1924 President Calvin Coolidge makes 1st presidential radio speech

1950  Sen. Joe McCarthy claims to have a list with 205 State Department employees who he claims are Communists

1955 Pres Eisenhower sends 1st US advisors to S Vietnam

1999 The Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

2000 Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died at age 77.

thought for the day

-

You are what you want to become. Why search anymore? You are a wonderful manifestation. The whole universe has come together to make your existence possible. There is nothing that is not you. The kingdom of God, the Pure Land, nirvana, happiness, and liberation are all you.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

-

going back in time

-
1812 Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law that favored his party - giving rise to the term "gerrymandering."

1858 A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes

1861 US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state

1942 "Archie" comic book debuts

1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II
1960 Jack Paar walks off his TV show

1964 Beatles 1st live appearance in US; Washington DC Coliseum

1979 Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile.


1990 South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.


2006 Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a quail hunt in Texas.
2009 Democrat John Dingell of Michigan became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives with more than 53 years of service

more thoughts

-
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."


-- Buddha
 
 
 
Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply.


–Thich Nhat Hanh

-

thought for the day

-

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh


-

goin' back in time

-
1846 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - the Mormons - began an exodus west from Illinois

1942 Glenn Miller awarded 1st ever gold disc for selling 1 million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo"

1956 - Elvis records Heartbreak Hotel

1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States

1964 Bob Dylan's album "The Times They Are A-Changin"' was released.


1967 The 25th Amendment to the Constitution, dealing with presidential disability and succession, went into effect.


1989 Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first black to head a major U.S. political party.


1996, after three hours, world chess champion Gary Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer



2007 Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., kicked off his presidential campaign with a speech at the state house in Springfield, Ill.

Palin Living the American Dream

-
Sorry folks - Palin is brilliant.


Here's a semi educated former cheerleader and sportscaster from the backwoods of Alaska who' gone from not much of anything to becoming the person everyone loves to talk about.

She's the flavor of the month just like her predecessors: Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Octomom and Anna Nicole Smith.

None of her predecessors have much talent or ability but they've managed to parlay their insipid, PR driven activities into a multi milion dollar industry that revolves around them.

No true causes, no real stands on issues, no social relevance.  All of them simply feed part of the population's insane need to latch on to a celebrity and feed on every word, every picture, every misstep.

Palin's making a boatload of money off her wacky, nonsensical, sing song speeches and fact challenged book. She's full of populist double speak and platitudes but short on substance.

I've yet to hear or read Palin's plan to fix America, create more jobs, fix healthcare or solve the current economic mess. Her base doesn't care.

The problem is just enough people love listening to her to keep the cash rolling in for the rest of her 15 minutes of fame.

Briliantly, she's shamelessly cashing in at every opportunity. She's taken a page from the Paris Hilton playbook - say or do whatever it takes to stay in the news and make your paying base happy.

Sarah Palin is living the American Dream - and it's making her rich.
-

something to consider

-

"A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker"

- the Buddha

-

time travel

-
1825 The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.


1861 The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president.


1942 Daylight-saving "war time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.


1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces

1964 The Beatles made their first live American TV appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."


1964 GI Joe character created


1971  pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame
 

2009 Following media reports, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez admitted he took banned substances from 2001 to 2003.

thoughts on stuff

-

Tom Tancredo, speaking at last weekends teabagger coffe clatche said Obama was elected president because the US doesn't have a mandatory "civics literacy test".

I'm thinking Tancredo might not have been elected to Congress if Colorado voters were pre-tested.

Don't think this is a random thought by one far right wingnut.  The idea of some sort of "civics literacy test" has been floating around for a couple of years and may take flight with the Earl Grey crowd.

-

Leave it to Caribou Barbie.  She managed to hornswaggle $100k out of the teabaggers for a speech that was long on catch prhases, short on ideas and even shorter on the truth.

Some of her major gaffs:

claimed the Christmas bomber "lawyered up" and stopped talking after being given his Miranda rights - not true, he's still singing according to the government.

claimed Obama refuses to use the word "war" - he uses it regualrly to describe Iran/Afghanistan?Pakistan conflict

claims the Prez likes to write the most henious of dictators to attempt to open up dialog - so did Reagan, the Shrubs and Clinton

It must be great to get paid for lying.

What's scarry is so many listen to these people.

-

There's a great article by Susan Jacoby in WaPo abot the arrogance of Christians.  In the article Jacoby notes how many Christians act so superior, so arrogant that they are the, as she puts it, the self proclaimed children of God.

Too often people of all faiths spend too much time bragging about how faithful they are, how religious and how spiritual their lives are.

What Christians, and people of all faiths need to do, is spend a lot less time talking the talk and much more time walking the walk.

Talk is cheap - actions speak louder than words.

Let's see some real action from the Christian community in Oklahoma where poverty, illiteracy, hunger, lack of health insurance, spousal and family violence and alcohol and drug addicition consume a large portion of our population.

Those are sins worth fighting.

Jesus would.

Where's his flock?

-

Two OU mens basketball players have been busted for shoplifting at a Norman Dillard's.  This seems to be a pattern with Sooner B-Ball players so i'm guessing shoplifting is a required class or some sort of initiation right for male and female jocks.

Does no one explain to these kids just how incredibly blessed they are to have a free ride to college while they play the sport they love?

Dont' they get how lucky they are?

All teenagers make mistakes. God knows I did.  But I didn't do anything so stupid it would jeopardize my scholarship.

Stealing is wrong.  What part of that don't these kids from OU understand?

-

With the forecast of snow in Oklahoma, I am surprised that schools remained open. This bucks a recent trend where OKC closed schools because it was too cold and because a snowstorm was headed our way.

That's just ignorant.

Part of the blame has to go to the weathercasters who loudly proclaim "danger danger" whenever the hint of bad weather heads our way.

These men and women will say anything to keep you watching - yes, the 'doom and gloom' wall to wall weather coverage is designed to make you watch, not make you safe (that's just a by product)

-

thought for the day

-

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

- James Dean


-

history lesson

-
1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.


1861 Confederate States of America organizes in Montgomery, Alabama
1910 The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.


1911 U.S. helps overthrow President Miguel Devila of Honduras
1915 D.W. Griffith's silent movie epic about the Civil War, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.
 
1926 Walt Disney Studios forms
 
1944 1st black reporter accredited to White House, Harry McAlpin
 
1968 Three college students died in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.
 

today in history

-

1869 Harper's Weekly publishes 1st picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers

1935 "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for 1st time

1971 1st time a golf ball is hit on Moon (by Alan Shepard)

1974 US House of Reps begins determining grounds for impeachment of Nixon

thought for the day

-
"When it comes down to being a provider of God's love, there is really only one provider, who sends us out with nothing at all and with everything we need: healing, forgiveness, restoration, resurrection. Those are the only things we really have to share with the world, which is just as well, since they are the only th...ings the world really needs".

- Barbara Brown Taylor

a trip in the wayback machine - thanks Mr. Peabody

-
1922 Reader's Digest magazine 1st published


1937  President Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; critics charged Roosevelt was attempting to "pack" the court

1967 "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premieres on CBS (later ABC, NBC)

1994 White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Miss., of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. He was sentenced to life in prison

2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the U.N. Security Council to move against Iraq, saying that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was harboring terrorists - claims that later turned out to be false.

thought for the day

-

“A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us.”

- Pema Chodron

time travel

-

1783 Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

1787 Shays' Rebellion (of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) fails

1789 Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

1861 Delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.


1938 Hitler seizes control of German army and puts Nazi in key posts

1945 FDR, Churchill and Stalin meet at Yalta - the division of Germany and Eurpoe

1957 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale (Syracuse New York)

1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army

1983 Singer Karen Carpenter died at age 32.


1987 Pianist Liberace died at age 67.

1991 Hall of Fame's board of directors vote 12-0 to bar Pete Rose

1997 A civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

2004 The Massachusetts high court declared that gays were entitled to marry.

thought for the day

-
Repentance is the doorway to the spiritual life, the only way to begin. It is also the path itself, the only way to continue. Anything else is foolishness and self-delusion. Only repentance is both brute-honest enough, and joyous enough, to bring us all the way home.


- Frederica Mathewes-Green

random thoughts

-
It’s time for the American military to wake up and smell the coffee - and admit the obvious truth - gays have been serving in the military for as long as there has been a military.


They serve proudly, honorable and distinguish themselves in war and peace.

But that’s only if they never, never, ever admit to being gay.

The same kind of asinine statements about having blacks and women in the military are now surfacing again.

There’s nothing like a little ignorance in positions of leadership.

The Washington Post reports that Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia said that if they began to loosen one restriction, others might unravel, leading to a louche atmosphere brimming with “alcohol use, adultery, fraternization and body art.” Don’t ask, don’t tat.

Obviously Senator Chambliss has never been on post or he’d know there’s tons of alcohol abuse, adultery, fraternization and body art. Tattoos are as big a tradition in the military as anything else.

Now you can be ten kinds of sexual deviant, beat your kids and wife, drink to excess, sexually harass woman military personnel and be allowed to serve.

If the military can withstand those activities, they can surely withstand openly gay men and women serving their country.

At one time John McCain, a long supporter of the military and what it wants, said he would support a new policy on gays in the military as soon as the top brass in the services told him it was time.

According to the New Your Times, McCain told a group of college students that he would drop his objections on the issue “the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy.

They did.

Now McCain is backtracking on that statement as fast as he can.

If a man or women wants to serve and is qualified, let them serve. We need the best and the brightest in our military be they white, black, female or gay.

Obama is doing the right thing.



AIG

One only wonders what the big brass at AIG is thinking - except how to fatten their wallets.

They announced yesterday that they were taking a pay cut of sorts, chopping 10% off their bonuses .

We’ll see how that works. Last year they said employees would return $45 million in bonuses by the end of 2009. So far only $19 million has been returned.

I'm betting AIG doesn't care - they got a bailout and are reaping the rewards.

Somewhere along the line AIG forgot who gave them a helping hand when things were tough.  They should get a memory refresher and return the favor.

The obvious reponse by the American people is to boycott AIG.  Stop using their products. Cancel your policies.

If they want to play hardball with bonuses, let's play it back.




Maybe those who promised to return the bonuses were waiting to see how big a chunk of change they got this year before deciding on whether to make good on their promise.

thought for the day

-
When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space.

- Pema Chodron

History already made

-

1870 15th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed

1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It authorized the power to impose and collect income tax.


1956 - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash held a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis. The sessions were later named the "Million Dollar Quartet" and released.

1959 - Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), and the Big Bopper (28) died in a plane crash in Iowa.

1964 "Meet the Beatles" album goes Gold

1967 "Purple Haze" recorded by Jimi Hendrix

1994 The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time.

a different take on mindfulness

-
"What I like doing best is Nothing."

"How do you do Nothing?" asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.

"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh nothing, and then you go about to do it."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh.

"This is a nothing sort of thing that we're doing now."

"Oh, I see," said Pooh again.

"It means we're just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."

-

thought for the day

-
We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.

Thomas Merton

today in history

-
1653 New Amsterdam - now New York City - was incorporated

1876 The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.

1940 Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

1943 Battle of Stalingrad ends with final surrender of the German army

1949 1st 45 RPM record released

1959 Buddy Holly's last performance

1971 Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda following a coup.

1977 Radio Shack officially begins creating TRS-80 computer

1982 "Late Night with David Letterman" premieres on NBC

2007 The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries.

thought for the day

-

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God ... gloried in becoming a member of the human race.


- Thomas Merton

thought for the day

-

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, though it is a race dedicated to many absurdities and one which makes many terrible mistakes: yet, with all that, God ... gloried in becoming a member of the human race.


- Thomas Merton

Tim Tebow

-

I don't really care if Tim Tebow does an anti-abortion commercial and it's shown on TV during the Superbowl. He's using his 15 minutes of fame to talk about something he believes in - he's no better or worse than any other celebrity pushing a cause.


I won't be watching the Superbowl and could care less.

What does disturb me are two things:

1 - The country where Tebow was born, the Phillipines, has laws that prevent abortion for any reason. That makes his mother's story suspect.

2 - CBS refused to air a gay oriented ad. If the NFL and CBS are to sell airtime to one issues group, they should sell time to any group who can pony up the money.

We should be a lot more concerned with the picking and choosing by the NFL and CBS over which issue commercials are aired.
 

thoguth for the day

-

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.


- Henry David Thoreau
 
 
-
 
 

important things happend a long time ago

-

1893 Inventor Thomas A. Edison completed work on the world's first motion picture studio in West Orange, N.J.

1949 RCA releases 1st single record ever (45 rpm)

1959 Texas Instruments requests patent of IC (Integrated Circuit)

1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they'd been refused service.

1964 Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand," 1st #1 hit, stays #1 for 7 weeks

1965 Martin Luther King, Jr. and 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma, Alabama

1972 1st scientific hand-held calculator, the HP-35, introduced for $395

1978 Director Roman Polanski skips bail and fled to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl

1982 "Late Night with David Letterman" premiered on NBC.