you be interested in Saturday the 25th of December?  I also have = the 17th=20 and 18th available at this time.  Pam Jansen Front Office Manager Skamania Lodge 509 427-2501 Pamj@skamania.com From Anjali.Mahadevan@AllLearn.net Fri Oct 08 08:29:45 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:29:45 -0700 for Received: from ua04.opsy.org [66.134.168.235] by mediamessage.com [12.180.43.124] (SLmail 5.5.0.4433) with ESMTP id CB65D147D6AC41EB95FBBEECEB67BC1A for ; Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:29:36 -0700 Received: by ua04.opsy.org with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) id ; Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:23:26 -0400 Message-ID: <2FD9298AA9D335428538E864DC42A0340425E8@ua04.opsy.org> From: Anjali Mahadevan To: "'life@mediamessage.com'" Subject: Chat log Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:23:25 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----_=_NextPart_000_01C4AD4A.C14869B0" X-SLUIDL: C0A905A3-67714384-BD19FB34-0B4C0119 Status: UO This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. ------_=_NextPart_000_01C4AD4A.C14869B0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C4AD4A.C14869B0" ------_=_NextPart_001_01C4AD4A.C14869B0 Content-Type: text/plain Noel, I noticed you edit the chat logs. Hence, I am sending you the word file with the chat log. If you want to do it this way, I can send it to you every week. Otherwise I can continue to post it. It is up to you! Anjali Dear Noel, Today's DAILY INSPIRATION is from Rumi (Birdsong). ********************** Don't analyze this enthusiasm! The wheel that lifts some up and drags others down, we're not riding it anymore. We've jumped off that good-and-bad. *********************** Opposites are the tool of creation; opposites are not the creator. Dazzled by the creation we have lost sight of the creator. Caught in the reflection we have lost sight of the One holding the mirror. *********************** Noel, we love you, Bert and Christina "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life it, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. "In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life... to life he can only respond by being responsible." -- Viktor Frankl Today's DAILY INSPIRATION is from Vernon Howard (Secrets of Higher Success). ********************** When you have separated yourself from all that is foreign to your true inner nature, anything foreign in the exterior world cannot harm you. Your own psychic health is perfect immunity from whatever is unhealthy on the outside. In this perfect health you can experience everything that everyone else experiences, but you are never disappointed or frightened. Why? Because there is nothing in you which corresponds to the exterior illness, therefore there is no invitation to it to enter. Health invites only that which is of its own nature. Health invites only health. Opposites are the tool of creation; opposites are not the creator. Dazzled by the creation we have lost sight of the creator. Caught in the reflection we have lost sight of the One holding the mirror. Bert Carson Today's DAILY INSPIRATION is from Lao Tzu (Hua Hu Ching, Hua-Ching, Ni, Tr.). ********************** "Kind Prince, what then is the Way?" "Venerable Teacher, I cannot respond in words, I can only embrace it in wholeness." "Kind Prince, do not embrace the Way. Be the Way. *********************** There is no way to that which is All. If there were, it would not be the All. *********************** Noel, we love you, Bert and Christina It is one thing to understand with the mind and another thing to feel with one's whole mass, to be convinced that it is so and never forget it. *********************** Talking about eating will not satisfy hunger any more than discussing life will replace the experience of living. *********************** Noel, we love you, Bert and Christina The Seven Deadly Sins 1. Truth, if it becomes a weapon against a person. 2. Beauty, if it becomes vanity. 3. Love, if it becomes possessive. 4. Loyalty, if it becomes blind, careless trust. 5. Tolerance, if it becomes indifference. 6. Self-confidence, if it becomes arrogance. 7. Faith, if it becomes self-righteous. -- Ashley Cooper, writer From billshire@aol.com Sun Oct 10 10:22:07 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Sun, 10 Oct 2004 10:22:05 -0700 Received: from aol.com [218.88.128.148] by mediamessage.com [12.180.43.124] (SLmail 5.5.0.4433) with ESMTP id AD7AFFA9A9A3421C8D24DC744460F990 for ; Sun, 10 Oct 2004 10:22:04 -0700 From: "billshire@aol.com" Subject: 10 Principles that Unite Bush and Kerry Supporters To: lovinglife@newthought.net Content-Type: text/plain;charset="GB2312" Reply-To: billshire@aol.com Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 00:16:46 +0800 X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 Message-id: <20041010102205.ad7affa9a9a3421c8d24dc744460f990.in@mediamessage.com> X-SLUIDL: 96BF1E01-F39F4FED-8B782165-E5EB7533 Two websites that can help: http://www.radicalmiddle.com/ (Radical Middle website) http://noosphere.cc/iparticles.html (Integral Politics website) No matter who wins the election this November 2, the cultural divide it reflects is dangerous for America, and for the world. Extremists on both sides, convinced their adversaries are diabolical to the core, want a win-lose outcome. But as the first Republican president said, a nation divided against itself cannot stand. It is time some of us set aside hatred, and engage in a dialogue. Extremists on both sides argue there is no point - the division is too great. But reasonable people in the middle know differently. Right now, with the polls even, and the election results a toss-up, is a good time for the reasonable among us to commit to set aside fear, anger, and hatred, and commit to a dialogue to find principles that unite us. We will not find this in the pre-packaged politics of the two major candidates, I suspect. For example, my friends who support Bush do so for two reasons. First, they feel he has a core set of spiritual values that provide him with a reliable moral compass - something they can depend on in a time of turmoil. Second, they feel that, right or wrong, he got us into the war in Iraq, and is more likely to get us successfully out than a candidate who has expressed misgivings about the war. I understand this perspective, as much as I differ with it. I oppose Bush for parallel reasons. First, I feel he has violated the core values that define America - violated our Constitution by jailing hundreds without showing cause; violated the sanctity of the global alliance we rely on for our security; and elevated fear and control above courage and freedom, for political gain. Second, I feel he has been extremely inept in handling the war, employed a na?ve and counterproductive military strategy, and so irreparably damaged our reputation among the world's poor (not to mention our allies) that he is the last person able to successfully conclude the war and win back the respect of the world. I feel passionately about this. Nevertheless, I do feel the passion of Bush supporters in equal measure in my quiet moments. And, I feel strongly that we as a nation are at an inflection point in history. If, in this culture war, we let the extremists on each side force one side to win and one to lose, we will be fundamentally divided, and will begin our descent to a has-been power. Great powers rarely cede their rank willingly, so that could be uncomfortable for all. But if the reasonable right and the sensible left join forces, we can find an integrated position that will earn us the right to lead the world in a time of unprecedented change. Ten principles come to my mind, in the midst of this campaign, that define an American at this moment in our history. I wonder whether others agree or disagree with these. I'm sure you can improve upon them. Here are my ten: 1. We are an optimistic people, not a fearful people. We strive to be brave and free, not fearful and repressed. 2. We value freedom and democracy so much that we would proudly give our lives to protect and advance them. 3. We can't promote the principles of freedom and democracy by violating them. 4. These principles are our common moral compass. We may change our policies as circumstances change, but we hold firmly to these core principles. 5. In military matters, Smart is as important as Strong, and Right is more important than Might. 6. Killing terrorists requires precise aim - especially if they hide themselves among the innocent, in order to draw our fire. 7. 30,000 deaths do not avenge the murder of 3,000, nor comfort their families. 8. 300 million cannot remain affluent, secure, and free by frightening 3000 million who are poor, insecure, and repressed. We will gain more by offering the world hope, than by controlling it through power. 9. Those who seek liberty through security let both slip away. Security is the result, not the cause, of liberty. 10. To equate America's purpose with economic success is to cheapen America. Liberty is fundamental, and wealth is one reward we reap for it. If we value wealth above liberty, we forget what truly matters, and we will likely lose both. I am sure many can improve on these ten. I hope you will engage in a dialogue to find principles on which we can agree, and help form the common ground that unites open minds from both cultures, and offers a path that we can both walk, for the next four years and the next four hundred. To help, I suggest you explore the various political movements for the reasonable right and sensible left. Often called "radical middle," "radical center," "integral politics" or "beyond left and right," they reflect an underlying movement that has not yet defined itself. Two websites with links that can help are: http://www.radicalmiddle.com/ (Radical Middle website) http://noosphere.cc/iparticles.html (Integral Politics website) America is too great an experiment to sacrifice it to fear and division. If this is to be America's century, it must also be the world's. Instead of veering left or right, let's move forward. Bill Shireman 415-364-3839 billshire@aol.com www.future500.org (Personal views of Bill Shireman, not representative of the views of member companies, board members, or affiliates) Where did the middle go?=20 Polarized politics and a radical GOP have put a chill on measured debate... Theodore Roszak SF CHRONICLE OCT.10 Walk into a bookstore today, throw a stick in any direction, and it's likely= you'll hit a dozen savage attacks upon George W. Bush. Future historians wi= ll surely regard the deluge of Bush-bashing books and films that appeared in= 2004 as a remarkable cultural phenomenon, a tribute to the vitality of Amer= ican publishing and to the surviving political literacy of the public. They=20= will certainly note that elevating the nation's liberal blood pressure helpe= d rally the troops to John Kerry's campaign. But they may find themselves pu= zzling over why the assault on Bush had so little effect on his political ba= se. They may conclude that this was the year partisan polarization spun out=20= of control, the point at which persuasion and dialogue -- always in short su= pply -- became things of the past. Behind all the Bush-bashing we have seen=20= this year stands the same idealistic assumption that once inspired the muckr= akers of old: If only we can get the truth out, the public will rise up in w= rath and drive the "lying liars" from power. For that matter, Bush's handler= s make the same assumption. That's why they labor so strenuously to exploit=20= all the latest techniques for manufacturing consent. But what if both sides=20= are wrong about how much can be achieved by shocking revelations on film or=20= in print? What if Bush's political base never needed to be lied to? That mig= ht explain why, despite "Fahrenheit 9/11" and all the other enraged document= aries (the best of which, incidentally, is "Hijacking Catastrophe" by the Me= dia Education Foundation), the polls keep reflecting strong popular support=20= for Bush's "leadership" and why he continues to find cheering crowds, especi= ally at military bases where troops give their commander-in-chief the big "h= oo-ah." These people aren't deceived. They know exactly what Bush is up to -= - and it's OK with them. And here we have the root cause of polarization, th= e difference that has set political left and right in America at each other'= s throats. There is a fundamental moral asymmetry between left and right in=20= the United States. Vietnam-era liberals such as me suffered through the angu= ish of losing faith in their party and turning against it. The crowds that d= emonstrated in the streets of Chicago in 1968 weren't irate conservatives; t= hey were conscience- stricken liberals who were prepared to sacrifice an ele= ction victory -- and with it Lyndon Johnson's Great Society agenda -- on an=20= issue of principle. Looking back, Republicans might want to thank people lik= e the young John Kerry and the Vietnam Veterans for Peace. Their opposition=20= cost the Democratic Party dearly and launched the country toward the great c= onservative backlash of the Ronald Reagan presidency. For that matter, liber= als were doing electoral favors for the GOP long before Vietnam. One of my e= arliest political memories is the Democrat convention of 1948. With my ear t= o the radio, I recall Hubert Humphrey galvanizing the party liberals to push= through a strong civil rights platform against powerful Southern opposition= . How thrilling, I thought. But I recall my Roosevelt- Democrat father fumin= g, "They're throwing away the election!" Following that speech, the Dixiecra= t wing of the party walked out on the convention. It looked as if my father=20= might be right. (Incidentally, the Dixiecrat candidate in 1948 was Strom Thu= rmond, destined to become a Republican stalwart.) Harry Truman won that elec= tion, but in the end, principled liberal support for civil rights led to Bar= ry Goldwater's Sunbelt coalition and Richard Nixon's "Southern strategy," th= e first steps toward a new solid South of disgruntled white voters. The GOP=20= was on its way to becoming the most mono-racial party since Reconstruction.=20= Here's what I think most infuriates liberals. They are up against a Republic= an opposition that has shown no comparable willingness to risk party unity o= n a matter of conscience -- nothing that compares to the sacrifice liberals=20= were willing to make over civil rights and Vietnam. Republicans have had no=20= difficulty swallowing episodes like McCarthyism and Watergate. Indeed, the r= elentless effort to impeach Bill Clinton was largely retaliation for what co= nservatives still see as the "persecution" of poor Richard Nixon. Others (li= ke Ann Coulter) are now toiling to rehabilitate Joe McCarthy, including his=20= charge that liberals are traitors. And Ronald Reagan went to his grave this=20= year all but officially pardoned by Republicans for Iran-Contra, the most bl= atant violation of constitutional government in American history. We have ye= t to see any sizable group of Republicans who will admit to a single moral b= lemish, let alone display a willingness to defect. Hardly surprising, then,=20= that Bush supporters display no discomfort over a war that liberals see as a= n obvious hoax. Bush's political base has become so ideologically entrenched= that it is willing to offer his administration a blank ethical check. Durin= g the Cold War, right-wingers purported to be horrified by the way Communist= s bowed to the iron discipline of the Party. How could people abase themselv= es so abjectly? Well, their own conduct would seem to answer that question.=20= And the loyal moderates among them would do well to remember who got purged=20= first by Communist zealots once the dust had cleared: the moderates, of cour= se. Which is exactly what we see happening now as Republican ultraconservati= ves declare open season on "rhinos" (as they call moderates) in their own pa= rty. In an election year, this unfolding campaign to oust the moderates is b= eing soft-pedaled, but it will soon return full force. Recall how Bush and V= ice President Dick Cheney savaged Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords back in 2001 aft= er a minor show of disobedience. The wrath of liberals, their all but desper= ate willingness to vote for any Democratic candidate who might defeat George= W. Bush, arises from the fact that we have had no sign of bona fides from t= he right wing, no willingness by Republicans to stand up to malefactors and=20= fanatics in their party's leadership. Right wingers have registered the sple= en of their liberal opponents, but have they recognized our honest fear? Let= me be the first to admit it: The Republican Party scares the living dayligh= ts out of me, and that has nothing to do with differing interpretations of "= The Federalist Papers." It has to do with presidential adviser Karl Rove. I=20= cannot think of a single principle Rove's party would hesitate to trample in= to dust for the sake of holding power. There is much talk of God and values=20= on the right, but the ruthlessness of right-wing politics belies the sinceri= ty of those professions for me. As a case in point, consider House Majority=20= Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, whose remarkable career is the subject of Lou Dub= ose and Jan Reid's recent study The Hammer: Tom DeLay: God, Money and the Un= ited States Congress (Public Affairs; 306 pages; $26). There could be no bet= ter example of a "stupid white man" (to borrow Michael Moore's contemptuous=20= label), provided one recognizes that a certain kind of stupidity is compatib= le with a certain kind of cunning. After all, politicians such as DeLay help= ed capture the Sun Belt for the Reagan Republicans, along with the Archie Bu= nker, working-class vote. DeLay is a crafty strategist, no doubt about that.= But how could any honest conservative fail to find DeLay an embarrassment t= o the country -- in the same way that liberals once found Mississippi Sen. T= heodore Bilbo a national disgrace? There are more college graduates than eve= r in the United States; there is a world of information available through th= e media -- and yet here we have a major political leader whose world view is= a bizarre stew of evangelical religion and Social Darwinist business values= . Balance, moderation and discriminating intelligence play no role in his po= litics. This is a man who believes the Environmental Protection Agency is th= e equivalent of the Gestapo. And as Dubose and Reid make clear, DeLay has be= en as willing to target moderates for destruction as Democrats. By DeLay's s= tandards, even Newt Gingrich didn't qualify as a true conservative. After al= l, Gingrich called off the great government shutdown of 1995, which DeLay wo= uld have continued until hell froze over. In DeLay's eyes, Gingrich was a "t= hink-tank pontificator and a flake" who never read the Bible. By the late 19= 90s, DeLay's take-no-prisoners political style was well along toward giving=20= the Republicans permanent control of Congress. Today in Washington, DeLay an= d his colleagues govern with a winner-take-all ferocity, as if the Democrats= simply didn't exist. They invite lobbyists to write legislation and give De= mocrats no chance to debate or amend. The secret of their success? Covertly,= they draw upon the racist fears of rednecks and blue collars, but overtly,=20= they attribute their triumph to unswerving evangelical faith. DeLay, who fai= thfully attends Bible classes, is an ally of the Rev. John Hagee's Cornersto= ne Church in San Antonio, Texas. In this capacity, he fancies himself the co= ngressional voice of "God's foreign policy," which calls for unstinting econ= omic and military support for Israeli hard-liners from here to the Second Co= ming. No question but that liberals have been caught off guard by the politi= cization of born-again Christians. But then who could have foreseen the impa= ct of an ideology that believes Armageddon is just around the corner and tha= t Christianity should be made the official religion of the United States? An= other reason for liberal alarm can be found in a pamphlet-size analysis of B= ush versus Gore, Irreparable Harm: The US Supreme Court and the Decision Tha= t Made George W. Bush President (Melville House Publishing; 61 pages; $8. 95= ), New Yorker staff writer Renata Adler argues persuasively that the Supreme= Court has "become quite openly the most dangerous branch" of government. Sh= e reminds us that the court is a body with life tenure whose members cannot=20= be recalled and from whose decisions there is no appeal. That is why it's th= e branch of government that requires the greatest possible public trust. But= how better to sacrifice that trust than to take sides between the parties?=20= In 2000, the court assumed the right to intervene in presidential elections=20= on the flimsiest grounds, setting aside one candidate's 500,000-vote lead in= favor of a 5-to-4 vote of the justices. Given that precedent, how will any=20= disputed election -- and elections can always be disputed by the loser - - e= ver stand against this court? A majority on the court could easily come to o= utweigh a majority at the ballot box. Bear in mind that liberal voters are t= he only Americans ever to have had their votes discounted in this way; is th= eir fear and their anger so hard to understand? There have been Supreme Cour= ts I've disliked, but this is the first I've feared. Take still another exam= ple of how fast and loose the Bush administration has played with old-style=20= conservatism. This year, in search of senior citizen votes, Bush presented a= Medicare reform authored by health care industry lobbyists and then all but= beat congressional Republicans into supporting it. (DeLay was instrumental=20= in keeping the vote open while he worked toward another of his patented one-= vote victories.) Only afterward did Republicans discover that they had been=20= lied to about the true cost of the bill. It would cost more than $500 billio= n rather than $400 billion. But, in fact, it really made no difference what=20= the price tag was. There is no money to pay for it. The money had gone on ta= x cuts and war. (Remember when Republicans lambasted Lyndon Johnson for not=20= raising taxes as he escalated the war in Vietnam? What would they have said=20= if he had cut taxes?) Like all of the White House's social programs, the new= Medicare bill will be financed on the national credit card. Isn't fiscal de= ception like this supposed to matter to Republicans? But how many of them wo= uld be the first to ask about money to pay for various liberal programs? I c= an recall when Republicans were the fiscal conscience of the nation. No more= . Since the Reagan years, they have become addicted to deficit spending on t= he Pentagon -- and with barely a hint of protest within their ranks. The rig= ht wing of American politics today is a crazy quilt made up of single-issue=20= voters, many of whom were disaffected Democrats. It is the party of anti-fem= inist, anti-gay, anti-tax, anti-gun-control, anti-Darwin, anti- affirmative-= action, anti-environment, pro-prayers-in-the-school, pro-faith- based-social= -services voters. Maybe this is a clever way of winning elections, but there= is no philosophy that unites this spectrum of discontent. No great Republic= an leader ever taught that the world was created in six days or that the Sec= ond Amendment must be read as approval for the sale of assault rifles. Raw p= olitical opportunism is the only glue holding this bundle of impassioned cau= ses together. By far the most unprincipled bullying that Republicans have ha= d to accept is regarding the Iraq war, fought by a president who, only four=20= years ago, rejected nation building -- a theme that echoes the isolationist=20= tradition of his party back to the days of Robert Taft. I never agreed with=20= that orientation, but at least it was open and honest. How things have chang= ed. In a recent insightful analysis of Bush foreign policy, The Five Biggest= Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq (Akashic Books and Seven Stories Press; 197 pa= ges; $9. 95 paperback), Robert and Christopher Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry c= onclude that the Iraq war stems from "the neoconservative vision for a 'New=20= American Century,' a world defined by U.S. military domination over much of=20= Europe and Asia, buttressed by a global ring of military bases, each ready t= o dispatch troops at the slightest hint of resistance from 'hostile' states.= It was time, neoconservatives argued, to take advantage of an unparalleled=20= 'unipolar moment' marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union." In their view= , "the Iraqis, like the American people, [are] merely pawns in a global game= of empire-building." I would agree, but what the authors overlook is how wi= llingly many of those American pawns rally to the cross and the flag for the= sake of party unity. The neoconservatives who engineered the Iraq war have=20= not been all that secretive about their grandiose designs. Perhaps they sens= e they have less and less need to be so. The colonial pipe dreams they are s= pinning in the Defense Department these days read like Realpolitik from the=20= era of Cecil Rhodes and Count von B=FClow. When was that ever a Republican p= riority? Why, then, has it become acceptable to moderates in the party to se= e the United States resurrect the discredited imperialism of the past and, w= orse, to turn our nation's military defense over to battalions of privately=20= contracted troops? Outsourcing the armed forces is a central aspect of "tran= sformation," as Donald Rumsfeld calls his reform of the Pentagon. If the neo= conservatives can pull that off -- if they can replace citizen soldiers with= mercenaries from many nations who are off-budget and whose casualties need=20= not be reported -- they will have gone well beyond Iran-Contra in removing c= ontrol of our foreign policy, including war making, from Congress and the pe= ople. How does that jibe with the conservative principle of limited governme= nt? Given the gravity of the constitutional issues these policies raise, I w= ould expect to find conservatives willing to join with liberals in declaring= that the Bush administration has gone too far. But given the unshakable loy= alty of the Republican base, I cannot imagine that happening, no matter how=20= much skullduggery in high places Bush-bashers reveal. Suppose, then, George=20= W. Bush dropped all pretenses and simply declared, "OK, you wanna know my do= mestic agenda? Here it is. Dick Cheney, Tom DeLay and I aren't just gonna de= feat the liberals, we're gonna obliterate them, along with every progressive= reform since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, every New Deal program, every Gre= at Society entitlement. Why else do you think we're running these sky-high d= eficits? We're handing as much dough as we can to the people who know how to= run this country -- namely the super-rich. Sure, that's gonna cost the rest= of you jobs and social services, but isn't it worth it to give the poor, th= e nonwhite, the welfare queens, the gays and the feminazis a swift kick in t= he teeth? "What's my foreign policy? Listen up. We're gonna yank that oil ou= t from under those dysfunctional Arabs because we need it to preserve our ga= s- guzzling way of life, and I'm not asking anybody for a permission slip to= do that. We're God's chosen people and we intend to make the most of it. An= d if anybody gets in our way, we've got what it takes to clobber them." If B= ush took that line, I wonder if it would it cost him a single vote he doesn'= t already have. And how many swing voters might be won over by such decisive= , non-flip-flopping leadership? As for the single-minded evangelicals who ha= ve become the key to any winning political strategy, the Republicans have th= em so locked in that even if Bush were discovered having lunch with the devi= l, they would still vote for him -- as long as he treated them to an occasio= nal kick at the gays and the feminists. By any defensible historical standar= d, we are living under the most ideologically aggressive regime since the 19= 20s. Its style comes straight out of the CEO's how-to handbook. The compulsi= ve board-room secrecy and iron corporate discipline of this administration b= reak all records. So, too, the entrepreneurial back-scratching of the last f= our years, beginning with Dick Cheney's clandestine meetings with the countr= y's energy moguls before Bush had even been sworn into office. At those gath= erings, did Cheney guarantee his cronies a free hand at bilking the public f= or billions -- especially the ratepayers of California? Those tapes we have=20= of gloating Enron traders, is that the voice of the free market? And how can= one not be curious about the maps of the Iraqi oilfields that were on the t= able at those meetings? Were those perhaps investment brochures? The words I= use here about the Bush administration are stronger and more embittered tha= n I would use as part of an honest political dialogue. I hate feeling that I= must cling to mediocre candidates and compromised agendas because the alter= native is so much worse. I take no pleasure in reading all the anti-Bush lit= erature that has poured off the presses, like some small- press anthologies=20= such as The I Hate George W. Bush Reader: Why Dubya Is Wrong About Absolutel= y Everything (Thunder's Mouth Press; 381 pages; $13.95 paperback) and The I=20= Hate Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice ... Reader: Beh= ind the Bush Cabal's War on America (Thunder's Mouth Press; 368 pages; $13.9= 5 paperback). The selections are vitriolic, but they include convincing anal= yses of the unprecedented hubris of Bush and company. Here is how David Arms= trong, in a Harper's essay from the "Hate Cheney" anthology, characterizes t= he capital-P "Plan" of the Bush administration, an agenda foreshadowed in a=20= 1990 Defense Planning Guidance authored by Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz: "The P= lan is for the United States to rule the world. The overt theme is unilatera= lism, but it is ultimately a story of domination. It calls for the United St= ates to maintain its overwhelming military superiority and prevent new rival= s from rising up to challenge it on the world stage. It calls for domination= over friends and enemies alike. It says not that the United States must be=20= more powerful, or most powerful, but that it must be absolutely powerful." T= he intoxication of such a fantastic design is its most frightening aspect. Y= et the plan is being turned into reality at breathtaking speed. Central to i= ts realization is control of a major political party that wins and wins and=20= wins because it tolerates and expects no internal dissent. In a very real se= nse, the health of our democracy may hinge on the conscience of Republican m= oderates. Only they can keep their party from being hijacked by crony capita= lists and gay-and-feminist-bashing evangelicals. If they stand by and let Ch= eney reinterpret the free market as a playground for corporations who need n= ot worry about competitive bidding or honest accounting, if they let the fis= cal conservatism that was once the hallmark of their party be drowned in red= ink, if they stand by and watch the Patriot Act be used to squelch dissent,= if they let neoconservative advisers hand our foreign policy over to a mili= tarized corporate elite, then there will be no stopping the continued descen= t of American politics into the slough of megalomania. When polarization bec= omes as severe as it is in our country today, politics becomes pathological.= Unprincipled campaign managers (and they exist in both parties) and slick s= pin doctors become the arbiters of elections. Obfuscation is honed to a high= art, moderation becomes "girlie-man" cowardice, war becomes the touchstone=20= of patriotism. Worst of all, people not only lose sight of the common good b= ut of their own obvious interests, which ought surely to include having a st= eady job, a decent retirement and health care, and, at a minimum, not sendin= g their kids to get killed for reasons unknown in the streets of Baghdad.
Theodore Roszak is the author of "The Devil and Daniel Silver-man." His m= ost recent book, "World, Beware! American Triumphalism in an Age of Terror,"= an appeal to America's global constituency, is being published in several f= oreign editions, but not in the United States. Page M - 1
Attached please find two documents for you to read prior to coming to the Visioning Conference. The first is a compilation of comments sent via email by congregants who are unable to attend the conference but who want their thoughts and visions to be carried into the conference by all of you. The second is a compilation of comments made by participants at the most recent First Sunday Congregant Meeting which was held on October 3rd. Thank you for reviewing. In service, Visioning Conference Communications Committee Nansie Jubitz Victoria Perrie Paulette Quinn **************************************************************************** ********************************************************************* Dear "Our Community: Vision to Action" conference participants. The input from congregants who are unable to attend the conference has been encapsulated into six themes. A brief definition of the theme is followed by direct quotes from the congregants. The selected sampling of quotes is intended to best represent the submitted contributions as a whole. Please read this synthesis prior to attending the conference so that all community members who wish to have a voice are represented during the proceedings. 1) Spiritual Philosophy: Principles that serve as the guidance for how the church functions within its ministry. (Open and honest communication/Transparency/Inclusion) * "Walking our talk is important to me, or at least the attempt. And when we fail, it would be helpful to make future decisions that will facilitate bringing us back into integrity and in alignment with our church mission." * "Dream big, but act responsibly! Live within your means. . . . focus on prayer and spiritual principles as a means to providing funds versus focusing on fundraising efforts." * "I will be so proud of my church when it: * acts with integrity in all areas of church ministry and business; * openly communicates with the congregation regarding matters of church growth and development, especially financial concerns; * tithes 10% NO MATTER WHAT!!! to other organizations; * makes an impact on its surrounding community through service opportunities and co-creative endeavors; * makes a positive difference in its congregants' lives; * teaches New Thought principles; * always focuses on the ministry and the people versus the location and the production of events." * "I would like to see that the new community maintains the "participatory" perspective that is in evidence now." * "There is a strong sense of equality (leaders are secure enough to follow sometimes). Expansive hearts and minds are united with other communities. I feel proud about how Honesty comes easily and conflict resolution is welcomed over conflict avoidance." * "I want us all to be natural and free flowing in our expression of love and information." * "Healing of any judgment or blame on how we got to where we are right now . . .seeing everything as a lesson that helps us to grow." * "Our new community would be expressing love and gratitude to each other a lot more." * "Focus on inspiration to community and global peace." * "I would like to see the world peace we so often talk about become a tangible aspect of NTMO." * "I fear that we are leaning toward being Science of Mind. Those are good teachings - but there are other good teachings. Let's continue to include them all as much as possible." * "The mission: healing lives and building dreams." * "What is important for our new community is to remember what our mission is! That is to focus on faith, hope, and love." 2) Spiritual leadership (ministers/teachers): The body of people who lead the spiritual community. * "I feel we need Harry Moses with us, as he is an essential part of our spiritual learning. I'm also grateful for our new minister. * "Having inspirational guest speakers on a regular basis has always been important to me." * "I've learned how important a gifted minister is to teach the lessons of the church. I want a gifted minister in the new church. (I think David Alexander will be able to be that person). I've learned how important it is not to rely completely on the personality of the minister." * "Have as many inspirational speakers that are willing to come. they can open the mind and expand the consciousness. I am a better person for being exposed to grand ideas and the people that embody them." * "Every member a (potential) minister; chaplains; the dreams, energy, devotion and physical person of Mary Manin Morrissey; also very high marks for David Alexander and the fantastic youth program; all of the volunteers that made LEC and even kept it going long after it had transitioned fiscally." * "Rely more on shared leadership rather charismatic leadership." * "Not have one charismatic leader, rather draw from all the ministry resources within the metropolitan area, sharing the pulpit with ministers of all spiritual paths." 3) Church management: The aspects of managing the church operations including finances, strategic planning and organizational structures. * "The church organization needs to be transparent, especially with regard to finances, but also with regard to how decisions are made." * "I have learned that an organization is not about money, though you do need money to run anything and hire the best possible people to represent your function." * "I believe [in] having a board that is representative of a broad range of perspectives . . . the larger community needs to have access to information related to what the board is doing . . . the Bylaws should include requirements for the means of maintaining the open communication . . ." * "A newsletter could be a great help to build community. include news items about members. brief summary of board meeting and current issues, a short article on practical spiritual topics. detailed info on practitioners. classified and commercial ads, which would help people do businesses with and get to know other in the congregation." * "I've learned how important it is to have community involvement in the structure of the church." * "[Our spiritual community would be] a church that maximizes the talents of the congregation, not just taking their money and outsourcing what could have been done inclusively in house." * "Adopt a pay-as you-go approach to financing congregational needs." * "Create check and balance systems for all money handlers." * "Keep communication open and flowing. Use of newsletters, websites, emails, etc. help people stay connected and keep the organizational structure of the church transparent. Most of us do not want to know all the details of what goes on to run a church, but we do want to be 'in the loop' as necessary and feel confident, comfortable in describing our church structure with others." 4) Structure of physical church and Sunday services: Framework for the church facilities as well as the content and format of Sunday services. * "On Sundays, I want a message that causes me to reflect on my life; what I'm about on this planet, what's really important to me, reminding me of what I already know." * "David York is doing a great job. . . I would like to close with a song that is uplifting and inspires me to be a better person." * "A facility centrally located . . . grounds to walk on [or] an indoor solarium with green plants where one might go, sit quietly and meditate. . . . A music room for those who want to listen to guided meditation or music they want to purchase of borrow. A place to sit down and read a book they just purchased. I loved having a bookstore." * "Our new spiritual community would [be in] a setting that feels like God is there no matter how humble the setting." * ".a stone cottage-like building set in nature. There is the sound of water, and wind through the trees and grass; there is colored glass letting in some light, and much wood inside. It is often quiet of human sounds except for the combined voices of prayer, laughter, and song (the trinity)." * "Above all, please keep the great music and singing and dancing, laughter and smiles and joy" "Services would include a time for peaceful silence." * "Clapping for performers and speakers would be discontinued to allow for a more sacred experience." * "A place where we enjoy and help others enjoy the little things in life- nature, quiet, the smell of flowers." 5) Spiritual education/community building: The definition of the spiritual community, how it relates and grows. * ". . . children are important and an environment for them where they can learn new thought principles at an early age as well as have fun and learn the joy of living should be a part of this vision." * ". . . smaller enrichment or mastermind circles . . . retreats or vacation-type pilgrimages . . . many day and/or evening events/projects to bring people together . . ." * "The most important thing to carry forward in our spiritual community is bonding together not as several small elite groups but one united close group." * "I would like the church to continue to utilize the broad range of gifts and strengths of our congregants. As we grow and become an established group, I don't want us to forget that we have many individuals with many varied talents, gifts and areas of expertise who would love to be able to share those gifts with their spiritual community." * "Because physical space can be costly, I would like to see the church community look into utilizing technology to provide classes online or via teleconferencing or a combination . . ." * "Classes representing people from other countries/customs, international economics, health & nutrition and exercise. Teach how to speak on stage expressing personal beliefs and visions with humor. Special sessions in Sunday school for children to employ this." * "My spiritual community would be large in size, but intimate, meaning there would be opportunities to relate with one another, like spiritual growth circles and volunteer opportunities." * "My spiritual community. would be welcoming to people of color and the gay/queer community. It would have an empowering teen program where kids can come, feel accepted, understood and loved." * "It would have elementary, middle and high school so families would know their children are getting well-rounded education. It would have support/learning groups that reflect the needs and desires of the community. hold workshops and teaching events. Have a wonderful, diverse bookstore" * "I'd like to see the church much more diversified and reaching out to more people of all types. I think the main thing we're missing right now is meeting spaces for classes, meetings and other get-togethers." * "Continue to encourage membership in circles." * "Make the spiritual messages personal, at a heart and soul level. People need to feel that their relationship with God is growing through what their spiritual community is offering, whether it be through the Sunday service, conferences, guest lecturers, classes, music. We want and need to challenge ourselves to more fully develop our relationship with God." 6) Community outreach: Service and activities related to the extended communities beyond the church. * "I would like our community to be a place where we can come together to share our dreams, our trials and receive support so that we can go out into the world to be that spark that helps change our planet for the better. I liked the opportunities as a church community to help others in our community . . ." * "We often talk about personal peace preceding extended peace so would a "community arbitration center" be of interest? I would like to also see programs where people groups of contention are brought together for healing and forgiveness and brought into the fold of positive intention. Peace inside, peace at home. peace in the world." * "That extending our learnings into the communities in which we live is vital. How can we be a church community and not include making a difference in the lives of those around us?" * "Community members would make announcements of events that would include members of other churches in the community." * "Joint events would be planned with other churches in the community." **************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** Summary: Responses to Questions From 10/30/04 NTMO Community Meeting 1. IN THE FIRST MONTH, WHAT HAS WORKED WELL FOR YOU AND THE COMMUNITY? Ministers Several speakers noted their satisfaction with the "powerful spiritual leadership" being provided by our "three great ministers." Two speakers mentioned the joy of "discovering the gifts of Rev. David," one expressed appreciation for Rev. Harry's support in a time of birthing, and Rev. Sally received a vociferous standing ovation! Worship/Message There were many comments on the high quality of worship services-depth of messages, excellent music from David York & friends, more use of silence, and continuing to have two services is same location as before. All felt that the direction of the teaching so far has been to move the congregation toward "putting God first" and "forming a foundation on the forgiveness work." People felt we are being enabled to "move forward in love, rather than wallowing in blame or fear," and that we are "creating a field for demonstrating what we are all here for" which is perhaps to "be for something and against nothing." Community People are grateful that we have a community, that we didn't "scatter to the winds." Many are already feeling increased participation by everyone and like it that all are being asked to share our talents with one another. There's already more of a "more personal, family feeling" based on a consciousness of our being a community of Spirit ("having fewer entry doors" may help that, too!). Many have exhibited a remarkable generosity of spirit, including all who have simply stepped forward to take on tasks that need doing and the choir, who meet in a different place every week. Finances Speakers were glad to see financial responsibility being demonstrated by having a financial report every week in the bulletin. One person said he was "feeling free to tithe for the first time in a long time." Interim Board One speaker thanked the Board for being "diligent and proactive," while another was pleased with the consistency of having services available from the very beginning. One speaker commented that both Board members and ministers seem very accessible. Children and Teens Several people commented on the "consistency of the teen center through the transition," and the feeling that the children and teens are being seen as a more "integral part of the larger community" and that that may mean "sustenance and growth for the Kid's Village." 2 2. ANY PREFERENCES FOR THE NEXT 30-60 DAYS? Ministers One person wanted more information on what Harry's role is as "Senior Spiritual Advisor" and another suggested that decisions start to be considered on how to select a permanent minister Worship Services There were points of agreement among speakers, as well as some less "congruent" opinions! All agreed that it would be nice to create a more clearly sacred space (plants, decorations, break monotony of large curtain). Some commented that services "should be more organized," with "ministers taking a more powerful part, in the forefront, and not so much the Board." However, one person asked that there be "more participation in services by congregants." Several asked that there be more congregational input on music and prayer choices, "especially concerning familiar songs from a previous church." One suggested that several options be "tried out" for congregational response. Three people suggested having only one service in this early stage, in order to save resources and increase peoples' sense of spiritual energy. One commented that we "shouldn't make more changes than necessary and only when 'running' toward something better, not just away from something old." Community Several speakers would like a chance to connect more with others (through social events and large- and small-group gatherings, or simply a better space to mingle before and after services). Two mentioned starting to build traditions, such as an annual Thanksgiving dinner as a "homecoming" event for previous congregants. Two priorities seemed to be to get more people to the community meetings each month and get input from folks who have left. It was suggested that there be a contest to find a permanent name for our new community Finances There was strong support for continued financial reports. One speaker, however, (who was instantly invited to join the Finance Committee!) asked that there be more financial information published on the website (including a breakdown of ministers' salaries) and that the Board be more transparent about how it makes financial decisions Interim Board "Transparency" is the common request in comments about the Board: In how it makes decisions, in how it encourages congregant participation. One person asked if congregants can attend meetings (perhaps as silent participants). It was also suggested that the Board and Service Leadership Team, by extensive communication, not duplicate efforts to empower service volunteers. Children & Teens One speaker asked that there be more involvement of children and teens in the life of the congregation. Another asked that the congregation "foster the teen community." Who We Are "Foundational" issues seem to be that this is a congregation that believes in integrity and transparency in all matters and that empowerment of congregants should be "built in from the foundation up." Ministries One person volunteered to coordinate a 20-35 years-old group. One suggested that there be an ongoing way to "fulfill the forgiveness process" in which we are involved. Another noted that sometimes "grief and loss need to be dealt with before forgiveness." Facilities & Operations There was strong agreement that we need a church office! One person also requested that we decide soon on a database program and find people who want to give the service of data entry. Outreach More than one speaker urged a "proactive outreach" (after study and prayer) to various communities involving all kinds of demographics (various ages, hearing impaired, people of color, etc.) Two or three urged that NTMO unite with other New Thought churches in the healing/forgiveness process. Another asked that we be exposed to other New Thought churches (by sharing pulpits, an event website, and music ministries). Relationship to Previous Church Two people commented that the announcement re: the Marianne Williamson/Mary Morrison event was inappropriate. Compiled by Holly Wells, 10/7/04 503-452-0936 From revgrace@spiritualcityforum.org Tue Oct 12 23:23:54 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:23:53 -0700 for Received: from smtp.easystreet.com [69.30.22.10] by mediamessage.com [12.180.43.124] (SLmail 5.5.0.4433) with ESMTP id DC3024F4625D45C8A651D15F394F0362 for ; Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:23:49 -0700 Received: from gracecomp (69-30-78-94.dq1sf.easystreet.com [69.30.78.94]) by smtp.easystreet.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5F3BC364105; Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:17:09 -0700 (PDT) From: "Grace Young" To: Subject: Review of October 8th meeting Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:15:06 -0700 Message-ID: <008b01c4b0ec$06247700$0400a8c0@gracecomp> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_008C_01C4B0B1.59C59F00" X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.6626 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 Importance: Normal X-SLUIDL: 91663632-5C064E43-A7723919-3C730A78 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_008C_01C4B0B1.59C59F00 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable This month we moved to Friday in order to host Matthew Fox as our = speaker. It was an extraordinary event far beyond what these sparse notes = represent. Notes from Matthew's talk: We are in the dark night of the species; a = time of great choice. Are we going to survive or destroy ourselves? No one = will do it for us so we must recognize that each of us is a leader. Parents, grandparents, and citizens are all leadership roles. Our children are neglected by busy parents and exploited by the daily seduction of TV = ads. This is no time for retirement. Put your time, money, and heart into listening to the younger generation because parents are too busy for = this kind of deep relationship. =20 =20 What is it we are meant to do? Start right where we are. Connect with = the sacredness in our own vocation; be the leader and bring spirit back into = the work place. All professions need to be reinvented. We have lost the = sense of the sacred and must bring it back to where ever we are. =20 =20 The three most important discoveries of our generation: (1) The theory of relativity tells us we are all related. Everything is related and relationships are everything. This is about the return of feminine energy. =20 (2) Quantum theory: All matter is light. All food is sunlight. Christ = is the light in all things. We are all embodied light beings. =20 (3) Chaos: When men took over they believed that everything could be ordered. Newtonian theory described the universe was a machine. This = was shattered by the chaos theory and takes us back into the goddess = cultures where chaos was a friend, not the enemy. Fundamentalism wants to = repress chaos as being dangerous. Too much order is dangerous as is too much = chaos. We need to dance the balance and find the art of responding. We are at = the brink of bringing chaos back which is a feminine archetype. Meditate on chaos. Talk to chaos. What does it have to bring us? =20 =20 Out of chaos comes creativity which is what being human is all about. Creativity is the only thing our species has going for it. In the reinventing of leadership creativity will be embraced. Our work is to midwife the grace of creativity. If you can talk you are an artist and = you are creative. Part of creativity is courage. Be willing to lose a job = or make a mistake. Better that than be a couch potato. It's better to = burned out than never to have burned at all. =20 =20 After the speaker, questions arise out of the silence, being left = unanswered to seed the dialogue. =20 How do we, as a community, reach a community that is deadlocked in fundamentalism? =20 How as a community can we support each other in going beyond our fear = for ourselves and our people? =20 How do we keep our heart open and honor what is the most difficult at = work? =20 Where do we tell our stories of courage and strength? =20 =20 What kinds of new stories can I tell about the anger that arises in me = and use that energy in a positive way? =20 How do we learn to listen to and respond to the language of animals and nature who are speaking so clearly? =20 What is the role of play, rambunctiousness, fun, and juiciness? Can we become rambunctious for love? =20 =20 Harvest from the Dialogues: =20 How do we deal with a community or nation of fear? People have beliefs = to keep themselves from falling apart. The more a person's interior feels threatened the more one becomes inflexible and intractable on the = exterior. One's internal healing projects out to others. What we can do is to = return to the sacred with prayer, contemplation, and mediation to alleviate the fear. Send out blessing and love instead of despair and criticism. In every single moment I can choose love or fear. =20 =20 What story could we write to give people hope in place of the dominant = fear stories? =20 Leadership is a sacred service and a sacred trust and is meant to stir = the pot. Be authentic as we are all moving into God consciousness. Leaders = have a certain sense of selflessness. Dynamic leadership requires courage, = trust and creativity. Create through our thoughts and molecules will arrange themselves. Encourage, praise, midwife the "grace of creativity." Show = up and authentically call forth the greatness of one's self and others. =20 =20 We are already telling the story. How will it end? =20 =20 The group most depressed is the clergy. Anger is from the 3rd chakra = and is the first layer of grief. Nothing great happens without anger. There is = no prophet that wasn't angry. Anger is the chaos part of getting our = energy back. Need to ask anger: why are you here? What are you teaching me? = No one is teaching us about grieving. People are angry but the media is = not reflecting this. The place of meeting is in our pain. If you grieve it releases energy to allow the opening for creativity. =20 Take in what's coming at you rather than pushing away which is paradigm = of separation rather than oneness. =20 =20 Call forth passion; don't squelch it. =20 =20 We burn with desire to make a difference. =20 =20 We make a choice in calling it a predicament or an opportunity. =20 What kind of world are we giving over to our children? =20 Is there a "Berlin wall" that will collapse and change everything?=20 =20 Eat more chocolate and enjoy it =20 Is it possible to experience empowerment in making a mistake? =20 If you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much room. =20 =20 Business is the most powerful force in our country. What we need is a = new paradigm of economics. =20 Response from Matthew Fox Fundamentalism is the force that is trying to keep the chaos out of the house. We are not acknowledging the depth of our grief and we have lost = our capacity for moral outrage. How do we learn to play again? Without = play and fantasy there is no creativity. The sister to play is grief. Play, grief, anger are all sources of energy so how do we tap into this energy source? =20 =20 It is extremely important for each of us to speak our truth. Remember, courageous people are the most ordinary people. We are entering a = period of chaos but don't underestimate our creativity as a species. The only = thing holding us back is imagination. Our strength is in our hearts. The new leadership brings the brain and the heart together. Don't underestimate = how much we have been growing. =20 Spiritual City Forum: The soul is a city and our soul is the city of Portland. The connecting you make here today is a giving and receiving = to the city. We meet here with the other prophets around the table and = create community. =20 =20 Stars are the campfires of our ancestors =20 Rev. Grace Annmarie Young Executive Director Spiritual City Forum 503.246.2829 revgrace@spiritualcityforum.org ----- Original Message -----=20 From: David Alexander=20 To: Ray Jubitz ; Holly Wells=20 Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 2:04 PM Subject: FW: statements of belief Please share this with the board. Peace, Rev.D. ------ Forwarded Message From: David Alexander Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 11:32:57 -0700 To: , Peter Creede , "'Rev. Sally = Rutis'" , Harry Morgan Moses = Subject: Re: statements of belief Hi Pete -=20 Thank you so much for your insightful look into our statements of = belief. We are in agreement with you about the important role of Jesus = in the history and theology of New Thought. Jesus is indeed the Great = Example not the great exception - and we have added this statement to = the beliefs document. =20 The history of New Thought is well established in the works of Jesus - = from Quimby to Holmes and all of the greats in between - they all = recognized the foundation of Christianity and understood what it means = to be a true follower of Christ Jesus, as a living example - free from = religious dogma. New Thought Ministries of Oregon will continue in that = same path. =20 Of course New Thought also places an important focus on Universal Truth = - that which is beyond all religions and common to all spiritual paths = and thereby honoring of all traditions and sacred texts. We will also = continue to reflect and express this valuable part of our tradition and = Theological grounding. =20 If we truly accept and understand Jesus as the LOGOS - then that means = that there is no religious truth or revelation before or after the time = of the historical Jesus that does not fit under the LOGOS - meaning that = to be a "New Thought Christian" is to be a follower of Jesus as the = "revealer of the Universal Way" and that we have the freedom to express = our devotion and spiritual discipline through many avenues "Many Paths, = One Truth" =20 Thanks again for the inquire, we value your voice in this spiritual = community. Namaste, Rev. David=20 Rev. David Alexander=20 New Thought Ministries of Oregon www.ntmo.org=20 namastedave@hotmail.com On 10/10/04 9:00 PM, "info@ntmo.org" wrote: Hi, Pete: Thanks for sending your thoughts on the current statement of belief. = I'm passing your e-mail on to the ministers and the Board's ministry = team. Are you going to be in one of the Future Search conferences? I = hope so and I hope that you'll include this as part of your gift of = input for the community. I'll be in the B conference(on the 22nd & = 23rd); I hope to see you then--or on the 30th, when we're all together = from both conferences to create an action plan. I'll be calling you and Dolores soon to get a report on Mary's session = at the Doubletree today--I'm sorry I couldn't attend. Thanks for trying = so hard to find out if you needed to save me a seat! I didn't remember = to turn on my phone until 2:30. Love, Holly=20 ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Peter Creede =20 To: info@ntmo.org=20 Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2004 1:17 PM Subject: statements of belief Namaste, The Statements of Belief in the Oct 3 bulletin leave me = empty. It is as if a ship is being constructed without a strong keel and = rudder. It may look good and attract the intellect and keep one = pleasantly distracted, but without an identifiable example, a foundation = or keel on which to build, and a model of behavior or rudder, with which = to steer our course, you ain't going no where. Good luck in a storm. Jesus is my foundation. His example is my model and = direction. The crucifixion and resurrection elevate him from example to = exception. For me and other New Thought Christians his life and = teachings are the Way to God. Removing or diminishing his importance = eviscerates the soul, the Way of our belief. Without Jesus what would = Emmet Fox, Emilie Cady, or Earnest Holmes have to say? While the "saints, sages, mystics and prophets through = all spiritual traditions" have also illuminated the paths to God, each = path has a direction unique to itself. Honor the diversity of different = paths, the inclusiveness of progress on the journey of faith, but = acknowledge the Christ, the goal of our pursuit, that we might have a = model, a framework, on which to heal our lives and build our dreams. = Then walk the path you pick. Without Jesus, we would not have received the Our Father. = and the Statements of Belief are just not enough for me to believe in. Holding you all in prayer, and honoring the work you are doing, I am = in awe of your contributions to evolve this congregation into a church. = I pray that what I have said be heard and understood in the spirit in = which I have intended. I turn that over to God to make clear what I may = have clumsily obscured. And so It is. Namaste, Peter Creede Batteries Not Included +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ U.S. interests vs. global interests by David Batstone Clyde Prestowitz is deeply troubled by the foreign relations of the United States. He fears that we are becoming a "rogue nation" that violates international agreements and alliances with scant consideration for the long-term consequences. In short, the U.S. is making the world a more dangerous place, says Prestowitz. I found his message so compelling that I tracked down a filmed interview with Prestowitz. We offer our SojoMail readers a short cut for your viewing (find the link at the end of the column). Prestowitz's voice is all the more intriguing given his pedigree. Once a senior counselor to the secretary of commerce in the Reagan administration, Prestowitz is a self-identified "super-patriotic," "conservative," and life-long Republican. He held senior executive posts in major international corporations and wrote an influential book on trade relations between the U.S. and Japan. He currently is president of the Economic Strategy Institute. Prestowitz is also a born-again Christian and serves as an elder at his evangelical Presbyterian church. He does not turn his deep faith into a divine blessing of partisan politics, however. "Politicians who use God as a prop for their campaigns should remember that God is not mocked," Prestowitz wrote in his book, Rogue Nation. Yet Prestowitz unabashedly says it is his faith in Jesus that informs the way he interprets the world, and the values that guide his actions. Moral vision. That's what I found missing in the first two presidential debates. Based on the debates, one could not be blamed for thinking that the U.S. and Iraq were the only two nations in the world that mattered (and the latter due only to its tragic bond with the former). Undoubtedly, a debate on foreign policy should include Iraq - how the U.S. military got in there and how it will get out, what sovereignty in Iraq would mean, and whether the U.S. will go it alone in solving the problem or find a significant group of allies (beyond the U.K.) to "win the peace." But let's put Iraq in proper perspective. Over two debates, I did not hear one question address the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Do we really think that peace will come to the Middle East without resolving that issue? On that note, what has the Bush administration done over the past four years to move a political solution to the West Bank closer to reality? I reckon the policy has been stone-walled...literally. I heard one question over two debates on Sudan and the genocide taking place there - and the responses of both candidates were terribly tepid and disappointing. Even less attention was given to AIDS and hunger, which loom slightly more extreme on the global suffering scale than what's happening in Iraq. How the U.S. will relate to the looming global superpower, China, also was completely ignored; only passing reference to China was made in connection to a policy toward North Korea. Europe also barely appeared on the debate map; a single question about Russia took care of that continent. Most of the debate kept coming back to two words: Iraq and terrorism. But my beef goes beyond geopolitical slights. Prestowitz, I believe, is asking the right questions. He morally rejects the idea of a "first strike" by which the U.S. can attack any country that may be perceived to pose a threat to the security of our nation. In a recent interview, he decries the Bush administration's foreign policy as "the kind of slaying of dragons, messianic foreign adventure that traditional conservatives have always been opposed to." In other words, pre-emptive military strikes are immoral. The Pope says so, as do most leaders of Christian churches around the globe. How telling that during the first debate, Bush believed that he had caught Kerry out when he used the words "global test" as a means to evaluate appropriate foreign policy. The Kerry camp tried to do "damage control," claiming that its candidate indeed would act unilaterally to advance U.S. economic and political interests. Prestowitz argues that the U.S. once defined its national interests in terms that the whole world could embrace - strong global institutions, due process, and the rule of law. We now make foreign policy on the narrow terms of what is best for America. We once supported international alliances within the U.N. and NATO - we now deem them irrelevant and dangerous to our national interests. We increasingly act alone, without "testing" the wisdom and value of our policy with anyone. This direction for foreign policy should be the subject of moral debate. You name the foreign policy topic - trade relations, environment, economic aid, energy, agriculture - and the same moral question arises. Do we act justly in consideration of the needs and goals of other nations, or do we blindly follow "America first?" Prestowitz suggests that our leaders have adopted the latter tack, which betrays his deepest Christian values. I cannot agree more. See an excerpt of the Prestowitz interview made exclusively for SojoMail: Windows Media Player: http://go.sojo.net/ct/x1qodaE1NBK2/ (works best with Internet Explorer) RealPlayer: http://go.sojo.net/ct/spqodaE1NBKN/ (Works best with Netscape) QuickTime stream: http://go.sojo.net/ct/s7qodaE1NBKM/ QuickTime download: http://go.sojo.net/ct/A7qodaE1NaCT/ Tell a friend about this issue of SojoMail at: http://go.sojo.net/sojourners/join-forward.html?domain=sojourners&r=E7qodaE1FQQo Politically Connect ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Pro-life? Look at the fruits by Dr. Glen Harold Stassen I am a Christian ethicist, and trained in statistical analysis. I am consistently pro-life. My son David is one witness. For my family, "pro-life" is personal. My wife caught rubella in the eighth week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is a blessing to us and to the world. I look at the fruits of political policies more than words. I analyzed the data on abortion during the George W. Bush presidency. There is no single source for this information - federal reports go only to 2000, and many states do not report - but I found enough data to identify trends. My findings are counterintuitive and disturbing. Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4% decline during the 1990s. This was an average decrease of 1.7% per year, mostly during the latter part of the decade. (This data comes from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using the Guttmacher Institute's studies). Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the opposite happened. I found three states that have posted multi-year statistics through 2003, and abortion rates have risen in all three: Kentucky's increased by 3.2% from 2000 to 2003. Michigan's increased by 11.3% from 2000 to 2003. Pennsylvania's increased by 1.9% from 1999 to 2002. I found 13 additional states that reported statistics for 2001 and 2002. Eight states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6% average increase), and five saw a decrease (4.3% average decrease). Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction. How could this be? I see three contributing factors: First, two thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Web site). In the past three years, unemployment rates increased half again. Not since Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs during a presidency until the current administration. Average real incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers fear another mouth to feed. Second, half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). Men who are jobless usually do not marry. Only three of the 16 states had more marriages in 2002 than in 2001, and in those states abortion rates decreased. In the 16 states overall, there were 16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises. Third, women worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this presidency - with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those 5.2 million - abortion increases. The U.S. Catholic Bishops warned of this likely outcome if support for families with children was cut back. My wife and I know - as does my son David - that doctors, nurses, hospitals, medical insurance, special schooling, and parental employment are crucial for a special child. David attended the Kentucky School for the Blind, as well as several schools for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was mainstreamed in public schools as well. We have two other sons and five grandchildren, and we know that every mother, father, and child needs public and family support. What does this tell us? Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere tinkling brass, without health care, health insurance, jobs, child care, and a living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need policies that provide jobs and health insurance and support for prospective mothers. Glen Stassen is the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and the co-author of Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, Christianity Today's Book of the Year in theology or ethics. + Read David Batstone's open letter to Catholic bishops who are instructing Catholics to make a "pro-life vote": http://go.sojo.net/ct/37qodaE1NBKd/ + Read Rose Marie Berger's column "Eucharist in an Election Year" about the "Catholic vote": http://go.sojo.net/ct/31qodaE1NBK3/ Compassion With an Umbrella A Western Buddhist woman was in India, studying with her teacher. She = was riding with another woman friend in a rickshaw-like carriage, when they = were attacked by a man on the street. In the end, the attacker only succeeded = in frightening the women, but the Buddhist woman was quite upset by the = event and told her teacher so. She asked him what she should have done - what would have been the appropriate, Buddhist response.=20 The teacher said very simply, "You should have very mindfully and with = great compassion whacked the attacker over the head with your umbrella." From: "Dr. Susanne Freeborn" X-Yahoo-Profile: RevSusanne MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list FrontiersofNewThought@yahoogroups.com; contact FrontiersofNewThought-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list FrontiersofNewThought@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 23:32:24 -0700 Subject: [FrontiersofNewThought] GoodStart for 10.15.2004 - AIF week two - Open Wide Reply-To: FrontiersofNewThought@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0059_01C4B246.0F82C620" X-SLUIDL: 6ECB0BDC-33134D62-92C9BB87-1DD99A2D ------=_NextPart_000_0059_01C4B246.0F82C620 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I am opening up to the divine more fully every day. I see the evidence of this in my life. I perceive the activity of Spirit within me with every breath. This activity is what has always been intended - for me to recogniz= e that there is a fundamental unity that can never be broken. To know that Go= d and I are one.=20 =20 My life is not the result of a distant divinity that's put me here in this life to improve me. I'm not here to learn a lesson or to somehow overcome a= n inherent flaw. I am here out of life's longing to be expressed in infinitel= y diverse and creative ways. I am Life's way of celebrating itself, and I kno= w it.=20 =20 Whatever intention my life contains, it comes from an immediate presence. It's not an intention other than my own, for I and this presence are one. Right now, without hesitating another moment, I realize this. Life's longin= g to be expressed shows up as my longing to express myself creatively in the world. I open up to the yearning for a bigger or richer or deeper experienc= e - for this longing is the divine urge of creation.=20 =20 From this moment on, I don't hold myself back. Wherever I've chosen to ignore this persistent knocking on the door of my heart, I wake up and hear it. I answer with all of myself, and see that the life I have always wanted is right here within me. Perceiving this, the Law naturally brings it into form; that's how it works.=20 =20 I see wonder, beauty, power and joy. I see an abundant sufficiency and radiant health everywhere. I see connection, compassion, communion wherever I look - and as I see it, so it is.=20 =20 _____=20=20 Spirit's Calling You Adventures in Faith 2004 _____=20=20 Welcome to Adventures in Faith 2004! If you're taking part in the adventure= , below you'll find practices to help you dive deep into your own spiritual source.=20 AFFIRMATION :=20 I am opening up to the experience of the presence of God.=20 PRACTICE:=20 Every day, take some time to practice opening up through prayer. Stretton Smith, in his 4T Prosperity Program, would always begin each lesson with th= e affirmation, "I am open and receptive to God's living Spirit of Truth". The way we actually become receptive is by systematically building a consciousness of openness. An affirmation or two alone won't do it.=20 =20 If you use GoodStarts as part of your daily practice, consciously set the intention to open up through their use. If you're ready to go deeper [and you know you are!], claim a new openness in your own heart and mind through prayer. Once a day is good - as often as you think of it, even better. If you want to know more about the practice of spiritual mind treatment [also known as affirmative prayer], visit the following page on our website: http://www.rsibaltimore.com/prayer101.htm to learn more.=20 CONTEMPLATION:=20 What is it in my life, my heart, or my thinking that is in the way of opening wide? Where do I hold back? How do I distract myself from the kingdom of heaven that is already spread over the earth? How can I stretch just a little more to open up?=20 =20 Visit the AIF 2004 website at http://www.rsibaltimore.com/aif200= 4 to find out about the events & opportunities for spiritual awakening during our program.=20 =20 _____=20=20 The GoodStart List Send your feedback to goodstarts@rsibaltimore.com Visit our website at www.rsibaltimore.com GoodStarts =A9 1998-2004 Jeffrey Proctor. All rights reserved.=20 _____=20=20 All of this proves that time is subjective. We have anecdotal evidence to support this because for centuries we have been observing this phenomena. A watched pot never boils. I actually read of a study where this was literally proved under laboratory conditions. Time flies when you are having fun. Nuff said about this one:o) In a message dated 10/14/04 4:50:29 PM, chango73@yahoo.com writes: << Well the reverse has been true to me. I've been in situations that seem to last for hours and I look at the clock and it looks as if 1/10 that time has gone by. --- revmuata@aol.com wrote: > > I too have, "bent time" in such a fashion with the > same motivation. No one > believes me either. > In a message dated 10/8/04 9:59:45 AM, > gail.nadeau@verizon.net writes: > > << As an example I can share with you about one > incident that occurred some > years ago. I was working at this job and I was > frequently late arriving at > work. My boss told me that if I was late one more > time I would be fired. > Several days later I slept through my alarm and > awoke at 8:30 A.M. I was supposed > to be at work by 9:00 and it took me 35 minutes at > the least to get to work. I > had to wash, dress etc. so I started to think > > > well... forget it .. no sense even trying you'll > never make it. Then > something deep within me seemed to be saying " Get > dressed and go to work " > Logically it made no sense to me; however, I chose > to follow that. > > > I left my house at 8:50 A.M. Now the normal time > it took to get to work was > 35 minutes at least. I just kept moving and > trusting somehow that God would > take care of it. I had no idea of the outcome. I > arrived at work and I could > not believe my eyes. The clock at work read 9:00 > A.M. > > > I checked my wristwatch and it showed 9:00 A.M. > also. And yet I had just > made a 35 minute trip. I was puzzled throughout the > day and I figured my clock > at home must have been wrong. The first thing I did > upon arriving home that > evening was to check all of my clocks. They all had > the same time as my > wristwatch which coincided with the clock at work. > To this day I cannot logically > explain what happened; however I reached the > conclusion tha tthere is no such > thing as " time" as we know it and I also realized > that " appearances" can be > deceiving. For myself God is not understood with the > logical mind. God Is. > > > Blessings :-) paxpj. >> >> Walk in balance, Rev. Muata Stay Green and Grow Today's Review From Salon.com Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan <<> Read today's review in HTML at: http://www.powells.com/sal/review/2004_10_15 <>> A review by Charles Taylor Wide open. That's how Times Square looks in the 1960 photo on the cover of the first volume of Bob Dylan's memoirs, Chronicles. The neon is there -- at that time, for the Automat, BOAC airlines, Canadian Club, Admiral appliances. But unlike every other Times Square photo you've ever seen, this one shows a vast street, a large swatch of sky; there's room to breathe and space to claim. It looks like the main street in an old western as seen by the stranger in town. Only in this case the stranger isn't a gunslinger but a folk singer. Wide open. That's how Dylan describes the world in front of him as a young singer about to make his name in the last paragraph of the book. And it was the phrase he used to describe America itself when he praised the first volume of Peter Guralnick's Elvis biography, Last Train to Memphis: "Elvis as he walks the path between heaven and nature in an America that was wide open." Wide open. It's not a phrase anyone would think of to describe Bob Dylan -- at least the Dylan of legend. The Dylan whose public image was set long ago: Dylan the "protest singer," Dylan the messiah, Dylan the prophet, Dylan the recluse, the cagey, obscure Dylan, the born-again Dylan, all of the images of Dylan thrown up by obsessive fans, English majors, and rock critics of the sort played by Jeff Bridges in the Dylan movie Masked and Anonymous; a pompous, pontificating ass who winds up impaled on Blind Lemon Jefferson's guitar. Whether or not the images were true, whether Dylan ever tried to be a messiah or a prophet, whether or not, despite his reputation for obscurity, there was an apparent emotional sense to be found in his riddles and metaphors, was beside the point. To think that the popular picture of Dylan might not be true would screw up a perfectly good ready-made image, would mess with the sound bites and the editorial I.D.'s ("Dylan, whose songs of social injustice made him the voice of the '60s..."). Wide open. That's exactly what we are not to any celebrity who publishes a biography. We know what to think of celebrities. They're all egomaniacs and publicity whores -- doesn't matter if they're Paris Hilton or Bob Dylan. That's how all the pomo Hedda Hoppers have told us to think about celebrity. Forget about the work; it's the image that matters. Irony is the new Jesus. Crucified on Sept. 11, it rose again to sit at the right hand of ... well, maybe not God, but at least Maureen Dowd. Dylan's work and utterances, even the garbage outside his New York apartment in the '60s, have been given a ruthless and shallow parsing. There are plenty of people who expect everything that comes out of Dylan's mouth to be either revelatory or nonsensical. Last year brought an example of the latter expectation when critics who had grown up with the oblique humor and elliptical imagery of Dylan songs reacted, when confronted with the same qualities in Masked and Anonymous, as if they were seeing a self-indulgent travesty for which there was no precedent. They killed the movie (one of the most potent and challenging American movies in recent memory) almost out of sheer laziness. Seizing on holes in the narrative or the oddball scenes, the reviews complained in the manner of high school kids assigned poetry who whine about how hard it is to understand. What may throw some readers about Chronicles is how modest and straightforward it is. Neither a hallucination, like Dylan's Tarantula, nor a coffee-table fan's scrapbook (there are no photos), Chronicles starts in without any preamble, any fuss. The opening and closing sections recount Dylan's memories of being a young singer in Greenwich Village, just signed to Columbia by the legendary John Hammond (who would count Charlie Christian, Billie Holiday and Bruce Springsteen among the talent he got for the label). In between there are sections on his domestic life as a young husband and father in 1960s Woodstock following his near-fatal motorcycle accident, and a long section on the recording of his 1989 album Oh Mercy. Does he tell all? No. First, because it's none of our damn business. A man who has been scrutinized the way Dylan has, who has had people literally crawling through his windows and pontificating on what his role should be, knows something about the necessity of keeping at least part of it all to himself. Second, because he realizes nothing is more boring and less revealing than the sort of memoir that would've included lines like: "And then I met a young Canadian guitarist named Robbie Robertson." Dylan holds things in reserve. The motorcycle accident gets one line. He summons the ardor of youth to write of his famous love affair with Suze Rotolo, the young beauty walking through Village slush with him on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ("She was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen"), and treats their breakup with the discretion of a true gentleman ("She took one turn in the road and I took another. We just passed out of each other's lives"). Dylan is revealing about the things that matter. As a writer he makes the distinction between fond reminiscence and false nostalgia. Without offering any cheap psychological explanation, he gives a pretty good idea of where the sideshow quality of his '60s songs came from. On the first page, Dylan is introduced to Jack Dempsey in the boxer's restaurant on 58th Street. Old blues legends and new folk singers, like Dave Van Ronk and Fred Neil, populate the Village. Dylan crashes with the likes of the wandering descendant of Southern generals and his woman, a hatcheck girl and model for Cavalier. And all the time young Dylan is imbibing the mixture of books on the shelves of the apartments where he stayed and the music coming out of the clubs and jukeboxes. It's "Desolation Row" as a boulevard of promise. You understand why T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound occupied the same song as fishermen, Einstein, Robin Hood, fortune tellers, tightrope walkers -- they all shared space in Dylan's ... Read the entire review at: http://www.powells.com/sal/review/2004_10_15 COPIES NOW AVAILABLE* Hardcover (New) $24.00 Trade Paper (New) $17.95 Trade Paper (New) $21.95 Trade Paper (New) $21.95 Trade Paper (New) $21.95 http://www.powells.com/sal/cgi-bin/product?isbn=0743228154 Joke Of The Day Saddam Hussein was sitting down wondering who to bomb next, when his phone rang. "Hello," the voice said. "This is Paddy at the Harp Pub in Ireland, I am ringing you to say me and a couple of me mates are declaring war on you!" "Well Paddy," replied Saddam, "how big is your army" "Well lets see there's me, my brother sean, my next door neighbour seamus and the local dart team." "Ahh" said Saddam. "I must tell you that you are against 1 million men, 16000 tanks and 14000 armoured personnel carriers." Paddy then hung up....The next day, sure enough, Paddy rung again, "The war is still on Mr. Hussein." Paddy said. "We now have some infantry and equipment." "What would that be" Saddam asked. "Well we have 2 combines, a bulldozer, and Father Murpheys Grey Fergy tractor," Paddy replied. Saddam sighed "Paddy may I tell you that my army has increased to 2 million men since we last spoke." "I'll get back to ya," Paddy said. Sure enough Paddy rang again, "Right Mr. Hussein, we've modified our two seater Harrigans ultra light plane with a gattling gun, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us." Saddam cleared his throat lay back on his chair and said, "Paddy... I have 10000 bombers, 20000 fighter planes, and I am surrounded by surface to air lazer guided missles, and my army has incresed to 2 and a half million men since yesterday." "Oh" said Paddy, "I'll have to ring ya back" Paddy called again the next day and said "I'm sorry, but the wars been called off." "I'm sorry to hear that, why the sudden change of heart?" asked Saddam. "Well after a discussion over a couple of pints we decided there's no way we could feed two and a half million prisoners" Remember how I posted his terrific Seller's Creed here a while ago? Well, here is Rick's Entrepreneur's Prayer: http://www.bettersalesrightnow.com/downloads/files/prayer.mp3 Plus two of his songs. He wrote the first and co-wrote the second: "Forgiveness" http://www.bettersalesrightnow.com/downloads/files/forgiveness.mp3 "On My Way" http://www.bettersalesrightnow.com/downloads/files/omw.mp3 I am sure you will enjoy all. Thanks, Rick, very much. Stephanie From onegod@buckeye-access.com Tue Jun 15 16:04:19 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Tue, 15 Jun 2004 16:04:18 -0700 for Today's DAILY INSPIRATION is from Anthony de Mello, SJ. ********************** To a disciple that was always at his prayers the Master said, "When will you stop leaning on God and stand on your own two feet?" The disciple was astonished, "But you are the one who taught us to look on God as Father!" "When will you learn that a father isn't someone you can lean on but someone who rids you of your tendency to lean?" *********************** Until we understand that "the kingdom is within," we will continue to believe that "Our Father which art in heaven," is the home of last resort road service. *********************** Noel, we love you, Bert and Christina Today's Review From Salon.com The Plot Against America: A Novel by Philip Roth ----- Original Message -----=20 From: David Alexander=20 To: Ray Jubitz ; Holly Wells=20 Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 2:04 PM Subject: FW: statements of belief Please share this with the board. Peace, Rev.D. ------ Forwarded Message From: David Alexander Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 11:32:57 -0700 To: , Peter Creede , "'Rev. Sally = Rutis'" , Harry Morgan Moses = Subject: Re: statements of belief Hi Pete -=20 Thank you so much for your insightful look into our statements of = belief. We are in agreement with you about the important role of Jesus = in the history and theology of New Thought. Jesus is indeed the Great = Example not the great exception - and we have added this statement to = the beliefs document. =20 The history of New Thought is well established in the works of Jesus - = from Quimby to Holmes and all of the greats in between - they all = recognized the foundation of Christianity and understood what it means = to be a true follower of Christ Jesus, as a living example - free from = religious dogma. New Thought Ministries of Oregon will continue in that = same path. =20 Of course New Thought also places an important focus on Universal Truth = - that which is beyond all religions and common to all spiritual paths = and thereby honoring of all traditions and sacred texts. We will also = continue to reflect and express this valuable part of our tradition and = Theological grounding. =20 If we truly accept and understand Jesus as the LOGOS - then that means = that there is no religious truth or revelation before or after the time = of the historical Jesus that does not fit under the LOGOS - meaning that = to be a "New Thought Christian" is to be a follower of Jesus as the = "revealer of the Universal Way" and that we have the freedom to express = our devotion and spiritual discipline through many avenues "Many Paths, = One Truth" =20 Thanks again for the inquire, we value your voice in this spiritual = community. Namaste, Rev. David=20 PHARISEE WATCH: Subscription is free at: http://www.straitgateministry.org WHY JUDAIZED CHRISTIANS ARE RE-ELECTING GEORGE W. BUSH By Charles E. Carlson Serial war's never-ending blood purges are now the dominant factor in our = American culture. Each successive war is paid for by the dilution of our = money, which is no more or less than a hidden tax on the consumer. The tw= in effects are unprecedented price inflation and a dismal decline in moral= ity that has always accompanies militarism everywhere. The sad Soviet Uni= on is the most recent example of this. All history warns us that politica= l wars and dilution are the twin scissor blades of tyranny, and that the m= iddle class and the fixed income consumer are always caught between its ra= zor sharp blades. We Americans are now embroiled in the so-called "war on terrorism" which,= ignoring the causes and excuses of it for the moment, is in practice a wa= r on Islam. This war is focused on independent acting Muslim countries, s= uch as Chechnya and Bosnia, named here only because they are just as Cauca= sian as any of us. The war on Islam is the successor to the philosophical= "Cold War" against "communism" that sapped our resources and dominated ou= r lives the last half of the 20th Century. This author first wrote about t= his in a published article in March 1994, called, Attacking Islam, Revisit= ed. (See endnotes.) The predictable effect of dollar dilution is to divide the great American = middle class into what are currently a millionaire class and those below. = At the present rate of dilution sub-millionaires will soon be equivalent = to the peasants of pre-industrial Europe. Neither class has much to say a= bout our government. The sub-millionaire class is so busy making ends mee= t we do not think much or have time to contemplate issues. The millionair= e class shortsightedly sees few problems that money will not solve. The political leadership of both parties is now in the hands of the multi= -billionaire's class (the "haves" as George W. Bush called them). The "ha= ves" opponents will not be elected, the controlled media sees to that. Americans are independent, they even want to keep their guns, and they fe= ar being taken over from abroad, but for the most part they fail to recogn= ize that a world hegemony already exists that is controlled by those who c= ontrol the USA. We were taught throughout the Cold War to fear "world gov= ernment," a supposed scheme to take over our own freedom and export contro= l over our country from the outside. But the Cold War evaporated; it turned out to be only a hologram war imag= e projected on the eastern sky. Its power sources came from New York and = London, not from the USSR, as we were told for 40 years through two major = wars that cost 100,000 American lives. Instead of seeing America become greater, we have seen our jobs exported = and our cost of living rise 1000 percent in the lifetime of any grandfathe= r. The hegemony exists all right, but it is within. Whoever controls Ame= rica controls the world. It is our military might that the rest of the wo= rld fears. But, at the present rate of wars and dilution, soon only billi= onaires will be in control and many former millionaires will be paupers. = This is a purely financial approach without even considering the moral ces= spool we now are asked to swim in. Witness Abu Gareb prison for just one = example. What future does this leave for our future generations? How do we break free? Sorry, without a better level of citizen understan= ding we cannot. We are doomed to a steady decline. The day will surely c= ome when Cadillac SUVs, Lincolns, Mercedes, and macho Hummer gas-guzzlers = are abandoned in supermarket lots. You will know the abandoned cars by th= e red tags tied to them: too many to tow away. But cheer up; there will b= e plenty of space for you in the mall because few people will be shopping.= The obvious question is: how can the billionaire class assert so much con= trol over the middle class in a supposed democratic republic? How can we = be so dumb? English students in Gaza asked me this question. They wanted= to know why, if Americans are peaceful people, we do not assert our const= itutional rights? Its not just the Gazan students...the whole world wonde= rs what happened to democracy in America? How do the haves keep the have-nots between the blades of the scissors? I= f every other country in the world can see that US foreign policy is both = evil and self-destructive, as the polls show, why are the majority of Amer= icans about to vote for more of the same? This is not a commercial for John Kerry, who has not differenced himself e= nough from Mr. Bush to give anyone a choice. His history is not without c= ompromises according to his own account, and he has stopped short of oppos= ing serial wars. But George W. Bush has as much as promised more wars on more Muslim Counti= es as soon as he is reelected. This may be the only election anyone can r= emember where a candidate has done so. Past politicians (I can name two o= r three) have always sworn they will keep us out of war, and they have don= e so at the very moment their primary supporters are planning to get us in= to a new one. The basic question is: who really wants war in our country?= CHRISTIANS FOR WAR The answer is not complicated, but it is diabolical. The "haves" invented= a religious war making philosophy to control the have-nots. Ariel Sharon= calls this philosophy "Christian Zionism." Pharisee Watch calls it "Juda= ized Christianity" and this author knows, he was one! The modern disease = by this name metastasized in about 1895 under Theodore Herzl and others wh= o are well known. But the Apostle Paul also contended with the same probl= em in the early church in the first century after Christ. Webster's Dicti= onary defines "Judaized" as "one who conforms to the religion of the Jews,= " referencing the book of Galatians. (Noah Webster, 1828 edition) (Note 3= .) Any election revolt against the Hegemony presently requires the support of= the Judaized Christian churches. It is a mysterious voting mass (hardly = a block) that crosses all denominations and combines for arguably up to 40= million votes. Judaized Christians often have little in common and are u= nified by only one issue, Israel. They are a mass 20 times more significa= nt than either the Muslim or the Jewish vote. It is reasonable to conclude that the Judaized Christians have been the sw= ing vote in each of the last seven presidential elections, from Baptist, J= immy Carter to George W. Bush. They do not vote solid Republican, as some= have mistakenly claimed. The Judaized Christians elected Democrats Jimmy= Carter and Bill Clinton twice. Judaized Christians (JC) are not unified around one party as we are often = led to believe, but they are unified around the interest of a foreign coun= try, Israel. As long as any politician can attach himself to Israel's int= erest he can count on most of this enormous mass of votes. The celebrity = "Christian" media leaders let the Judaized Christians know who loves Israe= l the most. It worked for Carter once, Reagan twice, and for Bush, Sr., w= ho rode in on Reagan's coattails, and who later lost to Clinton because th= e blatant pro-abortion libertine Bill Clinton carried a Bible under his ar= m and managed to convince the Judaized Christianity mass he was more passi= onately pro-Israel than Bush, Sr. President George W. Bush, his campaigners, and the national media, all una= shamedly bank on enticing the "evangelical" vote just as they did four yea= rs ago. If they are successful Bush will win in spite of the war weakened= economy, a thousand dead without a cause to die for, his pandering of the= Warmakers (now called the Neo-Cons), and his spoken commitment to destroy= the Islamic countries one by one. The reason this works is that the Juda= ized Christians have been persuaded that the wars in the Middle East are n= ecessary because each is in the best interest of Israel. Judaized Christians have also been carefully tutored to think it is OK wit= h Jesus to hate Muslims. "Hatred" is not too strong a word, but is totall= y alien to what Jesus teaches. This makes Judaized Christianity an oxymor= on that makes no more sense to a logical mind than would a "friendly assau= lt" or a "loving war." It is unlikely that John Kerry can overcome a 25 p= ercent voting block. The Judaized Christians will sweep Bush back in offi= ce because he wears the twin pledges; he claims to be "born again," and he= loves Israel (they think) more than life itself. WHAT CAN BE DONE Judaized Christians always vote for more war and more inflation because th= ey are led to believe each new war is good for Israel. They feel they mus= t do this for the sake of their own personal salvation and to win "God's f= avor" over America. Many are indoctrinated (by celebrity leaders) that et= ernal life with Jesus requires that they demonstrate their love for Israel= . They are the only mass that actually vote with the interest of a foreig= n power in mind. Judaized Christians will likely sweep G. W. Bush back in office unless Mr.= Kerry manages to convince some significant percentage of them that he is = more pro-Israel than Bush. Mr. Kerry's strongest assets are his good choi= ce of a second wife, and the assumption that he apparently learned to hate= war though he did not always vote his conscience. Unfortunately, he is c= urrently playing down one of his few virtues in hopes of a chance to share= the Judaized Christian war vote! Pharisee Watch is an observer, not a political analyst, so the following s= tatement should be viewed accordingly. Any chance John Kerry has of being= elected require that he immediately denounce the war in every respect, in= cluding admitted he, Kerry, was wrong in supporting the attack on Afghanis= tan in the first place. He would have to promise to bring the military ho= me and end Iraq on the day he is elected. Even then he will probably lose= , but he might...just might find enough disgruntled and dissected evangeli= cals (some of whom are registered Democrats) to swing the balance. But on= ly if he is able to convince them that war is also not good for Israel eit= her! This happens to be true, as many Israelis admit. Presently there is no candidate to tell the pubic that wars are wrong. Th= e logic of the Judaized Christians is false from a biblical point of view,= and it is enormously self-destructive. Strangely enough, the vast majori= ty of JC's themselves live between the blades of the scissors. They are v= ulnerable to dilution, and it is their sons and daughters who are being ki= lled in Iraq. They are subtly taught from youth that they must support th= e state of Israel regardless of the personal cost. Kerry should appeal to= those who can understand this letter, and forget the rest. -(end of unco= mpensated political advise to the Kerry campaign) Approaching Judaized Christians on a logical, secular or factual basis is = next to impossible because they believe they are acting out their faith, a= nd war to them is a worthwhile sacrifice if they think it is "Gods war." = And if it is Israel's war, it has to be God's war because they believe Isr= aelis are "chosen of God." Logical arguments and documents about the deat= h count on both sides, histories of the various parties, errors and lies b= y our government rarely work, for a committed Judaized Christian will simp= ly call it "God's will," and will probably quote an Old Testament Bible pr= ophesy to prove God planned the war himself. All of this is based on fals= ification of the Bible itself. To end serial wars and dilution, we must find a way to change the thinking= of the Judaized Christians. The task seems impossible, but we know "with= God all things are possible." This letter and others like it need to be = read by every one of them. IS IT POSSIBLE? This is why Project Strait Gate was formed out of We Hold These Truths. I= ts purpose is to expose the abhorrent religious heresies that fuel Judaize= d Christianity. We want to deliver our message into the willing hands of = those influential few in every church who already know we are right. We k= now they are present in every church because this writer use to be one of = them, as did several of our advisors. This remnant that has not been fool= ed needs a method and a program to convince their peers of what they have = learned. Strait Gate Ministries hopes to generate the resources to reach = this powerful few, in which there is hope with God's help. The vulnerability of the Judaized Christians is that each one is working a= gainst its own interest. They are undermining the very values of peace, j= ustice, and morality that they claims to love. They are applying the musc= le to close the scissor blades that are systematically snipping off their = own parts. Most importantly, their biblical positions are unsound and uns= upportable in traditional New Testament scripture, and are in some cases a= bhorrent to Jesus' own words. Let me make the point with an illustration. Last year, a man named Charle= s and this author made a two-day trip from Washington, DC to Lynchburg, VA= . There the two of us organized a vigil at Liberty University for its gia= nt pastors' and leaders' conference. It featured Falwell himself and nati= onally known celebrity "Christian" leaders, and it filled the hotels in ci= ties around. Charles told me on the long drive from Washington that he had placed three= sons in Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, and three had graduated. Lat= er he discovered the heresy of Judaized Christianity taught at the college= and in his own church, and he was determined to take a stand on the sidew= alks even if there were only the two of us there, he said. Charles then shared the story of his own Judaized Christian church. He ex= plained that he had slowly awakened to the serious problems of false teach= ing from the pulpit, and of many associated problems he did not detail. C= harles spoke out quietly at deacons' and business meetings, being careful = never to undercut authority. He was disappointed that few if any rose to = support him, and finally he left the church to find another. But he did n= ot go without first preparing a letter carefully detailing the problems of= the church and pastor, as he saw them. A short time later Charles said he was amazed to find his letter had done = what his quiet appeals had not. A large number of the congregation walked= out taking their support with them, and throwing the church into a financ= ial and leadership quandary. The remaining deacons came alive, fired the = pastor, and asked Charles to return. Charles' story was an inspiration to me of the power of one. That day the= two of us, with two more local volunteers, set up a vigil outside the gat= es of Falwell University. The police did us a favor by ignoring us when w= e tied our oversized yellow and black billboards to utility poles, Burma s= have style, on the only road into the campus. Our signs read, BLESSED ARE= THE PEACEMAKERS; CHOOSE LIFE NOT WAR; APOSTLE, NOT APOSTASY; IRAQ, WHAT W= OULD JESUS DO; and of course our own STRAIT GATE PROJECT logo sign. Charles and I talked to students and visiting pastors non-stop for four ho= urs. As many as 7,000 streamed past the two of us, and there is not doubt= many heard us. Visiting pastors got the message that someone knows Libert= y University supports war in Iraq and Palestine, and rejects it as apostas= y. (See endnotes.) Strait Gate Ministries is not interested in destroying evangelicalism; mos= t of us are evangelicals, as is Charles. By evangelical we simply mean we= want others to believe what we do about Christ. Our purpose is to return= our faith to the fundamentals that the Apostle Paul taught and that Jesus= dictated. Our approach is a scriptural one. We have carefully studied t= he scriptural excuses used to justify the false teaching that Israel is pa= rt of Christianity. We reject this as did the early hero's of Christianit= y did. It is not in the Christian Bible! Most Judaized Christians accept without question the unsupportable claim t= hat the State of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophesy. As such to= day's Israel becomes tethered to their expectation for personal salvation,= insomuch as most are taught that anti-Semitism is a "sin," a sort of 11th= . Commandment. It is written into the footnotes of their favorite version= of their study bibles. Not to love Israel enough is to invite judgment, = even as a nation. These ideas could not exist before 1948 because there w= as no State of Israel. They are inculcated into almost every study bible, = beginning with C. I. Scofield in 1962 Edition. If Judaized Christianity can recover from its heresy it will regain its pa= triotic, pro-American, moral voting patterns that it was known for before = Israel became a state in 1948. We have no reason to believe that evangeli= cals would not then vote and act at least as intelligently and patriotical= ly as the population as a whole. They, like secular Americans, would fina= lly put America's interests first and demand that our politicians stop sup= porting Israel's war agenda. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU! Project Strait Gate's believes its approach cannot fail because it is base= d on New Testament scripture. Followers of Christ, demonstrating patience= and love, as Jesus did, and with the help of Muslims seeking their own be= st interest, can and will unwind the error of Judaized Christianity that i= s destroying our country and the peace of the world. Distribution of this paper is a step in the right direction. Over much re= sistance we have now reached 200,000 Christian leaders. And our aim is to= reach one million or more before the November Presidential election, and = to continue on thereafter regardless of the results. We can only do this = with greatly increased support from our readers. Project Strait Gate also believes in activism to attract attention to our = cause. We have organized activist Vigils challenging and picketing over 4= 0 large churches and Judaized Christian conferences, including two in Lync= hburg, Virginia. Its latest Vigil and picket was at a Billy Graham Crusad= e organizational meeting in Fresno, California. Related research papers: (use the title as a search topic)at: http://www.straitgateministry.org Gold: A Rediscovered Investment the Story of Dilution. Ending our Age of Serial Wars Pastor Jerry Falwell A Case History In Enabling War The Cause of the Conflict. Fixing Blame Attacking Islam, Revisited IT WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU! Dozens have helped us, and we need hundreds of sustaining members to reach= the market we have in mind, One million Christian leaders in the next 30 = days! IT WILL NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU! Strait Gate Ministries has demonstrated our commitment and we now ask you = to do the same. Please write a check or use your credit card. Calls are = welcome in daylight hours. (Click the following link or paste in your browser window) http://www.straitgateministry.org Calls accepted during business hours, Pacific time. Please make checks payable to Strait Gate Ministries; Strait Gate Ministries PO Box 14491 Scottsdale AZ 85267 480 699 1902 You are invited to subscribe your friends to our mailing list. It is perf= ectly legal to do so; we will take them off if they so request. info@strai= tgateministry.org To be deleted and blocked from all future mailing, please reply with remov= e. (Please write only in the Subject line and do not substitute words) From uri-contacts-return-789-life=mediamessage.com@uriglobal.org Fri Oct 08 07:56:48 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Fri, 08 Oct 2004 07:56:48 -0700 for Received: from mail.infostreet.com [206.62.140.253] by mediamessage.com [12.180.43.124] (SLmail 5.5.0.4433) with ESMTP id DFC9E18A6B2C49289048125B3F056445 for ; Fri, 08 Oct 2004 07:56:42 -0700 Received: (qmail 28956 invoked by uid 48); 8 Oct 2004 14:50:32 -0000 Mailing-List: contact uri-contacts-help@uriglobal.org; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk X-No-Archive: yes list-help: list-unsubscribe: list-post: Delivered-To: mailing list uri-contacts@uriglobal.org Received: (qmail 28940 invoked from network); 8 Oct 2004 14:50:32 -0000 Message-Id: <6.1.0.6.0.20041008104537.01d372f8@pop.mindspring.com> X-Sender: ecology2001@mindspring.com@pop.mindspring.com X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.1.0.6 Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 10:45:54 -0400 To: uri-contacts@uriglobal.org From: Robert Pollard Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-ELNK-Trace: cc0b25be6bcc3f289ecc0ce63115889738e53ba4499863cc835964469b8237a954900d681e78ef48350badd9bab72f9c350badd9bab72f9c350badd9bab72f9c X-Originating-IP: 24.199.91.114 X-BitDefender-Scanner: Clean, Agent: BitDefender Qmail 1.6.0 on blade5 X-BitDefender-Spam: No (0) Subject: [uri-contacts] Wangari Maathai - Nobel Peace Prize 2004! X-SLUIDL: FF33B0A9-10634941-9BCAE6B9-CCC5A58A Status: UO "Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally." 2004 Nobel Peace Prize announcement. Dear Friends, Heartfelt congratulations to Wangari Maathai on being awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize! Not only was the award a richly-deserved recognition of Wangari - the first African woman to be so honoured - it was also a very welcome acknowledgement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee of the vital importance of concerns close to the hearts of all who are engaged building a culture of peace. Please join with me in celebrating this historic award. May Wangari's example serve as an inspiration to each of us to deepen our own commitment to a peaceful holistic vision of an Earth restored, to the dignity and rights of all people, to peaceful, nonviolent challenges to unjust and oppressive governments, and to appreciating the vital role of women in our path towards peace. I have attached the full text of the Norwegian Nobel Committee announcing the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai. If you go to Google News - http://tinyurl.com/5q2xr - you can find hundreds of news reports and articles on this historic award. In peace Robert -=3D-=3D- Robert Pollard Information Ecologist Information Habitat: Where Information Lives www.information-habitat.net ecologist@information-habitat.net tel: 1.212.864.3156 Participate in the Seasons of Peace Cooperation Circle www.seasons-of-peace.net -=3D-=3D-=3D http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/eng_lau_announce2004.html The Norwegian Nobel Committee The Nobel Peace Prize For 2004 The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women's rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally. Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya. Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression - nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation. Maathai combines science, social commitment and active politics. More than simply protecting the existing environment, her strategy is to secure and strengthen the very basis for ecologically sustainable development. She founded the Green Belt Movement where, for nearly thirty years, she has mobilized poor women to plant 30 million trees. Her methods have been adopted by other countries as well. We are all witness to how deforestation and forest loss have led to desertification in Africa and threatened many other regions of the world - in Europe too. Protecting forests against desertification is a vital factor in the struggle to strengthen the living environment of our common Earth. Through education, family planning, nutrition and the fight against corruption, the Green Belt Movement has paved the way for development at grass-root level. We believe that Maathai is a strong voice speaking for the best forces in Africa to promote peace and good living conditions on that continent. Wangari Maathai will be the first woman from Africa to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. She will also be the first African from the vast area between South Africa and Egypt to be awarded the prize. She represents an example and a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace. Oslo, 8 October 2004. The Norwegian Nobel Institute Drammensveien 19, NO-0255 OSLO +47 22 12 93 00 tel +47 22 12 93 10 fax The Official Web Site of the Norwegian Nobel Institute http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/eng_lau_announce2004.html Copyright =A9 2004, The Nobel Foundation Read today's review in HTML at: http://www.powells.com/sal/review/2004_10_08 <>> A review by Laura Miller When, in 2002, Philip Roth won the National Book Foundation's medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the most august lifetime achievement award he's likely to receive unless he's called to Stockholm for a Nobel Prize, he devoted his acceptance speech to a long and cranky argument about his right to consider himself an American writer rather than a Jewish writer. This is Roth's oldest gripe -- that as an artist and a man he's been subjected to unfair claims on his loyalty and identity. And while it may seem regressive for a writer of Roth's renown to be swatting away such ancient reproaches (does anybody still make them?), his ability to keep old grievances alive is what fuels him. All this makes Roth's latest novel, The Plot Against America, doubly surprising. The book's premise -- what happens to the Roth family of Newark, N.J., when Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and America descends into an orgy of anti-Semitism -- is an embrace of the catastrophic anxieties Roth once rebelled against. He envisions the kind of America where, like it or not, he is a Jew first. But equally unexpected is the novel's credibility: By setting it in a wholly imaginary history, Roth has paradoxically managed to write his most believable book in years. Roth's feelings of persecution have been the engine of much of his fiction, and for his readers it's always a complicated balancing act: Is the thrill of being swept up in his stormy wrath worth the suspension of common sense that's often required? The tirade about the Monica Lewinsky scandal that kicks off The Human Stain, for example, has a certain Swiftian magnificence, but as a description of what happened in America in 1998 it is dead wrong. The nation was not caught up in a puritanical witch hunt; rather, Americans largely refused to be whipped into such a frenzy, in defiance of the best efforts of right-wingers and certain media figures. (Wallowing in a gleefully smutty gossip-fest about Bill and Hillary Clinton's private lives is another matter -- that's still going on, to judge from the covers of supermarket tabloids.) Sexual persecution is the specter that really winds Roth's watch, but in an era of gay marriage and openly polyamorous households, it's hard to find a situation in which a heterosexual male of conventional proclivities can feel truly ostracized as a result of his sexuality. As a result, Roth has had to contrive some pretty preposterous scenarios, populated by an assortment of straw-man oppressors, in order to maneuver his main characters into a position in which they can be unjustly tormented. You can see all the strings and gears here, as in The Human Stain, in which Coleman Silk is given a wife solely so that she can be hounded unto death by a university's administration and thus provide sufficient justification for Silk's foaming hatred of that administration. With The Plot Against America, we're asked to believe something far more dramatic: that our country could, under the right circumstances and under the influence of powerful demagogues, degenerate into hate-stoked rioting on the level of Nazi Germany's notorious Kristallnacht. Yet -- a dismal thought -- this is more plausible than the propositions Roth has been presenting us with lately. Roth's handling of the story is sober, considered and subdued, another surprise. Roth's fire-and-brimstone eloquence has hypnotized many a reader who might, in a less persuasive fictional climate, reject the paranoid fantasies he concocts. Here, where the threat is real (however speculative the "history" may be), he has abandoned his fury. For The Plot Against America is a book about fear. "Fear" is the very first word in it, and for Roth fear is the natural companion of love, the secondary subject of the novel. The book is a tribute to his parents, Herman and Bess, and the tender order and fierce integrity of the life they created for their two sons, Sandy and Philip, in mid-20th century Newark. Roth seems unaware of the vast and lively fictional genre of alternate history, but this novel belongs to the small subset of it that is less interested in the unfolding of global events than in the way those events affect the most intimate experiences of the people who live through them. >From the moment Lindbergh offers himself as a Republican candidate opposed to intervention in the war in Europe, he becomes the villain of the Roth household. This puts Herman at odds with such rich, assimilated Jews as Rabbi Bengelsdorf, a Newark macher renowned for his public speaking, horsemanship and "several books of inspirational poetry routinely given as gifts to bar mitzvah boys and newlyweds." Bengelsdorf is a marvelous creation, part object lesson in the perils of collaboration and part meticulous parody of self-important men everywhere: "'Newark has the best drinking water in the world,' the rabbi said, and said it as he would say everything, with deep consideration." But while the desperate rabbis of Europe might have cooperated with the Nazis in hope of somehow lessening or managing the devastation awaiting their communities, Bengelsdorf is merely a fool. Like everyone else in the novel, he's in thrall to a notion of America; the novel's most ferocious battles ultimately boil down to a collision of contradictory Americas. For the rabbi and his "wealthy, urbane, self-assured" friends, America is their own success story, in which they, the tiny first generation of Jews to attend Ivy League colleges, "mingled with the non-Jews, whom they subsequently associated with in communal, political and business endeavors and who sometimes appeared to accept them as equals." To the Roths, America is the set of constitutional and governmental protections that allows them to live unmolested in Jewish neighborhoods. What they share with their neighbors is not a particularly Jewish culture but simply a blessed relief from the prejudice... Read the entire review at: http://www.powells.com/sal/review/2004_10_08 COPIES NOW AVAILABLE* Hardcover (New) starting at $26.00 Audio Cassette (New) $45.00 http://www.powells.com/sal/cgi-bin/product?isbn=0618509283 *Please note that copies are limited to on-hand quantity; used copies, in particular, may be available in extremely limited supply. WISH LIST To add this title to your Powells.com wish list, click here: https://www.powells.com/sal/cgi-bin/wishlist?add=0618509283 RESPONDING TO GRIEF By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. A week ago, the number of American deaths in Iraq topped one thousand. This past year the number of untimely deaths due to auto accidents topped 440 thousand. A few weeks ago, a coaching client's three best friends were killed in a plane crash. Daily, our lives are touched by grief. Everyone knows that grief touches us all sooner or later. Not everyone however, seems to know what to say or do. Many people who want to say or do something to communicate their feelings about grief, are unable to do so. For them, standing by feeling helpless, is almost as painful as the pain of the loss of a loved one. Fear of saying or doing "the wrong thing" seems to paralyze them. Many people seem to perceive their own grief reactions as inappropriate to express. It is for those who do not know how to respond to grief that I write today's column. We often keep the world of grief and mourning as hidden as we keep the fact of inevitable death. Therefore, that world is often misunderstood even by those who may have experienced a major loss in their own lives. Very few realize that grief and mourning the loss of a loved one can be a healing process. In order to regain our emotional health and recapture our living fully again, grieving and sorrow must not be denied, held back, or suppressed. Even if you accept grieving as a necessary healing process, you may experience regret at those times you wanted to support one who is mourning, but simply didn't know what to do or say. Some of the actions that are most helpful include: 1. The immediate arrival of close friends. Even though you may be fatigued, the support of the presence of friends is always helpful. 2. The hugs. Establishing a caring connection through hugging (however brief) works wonders for creating hope and a desire to care for one's own life. 3. The quiet listening, offering no answers. There are no answers to questions bursting forth at the time of grieving. But, just listening to the words, the tears, the needs expressed and unexpressed...that is always comforting. 4. The phone calls. Sometimes we are interrupted by the ringing of the phone. But the words from the caring friend on the other end of the line...they are so good to hear. 5. The small "goodies" brought in to eat, to be shared, to save the energy of food preparation. Somehow the muffins baked and brought in silent caring, taste especially good. 6. The memories of the one who has died, shared openly and directly, remembering the joy taken from being alive, are ever precious. 7. The smiles and warm laughter shared by those who knew the deceased relieve some of the sadness surrounding the loss. 8. The non-judgmental acceptance of expressed sadness, the ache in one's heart, the void left in the lives of those yet to die...such acceptance is healing. 9. The shared tears. Never feel afraid to let those grieving see your own tears. It reassures them that theirs are not so painfully unique. It frees them to cry openly and release the pressure of holding back. 10. The offers of help with the simple tasks, with the difficult tasks. It is so relieving to have others make some of the decisions, and take care of some of the details about which the griever has no preferences. 11. The allowing of the expression of grief in their own way, and in their own time. The gentle encouragement that all feelings are "0K" and expressible "in your own time" is a permission so appreciated. 12. The sharing of the pain and sorrow. Probably the greatest gift we can give to those who mourn is the gift of ourselves...being there...with open, caring arms, and perhaps the simple words, "I've come to help you grieve." It is always important to know some of the responsive actions you can take that will facilitate the healing process in those who grieve. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. has 30+ years experience as a Life Coach and Licensed Psychologist. He is available for coaching in any area presented in "Practical Psychology." As your Coach, his only agenda is to assist you in creating the lifestyle you genuinely desire. The initial coaching session is free. Contact him: (970) 568-0173 or E-mail: DrLloyd@CreatingLeaders.com or LJTDAT@aol.com. Dr. Thomas also serves on the faculty of the Institute For Life Coach Training. In that capacity, he teaches advanced coaching teleclasses: Coaching Successful Life Lessons, and Intentional Creation: Re-Shaping Your Life. To contact the Institute, call 970-224-9830 or E-mail: doccoach@lifecoachtraining.com. Check out the website: www.lifecoachtraining.com If you found the above column useful, feel free to share it with friends. To subscribe yourself to Practical Psychology, e-mail your request to: PracticalPsychology-On@lists.webvalence.com and write "subscribe" in the subject line and an "X" in the body. You will receive Practical Psychology approximately once a week. 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From sentto-3663293-2992-1096670463-life=mediamessage.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com Fri Oct 01 16:58:34 2004 Received: by mediamessage.com from localhost (router,SLmail V5.1); Fri, 01 Oct 2004 16:58:34 -0700 for Received: from n6a.bulk.scd.yahoo.com [66.94.237.40] by mediamessage.com [12.180.43.124] (SLmail 5.5.0.4433) with SMTP id BF12597C165A4809A2AD63DF9B6E441B for ; Fri, 01 Oct 2004 16:58:33 -0700 Received: from [66.218.69.4] by n6.bulk.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 Oct 2004 22:41:03 -0000 Received: from [66.218.66.30] by mailer4.bulk.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 Oct 2004 22:41:03 -0000 X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: groups-email X-Sender: swestallen@msn.com X-Apparently-To: NTMarket@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 62212 invoked from network); 1 Oct 2004 22:41:01 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.166) by m24.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 1 Oct 2004 22:41:01 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO hotmail.com) (65.54.168.118) by mta5.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 1 Oct 2004 22:41:01 -0000 Received: from mail pickup service by hotmail.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Fri, 1 Oct 2004 15:41:01 -0700 Received: from 65.103.121.189 by bay3-dav14.bay3.hotmail.com with DAV; Fri, 01 Oct 2004 22:40:28 +0000 X-Originating-Email: [swestallen@msn.com] X-Sender: swestallen@msn.com Message-Id: <158475F4-13FB-11D9-A6B2-00039352569E@allen-nichols.com> To: NTMarket@yahoogroups.com X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.618) X-OriginalArrivalTime: 01 Oct 2004 22:41:01.0328 (UTC) FILETIME=[BA134900:01C4A807] X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 65.54.168.118 From: Stephanie West Allen X-Originating-IP: [65.103.121.189] X-Yahoo-Profile: ste_wst MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list NTMarket@yahoogroups.com; contact NTMarket-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list NTMarket@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Fri, 1 Oct 2004 16:41:50 -0600 Subject: [NTMarket] Away from/toward -- job from hell/heaven Reply-To: NTMarket@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-SLUIDL: 29F77358-1ED84C75-9AB0FD1C-9FD0C7E1 Status: RO ======================================================= Your Job From Heaven - by Stuart Goldsmith (c) 2003 Stuart Goldsmith - Worldwide Rights Reserved ======================================================= I now want to share with you an amazingly powerful method of helping you to realize what your dream job might be. I am indebted to Barbara Sher author of "I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was" for this idea. Before I explain this exercise, I want to give you an example of a technique which has some merit, but is not very effective. This is the sort of technique you'll read about in books on life-planning, and I find it very unsatisfactory. Take a sheet of paper (yes, you can start groaning). On the top of the paper write the words 'My Job From Heaven.' Underneath this, write out exactly what the title implies. This is fantasy time, so let your imagination run riot. You can design your own perfect fantasy job. Where will you work? Who will you work with? In what sort of environment? Doing what? What hours will you work? What salary will you be paid? Is it a manual job? A creative job? Just put down anything you can think of which would make your working day blissful. What do you think of that for an exercise? Okay, it has its merits, but if you actually try to complete this exercise you'll find it fairly difficult. The reason is that the second you try to fantasize about your ideal job, negative thoughts and conditioning crowd your mind, effectively saying to you: "Don't be silly! You can't have that! That would be impossible. That's asking too much." Now, and I hope you're ready for this...take another blank sheet of paper and on the top of it write: 'My Job From Hell.' I want you to fill that sheet of paper with a detailed description of your total job from hell. Describe the nightmarish work environment, write in detail about the crummy people you'll be working with, and the awful tasks you'll be performing. I can guarantee that you will hardly be able to stop writing. You will take a ghoulish glee in putting down every awful detail. You'll run out of paper and ink long before you run out of ghastly details of that job. This exercise gives you a fantastic opportunity to glimpse your creative potential when you are not running hard against the brakes of the subconscious mind. Please do this exercise, and don't only read about it. You'll be quite stunned by its effect. The next part of this exercise is to take your Job From Hell and write the exact opposite of everything you have put down. For example if you have written "I work in a dark, noisy, fume-filled factory, with loud pop music blaring all day over speakers," you need to rewrite this as follows: "I work in a light, quiet airy office." Another example should suffice. If you wrote "Each day is identical to the last, I produce an endless stream of identical widgets, and never receive any praise or thanks for my work," you need to rewrite this as follows: "Each day I work on something different, no two projects are the same and I receive a huge amount of praise, admiration and respect for my work." Get the idea? What you are doing is using the 'Job From Hell' as a method of bypassing the subconscious mind. Effectively, you are finding out what you don't want, and reversing it to produce your Job From Heaven. When I sat down and used this technique, I was quite surprised by the results. I found out things about myself which I had not been aware of before. Reading through my completed Job From Heaven (produced by reversing my Job From Hell) I felt a thrill of excitement running through me. Yes, this was exactly what I wanted to be doing. Try it yourself - you will be surprised! Until next time... ======================================================= Multi-Millionaire Helps Ordinary People Get Rich! For the last ten years, Stuart Goldsmith has been running a secretive group called Inner Circle. He shows his members how to get more money, greater power and total freedom in their lives and holds over 800 letters of testimonials from his students who have made anything from $1,500 to $750,000. If you think you might gain from his teachings, visit now to learn more ==> http://www.cashocean.com/ic ======================================================= 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3XX United Kingdom BILL MOYERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS CALL TO RENEWAL (Sojourners) WASHINGTON, DC MAY 24, 2004 I was honored by your invitation to share this day with you. Call to Renewa= l is an inspiration to me and so is Jim Wallis =AD for his witness of faith, hi= s generous heart, his way of life, his engagement with politics, and his magazine: I could not do without Sojourners. I also appreciate Jim because he knows there are different kinds of Baptists in America. Not everyone knows this, and it can be confusing when a young reporter, learning you are a Baptist, asks: =B3Oh, like Jerry Falwell?=B2 I reminded her that there are more than two dozen varieties of Baptist in this country. Pat Robertson is = a Baptist. So is Bill Clinton. Al Gore is a Baptist. So is Trent Lott. Jesse Jackson is a Baptist. So is Jesse Helms. Richard Gephardt is a Baptist. So is Newt Gingrich. Small wonder Baptists have been compared to jalapeno peppers: one or two makes for a tasty dish, but a whole bunch of them together in one place brings tears to your eyes. So I thank Jim Wallis for discerning the difference. I trace my own spiritual lineage back to a radical Baptist in England named Thomas Helwys who believed that God, and not the King, was Lord of conscience. In 1612 Roman Catholics were the embattled target of the Crown and Thomas Helwys, the Baptist, came to their defense with the first tract in English demandin= g full religious liberty. Here=B9s what he said: =B3Our Lord the King has no more power over their [Catholic] consciences than ours, and that is none at all. =8AFor men=B9s religion is betwixt God and themselves; the King shall not answer it; neither may the King be judge betwixt God and man. Let them be heretics, Turks, Jews or whatever. It appertains not to the earthly power to punish them in the least measure.=B2 The King was the Good King James I =AD yes, that King James, as in King James Bible. Challenges to his authority did not cause his head to rest easily on his pillow, so James had Thomas Helwys thrown into prison, where he died. Thomas Helwys was not the first or last dissenter to pay the supreme price for conscience. While we are not called upon in America today to make a similar sacrifice, we are in need of his generous vision of religious freedom. We are heading into a new religious landscape. For most of our history our religious discourse was dominated by white male Protestants of = a culturally conservative European heritage, people like me. Dissenting voice= s of America, alternative visions of faith, race, and gender rarely reached the mainstream. A friend on the west coast once sent me a clipping from a cartoon strip showing two weirdoes talking in a California diner. One weird= o says to the other, =B3Have you ever delved into the mysteries of Eastern religion?=B2 And the second weirdo answers: =B3Yes, I was once a Methodist in Philadelphia.=B2=A0 Once upon a time that was about the extent of our exposure to the varietie= s of religious experience. It=B9s different now. Immigration has added more tha= n 30 million people to our population since the late 1960s. The American gene pool is mutating into one in which people like me will be a minority within half a century. I only need visit my grandchildren in St. Paul, Minnesota t= o see how America is being re-created right before our eyes. Once upon a time the Twin Cities were populated by the descendents of Martin Luther. Now the heirs of Leif Ericsson live down the street from the descendents of Montezuma and Genghis Kahn. Diana Eck describes traveling the country and seeing an America dotted with mosques in places like Toledo, Phoenix, Atlanta. We have huge Hindu temples - in Pittsburgh, Albany, California=B9s Silicon Valley. There are Sikh communities in Stockton and Queens, New York= , and Buddhist retreat centers in the mountains of Vermont and West Virginia. The world keeps moving to America bringing new stories from the four corner= s of the globe. Gerard Bruns calls it a =B3contest of narratives=B2 competing to shape a new American drama. The old story had a paradox at its core. In no small part because of Baptists like Thomas Helwys and other =B3freethinkers=B2, the men who framed ou= r Constitution believed in religious tolerance in a secular republic. The state was not to choose sides among competing claims of faith. So they embodied freedom of religion in the First Amendment. Another man=B9s belief, said Thomas Jefferson, =B3neither picks my pocket not breaks my bones.=B2 It wa= s a noble sentiment often breached in practice. The red man who lived here first had more than his pockets picked; the Africans brought here forcibly against their will had more than their bones broken. Even when most Americans claimed a Protestant heritage and practically everyone looked alike we often failed the tolerance test; Catholics, Jews, and Mormons had to struggle to resist being absorbed without distinction into the giant mix-master of American assimilation. So our troubled past with tolerance requires us to ask how, in this new era when we are looking even less and less alike, are we to avoid the intolerance, the chauvinism, the fanaticism= , the bitter fruits that mark the long history of world religions when they jostle each other in busy crowded streets. It is no rhetorical question. My friend Elaine Pagels, the noted scholar of religion, says =B3There=B9s practically no religion I know of that sees other people in a way that affirms the other=B9s choice.=B2 You only have to glance a= t the daily news to see how passions are stirred by claims of exclusive loyalty to one=B9s own kin, one=B9s own clan, one=B9s own country, and one=B9s own church. These ties that bind are vital to our communities and our lives, bu= t they can also be twisted into a noose. Everyone here knows that religion has a healing side, but it also has a killing side. In the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis =AD the founding document of three great faiths -- the first murder rises from a religious act. You know the story: Adam and Eve become the first parents to discover what it means to raise Cain. They have a second son named Abel. Both boys want to please God so both bring God an offering. Cain is a farmer and offers the first fruits of the soil. Abel is a shepherd and offers the firs= t lamb from the flock. Two generous gifts. But God plays favorites and choose= s Abel=B9s offering over Cain. Cain is so jealous he strikes out at his brother and kills him. Sibling rivalry for God=B9s favor leads to violence and ends i= n death.=A0 Once this pattern is established, it=B9s played out in the story of Isaac an= d Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, and down through the centuries in generation after generation of conflict between Muslims and Jews, Jews and Christians, Christians and Muslims, so that the red thread o= f religiously spilled blood runs directly from East of Eden to Belfast, Bosnia, Beirut, Belfast and Baghdad. In our time alone the litany is horrendous. I keep a file marked =B3Holy War.=B2 It bulges with stories of Shia= s and Sunnis in fratricidal conflict. Of teenage girls in Algeria shot in the face for not wearing a veil. Of professors whose throats are cut for teaching male and female students in the same classroom. Of the fanatical Jewish doctor with a machine gun mowing down thirty praying Muslims in a mosque. Of Muslim suicide bombers bent on the obliteration of Jews. Of the young Orthodox Jew who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin and then announced to the world that =B3Everything I did, I did for the glory of God.=B2=A0 Of Hindus and Muslims slaughtering each other in India, of Christians and Muslims perpetuating gruesome vengeance on each another in Nigeria. There=B9s a large folder about Timothy McVeigh blowing up the Federal building in Oklahoma City, killing l68 people, in part as revenge against the U.S. government for killing David Koresh and his followers. We didn=B9t realize it at the time but the first strike on New York=B9s World Trade Center in 1993 was a religious act of terror; the second one on 9/ll claimed over three thousand lives. Meanwhile, groups calling themselves the Christian Identity Movement and the Christian Patriot League arm themselves, and Christians intoxicated with the delusional doctrine of two l9th century preachers not only await the Rapture but believe they have an obligation to get involved politically to hasten the divine scenario for the Apocalypse that will brin= g an end to the world. Sadly, Christians, too, can invoke God for the purpose of waging religious war. Consider the American general who has turned up as a force in the web of command and action leading to the torture and humiliation of prisoners in Iraq. General William Boykin, you may recall, is the commander who lost l8 men in Somalia trying to capture a warlord in the notorious Black Hawk Down fiasco of 1993. He later described the conflict as a battle between good an= d evil. =B3I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a rea= l God and his was an idol.=B2 According to Sidney Blumenthal in The Guardian on May 20, Boykin became a circuit rider for the religious right, active in a group called the Faith Force Multiplier that advocates applying military principles to evangelism. Their manifesto summons warriors in [a] =B3spiritua= l battle for the souls of this nation and the world.=B2 Traveling the country with his slide show, while an active member of the United States military command, General Boykin declared that =B3Satan wants to destroy this nation, he wants to destroy us as a nation, and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.=B2 The forces of Satan will only be defeated, said the general, if we come against them in the name of Jesus.=B2 You might have thought that kind of fatwa from a high military officer would have struck the powers-that-be in the Pentagon and White House as somewhat un-American, if not unchristian. But not only was General Boykin kept in office, he has now turned up as a principal in the chain of command leading to the Iraqi prison.=A0 It was Boykin, says Blumenthal, who flew to Guantanamo and ordered Major General Geoffrey Miller, then in charge of prisoners at the highly secret Camp X-Ray, to go to Iraq and extend the methods practiced at X-Ray to the prison system there, on orders of Secretary Rumsfeld. This is the same General Boykin who last June publicly announced that =B3George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters. He was appointed by God.=B2 I=B9m not making this up. =B3Onward Christian Soldiers=B2 is back in vogue and the 2lst century version of the Crusades has taken on aspects of the righteous ferocity that marked its predecessors. =B3To be furious in religion,=B2 said th= e Quaker, William Penn, =B3is to be furiously irreligious.=B2 So Jim Wallis has called you together at a time of testing=8Bfor people of faith and for people who believe in democracy. How do we nurture the healin= g side of religion over the killing side? How do we protect the soul of democracy against the contagion of a triumphalist theology in the service o= f an imperial state? At stake is America=B9s role in the world. At stake is the very character of the American experience=8Bwhether =B3We, the people=B2 is the political incarnation of a spiritual truth =AD one nation, indivisible=8Bor a stupendous fraud. There are two Americas today. You could see this division in a little noticed action last week in the House of Representatives. Republicans in th= e House approved new tax credits for the children of families earning as much as $309,000 a year =AD families that already enjoy significant benefits from earlier tax cuts=8Bwhile doing next to nothing for those at the low end of th= e income scale. This said the Washington Post in an editorial called =B3Leave N= o Rich Child Behind=B2 =AD is =B3bad social policy, bad tax policy, and bad fiscal policy. You=B9d think they=B9d be embarrassed but they=B9re not.=B2 Nothing seems to embarrass the political class in Washington today. Not the fact that more children are growing up in poverty in America than in any other industrial nation; not the fact that millions of workers are actually making less money today in real dollars than they did twenty years ago; not the fact that working people are putting in longer and longer hours just to stay in place; not the fact that while we have the most advanced medical care in the world, nearly 44 million Americans =AD eight out of ten of them i= n working families=8Bare uninsured and cannot get the basic case they need. Nor is the political class embarrassed by the fact that the gap between rich and poor is greater than it=B9s been in 50 years =AD the worst inequality among all western nations. They don=B9t seem to have noticed that we have bee= n experiencing a shift in poverty. For years it was said that single jobless mothers are down there at the bottom.=A0 For years it was said that work, education, and marriage is how they move up the economic ladder. But poverty is showing up where we didn=B9t expect it - among families that include two parents, a worker, and a head of the household with more than a high school education. These are the newly poor. These are the people our political and business class expects to climb out of poverty on an escalator moving downward. Let me tell you about the Stanleys and the Neumanns. During the last decad= e I produced a series of documentaries for PBS called =B3Surviving the Good Times.=B2 The title refers to the boom time of the 90s when the country achieved the longest period of economic growth in its entire history. But not everyone shared equally in the benefits. To the contrary. The decade began with a sustained period of downsizing by corporations moving jobs out of America and many of those people never recovered what they lost.=A0 We found two families =AD one black, one white=8Bin Milwaukee whose breadwinners were laid off in the first wave of layoffs in 1991. We reporte= d on how they were coping with the wrenching changes in their lives, and we stayed with them over the next ten years as they tried to find a place in the new global economy. They=B9re the kind of Americans my mother would have called =B3the salt of the earth=B2. They love their kids, care about their communities, go to church every Sunday, and work hard all week - both mothers have had to take full-time jobs. Although they were running hard they kept falling behind. During our time with them the fathers in both families became seriously ill. One had to stay in the hospital two months, putting his family $30,000 in debt because they didn=B9t have adequate health care. At one point we were there when the bank started to foreclose on the modest home of the other family because they couldn=B9t meet the mortgage payments after Dad lost his good-paying manufacturing job.=A0 Like millions of Americans, the Stanleys and the Neumanns were playing by the rules and still getting stiffed. By the end of the decade they were running harder just to stay even, and the gap between them and prosperous America was widening and hardening. What turns their personal tragedy into a political travesty is that they are patriotic. They love this country. But they no longer believe they matter to the people who run the country. When our film opens both families are watching the inauguration of Bill Clinton on television in 1992. By the end of the decade they were no longer paying attention to politics. They don=B9t see it connecting to their lives. They don=B9t think their concerns wil= l ever be addressed by the political, corporate, and media elites who make up our dominant class. They are not cynical, because they are deeply religious people with no capacity for cynicism, but they know the system is rigged against them. And they=B9re right.=A0 For years now a small fraction of American households have been garnering an extreme concentration of wealth and income while large corporations and financial institutions have obtained unprecedented levels of economic and political power over daily life. In 1960, the gap in terms of wealth betwee= n the top 20% and the bottom 20% was 30 fold. Four decades later it is more than 75 fold. Such concentrations of wealth would be far less of an issue i= f the rest of society was benefiting proportionately and equality was growing= . That=B9s not the case. As an organization called The Commonwealth Foundation Center for the Renewal of American Democracy sets forth in well-documented research, working families and the poor =B3are losing ground under economic pressures that deeply affect household stability, family dynamics, social mobility, political participation, and civic life.=B2 And household economics =B3is not the only area where inequality is growing i= n America.=B2 We are also losing the historic balance between wealth and commonwealth. The report goes on to describe =B3a fanatical drive to dismantl= e the political institutions, the legal and statutory canons, and the intellectual and cultural frameworks that have shaped public responsibility for social harms arising from the excesses of private power.=B2 That drive is succeeding, with drastic consequences for an equitable access to and contro= l of public resources, the lifeblood of any democracy. From land, water and other natural resources, to media and the broadcast and digital spectrums, to scientific discovery and medical breakthroughs, and even to politics itself, a broad range of the American commons is undergoing a powerful shif= t in the direction of private control. And what is driving this shift? Contrary to what you learned in civics clas= s in high school, it is not the so-called =B3democratic debate.=B2 That is merely a cynical charade behind which the real business goes on=8Bthe none-too-scrupulous business of getting and keeping power so that you can divide up the spoils. If you want to know what=B9s changing America, follow the money. The veteran Washington reporter, Elizabeth Drew, says =B3the greatest change in Washington over the past twenty-five years =AD in its culture, in the way it does business and the ever-burgeoning amount of business transactions that go on here =AD has been in the preoccupation with money.=B2 Jeffrey Birnbaum, who covered Washington for nearly twenty years fo= r the Wall Street Journal, put it even more strongly: =B3[Campaign cash] has flooded over the gunwales of the ship of state and threatens to sink the entire vessel. Political donations determine the course and speed of many government actions that deeply affect our daily lives.=B2 It is widely accepted in Washington today that there is nothing wrong with a democracy dominated by the people with money. But of course there is. Money has democracy in a stranglehold and is suffocating it. During his brief campaig= n in 2000, before he was ambushed by the dirty tricks of the religious right in South Carolina and big money from George W. Bush=B9s wealthy elites, John McCain said elections today are nothing less than an =B3influence peddling scheme in which both parties compete to stay in office by selling the country to the highest bidder.=B2 Hit the pause button here and recall Roger Tamraz. He=B9s the wealthy oilman who paid $300,000 to get a private meeting in the White House with Presiden= t Clinton; he wanted help in securing a big pipeline in Central Asia. This go= t him called before Congressional hearings on the financial excesses of the 1996 campaign. If you watched the hearings on C-Span you heard him say he didn=B9t think he had done anything out of the ordinary. When they pressed hi= m he told the Senators: =B3Look, when it comes to money and politics, you make the rules. I=B9m just playing by your rules.=B2 One Senator then asked if Tamra= z had registered and voted. And he was blunt in his reply: =B3No, Senator, I think money=B9s a bit more than the vote.=B2=A0 That=B9s the shame of politics today.=A0 Listen to one summary of the consequences:=A0 =B3When powerful interests shower Washington with millions in campaign contributions, they often get what they want. But its ordinary citizens and firms that pay the price and most of them never see it coming. This is what happens if you don=B9t contribute to their campaigns or spend generously on lobbying. You pick up a disproportionate share of America=B9s tax bill. You pay higher prices for a broad range of products from peanuts to prescriptions. You pay taxes that others in a similar situation have been excused from paying. You=B9re compelled to abide by laws while others are granted immunity from them. You must pay debts that you incur while others do not. You=B9re barred from writing off on your tax returns some of the mone= y spent on necessities while others deduct the cost of their entertainment. You must run your business by one set of rules, while the government create= s another set for your competitors. In contrast the fortunate few who contribute to the right politicians and hire the right lobbyists enjoy all the benefits of their special status. Make a bad business deal; the government bails them out. If they want to hire workers at below market wages, the government provides the means to do so. If they want more time t= o pay their debts, the government gives them an extension. If they want immunity from certain laws, the government gives it. If they want to ignore rules their competition must comply with, the government gives its approval= . If they want to kill legislation that is intended for the public, it gets killed.=B2 I=B9m not quoting from Karl Marx=B9s Das Kapital. Or Mao=B9s Little Red Book. I=B9m quoting Henry Luce=B9s TIME magazine. TIME concludes that America now has =B3government for the few at the expense of the many.=B2 That=B9s why the Stanleys and the Neumanns were turned off by politics. It=B9s why we can=B9t put things right. And it=B9s wrong. Hear the great justice Learned Hand on this: =B3If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: =8CThou shalt not ration justice.=B9=B2 He got it right: The rich have the right to buy more homes than anyone else. They have the right to buy more cars than anyone else. More gizmos than anyone else; more clothes and more vacations. But they don=B9t have the right to buy more democracy tha= n anyone else.=A0 I know, I know: This sounds very much like a call for class war. But the class war was declared a generation ago, in a powerful paperback polemic by a wealthy right-winger, William Simon, who was soon to be Secretary of the Treasury. By the end of the 70s corporate America had begun a stealthy assault on the rest of our society and the principles of our democracy. Looking backwards, it all seems so clear that we wonder how we could have ignored the warning signs at the time. What has been happening to the middl= e and working classes is not the result of Adam Smith=B9s invisible hand but th= e direct consequence of corporate activism, intellectual collusion, the rise of a religious orthodoxy that has made an idol of wealth and power, and a host of political decisions favoring the powerful monied interests who were determined to get back the privileges they had lost with the Depression and the New Deal. They set out to trash the social contract; to cut workforces and their wages; to scour the globe in search of cheap labor; and to shred the social safety net that was supposed to protect people from hardships beyond their control. Business Week put it bluntly: =B3Some people will obviously have to do with less=8A.It will be a bitter pill for many Americans to swallow the idea of doing with less so that big business can have more.=B2= =A0 To create the intellectual framework for this revolution in public policy, they funded conservative think tanks =AD the Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institution, and the American Enterprise Institute =AD that churned out study after study advocating their agenda.=A0 To put political muscle behind these ideas, they created a formidable political machine. One of the few journalists to cover the issues of class =AD Thomas Edsall of the Washington Post =AD wrote =AD and I quote: =B3During the 1970s, business refined its ability to act as a class, submerging competitive instincts in favor of joint, cooperate action in the legislative area.=B2 Big business political action committees flooded the political arena with a deluge of dollars. And they built alliances with the religious right =AD Jerry Falwell=B9s Moral Majority and Pat Robertson=B9s Christian Coalition =AD who happily contrived a cultural war as a smokescreen to hide the economic plunder of the very people who were enlisted as foot soldiers in the war. And they won. One of the richest men in America and the savviest investor of them all =AD Warren Buffett =AD put it this way: =B3If there was a class war, my class won.=B2 Well, there was, Mr. Buffett, and as recent headline in the Washington Post proclaimed: =8CBUSINESS WINS WITH BUSH.=B2 Look at the spoils of victory: Over the past three years, they=B9ve pushed through $2 trillion dollars in tax cuts =AD almost all tilted towards the wealthiest people in the country. Cuts in taxes on the largest incomes. Cuts in taxes on investment income. And cuts in taxes on huge inheritances. More than half of the benefits are going to the wealthiest one percent. You could call it trickle-down economics, except that the only thing that trickled down was a sea of red ink in our state and local governments. Forcing them to cut services and raise taxes on middle class working America. Now the Congressional Budget Office forecasts deficits totaling $2.75 trillion over the next ten years. These deficits have been part of their strategy. The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan tried to warn us, when he predicted that President Reagan=B9= s real strategy was to force the government to cut domestic social programs b= y fostering federal deficits of historic dimensions. President Reagan=B9s own Budget Director, David Stockman, admitted as such. Now the leading rightwin= g political strategist, Grover Norquist, says the goal is to =B3starve the beast=B2 =AD with trillions of dollars in deficits resulting from trillions of dollars in tax cuts, until the United States government is so anemic and anorexic it can be drowned in the bathtub. Take note: The corporate conservatives and their allies in the political an= d religious right are achieving a vast transformation of American life that only they understand because they are its advocates, its architects, and it= s beneficiaries. In creating the greatest economic inequality in the advanced world, they have saddled our nation, our states, and our cities and countie= s with structural deficits that will last until our children=B9s children are ready for retirement; and they are systematically stripping government of all its functions except rewarding the rich and waging war. And, yes, they are proud of what they have done to our economy and our society. If instead of producing a news magazine I was writing for Saturday Night Live, I couldn=B9t have made up the things that this crew in this town have been saying. The president=B9s chief economic adviser says shipping technical and professional jobs overseas is good for the economy. The president=B9s Council of Economic Advisers reports that hamburger chefs i= n fast food restaurants can be considered manufacturing workers. The president=B9s Labor Secretary says it doesn=B9t matter if job growth has stalled because =AD and I quote =AD =B3the stock market is the ultimate arbiter.=B2 And the president=B9s Federal Reserve Chairman says that the tax cuts may force cutbacks in Social Security =AD but hey, we should make the tax cuts permanent anyway. You just can=B9t make this stuff up. You have to hear it to believe it. This may be the first class war in history where the victims will die laughing. But what they are doing to middle class and working Americans and the poor =AD and to the workings of American democracy =AD is no laughing matter. It calls for righteous indignation and action. Otherwise our democracy will degenerate into a shell of itself in which the privileged and the powerful sustain their own way of life at the expense of others and the United State= s becomes another Latin America with a small crust of the rich at the top governing a nation of serfs. Your Call for Renewal comes, then, at a time of testing. Over the past few years, as the poor got poorer, the health care crisis worsened, wealth and media became more and more concentrated, and our political system was bough= t out from under us, prophetic Christianity lost its voice. The religious right drowned everyone else out. And they hijacked Jesus. The very Jesus wh= o stood in Nazareth and proclaimed, =B3The Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.=B2 The very Jesus who told 5000 hungry people that all of you will be fed, not just some of you. The very Jesus who challenged the religious orthodoxy of the day by feeding the hungry on the Sabbath, who offered kindness to the prostitute and hospitality to the outcast, who said the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, raised the status of women, and treated even the taxpayer like a child of God. The very Jesus wh= o drove the money changers from the temple. This Jesus has been hijacked and turned into a guardian of privilege instead of a champion of the dispossessed. Hijacked, he was made over into a militarist, hedonist, and lobbyist=8A.sent prowling the halls of Congress in Guccis, seeking tax breaks and loopholes for the powerful, costly new weapon systems that don=B9t work, and punitive public policies. Let=B9s get Jesus back. The Jesus who inspired a Methodist ship-caulker named Edward Rogers to crusade across New England for an eight hour work day. Let=B9s get back the Jesus who caused Frances William to rise up against the sweatshop. The Jesu= s who called a young priest named John Ryan to champion child labor laws, unemployment insurance, a minimum wage, and decent housing for the poor =AD ten years before the New Deal. The Jesus in whose name Dorothy Day challenged the Church to march alongside auto workers in Michigan, fisherme= n and textile workers in Massachusetts, brewery workers in New York, and marble cutters in Vermont. The Jesus in whose name E.B. McKinney and Owen Whitfield challenged a Mississippi system that kept sharecroppers in servitude and debt. The Jesus in whose name a Presbyterian minister named Eugene Carson Blake - =B3Ike=B9s Pastor=B2 - was arrested for protesting racial injustice in Baltimore. The Jesus who led Martin Luther King to Memphis to join sanitation workers in their struggle for a decent wage. That Jesus has been scourged by his own followers, dragged through the streets by pious crowds, and crucified on a cross of privilege. Mel Gibson missed that. He missed the resurrection=8Bthe spiritual awakening that followed the death of Jesus. He missed Pentecost.=A0 Now comes the resurrection all over again. Our times cry out for a new politics of justice. This is no partisan issue. It doesn=B9t matter if you=B9re a liberal or a conservative, Jesus is both and neither. It doesn=B9t matter i= f you=B9re a Democrat or Republican - Jesus is both and neither. We need a fait= h that takes on the corruption of both parties. We need a faith that challenges complacency at all power. If you=B9re a Democrat, shake them up. I= f you=B9re a Republican, shame them. Jesus drove the money changers from the temple. We must drive them from the temples of democracy. Let=B9s get Jesus back. But let=B9s do it in love. I know it can sound banal and facile to say this. The word =B3love=B2 gets thrown around too casually these days. =B3Don=B9t you just love this?=B2 =B3I loved that movie.=B2 =B3I=B9d love to get away for the weekend.=B2 And brute reality can mock the whole idea of loving one another. We=B9re still living in the shadow of Dachau and Buchenwald. The smoke still rises above Kosovo and Rwanda, Chechnya and East Timor. The walls of Abu Ghraib still shriek of pain. What has love done? Where is there any real milk of human kindness? But the love I mean is the love described by Reinhold Niebuhr in his book of essays, Justice and Mercy, where he writes: =B3When we talk about love we have to become mature or we will become sentimental. Basically love means=8Abeing responsible, responsibility to our family, toward our civilization, and now by the pressures of history, toward the universe of humankind.=B2 So let us love our country. But let us remember the words of G.K. Chesterton: =B3To say my country, right or wrong, is something no patriot would say except in dire emergency; it is like saying, =8Cmy mother, drunk or sober.=B9=B2 Let us love our neighbor, but let=B9s not allow him to poison our well -- fro= m ignorance or intent. Let us love our enemy, even as we resist his aggression. We cannot defeat the terrorists if we become like them. We cannot stand up to the religious right if we imitate them. What I=B9m talking about will be hard, devoid of sentiment and practical as nails. But love is action, not sentiment. Someone asked a few years ago, wh= o gave us the authority to change the meaning of the Church? How did we let creed override compassion? Drive though any city, he said, and you=B9ll pass so many churches. You pass the Presbyterian Church and say: =B3They=B9re Calvinists. They believe in predestination.=B2 You drive past the Methodist church and say, =B3They accept infant baptism.=B2 You drive past the Catholic Church and say, =B3They believe in papal infallibility.=B2 And it=B9s true=8Btheological formulations give shape to our beliefs. Intellectual assen= t provides a foundation to our faith. But when the church was young and fair, and people passed by her doors, they did not comment on the difference or the doctrines. Those stern and taciturn pagans said of the Christians: =B3How they love one another!=B2 It started that way soon after the death of Jesus. His disciple Peter said to the first churches, =B3Above all things, have unfailing love toward one another.=B2=A0 I looked in my old Greek concordance the other day. That word =B3unfailing=B2 would be more accurately rendered =B3intense.=B2 It was also Peter who said tha= t love covers a multitude of sins. I struggled with that one a long time. I was never sure I understood the idea or liked it: =B3Love covers a multitude of sins.=B2 But I saw it in a new light one day when I opened an envelope fro= m my second grandson Thomas. Thomas sent me a drawing he had made of a man. And what a man it was! He had a green head, one large blue hand, and one small red hand. One of his eyes was pink, the other yellow. He was a deformed creature if you ever saw one. At first I took it as Thomas=B9 effort to draw a picture of me. So I didn=B9t pay attention to the disproportion in the picture; I didn=B9t see the deformity; I saw only a figure drawn for me b= y a little boy who loves me. And I knew that one day this little boy would be drawing with strong and clear strokes. And why could I see past those deformities to the gift of the drawing and the promise of a child=B9s potential? Because I love this child, and this child loves me, and love covers a multitude of imperfections.=A0 Glenn Tinder reminds us that "none are good but all are sacred". I want to think this is what the founders meant when they included the not-so-self-evident assertion that =B3all men are created equal.=B2 Truly life is not fair and it is never equal. I believe the founders were speaking a powerful spiritual truth that is the heart of our hope for this country. They saw America as a great promise =AD and it is. But America is a broken promise, and we are here to do what we can to fix it=8Bto get America back on the track. St. Augustine shows us how: =B3One loving soul sets another on fire.=B2 But to move beyond sentimentality, what begins in love must lead on to justice. Your Call to Renewal is the fight of our lives. "Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of [people] willing to be co-workers with God.= " Martin Luther King Jr. -- "Democracy is not a spectator sport" Howard Dean -- No single person can liberate a country. You can only liberate a country if you act as a collective.=B2 Nelson Mandela=A0 -- Each time a man or woman stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple o= f hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy an= d daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Day of Affirmation Address at the University of Capetown, South Africa, 1966 Today's Review From Esquire The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowiecki <<> Read today's review in HTML at: http://www.powells.com/esq/review/2004_06_16 <>> Brilliance by Committee A review by Anna Godbersen We like to think of genius as the property of a few rugged and quirky individuals. Crowds are hardly as glamorous -- at best conformist, and at worst dangerous, as in the case of mob riots. But James Surowiecki puts aside these tropes and argues, persuasively, that just the opposite is true: Groups are capable of solving big problems in science, business, and society, with greater accuracy and reliability than individuals, even if those individuals are the ones we worship as experts. The Wisdom of Crowds opens with a series of cases in which collective knowledge trumps "expert" knowledge, including Google searches, decision markets, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Surowiecki then goes about illuminating and complicating his thesis. A group is not always smarter than an individual, of course. (We can all think of examples of frenzied crowds and mass delusions.) To really work, the wise crowd must benefit from such conditions as diversity of opinion, decentralization, and independence. Groups that are too similar will have fewer possible answers to any given question; the members of small, close-knit groups will conform rather than act on their own information. The wise crowd must, additionally, have a good system for collecting its knowledge. Surowiecki illustrates each of these caveats with academic studies (most performed on monkeys and beleaguered grad students), historical anecdotes, and current events. (The failures of the intelligence community around the time of September 11, 2001 are ripe for dissection.) Surowiecki is the New Yorker's business columnist, and at times his book feels like a series of carefully constructed pieces rather than a whole work. Still, he writes with the patience and geniality of a beloved professor, and his arguments are invariably witty and to the point. The Wisdom of Crowds draws a clear, erudite picture of the mechanisms by which our mass society works, and it is a refreshingly hopeful one. ... Read the entire review at: http://www.powells.com/esq/review/2004_06_16 Naming the Days: June 10 ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Alcoholics Anonymous was founded on June 10 in 1935 by William Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith. This program, known for its Twelve Steps, has liberated millions of people from their enslavement to alcohol and other addictions. At the core of its approach is a surrender to God or whatever name you wish to use for a Higher Self. Equally important is regular participation in a community of others who are taking this journey of recovery with you. On this day, give thanks for this program and the healing and transformation it has brought into the lives of so many people. We have collected some reflections on A.A. and other Twelve-Step programs. As you ponder these insights, remember people from your circle of family and friends who have been blessed by this very special spiritual program. A Genuine Spirituality "The spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous will go down in history as the significant and authentic contribution to the history of spirituality. It is genuinely a spirituality. What's so exciting about it for me as a Christian is to see the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions stating clearly what we've been saying so feebly in theological language. . . . Jesus never shamed people. But he did encourage them to take full responsibility for their mistakes. That's the narrow and healthy road that the gospel and Twelve-Step programs make possible."  Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps Dark Nights of the Soul "No one understands the dark nights of the soul better than people recovering from life-threatening addictions. Some A.A. members call themselves 'grateful alcoholics' because their addiction finally brought them to their knees. It was only because of the addiction that they discovered the true depths and longings of their souls."  Gerald May in The Dark Night of the Soul The A.A. Meeting "They also have slogans, which you can either dismiss as hopelessly simplistic or sling on to like driftwood in a stormy sea. One of them is 'Let go and let God'  which is so easy to say and for people like me so far from easy to follow. Let go of the dark, which you wrap yourself in like a straitjacket, and let in the light. Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you  your children's lives, the lives of your husband, your wife, your friends  because that is just what you are powerless to do. Remember that the lives of other people are not your business. They are their business. They are God's business because they all have God whether they use the word God or not. Even your own life is not your business. It also is God's business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought. "Go where your prayers take you. Unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy. Breathe deep of the glad air and live one day at a time. Know that you are precious.*nbsp;. . . Know that you can trust God. Know that you can trust these people with your secrets because they have trusted you with theirs. The meeting in the basement begins with all of you introducing yourselves,' I am Fred . . . I am Mary . . . I am Scotty,' you say, and each time the rest of the group responds with 'Hi, Fred . . .Hi, Mary . . .Hi, Scotty.' Just by getting yourself there and saying that, you have told an extremely important secret, which is that you cannot go it alone. You need help. You need them. You need whatever name you choose to give the One whom C.S. Lewis named Aslan. 'Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God. And the peace which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.' (Philippians 3:6-7) "I do not believe that such groups as these . . . or Alcoholics Anonymous, which is the group they all grew out of, are perfect any more than anything human is perfect, but I believe that the church has an enormous amount to learn from them. I also believe that what goes on in them is far closer to what Christ meant his church to be, and what it originally was, than much of what goes on in most churches I know. These groups have no buildings or official leadership or money. They have no rummage sales, no altar guilds, no every-member canvases. They have no preachers, no choirs, no liturgy, no real estate. They have no creeds. They have no program. They make you wonder if the best thing that could happen to many a church might not be to have its building burn down and to lose all its money. Then all that the people would have left would be God and each other."  Frederick Buechner in Telling Secrets: A Memoir Practices  We can all learn valuable practices from A.A. spirituality. In Seeds of Grace: Reflections on the Spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous, Molly Monahan assesses the Twelve-Step Program as analogous to the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways of the mystical path. Healing for the recovering alcoholic comes through the spiritual practice of listening, which is 95 percent of the every meeting. Ask yourself, how can you sharpen your listening skills?  A.A. also encourages emotional intelligence. As Monahan puts it: "A large part of the spiritual life consists in coming to know ourselves and our feelings, cultivating those that are healthy and appropriate, weeding out or redirecting those that are destructive to ourselves and others." What emotions do you want to cultivate this summer and which destructive ones do you want to redirect this summer?  We have been impressed with the wisdom accrued by those attending the A.A., Al-Anon, N.A., Alateen, and other Twelve-Step programs. That's why we immediately gravitated toward Meeting Wisdom: Tap Into the Wisdom and Insight of Thousands of 12 Step Meetings in a Single Book by Brian L. Here are slogans, sayings, and tips from the sharing and insights of those attending meetings over the years. For example: "Everything is going to be All Right" is a fine slogan that can provide just the right encouragement when we need it most. "Everything can go wrong today and I still will be okay" is a variation on the same theme for those days when everything seems like a conspiracy against you. "When things are difficult, choose to read them as good" makes a good mantra; putting a positive spin on things helps us negotiate tough times. Memorial Day Monstrosity Wake up America! Too many have died for corporate coffers and presidential lies. On this Memorial Day, remember who profits and who loses from your country's endless wars. William Thomas 5-31-4 For many who serve and have served America in uniform, the pious cant of GW Bush at today's Memorial Day ceremonies in Washington DC is a nauseating affront to the very veterans this presidential pretender and wartime deserter was supposedly "honoring". In praising America's aging heroes for sacrifices made during what Bush called their country's "greatest mission," the leader of the world's sole superpower became, as usual, most animated when speaking of death and violence and war. During an earlier radio address, Bush compared America's blood soaked "mission against the present and future generations of a shattered, radioactive Iraq to the defeat of Adolf Hitler. But during today's outdoor ceremonies, the man who last year stuffed a sock into a borrowed flight suit to replace the cojones he lacks, neglected to mention the current deceitful debacle over which he truly presides. Instead, as global climate change gathers forces for an assault beyond imagining, today's festivities celebrated last century's second calamitous world war with patriotic songs and speeches and a military fly-over, while dancers jitterbugged to 1940s swing music. The grand occasion in Washington unveiled yet another multi-million dollar monument to mass murder and senseless destruction brought to cities like Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while America remained unscathed. Instead of using the occasion to speak of past political mistakes and deceptions and the folly of endless war, Bush praised the slaughter of countless young men on the beaches of Normandy, whose supreme courage and horrific losses finally defeated a Nazi menace that threatened the world. Those soldiers should be praised. And remembered with compassion and gratitude.So too, should it be recalled on his special day that such terrible destruction would never have happened if GW's granddad hadn't financed a failed German house painter's political comeback to absolute power.It was Prescott Bush, through his Harriman bank, who financed Adolf Hitler.Other American industrialists - including the directors of Standard Oil who sold Hitler the essential fuel additives needed to power his Panzers and planes throughout the war, Alcoa, which supplied the Japanese with the special alloy needed for its "Zero" fighters, and IBM, whose newfangled punch-cards enabled the SS to "efficiently round up and murder millions of gypsies, gays and Jews also profited hugely by selling essential materials of slaughter to both axis and allies throughout WWII. Bush Jr. mentioned none of this today. Or the fact that granddad Bush was later convicted of war profiteering in a US court, stripped of his bank and his reputation. Instead, in today's lapdog press coverage of Washington's latest hypocrisy, Reuters respectfully remarked on the exploits of Bush's father, who was shot down during a bombing raid on a Japanese base in the Pacific during WWII. Unfortunately omitted in this latest press paean to murder and mayhem was mention of how Bush Sr.'s supposed "heroism crashed and burned last year, fter the pilot flying directly behind him in the attacking formation of medium bombers described to reporters how he watched Bush's Marauder hit by flack. The twin-engine plane, said this eyewitness, was in no immediate danger of going down. But instead of adhering to regulations and personal honor by holding the bomber steady while his crew bailed out, Bush Sr. immediately "hit the silk - saving his own skin while condemning his crew to fiery deaths in the crash of their pilotless plane. During effusive praise of so many patriotic Americans who gave their lives dealing with a madman largely financed by Prescott Bush, his grandson also failed to mention another White House-created monster named Saddam Hussein. It was Washington and the CIA who anointed, supported and profited from this murderous thug for nearly 30 years. And it was Bush Sr. who sent Saddam the chemical and biological weapons later hurled into the faces of America's sons and daughters during Desert Storm - before betraying a nearly successful nationwide uprising that saw hundreds of thousands more Iraqis murdered in the Butcher of Baghdad's savage reprisals. More than 200,000 severely sickened Gulf War veterans and more than 20,000 of their dead comrades killed by Bush Sr.'s treason went unsung today. One million Iraqi dead - mostly children under the age of 15 - also went unmentioned.Also omitted from today's celebrations of world-staggering duplicity, carnage and industrial profiteering was GW's own war record. The bogus "Commander In Thief" (as one Senator referred to Bush Jr.), never referred to his own cowardly desertion from the stateside Air National Guard, immediately after the introduction of mandatory drug testing for military pilots during the Vietnam War. How Americans can keep swallowing the Bush family's bloody lies and hypocrisy beggars belief. Prescott Bush's Nazi connections were detailed in US newspapers earlier this year. The report by his father's WWII squadron mate was also published here, as was Bush Jr.'s personal wartime cowardice and disgrace. But in a nation mired in decadence and distraction, it seems that in their mindless piggish pursuits, Americans simply don't care that they are being so blatantly used by callous men (and at least one dangerously dishonest and incompetent woman) who are perverting cherished American values by extolling torture, lies, humiliation and betrayal while remaining fanatically focused on furthering their own personal, political and financial ends. Wake up America! Too many have died for corporate coffers and presidential lies. On this Memorial Day, remember who profits and who loses from your country's endless wars. After entering Reserve Officer flight training to defend his country during the Vietnam War, William Thomas resigned his US Navy commission over atrocities committed against families no different in their aspirations and love of their children than his own. Along with tens of thousands of former Americans, he currently gratefully resides in a country committed to peace and conflict resolution instead of endless war. www.willthomas.net willt@willthomas.net Today's Review From The Atlantic Monthly The Guardians: Kingman Brewster, His Circle, and the Rise of the Liberal Establishment by Geoffrey Kabaservice <<> Read today's review in HTML at: http://www.powells.com/atl/review/2004_06_01 <>> A review by Benjamin Schwarz True, he was Yale's president during the most tumultuous years of its history (1963 to 1977), the only university president to appear on the covers of both Time and Newsweek, and he probably remains George W. Bush's least favorite university administrator, but could we possibly need a 550-page biography of Kingman Brewster? Well, yes, because this deftly woven portrait of Brewster and his close friends -- McGeorge Bundy, Elliot Richardson, John Lindsay, Cyrus Vance, and Paul Moore -- is among the most revealing books ever written about the liberal establishment. The author is plainly nostalgic for the leadership and style of these fellows, who he believes were justified in seeing themselves, by virtue of their breeding and abilities, as the country's guardians. He thus gushes at times (his assessment of JFK's Administration is positively Sorensenian), and to be sure, he usually provides the most generous interpretation possible of his subjects' actions, including Brewster's and Bundy's flirtations with radical chic (in his speech about the murder trial of the racist and thuggish Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, Brewster notoriously declared, "I am appalled and ashamed that things should have come to such a pass in this country that I am skeptical of the ability of black revolutionaries to achieve a fair trial anywhere in the United States"; and Bundy, as president of the Ford Foundation, granted money to CORE after that organization had purged its white members and after one of its leaders had made racist threats against white teachers). But Kabaservice is so thorough a researcher and so comprehensive a storyteller that his chronicle leaves ample room for other, less charitable interpretations. After all, in addition to such worthy accomplishments as making Yale coed and doggedly attending Bilderberg, Aspen Institute, and Law of the Sea conferences, one or more of these men were partly or largely responsible for such disasters as the Bay of Pigs, the Vietnam War, the bankrupting of New York City, and the blight of "urban renewal." (New Haven, the cynosure of that effort, remains abjectly unrenewed nearly four decades later.) Why did these men, who were convinced of their own brilliance, so often make such a hash of things? It turns out that although they were all quick, clever, and poised, their intellectual attainments were negligible. Brewster and Richardson admitted that they didn't like to read -- they preferred to get their ideas from schmoozing. Richardson -- about whose book the most Kabaservice can muster is that it contained "high-minded ideas about government and citizenship expressed in elaborate prose" -- may have held more Cabinet posts than any other man in history, but he failed to make a lasting mark in any of them (Bundy certainly left his mark as National Security Adviser, but probably he wouldn't be pleased to be remembered as the pseudo-tough guy advocate of the "graduated escalation" of the Vietnam War). I thought I knew quite a lot about these men before reading this book, and although many of their public stances and policy positions struck me as misguided or ridiculous, I was inclined to see them fairly kindly. But what clearly, if inadvertently, emerges from this book is their most unlovely disdain for so many of their countrymen, whom they believed they were born to lead. Although they repeatedly wrung their hands over the plight of minorities (referring to the gun-toting black militants who occupied Cornell's student center, Brewster said it was pretty much inevitable that they would "resort to violent efforts to compensate for [their] own insecurity," and he deputized his personal assistant, a liberal, blue-blooded old CIA hand, to help at "building bridges" to "the most militant black activists"), they consistently failed to extend the same sympathy to those of their fellow citizens whom they perhaps regarded as less exotic -- to those whom a friend and fraternity brother of Brewster's, the diplomat L. Douglas Heck, dismissed as "hard-hat Middle America[ns]." Richardson sneered at suburbanites in their "'little houses made of ticky-tacky.'" Meanwhile, Bundy characterized the American Legion as "composed largely of the same class of people as those who brought Hitler to power -- the penny-proud, ignorant petit bourgeois folk ..." Kabaservice recounts John Lindsay's solipsistically self-righteous response to complaints that "all the taxes came out of the white pockets to be spent in black neighborhoods" (the city's welfare spending rose by $600 million during Lindsay's first term). "We," this product of St. Paul's, Yale College, and Yale Law School lectured to his working-class Brooklyn constituents, "have three hundred years of neglect to pay for." These men believed it their duty and their right to guide and rule what Kabaservice calls "the multitude." ("Vote for Elliot Richardson," read a bumper sticker his political opponent composed, "he's better than you.") But after reading a tome-ful of declarations such as Brewster's "We [members of the Yale community] are best equipped to be our brother's thinker," one finds oneself agreeing with the young and intemperate (and improbably populist) William F. Buckley Jr., who called this bunch "haughty totalitarians who refuse to permit the American people to supervise their own destiny." ... Read the entire review at: http://www.powells.com/atl/review/2004_06_01