PUMA For Life

GOOOH: Get Out of Our House (and that means all 435 members of the House of Reps)

GOOOH is a non-partisan effort that is organizing for the 2010 congressional elections with the goal of replacing all 435 members of the House of Representatives. 

They have a plan and they are working on it right now.  They need 500,000 citizens to join in the effort, which involves signing-up and organizing in your community with the aim of holding meetings to select representatives for the Goooh slate of candidates.

As stated in their Mission Statement:

GOOOH is a new system that will allow "we the people" to select true representatives, not choose between a Democrat and a Republican. If we continue to elect career politicians who represent their party, the special interests that fund them, and themselves, nothing will change. GOOOH is a non-partisan process that will allow us to effect the change we all know we need.

GOOOH will allow you to:
1. Help select your Representative - while being considered yourself
2. Hold your Representative accountable
3. Replace career politicians - with true representatives 
4. Take the money out of the process

The GOOOH process allows Americans of every political leaning to participate in the selection of their District's Representative while being considered themselves. Through GOOOH's Candidate Selection Sessions you and your peers will select the candidate in your district who best represents your district's views. Even if you do not wish to become your district's representative you will want to participate in the process and have a direct say in who is chosen to represent your district. GOOOH will fund a single national campaign to promote the 435 candidates (one from each district) who are selected to run against the party politicians. Because GOOOH is a process for selecting representatives (not an agenda-based party platform) we expect a person left of center to be selected in San Francisco and one right of center in Colorado Springs -- but it will be up to the GOOOH members in each district to decide.

So, what are the chances for GOOOH’s success? It seems NOW may be the time to give it a try.

A new Rasmussen poll found that:

If they could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, just 25% of voters nationwide would keep the current batch of legislators.

…national telephone survey finds that 57% would vote to replace the entire Congress and start all over again. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure how they would vote.

While Democrats have become more supportive of the legislators, voters not affiliated with either major party have moved in the opposite direction. Today, 70% of those not affiliated with either major party would vote to replace all of the elected politicians in the House and Senate. That’s up from 62% last year.

Of course, the question is, why do people keep voting for the same candidates over and over again, if they are so unhappy.  For example, the people of Massachusetts could have replaced John Kerry last year, but they overwhelmingly put him back in office.

According to Rasmussen, half the people surveyed believe the elections are rigged!

…more than 90% of Congress routinely gets reelected every two years. It’s a shock when any incumbent loses. One explanation for this phenomenon frequently heard in Washington, D.C. is that “people hate Congress but love their own congressman.”

Voters have a different perspective, and 50% say 'rigged' election rules explain high reelection rate for Congress.

So, if you would like to participate in the GOOOH revolution, click here to visit their website; I recommend watching the video.

Then, get busy, so we can kick the bums out!

Weekend Meditation: Toward the One, an interfaith chant

When following the spiritual path, it soon becomes apparent that all paths are one.  This lovely kirtan yoga chant, written by JaiMaJames, honors the mystical heart of five religious traditions: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Hindu.

May we all be one in the universal Sacred Heart.

Where’s the FBI?

I’ve been watching the Glenn Beck Show this week; I don’t have a TV but I found out that the patriotsnetwork.com is posting all of his shows on or about 7 pm of the day they are broadcast.  They will have all of the shows up until September 12.

For me, it is confirmation of everything I have thought, said, felt about Obama since the campaign.  It is quite scary and not at all fulfilling to appear to be right in this instance. 

I find it rather alarming that we now have avowed communists and radicals advising our President in official positions called czars.  But, what I really don’t understand is, where is the FBI?

Isn’t it the FBI that is supposed to be vetting the President and all federal officials, especially at the executive level?  Beck makes some reference to the fact that the Obama administration wanted to supersede the FBI and do their own investigations.

Well, maybe they did that, but it is still the FBI’s job to protect our country from a communist or fascist takeover from within; you know, domestic enemies.  So, why are they not doing anything?  Or, maybe they are but not telling anyone about it?

The FBI has always been an agency of heroes to me.  But, maybe that has changed.  Maybe they are no longer heroic, dedicated public servants who, underneath their gray flannel suits, wear a giant S on their chests and, like Superman, reveal themselves to be super heroes just in the nick of time.

I’m going to remain positive for now regarding the FBI; I mean, America’s Most Wanted is a show I used to watch, back when I had a TV.  I just can’t give up my childhood faith in this agency.  The words on their seal are Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.  I want to believe those words are more than words and that they are watching over our country. And that when they rip open their suit jackets a giant red letter S is revealed.

I hope my faith is not misplaced.

Missing: Congressman Heath Shuler, NC

The people of Western North Carolina held a town hall meeting on Saturday and instead of Congressman Heath Shuler, we got an empty podium. 

Help!!! There is a missing blue dog somewhere. If you see this coward, I mean man, grab him and bring him on over to his congressional district, ‘cause we are rapidly forgetting what he looks like. 

Picture and identifying characteristic below:

MISSING!

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?
Ht: 6’2” Wt: 216
DOB: 12/31/1971

Last seen fleeing from concerned citizens a.k.a.

THE MOB

If located please call
1- 800 – AVL – TEA - PARY

Weekend Meditation: Amazing Grace with Wintley Phipps

Not all meditations are Zen-like; some are quite stirring.  Thanks to Karma Tube and my friend Mary for this one.

At Carnegie Hall, gospel singer Wintley Phipps delivers perhaps the most powerful rendition of Amazing Grace ever recorded. He says, "A lot of people don't realize that just about all Negro spirituals are written on the black notes of the piano. Probably the most famous on this slave scale was written by John Newton, who used to be the captain of a slave ship, and many believe he heard this melody that sounds very much like a West African sorrow chant. And it has a haunting, haunting plaintive quality to it that reaches past your arrogance, past your pride, and it speaks to that part of you that's in bondage. And we feel it. We feel it. It's just one of the most amazing melodies in all of human history." After sharing the noteworthy history of the song, Mr. Phipps delivers a stirring performance that brings the audience to its feet!

 

And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home

President PeeBo, aka Obama,  made a rather strange remark recently while speaking to former campaign workers about his Obamacare health program.  He said:

“And then last year just about this time, you'll recall that the Republicans had just nominated their Vice Presidential candidate, and everybody was -- the media was obsessed with it, and cable was 24 hours a day, and "Obama's lost his mojo." (Laughter.) You remember all that? (Laughter.) There's something about August going into September -- (laughter) -- where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up. (Laughter.)”

It reminded me of this little childhood ditty that my dad used to recite while touching each of my five toes.  It’ s about the five little piggies; and the littlest piggie goes wee wee wee all the way home.  In this video, I'm sure I can spot Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and, could that wee wee piggie be PeeBo himself?  After all, he has all of those mean American citizens saying bad things about his health care plan. 

 

Johnny Got His Gun, now pull the plug

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are LIFE, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Declaration of Independence)

What bothers me the most about the Obama Death Care bill is not the end-of-life consultations, which are very dangerous and I will explain why in a minute, but the rationing of health care issue, which will give a government panel the right to decide whose life is worth saving.

First, my objection to the end-of-life consultations is that there is great power in the power of suggestion.  Just like the power of positive thinking can bring about desirable results in your life, so the power of negative thinking can bring about undesirable results.  By starting to implant in people’s consciousness at the age of 65 that it is time to start thinking about dying, in effect you are telling people that it is time to die.  And to repeat this every five years is simply continuing to embed this thought in consciousness. 

(I find it interesting that so many people in the New Thought Movement, such as Unity and Science of Mind, are ardent Obama supporters; how ironic, since he is promulgating a thought pattern which is the direct opposite of what they teach).

My real concern is with the health rationing that is inevitable if this bill passes.  There is no way to save money on Medicaid without cutting services. Period. Anyone who believes other wise is a fool; and that goes for AARP and our Senators and House members.

How does one decide whose life is more valuable?  I guess if you are old or disabled you are not needed.  Now, I have a serious problem with that line of thinking.  That is called “playing God.”  No one can really know what the value of another person’s life is or what contribution that person is actually making to the human race.

Have you ever read "Johnny Got His Gun?" It's classified as an anti-war novel. It is about a young man who is wounded in war; he is blind, deaf, no face so he can’t talk, has a tube going in to his stomach, no arms and no legs. But he has his brain. It takes awhile for him to figure out what is going on. Eventually, a nurse figures out how to communicate with him by tapping the Morse code on his forehead and he uses his head to tap out words.

This “vegetable” figures out something he can do; he wants to be displayed where people can see him as a detriment to war. They refuse to allow it; it is against the rules. That pretty much does it for him. (This book is disturbing, so don’t read it if you are already feeling disturbed).

However, without getting into the anti-war thing, what it does show is that there is a purpose for everyone. Thinking of it that way, even someone totally disabled has something to offer someone; perhaps the person taking care of them needs to feel needed or needs a purpose and having this soul to care for provides fulfillment for them. What kind of society would we be with no old people, no disabled people? They are all here for a purpose and maybe that purpose is to teach the rest of us something valuable.

There is a story that made it around the spiritual community some years ago.  It goes something like this:  there is a ragbag of a beggar that sits on the sidewalk outside a New York City skyscraper.  He is the most despicable appearing human being one can imagine.  One day a businessman who works in the skyscraper walks out after work.  He sees the beggar and goes over and drops some money in the guy’s bucket.  The real story that is happening is that the beggar is a highly evolved soul who volunteered to return to earth as this beggar for the sole purpose of giving this businessman the opportunity to show compassion and generosity.  And so it is.  Who are we to judge another person’s life?

Many elderly people and terminally ill people allow themselves to be used as experiments for new drugs and treatments.  Without this experimentation, how will we advance our medical technology?

I have a friend who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer when he was in his forties.  Newly married with a young son, he did not want to die.  So, he tried everything available from positive thinking to visualizations.  He also was offered an experimental drug treatment, which he accepted.  Fifteen years later, he is alive, healthy, and a productive member of society.  By allowing himself to be used as a guinea pig for an experimental drug, who knows how many other people have benefited?

I have figured out the thinking process behind the people who support health rationing for the purpose of saving money.  The reasoning goes something like this.  In the USA, some people have the money to take care of their medical needs.  If a medical emergency comes along they can always sell their homes, raise the money through their church, or maybe they are rich to start out with.  But some people do not have homes to sell, churches to conduct fundraisers, and they are not rich.  The thinking goes, this is unfair.  If everyone cannot have this type of care, then no one will have that type of care. 

In America, yes we do have disparities in wealth and resources. But we also have opportunity for just about anything to happen.  No one is locked into a box.  But with this health bill, no one will have an opportunity.  We will all die together (unless of course we are a Senator or House member, then we get another plan so we can live and continue to torture the rest of America with our bad ideas).

The Declaration of Independence states we all have the right to LIFE….I don’t see anything about what age you have to be or how productive you have to be to retain this right.

And for all of you spiritual folks who teach the power of positive thinking and abundance, please explain to me how you can support the current administration’s negative thinking about the USA and its citizens and this heath care bill that is built on the concept of lack, not abundance.  If the universe is abundant, then rationing is not necessary; there is enough for everyone. So, what gives?

Final question:  So, is there any other country in the world that wants to shorten the life expectancy of is citizens?  Someone in another blog answered that question with China; so I guess we want to keep up with the Jones’s, aka China, and see who can kill off their citizens the quickest?

The term pro-life is taking on a whole new meaning these days.  Now, we are not talking about the choice/abortion debate, we are talking about the lives of our elderly and disabled. How far is this going to go? 

As far as I’m concerned, rather than kill off our citizens, I vote to kill off the Obama Death Care bill. How about you?

 

Weekend Meditation: Zen Waterfalls

Today I went hiking in Transylvania County, NC, the “Land of the Waterfalls.”  I hiked in a new state park and was able to reach three waterfalls I had not visited before.  I love waterfalls; I find both the sound and visual flowing of the water to be completely refreshing; it  renews my soul.

I thought you might enjoy getting a taste of my day; Zen and waterfalls.  Enjoy.

“If some chick in an igloo didn’t have a laptop, they’d be killing granny”

I just love Tammy Bruce.  She is a real hoot and doesn’t mince words.  The above quote is Bruce referring to Sarah Palin’s two facebook blogs that resulted in the Senate Finance Committee removing the end-of-life counseling sections from the Obama Death Care bill.  And, this is after they all said there was no such thing in the bill. Huh? They removed something that didn’t exist in the first place?

You can see the Tammy video rant below.

 

In the  meantime, Palin isn’t done yet.  She has a new facebook posting that clarifies that the rationing of health care is also the responsibility of the Death Panel; she also offers an alternative plan.

I join millions of Americans in expressing appreciation for the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to remove the provision in the pending health care bill that authorizes end-of-life consultations (Section 1233 of HR 3200). It’s gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones.

As I noted in my statement last week, nationalized health care inevitably leads to rationing. There is simply no way to cover everyone and hold down the costs at the same time. The rationing system proposed by one of President Obama’s key health care advisors is particularly disturbing. I’m speaking of the “Complete Lives System” advocated by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the president’s chief of staff. President Obama has not yet stated any opposition to the “Complete Lives System,” a system which, if enacted, would refuse to allocate medical resources to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who have less economic potential. [1] Why the silence from the president on this aspect of his nationalization of health care? Does he agree with the “Complete Lives System”? If not, then why is Dr. Emanuel his policy advisor? What is he advising the president on? I just learned that Dr. Emanuel is now distancing himself from his own work and claiming that his “thinking has evolved” on the question of rationing care to benefit the strong and deny the weak. [2] How convenient that he disavowed his own work only after the nature of his scholarship was revealed to the public at large.

Our senior citizens are right to be wary of this health care bill. Medical care at the end of life accounts for 80 percent of all health care. When care is rationed, that is naturally where the cuts will be felt first. The “end-of-life” consultations authorized in Section 1233 of HR 3200 were an obvious and heavy handed attempt at pressuring people to reduce the financial burden on the system by minimizing their own care. Worst still, it actually provided a financial incentive to doctors to initiate these consultations. People are right to point out that such a provision doesn’t sound “purely voluntary.”

You can read the entire facebook entry by clicking here.

You go Sarah!  The power of a determined woman is insurmountable.

ps: In the meantime, AARP is spending its membership money running ads on tv and radio in support of the death care bill.  I sure am glad I no longer belong to that fraud, sell-out organization.  I think it's time for them to go to a death counseling session because their continued existence as a representative of the elderly is about to end. Time for the baby  boomers to start something new.

Friday Funnies: Is it a bird? A plane? No, it's Obama in his turtle costume

 

Here's the joke that goes with the picture.  It's been around, but the picture adds a whole new dimension to it, don't you think?  I was just thinking this same thing after catching a few shots of his "town hall" meeting.  Could anyone be more out of his league?

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, whose hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our president.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'Post Turtle'.

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain. 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there to begin with.’