It's sad that we have trouble having an honest dialogue in this country when it comes to gun ownership. Never mind the vast number of injuries and deaths caused by children playing with their parents' guns that weren't properly stored and the number of guns children use to purposefully take the lives of other children or the domestic arguments that end up with someone using a gun; let's talk about lobbyists.
I wonder how many people know what a lobbyist actually does. They roam the legislative halls and wine and dine politicians or their aides or family members disguised as experts in their field. You see, most politicians are just like us - they don't have a clue about most topics - they rely on others to educate them and inform them to allow them to display the appearance that they know why they voted yea or nay on any given piece of legislation. And, if they are on a committee, why they offered a piece of legislation. While the majority of legislators are former attorneys, they are still not versed well enough on issues to render an intelligent opinion until one is given to them.
Before we get to the National Rifle Association, let's look at another lobby - Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. It is no accident that the legal blood alcohol level was lowered nationally from .1 to .08. It wasn't proposed by the collective conscience of Congress. MADD members are out to outlaw alcohol. If they were sincere about removing people who have had too much to drink from driving, they would have worked for a law that would force people to be given a ride when they reach a point of driving inhibition. If bars and restaurants are going to make a profit from selling alcohol, they should be prepared to get their customer home safely. But no legislation has even entertained that prospect.
People will continue to drink and bars and restaurants will continue to be driving distances away from the consumer. Perhaps one answer is a bar on every corner. People who imbibed in the recent past, used to live in apartments in the city within walking distance or a short cab ride from their favorite watering hole. Heck, some people had apartments above the bars they frequented. Then came the suburbs. What makes MADD so powerful? Numbers! MADD can threaten the term of any politician. The threat of a campaign lauched with the goal of ending the career of a politician and, if your numbers are large enough, you've got their vote.
Numbers! It's what can make Unions powerful - that's why governors around the country are trying to bust them. They couldn't care less about the money union members make or the benefits the have. They care about the massive voting power. Numbers! Numbers is the reason politicos have been pitting poor Blacks in America against poor Hispanics. Imagine the voting power of those two groups of Americans united behind one politician or another. Polarization is purposeful. There is strength in unity. Civil rights laws and laws protecting and respecting women and minorities only came about because of unity. The NAACP at the time of civil stuggles in America in the fifties and sixties was made up of many white folk - many of them Jewish. Civil rights laws were based on voting rights issues. Women's rights laws were based on voting rights issues. Those in power, usually white men, did everything they could to retain that power - the power to write the laws and enforce them.
Power, politics, white men - enter the National Rifle Association. They would have you believe by their name alone that they represent hunters and those who choose to defend themselves and their families with some type of rifle. After all, they are a rifle association. But look at some of the laws they convince legislators to write and pass - state to state (even that is not national). They worked on laws to allow guns in schools, guns in bars, concealed weapons without special permits, Stand Your Ground right to kill laws. Perhaps they should change their name . . . Allow Cop Killing Bullets Association; Twenty-Bullet Clips Automatic Handgun Association; Fun With Assault Rifles Association. A lobby by any other name . . .
Groups with a recognizable membership wield recognizable power. Imagine a group with so many members they can effect any and every political outcome being infused with cash from groups with boatloads of money and you understand America's political system in a nutshell. In a nutshell, how appropriate. If Americans don't unite, corporations and groups of single-minded memberships will continue to run the country, from City Hall to Congress. People have seen how powerless the office of President of the Unted States can be when the goal of Congress is to see the President fail - even at the recession of a nation.
Now, we have a situation in Florida where a law, possibly ghost-written by lobbyists for the NRA, has been used to influence police decisions immediately following the shooting and killing of an unarmed teenager. The shooter was allowed to remain free and retain his weapon and never given an alcohol or drug test, while the responding officers tested the dead man. One has to wonder what the motivation was behind those decisions and lack of actions of those police officers. It's not the job of police officers to determine guilt or innocence, but that's what they became. There are many players involved in this tragedy.
So, let's not let the slaying of Trayvon Martin be used as just another polarizing racial issue, but rather as a way of bringing us all together to stop the infused hatred, paranoia and distrust being perpetuated by those in powerful positions. We need to stop using the word WAR so loosely and instead recognize the source behind all the suppression and negativity and take away their power - with our voting power.
Peace - Ho'oponopono . . .
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Can I Get An Amen?
I just saw a new poll taken in Mississippi and Alabama that showed the majority of republicans planning to vote believe that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, is a Muslim. Inspite of the fact that he converted to Christianity, attended a Christian church with his wife and family, was sworn in to the office using the Bible and continues to claim he has accepted Jesus as his savior.
What is it with these people? Isn't it bad enough that there are movies, songs, books, cartoons and comedians constantly reminded the rest of the world just how ignorant residents of the deep south in the United States are regarding any topic but NASCAR standings and "cheesy grits?" I was raised in Virginia, sadly becoming more southern each day. I remember the confederate flags across the trucks' back windows, shading the gun racks and the rampant prejudice that came with the "The South is going to rise again" bumper stickers. Maybe, it's just as simple as one of their comedic heroes, Ron White, put it - You Can't Fix Stupid.
I attended high school in 1968, a year after the school integrated. I was small and got slammed against lockers often. I was even hung upside down and swung from my ankles by a couple of bullies in front of classmates. One day while a large white male was slamming me into a locker, a black student happened by. He was Calvin, the fullback of our football team and a bass in the choir where I sang tenor and alto as a freshman. Calvin slammed the bully against the wall and told him to pick on someone his own size. I guess the word got out that Calvin was my friend because the bullies backed off somewhat after that incident. I never properly thanked Calvin, although at the time I would probably have kissed his class ring.
I carried some of that taught prejudice with me into my adult years. I found it wasn't easy to unlearn something that been ingrained in you most of your life. I was fortunate enough to play music with black musicians in Norfolk in my twenties. I remember smoking a joint on a corner in the projects in Norfolk and being told by the drummer that times had definitely changed since my high school days. "There were times your white face wouldn't have been welcomed here," he offered with a sly grin. We ended up performing in an all-black nightclub one weekend. I looked around and immediately thought, I get it. I get what being a minority might feel like. Not that I could really understand being black in America in one weekend, but it was eye opening.
Back to the white southerners who continue to brandish hatred and prejudice -u even if just through economics. Christians of every denomination, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, Protestant, Mormon, etc. send out missionaries to convert the world to their religious views - to save them - from what I'm still not sure. I am a recovering Catholic, being taught that whistling in the house was calling the devil and punishment for cursing could include burning your hands in the oven. Religion with zeal? I find it difficult to understand how my fellow Americans could believe that all non-Christian people around the globe can be converted to their Christian faith, but the President of the United States could not. More than just a bit hypocritical. They send emissaries to convert Muslims, Jews, Athiests, Pagans and anyone else who has yet to join their club, but yet won't accept that President Obama had already converted. It would seem there is no way they can wrap their heads around the fact that the President of the United States is black - actually he is more pecan tan - because his mother was white.
I am trying to be a proud American - being made difficult by the rampant prejudice that is pervading our country to this day - be it against Hispanics or African Americans. I am proud when we stand together to help strangers during tragedies and extend a hand to the needy without questioning one's beliefs. I live in a world of hope - a hope that we can accept each other's differences with respect and understanding, perhaps even learning something from someone with those differing views.
In spite of all the mess I see and hear being spewed in the name of religion, I find myself a more spiritual man than ever. Perhaps that's why I was given songs to record in the name of Music for Social Change.
Wishing us all . . . love!
Peace - Ho'oponopono
What is it with these people? Isn't it bad enough that there are movies, songs, books, cartoons and comedians constantly reminded the rest of the world just how ignorant residents of the deep south in the United States are regarding any topic but NASCAR standings and "cheesy grits?" I was raised in Virginia, sadly becoming more southern each day. I remember the confederate flags across the trucks' back windows, shading the gun racks and the rampant prejudice that came with the "The South is going to rise again" bumper stickers. Maybe, it's just as simple as one of their comedic heroes, Ron White, put it - You Can't Fix Stupid.
I attended high school in 1968, a year after the school integrated. I was small and got slammed against lockers often. I was even hung upside down and swung from my ankles by a couple of bullies in front of classmates. One day while a large white male was slamming me into a locker, a black student happened by. He was Calvin, the fullback of our football team and a bass in the choir where I sang tenor and alto as a freshman. Calvin slammed the bully against the wall and told him to pick on someone his own size. I guess the word got out that Calvin was my friend because the bullies backed off somewhat after that incident. I never properly thanked Calvin, although at the time I would probably have kissed his class ring.
I carried some of that taught prejudice with me into my adult years. I found it wasn't easy to unlearn something that been ingrained in you most of your life. I was fortunate enough to play music with black musicians in Norfolk in my twenties. I remember smoking a joint on a corner in the projects in Norfolk and being told by the drummer that times had definitely changed since my high school days. "There were times your white face wouldn't have been welcomed here," he offered with a sly grin. We ended up performing in an all-black nightclub one weekend. I looked around and immediately thought, I get it. I get what being a minority might feel like. Not that I could really understand being black in America in one weekend, but it was eye opening.
Back to the white southerners who continue to brandish hatred and prejudice -u even if just through economics. Christians of every denomination, Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, Protestant, Mormon, etc. send out missionaries to convert the world to their religious views - to save them - from what I'm still not sure. I am a recovering Catholic, being taught that whistling in the house was calling the devil and punishment for cursing could include burning your hands in the oven. Religion with zeal? I find it difficult to understand how my fellow Americans could believe that all non-Christian people around the globe can be converted to their Christian faith, but the President of the United States could not. More than just a bit hypocritical. They send emissaries to convert Muslims, Jews, Athiests, Pagans and anyone else who has yet to join their club, but yet won't accept that President Obama had already converted. It would seem there is no way they can wrap their heads around the fact that the President of the United States is black - actually he is more pecan tan - because his mother was white.
I am trying to be a proud American - being made difficult by the rampant prejudice that is pervading our country to this day - be it against Hispanics or African Americans. I am proud when we stand together to help strangers during tragedies and extend a hand to the needy without questioning one's beliefs. I live in a world of hope - a hope that we can accept each other's differences with respect and understanding, perhaps even learning something from someone with those differing views.
In spite of all the mess I see and hear being spewed in the name of religion, I find myself a more spiritual man than ever. Perhaps that's why I was given songs to record in the name of Music for Social Change.
Wishing us all . . . love!
Peace - Ho'oponopono
Saturday, March 3, 2012
What's the Rush?
One has to wonder whether Rush Limbaugh is popping pills again, or is just completely meshugana - still. Third-year Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke recently testified about the need for health insurance to cover birth control medication for women. Fluke testified to a Congressional committee on Feb. 23. The previous week, a Republican-controlled House committee had rejected Democrats' request that she testify on the Obama administration's policy requiring that employees of religion-affiliated institutions have access to health insurance that covers birth control. Instead, Representative Darrell Issa of California, the committee's chair, summoned a men-only panel of so-called experts representing a variety of faiths to make the dialogue purely about religion, not birth control or women's access to medication covered by their health insurance.
Fluke said that Georgetown, a Jesuit institution, does not provide contraception coverage in its student health plan and that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school. She spoke of a friend who had an ovary removed because the insurance company wouldn't cover the prescription birth control she needed to stop the growth of cysts.
Following her reported testimony, Limbaugh proceeded to call Ms. Fluke a slut and a prostitute, demanding she produce videos of herself having sex. The saddest part is not only is this guy a complete pig, a disgrace to humankind, a buffoon with a microphone, but people actually listen to his misogynistic tirades and corporations pay to support his continuing to unapologically berate anyone who does not agree with his warped views. As do many men in positions of self-ordained power that feel threatened by the mere existence of a sex that can give birth and nurse and nurture their offspring. Men typically want to take that power away from women - men will decide when and how women have sex and if they become impregnated, they'll decide, through the government, that she must carry to term - no matter the circumstance or medical conditions of the woman or fetus. Men are now even trying to rewrite science, claiming a zygote is a person. A zygote? The big bang? Do people realize that by declaring a zygote a person, laws can be written to make it a crime to destroy any fertilized eggs held in petri dishes and fertility clinics?
I remember being groomed to be a Catholic and being told that masturbation was a sin because I was releasing my sperm somewhere other than in a vagina, with no chance of procreation. Sad to say, masturbation is the only sex most boys and many men are going to have. As Woody Allen says, at least masturbation is having sex with someone you love. This pious declaration comes from the same people who brought us alter boys - misspelled purposefully. I have had recent conversations with Catholics who are not worried that their priest is gay - doesn't bother them. However, no way should a woman be ordained or should priests be allowed to marry - after all, the vow of chastity is sacrosanct. Give me a break. As a recovering Catholic, I am disturbed that Newt Gingrich tauts his religiosity after his actions with his current wife - another Catholic who knowingly committed adultery with him - this is like the political tiffanys of sin because it involves a lot of lying to maintain the relationship.
Then there are the other political wannabes - Rick Santorum, one of the Republican presidential contenders seeking to oppose Obama, commented to CNN about Limbaugh's remarks. "He's being absurd," Santorum said. "But that's, you know, an entertainer can be absurd."
So, afraid to disturb the status quo, Santorum tucks his rebukes of Limbaughs inane and disturbing remarks under his sweater vest and quietly waves to his supporters who agree that contraception should not be allowed under any conditions. And, since he wants to bring his faith to the Washington political arena, he must, to be a good and faithful Catholic, agree with his leader, the Pope, that there should be no in-vitro fertilization allowed. The Pope considers it selfish to want to bear children if nature has made it medically impossible. How dare you? Just take somebody else's unwanted child. Will Santorum bring this religious righteous indignation to the White House were he to be ordained? And since Gingrich has converted, he would need to bring the same rules and regulations with him in order to be a good Catholic.
Then there is Mitt Romney. While campaigning in Ohio for the Republican presidential primary, Romney was asked about Limbaugh's comments and craftily (for him) steered his answer away from the uproar.
"It's not the language I would have used," Romney said after a campaign event in Cleveland. "But I'm focusing on the issues that I think are significant in the country today and that's why I'm here talking about jobs in Ohio." So, Romney would not have called Ms. Fluke a slut or prostitute - perhaps jezebel or floozie or just a loose woman - something more retro.
Limbaugh continued to ramble for days, shoveling his drivel to his, hopefully dwindling, audience without realizing he had absolutely no clue what female contraception is. He assumed that each time a woman had sex, she had to take some type of contraception - like it was Viagra or something. What a moron. Speaking of Viagra, isn't that medication to make men stiff covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare? Thank goodness Limbaugh didn't make an appeal for nursing homes to release sex tapes of men showing off their proud Viagra-aided johnsons. Perhaps his ubiquitous cigar is his personal phallus to comfort him when he is alone on his sound cloud. No videos, please.
Peace - Ho'oponopono . . .
Fluke said that Georgetown, a Jesuit institution, does not provide contraception coverage in its student health plan and that contraception can cost a woman more than $3,000 during law school. She spoke of a friend who had an ovary removed because the insurance company wouldn't cover the prescription birth control she needed to stop the growth of cysts.
Following her reported testimony, Limbaugh proceeded to call Ms. Fluke a slut and a prostitute, demanding she produce videos of herself having sex. The saddest part is not only is this guy a complete pig, a disgrace to humankind, a buffoon with a microphone, but people actually listen to his misogynistic tirades and corporations pay to support his continuing to unapologically berate anyone who does not agree with his warped views. As do many men in positions of self-ordained power that feel threatened by the mere existence of a sex that can give birth and nurse and nurture their offspring. Men typically want to take that power away from women - men will decide when and how women have sex and if they become impregnated, they'll decide, through the government, that she must carry to term - no matter the circumstance or medical conditions of the woman or fetus. Men are now even trying to rewrite science, claiming a zygote is a person. A zygote? The big bang? Do people realize that by declaring a zygote a person, laws can be written to make it a crime to destroy any fertilized eggs held in petri dishes and fertility clinics?
I remember being groomed to be a Catholic and being told that masturbation was a sin because I was releasing my sperm somewhere other than in a vagina, with no chance of procreation. Sad to say, masturbation is the only sex most boys and many men are going to have. As Woody Allen says, at least masturbation is having sex with someone you love. This pious declaration comes from the same people who brought us alter boys - misspelled purposefully. I have had recent conversations with Catholics who are not worried that their priest is gay - doesn't bother them. However, no way should a woman be ordained or should priests be allowed to marry - after all, the vow of chastity is sacrosanct. Give me a break. As a recovering Catholic, I am disturbed that Newt Gingrich tauts his religiosity after his actions with his current wife - another Catholic who knowingly committed adultery with him - this is like the political tiffanys of sin because it involves a lot of lying to maintain the relationship.
Then there are the other political wannabes - Rick Santorum, one of the Republican presidential contenders seeking to oppose Obama, commented to CNN about Limbaugh's remarks. "He's being absurd," Santorum said. "But that's, you know, an entertainer can be absurd."
So, afraid to disturb the status quo, Santorum tucks his rebukes of Limbaughs inane and disturbing remarks under his sweater vest and quietly waves to his supporters who agree that contraception should not be allowed under any conditions. And, since he wants to bring his faith to the Washington political arena, he must, to be a good and faithful Catholic, agree with his leader, the Pope, that there should be no in-vitro fertilization allowed. The Pope considers it selfish to want to bear children if nature has made it medically impossible. How dare you? Just take somebody else's unwanted child. Will Santorum bring this religious righteous indignation to the White House were he to be ordained? And since Gingrich has converted, he would need to bring the same rules and regulations with him in order to be a good Catholic.
Then there is Mitt Romney. While campaigning in Ohio for the Republican presidential primary, Romney was asked about Limbaugh's comments and craftily (for him) steered his answer away from the uproar.
"It's not the language I would have used," Romney said after a campaign event in Cleveland. "But I'm focusing on the issues that I think are significant in the country today and that's why I'm here talking about jobs in Ohio." So, Romney would not have called Ms. Fluke a slut or prostitute - perhaps jezebel or floozie or just a loose woman - something more retro.
Limbaugh continued to ramble for days, shoveling his drivel to his, hopefully dwindling, audience without realizing he had absolutely no clue what female contraception is. He assumed that each time a woman had sex, she had to take some type of contraception - like it was Viagra or something. What a moron. Speaking of Viagra, isn't that medication to make men stiff covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare? Thank goodness Limbaugh didn't make an appeal for nursing homes to release sex tapes of men showing off their proud Viagra-aided johnsons. Perhaps his ubiquitous cigar is his personal phallus to comfort him when he is alone on his sound cloud. No videos, please.
Peace - Ho'oponopono . . .
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