The Tyranny of Health Insurance

Forgive me but I am angry. God damned insurance companies get to decide what medications you get to take above the medical opinion of a DOCTOR! Everybody is so worried about socialized medicine, what about the tyranny of the capitalistic Insurance / pharmaceutical industry. At least I get to vote for the people who would be making the decisions in a single payer system. I don't get to vote for the CEO of an insurance company who gets to make medical decisions for me. AND I have to pay an arm and a leg for them to have that privilege. If someone gets between my doctor and me at least I would get a say as to who that person was ever November. When it comes to basic human rights, the introduction of a profit motive is not only immoral but also impractical. Schools, the justice system, health care, and the care of the elderly are too important to leave to the whims of market forces. URGH!!!!!!!

I Feel Sorry for Ronald Reagan.

I never though I would see a day where I would feel sorry for Ronald Reagan. The Republican nominee for president praises a former KGB agent, appears on Russian State TV and refuses to make a forceful statement regarding Russian attempts to manipulate the US electoral process. I'm pretty sure I can hear Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford and Reagan rolling around in their graves. Although, Nixon may be grateful for a dance party as he probably needs a break from the heat. In any case, once again my mouth is agape at the events of this surreal election cycle and once again I have broken my vow to not be political with my posts. But I really really feel bad for Reagan and the Republican Party....and really really think I miss the cold war.

Our Real Enemy

What fascinates me most is the direct parallels of ISIS dogma and fundamentalist Christianity which I witnessed first hand as a child. (We sang "I'm in the Lord's Army" regularly after all.) They are two sides of the same coin...Ideological brothers. 

Reason, nuance, compassion, Open Minds...these are the best, most sustainable weapons against religious fanatics. Britain, Germany, France have all now approved airstrikes and War is now necessary, yes. When faced with a bully, you have to punch back. We must take a stand against ISIS but it will not win us a victory. 

We will only win when religious fanaticism is rooted out of the hearts of humanity. I'm not sure that is even possible. But until we all, Republican, Democrats, Socialist, People of Faith, People of no Faith… until we ALL embrace reason, dialogue, compassion and take a stand against the religious/political fanatics amongst us, we will have to face the madmen these fanatics inspire. 

Syed Rizwan Farook
Robert Dear
Eric Robert Rudolph
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Ashin Wirathu
Timothy James McVeigh

Reason, Nuance, Compassion, Humanity, while not as sexy as bunker busting bombs, are the arms we must now take up and fight this growing threat. It is the only hope of victory we have.

If they have no bread, let them eat cake.

Most of my friends roll their eyes when I start spouting off about the French Revolution, a time when money and power were aggregated at the top of the society. Let the eye rolling commence! 

Wealth will only trickle up. It never trickles down. It is time we end our 35 yearlong experiment with, as George Bush Sr. called it, "Voodoo Economics". It has failed and if we don't turn away from it, the consequences will be dire. We are already seeing some of the societal instability that comes from wealth inequity. Riots.... Debtors’ prisons. Some would say, "Good, let the revolution come!"  I would never advocate violence.  Revolutions are bloody business. Ask Anastasia and her sisters. 

It is essential that to maintaining our stable society that people from all points on the political spectrum must start talking about Wealth Inequality.  Workers who can keep a roof over there heads, have access to healthy food/water, educate their children and can get access to healthcare don’t storm the Bastille. I think we can still back away from the precipice and preserve the American Dream for all. It will take cooperation from all political parties but time is running out.  ‪#‎MarieAntoinetteNeverSawItComing....But we do.

Religion

 

I was reading a blog by Mark Morford of the San Francisco Gate.  I love reading his column and always enjoy his perspective. The premise is that religion is the root of all evil in humanity and will ultimate be our undoing


Of course, this got me to thinking. 

It's not the religion.  It's the people. The natural instincts of humans toward “us vs. them”.   At one time in the savannas of Africa that instinct served us well for survival. In fact, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, chimpanzees have been known to murder in anger (not just kill for food) and go to war with other groups over territory.  If every church were eliminated from the planet tomorrow.  We will still war over natural resources, find ways to alienate each other.   The highly enlightened progressives vs. the ignorant rednecks.  The patriotic Americans vs. the Socialists.  Civilized society vs. barbarism.  Us vs. them in many forms would still be with us.  It is ingrained in our animal brains, our DNA.

More specifically, Orthodoxy poisons the well of religion. Devout Buddhists are slaughtering ethnic Muslims in Myanmar, Orthodox Jews throw rocks at people driving on the Sabbath.  We all know what A-holes orthodox Christians can be.  Animal rights people throw blood at people that don’t agree with them.  If you even hint that you support vaccines or circumcision, “Crunchy Moms” are all over you like white on organic rice.  Ultra-right wingers – D*cks!  Ultra-left wing...wear you down with debate till you cry "Uncle".  Orthodoxy in any dogma (religious or no) is bad news.  Our minds tend toward dogma but we are evolving

From the dawn of human civilization, we have had the mystics and prophet pointing us in another direction and using organized modes of worship to attempt to show us how to rise above our lizard brains.  We corrupt them that is what we do.  It hasn't been that long in our evolution that we branched off from our monkey cousins.   But I will be willing to bet that the great Apes don't have a concept of human (for want of a better term) rights, of the sanctity of life or spirituality.  So, we are evolving into mindful beings.

Mindfulness, ceremony, gathering together in prayer, community, being called to higher form of consciousness, seeing the divine in all human beings and all living things will help us combat our "natural" tendency to split into different clubs…can help call us to the better angels of our nature.  Organized religions aren't necessary for that but they can help.

No Expects the Spanish Inquisition

I have heard a lot of people bemoan the fate of the world lately.  The world is a more violent and scarier than every before.  I don't think that is the case.  We are more televised than every before.  Every atrocity every act is beamed across the globe instantly.....pontificated on rabidly to fill the airwaves.  The goal, of course, to get you to catch the latest ad for the latest drug to treat erectile dysfunction.

The world is not more violent.  It may be just as violent as always but not more so.  It is an important distinction.  I don't want to be one of the many pundits to put the blame on the media.  If fact, I believe that it is the fact that we can see these horrors that we are moved to action.  Perhaps if the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition had been the subject of a reality TV show or Internet meme, it would have ended sooner.   There would have been a song written by Bob Geldof to raise money for its victims.

I think we are evolving as a species and are moved to action to ease the horrors in the world.  Here is a list of some of the things we have accomplished as species this year.  What is on your list?  What makes you say "Go US!"  Let me know in the comments.

Humans in Space

Merry Christmas ET!

I am terribly behind in everything Christmas prep and found this article while goofing off.   It poses an interesting theological question.  The Mormons being a recent religion have answered this for themselves and good for them!

I think that we will find a myriad of varied and rich spiritual traditions across the Cosmos.  But at their fundamental core we will encounter love, care for the poor, serenity, peace and good will toward our fellows.  They will have had their wars, their inquisitions,  their debates, and ultimately they will come to a place of dialogue and appreciation of one another.  At the end, they (and us) will finally have learned what the mystics and prophets of this planet have been trying to teach us since the dawn of conscious thought.   We are all on a journey up the mountain, many paths, one destination.

So whatever path you are on, walk it, study it, let it seep into your being.  Find the spiritual core at the heart of it's tenants and apply them to the here and now.  Don't worry about the paths others take.  Blaze your own path if you need to but keep climbing, keep your eye on the prize...The Divine Spirit at the heart of the Universe.  Meet me there with ET.  We will have some Egg Nog waiting for you.

Unless of course we meet the Klingons first....then we are totally screwed.

And God Bless us, Everyone!!!

From the NY Times
Do Aliens Know It's Christmas?