Memorial Day...

Memorial day has always been a time of sadness for me.  My best recollections were when my uncles got home from Korea only to take off for Viet Nam.  I thank you Lord for keeping them safe and returning them all home to us!  Some of the young men and nurses didn't make it home.  I was such a little girl in those days.  Nam dragged on and as a young teen I took on names of MIAs and POWs which I wore on bracelets.  My goal was to give the bracelets back.  The POW bracelets found their way to the families but the MIA bracelets sat in a drawer for 3 years, then in a box out in one of my garages, then were lost.  The point I am making is that the MIAs never made it home, dead or alive.  Politically, I found it difficult to speak about in those days. I guess I still do.  I had family in intelligence and even they didn't say much about what happened.  Those willing to talk had so many different things to say, but all said that Nam wasn't worth it.  Years later, one of them, a high ranking man in military intelligence said this war is not what it is being billed as.  He told me quite simply it was about O I L.  Never had I heard such skepticism out of him. Skepticism isn't the right word.  Mmm, never had I heard such disgust toward any administration quite like I heard it in his voice toward this administration, from the commander in chief on down.  He was not happy that our soldiers were sent to Iraq.  I guess this is where I begin to tell you why I am writing.

I am against war.  It conjurs up hate inside me, hate for all who profit off of wars and all who encourage war.  I am against sending our people intentionally to another country that isn't attacking us.  I haven't forgot about the attack made on us by terrorists.  Iraq did not attack us.  So we did the next best thing, we decided that since terrorists attacked us, there was no time like the present to rid one of the countries of a terrible leader who took advantage of his people, even torturing and killing them.  We didn't pick Ruwanda or Chechnya; we didn't pick Belarus or Pakistan; we didn't pick China or Zimbawee to bring democracy to; we chose Iraq. 

Then we remembered we were going after terrorists so while in Iraq we could do that too, even though the terrorists who took out the towers came from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Afghanistan. We knew they would find us and gift us with some legitimacy for being in Iraq. It seems that where ever Americans are, the terrorists aren't too far behind.  The terrorists depend on us to help them get out their message and we have depended on them to give us an excuse to be at war.

So how do I reconcile this with the dedication of our soldiers?  For me, it is easy.  All who know where I stand on the war think I'm irrational for supporting our soldiers, unless they, like me, have experience with those in active duty.  The soldiers I know are dedicated to America.  They, without having to be asked, believe they cannot rest until they bring a choice to those around the world, a choice for freedom they hope. Yes! They really believe this.  They believe it so much they are prepared to give up their lives for this choice.  They don't have time to research the information as to why we are really there or why we shouldn't be.   In their patriotic hearts they are laying their lives down because they are honored to do so.  They believe America is the best country in the world and wish everyone had an America to go home to.  Yes they do.  I'm with them.  I love the freedoms we have here, the rights to voice our concerns and the people are awesome.  We are worth loving.  I love them for this.  I love our soldiers.  They are selfless and this in itself is noble. 

Please remember that while this administration might have nefarious reasons for being at war, our soldiers have different reasons, honorable reasons.  On this Memorial Day, think healthy good thoughts for our people overseas, won't you please?

Define Patriotism

I was catching up on C-SPAN.  I missed a great deal of the real stuff that matters this week because I've been dealing with identity theft, first some man and his daughter's then in sychronicity, my own.  When I did turn on the Television, Dr. David Yeagley(frontpagemag.com columnist) was speaking.  He asked us to all define Patriotism.  Some of you who are familiar have labeled him as from the "radical" right, I know, but he admits to being conservative.  Those of you who know me, know that I too am somewhat conservative.  I'll share with you a letter I wrote to him. BRB.

Subj: Patriotism-Where opposing voices harmonize.  Date: 5/28/2005 8:50:55 PM Pacific Standard Time From: GoddessOf7Worlds To: badeagle@badeagle.com

The problems with "Patriotism" of any kind is that it relies upon the interpretations of mankind.  We can have collective patriotism and we can also have individual patriotism.  The latter often polarizes people, hence the terminology of "leftist" or "radical rights".

I don't visit that which polarizes groups of people often because I tend to seek out what creates adhesion.  What plucks at our collective hearts?  That is a question I ask myself often in just about any emotional challenge, whether it be the public manipulation of our attention regarding Terri Schiavo or the slap in our face commentary regarding our inability to positively support our cultural image as was the case in the "Red Lake" school.  These incidents pluck at us if we are paying attention and I believe we should be challenged when these things appear to us. 

For me, most informed sir, it isn't a Native American (Indian) thing.  It is a human thing.  I've noticed that through out the world, humans are grappling with cultural identity.  Emotions such as fear, anger and bitterness provoke us to blame others for a demise that hasn't yet fully come to fruit. (It ain't over till it's over) The altruists then come in and ponder the fruits of forgiveness, mercy, compassion and love.  For a season we are bandaged and nursed, both those from the left and those from the right.

The interesting thing I have noticed in my outrageous 40-plus years (47), is, without people going through the complete process, the left to the right, the angry to the compassionate; we repeat these battles until we learn to correctly apply  any true understanding we earned from these experiences.  It takes differing viewpoints hashed out in earnest battle before the minds of people can sufficiently be transformed.

I submit to you that true patriotism is born where the people of opposing ideas gather for reasoning which ultimately leads to an appropriate conclusion.

Note:

 Conservatives think before acting (against "fast-tracking").     Liberals believe in equal liberties (not neccessarily equal compensation). 
Progressives think outside the norm.
Radicals run over them all. 
Pluralists believe in body and spirit allowing the physical to govern the physical realm and the spirit to challenge things of a spiritual nature. 
Anti-pluralists believe that there is only one way, their way, the right way.   So when labels are thrown around, I am careful to examine those doing the labeling.

Thank you for speaking on C-SPAN.  I enjoyed considering the content of your words as well as the spirit in which they were delivered.

Sincerely,
Chelle Stockman (not a goddess of any world)

Fear Ye, Fear Ye

The powers that rule this world deploy fears to redefine valid concerns, to deprive people of individuality, and for purposes of global control.

I'm concerned that we are becoming a one World Order, one government, complete with tracking systems. 

I'm concerned that jobs humans once did with heart and soul are now being given to unfeeling unthinking machines that track us.  You might think this is bonkers but be aware that money can be electronically tranferred out of your accounts on weekends and checks can clear, all without the help of a human.  However, deposit cash in an automated teller on Sunday and it won't "officially" be there until two humans count it out.  This is just small potatoes I'm talking about here. The redistribution of wealth is far more important to this world system than a mere deposit of cash.

I'm concerned that we dare to legislate the free will of God thus depriving people of their rights to sin and repent. It allows pharmacists the ability to refuse to dispense prescriptions based on their moral choices.  So it's a crap shoot if you plan to have your prescriptions filled.  Keep it up folks and soon they too will be dispensed by unthinking unfeeling machines.  One more job lost.

I'm concerned that we can look at one person and determine them to be worthy and hardworking and another lazy.  One thing that creates laziness is when the hardworking give up trying to find compensation for the work they do because they have been replaced by hardworkers willing to do it for less.  I'm concerned that we have many home grown addicts wrestling the elements for a pack of smokes and a tall can of Old English while people on cell phones toss them a buck and then drive off in their super sized H2 Hummer.  I'm concerned that many of the street people don't speak English.  These are just some of my daily observations. 

I'm concerned there are more nefarious principalities at work whose goal it is to tag us all, monitor our movements, and make us into data bytes for the data banks.  One day we too will be privatized under the billing of "healthy competion". In the case of corporate rights, our rights to live without being tracked shall be removed, by those corporations who depend on Globalization and things such as the "Free Trade" or "Free Enterprise"  or "Free Market".  There are always prices to be paid and in this world even Nothing is taxed so when they say nothing is free, don't you believe it. These are just a few things that woke me out of a sound sleep and I thought I'd share them with you before turning them into collages in my dreams. 

The message is:  Whatever your concerns are, make them known, get them out into the open.  There may be some validity to them.  Whatever you do, don't allow them to be relabeled inappropriately. Things that have us concerned can be labeled as fear.

This is the world, folks.  We must be willing to leave it someday and the concerns for it too. 

Have heart.  Fear not.

Letters to the Senators

May 9, 2005

Attention Senators: Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, George Miller, Christopher Dodd, Edward Kennedy

 

Dear Senators,

I don’t know how or where to begin this letter of lamentation, for the subject I shall endeavor to address is beyond my scope of understanding. We face great problems in this world and they stem from a world that is under the control of the Price Index.

With the outsourcing of jobs, the lack of a “living” wage to balance our propensity toward inflation, and illegal immigrants crossing into our country to work the jobs we cannot afford to work, there are two sides to arguments that have permeated the dreams of my sleeping hours.

These horrific hauntings cast blame; first on the immigrants; and secondly, cause the naturalized citizens to feel unworthy of liberties they thought were guaranteed to them.

On the other side of the argument we see citizens citing laws that claim the illegal workers should suffer punishment while they incite the rest of us to rise against the cheap labor movement, with the concerns that shout at us harsh accusations such as, “They are killing unions: they are bleeding us dry causing the costs of our medical care to increase, are polluting our environment with the use of pesticides and other chemicals. They want us to turn into another polluted Mexico!”

But it is those who reap the largest profits who should be held accountable. Corporations and various industries are the largest exploiter of cheap labor and they are also the largest violators of human rights. It just so happens that “industrialized corporate farms” are the main employers here in California. They use deadly pesticides which are known endocrine disrupters and are responsible for birth defects and a marked increase of mental health disorders. They pollute the water drainage systems with their deadly silted runoff. They employ this cheap labor and subject these humans to these horrific toxins. If our President succeeds in squashing class action lawsuits, how on earth shall we ever hold corporations accountable for their sins?

Is it OK to subject immigrants to these conditions simply because they are seeking escape from the poverty their country perpetuates? Is this ethical? Is it fair that some should die working in pesticides for less than a living wage? We as Americans have allowed corporations to exploit labor forces. We have put up with their threats to move elsewhere and also to raise their costs. They forget that we can grow our own vegetables (I do) and we don’t have to subscribe to their provisions if we don’t agree with them. We have however failed to get that across.

Poor environmental practices, poor labor ethics and outsourcing of jobs are the results of our inaction. The problems and concerns we have in America are the same the French confronted Chirac with and the same the British confronted Blair with. Immigration, the open boarder policy, outsourcing, and lack of living wage jobs are all the conversations I witnessed and I watched as Chirac minimalized his people’s concerns by tagging them as fears. The Globalization Movement has “redistributed” our dreams and is now in the process of doing the same with our nightmares all in the name of healthy competition.

But why do some have to fail that one may succeed; why do some have to fall that one may rise; and why does one person who earned his wage have to retire early only to be hired back as an independent contractor to teach 4 others who will earn a little more than minimum wage to do the same job he once did?

I know what I am suggesting isn’t politically correct but sometimes I wish we could just close all boarders for a year or so and hang out signs that declare: This country is temporarily closed for repairs.

Seriously, corporations, the price index, and the federal reserve are up to no damn good. How can we gain back our ethical practices and set honorable life sustaining examples for the other countries? How can we make this happen?

Sincerely,

Rochelle (Chelle) Stockman

Happy Mother's Day folks. Below is a link I copied.

 

Mothers' Day Proclamation: Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts,
whether our baptism be that of water or of fears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by
irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking
with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be
taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach
them of charity, mercy and patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of another
country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From
the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says "Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance
of justice."

Blood does not wipe our dishonor nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons
of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a
great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women,
to bewail and commemorate the dead.

Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the
means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each
bearing after their own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a
general congress of women without limit of nationality may be
appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at
the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the
alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement
of international questions, the great and general interests of
peace.

Julia Ward Howe
Boston
1870

************************************************************

http://www.peace.ca/mothersdayproclamation.htm

Thinking: Habit or Choice?

Sometimes I sit thinking about things of a habitual nature and compare them to what happens when we break the habits we have developed through the choices we exercise.  All actions in the animal kingdom come through habits.  Habits to a great extent are encoded into our DNA while some habits take practice.  Humans, unlike all other animals, have the ability to think about their habits, the consequences of them and stuff like that.  Humans can choose to break old habits and create new habits.   Sometimes, like in the case of additions, it's more difficult to break some habits and so much easier to stay the course within the confines of certain habits. 

Marriage can become a habit.  The practice of religion can become a habit.  Cleanliness can become a habit too.  These habits most folks would agree aren't harmful habits and should be developed.  But, some marriages should never have been, and in the case of religion, people become too practiced at it which steals the joy from the spirit.  Then there is cleanliness.   Some people become so obsessed with the habit of cleanliness that they miss the happy things that come from being a little askew.  Life passes them by.   But imagine entering marriage where habit doesn't rule and people choose to show affection rather than do so out of habit.  Imagine how God might feel when we reward him with our faith because we choose to, not because we do so out of habits stemming from what we should be doing rather than what we choose to do.  Imagine choosing to shower with the one you love because it's a fun thing to do not beause it is time to be clean again.  Imagine going snow skiing instead of chasing dust bunnies that might be hiding in corners behind the furniture.

Taking drugs is a choice until it becomes a habit.  Our pursuits of pleasure start out as a choice until they become a habit and if addiction to pleasure is in our dna  it only takes once or twice before it becomes a habit.  Habits, if we are not mindful of them, can sear our conscience.  Eventually, mankind could be reduced to the animalistic form it was before God breathed His breath into Adam.  Mankind could always think but was like all other animals, creatures of habit.  When the offspring of Adam and Eve began mating, they eventually breeded some sentience into the dna which took a hold over the generations that followed.  

Today, we are at war with our individual sentience and our animalistic natures.  All, I'm saying is, before we act, we ought to give it some thought.

Happy Mothers Day to all you breeders out there. :)

Intelligent Speakers Support The OIL Industry.

Vijay Vaitheeswaran a Global Environment and Energy Correspondent explained how Iraq only supplies 2million barrels of oil a day while the Saudis supply 10 million a day trying to say the reason we are in Iraq isn't about oil.  He supports his claim by reminding us how the Iraqi people destroyed and continue to destroy their own oil pipelines wherever the American troops show presence.  He also reminds us how shabby the pipes were prior to the war due to Saddam's negligence.

Well well well.  These college educated specialists like Vaitheeswaran want all us little people to think this is where the lame argument begins and ends, but they are a little too trusting of their assertions.

The wars feed off these fuel machines.  Even if America were to rely on methane, hydrogen, cooking oils or anything else, fact is, our war machines overseas must rely on what is available there to get our mighty military over the terrain to where they ultimately desire to occupy. So let them deplete the oil everywhere they go.

Here in America perhaps the businesses can begin to operate on LNG and public transportation on CNG controlled by State run, not private owned entities.  Much of what we really are doing overseas is because we really want the Natural Gas in various regions.  Still, we need their traditional oil reserves to fuel our war machines.  Keep that in mind.

So while the government businesses and large corporations will rely on resources we have to rape from the land here and the land of others citing the world trade agreements for security of said resources, I propose we Americans run our transportation off of electricity and hydrogen and our homes off a safe type of "fuel exchange" much as trees do.  Let us open the Edison archives and rework the patent he purchased right after our government killed it.

Now the Economist would have you believe Russia isn't a threat to oil supplies but he( Vijay the correspondent) fails to mention that Putin claimed the largest exporter of oil and jailed the private owner on trumped up charges then auctioned off all his assets.  Let me remind you that in September of 2003 Russia joined with Saudi Arabia (a saint in the Economist eyes) marrying their companies to form the world's largest oil exporter. 

In all fairness to Vijay he is more motivated to get our voices out on the matter of environmentally safe fuels and resources.  His arguments to do this take too long and are somewhat leading towards a challenge.  The truth is, we need Iraqi resources to get us in better position to move towards Gorgan where the natural gas can be easily accessed.  We still have to displace several thousand Sunni to do this.  And yes, I whole heartedly agree with Vijay.  We need to develop alternative sources to fuel our consumption and We The People are a can do people.  This we can make happen.  What do you say folks?  Are we willing to take the responsibility of raping one country after another just so we can turn on our lights, drive our cars and run our kidney machines? Wouldn't it be a better choice to preserve the environment for future generations, promote wellness in our country then share the knowlege with other countries so they too can enjoy healthier living? 

The only wars that would be fought would be with anti-pluralists and there would be no doubt about the fanatisism of those starting such wars.  Then a spade wouldn't smell like a rose and golfers running corporations wouldn't be saving our forrests by cutting down our trees.  Just imagine.