Let's Keep Them Out of Power

Republicans rule, rather than govern.

Ruling must be distinguished from governing, which is a process of finding solutions that will best serve the interests of all Americans.

Republicans' authoritarian rule can be characterized by its striking incivility and intolerance toward those who do not view the world as Republicans do.

Authoritarian conservatives are primarily anti-government, except where they believe the government can be useful to impose moral or social order, or where it empowers the military industrial complex.

Studies show that about 25 percent of the adult population in the United States is solidly authoritarian. It is in these ranks of some 70 million that we find the core of the McCain/Palin supporters. They are people who are so self-righteous, so ill-informed, and so dogmatic that nothing you can say or do will change their minds.

The problem is that these authoritarian followers are much more active than the rest of the country. They have the mentality of 'old-time religion' on a crusade, and they generously give money, time and effort to the cause. They proselytize; they lick stamps; they put pressure on loved ones; and they revel in being loyal to a cohesive group of like thinkers. They are not going to let up and they are not going to go away.

Frankly, there is only one way to deal with these conservative zealots: Keep them out of power.

(This is an extract of an article by John Dean.)

Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter

This is from his "O" album. In the future, I'll include some live performance video. This group works so well together.

Why I Vote Democratic

First, let me dispense of the opposition.  The bankruptcy of the Republican ideology has been evident with the financial meltdown. The claim that government is the problem, as espoused by Ronald Reagan, was made ridiculous.  It is the only remaining entity to prevent a national (or global) disaster.  Government was the solution and the rescuer.

Then there is this administration, with their aggressive pursuit of failure at every level of government, because that gives them a stronger argument for cutting regulations and taxes. Why would anyone want to pay taxes to, or have any confidence in such a rotted mess?  

I believe the Democratic Party has a better guide for good governance.

I think that the Preamble to United States Constitution provides an overview:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

But how can this be translated into a Democratic ideal, and rule for governance?

I offer these twelve words: Fair wages, fair markets, health security, retirement security, equal justice…for all. 

The Democrats believe that each American should have the chance to get a good education, to work at a good job with good wages, to raise and provide for a family, to live in safe surrounding, and to retire with dignity and security. We believe that quality and affordable health care is a basic right. We believe that each succeeding generation should have the opportunity, though hard work, service and sacrifice, to enjoy a brighter future than the last.

Why would any rational American have any other view?

Climate Change Is Faster and More Extreme

Climate change is happening much faster than the world's best scientists predicted and will wreak havoc unless action is taken on a global scale, a new report warns.

The bleak report from WWF also predicts crops failures and the collapse of eco systems on both land and sea.

The agency says that the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a study of global warming by 4,000 scientists from more than 150 countries which alerted the world to the possible consequences of global warming - is now out of date.

WWF's report, Climate Change: Faster, stronger, sooner, has updated all the scientific data and concluded that global warming is accelerating far beyond the IPCC's forecasts.

As an example it says the first 'tipping point' may have already been reached in the Arctic, where sea ice is disappearing up to 30 years ahead of IPCC predictions and may be gone completely within five years - something that hasn't occurred for a million years.

It could result in rapid and abrupt climate change rather than the gradual changes forecast by the IPCC.

The report has been endorsed by Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, the newly elected Vice Chair of the IPCC, who said: "It is clear that climate change is already having a greater impact than most scientists had anticipated, so it's vital that international mitigation and adaptation responses become swifter and more ambitious."

Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot: On The Turning Away

A great video, with Carl Sagan explaining the pale blue dot (about 30 seconds), and a wonderful Pink Floyd song thoughtfully accompanied by the vastness of the universe.

Watch, ponder, be humbled.

For a live performance of "On the Turning Away", click here.

Generosity First

Generosity is the foundation of both virtue and meditation.

It is the idea that you gain happiness by giving things away. After all, when you give, you put yourself in a position of wealth. The gift is proof that you have more than enough.

At the same time, it gives you a sense of your worth as a person. You are able to help other people.

Because the world we live in is created by our actions, the act of giving creates a spacious world: a world where people have more than enough -- enough to share.

From there, the ground is fertile for virtue. Generosity has shown you that you can be happy by doing something counterintuitive. Likewise with virtue: that you are going to be happy by not doing certain things that you want to do. For example, as when you want to take something not given, or when you want to gossip to injure another.

Lastly, the spaciousness that comes from generosity and virtue gives you the right mindset for the concentration practice, gives you the right mindset for insight practice. The mind that you have been creating through your generous and virtuous actions is the spacious mind of a person who has more than enough to share, the mind of a person who has no regrets over past actions.

According to the Buddha's teachings, true happiness is something that, by its nature, gets spread around.

In the act of giving, you gain rewards. In the act of holding fast to virtues, you protect others from your unskillful behavior. In concentration and mindfulness, you gain in your own sense of worth as a person, your own self esteem.

Spreading Democracy at Home

President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices. The Act has been renewed periodically, most recently in 2006.

However, even then a number of Republican lawmakers acted to amend, delay or defeat renewal of the Act.

I provide this as background on the activities of a low-income and minority advocacy group, ACORN.

This week, John McCain warned that ACORN is "on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and "may be destroying the fabric of democracy." I know that his statement was intended as a wedge issue, and is just political theater. In 2006, he was ACORN's keynote speaker.

Voter registration is not a crime. ACORN has helped 1.3 million citizens from all parties and all walks of life apply for voter registration. In most states, ACORN is required by law to turn in every voter registration card - even in cases where the cards are not valid. In fact, it is ACORN that has reported almost all of the issues regarding voter registration cards. Finally, invalid voter registration cards do not constitute voter fraud.

While voter registration is not a crime, voter suppression is. As evidenced by the need for the Voting Rights Act, the United States has had a history of engaging in that undemocratic method. Even today, 33 state election directors are elected partisans. Because of their partisan ties, election officials are often presented with a conflict of interest while directing elections. Two crucial states, Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2006, had Republicans as their election officials.

On the other hand, the majority of the world's democracies use independent agents to manage elections.

How about encouraging and spreading democracy here, rather than using voter registration as a wedge issue?

Virginia

Marissa Nadler has a wonderful voice, a relaxed and simple guitar style, and atmospheric yet personal songs.

Ten Meritorious Actions

A fortunate or unfortunate life depends on individual merits and demerits.

The performance of good actions gives rise to merit, a quality which cleanses the mind. If the mind is unchecked, it has the tendency to be ruled by evil tendencies, leading one to perform bad deeds and get into trouble. Merit purifies the mind of the evil tendencies of greed, hatred and delusion.

Merit is important to help us along our journey through life. It is connected with what are good and beneficial to oneself and others, and can improve the quality of the mind. While the material wealth a person gathers can be lost by theft, flood, fire, confiscation, etc., the benefit of merits follow from life to life and cannot be lost, although it can be exhausted if no attempts are made to perform more merits. A person will experience happiness here and now as well as hereafter through the performance of merit.

The Buddha taught ten meritorious deeds for us to perform in order to gain a happy and peaceful life as well as to develop knowledge and understanding. The ten meritorious deeds are:

1. Generosity
2. Morality
3. Mental culture
4. Reverence or respect
5. Service in helping others
6. Transference of merits to others
7. Rejoicing in the merits of others
8. Preaching and teaching the Dharma
9. Listening to the Dharma
10. Straightening one’s views

The performance of these ten meritorious deeds will not only benefit oneself, but others as well, besides giving benefits to the recipients. Moral conduct benefits all beings with whom one comes into contact. Mental culture brings peace to others and inspires them to practise the Dharma. Reverence gives rise to harmony in society, while service improves the lives of others. Sharing merits with others shows that one is concerned about others’ welfare, while rejoicing in others’ merits encourages others to perform more merits. Teaching and listening to the Dharma are important factors for happiness for both the teacher and listener, while encouraging both to live in line with Dharma. Straightening one’s views enables a person to show to others the beauty of Dharma.

One in four mammals facing extinction

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that an "extinction crisis" is under way with one in four mammals in danger of disappearing forever because of habitat loss, hunting and climate change.

Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions.

We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.

Visit the Earth Charter, and take the pledge for a better planet.

From The Morning

This is one of my favorite Nick Drake songs, and a good photo montage.

Is Freedom Just Another Word?

Politicians use the word regularly: Freedom.  However, it is too often used as justification for wars of aggression or empire expansion.  

Americans cherish the word, without providing a context.  

What is Freedom and how is it achieved? 

Franklin Roosevelt said that freedom has four qualities: 1) Freedom of speech and expression; 2) Freedom of religion; 3) Freedom from want; and 4) Freedom from fear.

That is as good a definition as I've come across.  The first two are included in the Bill of Rights.  The last two are a political struggle that even today we are engaged with internally as a nation.

But how are these freedoms achieved?

To that, I turn to Thomas Paine, who said that those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must undergo the fatigues of supporting it.

I believe what Paine meant is that we have the daily duty of Citizenship.  We have the responsibility of informed and impartial knowledge of the workings of our government.

Let me be clear about one thing, We Are The Government; it's called a representative democracy.  

Our freedoms are contained in the United States Constitution. It is our responsibility as Citizens to know what actions Our government is taking, and to hold our elected representatives accountable.

If we think that government is the problem, it is because we as Citizens have abdicated our duties.

Spend some time this week to know what bills are before Congress, and how your representative voted.  Visit and sign up for alerts from Open Government.

Energy Independence - Electric Vehicles

It is possible to convert our entire ground transportation system to renewable electricity within 10 years. That would require a national mobilization, to be sure, but it can be done.

Such an initiative would prove compelling to the vast majority of Americans. Climate change is abstract, and the strategies to resolve it are remote. Our relationship to our vehicles, on the other hand, is both concrete and visceral. We desperately want to get off oil, especially when gasoline prices rise to $4 per gallon.

But it is more than a pocketbook issue for many of us; it is a moral issue. Americans hate being dependent for our mobility, and therefore for our livelihoods, on countries often hostile to our way of life. Electric cars promise to end that dependency.

We can do this in 10 years because: 1) The average seven-year life expectancy of existing vehicles, and 2) Congress can offer incentives for owners of older gasoline-powered vehicles to trade them in.  (The Republicans have blocked four energy bills this year, all of which included these incentives.)

Let's be clear, the United States is already in competition with the world on manufacturing Electric Vehicles.  We can have a piece of this beginning industry, or we can be left in the electric dust of other nations.  Action or inaction -- our choice.

Here's proof: Norwegian automaker Think Global will be selling its Think electric car in the US. The Think is able to travel up to 110 miles without the need to recharge its batteries, hitting a top speed of 65mph and is 95% recyclable. Two venture capital firms have already been targeted by Think to build the cars in Southern California, hoping to sell around 30,000 to 50,000 of such vehicles annually at $25,000 each.