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Thursday, August 25, 2011

58

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"There's Justice In The Universe"
The term ‘reconquesta’ is not very accurate.  The original Mexican inhabitants didn’t leave… they did, however, have a new citizenship forced upon them.  Reconquesta is also something of a reverse misappropriation of a lost ‘glory’ associated with the ‘conquistador’.  Mexico lost the Southwest because they were unable to properly settle it with enough people in the first place [the Mexican War was a political move by Americans to speed up & legitimize what was happening anyway / due to a lack of settlers loyal to Mexico in their territories].  It was a carry over from when Spain ruled… the Spanish were primarily interested in only procuring enough wealth so as to return to their Iberian homeland and live like nobility….. and Spain was only interested in using this newly acquired great wealth to establish dominion in Europe.  Except for some sparse missions/settlements in California, New Mexico and Texas, the frontier north of what is today’s Mexico was considered only ‘marginally profitable’.  If Spain had reinvested the wealth that they appropriated from the New World into the New World, they could have created a wonderful legacy.  Both American continents could have been a lasting tribute to civilization… not to the conquistador that wiped out 95%+ of the indigenous population with war, pestilence and slavery (of whom the survivors became the mestizo). [Remember that the North Europeans were late on the scene and only established a successful foothold because their citizens “came to stay”.]

What we have today is the ‘necessary’ willingness of Latinos/mestizos to leave their homeland (exodus) and establish new lives in the USA (they’ve “come to stay”) while sending money to the families they left behind & we have Americans' inability to control the numbers of Latin American immigrants coming here to live and work.  Although this ‘invasion’ is more efficient and effective than a real conquest, let’s call it what it is.  It is an claiming of jobs and position by a population entering the country illegally (i.e., theft) because the current indigenous population is unable/unwilling  (i.e., too complacent/greedy) to stop it.

Note: History has other similar occurrences.  The best known is the modern state of Israel created by Zionism that resulted from the combined impetus of the Diaspora & the Holocaust.  What’s interesting here is that this is the 3rd “return” of Jews to Palestine.  Moses bringing his people out of Egypt was the first return.  The return from Babylon was the second.
....use the book that is holy to them (as long as it is divinely true to The Golden Rule).

When I take an oath upon “all that is holy” to me, the Bible is the appropriate choice.  When Congressional Democrat Ellison or any Muslim is sworn to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”, etcetera, I’d presume that what’s most holy to them would be the Koran.  This should be acceptable, especially since the Torah has been used by some Jewish congressional members.  I would presume that would solve the ‘problem’, assuming that they’re not any more hypocritical than some Christians are when they swear upon the Bible when they are, in truth, intent on lying.  [However, I’m not aware of what we do when it’s a Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan or atheist swearing an oath.]

The furor about using the Koran brings back memories of what was debated in the 50s when the Red Scare had people worried about loyalty oaths.  The question then was whether you could believe someone who didn’t proclaim a belief in our God (i.e., someone who might be a Communist aka atheist)... though in today's debate, it should be obvious to all that God=Allah=Yahweh.

If I were a Muslim intent on undermining America, I wouldn’t want to attract attention to myself by not placing my hand on the Bible.  But then, I’m not a blindly fanatical zealot.  Let the Muslims here who don’t believe in The Golden Rule and the American way return to the lands of Mohammed…. they’ll earn no points with Allah by stupidly living a lie.
Several days into the attack on Iraq in 2003, I was quickly checking the unfolding of events via MSNBC.COM.  There appeared a report at about ten o’clock that morning detailing how a midnight train entered Syria from Iraq without being stopped the night before.  It stated that the same thing had also happened the previous night.  Since I was embroiled in my work until late that afternoon, I didn’t have a chance to print it out.  When I went back to check for updates on this (since it was such momentous news), it was gone.  When I launched an internet search, nothing popped up there either.  Since the report was deleted by the media outlet, I’m left with one of two possible conclusions: either it was an erroneous report in the first place OR it was information that was not supposed to have been released [Note: If you’ll remember, news reports were coming out so fast and furious from Iraq at this time that they weren’t all subject to the same editing that normally occurs.  Many years ago, when I was a bit more naïve, I would have simply drawn the conclusion that it was an error…. but today, I can’t rule out the possibility that Syria may be sitting on money and materiel that came on those “ghost trains” along with certain people that Saddam didn’t want falling into our hands.  It’s perhaps a bit cynical of me, but our media outlets remind me just a bit of the Russian newspaper, Pravda (which, itself, reads more like our National Enquirer than anything else).  In short, I sometimes wonder what we’re not being told.]
As we go through the hurly burly of life, it helps to occasionally take a step back and refresh ourselves.  For example, consider that as you read this, you’re traveling at about 800 mph as the Earth spins eastward [Note: Those living on the equator travel faster than those living in the polar regions.]  Add 67,000 mph for our orbiting the sun and 518,000 mph as the sun orbits the Milky Way’s galactic center.  If you then tack on another 280,000 mph for our encroachment upon Andromeda, you’re off to a good start.
Perhaps some mind expanding realizations such as this is something that fanatics of all cults and creeds would do well to contemplate.  Enlightenment begins with basic truths that stretch into infinity.

www.preview.tinyurl.com/120u
When you see someone run a red light or observe a cruel act, you are witnessing proof that the perpetrators do NOT fully believe that they have a soul.  Believing that you have a soul means that you know that wrongful acts are “marks” against you both in this life and the afterlife.  This directly implies that there is “justice in the universe”.  This is called the Absolute Law of Cause and Effect a.k.a. “karma”.  You cannot escape it.  You are both ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ in a perpetual evolutionary learning cycle.  [The metaphysical manifests in the physical.]
When a tobacco corporate executive pumps extra nicotine and additives into cigarettes that teens prefer, he is commiting a soulless act.  When an elected leader betrays his oath of office, he damages his soul as well.  When a student bullies another student, he sets into motion energetic forces that will come back to ‘bite him’.  When a thief remains undetected, consequences can only ‘collect interest’.

Karma operates on the group level as well.  Whether it’s a family or a nation, wrongful thoughts and deeds come back to haunt their owners.  German soldiers operating the ovens in death camps might escape human justice, but universal justice is inevitable.  Tobacco company employees share varying degrees of responsibility, just as members of gangs and lynch mobs share karma….through their shared “consciousness”.

I propose that we announce:

"In 3 months, we will reduce our troop strength by 5% .  Three months later we’ll decrease our troop strength by another 5% ; but, if there has been a measurable decrease in Iraqi violence at that time, we will reduce our numbers by 6-10% (presidential discretion).  This criteria will be applied each 3 months.  We'll be totally withdrawn within 3-6 years depending on the Iraqi levels of violence.”
A dozen significant militias in Iraq have already publicly stated that they’d cease violent activities if the US implemented withdrawal plans ---- use this to initiate a meaningful withdrawal.  Let a combined drop in violence by militias and demonstrated withdrawal of troops gradually increase the onus on Iraqis.  Let the Iraqi people more fully appreciate that their interests are jeopardized by insurgents.  Those militias that are allying themselves with insurgents can be outed by the other militias that are vying for power…. which requires a significant degree of popular support (even without a fully functioning democracy). 
Regardless, Iran will be aware that we’ll still have enough troops, etcetera in the region for a long enough period of time to force them to cease their nuclear developments if the EU and the USA's embargos/alternative encouragements are implemented and don't do the trick..  North Korea  and Iran can be lessons for each other.  We need to remind the world what will happen in the Middle East and the Orient if these rogue states are successful in their efforts to disseminate nuclear weapons.  North Korea has already shipped numerous missiles to Iran.  Even if Iran doesn’t build a nuclear bomb, they’ll be able to buy what they want from N. Korea.  Armageddon is NOT such a mystical and esoteric prophecy after all.
After being diagnosed as a diabetic, I attended a 2-day class with 7 other newly diagnosed diabetics.  We were all at least 25 pounds overweight ----- and the one other thing that we all had in common was that bread was our favorite food.  [Bread, as a carbohydrate, is broken down into glucose during digestion.  Two other glucose laden foods are starches and sugars.] 

I suggest that everyone go to
www.diabetes.org
and take the  Diabetes Risk Test.

Then learn to eat as though you were at least a pre-diabetic. 
Carbs, starches, sugar eaten in minimal amounts and never in conjunction with one another…. and with high fiber foods, especially vegetables.  Then get enough exercise and sleep. 
Corporate Interests Belie Renewable Energy Sources

Anything that distracts us from dramatically increasing our use of water, wind, solar and geothermal energy is counterproductive effort.  Biomass that utilizes waste products is beneficial / plants raised to be used as biomass material is not.  Ethanol, coal, and nuclear options create as many problems as they solve with the profits benefiting established corporate structures … which is why they’re touted so prominently by politicians.

http://tinyurl.com/l9tlm
The upside of this bullish attitude is apparantly feeling “no fear”.  It’s also the downside.  As a nation of avid consumers (i.e., we consume more than we produce), we are conditioned to carrying heavy debts for the things we want (not necessarily need).  I can’t believe that 97% of the bonds proposed nationwide last year were truly for genuine needs ----- just as I am incredulous at the fact that the typical American possesses 8 credit cards and the average American household unpaid credit card balance is over $8,000.  Our nation and its citizens are wracked with debt.... with the only winners being those who finance the IOUs.

Note: A 'convenience credit card user' who pays off his balance every month and receives a good useable rebate (e.g., Amazon.com's VISA) is likely financially solvent.  They are, also, more likely to pay a little extra every month on their mortgage and/or save at least 10% to invest in their future.  This is a demonstration of reasonable faith in the future --- not feigned fearlessness as demonstrated by the feckless assumption of excessive indebtedness.
What a pleasure it was to drive my daughter’s hybrid.  As I sat at a long light, there was no fuel being wasted.  As I crept along in gridlock, the electric power moved me gently along without the gas engine having to kick in.  Whenever I touched the brakes or went down a gentle incline, electricity was generated that fed into the battery.  When I stepped on the accelerator to enter the freeway, the vehicle surged forward with power to spare.   Hours later, when I tried to pull into a gas station to top off the tank with the cheapest grade of gas as a thank you to her for trusting me with her pride and joy, my way was blocked by a behemoth of a pickup truck that had run out of fuel and was being pushed along by good Samaritans.  When I was finally able to pull up to a pump, the driver’s wife came over and asked what it was like to drive a hybrid Highlander.  She’d recently bought a new SUV that had cost her just as much as what I was now fueling.  When she realized that the seating capacity of mine equaled hers and that the hybrid gets even better mileage in town than out on the highway, she suffered from an acute case of buyers remorse.  [My daughter reads Consumer Reports while she doesn’t.]