Clintons

I am amused by the current Presidential race here in the US. I applaud and support Mr. Obama's vision of change.

After all is said and done, Ms. Clinton is the wife of the man who is basically responsible for the last 7+ years of bumbling fascist government in the US. Yes, while some diehard Democrats still cling to Mr. Clinton's aura of charm and worldly intelligence, those of us with memories who follow politics understand that his sexual indiscretion and lack of cogent support for Al Gore gave us the coup d'etat in 2000, without which there would be no Iraq War or bankrupt treasury leading to the oncoming depression of the US economy.

Perhaps the Clintons think that we are all too stupid to figure out that they cynically took some pleasure in these events. Perhaps Ms. Clinton thinks us too stupid to realize that she needed the last 7+ yrs to get up to speed with a legitimate political resume with which to seek the Presidency. Perhaps the Clintons think us too stupid to realize they ae not 'Centrist Democrats' but self-serving 'Slightly Leftist Republicans'.

It is my practice to be wary of politicians...all politicians.

Dialogue

I recently experienced an informal educational meeting with several peers. The meeting was moderated helpfully by one of us. We each gave a time-limited presentation, which was then critiqued by the group. After my presentation was critiqued, the moderator added a final observation and suggestion. He said, "After each critique, you responded to the person's observations about your presentation. I would like to to not respond and just be silent after feedback."

Naturally (for me), I responded and was basically told to shut up. Had the moderator asked me not to respond to him, I would have gladly granted his wish. I realize now that being told to do something against my hunger for dialogue angered me.

I have to say that the enforced silence and the subsequent anger were helpful experiences. My practice entails making difficult experiences opportunities for learning. "Make poison (anger in this case) into medicine, like the lotus in the mire," to paraphrase the Buddha. There is always a new venue where I can be a novice. This is the excitement of the mind which is open to learning in every moment.

We

We the people have allowed our planet to become our sewer. We the people have allowed corporations and corrupt politicians to tell us that evil is good. We the people have killed and plundered in the Middle East, in Viet Nam, in Cambodia, in El Salvador. We the people foster the misconception that killing under the pretext of war is honorable, when we bow our heads to the military. We the people allow gang violence to exist in impoverished slums by allowing the politicians whom we pay to not do their jobs. We the people allow vandals to deface and destroy public accommodations and private property by not holding the parents of these vandals and negligent police responsible. We the people encourage overpopulation, poverty and stupidity by supporting the folly of reproductive rights without reproductive responsibility. We the people are the cause. We the people are the only solution through practice and right action.