June 2009 archive

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

He who experiences the unity of life

sees his own Self in all beings

and all beings in his own Self

and looks on everything with an impartial eye.

–Bhagavad Gita

Phenomena XI: uniting


Flow Lines

Primary Element

What could

even should

have been a time

to listen to one another

became instead a time

of antipathy

a time of distrust

of attack

of justification

of baser instincts

of pushing apart

rather than

pulling together

The strength of water

lies in it’s unity.

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–February 8. 2008

Late Night Karaoke

I’m A Mad Man Don’t You Know



What does it take to take another persons life?

No doubt by now, you’ve heard about Dr. Tiller that was assassinated while attending church today.  He was an abortion doctor who found himself regularly on FOX News due to Bill O’Reilly.

So, what exactly does it take for a person to get it into their heads that killing someone is better way?

The gay rights law you don’t know about

On Wednesday morning, June 3, at 10 a.m. the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). (If you are in town, the hearing is in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.) C-Span does not have Wednesday’s television schedule up yet, but the Committee website offers a webcast of the hearing.

UAFA would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow a citizen to sponsor a same sex partner for citizenship.

This might be one of those bills that ultimately goes nowhere or it may fundamentally change the course of both the gay marriage and immigration debates. Follow me below the fold for more on this bill.

Thank you to the UAW

cross-posted at the Orange Site

It’s final. GM files for bankruptcy tomorrow morning.

I would like to take a moment to let all the UAW members know how much I appreciate the strides they  made for many of us in the work force.

As UAW fades, so does a path to U.S. prosperity

For decades, unionized manufacturing jobs have been considered the surest path to middle-class prosperity and realizing the vaunted American dream for blue-collar workers.

The United Auto Workers helped make that dream a reality.

“We created the middle class in America,” said Olen Ham, one of the few surviving members of the 1937 “sit-down” strike in Flint, Michigan, which won the first union contract with General Motors Corp.

Later contracts brought paid holidays, pension benefits and health insurance, enabling blue-collar workers to buy cars and homes and to send their children to college.

Overnight Caption Contest

More than a President, less than a God

     George W Bush may have damaged this Democracy beyond all repair.

    The Constitution defines the powers of the Executive Branch and the Presidency. George W Bush took power beyond those which are defined in the Constitution.

    As of now the President CAN spy on me, name me a terrorist, imprison me without trial and torture me until I confess to something. Should it give me any comfort that he promises not to do so? Or should I wait until some President (or his advisors) feel less squeamish about it?

    With those new extra-Constitutional power, George W Bush became MORE THAN just a President. With the new and un-Constitutional powers of office, the Presidency under Bush became less Democratic and more Authoritarian.

    For all intents and purposes, George W Bush was more than a man, but less than a God.

   Now that President Obama holds the office, it is his duty to restore the powers of the Executive branch to their original status as defined within the Constitution.

   So far, the Obama Administration has applied the same strategy Bush had been following to matters related to the Iraq-Torture scandal, all while telling us repeatedly, “No. Trust us. We will handle it. “

    and we are supposed to believe them.

When George W Bush and his administration took new Executive Powers for themselves they let the Genie out of the bottle. Our job is to put the Genie back in.

    So, what happens if POTUS Obama does not intend to abdicate the un-Constitutional powers of the executive branch that were illegally taken by the Bush Administration. What if he will not deny future Presidents the ability to name citizens “enemy combatants”. What if he will not deny our Government the ability to illegal spy on citizens without a specific warrant. What if he will not deny future Presidents the ability to torture when necessary. His Chief Of Staff has said as much. But he promises not to let it happen again.

    President Obama, your promises are meaningless to me.

    Your actions speak volumes.

    The day I fully believe the promises of any politician is the day I pack my bags for the funny farm. Especially after the last President, and especially when I consider who may be the next one.

    “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

    If Obama does not CHANGE his view on this issue, I can no longer have any HOPE he will be able to administer his office as required under the Oath he swore to when he accepted it.

   What matters more than our basic HUMAN RIGHTS? Tax code and global warming mean nothing to a man tied to a rack.

   And if you can do it to somebody, you can do it to anybody.

   To those who would say that this will mean the Republicans will win, I ask you, which should I prefer?

   the straight road to hell?

   or the scenic route?

   

What Can Newspaper Reporting Learn from Yuricon?

.. and from Yuri Monogatari 6?

That is to say:

Well, that’ll take time to explain, and it will be speculative even once explained. But as newspapers are dying like flies … newspaper reporting may have something to learn from micro-niche publishers like the publisher of YM6.

How to stop having most wars.

Tell all YOUR friends to stop teaching their children specific religions. Tell their children to save religion until they graduate high school. Never make them go to church. Have them work at soup kitchens and ring doorbells for Democratic campaigns. Tell them that everyone is the same anyway, and religion is just for wimps who can’t face death. Since kids don’t face death anyway, it’s easy for them if you tell them it’s all right to ignore religion. If you want, tell them it kills pooties and ponies and breaks iPods. These are all very realistic suggestions based on actual observations of preteen and teen behavior. It’s the most effective and easiest way to change the world.

It can Pay to be on the Inside

Usually they get away with …

Usually they trade their knowledge, for money or power, and no one notices —

But not always:

Insider-Trading Ring Bust May Fuel Hedge-Fund Concern

By David Scheer – March 2, 2007

March 2, (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government’s accusations that Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Bear Stearns Cos. employees were central figures in an insider-trading ring illustrate why regulators and lawmakers are suspicious of Wall Street’s relationship with hedge funds.

Prosecutors in New York and Washington yesterday brought criminal charges against 13 people, claiming that an executive at UBS and a former compliance lawyer at Morgan Stanley tipped off hedge-fund traders and brokers to new analyst ratings and secret takeover talks. Bear Stearns was home to at least four professionals who traded on information leaked from inside the two firms, according to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(emphasis added)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…

White Collar Crime, is not any less heinous, because they commit it with a Keyboard, instead of a Handgun.  Yet more often than not, in the Wild West of electronic casinos, these criminals can make “a killing”, without having to pull that trigger themselves … without ever having to worry about ever facing their “day in court” …

Can We Quit Talking About Daily Kos?

Disclaimer: If you are not doing what the Dog is talking about in this essay, then it is not directed at you! So, please don’t take offense where the Dog did not offer it.

This has been said by the Admins but the Dog is going to make his own plea about this. For the love the Flying Spaghetti Monster could we just not rehash all the shit from Daily Kos?

The Dog knows there are a bunch of folks who were banned there or left because of banning or policies or because they did not like the tone. The thing is by bringing this up constantly you are not actually making this site any better.  

WeaveMothers: Post-beginnings

In telling any story I’m told that it is advisable to provide some background.  But the Song of Earth is too much to tell.  According to what is recorded in the Rainbow, the universe computer that records everything (and some even believe is everything), there was once an attempt to sing the song and all who knew it…or thought they did…gathered and sang…for 150 years.

The Storyteller was there.  That’s where he learned his stories before he got on the train.  

And they barely got started.

So maybe one just has to pick a place and tell a little bit and nurture it so that it will grow and answer any relevant questions when they do pop up, if one is able.

In the beginning?

The song doesn’t go back that far, since there was nobody to record it and the Rainbow had not yet been conceived.

But we can speculate that the WeaveMothers were weaving the Tapestry of Life.  Why they have done what they have and when they started will likely always be a mystery.

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