The effort required to find or even to consider the facts
behind issues and positions that we want to believe and those we oppose is
beyond most of us most of the time. One of the most interesting to me, recently
is the Trayvon Martin case. I was on 125th Street wearing my Trayvon hoodie
with a few others right after the incident yet I had no more to go on than what
I had seen on CNN, PBS Newshour, Rachel Maddow, WAMC (NEVER FOX for god's
sake!). I still don't know and have no way of knowing (and I don't think many
do) what "the facts" are. We watch the videos, we listen to the
recordings of phone calls and police interviews, we acknowledge the
circumstances, we listen to the trial testimony, AND we ignore what our
American religion asks of us: presumption of innocence, trial by jury.
Likewise, the American religion tells us that we must protect
our interests overseas. We have no "facts", no understanding of what
our interests are or who creates and prioritizes the interests in the first
place. Rarely do I, or, in my opinion of course, do most of us remember that
most of our interests overseas have to do with the profit-driven rape of the
planet, exploitation of power hungry and helpless populations and the financial
interests of the 1% and the pitifully small, but highly touted trickle down effects on our economy. Why do
American interests take priority over any other state's? (Because I AM AN
AMERICAN, dammit!)
And I guess we'll continue to ignore another of our American
religious proclamations (smile, pat heart): The Four Freedoms*. And I quote,
".... That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis
for a kind of world attainable in our own time and
generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of
the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the
crash of a bomb." Congressional Record, 1941.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.
72 years and still counting tyrannical
interventions, sniper teams and drones supporting our interests overseas ... I
guess if we pay for them, we deserve them.
May the wonder of existence, its precious web of life and our
fragile humanity abide amongst, radiate from and bring us peace.
Just in from dear friend, Lois:
"Carl --Facing another critical end of month budget
deadline and Kristin just called to say we are still short of what we need to
compete. Favor? Can you please visit http://act.loisfrankelforcongress.com/deadlinemay
and donate before the big deadline tonight? Always, LJF
Sent from my AT&T Blackberry
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info@loisfrankelforcongress.com
Dearest Lois(for one), You send messages whose tone
is intimate, yet you don't use or know my "intimate" name. It's not
Carl, though Carl is my first name. That "sent from my blackberry" is
ridiculous. Kristen? Who is my other dear friend, Kristen? Whose deadline?
Critical?
I hope you vote for campaign finance reform if you're
elected. Always, CVL
Friendship is kind and mindful knowing another; knowing how to share, to
be critical and to take criticism with the desire to understand and be
understood, not necessarily without hurt but without the intent to create
change in the other for one's own benefit.
Love is an unmeasured, unfettered, physically and emotionally
unselfish affective bond with another. Desire and selfish needs may cloud but
not break the bond
Every word is too shallow.
40 people every day are murdered in the US. Two young men
with crude weapons focused the entire US on them and their activity. What about
the other 37 people who were killed that day? Why are there centers of murder?
The New York Times today pointed out that Chicago is still one of those
centers. The motivation for the violence – whether a homicide with no
"drama" or a "terrorist act"– is the real question.
As Peggy Noonan pointed out this morning on Meet the Press,
the media creates the hysteria that allows the media to reflect on the
hysteria. What the media might better focus on are the root causes of these
acts and their perpetrators. Poverty, hunger, lack of connection, educational
disability and a tendency to ignore these root causes and react with
"enforcement"or "defense" should be the real focus.
"Combatting terrorism" is impossible.
Out of 7 Billion of us on Earth, there are still only a few
who are crazy enough to drive violence and war. If only one-tenth of one
percent of us (1 of 1000) is crazy, there are 7 million crazies out there. In
the US alone, that would be 300,000. The US has put over 2 million in jail ...
lot of good that has done! And by the way, it's not "these days".
It's been bred into you and me and is a Natural part of humanity. It's why and
how we survived. We just have to learn how to cool it and use our intelligence
intelligently or we'll just go extinct -- Naturally. The Earth and the universe
don't care. They just keep on keepin' on, with us or without us.
One issue with battery operated vehicles that sorely needs to
be addressed is standardization. It will be a great day when a standard
form-factor for auto batteries, their interconnection and their sockets, like
A, AA, AAA, AAAA batteries, bbq propane tanks, Edison bulb sockets. Local
"gas stations" might become battery recharge & interchange
stations. Stop, take out the old, measure "maturity" (capacity to
hold charge), measure maturity of new, insert, pay, and go. In addition, the
oil companies might be able to develop a new revenue stream to replace oil/gas.
The fill up would come from the power grid rather than the EIC.
