Messages

1st Gulf War -- US sent nearly 400,000 troops.  Not that many?

United Nations -- see latest scandal over the Food for Oil Program
only one of many problems with that organization.  Also, check out who is on its human rights committee -- some of those countries are notorious for torturing - really torturing not just photo op torturing - their citizens.  So the credibility of the UN is questionable at best.

Sorry, but you haven't read enough.  Oil --  when you no longer have a car to get around in, I wonder if you will suddenly realize we do not want to steal anyone's oil, just to buy it.  

Dear Holy Reality...just where are those millions of bodies you say the USA has killed over the past few years?  Where have they hidden them?  How did they do it?  Which nation no longer exists?  

There is absolutely no evidence that this is true.  Millions of people do not get killed and nobody knows it.

As to taxing me into poverty -- just listen to some of his more radical supporters and people who will have influence in his cabinet.  Rich is defined as anyone who is working.  

The top two percent of taxpayers already pay 65% of the federal tax bill.  Just how much more do you want them to pay?  And what he says today about the top 2% will quickly become what?  the top 5%? top 20%?
Why not just tax them 100% so there is no one rich enough to give anyone else a job?

I grew up with absolutely nothing and have worked very hard for what I have.

All I know is that everytime somebody says they are only going to tax the rich, my taxes seem to go up and I would not put myself into the "rich" category.  Comfortable, yes.  Rich, no.  

As to the members of the Taliban -- all of them support brutality and killing anyone who is not.  They made no claims of not supporting the deaths of others.  They terrorized their own people, tortured and killed many of them.  The ones on the loose continue to do so.  

Or perhaps you hadn't heard about that?

My point was that it was a Democrat, not Bush who first raised the issue of drafting all the 18-20 year olds.  Bush favors an all volunteer military.  

And Moore's film wasn't "banned" or "censored".  The Disney company, after viewing it, refused to distribute it.  They had been his distributor and decided not to.  No doubt, he will find someone else to distribute it here.  Hollywood is a business and surely he will be able to sell it to someone.

As for the draft and the 18 year olds....Yes, you do need to grow up -everyone at 18 does --those of us past that age know we did not know enough and certainly did not live enough to be past needing to grow up.

There are many ways to serve one's country.  No, I am not in the military but I have taught in the inner city schools for over 30 years and I know just how little the 18 year olds of this country actually know - and how easily influenced.  The latest brain research bears this out and clearly indicates that the brain cells keep growing and expanding well into our twenties.  It also shows that the last part of our brain to fully development is the one wherein we make rational decisions and judgments.  So yes, young one, you still have some growing up to do.  

As I said, I would support a plan that gives you some choices as to how to serve your country.  Not all service is military.  Nor should it be.  My concern is that it be fair, certainly more fair than the previous draft.  

But, as you say, you will have all the rights of adults at 18 -- or 21 in some states -- but do not forget the responsibilities that go with it.  And sometimes that responsibility includes some sort of service to your country.

The people who vote the least in this country are the 18-25 year olds.  That is a fact.  If this bill actually moves through congress, perhaps more of them will find a reason to take on that adult responsibility.  That would be a good thing.  

And last, but not least, the terrorists of Al Queda are active in over 60 countries.  They will not just go away. On this Memorial Day, let us honor and respect all those who fight them or who have been killed by them whomever, and whereever they may be.

Michael Moore is an idiot...he makes movies and is hardly a credible source of anything but his own agenda. He is certainly an expert filmmaker.  It is only a movie.  

That aside.  The proposal to reinstate the draft originated with the Democratic Congressman from New York -- Charles Rengal (might be spelled wrong).  He has been doing interviews the past year saying it is time.  He proposes all 18-20 year olds go into some sort of service.  I am not sure if he wants them all to do 6 months of basic training and then into various national services or if he thinks they should all be in the military for two years.  

But the democratic congressmen is the initiator of the current move to begin the drafting process.  

Wouldn't be a bad thing assuming the young people involved have some kind of choice as to what kind of national service they do after the basic training.  It would give them some sorely needed self-discipline and time to grow up a bit more and be a bit more appreciative of the opportunities and lifestyle that is possible here.

Of course it would decimate the universities for a while but it would make some room for all the 20 somethings that want to go back to school.  It would reduce the "Girls Gone Wild" movies for a few years - spring break just wouldn't be the same without all those drunken 18 year olds. []

My only problem with it is that it has to be fair - more fair than the last draft.  No exemptions for college or teaching or being rich or anything except a debilitating physical condition.  Last time we had a draft it was mainly the lower middle class kids and the very poor ones that went.  

Actually, I like the "you first" concept of all senators, congressmen, and executive branch children and grandchildren get to go first and right into the military units with no cushy office jobs or working for some general or admiral.  

Perhaps if the decision makers of our country had more of a personal stake in the military, they would be more cautious with the lives of everyone else's children.  

That said, we do have an obligation to give something back to our country which has given most of us so much.  This is a good way for this younger generation to make their contribution.  

And who knows when we might have to put our own troops on our borders.  The country leaks like a sieve and I am absolutely amazed that we haven't another major terrorist attack -- Yet.  However, it is not paranoid at this stage to admit they are out to get us and to get us in our own land.  Various terrorist leaders have said as much.

I am considering the lesser of two evils.  I am of the Vietnam War veteran's generation so I know well how most of them, including Kerry with his short 4 month tour, came back.  

So I will go with Nader or Bush.  Kerry has yet to say anything much that appeals to me.  If he can't connect with his own generation, how is he going to do so with everyone else?  

I would vote for McCain in a second, and maybe even Howard Dean or Jonathan Edwards,  but everytime I think of voting for Kerry, I get a blank.  

So listen to Nader.  I still can't figure out how Kerry won the nomination when there were so many others in the running.  

And I am also leery of anyone who says things like they always wanted to be President and geared their whole life towards it.  Guess I don't like the sense of entitlement that sort of thing implies.

Nor do I like some of the company he keeps, in the form of some of the more radical groups, that adamantly and hatefully speak about anyone else. It is one thing to disagree, it is another to be hateful and talk about how much they "hate" people in the Bush administration.  That turns passion for politics into dysfunctional fanaticism.  

Turns most people off to any real message they might have.

I no longer listen to it.

Consider the choices: two rich guys from Yale.  Two sides of the same coin.

But Kerry will tax me into poverty.  Been there.  Didn't like it.

Don't much like what the federal government does with the tax money it does take.  From wars to give-away programs, all are riddled with wasteful inefficiencies.  

I have yet to hear either one of them address the spending issue with any sense of reality.  

Both of them, and the Congress, act as if our collective wallets, bank accounts, and paychecks are bottomless pits they can dig into for whatever.  

I really don't know how we got into a situation where the government tells us how much of our money we get to keep instead of us telling the government how much we will let them have - and they need to eliminate the waste and learn to live with what we think they should get from us.

Oh, well...let's all just keep working and contacting senators and congressmen about what we want.  

I might consider Kerry if he didn't change his positions as often as he changes his very expensive shoes.  

I will just have to think about it some more...and maybe vote for Nader.

Aha -- I am just glad that the "predicted" Civil War Month is almost over.[]

Whatever and whenever the Great Anything happens, as usual, some will live, some will not.  In the meantime, I prefer not to worry about the end of the world.  It will find me, and you too, soon enough. []

USA - not perfect...run by imperfect people.  Some woosy and some power mad -- as in every other country on earth. Soldiers are imperfect people too and young, and immature, and sometimes they snap.  Not an excuse, just the nastier side of human nature.  

3000 Taliban dead.  Likely the Taliban is responsible for the deaths and torturing of 10 times, even 100 times that number.  

War is war.  It is awful.  And people die.  Let us give this all a little perspective.  

If someone wanted to behead you, your son, or father, or brother, would you really care what someone did to a person who knew the where's and when's in order to stop it?  

I am sorry people have died, some of them just bystanders trying to survive.  But that is what war is.  It is also somewhat of a human sickness and past-time for too many.  Too many idle young men with little hope of a better tomorrow.  

I don't like the course my country is on, but then I am a bit of an isolationist.  I would prefer we bring all the USA's troops home from the hundred and six countries they are in, put them on our own borders and tell the rest of the world we will trade with you and even visit you but defend yourselves - or not.  I would say "We are done bleeding and dying on foreign soil."  

I would prefer us to be Switzerland in our foreign policy -- totally neutral.  And of course, I would say to those who truly hate us, just say no to our money...and our humanitarian aid...and our business...and our music...and certainly our movies and anything else that you associate with us.  

That should make everybody happy.  But I seriously doubt if the rest of the world would let us do that..too may calls for you must help us out of this mess...whatever it is.  

And it certainly would not stop men like Bin Laden screaming to the world that we all deserve to die because he says so.  Notice he never sends any of his own sons on the suicide missions.  Just as I notice that only one member of congress has a child in the military.

No, the terrorists will just find some other excuse to attack and kill as many of my American brothers and sisters as they can.  The sad truth is that terrorists are all too welcome in too many countries and that welcome has made them bolder with each year that passes.  They won't stop attacking, so just what does one do with them?  

I hope Afghanistan somehow recovers from its traumas and wars of the past decades.  It was never a rich country, but it used to be a developing nation with a lot of potential.  

Sooner or later, the USA will leave there just as we will leave Iraq.
Contrary to what some say, the USA does not want colonies or any more states.  We already have enough people, many of whom we can and should take better care of and with, like our children and our elderly.  

The Chinese sometimes call the USA a sleeping tiger.  Probably an accurate description.  Fact is, every country that has ever lost a war to the USA ends up being far better off than they would have been if they defeated us.  i.e. Germany & Japan.  Even the former Soviet Union of Russia will someday find its way economically and politically to a much brighter future than they had under communism.  

Things like peace, and co-existence take time - sometimes lifetimes.  

It would be wonderful if we could all just snap our fingers and stop the battles and the killings all over the world.  But that is not going to happen.  

And if you do not like the government -- get out and vote or run for office yourself. You have a voice, learn how to use it.  

Use a pen, use a phone, use the internet -- what is more democratic than the internet?  Much of what is on it is BS, but use your mind to weed through it and communicate to those in power what it is you think should change.  

But do not be surprised if 20 years from now, somebody is at war somewhere and that more people are dying in one.  Sadly, that is the story of mankind.

Dear Founder..we all face the ultimate sacrifice, as you call it, sooner or later.  Having faced death twice in my life, I now see it as simply a change of address from one dimension to another.  I am sure there are millions of others who do not see it as a finality, but a change of consciousness.  Considerably different from earlier views, in other centuries, of the difference between life and death.
Certainly, there were religious & philosophical views of a life after death but it was seen as somehow not real, not now, not for us to know or experience.  That has changed.  

So I do believe human consciousness is slowly, but surely changing and evolving into something more and better than we have known in the past.  A few million now can become a few billion in your lifetime.

I do not fear the ultimate sacrifice as I do believe there are worse things in life than death.  Surviving a massive world war might be one of them.  I am not so very concerned for myself as I have likely
lived 60% of my life.  I am concerned for the younger people, like yourself, and like so many in my own family whose lives will be shattered, wasted or destroyed - whose hearts will shake with unbearable pain and fear that might, hopefully, lead them to the courage it will take to survive.  

Aileron spoke of peace being an impossibilitly without restrictions of some kind.  We all have restrictions.  But consider that one is as free within one's own mind, heart, and soul as one chooses to be.  
Peace at any cost is not peace.  And yes, some wars are worth fighting and dying in.  I cannot imagine the horror our lives would have become if Hitler had prevailed in WWII or what our world might become if someone like him really takes control of the various terrorist groups running wild in the world today.  

There is an evil loose in the world today - call it what you like if you don't like the word evil - but it is a killing sickness that affects us all one way or another.  If we just kill the killers of others, we become them or too much like them to live in civilized society.  Not to mention bad karma.

So, perhaps we need a manifesting forum - a way that those of us with some talent and desire in that area can begin to focus on healing the species of man and the planet of earth.  Simply that may create that something better I was thinking of in my earlier post.  

JD

Me, again. I do see clearly - 100%.  If war is so much a part of you, and your aura, then you will surely find it -- and find it in your own back yard.

I do honor those who fight and die for the safety of others here and elsewhere.  Some have been in my own family and they are worthy of honor.  

I just happen to think there are better ways of fighting than by massive killings of others.  Not that I wouldn't do it, even as I approach the gateway to geezerdom.  I would certainly fight - and kill if in a kill or be killed situation.  

And just because there might be another war, what makes any of you think it wouldn't be followed by more wars to end all wars?  We have had a century of that.  In every generation of men, and let's be honest here, it is mostly men - there are those who would be tyrants and killers and who seek to dominate others.  Yes, there are alpha women, but it is mainly men who do this for reasons other than self defense or defense of their families.  

War may clear away the "nasties" of the world.  But there will be more born in the next generation and somehow they will rise to power in whatever country they can.  

Boils down to this -- we, as a species, need evolution far more than we need wars.  The good always dies with the evil -- and somehow many of the truly evil ones manage to survive.  They simply let others die at their command.  

We must evolve past it.  That takes time -- perhaps hundreds of generations.  Obviously, it isn't now.  But it has begun as there are more and more people who have begun to ask a crucial question:  when does it ever stop?  How many more people have to be cannon fodder until it does?  

As I said before:  Manifest something better.  Focus on something better.  Collectively and individually.  You might be surprised to find that it results in something better.

But I doubt you will accept this challenge.  Too much focus on the next war and how brave you are going to be in it.  Dying in a war is easy.  Living through one is the hard part.  I pray those of you who seem so enthralled by the prospects of one, never really have to see one.

And whomever said no one wants a battle in their own back yard, just where do you think it will be?  A massive war will not be limited to somebody else's house or country.  It will be staring you in the face.  And it will not be a game like this topic seems to be for a few.  



I

Why any of you want to insist on manifesting things that can only lead to death, destruction, ruin, suffering and pain.  If that is what you want for your own lives -- wars and devastation -- have at it.  However, the rest of humanity may just want something else like a peaceful country, food to eat, a job to go to, a doctor for their children, and a whole lot of necessities you take for granted.

Perhaps if you ever really had to try to live in a war zone and the extreme devastation and poverty that usually goes with it, you might not be so eager to be invaded or see WWIII in your backyard.

Why not try manifesting healing the earth and all living things, including us, on it?  Or how about wisdom and strength for the people of the world - the ordinary people -- who must endure the very things you seem to relish and would welcome with a lot of see-I-told-you-so's.  

How dare you speak for what humanity wants?  Better you should try to manifest the goodness that humanity can become.  

Sure, there will be wars.  There have always been wars.  They are not things to be enjoyed, although there are many that are itching for a mighty big one.  The real question is, why are some of you here among them?

You can have mine -- all of it.  Thanks  JD

Only time will tell.  He is very focused and we have had worse.

At least he doesn't have young interns servicing him in the Presidental Offices and disgracing himself, his family, and the office which he holds.  

He may not be a fancy talker, but at least he is not an embarrassment to the country.

When, in the history of man, hasn't there been war?  Always with us one way or another.  Seems to be inherent in our nature.  

So to predict a war -- is, not exactly news.  Of course, there will be war somewhere.

And right now, there seems to be a whole lot of people in the world just itching for one big one.  I might add these are mostly men, but some women too.

And people, many innocent and good people, will die in it. The when or the whys don't matter. Ordinary people will suffer and suffer greatly.

And yes, we, collectively, do have the technology to destroy every living thing on the planet.  Some leaders might even be arrogant enough to use some of those weapons whether they be biological, chemical or nuclear.  Somehow, it doesn't occur to them that they also could die from a retaliatory strike.  

Now, if you could come up with a way to prevent wars of all kinds, that would really be something to report.

Fat Turkey...the guy is obviously another hostile, mindless child who has found his way to the AP.

Since he seems to have lost "Mr. Dictionary", perhaps you could send him one so he can become more familiar with something other than swear words. []

Just ignore him.  He will quickly become bored with most of the things here as it is too mature for him.

Osama and "duh boys"  did it.  All the hijackers have been traced directly back to him.  He has, on a number of occassions, bragged on it.  Why would you think that this brilliant, but murderous, man couldn't have doneit and someone in the government did?  

No matter what the USA and its government may or may not be, it is not that insane.  I suppose some of you think the Spanish government blew up those trains and the people who beheaded a young American today were paid to do so by the CIA. Some sort of USA conspiracy?  

There are all kinds of conspiracy theories to explain away the awfulness of it all because dealing with the reality of it is so intense.  

Sometimes things are just as they appear to be.  And all the crazy theories in the world can't change that.

4-pm - Chicago still standing.  No attacks yet.  Might let you know otherwise at Midnight, if I am still awake.

Obviously another "Oops - wrong again!" [:O]

Beavis, if this is such a bad country -- go find another one and move there.  Buy a one way ticket.  Or stay and make it better if you care to, but you have benefited greatly from the sacrifices of others and perhaps you should learn a bit about those sacrifices before condemning the entire nation of 300 million or so people - most of whom keep on keepin on - no matter what.

And Quiet Storm -- Is there any hairbrained idea you reject?  

Perhaps the biggest conspiracy of all is getting people to buy into all these conspiracies - to fixate and obsess about them -- and end up doing nothing to make even one other person's life a little bit better today than it was yesterday.

Get off you duff and go volunteer in a homeless shelter, or a church or a food bank or any number of places and stop obsessing over theories that may or may not be true.  If they are true, so what?  What can you do about it?  Nothing.  And like most conspiracies, they will soon implode or die for lack of interest.  

I don't care if 6000 families control the planet or aliens are sleeping in our closets or little green reptiles are getting ready to eat us or the President is from Mars or the media is putting subliminal messages into the ads -- none of that can affect my mind nearly as much as my own will to decide what I will believe and who I believe is in control of my thoughts and actions.  

As for Chicago being blown up - or whatever - on May 11th, guess that will be my last goodbye as I work just north of downtown. []

I have no doubt that Chicago is a terrorist target as is every other major city in the USA.  The true terrorists are out to get us...and that is not just paranoia, they have demonstrated it as fact.  

Where and when....who knows?  If you want a real conspiracy to investigate, look into that.  We will all thank you if you can stop them - permanently.  

In the meantime, don't panic.  Those 6000 family members are not likely to do anything that affects you.  They are too busy with other things.[]

Evil does exist...and if you are perceptive enough, you will know it when it is around you in some form, usually via a person.  

How can any sane person say it does not exist and is just another psychological disorder?  It is more than that.  It is something a person gives themselves over to...usually by choice, but sometimes by happenstance.  It is enticing and gives a false sense of power to some.  

I will give you a personal example.  I once dated someone for a short time.  One evening, we were sitting in a restaurant lit only by candles on the tables.  As I have trance medium tendencies, I started to go into a trance while gazing at the candle.

I felt a wave of black energy going from his hand through mine and up my shoulder.  I immediately took my hand from his.  There was and is no doubt in my mind that this person was "evil" personified.  Needless to say, that was the last time I saw him.  

In retrospect, I doubt that he even realized himself what he had opened the door to with all the drugs he had used during the 60's, but it was there.

On a broader scale,  Hitler.  Potentially, he could have saved the world or certainly Europe -- he had all the talents to be a leader.  However, he opted for the path of evil rather than the path of good.  Some say he was insane.  Not so, he knew exactly what he was doing and had a gift for manipulation of crowds. He played on their fears and feelings of frustration and powerlessness until they would follow him in any way he wanted them to.  The horrors of that war that were inflicted on millions is due to the choices he made and led others to make. He told his people this was all for their good, for their rights and for salvation and pride.  

Sound familiar?  As in Bin Laden and all the other terrorist leaders.  They do exactly the same thing and they call it good.  

I do beleive evil is usually a choice, on some level, that a person makes or agrees to even if in just deciding not to resist it.  

Yes, we all have our little evil moments.  I don't know anyone, including myself, that hasn't committed murder in our minds over and over again when someone has hurt us or vexed us or made our lives miserable in some way.  This is normal, small potatoes in comparison to true evil.  

One last example is Charles Manson who has openly said if he ever gets out of prison he will kill as many people as he can.  He makes no excuses, just says he likes to kill people and he is entitled to kill all those he thinks of as less worthy of life than himself.  
The man is not sick...he is evil.  

Most of the time, tho, I think it is much more difficult to know or to ascertain the nature of evil.

 Those that depict evil or "Satan" as monstrous and ugly are off base.  Who wouldn't run from that?  No, I think evil is usually very attractive, charming, seductive, enticing in some way or another - at least at first.  It is only later, once a person if fully involved or committed to the evil within themselves that the ugliness of it is known. Then it is too late for those around that person who feel its effects or fall victim to their treachery.  

Best advice:  avoid it when you can and resist it any way you can.  

It is real.  It may not exist on other planes, but it certainly exists on this one.  At some point in life, each of us encounters some of it.  Only a fortunate few never see it or feel its effects in some way.  

Peace...Jena

News stations here are reporting that the 6 terrorists caught in Jordon had enough poison gas gas containers to kill 80,000 people and injure thousands more.  Apparently, they intended to use this near the American Embassies in Jordon, and possibly Jerusulem if they could have gotten into Israel.  

They are showing the containers and the vehicle they had them hidden in.  CNN is usually pretty fair in their reporting so it seems a major attack was stopped in progress.  

Frightening to think about - and shows the true intentions of men like these.  So many innocent people in the surrounding areas would have died.  Considering that all the embassies for foreign countries are usually in the same area, it definitely would have caused all out war and attacks from many countries.

Makes me wonder what else is out there - in the planning stages -- and praying it can be stopped as well.

Hi everyone.  Got to agree with FatTurkey on living in the woods.  Sure a camping trip is nice as is a walk in the woods with a great dog.  But living like that on a daily basis would not be easy.

So many people in our world live very hard lives, lots of drudgery because they are trying to live off of farmed out land or live lives of extreme poverty that is what we all hope to avoid.  

Material goods are just that...things that make our lives easier to live.  Who here wants to live the rest of their lives without electricity?  How about heat?  washing machines, and a whole list of other things we consider necessities?  Sure, we could all adjust and adapt to a more basic and primitive life.  But we wouldn't like it.

Some materialism is just human nature.  One of the first words a child quickly grasps is the word "mine".  We have to teach our children to share and be generous.  So being possessive and wanting something of our own is very human.  It is the excesses of never having enough that poses so many problems in our lives, our companies, and our countries.  Excessive greediness.  

So love all your "stuff" and take care of it.  Just keep in mind it is only "stuff", not your life and certainly not the essence of you.  And be as materialistic as you want to be as long as you are not harming someone else to get all that "stuff", I don't see what the problem is.  

End of the world -- it comes for all of us one day or another.  I don't worry about it as I doubt there is much I could do to prevent it.  Some of the predictions that are out there makes one wonder if living through it and surviving it wouldn't be worse than dying in it.  

I don't understand this fascination we seem to have with our own extinction.  Yes, it could happen....a million things could happen tomorrow or thousands of years from tomorrow.  Our survival instincts are so very strong.  Just look at some of the things people have survived throughout our known history.  We fight and struggle to survive when we have to.  

So don't worry about it. Cheer up.[] It may never happen.  It may never happen in our lifetimes, contrary to what so many predict will happen in some awful way or another.  

I am sure the closer we get to 2012, we will really start to hear the true nut case scenarios just as we did prior to the year 2000.  I plan to be around in 2013.  Hope you all do too.

Dear Martianspoon:  4/20 and Sears Tower still standing.  Saw it from my car window on the way home.  

So, that ain't it.  It is just cold and rainy here.  

And no doubt, the war in Iraq and the civil war some of them want will continue to build up.  Shite's and Sunni's have been killing each other for hundreds of years - doubt they will stop now just because Saddam is no longer in power.  And every terrorist is gunning for any American, Jew or other non-Muslim they can find just because they have nothing better to do in life -- and they have a whole lot of leaders who don't want them to have anything better to do.  

Nothing mystical in that -- it is just the news.  

On the up side, billions of people went to work or school today, said hello to people they know, and went home safe.  

Sometimes the ordinary day is the best. []

Agreed.  Warn the channelers. They are coming up with some pretty bizarre scenarios.

And how many of us look in someone else's medicine cabinet when we visit our friends?  

Come on, now - you know you do it.[]  

I agree with Ender and Fat Turkey.  End of the world not likely. More likely may be something that changes how we live and that might be a good thing, especially in the USA.  

I will add one more thing to Ender's list of things that are hard to find and that is alternative fuels - there are only two or three hybrid cars on the market and those still use gasoline.  Our daily lives seem most affected by the oil companies, the whims of the car companies, the Pharamceutical companies, and the Health Insurance companies who now get to decide who lives or who dies and are driving good doctors out of the profession.  I don't know why a doctor who has never been sued for malpractice should have to pay outrageous premiums, but they do.  

And TV just shows how superficial and shallow our society has become.  The most popular shows - the reality shows I refuse to watch - seem to have become a substitute for real live experiences.  And we elect men to the presidency on the basis of who has the best hair [] - think about it and look at the candidates the last 20 -30 years.  Eisenhower was the last bald guy in office. The current two are just two sides of the same coin - two rich guys from Yale. Under the surface, there really is no difference.  And when was the last time a short guy got nominated?  Thanks to TV and Hollywood, someone who is short, bald, fat, is never going to get nominated no matter how good a President he or she might be.  

So we definitely need some changes.  I do not, however, buy into all the end of world scenarios being touted as the absolute truth by all manner of people based on nothing more than their own imaginings.

Yes, there may be climate changes and planetary changes -- always have been.  Yes, there will be wars and rumors of wars -- always have been those too for as long as mankind has existed.  Powerful people have become despots and tyrants and made their people suffer.  That too has always been with us as have massive wars and genocide.  

The real change we need is evolution out of the madness that leads to that - out of the impulse to make war and kill and maim.  It seems to be in us genetically.  Yet we have minds that supposedly can control those impulses and the more irrational emotions that cause so much pain and suffering for others.  

How do we evolve when every generation seems to have its version of Hitler or Bin Laden or Idi Amin of Pol Pot or any number of people who become insane with power and abuse it in unspeakable ways?  

We live in trying times, times in which it is easy to despair for our futures.  But to despair is to have a total lack of faith in ourselves, and in any definitiion of God, and in our fellow men and women.  

Under the awful headlines, every day, I see people helping other people.  I see people trying to cope with the troubles of their daily lives by just keeping one foot in front of the other rather than lashing out at someone.  Most of all, I see hope in the faces of the vibrant teenagers I teach every day and they give me hope.

I think all any one of us can do is work to change the world around us one person at a time, starting with ourselves.  

Whatever disasters may befall us, somewhere in some way, there will be survivors who will begin again.  

And if most of us die, a long sleep would be restful.  A nothingness or oblivion would not even be sensed.  And any kind of an afterlife would be a joy, and perhaps even a surprise to some. []

Peace.....Jena