WWJD?

The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.

-CNN

I'm going to slink out on this one with only one comment: WTF?

Ineffective Daily Affirmations

Ineffective Daily Affirmations

1. As I let go of my feelings of guilt, I can get in touch with my Inner Sociopath.
2. I have the power to channel my imagination into ever-soaring levels of suspicion and paranoia.
3. I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.
4. I no longer need to punish, deceive or compromise myself. Unless, of course, I want to stay employed.
5. In some cultures what I do would be considered normal.
6. Having control over myself is nearly as good as having control over others.
7. My intuition nearly makes up for my lack of good judgment.
8. I honor my personality flaws, for without them I would have no personality at all.
9. Joan of Arc heard voices too.
10. I am grateful that I am not as judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.
11. I need not suffer in silence while I can still moan, whimper and complain.
12. As I learn the innermost secrets of the people around me, they reward me in many ways to keep me quiet.
13. When someone hurts me, forgiveness is cheaper than a lawsuit. But not nearly as gratifying.
14. The first step is to say nice things about myself. The second, to do nice things for myself. The third, to find someone to buy me nice things.
15. As I learn to trust the universe, I no longer need to carry a gun.
16. All of me is beautiful and valuable, even the ugly, stupid, and disgusting parts.
17. I am at one with my duality.
18. I will find humor in my everyday life by looking for people I can laugh at.
19. Only a lack of imagination saves me from immobilizing myself with imaginary fears.
20. I honor and express all facets of my being, regardless of state and local laws.
21. Today I will gladly share my experience and advice, for there are no sweeter words than "I told you so."
22. False hope is nicer than no hope at all.
23. A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a solution to the problem.
24. Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day watching TV. Instead I will move my TV into the bedroom.
25. Who can I blame for my own problems? Give me just a minute... I'll find someone.
26. Why should I waste my time reliving the past when I can spend it worrying about the future?
27. The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working.
28. I am learning that criticism is not nearly as effective as sabotage.
29. Becoming aware of my character defects leads me to the next step -- blaming my parents.
30. To have a successful relationship I must learn to make it look like I'm giving as much as I'm getting.
31. I am willing to make the mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from them.

I have no idea where these came from originally (otherwise I would properly attribute them to that very author), I know that if you do a search on the web you'll find a hundred different variations and that they've made their rounds through endless email forwards. When I worked in foster care, my supervisor gave these to me, she was a therapist (do you think she was saying something to me? I don't know..).

I'm just sharing today because they make me laugh and they may make you laugh too! Please note that if you need them there are enough for each day of the month.

How to Make Lemonade

When Life Hands You Lemons....

Heat one cup of sugar and one cup of water in a sauce pan until sugar is disolved. Add the juice of 4-6 lemons (about a cup) and the prepared sugar water to a pitcher. Add cold water (3-4 cups) to taste. Refrigerate & Enjoy!

Way back in March, True Blue Texan, passed on this great award. In my defense I'll say that I was in Japan at the time, but then I'll go on to admit that I haven't been as diligent as I would have liked to have been since I've returned and therefore spent time blogging about Darth Vader when I could have been acknowledging the real people that make a difference in my days. I'd have to say that she is way better at this than I am, making lemonade out of lemons (and lots of other stuff too), as I do have a tendency to wallow in morbidity but seriously it's bloggers like True Blue Texan that remind me that there is a bigger picture, there is something positive that can be made out of the negative, we are not ineffective individual beings but a powerful collective that really can make a difference.

The rules, there are always rules...
Link to the person who awarded this honor.
Pass this award to ten bloggers (wow, ten!) and link to them as well.
Comment on those blogs.
Finally, post the award.

Anyway, I'm breaking the rules, I'm going to take some time to list some of the great blogs that I read below and why I think they are great. I'm not going to post on everyone's blogs, no tagging, not everyone plays anyway (their prerogative) and a lot of these peeps have already received this award...

1. A Time For Change: Catherine is a very busy lady who somehow manages to keep us right on top of the news, often several times in a day (whew! how does she do it? Must be her trusty assistant Marlowe). She's been through the wringer yet still manages to persist. I love her reminder that People Matter and take it to heart.

2. November Fifth: I have been blessed with the friendship of this blogger for nearly 20 years. She is always thoughtful, intelligent and inspiring.

3. Apocalyptics Anonymous II: Here is a place where you can get the straight dope. Intelligent, witty, informative.

4. Zirgar's Fresh New Brain Squeezin's!: This is some funny stuff. Zirgar takes the worst in humanity, adds some very witty word-play and makes some pretty sour lemonade, but lemonade it is.

5. It Dawned on Me: Diane is doing something very important with her blog. I'm drawn to it, she speaks to me.

6. Willpen's World: I think the sub-title says it all, "It’s all about the Music of Life!" Isn't it?

7. Feet Off the Table!: Aliceson is witty and fun. I love her stories and it's always nice to have a little reminder of Wisconsin.

8. Riot Kitty: Riot Kitty is fun, fun, fun and her use of the F-Bomb is always appropriate! Besides she knows someone who goes by the moniker Darth Weasel, how cool is that?

9. Political Morsels and Other Droppings: I love the image in my mind when I think of morsels and droppings in the same thought! Seriously, this is a great blog, thoughtful and informative.

10. A World of Progress: AWOP is a TeamZine that is the product of Kim's vision. Some of the best blog writers (IM0) can be spotted here!

Cheers!

Berga an der Elster

Berga an der Elster was a slave labor camp run by the Nazis (National Socialists) in WWII.

Berga an der Elster was a slave labor camp where 350 U.S. soldiers were beaten, starved, and forced to work in tunnels for the German government. The soldiers were singled out for "looking like Jews" or "sounding like Jews," or dubbed as undesirables, according to survivors. More than 100 soldiers perished at the camp or on a forced death march.

It was on this day six decades ago, April 23, 1945, when most of the slave labor camp soldiers were liberated by advancing U.S. troops. The emaciated soldiers, many weighing just 80 pounds, had been forced by Nazi commanders to march more than 150 miles before their rescue.

-CNN

Appalling, isn't it?

There are survivors yet today who are absolutely infuriated that the perpetrators of torture against Americans were not adequately punished.

The two Berga commanders -- Erwin Metz and his superior, Hauptmann Ludwig Merz -- were tried for war crimes and initially sentenced to die by hanging. But the U.S. government commuted their death sentences in 1948, and both men were eventually released in the 1950s. One other Berga commander, Lt. Willy Hack, was executed, but not by the United States. He died by hanging, justice carried out by the Soviets.

Jim Martin said his father would have been upset at the freeing of the Berga commanders after the atrocities he documented. "He knew it happened and to see that these people were released would be pretty devastating."

Efraim Zuroff, who has spent nearly 30 years hunting Nazis responsible for the Holocaust, said the U.S. government commuted the sentences and freed hundreds of war criminals like those at Berga after the war, as the Cold War began to intensify.

"They were more concerned about keeping out Communists than admitting victims of the Nazis," he said. "The realities out there were very conducive of letting these people off the hook."

-CNN

I bring this to your attention today for three reasons:

1) Most importantly to remind of us of our past. It was on 4/23/1945 that the survivors of Berga were forcibly marched 150 miles by the Nazis prior to their liberation.

2) To remind us that we were appalled at the torture that the Nazis inflicted on their victims. How can we justify torture today?

3) To reiterate the previous lesson on the differences between fascism, socialism and democracy. National Socialists are NOT Socialists. National Socialists tortured millions of people during WWII and justified it. One of the major tools of justification was a poor economy.

The photos below reinforce the need for #3.

Sanity Strikes at FOX

What???



No, not those insipid idiots, silly!

Check out Shep...

Darth Moves

My friends all know (by now) that I have some twisted fascination with Star Wars. I promise it's only one of my fetishes, but it is very odd (I'll admit it). Over the past couple of days, I've enjoyed the vocal talent of Susan Boyle and Shaheen Jafargholi on Britain's Got Talent. But, as you can probably guess, those crooners cannot hold a match to the greatest dark lord to ever live on the silver screen...Darth Vader. Just click his name to be amazed (not by his light saber wielding prowess this time) by his fab dance moves!

Spencer Bachus Failed Math (Specifically Addition)

I was turned on to this little tidbit over at A Time for Change and it sparked my ire, I mean interest. So I started doing some calculations and was planning on emailing them personally to Spencer Bachus (R-AL), but apparently they only want you to contact your own representatives, I'm not quitting, I'll just send him a real letter. It's better that way.

Of course, Catherine's point was that this "counting of socialists" seems a lot like a little bit of unsavory US history, a little thing that we usually refer to now as McCarthyism.

At first Joseph McCarthy mainly targeted Democrats associated with the New Deal policies of the 1930s.

Here's the deal, Mr. Bachus says that there are 17 socialists in Congress. This adds further evidence to my theory that there are people representing us in our country who are quite possibly completely and utterly incompetent (you know, like Michelle Bachmann, R-MN) .

Let me add it all up so I can see if what he is saying is true, because I damn sure don't want the US Congress overrun by Socialists! Of course, it it were then they would all have been elected by the people and in that case the people must want to be represented by Socialists (like right now, some of us in Minnesota and Alabama, must want to be represented by idiots, but I digress...).

Back to simple addition. Congress includes the House and the Senate. So, I'm going to add up the representatives of every political party represented in both the House and the Senate.

In the House, there are 262 Democrats, 178 Republicans and one vacant seat. If I add that up I get 0 Socialists.

Now in the Senate, there are 55 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 1 Democratic Socialist (Bernie Sanders, I-VT), 1 Independent Democrat (Joe Lieberman, ID-CT), and 2 vacant seats. So, if I add all of that up I get one, just one possible socialist who refers to himself as a Democratic Socialist and is NOT affiliated with the Socialist Party, leaving us with 0 Socialists.

Any way you add it, it still does not equal not 17. Perhaps Mr. Bachus could use a good dose of the ever-popular No Child Left Behind.

It seems like a good time to add this little tidbit of information as well, our President, you know Barack Obama, he's a ....Democrat, member of the official party and everything. Oh, still not a Socialist, damn.

Doug Thornell, a spokesman for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who is chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says of Bachus's socialist counting hobby: "With all the challenges we face, it's stunning this is what Republicans are talking about. They sound like a broken record of GOP low points from the 2008 campaign."

He was referring to 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's charge that Barack Obama's economic policies are "socialist" and Rep. Michelle Bachmann's (R-Minn.) claim that an Obama presidency is the "final leap to socialism."

-Mary Anne Akers, The Washington Post

All kidding, and mathematics aside, do we really want to venture down the path of McCarthyism. Let us remember George Santayana's warning, "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

P.S. You should definitely visit Ms. Akers' article at The Washington Post excerpted above, it's a good read and the comments are priceless!

P.P.S. Tagging to resume momentarily.

Belligerent Gun Owners

I'm asking you to visit Apocalyptics Anonymous II today to view an extremely thoughtful post on belligerent gun owners.

Here is a bit of my response to a previous post, Fever Pitch.

These recent cases cause some real concern to me and show some serious loopholes in our system, i.e. Binghamton shooter obtained permits in 1996 but apparently recently purchased two Berettas all-the-while acting "erratically" in the gun shop or mom shoots son with rented firearm at shooting range. I don't think the government and/or law enforcement can prevent every shooting in the US and respect the Constitution but I do think these two specific cases may have been prevented had someone thought WTF??? before today. The problem is our culture ... the stigma of mental illness, the acceptance of domestic violence and the refusal of our citizens to take responsibility for their actions. These are the real issues. Guns are simply one of their expression symbols. Unfortunately there are particular institutions alive and kicking in our country that reinforce the compatibility of "gun culture" and the above.

Here's another recent post by a different blogger on the subject that is thought stimulating, The Heavily Armed Elephant in the Room.

Wow! A Marxist and a Fascist?

It appears that Georgia's Congressmen may be subject to the same brain-draining alien virus that has it's hold on Minnesota. When our elected officials clearly have no idea that there is a distinct difference between Marxism and fascism we have a problem.

A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.

"It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may _ may not, I hope not _ but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."

Broun cited a July speech by Obama that has circulated on the Internet in which the then-Democratic presidential candidate called for a civilian force to take some of the national security burden off the military.

"That's exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it's exactly what the Soviet Union did," Broun said. "When he's proposing to have a national security force that's answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he's showing me signs of being Marxist."

-The Huffington Post

Let's compare:

Marx⋅ism–noun
the system of economic and political thought developed by Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, esp. the doctrine that the state throughout history has been a device for the exploitation of the masses by a dominant class, that class struggle has been the main agency of historical change, and that the capitalist system, containing from the first the seeds of its own decay, will inevitably, after the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat, be superseded by a socialist order and a classless society.

so⋅cial⋅ism–noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

fas⋅cism–noun
1. (sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.
3. (initial capital letter) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.

National Socialism-noun
the principles and practices of the Nazi party in Germany.

Na⋅zi–noun
1. a member of the National Socialist German Workers' party of Germany, which in 1933, under Adolf Hitler, seized political control of the country, suppressing all opposition and establishing a dictatorship over all cultural, economic, and political activities of the people, and promulgated belief in the supremacy of Hitler as Führer, aggressive anti-Semitism, the natural supremacy of the German people, and the establishment of Germany by superior force as a dominant world power. The party was officially abolished in 1945 at the conclusion of World War II.
2. (often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.

Okay, I'll grant that the words National Socialist Workers' Party sounds like some liberal labor union and perhaps that is what has the Congresman confused. But, I think it is plain to see that the Nazi (short for National Socialist, just in case) Party meets the definition of fascism and not that of socialism or Marxism. In fact, fascism is totally in the other direction (that would be the right).

Okay, a teensy bit of history. The National Socialist Workers' Party was originally known as the German Workers' Party and the army was concerned that the party was some ultra-left wing organization and sent one of it's officers to spy on the organization.

For extra points, who did they send?

Adolph Hitler

What did he find?

That he felt the same way they did about German nationalism and Antisemitism. A match made in heaven.

Hitler wanted to change the name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, not because he liked socialism. On the contrary, he hated socialism. But socialism was popular at the time. Effectively, Hitler completely changed the definition by placing the word National in front of it.

So when I hear people like Michele Bachmann or Rush Limbaugh question my patriotism because I don't subscribe to their nationalist ideology I'm immediately taken back to pre-WWII Germany. That's right, I just referenced the extreme nationalism that Hitler used to fan the flames that led to WWII. I just want to be perfectly clear about that, I'm not going to pretend I don't know the definition of the words that I'm using, unlike that Congressman from Georgia.

"We can't be lulled into complacency," Broun said. "You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road."-The Huffington Post

Perhaps, in addition to requiring elected officials to actually pay their taxes, we should require testing to ensure that they are actually intelligent enough to represent us.

Yoda Knows It

It's time for America to wake up and smell the Blue Milk (or it may simply be a matter of laying off the Membrosia). We have reactionary idiots running their mouths polluting the atmosphere with their toxic fumes, ideas and actions.

For example, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, spewing forth utter nonsense. I have to go to Minnesota for a wedding this summer, is there any repellent or perhaps an inoculation that I could receive prior to prevent the inevitable brain drain that occurs when she opens her mouth?

Matt Taibbi, editor of Rolling Stone magazine, took it a step further and suggested she had less mental capacity than someone under the influence household chemicals.

"It's funny, this morning outside of Penn Station, I saw a guy huffing glue out of a paper bag and he was making more sense than Michele Bachmann was making," Taibbi said, drawing laughter from Matthews and Michelle Bernard, MSNBC contributor and president of the Independent Women's Voice. "I can't believe - you need to pass a written test to drive a car in this country, but I bet this woman can't even write her name in the ground with a stick. It's unbelievable to me that this person is in the Congress."

-NewsBusters

I can't believe it either.

Then there's Richard Poplawski, the perfect product of radical right-wing hate mongering and holier-than-thou posturing of Bachmann, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Malkin, Palin, Coulter...

Perkovic said he received a call from suspected shooter Richard Poplawski minutes before the slayings.

“He called me up at about eight-thirty or nine o’ clock in the morning and said, ‘Eddie, I’m gonna die today.’ I heard gunshots in the background,” Perkovic said.

Perkovic also said Poplawski was worried about Zionist control of the government and that weapons would be banned.

-WPXI

Guess what, Dick? Convicted murderers cannot purchase or own guns in Pennsylvania. You, I mean YOU, have effectively removed your own right to own a gun. Good Job!

Let me get to the point now, clearly the logic of peace has been defined for us by the most powerful Jedi Master ever, Yoda. Listen to what he says, heed it and we can all understand what makes Bachmanns and Poplawskis. Fear. Perhaps with Yoda's intelligent and clear verbalization of the effects of fear we can teach our fellow citizens to release their fear and find inner peace and happiness. Well, maybe we can at least teach them that violence isn't a solution but merely a reaction.

This one time, at band camp...

No really, it seems like it was ages ago but I received a kool blog award from Aliceson at Feet off the Table! on March 10th. I know it's pretty pathetic that I'm just now getting to it but really, I was a little busy for a few weeks. I just had to go to Japan and forsake most of my blogly duties.

Truly, thank you, Aliceson for thinking of me and gracing me with this blog award!



Okay, here goes. I am supposed to list seven things I love, then list seven blogs I love.

1. My beautiful child
2. My hottie husband (well, at least he looks good on a tractor)
3. Wine (I would say good wine, but these days my standards have dipped)
4. Books
5. World travel
6. Swimming
7. Teaching/Presenting/Facilitating

Seven blogs I love:

1. It Dawned on Me
2. View of the World
3. Apocalyptics Anonymous II
4. Riot Kitty
5. Willpen's World
6. True Blue Texan
7. A Time for Change

Now, Aliceson and I seem to run in some of the same circles, so I know that some of my recipients are likely doubles. If so, consider yourself doubly loved. I also know that some people do not participate in the tagging/award thingy and if that is true, I harbor no grudges, please just accept my praise and carry on about your daily business. Now, if this is your first Kreativ Blogger Award and you love to participate in these sort of things, YAY!

Does This Sound Familiar?

Totally disgusting...

Margaret Poplawski told police her son had enlisted in the Marine Corps a few years ago, but was discharged for assaulting his drill sergeant in basic training, according to the complaint. Since his discharge, she told police, he had been "stockpiling guns and ammunition, buying and selling the weapons online, because he believed that as a result of the economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society. Mrs. Poplawski reported that her son only liked police when they were not curtailing his constitutional rights, which he was determined to protect," the complaint said.

-CNN

My Waiver

I do have a few taggings to get back to, and I am working on them, but in the meantime I thought that I would share this Waiver that I came across in my journal this morning. A few years ago, well over four apparently, judging by the date on this Waiver, a good friend and colleague of mine presented me with this and I dutifully read and signed such waiver and it resides in my journal to remind me to Live Life Fully. It is from Melody Beattie's book, The Language of Letting Go.

Read the following waiver carefully. Fill in the blanks, and be aware of what you're signing. Take responsibility for what you do.

Waiver

I understand that during the course of my life I will be required to make many decisions, such as where I want to live, whom I want to live with, where I work, how much fun I have, and how I spend my money and time, including how much time I spend waiting for things to get better and people to change, and whom I choose to love.

I understand that many events that occur will be out of my hands and that there are inherent dangers and risks in all decisions I make. Life and people have no obligation whatsoever to live up to my expectations; I have no obligation to live up to the expectations of anybody else. Life is a high-risk sport, and I may become injured along the way.

I agree that all the decisions I make are mine and mine alone, including how I choose to handle the events that are beyond my control. I hereby forfeit my right to recourse as a victim, including my rights to blame, complain, and whine or hold someone else responsible for the path I choose to take. I am responsible for my participation--or lack of it--in life. And I take complete responsibility for the outcomes and consequences of all decisions I make, understanding that ultimately it is my choice whether I become happy, joyous, and free or stay miserable and trapped.

Although people may voluntarily nurture and love me, I and I alone am responsible for taking care of and loving myself.

Signed: _________________________

Date: ______________________

I love it (that's why I'm sharing it today). I copied the text into a Word document and pasted a flower into the background, then printed it out to keep in my journal with all the other junk in there (seriously, I will likely be sharing stuff out of my journal in the months to come and I hope it intrigues you and also gives you some fun ideas for your journal).

Cheers!

P.S. The Celtic Oraclepresented me with Ceridwen today, who offers "the opening of doors into the inner consciousness."