My fear is that this is a long dark hole, with so many ulterior motives, we’ll never find daylight. The only reason we are there, is to benefit the U.S. Not the the U.S. People, but the U.S. Corporations. The Iraq horror is a mirror of the devastation that is going on here, at home. I abhor platitudes like, ‘we broke it, we must fix it’, ‘we must finish what we started’ or the dozens of other silly one-liners and catch phrases our government has parroted at us.That is how we got into this mess. I am completely against continuing to to pay the price in money, blood and structure that this war costs. It is not just something happening in Iraq. Look at the damage to our own infrastructure. To the loss of our own rights, to the destruction of our Constitution, our Media, our Representation. As a country, we have become, something, we don’t even recognize. It is not just Iraq and it’s people our own Government is destroying It is America, herself, that is being ripped apart. My hope is that this will precipitate a profound change in our country. That we will demand true representation. That there will be a new era, with the voices of ‘Founding Mothers and Daughters’, voices of reason, rejecting the hysteria of testosterone-laden, chest-thumping narcissists, who equate manhood with domination and power with conquest. I would love to see the people of Iraq ‘stand up’ and take control of their own Country. My greatest hope is that, we would do the same here, in our Country.

I am curious, as to why you choose to read here. You demonstrate a disdain for women. You seem to think that are quite intelligent and well adjusted. And yet, here you are, waving your johnson in the air, like a silly old man. I should think you would have more important things to do, with your time.

Thank you so much Suzanne, I consider funny to be the highest form of …whatever! Second only to being told, one is funny!

I am constantly surprised by people’s assertion that they have found the answer. They have found an answer for themselves. That is all that has been found. No matter how certain you are that you are right. There is no way to know that. Because we are talking about states of energy and our perception of them. We perceive with faulty, imperfect and prejudicial senses. We can absolutely only experience a small sampling of what ‘is’. Just the touching of the tip of an elephant’s tail and we think we can “know” what the he elephant is. But we can’t. You can be right for yourself, but you can not be right for me. I interpret things differently than you do. I am not less open, less accepting, less intelligent, than you. I think, I perceive, I understand, differently. Am i right? I don’t know. Maybe in some small way. But who knows? I don’t need to be right. I need to have set of concepts that work for me. But I also need to allow other people to have a set of concepts that work for them. I need to allow them the dignity of their personhood and their choices. I do not assume, I know their voids or what it takes to fill them. For instance, in my view, testifying means standing mutely, without judgment and observing. Without judgment, being the operative concept. That plateau is obviously, light years beyond my evolutionary plane.

People who are tranquil and happy, rarely feel the need to spew, as you just did. You sound quite full of something…and I don’t think it’s tranquility.

Ok Betty, I’ll bite. What if people who don’t believe in God are wrong? So what?

LOL! I am laughing so hard, you made my face hurt!

Claudia~ Well giggling, I am told, is very healing! Ahhh the great FOTS syndrome. (Fear of Tantrum Sucess). o.k. well let’s get real. You’re falling apart. What is there left to be afraid of? Video!! Already your mind is mapping the rode to your new career. “The Great Tantrum Teach-In”. Get that video camera out. I understand they are working on putting a “Her-Tube” on this site. You can have the first video ready: ‘The art of the foot-stomp’ or ‘how I learned to loosen the laces of my soul’!

Yay Suzanne! I find it interesting that some people assume that Lesley’s perception of the experience at Denny’s is accepted as more valid than her producer’s perception. I would like to point out that although Lesley didn’t notice any prejudice, that doesn’t mean, there wasn’t any prejudice. It only means, Leslie didn’t notice any. And in this instance, Leslie’s perception, is not more valid, than her producer’s. But I do not think that Obama being of mixed race, will keep him from the presidency. I am not thrilled with his lack of experience. But I am impressed with the way he tackles problems and with his ability to create a highly efficient organized team, around him. As to the idea that the Republicans will paint Obama with ‘whatever!’ They will do that, irregardless. It is what they do! It appears to be all they do. It doesn’t really matter, whether it is the ‘black man’ or the ‘woman’, they will do what they do and it will be equally offensive. They are nothing if not equal opportunity, smear merchants. I also don’t think the ‘states with many blacks’ theory is any kind of measure of anything. Obama did, after all was said and done, win the delegate count in Texas! And let us not overlook all the young, new voters, Obama will bring to the democratic party and to the polls. In my opinion the only candidate that is unelectable, in the upcoming contest, is McCain.

Dear Claudia, It sounds like a good beginning! I look at all the amazing things you have explored. And I can only think that this is an area you have seriously neglected. LOL! I would say, your tantrum-self, deserves more exploration. I mean how can you judge the value, the worth, the quality of your tantrum, with nothing to compare it to? Perhaps just allowing random screams or senseless fist-waving? Maybe a thrown book or some foot-stomping, jumping and screaming NO! …for absolutely no reason. These are such great ideas, I think I’ll try them! I love your piece…great writing!

Or to a deep-seated neurosis! We are after all the most recent addition to the planet. And we appear to be the least well integrated with it. Perhaps our obsession with the afterlife is a product of our ” newness” to this life.

It was all that after-life stuff that first made me, the bane of the existence, of the Sisters of St Mary of Namur! Who was chosen? Who was not? Who got to go to heaven? Who was left to rot? From a very young age, I pondered the strange lack of logic that permeated these concepts. With the same fervor that I pondered the concept that my brother mowed the lawn and I ironed the clothes. That is, loudly and long. My youthful brain could make no sense of any of it. It sounded suspiciously, like a sport. Born into the wrong denominational gene pool? You’re outta luck. No glory for you. Unless, regardless of your birth denomination, your genes converted to talent. Then heavenly choirs will sing your praises. Still, you gotta do everything the team leaders say you gotta do or ya gotta mesmerize ‘em with your show. Otherwise you’re condemned to the bowels of the bench. Or you’re off the team and on your way to eternal oblivion. These rules are fast and true and so must you be. You can however, suck the whole game, kick one over the goal post at the last minute and you too, are on your way to Disneyland! It is senseless. I could only wonder, ‘Who came up with this stuff?’ God?!!! I was then and still am amazed that anyone would believe that any god, would actually come up with such concepts. It really reeks of the silliest, side of humanity. It is baffling that we spend so much time focusing on something we can never ever know until it happens. We can’t know ‘til we get there and until then, we’re just whistling in the dark. We probably came from there, to understand here. And now we’re spending all our time here, trying to figure out what’s there. I, too have thought and thought all my life about what is after this life. But to answer that, I would hafta know, in some small way, what this life is. If I can’t figure this out, how can I figure that out? I mean I am here, looking at it, touching, breathing it, being it. And I haven’t the faintest idea, what it is. How am I supposed to have the slightest idea of what is ‘next’? I don’t know what the next minute will bring, let alone the next ‘life’. I don’t know what this life is. How is this life here, at all? How is it happening? I am constantly stunned that anything at all, exists. I do not know how it is, that anything ‘is’.. I don’t know what it is. I only know that …it is something. Something exists. And that alone, is more magic, than my mind can hold..

Ahhh screw getting fed up with ourselves! So what? It’s just I feel a Dory Previn comin’ on…! Twenty-Mile Zone song lyrics Dory Previn Screamin’ at the night Screamin’ at the dark Screaming at fright I wasn’t doing nothin’ Just drivin’ about Screamin’ at the dark Lettin’ it out That’s all I was doing Just lettin’ it out Well along comes a motorcycle Very much to my surprise I said officer was I speeding I couldn’t see his eyes He said no you weren’t speeding And he felt where his gun was hung He said lady you were screamin’ At the top of your lung And you were Doin’ it along You were doin’ it alone You were screamin’ in your car In a twenty-mile zone You were doin’ it alone You were doin’ it alone You were screamin’ I said I’ll roll up all my windows Don’ wanna disturb the peace I’m just a creature Who is looking For a little release I said And what’s so wrong with screamin’ Don’t you do it at your games When the quarterback Breaks an elbow When the boxer beats and maims But you were Doin’ it alone You were doin’ it alone You were screamin’ in your car In a twenty-mile zone You were doin’ it alone You were doin’ it alone You were screaming I said animals roar When they feel like Why can’t we do that too Instead of screaming Banzai baby In the war in the human zoo He said I got to take you in now Follow me right behind And let’s have no more screamin’ Like you’re out of your mind So he climbed aboard his cycle And his red-eyed headlight beamed And his motor started spinning And his siren screamed He was doin’ it alone He was doin’ it alone He was screamin’ on his bike In a twenty-mile zone He was doin’ it alone He was doin’ it alone He was screaming I was doin’ it alone I was doin’ it alone I was screamin’ in my car In a twenty-mile zone I was doin’ it alone I was doin’ it alone I was screaming We were doing it together We were doing it together We were screamin’ at the dark In a twenty-mile zone We were doin’ it together We were doin’ it together We were screaming We were doin’ it together We were doin’ it Together Alone In a twenty-mile zone

Re: Josephine Franks “Obama heard what Watson, the discoverer of the DNA sequence said about African Americans scoring lower than Caucasians on IQ tests and called him a racist. Watson got fired.” Oh puleeeeze! Here is was Watson said: In an Oct. 14th interview, Watson stated that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa. All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says not really.” If you do not see that statement as blatantly racist, I can only assume, that you agree with Dr. Watson and that, saying Blacks are inherently less intelligent than Whites, isn’t racist, it’s just reality. That is in fact a textbook example of racism. Obama’s remarks did not cause and are not responsible for Watson’ firing. Watson was fired, because he was held responsible for his own remarks, which came out of his own mouth. Using IQ tests , which are notoriously prejudicial to support a prejudicial viewpoint is, I believe, a quintessential tactic of ‘Truthiness’. Ahh yes, Whites never cry racism! It is the Blacks that are racist. And the proof of that is that it is the Blacks that cry ‘racism’! More circular ‘Truthiness’ logic. As to Reverend Wright…I am a big Hillary supporter, but her response, like yours, is just ridiculous. I wonder how many times Hillary sat in Women’s groups and listened while the ‘good ole boys’ mentality was being loudly and fervently cursed. She may not have felt that level of rage, but I doubt she walked out, never to return. I daresay we all have examples in our lives that mirror these. It’s about time, we started telling the truth about our deep-seated resentments, telling the truth to each other and telling the truth to ourselves. “Huckabee is a king maker” Oh!? And who would then be king? McCain? King George wasn’t enough for you? None are so blind, as those that will not see…or hear or… think for themselves!

It is the sadness. I feel it creeping everywhere, a country moving a little heavier, through the day. And people recede. They are not seen, tangible evidence of them is in retreat. The air is filled with empty spaces. We like to say that nature abhors a vacuum. As though the vacuum was ‘nothingness’. As though some outside ‘nature’ was in control. But it is not. The vacuum is the primary element, here. It is not empty. It is filled and breeding, something new. But we are separated from it and from the selves, the plans, the certainties, that we knew. We are the sadness between what was and what is to be. There is a feeling of stagnation, of standing water, putrefying. It is not a new thing. As a Nation, we have been receding from our Self, from who we knew we were, for a long time. To me, it is like a Nation in Menopause. We railed against it, denying the creeping signs, the mood swings, the hot flashes, the loss of vitality. Who we knew ourself to be, has been ripped away from us and replaced by this something different, something lesser, something out of our control. It feels like anything, but a Pause. It feels like a kind of dying. And we are sad. As a Nation, we are sad. The realization of the loss of vitality, of control, is the acceptance and the culmination and of a change that began seven years ago. Acceptance is always the end. And it is always the beginning. But for now, as we recede, it just feels sad.