Random Phenomena

Random phenomena can either be single events or those occurrences that evolve over time in a random fashion. Our lives exhibit these random circumstances on a daily basis. More often than not some fiasco will insert itself into our well laid plans and we must change the final outcome.

How that fiasco, failure, disaster, mess or washout happened is insignificant. What we did with it and how we fiddled with it is significant.

For example, if you have told a lie, some falsehood, some made-up story, an invention or some deception to an acquaintance, friend or family member your outcome will evolve over time. Randomness comes into play.

Initially, you may believe the outcome to be positive. The result of your action, at the time, has smoothed over the rough spot and you are off the hook. But the fib now lives with you, it follows you and may grow. You must always guard against revealing details that may ensnare you in falsehood.

Subjective logic takes uncertainty and belief ownership into account. A fundamental aspect of the human condition is that nobody can ever determine with absolute certainty whether a proposition about the world is true or false. Whether what someone has told them is true or false.

belief is the belief that the specified proposition is true.
disbelief is the belief that the specified proposition is false.
uncertainty is the amount of uncommitted belief.
base rate is the a priori probability in the absence of evidence.

Back to the lie, which does contain some truth. The truth and the lie are fused into one story which is not necessarily a complete fiction.

This is where trust comes in.

Many of us have an uncanny ability to exhibit warmth of emotion even when the underlying fervor is one of suspicion. We don't want to believe our friends or family or leaders are lying to us but there is the nagging indications that they may be. We may especially feel this way if they have lied to us in the past and we have caught them. They may not be aware that we have "caught" them and so they continue to repeat the lie.

We see this happening everywhere. It happens politically, it happens with religions, it happens with social relationships. Any human interaction can be fraught with untruths.

So how does one guard against falling for the "story" or "falsehood" be it religious, political or social?

By shining a light on the falsehood. By calling it out. By creating simple questions that lead to truth.
Guantanamo isn't closed.
We are still in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We still torture.
These issues have not gone away just because the administration changed.
There are still lies that need uncovering and even though many of us have stopped discussing these events they still live and breath in the lies that created them.

Hate Speech

All of us at one time or another use "hate speech" to describe groups unlike ourselves. We use "hate speech" to demonize the "other".

Today in the political environment "hate speech" has replaced civil discourse. On the internet when differences in political ideology come in contact with each other the use of "hate speech" by both sides dominates the conversation which essentially shuts it down.

Who are those that want it shut down and why do they not want the two main political parties talking to each other?

Recently the main issues being discussed on line revolve around Iran, health care, and the economy but this is what you see when you read comment threads.

DUMBOCRATS, DEMONCRATS(DEMS)

STEAL FROM THE WORKER AND GIVE TO THE LAZY LIBERAL WELFARE BREEDERS

Impeach Obama and his American SS hate groups.

The only people who watch NBC are nitwits, numbskulls, perverts, and a few demoncrats that have learned how to understand English.

Liberals= SOCIALISTS really scary word on AOL

GREED OVER PEOPLE, WINGNUTS(GOP)

YOU STUPID RED STATE REPUBLICAN HICKS SHOULD LEAVE OUR GREAT BLUE STATE NATION

CEO's losing billions and taking millions in bonuses for incompetence. That's really working hard all right, AT BEING A THEIF.

FAUX NEWS(Fox News)

The only people who watch FOX are nitwits, numbskulls, perverts, and a few wingnuts that have graduated from high school.

Right Wing=FACISTS really scary word on HUFFINGTON POST

The above is just a fraction of what poses as internet comments.

Demonization works to keep the ideologically pure on both sides hating each other.

But is it necessary?

And how do both sides stop it?

All of us need to realize that demonizing anyone relegates them to the "EVIL ZONE".
Once you have been categorized as "EVIL" nothing you say is heard. So why don't the powers that be want us to hear each other?

Because if we do listen to each other then we can't be controlled.

Is morality a social construct?

There are many that believe it is morally right to send teenagers(children) to prison for life.
There are many that believe it is morally right to kill adulterers.
There are many that believe it is morally right to circumcise women and men.
There are many that believe it is morally right to torture.
There are many that believe it is morally right to hang a criminal.
There are many that believe it is morally right to go to war.
There are many that believe it is morally right to abort a fetus.
There are many that believe it is morally right to kill an intruder.
There are many that believe it is morally right to collect data on all citizens.
There are many that believe it is morally right to engage in extraordinary rendition.
Hitler believed it was morally right to exterminate the Jews.
Stalin believed it was morally right to assassinate his enemies.

There are many that believe it is morally right to____________________________.
fill in the blank.

If we don't agree on what is morally right then there must not be any universal moral standards.

The Anthropological Argument for moral standards is as follows:
1. People in different societies make different moral judgments regarding the same action.
2. If people in different societies make different moral judgments regarding the same action, they must accept different moral standards.
3. If people in different societies accept different moral standards, there are no universal moral standards.
4. Therefore, there are no universal moral standards.

Think about points 3 and 2 are they accurate? What is the difference between moral judgement and moral standards and do moral judgements depend upon moral standards?

To understand the difference one must consider facts and belief and ones view about the nature of reality.

According to Emmanuel Kant our experiences are mediated through the human mind which universally structures perceptions in accordance with our relative time and space. Others have argued that our experiences are mediated by our culture....realizing that "our culture is the center of the universe," and "our culture" can be vastly different for peoples living in the same country.

Theodore Schick Jr. says: One's cultural focus may take obvious forms, in which one consciously believes that one's people's arts are the most beautiful, values the most virtuous, and beliefs the most truthful.
This is known as ethnocentrism...all culture's have it and it can be a problem when trying to understand ourselves and others.

Marcus and Fisher claim that in using portraits of other cultural patterns to reflect self-critically on our own ways, anthropology disrupts common sense and makes us reexamine our taken-for-granted assumptions.

Theodore Schick Jr. says

"It is widely believed that there are self-evident truths in logic, such as the statement that everything is identical with itself. But are there any self-evident truths in morality? Consider the statement, "Unnecessary suffering is wrong." This statement does not say that suffering is wrong or that no one has suffered unnecessarily. What it says is that whenever one is made to suffer unnecessarily, a wrong has been committed. To anyone who understands what suffering and wrong are, this statement should be self-evident.

If you do not believe that this statement is true, the burden of proof is on you to provide a counterexample. If you are unable to do so - if you cannot cite a situation in which unnecessary suffering is right - then any claim that it is false is irrational, for you have no good reason to make it."

Developing a framework for looking at domestic and international human rights issues through a lens not colored rosy might awaken us and help us create new methods for dealing with moral disagreements. It might provide common ground and encourage all to look at these disagreements from new perspectives.

First on the list may be understanding that we don't all agree on what is "morally right."

Go Ahead and Die

Tidbits

Years ago My Mom started a list of words she detested. Whenever i'd visit i'd ask her to get out the list and share her new ones. She never threw the list out she just kept adding to it. i love the time spent examining her list because it is always filled with lots of laughter while she explains why she just abhorred some word.

Well recently i've been thinking of making my own list and here are two:

Bipartisan
Kool-aid

Moving on.....today is a slow day as i have been working more on another project. i've been writing and tearing up passages, stopping to read when frustrated and thinking about why i really enjoy quotes, poetry and thoughts from other people. i collect them and keep them in a Miscellaneous file. Today i've dredged some up that i hope you enjoy. So to start...I'll go back in time.

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives...Euripides

I don't know why I did it,
I don't know why I enjoyed it,
and I don't know why I'll do it again. Socrates

Demonization of anyone destroys the ability to think critically.

Is not general incivility the very essence of love?

All people, all over the world, be they rich or poor must establish their fundamental right to decent standards of living.

"Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object is to recognize the trend whose premise is false, ride that trend, and step off before it is discredited." George Soros

Peace does not necessarily have to be something humans might achieve "some day." They contend that peace exists in the present, we can create and expand it in small ways in our everyday lives, and peace changes constantly. This view makes peace permeable and imperfect rather than static and utopian.[5] From a "Call for Many Peaces" by Dietrich/Echavarría/Koppensteiner

Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, "Independent mortgage companies, which are not covered by CRA, made high-priced loans at more than twice the rate of the banks and thrifts."- The real conclusion about the CRA and the mortgage meltdown is that laws and regulations did not make lenders engage in predatory lending, absence of oversight and lender greed did.

These people, the banks, the lenders, and the executives are the ones who are directly responsible for the crisis. Next in line are the politicians who are subsidized by these same big money interests who helped do away with responsible regulations and crippled regulatory agencies. All those who believe that the free market will properly regulate itself are the real culprits.

.
All told, according to statistics provided by the National Abortion Federation and not including this last murder, since 1977, there have been seven murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 arsons, 96 attempted bombings or arsons, 390 invasions, 1400 cases of vandalism, 1993 cases of trespassing, 100 butyric acid attacks, 659 anthrax threats, 179 cases of assault and battery, 406 death threats, four kidnappings, 151 burglaries, and 525 cases of stalking specifically directed at clinics, their workers, or their volunteers in the US and Canada. That's over 6,100 cases of terrorist activity by the "pro-life" movement. And that's just what was reported -- the actual numbers are probably much higher

And to end the piece i'll let Rahman Baba himself explain here:

Live not with thy head showing in the clouds,
Thou art by birth the offspring of this earth,
The stream that passed the sluice cannot again flow back,
Nor can again return the misspent time that sped,
Consider well the deeds of the good and bad,
Whether in this thy profit lieth or in that.

open arms

In the Virgin Islands we have a stairway that usually leads to the main entrance of the great house. Many refer to the shape of the stairway as one of open arms and are known locally as "welcoming arms."

These stairways reflect the beauty and grace of these islands. They begin wider at the bottom with curves like open arms welcoming all. Unfortunately, in the beginning, these stairways belonged to the owners of slaves and they did not "welcome all."

The United States of America began this way. Opening up its vast stretches of land to all who wanted a new way of life. One free of the restrictions they wanted to escape. "Empathy" helped the birthing of democracy in this land, that ability to "walk in another's shoes." Our laws were created from an understanding of empathy and the trials and tribulations that had gone on in other countries and our own that we didn't want to continue to repeat. We had a steep learning curve that we still do battle with. Our laws continue to evolve as we learn more about humanity and the way we all interact.

Today we find the word empathy mixed up with the word "emotional" and "feelings" as a negative attribute. "Emotional" dominates the airwaves and empathy now means the word emotion almost exclusively. Emotion is a negative word these days.

Sampling another's feelings, understanding them, walking in their shoes does not mean you "sympathize" with them.

Empathy means your understanding has another layer.

Our country's laws would not be what they are today without those original drafters of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution having some form of empathy. Empathy is not racism. Empathy is the ability to walk in another's shoes which is sorely lacking in this country today.

So the next time you read or hear the word "empathy" see if you are being played and it is all about "emotion" and "feelings" instead of "walking in another's shoes."

Remember "empathy" means you have another layer of understanding....not sympathy.

Quining

i've been reading "Godel, Escher, Bach: an eternal golden braid" by Douglas Hofstadter for the past few months. This is not a book you read in a hurry. i like to read a piece at a time maybe a whole chapter so the full aspects can be digested.

A few days ago i finished reading a piece between the Tortoise and Achilles called Air on G's String. The Tortoise and Achilles interact usually following more theoretical parts of the book and have Escher paintings and Bach fugues thrown in to clear up confusion.

In this conversation between Achilles and Tortoise they discuss how peculiar a phrase can be when it talks about itself. Achilles talks about his head spinning and what kind of a lunatic mind would torment innocent people during the night by leaving a quined phrase on his answering machine. He repeats the phrase to Tortoise which i'll reproduce here but unless you've read the book it won't make much sense.

"YIELDS FALSEHOOD WHEN PRECEDED BY ITS QUOTATION"
YIELDS FALSEHOOD WHEN PRECEDED BY ITS QUOTATION.

This is only really significant to me and later to you because last night i couldn't sleep. All night long the Beatles song Blackbird was running through my mind. i tried to OM, i got up and tried to read, i got a glass of water, i tried everything but i couldn't get it to stop playing. So this morning i decided it was important, that i needed to pay attention in keeping with my philosophy not to ignore things.

i went to look up more information on McCartney. According to my research, McCartney has credited Bach with the inspiration for the music to Blackbird. "Hmmmmm Bach?" Thinks i, some may not realize it but throughout the song every single chord contains a G. "Air on G's String?" Thinks i.
So i go re-read the Tortoise and Achilles piece.

Its interesting that this song played over and over in my mind last night because it had to do with civil rights. i went to look up some more and found that McCartney had just recently sang this song to crowds at the Coachella Music Festival the end of April. He made mention of its history and said today, 40 years later, many of the negative civil rights issues had been addressed positively. The lyrics are timeless and i repeat them here in hopes that our human rights issues are addressed positively as well.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Oh you were only waiting for this moment to arise
Oh you were only waiting for this moment to be free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXIx1nhF7rU

i bring this all up because in many ways we as a nation are quining. We make reference to ourselves but the mirror isn't always that which is reflected back. We use phrases that talk about ourselves as a nation but they don't reflect much truth.

We analyze the statement, we investigate it to find its truth but then some of us find it is synthetic.

"WE DON'T TORTURE"
WE DON'T TORTURE.
is a quinned statement my government uses. They use it in a synthetic manner, i use it analytically understanding it not to be true.......who is correct?

Petraeus and Colin Powell are finally free of those who were taking this country towards a future where our talk and our actions were diametrically opposed. This weekend in an appearance on Radio Free Europe Petraeus said that President Obama's decision to close down Guantanamo and end harsh interrogation techniques(which he has testified against and helped write guidelines that are in keeping with our agreements under the Geneva Conventions) would benefit the United States in the broader war on terror. Powell said, on Face The Nation "We're doing it(closing Guantanamo) to reassure Europeans, Muslims, Arabs, all the people around the world that we are a nation of law.

Again, we as a nation are learning to see, like the McCartney song says "learn to see". The blinders are coming off and we are working towards healing that which ails us. Let us hope we don't decide to quine instead.

When all humans are considered humans and proceed to due process under our laws and all pain inflicted is recognized for what it is...only then will we be a nation whose words and deeds mesh.

"WE DON'T TORTURE"
WE DON'T TORTURE.

Fearful citizens

Captured detainees rights is a grave issue for the likes of fearful citizens.

Why?

These captured detainees would have all kinds of legal rights unavailable in an offshore prison claims these fearful citizens.

My question is why wasn't the US just as afraid of Timothy McVeigh our own home grown terrorist who blew up the building in Oklahoma? We were able to jail him, try him and even kill him without anyone fearing his escape.

What is wrong with us that we fall for this line of propaganda that the "terrorists" are incapable of being held in our prisons. That they are more dangerous than our own home grown terrorists. That we have to shiver in our homes worried that they are "going to get us when they might escape." Have we become a bunch of "sissies" afraid of our own shadows.

But more than that what gives us the right to proclaim them "guilty" before they have had a chance to defend themselves.

Close Guantanamo, bring them here and prosecute them properly like the civilized nation we proclaim ourselves to be but certainly aren't acting like.

health is not for profit

Passion Fruit Vine

"Bureaucracy" is a dirty word in today's health care discussion. "Government" another dirty word is perceived as a dysfunctional entity by many in the US.

But is it?

In the past i published a piece that outlined all the services government did well. Building and maintaining the interstate highway system for instance, Clean Water and Clean Air Dept. including sewage treatment plants. Our air and water is significantly cleaner than it was in the 60's and could be much better. Workplace safety cutting accidents and death by 40% since inception. The National Weather Service which alerts all of us including planes and ships to inclement weather. Food and Drug Safety and Science research. Did you know government pays for 80% of the basic science research in this country?

This list could go on much further. Other clearly effective programs and policies would include our National Parks, the Voting Rights Act, Social Security and Medicare, Rural Electrification, AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Crime Information Center, and of course all the Military. Again, these are just the accomplishments of government on the federal level – they don't count the thousands of other successful public sector endeavors on the state and local level.

Terminology is constantly used to refocus you away from things that could benefit you.

Government is bad remember that.

When you hear the word government....think "bad".

Programming your thinking is complete when you always think government is "bad" and doesn't function. When the programming is successful you are permanently entrenched in "bad" even though all over the country government is functioning more successfully than not.

Insurance companies are claiming that working with them to modify the health care land scape will save trillions over ten years but is this accurate? They say they will slow the rise of health care costs by one and half percent per year over the next ten years. They then go on to estimate a savings total of 2 trillion over ten years.

Please note that they say nothing of cutting costs. They are counting on their clever wording to disguise that what they are really offering is to merely decrease the rate of increase. They will still be making profits off your illness.

At that rate, in ten years we will be spending $2.5 trillion dollars on health care rather than the already outrageous $1.5 trillion we spend now. Assume their estimate of a 6.2% rise in costs each year and do the math. It is an offer without substance. The sick remain a vehicle for profit.

The players in this industry have for too long exploited us. Now is the time to return health care to the caring and end the industrialization by insurance companies.



The anti-trust laws need to be changed so doctors and hospitals are unshackled.

The argument goes that insurance companies take risks by insuring you. They pool the money just as a National Health Insurance Program would pool money. There is no difference except the profit motive is removed if we opt in to a public program. You are told your taxes will increase and yes that will happen. But the increase in taxes will be less than the premium you pay for insurance and those pre-existing conditions will now be covered.

Here is one proposal for a national health plan, i'm not necessarily endorsing it but at least it is there for the public to review. It covers everything and more than my insurance plan...how about yours?
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-703

Do Republicans have detailed plans to improve our health care access and coverage and could you send it to me to review?

Health Care is not a Human Right

The experience i had last month dealing with the medical community has reaffirmed my strong belief that all human beings, whether rich or poor, should never be denied medical attention because they lack health insurance. Claiming that emergency rooms will take anyone is not true.

Researching Universal Health Care has been enlightening and rather than write about what i've found i've decided to just out and out copy it verbatim. i didn't write any of what follows and most of it doesn't address how Universal Health Care would actually work here...that will come in another post. Unfortunately, i failed to compile the authors names as i was collecting quotes originally thinking i would write my own. So the blue writing is mine and the black belongs to others but i've lost track of who they are.

Health Care is not a Human Right? Some believe this. i don't.

Have you asked yourself if our Health Care System reflects our American values? Are we a nation that doesn't believe in cooperation, that we only believe in the rights of the individual not of the community?

Is it the right of the Insurance Industry to deny us Health Care, is that a Human Right?

The fact is that health insurance corporations don't provide health care at all and yet they make enormous profits from a system that exists to provide health care.

Health Insurance Corporations profits increase when people don't get health care. That is the bottom line. The more care they deny, the more procedures they refuse to pay for the more they profit at your expense.

They provide no health care and they profit most when Americans pay for health insurance but can't get access to health care.

The health insurance industry can never engage in constructive negotiations on this issue because all they're doing is negotiating how much profit they're going to continue to bleed out of our health care system.

We look like our values put an emphasis on unbridled greed when it comes to health care.

Keep that in mind as you continue to read.

The fact is that thousands of people in America are dying every year because they can't get health care and this means nothing. The fact that over 1 million Americans go into bankruptcy every year due to medical debt — even though most of them had insurance when they got sick — means nothing.

1. Corporate health-insurance companies don't provide health care.

2. Corporate health-insurance companies draw an enormous amount of money out of the health care system as profits while increasing the paperwork costs of managing health-care.

3. Corporate health-insurance companies make the most profits when people pay for insurance but can't get access to health care.

4. Corporate junk health-insurance has caused a lot of health-insurance holders a lot of headache, heartache, and agony by denying them the access to health care they thought they were paying for when they signed up for the insurance.

The facts are clear.

1. The US system is a failure. European national health systems work. They provide 100% coverage. They cost 10% of GDP vs. US 16% of GDP and they get better health care results, we are not number 1 in health care results. Profits are.

2. The US system is killing the US economy, costing it $800B a year, 6% of GDP. GM, Ford and Chrysler and many other US businesses are in trouble because the cost of US health care makes them non-competitive.

3. Viable plans such as those proposed by Physicians for National Health Plan and "Medicare for All" provide the detailed policy framework for moving US to a competitive effective health care system where we all pay in and where we all get access.

We live in a country where average working people are one health-care crisis away from disaster.

Health crisis is the 2nd leading cause of bankrupcy in the US.

We live in a country where people with chronic illnesses are thrown away because employers cannot afford to keep covering them.

We live in a country where small-business people are shackled by the health-insurance costs of their employees.

I could go on and on. But I'll sum it up with this:

Aren't you tired of living in a country with an irrational health-care system that is based on a parasitic industry glutting itself on the illness and misfortune of others.

Should money that is spent for health care go into profits, stocks, venture capital firms etc or back into health care?

Our system is one of fear and money not health care.

We experience unnecessary medical care because of a fear of liability which drives up costs. Every extra unnecessary procedure makes money. The push for profits by hospitals and insurance companies imposes the profit motive on their employees(Doctors and Nurses)instead of good health care.

In 2005 the top pharma companies together had $222 Billion in sales out of that $32 Billion was spent on Research and Development and $71 Billion in Marketing and Administration. The argument that the high price of drugs is related to research and development is a false one. The high price of drugs is related to Marketing, Administration and obsene profits($39 Billion) or 16% when Fortune 500 companies are averaging 5%.

Some claim that Universal Health Care will ration care. Isn't it obvious that we already have rationing by insurance companies?

Some claim its socialized medicine. So what, our Veterans get socialized health care and for the most part they like it. Our seniors get socialized health care and for the most part they like it too. No system is perfect but taking the greed out of health care might finally make the US number 1 in the world.

If congress people get gold-plated coverage, and the waitress who lives next door has to put a begging can at the convenience store (because she has breast cancer but no insurance and minimum wages)... well, can you understand why I've had it with the bloated defense budget and the bailed out banks and the profit-seeking middleman called "health care companies.""

"Those begging cans common all over the country, strike me as more obscene than anything you could get at an adult bookstore."

Maybe it is time you should ask what the insurance companies are doing at the table during this discussion concerning revamping Health Care Access?
Check out this link:
http://www.ourailinghealthcare.com/

century plant inspiration

The century plant continues to inspire me. Here we are nine months since it sprouted out with the big "C". It has reached for the sky, been knocked down, didn't give up, sent out new shoots, blossomed with beautiful flowers that then turned into tiny plants. It folded up into itself protecting its new growth. It got quiet and reserved gaining strength waiting for the next step.

i look at it every day and today i'm inventing a new world...goofed on that word...meant to write i'm inventing a new word....but both would be nice. The new word for today is for spirituality, connectedness, and the divine..... without the dogma of religion.

Hmmmm!

Thinking about the composition of the three words above, spirituality, connectedness and divine, i decided to take a bit from each to create the new word.

Spirconvine (spir'kon-vin). n.v.t. 1. this word represents spirituality, connectedness, the divine and much more.

Spir......... is that little sprite that jumps around in your brain refocusing your energies towards the spiritual when the mundane and difficult have all but destroyed your day. We all have spir but we call it different things. Spiritual essence sometimes fits the bill and while others may prefer to call it soul, i like to think of it as a little sprite that refocuses me. Spir activates the emotional, feeling, compassionate part of your humanness. It helps you grow away from fear and can guide you to greater things.


The con in the middle of this new word could be regarded as negative even though it represents the terms with or together with. Con, in this sense, is involved when the secrets are revealed.....you know.....con artists who try to misdirect you...the con has already happened but now you are faced with the con which you use to correct and reconnect. This definition of con is the end point that brings you back together it is your source of strength and inspiration. The stuff in the middle you need. The concon to make you think when you go off track that the path back is really not so difficult. Right?


vine represents the ascent to the divine. Vines climb and intertwine but use other supports for growth. Some vines climb alone while others grow over other plants to reach their pinnacle. Mankind exhibits the same growth pattern vines do. Vines can colonize and adapt quickly while continuing to grow. Simple structures, such as vines, can get you to the divine without dogma to impede your progress. Vines don't invest a lot of energy trying to reach the sun so it shouldn't take much energy for man to reach the divine but historically it has. Instead of making this task difficult the vine makes it easy.

The spir con and vine go together. Use your inner sprite, your ability to recognize the cons so you can connect and cultivate that vine.

Remember, spirconvine is a simple tactic that works without a lot of fuss.

Dignity and Justice for all of Us

Judith Blau in an article called "Human Rights is a Local Issue" says:

"I'm increasingly convinced that the reason why human equality, human dignity, and social pluralism are illusive in American society is that we do not have what Miguel de Unamuno called "el público" and Alexis de Tocqueville called "the public spirit." Instead, American communities, towns and cities are segregated by race, class, and citizenship status, with withered downtowns, and with no spaces for people to discuss, argue, and talk across those divides of race, class and citizenship. It is sometimes said that Americans live, worship and work in their individuals silos, with a silo for each neighborhood, each church, and each workplace. There can be no deep shared conception under these circumstances of collective solidarity or the common good, and of authentic pluralism. True, within each community, parishioners in dozens of churches may celebrate one another's equality every Sunday, and during the week, co-workers in hundreds of work settings may affirm one another's dignity, but these celebrations and affirmations of shared humanity are within tiny homogenous clusters of people, and do nothing to advance the collective solidarity, the common good, and social pluralism. In these silos people simply affirm the equality and dignity of people who are just like themselves. It is far from the cacaphonous el público that Unamuno described and the vibrant public spirit that Tocqueville found in American communities early in the 20th century."

i believe that all governments want to show that they are POLITICALLY CORRECT as they "SPEAK" human rights for "EXPORT" purposes but hardly enforce them at home. Pointing out abuses in other countries without looking in our own backyard first and foremost makes us look like a bunch of hypocrites.

We are a nation of laws and our laws prior to the torture memos recently released labeled torture a criminal act. If you believe in the rule of law, if you are guided by the rule of law then the entire argument that torture is needed to prevent a ticking time bomb is a false one when the law prohibits it.

There is no way to ever prove that waterboarding prevented thousands or millions of Americans from dying. The argument is specious. Also, those who were waterboarded were declared "guilty" before ever having had the opportunity to defend themselves in court. If you believe that ANYONE can be declared "guilty" without ever defending themselves then you also accept that this same scenario could happen to you if you were rightly or wrongly suspected.

What was done was criminal, it was against our laws and the international agreements that we as a nation signed, it was a crime.

Human Rights begins at home. Democracy should be the deliverer of human rights. Here at home we should look to how we follow the rule of law, our delivery of food, housing, health care, gainful employment and education. These are inalienable rights and if we aren't successful at delivering these in our own country how can we demand other countries focus on their abuses if we aren't focusing on our own first.

Can we ever call ourselves human rights violators?

Look down this list of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we as a nation want to export democracy and liberty we need to stop pointing out other countries abuses and clean up our own abuses first and foremost.

We can spread human rights.

We can lead by example.

Article 1.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


Article 2.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.


Article 3.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.


Article 4.

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.


Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.


Article 6.

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.


Article 7.

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.


Article 8.

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.


Article 9.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.


Article 10.

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.


Article 11.

(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.


Article 12.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.


Article 13.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.


Article 14.

(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.


Article 15.

(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.


Article 16.

(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.


Article 17.

(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.


Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.


Article 19.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.


Article 20.

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.


Article 21.

(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.


Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.


Article 23.

(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.


Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.


Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.


Article 26.

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.


Article 27.

(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.


Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.


Article 29.

(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.


Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

fear and earth day

i've been conflicted concerning Earth Day and the fact that Wednesday is when i publish here. Must i write a piece concerning the environment because it is Earth Day or could i get away with writing about another issue?

Doing a little bit of both won out.

Earth Day is celebrated around the world and is one of the few events that people of all faiths, backgrounds and nationalities participate in. Everyone recognizes that human beings have to share the earth and make an effort not to despoil her. Unfortunately we have major trouble with both the sharing and the trashing. Of all the living creatures that inhabit this orbiting world we humans are the most destructive.

We dirty everything while continuing to believe that the natural cycles of our environment will clean up our mess.

Somewhere i read that you can manipulate a population to do your biding if you start your appeal by using something to fear first. In order to do this you must create scenarios to be feared then tell your audience what to do to combat that fear. We can all list issues that have been used in the past to create fear in the population.

Terrorists should probably top the list.
Fear of taxes(Democrats)
Communists are right up there(take everything you have)
Right wingers(war mongers)
Socialists(want you to give them your money)
Universal Health care advocates(want to stop good health care)
Anti-gun people(take your guns)
Pro-choice(give you too much choice)
Anti-abortion(take away your choice)
Global warming and cooling advocates
Religious extremists of any ilk

The list could go on and on but all of these groups illicit unreasonable fear in certain segments of the population.

Why?

Because you are being manipulated to fear them. You are being manipulated to fear first, i'll say that again, you are being manipulated to FEAR FIRST so you don't hear the whole message.

Today when you hear about global warmers and global deniers look first to what they want you to fear. Fear will be the over riding manipulator to grab your attention. One group tells you we are reaching the tipping point and the other group tells you fixing it will be too costly and they are both crying chicken little.

Who is right?

Which fear have you bought into?

Ask yourself this whenever you become fearful about something affecting your life. What fear is controlling your thinking? Eliminate it first then review the issues without fear.

If we remove the fear from both sides i'll bet there is someplace in the middle where we can all meet and agree.

Do we dirty our planet and our air?

Can you answer that question without fear?

Are there solutions we can come up with without using fear to stop us from thinking about the issues?

i hope so.

Happy Earth Day!

the book shop

There is a great used book shop, close to my moms apartment. Jam packed with books from all categories, dark with little nooks set aside for intimate browsing. The crotchety owner sits deep within the surrounding books. He is not old although probing has revealed that he has lived within blocks of the book store his entire life and knows all the goings on in the neighborhood.

A computer is in front of him, readily available to find anything your heart desires, but his nature lies in wait willing to snap at you at a moments notice. He is ever vigilant, making sure no one absconds with one of his precious books.

At first, his demeanor is off putting but once you have gained his respect his smile is deep with feeling. He opens up and then the fun begins. He is filled with interesting topics for conversation, recommendations for books and the latest treatise on politics. i've bought books there and will leave most of them behind, gobbled up, but ready for others to read. His bookshop is a great place just to hang and for someone like me a refuge even when he didn't have the book i was looking for.

In the past i wrote about the Peace Pilgrim, the woman who started walking across the United States after deciding she would be a wanderer until mankind learned the ways of peace. i found her book, not in my favorite bookstore but a few doors down in the thrift shop. i was reading it last night and have decided to post a few of her insights.

So many of us punish ourselves by making wrong choices. According to the Peace Pilgrim enlightenment is constantly being offered but many refuse to accept it. Therefore those that don't accept it are being taught by the problems that are set before them, since they refuse to make the right choices on their own. Problems arrive to push us towards harmony.

i know i irritate people at times with a directness that some find offensive. Those who are irritated don't want to be reminded of the darker sides of our natures. Believing in justice means i have an extremely difficult time letting the actions of the unjust go unnoticed.

Rousing people from their apathy and making them think may sometimes seem to come into conflict with a loving attitude towards others. Problems have a purpose, hiding from them does not make them go away. Preventing one person from hurting another is a loving thing to do no matter what the circumstance. No problem that is set before you can be solved by denying it exists. That just sets up a life filled with failure.

You can solve it and learn and grow in the process by confronting all problems head on.

So like the Peace Pilgrim says, think positive thoughts about everyone don't let anger rule.

drug reactions

The care of an elderly adult can be harrowing at times. Understanding the nature of their debilitation takes undercover agent trained to recognize out of the ordinary symptoms.

While your charge is riddled with anxiety you must be careful to pay attention to their worries. Expressing concern at every new crisis that is discussed by the many physicians you encounter as you move through the maze of hospital tests will put your loved one at ease.

Illness that eludes diagnosis can kill. When i arrived at my mother's apartment the shock of her appearance immobilized me. i had no idea how to help her. She kept telling me she was dying and she looked like she was dying.

At first, i tried to encourage her to get out, to take on life, but as the reality sunk in that she really couldn't i searched for other alternatives. i quizzed her relentlessly and finally focused on the drugs she was taking to treat her heart disease. i needed help but knew no one locally.

i am the grand inquisitor, i can drive friends nuts with my probing questions, even though i am a relatively private person. This trait alone saved my mother's life. i quizzed everyone i encountered. i gained information about avenues i had no idea even existed when the crisis was at its height. i refused to back down when clerks said no appointments to see doctors were available. i insisted it was an emergency and we needed to see someone.

Spironolactone, an aggressive heart medication, was at the root of her illness. All her symptoms matched the ones listed under adverse effects. She had previously questioned her doctor about the drug but he told her drug companies had to put all those things down just in case and not to worry.

She tried to ignore the symptoms and tough it out as her condition worsened but her voice on the phone couldn't hide her deterioration. Finally after many conversations i could wait no longer and had to go see for myself what could be done. We loaded up all her drugs, all her paper work and off we went. i had been in town three days and her condition had worsened in that time.

Thankfully it was a general practitioner that heard my plea for help. He heard my concerns about the drug combination she was on and called in a pharmacology student to go over everything. While at the computer the students eyebrows kept raising and i knew we were on to something. i asked him what he thought and he said he had to defer to the doctor. They both left the examining room to consult and the doctor returned saying my mom needed a blood test. We went to the lab for the test and went home. That was in the morning, by that afternoon while I was out taking a walk the doctor had called and said he had called 911. She had to get to the emergency room immediately and couldn't wait for me to come back from my walk. Needless to say, i came back to a shocking note on the door saying she was at the hospital. i had no idea where the hospital was.

The emergency room went to work immediately draining out her overloaded system. She was experiencing renal failure, astronomical insulin levels, over the top potassium levels and was near to having a heart attack. She almost died. They saved her and within two days the change was phenomonal.

My mother was back, she no longer looked like a ghost and no longer thought she was going to die. She started laughing and now a week later has a raging appetite, can walk without looking like she is going to topple over at any minute. A home health nurse visits every other day, a physical therapist has her on a mild exercise program and the doctors are stabalizing her medications.

She still has issues which i believe are drug related so we are working on those with the doctors. Seven years ago she had a stroke that affected her right side. It made any use of her right hand and right foot difficult but two days ago her hand straightened out and her foot is not falling over. S

She thinks she is the new Benjamin Button.

All of this is truly miraculous and it was all done on Medicare. i've always been in favor of universal health care and this has reinforced my leanings. So all you naysayers out there slamming health care for all...get a grip. Any one of us could go through this on private care with insurance companies questioning every move. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. Making a profit off illness is wrong. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. On Medicare they act...they don't have to wait for any approval and from what we have just experienced it works. No insurance forms to fill out...just hand them your card.

She could sue but she won't. What she does want is to alert everyone to the realities of over prescription of drugs and the issues relating to their interactions. All medications need to be checked to make sure they are not making the person more sick. If you think it is your medication it probably is. She is also singing the praises of all the medical personel who work on Medicare patients.