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Ideas we endorse:
• Be kind to yourself and make friends with your neighbors.
• Treat others as you would want them to treat you.
• Pray; for atheists cultivate loving thoughts toward the earth and humanity.
• Learn through difficultly using the ancient book of changes, I Ching (click here).
• Speak your mind and be a voice for the voiceless.
• Join our Indivisible group, True Americans (click here).
Best Wishes to America on Veterans Day
November 11, 2016
Best wishes to our veterans and our country on this sunny Friday morning. We want the best future for our country, so fewer people must go to war.
November 3, 2016
Last night thousands of Arizonans rallied with Hillary Clinton at ASU. People turned out to show their support, or to make up their minds. We're grateful to Hillary for putting us on her map, and will work hard to turn Arizona blue. And yes, it rained again, and the Cubs won the World Series! Here's how it looked to the angels above.
Arizona Grateful for Gentle Rain of Dems
October 19, 2016
Here in Arizona we don't get much attention during national elections. However this week, we were blessed with visits from some of our favorite Democrats. Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders went to Tucson and Flagstaff. Today Chelsea Clinton speaks at the Tempe ASU campus, and tomorrow Michelle Obama will lead a rally at the Phoenix Convention Center, Downtown Phoenix. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Take the Lightrail to Third Street! This is the way to turn Arizona blue!
Photos from the event: this is the room. It was completely full by the time Michelle Obama took the stage.
I could see her if people moved their heads, but here's most of what it looked like.
Congratulations to Bob Dylan!
Bob Dylan is celebrated here!
Love Letter to the Millennials
October 3, 2016
Dear Millennials who have come to Earth—not to witness the end times— but to pursue your bright future and make Earth better for everyone. This letter is addressed to you. This is a letter to show you all the love that's here for you.
Lately we've been nagging you to vote for Hillary Clinton. I would join in with the nagging, but more importantly, I want to explain why everyone is counting on you. Let me tell you a short story about the first time I voted. Maybe it will be a good place to begin.
In the early 1970s, the Vietnam War was still raging, and on the evening news, on our black and white televisions, news anchors reported how many American men had died in combat that day. Our leaders in DC came to admit if somebody could be drafted into the military and die in a war at age eighteen, they ought to be able to vote. After much hard work, in 1971, they added the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the voting age to eighteen.
In 1976, the presidential race between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford took place. I was twenty that year, so I voted. I had been active in peace demonstrations, so I valued my right to vote. Jimmy Carter won, probably largely due to the wave of young voters. Carter was a progressive president, like President Obama.
Young Millennial voters have the opportunity to do what people my age did in 1976. For sure it seems like ancient history, but history can repeat. You can make a difference. You can help vote in a good, progressive president (she's not a witch). You can also help us flip the House and Senate, and local races too.
I also voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary. Vote with Bernie, because if we win and flip the Senate, he will have more power. Winning will enhance Bernie Sanders's legacy as a leader, and will continue the legacy of President Obama. It's essential we win and win big to discourage white supremacists and misogynists from running for president again. We want equal rights for all, including people of every race, religion, and gender.
That's why everyone is nagging you. Getting nagged is ordinarily no fun, but it's old people's way of showing love. The crew at Surrealist News loves you and want your future to be better. Please listen to your elders and get registered to vote. Winning this thing for us will make you heroes. That's the love that's waiting for you, disguised for now as pressure and nagging.
Blessing for Citizenship
by John O'Donohue (1956-2008)
In these times when anger
Is turned into anxiety
And someone has stolen
The horizons and mountains,
Our small emperors on parade
Never expect our indifference
To disturb their nakedness.
They keep their heads down
And their eyes gleam with reflection
From aluminum economic ground,
The media wraps everything
In a cellophane of sound,
And the ghost surface of the virtual
Overlays the breathing earth.
The industry of distraction
Makes us forget
That we live in a universe.
We have become converts
To the religion of stress
And its deity of progress;
That we may have courage
To turn aside from it all
And come to kneel down before the poor,
To discover what we must do,
How to turn anxiety
Back into anger,
How to find our way home.
Press Rebukes Trump after Debate Performance
September 30, 2016
A day after the debates, the Arizona Republic endorsed Hillary Clinton.* It's the first time in the Republican's history they've endorsed a Democrat. Following that, USA Today's editorial board pronounced Donald Trump "unfit for the presidency.* Wall Street Journal editorial writer Dorothy Rabinowitz endorsed Hillary Clinton on September 29.*
These newspapers represent the conscience of a nation.
There Was Never Any Racism
September 22, 2016
Kathy Miller, Trump campaign chair in Ohio: "I don't think there was any racism until Obama got elected. We never had problems like this."
Surrealist.org would like to make a correction there. Before telephone video cameras was the last time you could still pretend there was no racism. Cell phone videos and other videos have brought the truth about police violence out in the open. This coincidentally happened while Barack Obama has been president. Besides catching the police violence on video, the police get away with it every time.
We're witnessing the backlash from a history of senseless violence against blacks. Every child who attends public school begins the day with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. We must be honest with our children and fulfill America's promise of liberty and justice for all.
Let's Look Up, Not Down
September 16, 2016
Instead of complaining, let's feel grateful. We have a good candidate in Hillary Clinton. Let's stop whining about how the media has treated us unfair, overlooking every lie Trump tells, and needling Hillary for issues where there's no there there, such as her email, her family foundation, or her health. She's right on the issues. We can promote Hillary through social media and real-world encounters with our friends and neighbors. Whining that things are unfair is not at all attractive. If it's true things are not fair, instead of complaining, let's work harder. Let's give more of our time, money, and words to call a better future, and continue the progress we've seen under President Obama.
We Will Remember 9/11
Welcome Sane Republicans!
August 8, 2016
August 3, 2016
Our take on Steve Benson's take on American Gothic, by Grant Wood:
. . . a nation struggling with guilt over her history and current bad behavior thanks Khizr and Ghazala Khan for their courage. And asks, how long must prejudice and bad feelings persist? We are all neighbors. Let's become friends.
Die-in Meets Westboro Baptist Church
Just Outside Democratic Convention
July 26, 2016
First I'm watching the Democratic convention on C-SPAN, then they switch to a demonstration in a nearby park. I was excited to see a die-in! Well done! Then the cameras go to the Westboro Baptist Church! Noooooo!
Apart from the Westboro intrusion, the demonstration reminded me of when I was young, attending colorful peace demonstrations. We had die-ins, and sit-ins, too. A call for moratorium, and the first Earth Day a little later, 1970. It's good to get out and demonstrate peacefully when you disagree with the direction of our nation's politics.
My screenshots from the scene as shown on C-SPAN:
Westboro Baptist Church! One of many bible-based fringe groups, just more pushy about it than some others.
George Takei Message re. Trump
July 24, 2016
on Youtube
"Turn up the volume! Many don't know that I speak and understand Spanish. In fact, I grew up with many Mexican American neighbors in LA. This message, regarding my own personal experience with racial demonization, is addressed in Spanish to my Latino fans and their families and friends. I hope I did the language justice." - George Takei
We Call for an End to the American Civil War
July 20, 2016
Join the editors and staff at Surrealist News in calling for an end to the American Civil War. The war was waged on the battlefield from 1861-1865. The North won, forced a settlement, and a terrorist assassinated President Lincoln. His shocking death damped down the war for as long as his body was on a train, on the way to be buried in Illinois. Ever since then, the South has remained in poverty because presidents after Lincoln abandoned Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction.
People in the South continue to feel bitter. They're not just in the South now, but everywhere. They believe in no federal government telling them what to do. They want the Christian religion to guide governance. They believe people of the black persuasion can only contribute to society if they are enslaved. You can look at the state of affairs in Cleveland this week, and you will understand exactly what's going on in America these days.
The Vietnam War was recently settled during the Iraq War. World War II is being put to rest as every last WWII veteran is passing on. But we do not have to stay stuck in every tragic situation in history. We can—and will—settle the Civil War. This is the purpose of all the turmoil we're going through. We just need to wake up to what's happening and put our minds together for it to end.
The people who want to settle the Civil War are most Yankees, and all peace-loving Confederates. Then there's the bitter-clingy Confederates. What to do about them? Instead of cursing them, take your curses off of them. Instead of acting arrogant and aloof around them, smile and say good-day. They are bitter-clinging for a reason. Their ancestors were left behind in poverty after President Abraham Lincoln was killed by a gun. It always gets back to guns in America, doesn't it? I believe the South deserves a better chance. They are part of us, and hating them is like one kidney hating and wanting to kill off the other kidney, or one lung wanting to kill off the other one (just for example).
America is for all Americans. We are a country of all races, nations of origin, and all religions. This is a place where you are free to be who you are, and believe as you believe. We're also a resilient nation. Let's pull ourselves together, embrace our brothers and sisters of all diverse backgrounds, including bitter-clinger-people. Let's also embrace our government. The mess in the Capitol Building is a reflection of our turmoil.
We can do better. It will take hard work to get the South's economy up and running again, but it will be worth it. Go for the investment in renewable energy people. Go for the deal to improve our infrastructure, and get low-cost or free access to higher education. It won't bite you! These are things we can do to help ourselves (and our other kidney and lung). No longer will poor whites have to be slaves of the petroleum companies and other brutal industries.
Guns Kill People
July 17, 2016
A disgruntled man in Baton Rouge opened fire on police this morning, killing three. This is about as much as we can handle of gun violence. Please lawmakers, would you consider limiting people's access to military-like, rapid-fire guns? Ever since you repealed the ban on assault rifles, we have been on a roller coaster ride. We don't like it. Make it stop. Pass some laws.
Process ('cause we can't "save") the World
July 15, 2016
Hey world, we gotta have a talk. What's going on with you these days? You there in Turkey! You're our old friends, and we're worried about you. If there ever was a time to pray, this last couple weeks would be it. Let us find the patient and honest part of ourselves and let that part guide us. Instead of adding more injury to the world, let's take a step back and trust in god. For atheists, trust the part of the human spirit that strives to do better.
A Week of Gun Violence
July 7, 2016
We offer our thoughts and prayers to the two new shooting victims, and their loved ones. We thank god people recorded these incidents to bring them to light.
Rest in peace Alton Sterling, d. July 5, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Rest in peace Philando Castile, d. July 6, Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
Our sympathies and condolences for the Dallas policemen killed or injured by guns last night. They were a reformed police department that practiced good policies.
Opinion
We need more good cops. Some of the video taped incidents from the last couple years demonstrate KKK-like behavior. In some incidents, the police were like thugs out looking for some poor black man to beat up and kill. If we took badges and guns away from all KKK cops, and reduced the general public's access to military-like weapons, we will make some headway.
For you conspiracy theorists out there: these shootings are not staged as false flag attacks to take away your guns. This is a conspiracy to reduce gun violence and improve race relations. When we succeed, you succeed. Instead of living in a hellscape where your weapon is your only salvation, you will live in a higher world. All you need to do is open your mind a bit, and give peace a chance. Just stop the killing. Put down your big weapon.
Natasha Found (not) Indictable
July 5, 2016
Just in time for her first campaign appearance with Kenyan secret agent Barack Hussein Obama, Natasha had some expected good news from the FBI. They said she was extremely careless, but they do not recommend charges.
Is our Natasha not the most deceitful criminal in the history of the world? Did she not order a series of murders, most recently in Benghazi? Did she not line her pocketbook with dollars given in good faith to help less fortunate countries? Or did those donations go to causing more turmoil in failed states? Or to bankrolling her campaign?
It is all one big conspiracy people. Get it out of your system now. Go in the corner and kiss your ass goodbye. Do it now. Natasha has pulled the wool over the eyes of every single one of the many billions of humans here on earth today! Except you, genius. In our books, she is the ultimate 007 anti-hero!
2016 Cultic Studies Conference, Dallas
July 4, 2016
Thanks to everyone at the ICSA conference, Dallas, June 28-July3. It was a great conference—love to all. Safe and happy travels home this Fourth of July.
Our Sympathies and Prayers for the UK
June 24, 2016
Although change is difficult, sometimes we bring it on ourselves. Whatever comes to pass due to the Brexit vote yesterday, our thoughts and prayers are with London, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast. We pray your needed updates come quickly and smoothly, and that your transition is successful. Like President Obama said, Americans love the UK, and stand by you through this historic moment in time.
Found this chart on Facebook. Maybe it would be helpful to understand the complex system over there.
A Vision for Our Ancestors
We see a world where we all understand the immense difference between our lifetime and our existence; where we know that we live in eternity, and that when we leave our bodies, we persist nonetheless.
Accordingly, we envision a world where all peoples everywhere are consulting those who have been here before us; where the dimensional barriers have been breached, the limited mindsets transmuted and transformed to where we are all able to communicate with our loved ones who are out-of-body, and where this is a common, everyday occurrence.
And we see a world where the legacy that our ancestors left us is honored, where we acknowledge the good works they did in preparing this world for our arrival, and where the love they felt as they made things ready for us is felt as strong today as it was felt back then when they walked the land.
- Vision Alignment Project
House Sits In
June 22, 2016
Today House members, led by Rep. John Lewis, shut down business to protest the indifference to the gun issue. Like I said before, we need a complete assault rifle ban. Let's fight for that. Representatives want an end to NRA rule? What does the NRA make the most money off of? A big fat assault rifle. Those things are an investment. If the NRA could sell tanks and missile launchers to civilians, they would! It's the civilian arm of the military industrial complex and they want their piece of the pie.
In the light of today's news, I do believe it's the end of NRA rule in America. There's a big wave coming and our country needs to let go of a lot. Either we will let go of it to a changing climate that will wash us off the face of the earth, or we can make the wave what we want it to be. Let's let go of what is wrong with us. Let's be friends again and stop wanting to shoot everybody, or punch them, or whatever anger builds up inside you. Let the wave wash away your anger and calm it.
Keep your head on because there's a lot of change happening right now. Be smart, stay safe, love your neighbor, as yourself, and you'll get through it, along with all the other people praying for each other, and the whole.
Guns/Terrorists
June 20, 2106
If they can't pass these four bills today, I encourage legislators to consider another angle. Pass a bill that if people on the terrorist watch list try to buy a gun, it triggers a warning to the FBI. That way the gun sale goes through, the gun dealer gets his money, the NRA sells another gun. The FBI finds out when their suspects buy guns. The terrorist doesn't find out he's on a list. Banning all assault weapons would be better, but if a terrorist must be allowed go buy a gun, at least the FBI should find out about it.
Let's Repeal the NRA
June 17, 2016
No more assault rifles. Bas. This is shameful we're even debating it. Double shameful it took this long, and at what cost, to debate it. Ninety-nine percent of us want off this train. Only the people in Congress are bought and paid for. Trophies of the NRA.
Awaken from the Dream
May 28, 2016
In the world of perception, where we find ourselves, we are imprisoned because we believe everything around us is real. Everything we perceive reinforces belief in the reality of the dream.
When we release ourselves from the prison, we realize our natural state is love. We accept responsibility for this, and for all our thoughts and actions, and cease blaming others. The world is the way it is. People are they way they are. We realize the only thing we can change is ourselves.
Once we free ourselves, we free our world. It does what it does and we live life happily, securely, and with friends. That is the goal.
For the conspiracy theorists: if you fear a world controlled by illuminati-like powers, you are living in the past. The illuminati had a lot more influence during the Piscean age, which was about tribalism. Everyone belonged to a school of fish and did what the group did. Everything was interdependent and controlled. In the Aquarian age, each is equal and independent. We are all approaching the truth that we create reality together.
The Aquarian age and the Internet age have arisen simultaneously. They are a good metaphor for each other. In the Piscean age, illuminati, or aristocracy as I prefer to call them, could keep their secrets. They controlled the media, after all. In the dawning of the age of Aquarius, they still control most of the TV and radio. However, they do not control the Internet. The Internet was designed to not be controlled, because it's a net, rather than a one-way street.
The Internet gives us super powers, such as finding just about any fact we want to find. If you want to know when a book was published, the spelling of a person's name, or to check a quote, you can find it in an instant. You can get misled, so you still need to develop smarts, and good research skills.
Another super power is to procure anything in the world. Today I needed to replace my mailbox, so I purchased a new one just like it online for $40. It will appear at my door in a couple days. Of course, to use this super power, you also have to have a way to make money, and be organized enough to keep track of it.
Probably the greatest super power of the Internet is that it gives the possessor practical ESP. You can send your thoughts to just about anybody else, and hear back from them. You can project pictures, and get a reaction. However, you also have to have bricks and mortar friends.
Because we live in the age of Aquarius and the age of the Internet, we live in a new world. The illuminati aristocrats have lost their screens of secrecy, their smoke and mirrors. They are much more exposed, and thereby losing power like vampires exposed to the light. You can try to guess who the aristocrats want to be the next president. Or you can lay aside the fear and plan for a good future.
The more sensible and grounded we are over the next few months, the better chance we have at a good future free from fear and guilt. Open up your mind to being the controller of your own destiny, because that's how things work in the new age.
A Vision for Transition to the New Ways
As the Old Ways of believing and doing things give way to a global culture where people everywhere have come to understand that their thoughts are creating their future, we see a quick, smooth, graceful transition into an entirely New Way of Life for everyone who lives and breathes on this Earth.
We see the "world managers" who have held the peoples of all nations in check, in a flash of insight, gleaning the wisdom, the utter goodwill, in helping us restructure our economies to reflect an equality of all life, an exchange system of integrity and fairness, an honoring of creativity, and a return to a lifestyle based on the sacredness of Spirit that is in each and every person, plant, and animal.
We envision a continued flow of goods and services and a new abundance that has come to us because human greed and profit are no longer the reference points for our transactions and interactions. The competition of the past had been replaced by a caring for one another, and, as a result, everyone now has free access to all good things.
We see soldiers dropping their weapons and using their energy constructively, instead of destructively, to build homes, highways, transportation systems, and so forth. We see those who "owned" the sources of energy that we use daily now releasing the news of free energy sources and beginning to implement these new systems.
We envision ways that gently wean people off of their addictions to drugs and pharmaceuticals being made available to all so that our health care institutions are now incorporating the use of finer, subtle energies to heal and comfort people. And we see the emotional blocks that, in the past, precipitated our pain, being relieved and released via simple procedures so that all are now free to experience life to its fullest, in complete good health.
We see all debts forgiven, all contracts cancelled, and all criminals incarcerated for crimes against themselves released. Likewise, we see new techniques and procedures for rehabilitation made available which will completely allow all prisoners to be released in a very short time.
And we see the Grace of God revealing itself in all situations, especially those that seem irreconcilable or inflexible, bringing a resolution which strengthens our Souls, dispels our doubts, and honors the Spirits of every man, woman, and child who walk this Earth. We envision a day when everyone understands, to the depth and core of their Being, that no matter how difficult something may appear, no matter how impossible it may have seemed in the past, that when we seek out and call forth solutions which embrace the Highest Good for all concerned, everything gets better.
A Vision for Religions
We see a world where all religions have come together to celebrate all the different ways that lead to a true awareness of God. We see people of all religions praying, intending, affirming, and communicating, thus, stepping into their power based, not upon fear of repercussion, but upon a knowing that what is asked for in God's name is answered in his Love.
We see love replacing fear, helpfulness replacing anger, joy replacing sorrow, and a sacred reverence for the Spirit in all things replacing ignorance and indifference.
And we envision communities made up of people from all paths working for the Highest Good of the whole. And we see everyone, everywhere, truly caring about everyone else, no matter what path they are on or what religion they choose to follow.
- Vision Alignment Project
Recreational Marijuana for Arizona
May 24, 2016
Here's the latest word from Adam Kinsey, manager of the Arizona Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol:
There are many reasons to support regulating marijuana like alcohol in Arizona:Besides bringing in tax revenue, regulating marijuana like alcohol will save money on law enforcement. Arizona is doing its part to end to marijuana prohibition!
Eliminating the criminal market will make it harder for kids to obtain marijuana.
Creating a legal market and growing marijuana in Arizona will cripple violent Mexican drug cartels and street gangs.
Marijuana is objectively safer than alcohol and should be treated that way.
But as we travel across the state talking about the initiative, we're discovering most Arizonans already know why we should regulate marijuana like alcohol. The only question they have is, "What happens once it's passed?"
This afternoon, the Arizona Republic published a story that helps answer that question:
"Arizona could see as much as $113 million in new tax revenue if it legalized marijuana for recreational use."
To read the Arizona Republic article, go to: azcentral.com.
To learn more about this, go to americanmarijuana.org
Earth Day
April 22, 2016
The first Earth Day took place in 1970, thanks to the hard work of the aware people of the time. Their message: "Pay attention to our Dear Mother Earth. We're hurting her, but we must treat her better if we want her to be healthy and continue to sustain life."
A few things have improved for the environment since then, but Earth Day will only become a celebration once we have a plan in place to turn things around. Until then, we live in the dark depths of guilt, fear, and denial. We have no idea how to celebrate Earth Day, so we mostly forget about it. The TV machine refuses to speak of the horrors taking place that threaten our children's existence. Humanity is stuck in wishful thinking.
There is still time to turn things around. Fossil fuels are destructive, dark energy. Solar, wind, thermal, tidal, and derived-from-plant oils are positive energy. Link here for the Four Pillars of a Sustainable Future.
"Become a person of peace. When you practice, you stop causing trouble for everyone else. The trouble—the memories, the hurts, all of it—is now yours. You claim it; you are responsible. And you know what to do: shut up and write."
- Natalie Goldberg, The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language, pp. 223-224
Carcinogen
April 9, 2016
Lately I've been fixated on words, and their many levels of meaning. Carcinogen is one such word, containing a valuable metaphor of denial. Carcinogen is defined as anything that can cause cancer in living things.
Carcinogens are political, too, because food manufacturers add carcinogens to our food. In 1958, Congressman James Delaney of New York wrote the Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, and got it passed. The most famous part of his Amendment, known as the Delaney Clause,* reads:
. . . the Secretary of the Food and Drug Administration shall not approve for use in food any chemical additive found to induce cancer in man, or, after tests, found to induce cancer in animals.Unfortunately, although the amendment was adopted, the food-industrial-complex lobbyists introduced the concept, "generally recognized as safe." This concept has systematically gotten the government to lax off on enforcement. After all, if something is generally recognized to be safe in low doses, what difference does it make? The industry commissioned studies to prove that low doses of carcinogens are safe. Since then, industry has worked hard to raise the amount of carcinogens considered safe. Many food additives are carcinogenic. The pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and other chemicals in factory farming are also generally recognized as safe.
The American Cancer Society expects 1,685,210 new cancer cases in America this year. This does not include several types of cancer that are not required to be reported. They expect 595,690 Americans to die of cancer this year.* Statistics show cancer accounts for one in four deaths in America, exceeded only by heart disease, also largely due to our food supply. (Diabetes and obesity are also largely due to "generally recognized as safe" food.)
Thus, the word carcinogen packs a hefty punch. On one hand its very definition is something that causes cancer, but on the other hand, people blindly consume "safe" levels of carcinogens on a daily basis. Household home and garden products also contain carcinogens, and so do our air and water. All this adds up. Actually, there is no safe level of carcinogens. This is a monstrous betrayal. Denial exists to protect us. It would be painful to think the nice grocer at the corner market is selling us products that would hurt us.
If you disagree with carcinogens, you can eat organic food. The American Cancer Society itself recommends improving diet to help prevent cancer. Meanwhile, we have a powerful metaphor in the word carcinogen. Anytime you want to understand how powerful denial is, think of the word carcinogen with all its political and healthcare implications.
Encryption
March 22, 2016
Here's why I support Apple's position on encryption.
1. Whatever the government wants to know about me, they can find on Facebook or my websites. If it's not on there, it's too boring to share.
2. If Apple makes a back door for the US, every other country will follow. Everyone's already up in each others' spy-vs-spy.
3. The government needs to focus on their legitimate intelligence operations to track people planning violent crimes. There's always a paper trail of purchases, money transfers, interpersonal networks, passport records, and on and on.
4. There are hundreds—if not tens of thousands—of agencies around the world trying to track terrorism. If they trusted each other and worked together ten percent better than they do now, it would prevent most terror attacks.
5. A lazy government will blame people's rights for getting in the way of their investigations. Probably some officials were against the decision to read people their rights before arresting them. But we read people their rights, and the sun still rises.
6. The government probably already has a way to get into Apple phones (they admitted today), but they are just making a fuss for some unknown reason.
7. We live in an age of transparency with the Internet and cell phone cameras. The problem is not too little information, it's too much information. Investigators need to do a better job with what they already have.
That's why I support Apple's stance on encryption. Keep it up. We need heroes. (Editor's Note: the government dropped its lawsuit against Apple 3/28/16.)
Retrospect
March 20, 2016
People are sometimes amazed at the power of words, and one awe inspiring word is retrospect, as it is used in the phrase "in retrospect." In retrospect we see things clearly. By definition that's what it means. When you picture what you want, it's helpful to think about how you will feel in retrospect, if a situation turns out for the highest good.
In regards to the divisive politics, the racism, the rhetoric, and the alien forces' Trump-jandrum, which becomes increasingly violent the longer we allow it to go on. May history look back at this time when a limited band of racist and authority worshipers tried to take off with our government.
In retrospect, history will remember the Trumpeters for displaying the worst aspects of human nature: verbal and physical abuse, stubbon denial of reality, narcissism, and indifference to others' suffering.
We will get through it rest assured, but first we must learn from the past. Look for examples of situations like this and find out what finally happened to bring resolution.
Baseline
March 12, 2016
Baseline is another powerful word to add to our collection of powerful words, as it is used in the field of real estate. In real estate, "baseline" is the grid line that runs across each state allowing surveyors to establish boundary lines. The legal description of a parcel of land always includes degrees of distance from the baseline. Each state has at least one baseline, and sometimes the road running along the baseline is called Baseline Road. The Rectangular Survey System first came into use in America in 1785.
On a real estate plat map, all the lines look straight, like a grid. Latitude is a series of parallel straight lines layered in tiers (distance north or south of the equator). However, longitudinal lines (distance east or west of Greenwich, England) bend to account for the curvature of the earth.
The illustration (above left) shows why latitude lines are straight, while longitude lines bend. Yet, a typical plat map (above right), shows all the horizontal and vertical lines are straight.
So how come a plat map shows all the lines parallel? It's because longitudinal lines adjust at the baseline. Hence, living on Baseline Road, most of the major streets curve as they approach the baseline.
This screenshot from Google Maps shows Baseline Road stretching through Tempe and Mesa, Arizona. As you can see, all the major north-south boulevards curve to meet Baseline Road, thus compensating for the curvature of the earth.
Like the word gravity, discussed below, baseline is a good metaphor for our times. Just as the laws of nature shape how our streets are built, reality matters. These days, right wingin bitter clingin proud clingers of our guns our god our and our religion think they can simply create their own reality. But they will hit a wall at some point where they realize matter matters. This is commonly called a rude awakening.
Here's an example of a rude awakening: the powerful Transcendental Meditation guru decided to teach levitation to boost his brand as a guru movement. Unfortunately for him, due to the law of gravity, humans cannot levitate. Thus it did not help him, and even made things worse. To find out more about how arrogant people fall from pedestals, read my book, or refer to my collection of links and information on dangerous cults.*
Gravity
February 12, 2016
Gravity, being one of our main unbreakable natural laws, is a good word, too. Instead of the form of gravity that moves a pencil from the air to a table, think of it as a mood. The mood of gravity anchors us to reality. If for some reason we drift up into the air, gravity will bring us back to an acceptable baseline. People who are friends with reality also respect gravity.
From now on when I think of our political situation in the America at this time, I want to invoke the mood of gravity. A good way to invoke a feeling or mood is to daydream about times in the past feeling that mood. Then memorize that feeling. Getting in the mood of gravity, presence, and wisdom is a skill that can be learned. Think of how gravity feels. Think of times you felt completely present. Remember what wisdom feels like. Then mix them all together. That's how I will get through this year—please feel free to use my recipe.
Welcome New Year
February 7, 2016
Greetings to the New Year from the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple, Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles, California. Visit to pray for peace and eat lunch at their vegan buffet lunch. Buy something or donate to help with the earthquake recovery. Our sympathies to those affected.
Video: February 1 wind after a January 30-31 overnight storm that dumped an inch of rain on Los Angeles click here to watch at Youtube.
Hsi Lai Temple at Wikipedia * Directions: take the 60, exit at Hacienda Boulevard and go South.
How to Stop Trump
January 16, 2016
Here's some practical advice if you're tired of Trump—and who isn't? He's featured free for hours a day on all the news shows, even though we didn't ask for it.
Okay, let's look at this logically. We cannot make Donald stop spewing hate, and we have little control over the corporate TV news.
However, we have a choice. To keep Trump hate out of our lives, all we have to do is turn off the sound, or spin through the segments when Donald Trump is on the screen. It's funny to watch his body language but nothing's coming out of his mouth. If you choose to fast forward, it will also reduce TV time, freeing up hours for creativity and relaxation. Do the same for Ted Cruz if you don't like him either. Everyone following this plan will feel happy, not having to watch Trump's ridiculous quips over and over and over.
Ignoring Trump is Plan A. Plus, once in a while, we can give him a little poke as this American eagle demonstrates. Do it not out of malice, but because a strand of that hair would make a good trophy.
A Vision for Composure
I see a world where we have learned from our past experiences that it doesn't serve us in the least to "blow up" and give free reign to our anger. Now, instead of "blowing it" when we're faced with a highly charged emotional encounter, we're "flowing it" and in this way we are diffusing the possibilities for harm or damage to enter our lives and the lives of those around us.
Thus, I see a world where more and more of us remain composed in every and all situations where we might previously have expressed ourselves aggressively or angrily; and where that composure we maintain sets an example for everyone we touch, so that soon they are composed as well, and their friends are composed as well - until a day comes when we look around and see that everyone in our entire world is a true example of composure, no matter what circumstances may arise.
- Vision Alignment Project
Surrealist News 2016 Vision
We Can Work It Out, by Lennon and McCartney
Recorded by the Beatles, EMI Studios, London, 1965
Try to see it my way
Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on
While you see it your way
Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be gone
We can work it out
We can work it out
Think of what you're saying
You can get it wrong and still you think that it's all right
Think of what I'm saying
We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night
We can work it out
We can work it out
Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again.
Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we may fall apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out
Life is very short, and there's no time
For fussing and fighting, my friend
I have always thought that it's a crime
So I will ask you once again
Try to see it my way
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
While you see it your way
There's a chance that we may fall apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out
