|
|||||||
| Register | Forum Rules | Members List | Today's Posts | Search | Bookmark & Share  |
 |
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
|
|
|
#1
10-24-2009
|
||||
|
||||
News?
Quote:
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#3
10-25-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Nonviolence
Ahimsa
(Non-violence) by Douglas Milburn, Editor World peace through non-violent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. -King. Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. -Gandhi. These people on television, our rulers, understand violence. Very well. Everywhere in the world they have massive schools of violence (called "armies"), and the students of those schools use the most advanced tools of violence that scientists and engineers can devise. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. -King. How do we respond to this ancient governance of violence? Two wise humans in the 20th century came to the same answer: non-violence, Gandhi and King. (Don't dismiss Gandhi and King for their imperfections; very wise humans aren't perfect just as very talented humans aren't either-viz. Mozart and Shakespeare). Simple? Well, yes and no. The violent of course view non-violence as at best simplistic and at worst dangerously naïve ("We live in a violent world; we must fight fire with fire..."). Non-violent resistance implies the very opposite of weakness. Defiance combined with non-retaliatory acceptance of repression from one's opponents is active, not passive. It requires strength, and there is nothing automatic or intuitive about the resoluteness required for using non-violent methods in political struggle and the quest for Truth. -Gandhi. I am neither smart enough nor wise enough to figure out what to do-and how to do it-in response to these people who are driving the world to destruction. Consider this graph, which shows the number of war-deaths by century: wardeaths.jpg (22072 bytes) Note the logarithmic increase. Question: As you survey the world now, can you see ANY reason why the bar for the 21st century will not continue upward? Ponder the political, religious, commercial, and scientific leadership of the world now, and ask yourself: Does the behavior of any of those people give any indication that the outcome of their leadership will be any less bloody than that of the leadership of previous centuries? I cannot find any such indication, a result that, if correct, means we are facing a planetary blood-letting on an unprecedented scale. 200,000,000 war-dead in the 20th century is a horrific statistic. Given the exponential nature of the graph and the endemic lack of wisdom on the part of our present leaders we can only assume a 21st-century number that is beyond horrific, indeed beyond language. Somewhere, younger, smarter, and potentially wiser humans must give thought to the problem and find new versions of old answers, just as King did vis-à-vis Gandhi. In a huge, poor country, Gandhi, faced with the army and resources of the greatest empire in world history, came up with a solution that worked. Through ahimsa (non-violence), he achieved independence for India. King, modeling his revolution on Gandhi's philosophy, pulled off a similar miracle, bringing an end to the long-standing legal implements of American racism. Presented wisely, the philosophy of action called "non-violence" is powerful and, for many desperate humans, as irresistible as an oasis in the desert. Where is the young, thoughtful Muslim infected to the point of boundlessly optimistic non-violence by the thoughts and deeds of Gandhi and King? Where is the similarly infected young, thoughtful American? Or Chinese? Or Indian? We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers. -King. There is no way we can defeat these people, our rulers, on their own terms with their own weapons. Not only are we outnumbered, we are wholly out-armed. They can escalate to any level of violence they deem necessary to maintain the status quo (meaning, their world of violence): start with billyclubs and truncheons, go to tasers and water cannons, then tear gas, then tanks and mortars and landmines, then bombs and bombs and more bombs. What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? -Gandhi. If we let them define the conflict as one of force, they will always win. Gandhi knew this. King knew this. The way of ahimsa, non-violence, is the only way. Because it is the only way that can work for us. Because it is truly subversive: the violent, remember, scorn the non-violent as cowards, not worthy of attention (at least at first, until our numbers grow). Because it is the only way that can change the world. To respond to violence with violence only produces more violence, no matter how good the initial intentions (viz. the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution). The first, and in many ways the hardest, step to non-violence is within. It is the step that must be taken by one, then by many, if we are to not merely survive but survive and thrive. You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Gandhi. Literally speaking, ahimsa means non-violence. But to me it has much higher, infinitely higher meaning. It means that you may not offend anybody; you may not harbor uncharitable thought, even in connection with those who consider your enemies. To one who follows this doctrine, there are no enemies. A man who believes in the efficacy of this doctrine finds in the ultimate stage, when he is about to reach the goal, the whole world at his feet. If you express your love- Ahimsa-in such a manner that it impresses itself indelibly upon your so called enemy, he must return that love. This doctrine tells us that we may guard the honor of those under our charge by delivering our own lives into the hands of the man who would commit the sacrilege. And that requires far greater courage than delivering of blows. -Gandhi. Once one assumes an attitude of intolerance, there is no knowing where it will take one. Intolerance, someone has said, is violence to the intellect and hatred is violence to the heart. -Gandhi. Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being. -Gandhi. Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. -Gandhi. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -King. Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. -King. Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one's whole being into the being of another. -King. And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we drop our bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means. -King. In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world must not allow themselves to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives. -King.   More: "The Essential Gandhi" $10.40 at amazon.com. More: "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King" $15.57 at the amazon.com
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#4
10-25-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
All that stuff sounds great and all, but is entirely unrealistic.
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
|
#5
10-25-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#6
10-25-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
However you are correct about the Middle Eastern folks.
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. Last edited by The Conquistador; 10-25-2009 at 09:21 PM. |
|
#7
10-26-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
|
#8
10-26-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Beck
Quote:
From dickipedia Personal life Beck talks about his life all the time, so even the most casual listener or viewer knows that he grew up in the Seattle area with a serious case of attention deficit disorder, and his mother drowned herself when he was 13, and one of his brothers committed suicide, and another brother died of a heart attack, and he was a major pothead and an alcoholic who downed a gallon of Jack Daniel's a week, all of which cost him his first marriage. After his divorce, Beck met his second wife, Tania. As a condition for marrying him, Tania said that she and Beck would have to jointly find a religion that suited both of them. They picked Mormonism, an odd choice considering that it's the kind of religion where you feel sorry for those poor kids who are born into it and can't imagine anyone joining it voluntarily [edit] Radio and TV Beck did the traditional radio bounce-around, doing deejay duty in Washington, Corpus Christi, Baltimore, Houston, Phoenix and Hartford. His career was undistinguished until he subbed for a talk show host and "suddenly realized I've been in the wrong format." In January 2000, he landed on WFLA-AM in Tampa, where The Glenn Beck Program combined right-wing talk with a form of humor, one example of which is: "Hezbollaerobics...because no one fears a tubby terrorist!" Okay, you're not laughing, but the show started out in 18th place and went to #1 not long before September 11, 2001. Beck, like Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA), whose sex scandal story evaporated in the heat of the 9/11 flames, was a direct beneficiary of the planes flying into the buildings, since the result was that jingoistic and xenophobic talk show hosts were suddenly in higher demand. The Glenn Beck Program was nationally syndicated and quickly found a very large audience of people eager to believe that ignorant criminals were not running the country. Newly empowered as a nationally syndicated right-wing radio dick just as White House dick George W. Bush was drumming up support for what would turn out to be the most humiliating, reputation-trashing fiasco in the nation's history, Beck organized pro-Iraq War "Rally for America" events in 18 cities for his Bush-buddy bosses at Clear Channel. Beck used the forum of the people's airwaves to go after the Dixie Chicks, who'd had the effrontery to share with a London audience their shame at what was being done in America's name. He also felt compelled to weigh in on the Terri Schiavo case, leading the charge of rant radio against letting the poor woman die. In May 2006, Beck's empire expanded into television when he began hosting the eponymous prime-time hour Glenn Beck on CNN Headline News. Not long after, he declared himself to be "sick of this whole global warming thing." Beck claims it takes generations before we can tell anything about climate change, so what we should do now is just go about our lives in a business-as-usual fashion and not worry so much about finding out later that we've destroyed the planet. In November 2007, Beck signed a five-year deal with Premiere Radio Networks said to be worth $50 million. In his 2007 Washington Post profile of Beck, David Segal wrote, "Listen to a few of Beck's shows and what strikes you most is the enormous ratio of words to substance - how Beck can monologue for minutes at a time and leave behind almost nothing except the impression of great vehemence." In the spring of 2009, Beck will depart CNN for Fox News. The move will provide more money and even lower journalistic expectations making it a win-win for Beck, but a lose-lose for people who like information. Though, as some have noted, this will leave a gaping hole in CNN's "department of embarrassing conservatives we keep around to help us appear unbiased," insiders expect that other irritable commentators will continue to step up in this area. Sounds like a real winner. Millions of people listen to this guy? 
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#9
10-26-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
I do not agree with him about Global Warming though. As I may have said before, global warming is not a political issue. It's science. Politicians and political talk show hosts from either side should not be talking about it. They should shut up and let actual climatologists talk about it. About him being a Mormon? The christian crap is something I have to grit my teeth over with these conservatives. As long as they don't say we should be conservatives because in the bible it says blah blah blah... And yes, I know some, including Bush do say that. I ignore that and pay attention to more down to earth reasons for the conservatism agenda.
__________________
A lesbian trapped in a man's body Last edited by TracyCoxx; 10-26-2009 at 10:10 PM. |
|
#10
10-26-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Beck seems to borrow heavily from a variety of trades, functioning as a quasi-comedian, actor, news host, journalist, radio disc jockey, entertainer, author and preacher, just to name a few. He can be as funny and entertaining as the Comedy Channel's satirical hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, but he also possesses the gravity and moral certitude of a religious pastor. More so than most journalists and news hosts, Glenn Beck knows how to effectively sell the news to his audience. Moreover, he uses the medium of television to make the process of news-gathering simultaneously entertaining and easy for his viewers. Of course, any semblance of objectivity goes out the window when a provocative and emotive character like Beck takes such a primetime stage. If Beck is any indication of the future of television news, given his show's popularity and high ratings, we will most likely see an upswing in the amount of emotion and entertainment infused in news production at the expense of careful, objective, balanced and thoughtful analysis among journalistic sources. But do most viewers want thoughtful analysis? Or do they want to be entertained?" The trouble is most viewers now don't know the difference between news and entertainment. 
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#11
10-26-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Climate
"I do not agree with him about Global Warming though. As I may have said before, global warming is not a political issue. It's science. Politicians and political talk show hosts from either side should not be talking about it. They should shut up and let actual climatologists talk about it."
Unfortunately, some morning we are going to wake up to climate change and wonder why we didn't try to do something about it. We are in a canoe drifting down a river and the noise of the waterfall is getting louder and louder. 
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#12
10-27-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
__________________
A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
|
#13
10-27-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
" By Kevin Drum | Tue October 27, 2009 12:03 PM PST
Andrew Sullivan thinks the "opt-out" public option is a piece of political genius. Imagine, he says, what happens next if it passes: Well, there has to be a debate in every state in which Republicans, where they hold a majority or the governorship, will presumably decide to deny their own voters the option to get a cheaper health insurance plan. When others in other states can get such a plan, will there not be pressure on the GOP to help their own base? Won't Bill O'Reilly's gaffe - when he said what he believed rather than what Roger Ailes wants him to say - be salient? Won't many people - many Republican voters - actually ask: why can't I have what they're having? ....Imagine Republicans in state legislatures having to argue and posture against an affordable health insurance plan for the folks, as O'Reilly calls them, while evil liberals provide it elsewhere. Now, of course, if the public option is a disaster in some states, this argument could work in the long run. But in the short run? It's political nightmare for the right as it is currently constituted. In fact, I can see a public option becoming the equivalent of Medicare in the public psyche if it works as it should. Try running against Medicare. I was mulling over the exact same scenario last night and couldn't quite make up my mind about how this would play out. In the end, though, I think Andrew's argument is pretty compelling. As Rich Lowry complained over at The Corner, "Does a state get to opt-out of the taxes too?" That's technically a moot point if the public option is truly self-funding, but in the reality of the political world it's powerful whether it makes sense or not. It's like Republican governors turning down stimulus money: it sounds good on the stump, but who's going to do it in the real world? It's crazy if you're paying for it anyway. So yes, this could be a huge winner. If it passes, then for the next four years Republican state legislators all over the country will be teaming up with the universally loathed insurance industry to try and deny their citizens access to a program that, to most of them, sounds like a pretty good deal. I don't know if Harry Reid was deviously thinking exactly that thought when he decided on this, but I'll bet someone was. It's hard to think of something that could force the GOP to make itself even more unpopular than it already is, but this might be it." It won't be the first time Republicans have shot themselves in the foot.
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#14
10-28-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
|
#15
10-28-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
I can see a tax hike if the "public option" healthcare goes through. How else will they appropriate people's money to pay for the crap?
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
|
#16
10-28-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
The other aspect is that the conservative leadership doesn't give a shit about healthcare they are using the issue to try to weaken Obama's popularity by endless distortions and outright lies. Fuck the poor, fuck the underprivileged, only the people with good paying jobs deserve to have their healthcare paid by their employers.
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
#17
10-27-2009
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
|
|
|
Hybrid Mode
