I have to admit, I was having great concerns as I watched the debate last night.
The moments were many where Barack could have nailed McCain to the wall, but did not. He seemed on the defensive many times.
My expectations were let down. I wanted Barack to go after McCain's throat. But he did not.
What Barack did do was to look McCain in the eye, well, he attempted to. McCain glanced at him, maybe twice and I am certain never looked at Obama in the eye when he spoke about him. Barack did look at McCain, did address the issues and did speak the truth. He looked presidential, showing strength and restraint and integrity.
McCain came off as a smug, disrespectful, jerk. Clearly behaving as if he were being inconvenienced to answer these questions with this "other" person.
Thank you Senator Obama for your clear presence of leadership and grace.
Who is running the McCain show? Suspend the campaign? The elevator is not going to the top floor kids. Rushing off the Washington to "save the day" stinks of campaign politics; but will it backfire?
The maverick made his way to the show, only to watch House Republicans Walk Out of the meeting and not come up with a solution.
Yeah, that worked well.
I hope he tries to diss Obama at the debate tomorrow night like he did with Letterman: The Obama Show for 2 hours sounds like a great plan.
Pretty Bird Woman House because they could really use our help. In fact, if you are looking to send money to a worthwhile organization, please go here!
Iraq Body Count because our government would just as well not keep track.
Using our technology is key to changing unacceptable practices and human rights violations. WITNESS Rights Alert allows for individuals to record and have a place to show that which the regular media misses or overlooks.
Henry Paulson, our nation's Treasury Secretary claims our financial structure is "sound" despite Lehman Brothers filing Chapter 11 and Merrill Lynch being sold and insurance giant AIG trying to stay above water. WOW! Sounds sound!
Martin Luther King Jr. said: "One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent...But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change." What would Dr. King say about the state of our world today? I imagine these words he spoke decades ago would still ring true today.
Great individuals, like Dr. King, were not without fear, oh the contrary--he pushed through it. The words he spoke angered many and gave hope to others, while some, just sat unawake to the words. He spoke them anyway, with passion, conviction, and heart. Despite the fear. Because of the fear. To free those from experiencing the fear. To wake those whom looked away from the fear of others. He really accomplished so much, yet we as Americans still have among us those who are not awake, and don't want to be--because of the fear.
How do we attain it? By experience, I suppose. One can be smart, but not necessarily wise. Wisdom has an added component: humility. Or maybe it's grace.
The owl has been a symbol of wisdom. This one I photographed in the Florida Keys; he looks wise or just pissed that I'm taking his picture. :)
Spring arrived in northern Illinois: birds chirping everywhere, 60 degree weather and my tulips are coming up.
Also sharing the spring explosion--The Earthquake that woke me at quarter to 5 this am. Actually, I slept through the blasted thing; I was awaken by my Great Dane Charlie, who was barking at the back door for 15 minutes. "Mom, something is out there--I felt it!" I did not feel a thing at a magnitude 5.2 on the Richter.
The fresh, inspiration of hope that needs to be in the White House. The repair work that has to transpire from the last 6 years of hell will be tough, but Barack gives hope.
Charlie and rain do not mix. I'm not quite sure what it is about some Great Danes and their fear of water; mine certainly has that trepidation. Storms are brewing tonight in northern Illinois.7-Day Forecast for Latitude 42.34N and Longitude -89W Charlie doesn't fear the storms themselves, which I'm grateful for. Could you imagine a 186lb. dog running at you in fright? What he has trouble doing is heading outside to do his "business" when it's raining. You'd think he was the Wicked Witch of the West and will melt if doused with water by the way he acts. All in all, he's a great dog. Peace.
The time has come for an African-American President; it is also time for a women President. Are Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the right candidates? I've been a Liberal Demorcrat for some time now and this party has not dissappointed me more than in the last couple of years. Would I switch parties? HELL NO!! To be a Republican would go against all that I believe in for this country. It is politics. Everyone running is so busy trying to get elected, then staying elected to help the country. The corporate run media fails to give John Edwards his equal air time. He seems to be the one who is trying to run for President and do something for the country. As it stands today, for me:
As another semester at college begins, I feel overwhelmed and excited.
I am now teaching two classes on Stress (LOL) and Alcoholism and The Family, seeing clients daily for individual appointments, and leading substance abuse groups at least twice a week. As I type this, my paperwork in my brief case crosses my mind. Mental note: MUST FINISH PAPERWORK TODAY. My first class was last night: four hours, but enjoyed it. Tonight, another for two and a half. I'm grateful I enjoy reading as I have two long chapters to read.
I have a client to see in two hours--I'm going to go do something nice for myself and relax until that time.
Such a fine line, sometimes, between abuse and dependence of a drug such as alcohol. We live in a drinking culture; alcohol is legal and easily acquired. In our culture, as children, we learn that alcohol always works. Our parents use it. The kid down the street does. Even the little old lady next door takes a nip or two. A rough day at the office--relax with a toddy. Bad exam in college--"Let's go get fucked up!"
A drink relaxes the body--eases tension. Social drinkers do this. Have "A" drink or maybe two.
With abuse, the drinker begins to teach himself to drink...over time a few more at each sitting. Tolerance of alcohol starts to build up. Tolerance alone does not warrent alcoholism--abusers certainly can build up a tolerance to booze over time. Sometimes abuse and dependence intertwine and it gets confusing--do I have a problem or not?
One of the biggest criteria to dependence, I believe, lies in loss of control. If I'm drinking for a longer period of time or my intention is to go out and have a couple and I end up drinking much more than intended, I have crossed over into loss of control. If I'm spending a great deal of time preoccupied with drinking and making plans around my activities so as to be around drinking, this is something to look at also.
If on medication for ailments such as diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), doctors are usually very clear about NOT drinking alcohol if one has these conditions. Any medication mixed with alcohol can have adverse to deadly affects.
I'm unsure of the origin and author of the following, but this has been an inspiration for me over the years.
1. You Will Receive A Body You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.
2. You Will Learn Lessons You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons - you may like the lesson or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There Are No Mistakes, Only Lessons There is a process of trial and error; experimentation. The 'failed' experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately 'works'.
4. A Lesson Is Repeated Until It Is Learned A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning Lessons Does Not End. There is no part of Life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
6. 'There' Is No Better Than 'here'. When your 'there' has become a 'here', you will simply obtain another 'there' that will again look better than 'here'.
7. Others Are Merely Mirrors Of You. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What You Make Of Your Life Is Up To You. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your Answers Lie Inside You. The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need do is look, listen and trust.
What could I possibly add to the description of the Beatles that has not already been verbalized? They started the ball rolling for so many bands that I cannot imagine what the world's music scene would be like had they not bursted into stardom.
One of the best songs, sung by George Harrison from 1971 in the concert for Bangladesh.....
I'm an addictions counselor in the midwest, mostly working with DUI (Driving Under the Influence) offenders. In our area, the percentage of individuals charged with a DUI for a second time is 80%. That is high. The reasons can be debated, but obviously the behaviors are not changing. You keep doing the same thing, you're going to keep experiencing the same problems. Tonight, in group, I'll discuss different ways of thinking. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy. Our thinking becomes distorted and then add alcohol and the distortion in thinking becomes that much worse.
Types of twisted thinking may include:
All-or-nothing thinking: Here's where your perfectionism rears it's ugly head. If it's not THIS way, then it HAS to be THAT way. "If she doesn't love me, she must hate me". "If I eat one bad thing on my diet, I just as well eat the whole cake--I've blown the whole thing." You can see how this makes life situations difficult to handle.
Labeling: This consists of a more extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking. Calling yourself names would be an example-"I'm an ass because I made a mistake". When someone does something that may rub you the wrong way, you may think, "What a jerk!"
Jumping to conclusions: The great fortune teller. Always has everything figured out before the end and boy oh boy is the conclusion more or less a negative one. "I just KNOW I'm going to flunk this test." These individuals are also experts at mind reading: You guest has just informed you that she's a tad cold. You assume this means she thinks you are a cheap person for keeping the thermostat lower.
There are several more examples of twisted thinking and we will approach all of them tonight in our group.
We will tie this into drinking and driving and how our thinking is distorted at that time.
The beautiful light displays that form in the northern hemisphere near the polar regions defy imagination. I've yet to see these phenomenons of the sky in person, but it is my plan.
Nature provides for us an array of glorious sights to behold; we just have to seek them out.
Peace for all on this Saturday. Check out more light shows:
Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.
We hear more and more about Post-Tramatic Stress Disorder today, but what exactly is it?
It is defined as an anxiety disorder which can develop after an exposer to a terrifying ordeal. During this event, grave physical harm occured or was threatened. One has a valid belief they will die! Military combat, personal assaults such as rape or robbery, car or plane crashes, natural disasters such as Katrina or the San Francisco earthquake, or human-caused diasters like 911 fuel this ailment.
Someone suffering from PSTD may develop nightmares, sleep problems and/or feeling emotionally detached or numb.
I found a new website which chronicles a soldier from Iraq and his struggle with PSTD:FIGHT-PTSD.ORG Check it out.
Have you stopped to look at a storm? You have to pay attention if you are to catch the unique formations of lightening. It forces one to stay in the moment.
Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us to stay conscious:
"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent....But today our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change."
This speech rings true for today's society also. Social change continues. Find what you want to change and become passionate. Locally, one can begin to help. Stay awake and act.
On life's journey Faith is nourishment, Virtuous deeds are a shelter, Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.
Discussions about the upcoming elections are being voiced everywhere. Issues are being debated; candidates scrutinized.
Now that Al Gore has entered the main spotlight again with his Nobel Peace Prize win, Drafting Al Gore shouts are ringing in the streets and across blogs nationwide. Head to the website and sign the petition. A man of integrity and character, Al Gore not only cares about the planet(which we cannot live without, by the way!), he seems sincere in his care of our country and the people who reside here.
Have you ever truly looked at the words to certain songs--the message?
Check out Lenny Kravitz:
Are You Gonna Go My Way
I was born long ago I am the chosen I'm the one I have come to save the day And I won't leave until I'm done So that's why you've got to try You've got to breathe and have some fun Though I'm not paid I play this game And I won't stop until I'm done
But what I really want to know is Are you gonna go my way? And I got to got to know
I don't know why we always cry This we must leave and get undone We must engage and rearrange And turn this planet back to one So tell me why we got to die And kill each other one by one We've got to hug and rub-a-dub We've got to dance and be in love
But what I really want to know is Are you gonna go my way? And I got to got to know
Are you gonna go my way? 'Cause baby I got to know Yeah
The songs created to rid the earth of war and the songs urging its occupants to replenish it are plenty.......who is listening?
"Free Hugs" signs went up this morning in Madison, Wisconsin at the Capital building downtown during the busy farmers' market.
The weather was a beautiful 70 degrees without a cloud in the sky.
My step-son Eddie and I spent about two hours walking the perimeter of the market while Firecrow played photographer.
Jump for more hugs:
When I first came across the You Tube video:
I cried at the beauty of the idea. Why not? Free hugs. What a great idea to boost everyone's seratonin level. Firecrow & I discussed organizing an outing and, like with many things, life takes over, responsibilities, etc.....
Then:
I needed to conduct an Experience project for college. I thought about the Free Hugs Campaign immediately. I had always wondered what would happen if we did this. This morning I found out.
We started receiving "customers" right away; our first was this older gay couple who were sitting by a light post resting when we pulled out our signs to begin. Their faces lit up and we got our first hugs. Eddie & I spent about five minutes talking to them; one of the gentleman has cuts and bruises on his face and explained to us how he had been beaten up the night before. He certainly had needed a hug and he thanked us for sharing ours with him.
As we continued on, we experienced an array of responses, ranging from smiles to laughter to amazement to razed eyebrows.
Interestingly enough, the three of us all had different perceptions of our adventure.
Eddie walked about twenty feet ahead of me and found the students, teenagers and college students, along with the elderly flocked to him the most.
My experience walking just a bit behind Eddie yielded 30, 40 and 50 somethings and people wanting me to hug their babies.
We both found that people seemed very fascinated with the project and wanted their picture taken with us.
Some people wanted group hugs:
Firecrow had a revealing take on the whole process as he played observer the entire time while snapping pics. He saw how many people, intrigued by what we were doing, hesitating....then asking for a hug, while others talked with their companions about us, each prompting the other to "just go ahead". He also witnessed people who were reluctant while we walked past, suddenly turn around and head towards us. One college student even came full charge across the Capital lawn just to "attack" Eddie. It was great to watch! There were only a couple incidents that you could catagorize as negative, if not, bizarre.
One man, around 60 years old, while openly wanting and receiving two hugs from me at separate times was pleasant, put up his arm when Eddie came near, not wanting to be touched, doing the same to Firecrow, although he did shake his hand.
One woman exclaimed that she gets "plenty of hugs and doesn't need any more" while another woman demanded to know what "organization" we were with before she would receive a hug. I asked, "What do you mean "organization"?" She demanded, "Why are you doing this?" I retorted, "Why not? She hugged me then.
Some people even asked us if it was a gimmick of some kind or wondering if the free hugs were really free.
All in all it was an awesome experience; my face hurts from smiling, Firecrow is taking a nap and Eddie thanked us for inviting him to come along......he wants to go back and do it again.
Its important to note that doing something like this does raise the other person's seratonin level in the brain, doing it does the same for you and people witnessing the act of kindness and a hug does the same also for someone even if they are mearly observing the act.
My dog is smarter than Bush; he at least knows when to come in out of the rain. The same tune over and over--"We are not leaving until victory"--there will never be victory. Ever. We lost a long time ago. Now, its just an excuse to sell more body bags for our troops and the citizens of Iraq. The Dems are selling out also. Where is the fight? Are we all THAT tired? I'm tired. Very tired. Maybe Bush is smarter than I give him credit for.
As a small child, I began being drawn to books. It wasn't something I thought about--why do I love books?--it was automatic. Knowledge, I wanted it. Fictional stories were facinating, yes, but it was the non-fiction....the how to, the research, the fact finding adventures that I enjoyed the most.
Art--Da Vinci, Monet and Van Gogh--Georgia O'Keefe, Jackson Pollack, and Picasso.
Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.
Nearly half of the world's species of plants, animals and microorganisms will be destroyed or severely threatened over the next quarter century due to rainforest deforestation.
Oh, how I wish it were true. Media coverage of the illegal war, the need for AIDS drugs in Africa, the massacres in Darfur, the lying of our administration, the lack of motivation of our Congress to call this administration on the carpet, and the poverty level of millions in the United States.
But, instead, a Paris Hilton smoke screen. The media and the corporate assholes that own them, litter the news with Paris. These are terribly turbulent times. Think Progress
Whoever said money can't buy you happiness obviously has never been poor. It sure helps sometimes, but does not DEFINE me. Money can help in the short term, but if I'm not happy with who i am as a person, money will not fill that emptiness.
Looking for the golden ticket outside of myself is futile. Everything that I need, I already possess. I am a heart shaped diamond.
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