We are presently witnessing a profound shift in the power-wielding dynamics of our western society, a "changing of the guard" if you will. I think for the first time in our nation's history we are poised to embrace the truly egalitarian society, we were always meant to be. That being said, this paradigm shift will require vigilance from all of our citizens, in all walks of life. Therefore, I urge you, each and every one to stay informed and to seek truth from multiple sources. Do not be led or distracted, like sheep, by false narratives. Do not shy away from important conversations and let your voice be heard!
12/2/2017 Just wondering when or if the digital power-wielding paradigm will also begin to shift? Everyone may have a platform to 'be heard' these days, but given the recent evidence of suppression, on the part of providers, and the proliferation of "fake news" stories on social media platforms: I'd have to say that what's being heard on-line is anything but fair or balanced. The latter aside, I love the way President Trump is able to circumvent the main-stream media with his Twitter account. Granted, I don't always like the way he says things, but I love that the President has a found a way to take his message directly to "we the people." Trump's tweets, to my way of thinking, are the modern-day equivalent of FDR's "fire-side" chats, albeit a bit more colorful in nature and not always wholly 'presidential'. Then again, Trump seems to be redefining what it means to be presidential. And despite the mainstream media's near-meltdown response, the world keeps spinning madly on ... Go figure? I didn't vote for a President Trump, but given the response of the Left since the election --or rather the lack of any meaningful fact/action based response-- I have to say that Trump is slowly winning me over. That being said, I think Trump's surrogate at FCC revoking net-neutrality will only further serve to dismantle the dissemination of balanced truth via digital on-line mediums.
12/30/17 God Bless, keep and guide the brave men and women in the country of Iran who have awakened from slumber and now struggle to have their voices heard toward the end of taking control of their own lives. Their courage in the face of extreme adversity gives hope for a brighter future for their country, their children and their children's children. I sense a benevolent energy acting their behalf this time, an energy I have not felt before. This time, I truly feel as if change IS possible.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Thursday, November 16, 2017
We, As a Nation, Are at a Crossroads ....
I have been following all of the #MeToo posts and stories, well the highlights at least. It's been too hard for me to bear witness to explicit details having been a victim myself. Nonetheless, I sincerely admire the courage of others have shown by coming forward in order to share their deeply personal stories, followed by the aftermath of trying to find 'normal' once again --some of us never truly find normal again, maybe we must invent a new normal for ourselves. Anyway, the sharing of these courageous women --and men-- gives me a profound sense of hope ... Hope because the sharing of these stories reveals a long-hidden, ugly truth in our western society, namely the false-narrative that power can be used to prey upon others for the purposes of a misguided need for sexual gratification at the expense of an unwilling participant.
By sharing these stories we remove the mask of stigma from the victims and refocus the blame where it should rightly reside, namely upon the perpetrators and their enablers. We've begun to shrink the cover that 'polite society' used to provide for these monsters and started a conversation that stands to fundamentally change how we deal with sexual harassment and assault in our modern-day society. Those who prey upon the innocent, our children, are perhaps the worst among the predators. For these innocent we must remain ever-vigilant, being the eyes and ears who will watch for any and all signs of abuse and then move swiftly to protect the innocent.
All of the above being said, however, I find myself deeply troubled by the allegations being brought against the Republican Alabama Senate Candidate, Judge Roy Moore, in the aftermath of the Alabama primary election and just weeks before the main election is to be held. While the allegations, if proved to be truthful, are horrible and wholly inexcusable, I find myself EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the timing of these allegations, especially in light of the fact that these allegations date back thirty, or more, years making the allegations all the more difficult to conclusively prove, by legal standards, within the limited time-frame leading up to the election.
As much as it pains me to say, given my own experiences of sexual abuse, I firmly believe Roy Moore deserves his day in court. I do not think this because of Roy Moore's character or his policies, or the fact that he happens to be Republican. I would be making this very same argument if Roy Moore were a Democrat as well. Due process is the right of all citizens and it is a fundamental part of who we are as a nation. Due process is what separates us from countries like North Korea and Iran. To my way of thinking we, as a nation, are at a crossroads. We stand to set an incredibly dangerous precedent for trying post/primary political candidates in the “court of public opinion”, without the due-process of law, where information --both true and false-- in this 'courtroom' spreads like wildfire in this day and age of global social media and the 24-hour cable news-cycle. The repercussions of such a precedent will be long-lasting and detrimental to the fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy, because now moving forward any candidate can be unfairly targeted with non-legally binding charges, in any political campaign, without due-process. The game-changer of course in the "court of public opinion", now verses decades past, is the velocity--both speed, as well as multi-direction-- at which damage can be inflicted upon an intended target in our present-day technological web. So which candidates are likely prevail in such scenarios, without the benefit of due process? Probably those candidates who are well-connected, both in terms of finances as well as media backing, with the financiers having their own hidden agendas. And who will want to even run for political office, given the risk of being unfairly targeted and smeared? Probably not the best qualified candidates, with the best interest of “we the people” at heart.
The Democrats are quite the hypocrites, given their unwavering support for President Bill Clinton in the aftermath of his sexual misconduct with a young White House intern, in the Oval Office no less, even in the aftermath of Congressional impeachment. Let us not overlook the fact that the Democrats stand to win a much needed Senate seat in the aftermath of scandal, a seat which could potentially shift the Congressional balance-of-power, thereby derailing President Trump's agenda for “Making America Great Again.” And shame on establishment Republicans for rushing to throw their fellow Republican immediately under the bus? Timing IS everything. Even if these allegations of sexual misconduct prove to be true, we are all being played. Are we really okay with this? If Roy Moore is forced to withdraw from the race, then the puppet-masters win again and they win BIG, not just today, but tomorrow and in every future political race that has yet to play. I say, Judge Roy Moore deserves his day in court. Let the election play out, with the legal proceeding moving forth simultaneously. Then, if Roy Moore winds up winning the election and IF he is found guilty, by legal standards, then have him removed from office, where-after a replacement can appointed by the Governor of Alabama, as the established electoral guidelines in the state of Alabama dictate. To do otherwise risks damaging our democracy in so very many ways, ways which will go on to have lasting repercussions on our nation for decades upon decades to come.
All of the above being said, however, I find myself deeply troubled by the allegations being brought against the Republican Alabama Senate Candidate, Judge Roy Moore, in the aftermath of the Alabama primary election and just weeks before the main election is to be held. While the allegations, if proved to be truthful, are horrible and wholly inexcusable, I find myself EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the timing of these allegations, especially in light of the fact that these allegations date back thirty, or more, years making the allegations all the more difficult to conclusively prove, by legal standards, within the limited time-frame leading up to the election.
As much as it pains me to say, given my own experiences of sexual abuse, I firmly believe Roy Moore deserves his day in court. I do not think this because of Roy Moore's character or his policies, or the fact that he happens to be Republican. I would be making this very same argument if Roy Moore were a Democrat as well. Due process is the right of all citizens and it is a fundamental part of who we are as a nation. Due process is what separates us from countries like North Korea and Iran. To my way of thinking we, as a nation, are at a crossroads. We stand to set an incredibly dangerous precedent for trying post/primary political candidates in the “court of public opinion”, without the due-process of law, where information --both true and false-- in this 'courtroom' spreads like wildfire in this day and age of global social media and the 24-hour cable news-cycle. The repercussions of such a precedent will be long-lasting and detrimental to the fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy, because now moving forward any candidate can be unfairly targeted with non-legally binding charges, in any political campaign, without due-process. The game-changer of course in the "court of public opinion", now verses decades past, is the velocity--both speed, as well as multi-direction-- at which damage can be inflicted upon an intended target in our present-day technological web. So which candidates are likely prevail in such scenarios, without the benefit of due process? Probably those candidates who are well-connected, both in terms of finances as well as media backing, with the financiers having their own hidden agendas. And who will want to even run for political office, given the risk of being unfairly targeted and smeared? Probably not the best qualified candidates, with the best interest of “we the people” at heart.
The Democrats are quite the hypocrites, given their unwavering support for President Bill Clinton in the aftermath of his sexual misconduct with a young White House intern, in the Oval Office no less, even in the aftermath of Congressional impeachment. Let us not overlook the fact that the Democrats stand to win a much needed Senate seat in the aftermath of scandal, a seat which could potentially shift the Congressional balance-of-power, thereby derailing President Trump's agenda for “Making America Great Again.” And shame on establishment Republicans for rushing to throw their fellow Republican immediately under the bus? Timing IS everything. Even if these allegations of sexual misconduct prove to be true, we are all being played. Are we really okay with this? If Roy Moore is forced to withdraw from the race, then the puppet-masters win again and they win BIG, not just today, but tomorrow and in every future political race that has yet to play. I say, Judge Roy Moore deserves his day in court. Let the election play out, with the legal proceeding moving forth simultaneously. Then, if Roy Moore winds up winning the election and IF he is found guilty, by legal standards, then have him removed from office, where-after a replacement can appointed by the Governor of Alabama, as the established electoral guidelines in the state of Alabama dictate. To do otherwise risks damaging our democracy in so very many ways, ways which will go on to have lasting repercussions on our nation for decades upon decades to come.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Perception, the chain that truly binds us ...
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
This what's wrong with the world today: so many among us seem to have forgotten this truth we came into this world knowing. We've become so focused on the packages we each reside in, our skin color and ethnicity. There are lines of division being 'drawn' everywhere we look, particularly by the Hollywood elites and main-stream media. In this mindset, the world cannot help but be perceived as a series of slights, rooted in past wrongs which true racism will never allow to be forgiven. If we willfully close our eyes to the progress we have made in so many areas, we become pawns in a larger political agenda --us against THEM-- instead of the truly liberated beings we were meant to be. Beings who control their own destinies, thoughts and dreams, beings on a quest to reconnect with the spiritual nature of our true being. And counter-intuitively, it is forgiveness not condemnation that holds the key to our liberation. We must forgive, so that we in turn may be forgiven. Otherwise, we will remain grounded beings, trapped in a repetitious cycle of human failures, incapable of hope for a vision of an even brighter future, a future in which we have an active hand in shaping our own destinies and creating a better world for our children and our children's children after them.
"What man is a man who does not leave this world a better place?" I would wager, the man who sows division is the antithesis of the latter. And the man who teaches his children division digs an even greater hole for his children to climb out of, in terms of spiritual enlightenment which in the end is the point of this shared journey, LIFE, we are on. Open your heart and let it begin to engage your mind.
To the Professor, Ekow N. Yankah, who has sadly concluded, in his "New York Times" op-ed, "I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people." I have to say, how sad for your children, Professor Yankah. By your proclamation you have already closed doors to your children, doors that may have truly expanded their way of thinking and the people they are ultimately capable of becoming. By your proclamation, your children will now have to work that much harder to get closer to a spiritual version of truth. How close-minded, to paint all 'black' people with one brush and all 'white' people with another, when the truth lies somewhere in between. There are good 'black' people, just as there are good 'white' people. There are bad 'black' people, just as there are bad 'white' people, both historically as well as in more modern times. But the spiritual truth is that we are so much more than 'black' and 'white'. I happen remember my first best friend, at the impressionable age of 4 years old, the same age as the son of NYTimes op-ed author. My first best friend was a beautiful little African-American girl, named Kimberly, but I never saw Kimberly as being any different than me. She was my best friend and we had hours upon hours of endless fun together until I moved away a year later. Children don't see 'color'; they are taught to see color. And nothing in this world will ever truly begin to change until we, as grown-ups, parents, educators and mentors pledge to stop teaching our children to divide up our world by color. It's that simple. Perhaps the change starts with you, one ever-widening ripple in the pond of human consciousness?
My thoughts after reading "Can My Children Be Friends with White People?"
This what's wrong with the world today: so many among us seem to have forgotten this truth we came into this world knowing. We've become so focused on the packages we each reside in, our skin color and ethnicity. There are lines of division being 'drawn' everywhere we look, particularly by the Hollywood elites and main-stream media. In this mindset, the world cannot help but be perceived as a series of slights, rooted in past wrongs which true racism will never allow to be forgiven. If we willfully close our eyes to the progress we have made in so many areas, we become pawns in a larger political agenda --us against THEM-- instead of the truly liberated beings we were meant to be. Beings who control their own destinies, thoughts and dreams, beings on a quest to reconnect with the spiritual nature of our true being. And counter-intuitively, it is forgiveness not condemnation that holds the key to our liberation. We must forgive, so that we in turn may be forgiven. Otherwise, we will remain grounded beings, trapped in a repetitious cycle of human failures, incapable of hope for a vision of an even brighter future, a future in which we have an active hand in shaping our own destinies and creating a better world for our children and our children's children after them.
"What man is a man who does not leave this world a better place?" I would wager, the man who sows division is the antithesis of the latter. And the man who teaches his children division digs an even greater hole for his children to climb out of, in terms of spiritual enlightenment which in the end is the point of this shared journey, LIFE, we are on. Open your heart and let it begin to engage your mind.
To the Professor, Ekow N. Yankah, who has sadly concluded, in his "New York Times" op-ed, "I will teach them to be cautious, I will teach them suspicion, and I will teach them distrust. Much sooner than I thought I would, I will have to discuss with my boys whether they can truly be friends with white people." I have to say, how sad for your children, Professor Yankah. By your proclamation you have already closed doors to your children, doors that may have truly expanded their way of thinking and the people they are ultimately capable of becoming. By your proclamation, your children will now have to work that much harder to get closer to a spiritual version of truth. How close-minded, to paint all 'black' people with one brush and all 'white' people with another, when the truth lies somewhere in between. There are good 'black' people, just as there are good 'white' people. There are bad 'black' people, just as there are bad 'white' people, both historically as well as in more modern times. But the spiritual truth is that we are so much more than 'black' and 'white'. I happen remember my first best friend, at the impressionable age of 4 years old, the same age as the son of NYTimes op-ed author. My first best friend was a beautiful little African-American girl, named Kimberly, but I never saw Kimberly as being any different than me. She was my best friend and we had hours upon hours of endless fun together until I moved away a year later. Children don't see 'color'; they are taught to see color. And nothing in this world will ever truly begin to change until we, as grown-ups, parents, educators and mentors pledge to stop teaching our children to divide up our world by color. It's that simple. Perhaps the change starts with you, one ever-widening ripple in the pond of human consciousness?
My thoughts after reading "Can My Children Be Friends with White People?"
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Monday, November 06, 2017
KARMA Storm
" "The Vegas massacre didn't move the needle far enough" " ... I cannot bring
myself to walk the path of sorrow in the aftermath of the Texas
Southeast First Baptist Church shooting. Instead I find myself
flooded with feelings of intense anger … Not anger at gun laws, gun
owners, the military or a mental health system which appears to fail so many in our country these days. No, this anger I'm experiencing
is an anger directed at those, working behind the scenes, who found
an unstable individual and then pushed him over the edge. And once Devin Kelley was over the edge these puppet-masters then put a gun in this
unstable man's hand and set him on a collision course to slaughter
innocents, all in the name of refocusing political discourse such
that their party and their core issues are brought to the forefront
of relevance once again. Believe me, this isn't knowledge I want to
'see' or for that matter to share, but the universe won't seem to
leave me alone alone I have shared this interpretation of the tragic
events that unfolded during a celebration of worship on Sunday. I mean, what are the statistical odds the opportunity arises --right on heels of the Las Vegas shooting-- for the left to disparage the military, conservative people of faith and guns all in one shot? The latter has to be the liberal trifecta. The
only consolation I have is a vision --9/23/2017-- of a KARMA storm is presently being unleashed upon this world of ours, such that a light will be
shown on these puppet-masters --at all levels of corruption and walks
of life. The far-reaching moral arc of the universe
is moving to restore a long overdue universal balance. The time has come for the sleeping among us to awaken to universal truths which transcend political affiliation, race, gender and all other perceptions of division.
11/7/2017 Struck me as odd that several media outlets were initially reporting the shooter using his middle name, Devin Patrick Kelley. The middle name was later dropped in subsequent reporting.
11/9/2017 " "In the absence of an armed citizenry, in times of violent crisis we will find ourselves at the hands of the merciless." " Our founding fathers understood this and this is why they gave us the 2nd Amendment. Thanks to the bravery of Stephen Willeford, a concerned citizen and neighbor living adjacent to the church, who arrived on the scene of the shooting with a second gun --and NRA training-- countless additional lives were likely spared. Incidentally, I have had an extremely hard time finding Willeford's name by way of the mainstream media. Could it be the latter are suppressing Willeford's name and his contribution to helping put an end to the mad gunman's shooting spree because Willeford's involvement with a second gun does not fit their narrative supporting the need to "control all guns"?
11/11/2017 At the end of the day, it helps to believe in a world where individual redemption is entirely possible. We can learn and grow, we can heal, we can forgive and be forgiven ... "Whose sins we [each of us] hold bound, remain bound. Whose sins we [all] forgive are forgiven."
11/7/2017 Struck me as odd that several media outlets were initially reporting the shooter using his middle name, Devin Patrick Kelley. The middle name was later dropped in subsequent reporting.
11/9/2017 " "In the absence of an armed citizenry, in times of violent crisis we will find ourselves at the hands of the merciless." " Our founding fathers understood this and this is why they gave us the 2nd Amendment. Thanks to the bravery of Stephen Willeford, a concerned citizen and neighbor living adjacent to the church, who arrived on the scene of the shooting with a second gun --and NRA training-- countless additional lives were likely spared. Incidentally, I have had an extremely hard time finding Willeford's name by way of the mainstream media. Could it be the latter are suppressing Willeford's name and his contribution to helping put an end to the mad gunman's shooting spree because Willeford's involvement with a second gun does not fit their narrative supporting the need to "control all guns"?
11/11/2017 At the end of the day, it helps to believe in a world where individual redemption is entirely possible. We can learn and grow, we can heal, we can forgive and be forgiven ... "Whose sins we [each of us] hold bound, remain bound. Whose sins we [all] forgive are forgiven."
Friday, November 03, 2017
Former DNC Chair Pulls Back the Curtain on the 'Great and Powerful Oz'
"This is really a full scale indictment of the entire power structure at the DNC." ~Byron York, Washington Examiner
I have to give Donna Brazile --DNC chairwoman who took the over the job the day before the DNC primary, when D.W. Schultz was ousted-- credit for having the courage to finally speak out, revealing the Clinton stranglehold on the DNC which led to the rigging their of their party's primary. That being said, however, I cannot help but wonder how the election might have turned out had Brazile spoken out prior to ballots being cast. Timing is indeed everything. I am also left wondering if the Bernie Sanders supporters will continue stick with the Democratic Party in light of such damning revelations? Are the Bernie supporters tired enough of being used and played by the Democratic Party such that they will now find the courage (and organization) necessary to start their own party? Will these events wind up being the impetus for the emergence of true "third party" in American politics? If nothing else, perhaps these events will prove to be the closing chapter in the era of Clinton political aspirations?
11/9/2017 Relieved to see most on the left chose not to partake in the organized childish anti-reality "scream at the sky" event yesterday. The lack of turnout for this event gives me hope for those on the left after all, particularly millennials. The latter might have it in them to organize in a meaningful, truly representative way, moving forward after all and that will surely do wonders for our representative democracy.
11/12/2017 I like Greg Gutfeld's suggestion, that the DNC should give Hillary R. Clinton a "life-time achievement award." Greg notes, paraphrasing here "[In Hollywood, and the music industry, people always seem to go away after they receive a lifetime achievement award.] "
I have to give Donna Brazile --DNC chairwoman who took the over the job the day before the DNC primary, when D.W. Schultz was ousted-- credit for having the courage to finally speak out, revealing the Clinton stranglehold on the DNC which led to the rigging their of their party's primary. That being said, however, I cannot help but wonder how the election might have turned out had Brazile spoken out prior to ballots being cast. Timing is indeed everything. I am also left wondering if the Bernie Sanders supporters will continue stick with the Democratic Party in light of such damning revelations? Are the Bernie supporters tired enough of being used and played by the Democratic Party such that they will now find the courage (and organization) necessary to start their own party? Will these events wind up being the impetus for the emergence of true "third party" in American politics? If nothing else, perhaps these events will prove to be the closing chapter in the era of Clinton political aspirations?
11/9/2017 Relieved to see most on the left chose not to partake in the organized childish anti-reality "scream at the sky" event yesterday. The lack of turnout for this event gives me hope for those on the left after all, particularly millennials. The latter might have it in them to organize in a meaningful, truly representative way, moving forward after all and that will surely do wonders for our representative democracy.
11/12/2017 I like Greg Gutfeld's suggestion, that the DNC should give Hillary R. Clinton a "life-time achievement award." Greg notes, paraphrasing here "[In Hollywood, and the music industry, people always seem to go away after they receive a lifetime achievement award.] "
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