I’ve suggested that the wisest thing for president Bush to do would be to issue an order to STAND DOWN military action in Iraqi, as a matter of official and unofficial policy. This does not mean that our troups would become sitting ducks or target practice. It does not dishonor the troops, nor the United States. It is an action…
Read MoreYear: 2007
Upcoming Thoughts on Travel (and Images)
Last month the March edition of Natural Awakenings (Arizona) Magazine introduced a travel and discovery column called “Go & Tell” written by yours truly. The article was about the Valley of Fire State Park, located 50 miles north of Las Vegas, near Overton. The April edition features a story about Pie Town, a small “dot” on U.S. Rt. 60 in western New Mexico, that we passed…
Read MoreThoughts on Love: The Greatest Power
Love is a power… not a force. In fact, love is the greatest power there is. Although we can’t touch it, everyone knows when it is present, and mourns when it is thought to be missing. Love is greater than any force, and it is available to all. Love can change the worst of situations into the best. That includes…
Read More2007 Vintage Reunion DVD Ships
Happily, I’ve completed the video for the 3rd Annual Vintage Reunion, which I shipped on DVD last Friday. The main program runs 61 minutes. I added a second video comprised of 311 still images, and set to a music soundtrack of two performances from the 2006 KSBR Birthday Bash at San Juan Capistrano, California; one an opening performance by the…
Read MoreThoughts on War: As the Wheel of Grief Turns
This past week, 60 Minutes broadcast a story on the massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha by four Marines led by 25 year old Staff Sargeant Frank Wuterich. Wuterich was charged with unpremeditated murder (killing without military justification), which will be decided by a military jury. If anyone should have been in the seat, answering questions of…
Read MoreWar as Yesterday's Way: Not Today's
Beingness and this Problem With Iraq Do you think my inquiry into, and discussion about “who we are” is an intellectual exercise? Think again. Every action we take revolves around our self-understanding, or lack thereof. Our willingness to express the wisdom of our own conscience, or simply blend with the ideological herd that is public opinion, indicates the extent to which we will…
Read MoreThoughts on Beingness: Who and What We Are
On Our Bodies, Beliefs, and Spirituality Who, or perhaps what do you think you are? It is so easy to assume that we are our body. We can go through an entire lifetime harboring this belief… living it… fearing death with it. We can define ourself by our body type, size, and coloration. We can dress our body in ways that…
Read MoreAsk Your Real Doctor, Ask Your Self
Do you consider yourself a news junky? Okay… if you don’t feel comfortable being associated with the word junky, does the word addict feel better? The fundamental question is if “news,” of the personal, local, or national kind, is a prominent input source that goes into the evolution and maintenance of your worldview. If so, then God help you… and…
Read MoreA Couple of Weeks in This Life
While I wouldn’t necessarily call it a hiatus, I haven’t placed any new entries here for what seems like quite some time. I’ve focused quite a bit of thought and energy toward in other creative efforts, which included: editing the video from the 2007 Reunion Karting event in Riverside (which I’m finishing up now) videotaping a local performance of tenor saxophonist, Azar Lawrence at…
Read MoreThoughts on Forgiveness: a Preamble
I just finished reading, and highly recommend, a wonderful book; The Disappearance of the Universe, by Gary R. Renard. For me, it brought forth what is both a practical, and practicable approach to positive change. We understand that the term “love conquers all,” but how do we apply it day-by-day, moment-by-moment. It is through forgiveness… forgiving those who appear to have…
Read MoreMy New Sensei
I’d like to introduce you to a new teacher that has entered my life. Her name is Gretta. She is demonstrating, very quickly, what LOVE is. Positive, accepting, tolerant, forgiving, patient, joyful, playful… I could go on, but there is far more power in the energy that she brings, than we generally appreciate. That is because there is far more…
Read MoreThoughts on Positive Change: Endogenesis
Who to Look To, and Where to Start Our racial, ethnic, religious, political, or cultural affiliations may change over the course of our lives. Yet we will always be human beings. As such, it behooves us to embrace this truth early and often. Human relations, not race relations, are and forever will be both the greatest challenge and opportunity that…
Read MoreOn 'the Origins' of Karting From One of its Founders
In my recent post where I explored the origins of karting, my recollection of the chronology of the sport’s beginnings was, shall we say, a bit off. It was while reviewing an interview with Duffy Livingstone, who could be called, the Godfather of Karting, shot in 2005 on my Reunion and Remembrance DVD. As you’ll see, there were quite a…
Read MoreSham Alert Redux
I received the following comments from newHoosier, who took exception to my position in my recent Sham Alert article about lobbying efforts by Merck Inc. to institute mandatory inoculations of their drug Gardasil as a preventive measure for HPV and cervical cancer. FIRE in a crowded theater??? I think since 75% of adult women are infected with HPV at some…
Read MoreVintage Kart Racers Stay Forever Young
I traveled to California last week to cover the 3rd Annual Vintage Karting Association Reunion event, at Adams Kart Track, in Riverside, CA. This was one fine gathering of the pioneers of the sport of karting, which has become the cradle of professional motorsports, as well as the perpetual playground for the “quick at heart” of all ages. Kids can…
Read MoreSham Alert: Mandatory Cervical Cancer Vaccine Lobby
A story reported recently on MSNBC, reporting that Merck & Company is lobbying to make an “immunization” against cervical cancer mandatory for girls as young as 11 to 12 years of age passed without raising so much as an eyebrow as to its wisdom. The only hint of controversy came from some conservative parent rights groups because it would, in…
Read MoreThoughts on Peace: Why Bother? (Part V)
Forgive, Forgive, Forgive There are answers to the question of why bother seeking peace, but they are not about bringing world peace. In other words, it’s not about achieving universal disarmament and creating a worldwide “touchy feeling goodness” moment. The answers come from within, mind by mind, heart by heart, as we learn and express forgiveness. This does not mean forgive…
Read MorePractical Holism: Bless them All
[NOTE: I wrote this essay in 2004, when I lived in Sacramento a few blocks from the state Capital building.] Democrats and Republicans; bless them all. Libertarians, Peace and Freedom, Reformers, and Greeners; bless them all. Natural “Lawyers,” Light Party and Veterans Party, bless them all. If you’ve ever taken a few minutes to look at the vast spectrum of…
Read MoreThoughts on Peace: Why Bother? (Part IV)
It is possible that this series has continued to raise questions instead of bring on any definitive reasons why we should bother believing in, or seeking peace, especially since the “best minds” and strategists seem doggedly intent on doing it by bribery, coercion, intimidation, demonstrations of military might and war waging. In the now famous Dr. Phil-ism, I’d ask the…
Read MoreThoughts on Peace: Why Bother? (Part III)
There are millions, if not billions of citizens around the world who, if they acknowledge that there is one God, still want to believe that their particular take on God is the truest one. While most religions are expressions of a single syndrome which might be characterized as “nearer to Thee,” the syndrome itself is founded in duality, dichotomy, separatism…
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