benevolent adj. well meaning and kindly

incongruous adj. not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something

Ruefully adj. expressing sorrow or regret

boulder n. a large rock, typically one that has been worn smooth by erosion.

effusive adj. express great emotion or enthusiasm

If you have ever read a good book, one of those one’s that draw you in and makes you want to turn the corner and every page to find out where the journey takes you, than you would probably not want to stop reading halfway through and never get to the end because the riveting parts that keep you coming back for more are waiting for you on the last page. This is a bit like how it might be with the atonement. The atonement is this idea within Judaism (and some other ancient tribal religions) that the God you follow requires some sort of retributive sacrifice to appease their frustration with their creation or to demonstrate a personal act of commitment. (I know I have given ’skimming the surface’ definition, but for the sake of conversation I hope we can use the above). For those who say we follow in the way of Jesus, to simply spend all our energy focusing on the act of atonement would be a very insufficient approach to bad reading skills if we use the above metaphor as the foundation. So, either we aren’t interested enough in finding out what happens at the end of the book, or because we know what happens at the end of the book (e.g., Christ’s resurrection, the restoration of all mankind, us living out our full potential, and the earth being fully restored to name a few) we have become too comfortable with the story. But the story of Jesus, as recorded by some of his followers informs us that Christ’s life didn’t end with his death. That Christ’s life draws us all into more life because of the act of his resurrection. And that moves us all into a new reality where we get to now live out his resurrection rather than his death. If we take the death of Jesus as the reality we subscribe to, then are we saying we would rather prefer to bring death rather than rebirth or new life into the lives of people and situations? One might respond by saying that the death of Jesus was about sacrifice and so his act brings us into a reality where we sacrifice for the good of all mankind and when we come into situations we find ways to sacrificially love our neighbours (this isn’t to say that the death of Jesus didn’t/doesn’t have any importance, this is offering a different perspective on it). I think this might be a good place to start but might be insufficient because the life of Jesus also brought hope, love, grace, healing and a new reality anyone could join in on. And it is the act of his coming back to life that reinforce all these points. If we can find a way to couple the two events rather than separating than this more holistic approach might bring about more freedom of creativity in how we dialogue with people as well as for us seeing the story as less fragmented and more hopeful and less macabre. The story of Jesus also doesn’t end with his coming back to life, his story is still going, so should our accounts of him and our own movement as those who follow reflect this same kind of ethos?? Sometimes people don’t need you to sacrifice things on their behalf, most of the time they need you to bring them hope, embrace, acceptance, justice and restorative redemption. This happens through an action, not an act of submission and this is the difference between the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. One is about submission and the other is about action. And so, maybe we can come to a place of submissive action that seeks to create new world where hope, justice, faith and love live and breath freely like next-door neighbours who’ve known each other for years. This would be a good place to start if we want to live in a post-atonement reality. Let’s agree that it might be a bit morbid to spend all of our energy focusing on a death when the story doesn’t end there. It would be like criminal investigators scouring a scene after all the evidence of the crime has been taken. (Not that the death of Jesus or resurrection has any similarities to a crime, just a metaphor.)….but if we can come together and choose to live in the post-atonement reality the world might just become a better place to live where wholeness, restoration, grace and peace can dance together in simple unison while we are the one who are the benevolent kingdom givers and livers.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
December
© Copyright 2009 Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When Carolee Schneeman was a kid, her extravagant adoration of nature earned her the nickname “mad pantheist.” Later, during her career as a visual artist, she described her relationship with the world this way: “I assume the senses crave sources of maximum information, that the eye benefits by exercise, stretch, and expansion towards materials of complexity and substance.” I hope that you’re attracted to that perspective right now, Aries. To be in most productive alignment with the cosmic rhythms, you should be in a state of nearly ecstatic openness, hungry to be stretched — like a mad pantheist.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Dear Rob: Last night my son and I were star-gazing. When we focused on the constellation Cassiopeia, an owl started hooting. Then a brilliant shooting star zipped by as a huge bat flew right over our heads. Was this a bad omen? Bats are creepy — associated with vampires. And in Greek mythology Cassiopeia got divine punishment because she bragged that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea god’s daughters. But I don’t know, maybe this blast of odd events was a good omen. Owls are symbols of wisdom and shooting stars are lucky, right? What do you think? Are we blessed or cursed? -Spooked Taurus.” Dear Spooked: The question of whether it’s good or bad luck is irrelevant. Here’s what’s important: You Tauruses are in a phase when the hidden workings of things will be shown to you — the mysterious magic that’s always bubbling below the surface but that is usually not visible.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The weeks ahead will be a ripe time to pull off magic reversals. May I suggest that you try to transform dishwater greys into sparkling golds? Or how about recycling the dead energy of a lost cause in such a way as to generate raw fuel for a fresh start? I’m confident, Gemini, that you’ll be able to discover treasure hidden in the trash, and that you’ll find a way to unleash the creative zeal that has been trapped inside polite numbness. Now ponder this riddle, please: Do you think there’s any mystical significance in the fact that the word “stressed” is “desserts” spelled backwards?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Lately you remind me of the person Robert Hass describes in his poem “Time and Materials”: “someone falling down and getting up and running and falling and getting up.” I’m sending you my compassion for the times you fall down, and my admiration for the times you get up, and my excitement for the times you run. It has probably become clear to you by now that the falling down isn’t a shameful thing to be cursed, but rather is an instrumental part of the learning process that is teaching you marvelous secrets about getting back up and running.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “I burn for no reason, like a lantern in daylight,” writes poet Joseph Lease. I think that’s a succinct formulation of one of your central issues, Leo. Burning for no reason, like a lantern in the daylight, can be the cause of either failure or success for you, depending on subtle differences of emphasis. This is how it can be failure: When you’re mindlessly and wastefully burning through your prodigious reserves of fuel without any concern for the benefits it may provide you and others. This is how it can be success: When you are exuberant and self-disciplined in shining your light and radiating your warmth just because it feels so good and so right and so healthy, and without any thought about whether it’s “useful” to anyone.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In one of his short poems, John Averill (twitter.com/wiremesa) describes a scene that I think captures the essence of your current astrological omens: “Today is the day of the photo of moonrise over Havana in a book on a shelf in the snowbound cabin.” Here’s a clue about what it means: The snowbound cabin is where you are right now in your life. The moonrise over Havana is where you could be early in 2010. How do you get there from here?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): An estuary is a bay where the salt water of a sea mixes with the fresh water of rivers. These days you remind me of such a place. You are two-toned, Libra. You’re dual-purpose and double-tracked. You’re a hybrid blend of the yes and the no, the give and the take, the extravagant and the traditional. And somehow this has been working out pretty well for you. You’re not so much a dysfunctional contradiction as an interesting juxtaposition. You’re not being crushed by a squeeze of opposites so much as you’re getting massaged by the oscillating throbs of complementary influences. Keep doing what you’ve been doing, only more so.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Big shiny egos with flashy tricks may be mucking around in everyone’s business, calling narcissistic attention to themselves as they pretend to do noble deeds. Meanwhile, I hope you’ll be doing the hard, detailed work that must be done to serve the greater good — quietly and unpretentiously improving people’s lives without demanding major tribute. That approach will stir up some sleek, silky karma that will come in handy when you undertake the building of your masterpiece in 2010.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Dear Rob: I love to be proven wrong. That’s not an ironic statement. I actually get excited and feel creative when I acquire new information that shows me I’ve been operating under a misunderstanding. One of my very favorite life moments occurs when I am convincingly liberated from a negative opinion I’ve been harboring about someone. As you can tell, I’m quite proud of this quality. The way I see it, emotional wealth and psychological health involve having so much self-respect that I don’t need to be right all the time. -Sagittarian Freedom Fighter.” Dear Freedom Fighter: Thanks for your testimony. The capacity you described is one that many Sagittarians will be poised to expand in 2010. And this is an excellent time for them to start getting the hang of it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In an early version of the tale of Pinocchio, friendly woodpeckers chiseled his nose back to its original size after it had grown enormous from his incorrigible lying. From a metaphorical perspective, Capricorn, a comparable development may soon occur in your own life. A benevolent (if somewhat rough) intervention akin to the woodpeckers’ assistance will shrink an overgrown, top-heavy part of your attitude, allowing you to proceed to the next chapter of your story with streamlined grace.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “There is light enough for those who wish to see,” wrote French philosopher Blaise Pascal, “and darkness enough for those of the opposite disposition.” I’m hoping you will align yourself with the first group in the coming weeks, Aquarius. More than ever before, what you choose to focus on will come rushing in to meet you, touch you, teach you, and prompt you to respond. Even if all the smart people you know seem to be drunk on the darkness, I encourage you to be a brave rebel who insists on equal time for the light.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): White dwarfs are small and extremely dense stars. They’re typically no bigger than the Earth but as heavy as the sun. You currently have a resemblance to one of those concentrated balls of pure intensity. I have rarely seen you offering so much bang for the buck. You are as flavorful as chocolate mousse, as piercing as the scent of eucalyptus, as lustrous as a fireworks display on a moonless night. Personally, I’m quite attracted to your saucy and zesty emanations, and I think most people with strong egos will be. But some underachievers with lower self-esteem may regard you as being more like astringent medicine. My advice: Gravitate toward those who like you to be powerful.

Homework: Go to YouTube and watch me give some pep talks and crazed lectures. Start here: http://tinyurl.com/lyr99n

CLICK HERE to learn more about Rob Brezsny’s “Free Will Astrology.”

CLICK HERE to subscribe to Rob Brezsny’s newsletter.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Rob Brezsny’s book, Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia, Revised and Expanded.

Mareen Fischinger bringt ‘Winter’ auf den Punkt.

music by Benevolent

by what you’d have left if you lost all your money.

If all I’m remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life. ~ ISIAH LORD THOMAS III

[ ma-lev-o-lent ]

“ Wishing harm to others . Malicious .”

Example :

The wicked old women gave a malevolent smile.

Comment :

- Opposite Of Benevolent.

defeated option

Well, the excitement is building up and we have one more week left before our Diversities of Gifts for The Dove’s Nest Fundraiser presentation. We have a few slots left for the event, so if you still want to attend, but missed the RSVP deadline, please email me at diversitiesofgifts@kymgmoore.com and let us know of your interest to attend on Saturday and/or to send a donation. We want to thank everyone who responded and for those who are unable to attend, but either sent a donation or expressed that they will be sending a donation for the event, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

As you read from our previous communications, The Dove’s Nest is a women-specific recovery program that provides a loving, highly-structured Christian environment to help women understand and deal with the core issues of their alcohol and/or drug addiction. This benefit is an opportunity for you to support their Capital Campaign, designed to increase the program’s bed capacity from 12 to 90.

Here’s that information for the benefit once again:

Saturday September 19, 2009, from 2:00pm – 4:30pm
Held at The Duke Mansion, located at 400 Hermitage Road, Charlotte, NC.
Tickets for the event are $50.00 per person. Food and selected beverages is included.

Here’s the form that you can still mail in or bring with you if you are registering after the RSVP deadline http://favoritethingsforacause.wordpress.com/diversities-of-gifts-for-the-doves-nest-rsvp/. This is truly an educational event that you don’t want to miss.

Peace & Blessings!

Kym Gordon Moore

What're ya, Fuckin’ Stoopid?

What, are you people F*%#&!’n STOOPID?

Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to offend, didn’t mean to put anyone off by my “intro demeanor.”

Yeah so I’ve been dead awhile… A little over a year now.  June 22 of 2008, to be exact. And I didn’t realize dying on the Summer Solstice was such a big deal. But it is. You’re gonna have to trust me on that one, but that’s not why I am writing this f&%$#n’ BLOG.

Bllllog. What the hell is a blog anyway? You f&%king human beings.

So it’s been awhile since I’ve had a “chat” with any of you, me being passed on to the next thing and all. and I have some pent-up energy to lay out here… and I’ll get to how Pussified the Health Care Debacle has become as long as you keep reading.

But First off, let me tell ya, being dead… ya know—being dead is pretty f&$king cool!

That is, as long as you didn’t completely f&%k up while you were alive…!

So Being Dead. Let me tell ya about it. Being dead gives your soul, your essence, that which is unique in the universe, your own, unique self, the unexplainable paradox that which is “you”—a chance to reflect upon all that is. In other “words,” Death gives you… Perspective. … Per—spec—tive.

And, since time doesn’t really exist here where, fortunately for all of you, I still AM, M’KAY? ….it’s a little hard to “put” into “words,” …and you remember how much I love words and language.

S**t I based my whole  career talking about F&%kin’ Words!

But once again, I’ll just say… You’re gonna have to just Trust Me on this.

So looking back, one of the things you could say that I was famous for saying is—

“I sort of gave up on this whole human adventure a long time ago, divorced myself from it emotionally. It gives me an artistic detachment that I find valuable. I think the human race has squandered its gift, and I think this country has squandered its promise, for the sake of cell phones and Jet Skis.”

Here’s where my being Dead as a Doornail enters into the picture. Because my being dead has now given me the Perspective—that I now believe that there is still hope for the Human Adventure. As silly and as mamby pamby as that sounds, you yourself should believe it, because it is true.

What proof to I have of this..?

Well the Mandelbrot set is proof number one. Sorry, for those of you who have never smoked dope, you will not understand that last reference.

But besides that, ya know I kicked the bucket before the election last year, and now, whadaya know? ( sound effect ‘Knock’ of snapping the tongue off the roof of your mouth ) A “black guy” is President of the United States.

Of course you all know I believe all politicians are completely full—of—S**t. And besides all the political crap I could rail on for hours and hours, this Obama guy seems to have a Soul and a semblance of a Conscience… a vast improvement from the f@#ing lackey soulless Imps that were running the show before.

That, from any Perspective… is pretty unbelievable. BUT, from my “Dead” Perspective… anything is possible. Believe it.

Anything is possible.

God look at how old I look in that clip above… but I still looked pretty damn good for being in my early seventies. Did I tell you in the Afterlife everyone is about 26?

That is, as long as you didn’t completely f$#k up while you were alive!

I look great. And I smell wonderful. Me and all the other dead people who lived a good life, worked hard, and didn’t f**k over the rest of the human race for the sake of their gold-plated pocketbooks, mega yachts and f%&*in’ indoor ski slopes… we’re pretty happy.

Your Grandma is here, probably. And one of the things we do here in the timeless existence of the afterlife is keep tabs on all you poor souls still stuck in your bodies, working your way thru the School of the Earth.

To built my new per—spec—tive, here’s another quote from me while I was still eating food and “leaving” s**ts:

“What’s all this stuff about motivation? I say, if you need motivation, you probably need more than motivation. You probably need chemical intervention or brain surgery. Actually, if you ask me, this country could do with a little less motivation. The people who are causing all the trouble seem highly motivated to me.”

So what’s my new, what I’ll call my “Death Perspective…” given me? It’s made me see that if all of you good, honest people can elect a “Black Guy” to the office of President, you all CAN collectively CHANGE the direction of the way things are being run right now, starting with this f%$kin’ Health Care BULL-s**t.

Now remember what I said in the last paragraph, “The people who are causing all the trouble seem highly motivated to me.”

I still AM, M’KAY?

That’s who are highly motivated right now. All the people who have all the money and control all the networks and who control just about every aspect of your life—They are highly motivated to crush the little guy, your “you”, your essence.

They want all the money for all their bombs, all their oil, all their wars, all their f#$%&n’ stuff —like ball point pens that cost more than Slaves assembling tennis shoes chained to a sewing machine in Indonesia could make in a hundred lifetimes… But when it comes to cutting their own Fat and their sacrificing for the sake of the rest of you, so when you get sick with some illness caused by all their unregulated f#%&@n’ manufacturing and pollution and toxic ingredients and environmental raping and pillaging—

…that you should be mandated to be covered by a public option of health care…?

OOOH NO! There gonna raise your taxes and there’s gonna be DEATH panels!

…

What, are you people F$%^ing STOOPID?

First of all, you should be pissed off that the large percentage of your taxes goes to paying interest to the fed for our national debt!

Second, there’s Death Panels right now – they’re called Insurance Companies!

You pay and pay these jagoffs payment after payment for years, and then you you actually become ill and need the insurance—your case gets reviewed goes before the “death Panel” claim manager, and Thanks for all the Premiums, but… Go F**k yourself!

These Rich Pr%^ks look at any unregulated angle to jip your sorry ass out of any kind of coverage—there’s just too much evidence of that kind of that “giant red, white and blue d**do up your ass” behavior.

Lemme say, ONLY because I am dead and I have Perspective, I commend the woman above, and yes Oprah, it was brave of her.

But the rest of these motherf**kers—they’re not even offering you Health Care, it’s a Health Care f$%kin’ Option.

They’re carrying on about even giving you, the little people, all of you who are “not in the Big Club,” an Option!

How do you believe anything these rich c**ksuckers are saying to you over the airwaves bought and paid for by “humana”—there’s an oxymoron for ya—What kind of a name is that? It’s proof they are out in the open. The hidden agenda is hidden no more.

And don’t be fooled by the words “Money” or “Taxes” – just substitute the word “control” for all that—it’s all… Bulls**t. Research it.

To quote my good pal Chris Rock - “These are all distractions to take your mind off the War.” Or healthcare. Or anything productive or progressive that makes sense for the vast majority, the common welfare, for the health of not only all of your actual physical health but of your Economy, our collective Human Spirit…

Are you going to fall into the trap to this dumbing down, “Pussification” of your brains, your being… to sell out what is in your best interests once again for their tremendously deceptive, vile Propaganda? Don’t let them sway what you accomplished in November with a bunch of Manufactured, Lying, Vindictive, Asinine Bulls**t..!

I can’t say it enough: What, are you people F&%$ing STOOPID?

So what’s the point? The point is, what Death Perspective shows me is that you have to do what is good, what is moral, what is best for our flawed, piece of s**t species, while you are still alive, or you will not get to drive a golf cart in the afterlife.

These people need to learn to Share… and it’s perfectly obvious that they do not.

And if you dance in the woods worshiping an Owl sacrificing innocents “in effigy” so that you can think you can retain all the power for yourself, well, good luck to ya with that one.

But I don’t see very many Hypocrites here in the afterlife in my general sector. And my sector is pretty nice, thank you very much… I think the majority of those dead people who participated in such activities are down a few levels from where I happen to still exist.

And the word ‘few’ is relative.

Yeah, I got lots of freedom to hang out wherever I want… like inside BlakeArt’s brain.

And let me publicly thank BlakeArt for letting me channel thru his conscience. Not the brightest bulb in the Marquee, that guy, but at least he gives a s**t. His heart is in the right place, even though he has his head up his ass the majority of the time.

Being a part of the Universal Consciousness—it’s like a sore Dick Cheney. You can’t beat it!

Now get out there and f$%king DO SOMETHING!

You won’t regret it… it’s why you’re THERE. Stuck on that rock spinning in Blackness.

Oh, and Bill Hicks says hello. HEy lookit that, there’s Ted Kennedy! Hi Ted!

—

And, As an added bonus, for your viewing pleasure, check out this appearance I made on Bill Maher’s old show, Politically Incorrect, and really listen to what the Right Wing Toolbag has to say, and think about how F$%ked up your physical existence is now because of this way of thinking, and what it has done to this county over the past 8+ years! ( thanks for that word there, BlakeArt—I like that word, “Toolbag”—it really fits with the description of who this guy is and where he is getting his marching orders. ) From Dick Armey, of all people!

Hi, everybody! (Hi, Simpsons reference!)

So… I realize I have not been great about updating this frequently ever. But, having deleted everything and starting again from the ground up, this is kind of a fresh start…kind of.

Much has been going on with us lately. We’ve been playing shows more frequently over the summer, as well as recording our first full-length album, entitled “The Benevolent Beast”. It’s pretty much done at this point, and set to be released at our CD release party on the 19th of September. Unfortunately, as some of you will notice, this show is in fact 21+. But, for all of you 21 minus fans out there, there will be more release shows, so don’t fret. Like the guitar thing.

Lots of exciting things in the works. Hope to unveil them soon… That be it!

-Zane

The Democrats in Congress are planning on taxing the rich to fund their health care plan:

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1017928320090715?sp=true 

I think this is a great idea.  Who cares that a great majority of Americans earn their money through hard work?  They deserve to be punished for keeping the little guy down!

We need to take care of each other, like one big happy family!  The rich are the big brothers and sisters, the government is the benevolent parental figure, and everyone else is the red-headed step children that deserve retribution for being kept down by the evil rich!

To those of you who are taking this rant seriously … I’M JUST KIDDING.  This is a terrible idea!

On the other hand, this could already be a dead issue: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE56E48C20090715

Well, it’s the halfway point in the 2009 baseball season, and I thought this would be a good time to throw my hat into the ring in regards to this familiar and annoying topic. I’ve had this conversation with many people, as all baseball fans tend to do amongst themselves.

Why can’t they pay baseball players according to their statistics, instead of to what their potential seems to be? How many times have we seen a guy sign a big contract, for zillions of dollars, in ANY sport, not just baseball—only to see the athlete just tank and under-perform the next season.

Then there’s the owners, all the variables that go along with running a league, merchandising, licensing, agents bargaining… so many things that affect the bottom line in regards to any pay structure, and to expand, on any economic model. And as an artist and not being born with a left-side of my brain (I use that part of my skull for Christmas ornament storage),  talking money is a true stretch for my poor little lonely right brain to handle.

So I don’t know why I am obsessed with how I think ‘we’ should pay baseball players—maybe it’s because it has led me to a way to combine different Structures of Thought™ on how to cope with this March to Ruin that is our economy right now—or whatever the corporatocracy wants us to believe at this moment in history. Since the entire system is basically shot, now is the time to just change the whole structure—not just the Thought Structure, but the entire economic process. And we can start by trying it out on how we pay baseball players.

This is the start of a framework for this pay structure. It melds lines of thought into different branches of how to handle the different ways to pay, through the separate schools of thought. The roots of where the revenue comes from is the green circle, and this Visual Display of Quantitative Information (thank you Edward R. Tufte) is just a first draft as to how it could work. And I believe this could be applied across the board to other revenue-driven models.

First of all, the NFL more closely follows this model, by somewhat pooling all their revenue and approaching the distribution of money within the league, the use of salary caps, and the loose philosophy that health of the league as a whole is in the best interest of all teams, and that parity within the league gives all a better chance at winning. Plus it keeps all fans interested, because every year their team has a chance.

Baseball, because of greedy owners and selfish policy, figures it doesn’t have to have that attitude, and that is why there is always (usually) the same teams competing for the playoffs year after year, and why the same teams are the perennial doormats… year after year. These are well-worn paths of philosophy, so I’ll table it for now.

Here’s the way this payment schedule works. Instead of having just one way to pay the players, owners, hot dog vendors, coaches, etc., you divide it up into multiple revenue streams, that are based on philosophies of governance, some with Bad, nasty Names, instead of just one. Can’t you have a Combo Fajita, instead of JUST chicken, beef or shrimp? Why not have all three?

For now, I think ‘Communism, Socialism and (instead of ‘or’)  Capitalism’ are the best descriptors for how each branch works… and in heeding to the symmetry and beauty of sacred numbers and geometry, as nature does, this is more in line than a one-pronged linear solution… except when you are running a vineyard of course. Of course. (lame!)

The first basis of this is by how long a player has played in a league, or been involved with the organization. From Single A ball to all the way up to the Big Leagues, everyone has a minimum starting salary. If you start the year in double AA ball, and you get called up in September, you get big league rookie pay from that day on. All players/employees of the league are rewarded for longevity, and the longer you are in, the more exponentially you are paid.

In the league for more than 20 years? You’re getting huge money, just from this revenue stream alone. I can’t think of any other label to put on this lower, blue section of the graph above but as the ‘communist’ part of the Payment Thought Structure™.

This money is paid out over the course of the year, in weekly or monthly portions.

Next comes the ‘socialist’ part of the payment structure… based upon team performance. Actuaries and statistical geeks who love it will do a much better job of figuring all the ins and outs of the next 2 parts, but each player gets a lump sum for how their team performs during the year, with waves of compensation reverberating to everyone within the organization.

So, that when your team actually wins, it is felt financially throughout everyone involved with the team. And it’s based on total games played over games won, with a value for each game. I guess that’s pretty simple.

Then there is the ‘Capitalistic’ part of the pay structure… based on individual stats. And here is where a player, if he dominates, even if he’s on a team that is in last place, can make his pay count. Based on all the usual statistics, and the newer ones that have come out and been more prevalent in the past ten years, value each individual stat broken down to a point value.

Both the team awards and the individual statistics awards would be handed out at a ceremony after the end of the season, which then would reset to the next season. Injured players would be paid on the trajectory of the way their stats were trending combined with the actual statistics, over games played. Or something like that.

I think this would change the game—bring it closer to perfection, towards what it’s like when you play when you’re a kid. More reckless abandon, guys would try harder, not just during contract years. It would free all our minds from needless distractions. And I’m not saying there isn’t that attitude now – there are plenty of great players who play @ 100% all the time. But I bet you’d notice a difference.

Is this method perfect? Of course not. But this is meant to just get a discussion started – I’m looking for feedback. Feel free to tell me I’m a moron, a dreamer – that it’ll never happen. If you look back into recorded history, that’s what was said about everything that was new, bold, crazy, different. And I’m sure there are other opinions out there that are similar to this in regards to this topic… if you know of any similar rants, feel free to post the links here with a comment. Next Week – part two… Let’s have a discussion people!

I found this audio selection about six months ago, and I have listened to it maybe 10-15 times since. I think I had heard of Earl Nightingale before, and he reads this philosophy very convincingly. And I really like how it starts… Men simply don’t think. How true is this in our million mile an hour world today?

There is a lot of insight and truth in this message—and it’s obvious even today with all the hubbub that popped up about “The Secret” about what, 2 years ago now?

I am saying this as a person who firmly believes that we all collectively create this reality, in which we are all currently existing. And one of the main points in this audiofile - ‘We become what we think about.’ This rings true to me.

Now any skeptic can say that’s a bunch of bullshit. Yes, we can’t control the actions of others, and if some other being chooses to insert themselves into my life and completely disrupt it, physically or mentally, that is their choice, of course.  400 years ago the native American Indians had to deal with the Spanish Conquistadors, small pox from the English settlers, all the terrible things that history has demonstrated to us of how we have treated each other, Man’s Inhumanity to Man. But this Collectiveness – keeping each other down, hindering the process of others… it is my contention that we have reached the point to where we can finally set this behavior aside. I believe we now are in a position to shed this mentality, with the knowledge we have acquired.

Now how many people across the planet have this knowledge? Not many. And how many Despots around the world will attempt to screw with us ( like the Iranian leadership is attempting to mess with thier population, the corporatocracy is trying to keep the world down, etc. etc., it’s everywhere ) – we can’t control how other people behave. However, we can set the example. AND we can change things for ourselves, for the better!

Just like this example I saw this morning on “Democracy Now” with Amy Goodman. Greenpeace—I’m kind of a fan, and I am open to what they are trying to do. And the Global Warming stuff—I’m not sure how much of it is man made, or how much control we have over it.

However, what is the Right thing to do? If we have the technology Not to litter, Not to pollute, Not to Screw up our Planet, and find alternate ways of all collectively dealing with our way to physically exist here on Earth, aren’t we obligated by our Conscience to follow that line of thinking, regardless of the ‘cost?’  And what is this ‘Cost’ anyway, compared to how we have squandered over the past 7+ years in Iraq? As the Strangest ‘Secret before the Secret’ states—We become what we think about. What, exactly, are our leaders, our politicians, the people who really push and pull the levers of power, Thinking about? We need them to start Leading instead of pandering, towards a better, saner, more responsible way of existing.

Wouldn’t that be the Strangest Secret of all?

ECM sent this New Criterion article by Mark Steyn, Canada’s National Treasure, along with Ezra Levant, and Stephen Harper.

Have you heard about Paul A. Rahe’s new book entitled “Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift”? I heard an interview with the author on Milt Rosenberg’s radio show, and the podcast is here. But I also found this book review by Mark Steyn, which seems to be popular in the blogosphere. It’s a long read, but you will find it stimulating – especially the citations of Alexis de Toqueville. Prescient.

Excerpt:

…the consequence of funding the metastasization of government through the confiscation of the fruits of the citizen’s labor is the remorseless shriveling of liberty.Is it, as Mark Levin’s caller said, “inevitable”? No, not quite. But it seems like the way to bet. When President Bush used to promote the notion of democracy in the Muslim world, there was a line he liked to fall back on: “Freedom is the desire of every human heart.” Are you quite sure? It’s doubtful whether that’s actually the case in Gaza and Waziristan, but we know for absolute certain that it’s not in Paris and Stockholm, London and Toronto, Buffalo and New Orleans. The story of the Western world since 1945 is that, invited to choose between freedom and government “security,” large numbers of people vote to dump freedom every time—the freedom to make their own decisions about health care, education, property rights, and eventually (as we already see in Europe, Canada, American campuses, and the disgusting U.N. Human Rights Council) what you’re permitted to say and think.

If you think you can run a Christian life in a welfare state run by secular socialists, think again. Their goals and values are not your goals and values, and they will force their goals and values on you, and on your children.

And ECM also send me this article by Mark Steyn in the National Review, regarding single-payer health care.

Excerpt:

When President Obama tells you he’s “reforming” health care to “control costs,” the point to remember is that the only way to “control costs” in health care is to have less of it. In a government system, the doctor, the nurse, the janitor, and the Assistant Deputy Associate Director of Cost-Control System Management all have to be paid every Friday, so the sole means of “controlling costs” is to restrict the patient’s access to treatment. In the Province of Quebec, patients with severe incontinence — i.e., they’re in the bathroom twelve times a night — wait three years for a simple 30-minute procedure. True, Quebeckers have a year or two on Americans in the life-expectancy hit parade, but, if you’re making twelve trips a night to the john 365 times a year for three years, in terms of life-spent-outside-the-bathroom expectancy, an uninsured Vermonter may actually come out ahead.

In Canada, you can deliver babies yourself while you wait. (H/T ECM)

And the same thing happens in the UK.

There is a story that goes like this..

This is a story about love. Love that sparkles dazzlingly “like jewel eyes of insects, blind as to expression but infinite as to seeing power”. It’s about a love which romances itself – an ongoing tale of love and honour and bequests made down the years. It’s about a sense of abandonment which in fact, brought two lovely souls together..a sense of abandonment and ‘Jamaican Farewell’.

Prelude: ‘Are’ and ‘Is’ were best friends. In a world of changing attitudes and apathy and disillusionment, these two were constants. Like X in an indeterminate equation, to quote Dostoevsky. ‘Are’ always signed off as Is’ “bridge over troubled waters” , while ‘Is’ reveled in being Are’s “pea” – they were indeed two peas in a pod. The world was brighter in each other’s company. Both were small and slight, but with big dreams and a great love for songs and lore. Together they weaved magic and reigned in the land of the potato-people – a fictional land they created in their fantasies, where the people would be small and creative, non-violent and lovely, and would love all of god’s creatures equally.

LORE: There have been talks of letting the Potato be the ruler of the world. An article was published a few weeks back about the universal appeal for potatoes. Thoughts poured in from people who seem to think that since everyone loves ‘P’ the adorable root and lots more can’t seem to get by without it, it should be sovereign head and be made to solve world hunger – literally. If that is indeed made to be, Are and Is would be the high priestesses of the world’s most powerful empire. This splendid plan, though, has detractors who think, very astutely of course, that this shouldn’t happen. The reason being, that these nice people don’t want to put such a load of pressure on the dear root. And they believe that the world leaders and politicians would torment the potato and make it succumb to their evil deeds – if everyone indeed loves the potato so much, wouldn’t the world go to war to get control of it? It would be a diabolical plan to let the potato be ruler. Because however that may be, the malicious powers of the world would still gain control, in both the darker recesses of human minds and the world at large.

Are and Is think contrary – if the potato is in fact made the head of all states, while their kingdom was watched over by the benevolent gaze of Are and Is, wouldn’t that make all things easier? Some might say so.

to be continued….

We’re taking a short pause from our feature stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, to focus on a campaign that truly tugged at our heartstrings. As we continue to feature stories about the volunteerism and community efforts being done by everyday citizens across this country, it behooves us to highlight a national mission going on, that is detrimental to our human condition and survival. You’ve probably already heard about it, but we still wanted to give it additional attention by featuring this segment regarding “Feeding America” anyway.

As we go through our daily lives, we really don’t realize how massive this hunger epidemic is affecting our municipalities throughout the United States. It’s hard to fathom the idea that so many people are suffering from hunger all around us. We felt this campaign was just too important to let the opportunity pass by and not mention its fundamental importance.

Due to the extreme economic challenges we are currently facing in the midst of this recession, many hard working Americans are finding themselves displaced, due to unavoidable, difficult financial circumstances. Our act of compassion permeates as we step up to the plate with our humanitarian efforts to help our brothers and sisters in any way we can. Everyone can do something to help in their area and it doesn’t have to be in a grandiose fashion or with an exorbitant amount of money to make a difference either.

To learn more about Feeding America (formerly named Second America Harvest) visit their website at http://feedingamerica.org/. Here you will find a wealth of resources and stories such as:

• For every $1 you donate, Feeding America helps provide 10 pounds of food and grocery products to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.
• 1 in 8 Ad Council PSA Campaign – The primary message behind this campaign is that one out of every eight Americans struggles with hunger, which is a startling and, for some, hard-to-believe fact, but one that is supported by expansive government research and data. 
• Read real stories about the “Faces of Hunger”
• Locate the Feeding America food bank that serves your local community. Search by zip code or state.
• In conjunction with Feeding America, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden led a “repack” at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC. The well-attended volunteering function yielded 2,000 bags of food for children who participated in the “Weekend Bag Program”.  Each bag contained groceries for five separate meals – enough food to get a child through the weekend when they do not have access to school meals.  

http://feedingamerica.org/take-action/volunteer/obama-biden-repack.aspx?__utma=1.3398945934315948500.1231191737.1240856265.1241114841.88&__utmb=1.6.8.1241115055045&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1236692110.33.8.utmcsr=surveymonkey.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/s_thankyou.aspx&__utmv=-&__utmk=233937950

It is easy to stand on the sidelines and talk about the problem, but it takes great courage and compassion to get up and get involved in the solution.

Be Inspired…Then Be an Inspiration!

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”
 - Mother Teresa

This is a short entry… been too busy to blog, but I have seen some great videos over the past two weeks.

This girl, Severn Cullis Suzuki,  was only 12 years old when she gave this speech at the UN Earth Summit in 1992… I guess the powers that be just clapped along and didn’t listen one bit. Nor care. Too much money to be made.

I’ve never seen a braver articulation of truth to power… can you imagine someone that young getting up and speaking in public today? It’s hard to imagine. Does anyone out there have any examples they can share, of young kids delivering such wisdom?

Here’s a video of her now, Promoting RARE, the program she helped found way back when:

Doesn’t all this make so much sense, especially now, in 2009… with 17 years removed from that moment?

It’s me hope that we are waking up.  I think we are. More later… hope everyone’s well.

Oh, and feel free to make comments… not getting very many comments lately.

Phenomenon no. 3: The Weather

You see tennis at Wimbledon, and you know for a fact that no two days during the fifteen day championships are alike weather-wise. The weather IS the damp squib (literally) during matches – that’s a fact. It’s a good thing the English consider football their most favourite sport – it’s basically the only outdoor sport that parents can send their kids for practice without bothering if their money is being wasted on two hours each day of huddling under an awning near the cricket pitch or the tennis court, waiting for the rains to subside.

And it’s this annoying pattering rain..

There’s something almost spiritual in the way the English discuss their weather. The weather is like some sort of beatific mascot either damning the folks to lethargy and boredom or being the benevolent force and allowing them to step out and do their chores, have their garden parties and barbecues.

Through the books I read and the plays I cherished and the movies I saw, I still underestimated the wrath of the weather gods before I went to England. As unpredictable as the weather was supposed to be, I found it a bit ‘unworthy of spending precious time on’ giving it too much importance. It seemed like something country folk would engage in discussions about; something Miss Marple uses as a tact to get started with her conversations in the parishes she happened to visit, finding herself suitably embroiled in the unravelling of a gruesome murder mystery; or something Professor Higgins would definitely teach Eliza Dolittle in the process of making her a lady and brushing up her manners considerably – discussing weather and asking after a person’s health being the only two things that he would trust her to enunciate properly – “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. But in Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen”. True it is. I stayed in Hampshire for over a year, and hurricanes hardly ever happened.

But it’s this annoying, pattering kind of rain..

For quite a few months after being in England, I still considered it insulting to one’s intelligence harping over the weather. I had sort of established the facts straight –

(a) There are four overarching English seasons – rainy springs, rainy summers, rainy autumns, and rainy winters.

(b) As small as the island nation is, it still does not have the consistency in weather throughout the country and the neighbouring isles. For e.g. if you live in Yorkshire like I did initially, you skip the rainy summers and instead you have a season which is as colourless in its name as it is to experience – very ominously titled “gloomy rains”. Gloomy rains last for around a month and quickly, oh very quickly, move onto rainy autumns.

On the other hand, in the south, e.g. in Hampshire, gloomy as a term is generally non-existent. You have a lot of sunny weather, even with the rains. Its sunny winters and sunny snowy too, interspersed with the ever-present rains.

(c) Of course, there are exceptions. Yorkshire might become sunny for two days in the whole year, and these are the days you rejoice the good fortunes and drink – to the rain gods for having shown the mercy on the poor souls. Its weird yes, how even in the bright and sparkly daylight, delirious with all the shine and wine, one does not forget who the true master is – the rain gods. (Disclaimer: this phenomenon, though labelled ‘the Weather’ proceeds deliberately in this direction to establish, in the end, how weather for the English does not mean the sun or the wind or the biting, chilly cold, or even the gloomy grey winters. It essentially means ‘The Rain’ – everything else is an offshoot of this).

Exception: One of the handful of sunny days in Sheffield..the kids played..

Exception still: And the dogs played too..bless the rain gods indeed.

These facts, having noted, it was much easier ignoring the rains as they came and went and came back again. And then, it happened. June 2007. The summer was absent. It had been a subtle yet darkly disturbing gloomy rains season.

And it was this annoying, pattering kind of rain..

That gloomy rains season in June, my housemates and I had hot lunches together in the living room of our huge two-storied semi-detached house. Roast chicken and mushrooms, with kidney beans and/or lamb curry along with French wine or apple cider – ah the meals were good!! We discussed the rainy season as it is in our own lands – Mumbai, India; Bordeaux, France; the French island of Reunion etc. Our dining table conversations revolved around wishful thoughts regarding how we wished to spend our hours in those glooming dull grey afternoons. Hot chocolate with ginger biscuits, books, a loved one, and a warm cozy duvet were our often quoted and faithful companions during these conversations. One might wonder why we didn’t just go ahead and spend our days doing exactly that. But, the fact is that almost all of us had exams to prepare for, assignments to complete, and jobs to hunt or to go to.

In the midst of all the annoying, pattering rain that June, it rained some more. And some more. And some more. And lots and lots more. It rained continuously for three whole days, and otherwise it rained sparingly too.

Yorkshire experienced the worst flooding ever!! Sheffield, where I lived, is an extremely hilly little city. The roads are so steep at some places, that one time, my trip to a nearby Maplin store to buy myself an adaptor, turned out to be a trek down and up a hill, worthy of at least a cool soothing drink and a hearty meal afterwards. The houses lined on either side of the streets were either actually built in a slanted manner or maybe they looked crooked to me from all that exhaustion by the trekking. Our two-storied rented house was atop a hill or at least a mound, from where the rest of the neighbourhood looked to be dangling at precarious angles. My neighbourhood was called Crookes or Crookesmoor. “Springhill Road, Crookesmoor”. You can imagine why it has been named so.

This is the geography of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Imagine this city experiencing three days of uninterrupted rainfall. Imagine the quintessentially annoying, pattering English rainfall converted into torrential bucket-loads of rain. The inconsistency in weather that I wrote of earlier was erased too, as most of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were flooded. Let’s consider these facts –

(1) Average rainfall across England that June was 140 mm, which is 5.5 inches, which in turn is apparently more than double the June average. Some areas received a month’s rainfall in just 24 hours. BBC Online stated this.

(2) The Times quoted the 4.7 inches rainfall in southern England, as “unsettled weather and above average rainfall”.

(3) The total cost of damage was approximately £2 billion.

(4) My close friend, who had Centre Court tickets at Wimbledon, had to postpone his return journey to Southampton (which is in the south of England) by two whole days. He was on the verge of having to give up his darling pricey tickets, but after 3 days the rains subsided. What resulted was a long train journey directly towards Wimbledon, and spending almost £200 in all to go see a match on the hallowed turf. But he got to keep the souvenir. A salmon coloured raincoat courtesy of Wimbledon 2007. And that’s a fact.

To an Indian, especially a Mumbaikar, these figures are beyond paltry. Not to revisit climatic horrors, but in July 2005 Mumbai experienced 994 mm rainfall, which is 39.1 inches. Every other statistic is equally non-proportional and almost comical in a weird way.

But, this incident is not a mere comparison of the weather in two countries. It is to reiterate the fact that, in England, the weather is not a breezy light-hearted factor that stays the same all throughout the year with assigned seasons of four months each. English weather is Unpredictable. After two centuries of the annoying, pattering kind of rain, to suddenly lean forward full-force and jumpstart a raging flood means it is capable of being truly unpredictable. And the truth is, it went back to being perfect calm weather in a few days.

And that is when the respect for the English weather blossomed full-force within me. I started checking the weather forecast regularly. Despite such atrocious unpredictability with the weather, their Meteorological department, thankfully, is very much up to the task at hand. Correct observations, precise terse comments, and a charming disdain for the weather of other countries – it’s truly English. Instead of judging them further for their long-winded discussions about the weather, I started participating in them. When friends were stranded on the motorway from Hampshire to Wales and had to sleep in their cars because of the heavy rainfall, I sympathised. While moving homes in Sheffield, I had a conversation with the moving van driver, who was a neighbour, about the recent floods in England. I told him about the Mumbai floods and he gaped and shook his head disbelievingly. But I explained to him the geographical differences in the two cities – all done in an understanding, totally non-condescending way. On a trip to a remote hamlet in the Isle of Wight, I spent fifteen minutes talking about the weather to an old shop lady – how wonderfully sunny the day was, whether she thought it might rain in the evening, the way she liked her summers just like that – sunny bright blue skies etc. etc.. She was so nice and sweet and she complimented my favourite earrings. I bought two lovely vintage tile paintings from her store and left a very favourable remark in her guestbook..

‘The mind is like a parachute—it doesn’t function unless it is open.’

It’s an annoying quote, but it is true. And like one of my favorite quotes from Voltaire – ‘I (may) not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,’ Free speech is a beautiful thing, when it is used with brilliant analogy, tact, and truthful, organized, Positive Thought Structure™.

MEP Daniel Hannan from England—once an unknown “backbencher” in Parlament is becoming an overnight sensation in our New Electronic Age… for this speech, or I should say ‘Flambe’ of PM Gordon Brown of Great Britian.

As an open-minded Spiritualist slash tree-hugging Bleeding Heart Artist that I am, I will acknowledge ANYONE who speaks Truth to Power—and what Daniel says from the right side of the aisle makes an incredible amount of sense to me. He’s young, ( 37 ) obscure, and politically green – until now.  My theory is that he’s too new to have been bought off by the NWO secret government  banking cartel that is trying to vacuum up every last penny, freedom and control mechanism in this physical realm we call existence on planet earth.

Hopefully his bravery of shaking the tree will jostle even more of us to awakening to the fact that there is a struggle ongoing for all of our hearts and minds… Check out his apperance on the Faux Netwerkz’ ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’:

I absolutely love watching Cavuto physically Flinch when Hannan expresses his admiration for Ron Paul—that’s pretty much worth the price of admission itself right there. And it once more shines the light of truth on the difference between those on the dole for anything from special interest to the illuminati, and someone who has his own brain, his own soul, his own mind, and speaks with certainty, truthfulness, and conviction.

If the Conservatives in this country were this articulate, had a plan ( Hannan has written a number of books, the latest being The Plan: Twelve months to renew Britain ) and thought with their heads instead of their ‘Wankers’ and Faux religious Facades, and didn’t look at everything as with/against, Black/White, I’d give them more credit like I am giving this guy.  Keep making sense and Creating Positive Thought Structure™ for all of us, Daniel… anything to drag the powers that be into a more benevolent physical existence.

Read this Blog entry by Daniel… he’s thoughtful, insightful, humble, articulate… and he sums up the ending of my particular blog entry much better than I can. Again, Bravo – and Conservatives – take a lesson from this Kid. Hopefully his convictions, morals and spine with remain strong and pure of heart.

President Obama Invited Mr. Abess, the example I called out in my blog last week, to his State of the Union speech last night.  I was so busy spraining my brain ( Literally ) that I wasn’t able to watch the speech until this morning getting ready for work.

Here’s the video of the end of the speech… Like I reiterate in my blog below – we have to address the fact that we need Behavioral Change. Yes, it is scary—but you know what? It feels good to be Generous!

So many times in watching Obama deliver this very effective and motivating speech, I wanted to puncuate his comments with the phrase, “…you greedy F****’n bASTahds!” Yes, that is strong language… however—I believe it is justified. I mean, c’mon, people… the time for hidden, selfish, petty agendas is DONE. There is more to life than to squish the hopes and dreams of this beautiful planet for the sake of control by the very powerful and very few.  Let’s give it a try.

____________________________________________

First – been so busy, haven’t been able to post! So I apologize.

Second – check out this link to this banker in Florida – I heard about this from the Drudge Report on Monday.

Good for you, Mr. Abess! I hope.

This guy—no matter what his modivation is—gave at least a large part of his fortune away… to the people who worked for him! Talk about setting a positive example, Leonard Abess Jr. does it.

I read the comments at the end of the article… many say, “oh, it’s a tax issue” or “He’s a money launderer” or whatever. Maybe it is true. But—hey! Sharing is caring – it’s not that hard.

Is it?

It must be… because there is so little of it in our modern western culture.

Or maybe it just goes unreported… because doing good just doesn’t get the ratings or sell the magazines & newspapers that crazy octuplet moms, monkey assaults and Drew Peterson’s girlfriend—and general paparazzi distractions that people seem to think are more interesting. Like a train wreck… you just can’t look away.

Hopefully, now actions like this will start to take some president over all the bad behavior that we seem to devour like starving people looking for a morsel. I wonder why this is.

There must be some sort of addictive quality to all the interest in this part of our culture—and the ho-hum attitude towards those who act in a dignified, reasonable manner that set such a good example. I hope that we start to recognize the Positive Thought Structure™ that goes into bringing that most difficult of example into this particular physical realm we are inhabiting at this time.

Watch these videos of this Democratic senator, Ben Nelson from Nebraska.  The first video is the set-up on the Rachel Maddow Show… Yes, I am a fan of Rachel, Bigtime—she’s an intellectual, smart, doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Thanks to cspanjunkie—I am a HUGE fan.  If anyone wants to delve into the rabbit hole of the last eight years, check out all the videos cspanjunkie has on his many portals… if you google him or search on youtube, there’s hours of great stuff.  Donations are welcome as well.

Draw your own conclusions, but I can’t help but wonder—the powers that be want us to remain ignorant, they do not want to improve the infrastructure of the public school system for a myriad of reasons, and that they fear an educated populus. This guy claims he is a Democrat, but listen to what he says—or what he doesn’t say… what exactly Does he say?  He’s making excuses for what? Zero. As reiterated in many opinions about this apperance last night—he is speaking a bunch of gobbledy-gook. It’s pathetic.  And Rachel calls him on it, thank goodness.  But the Wisdom of George Carlin sums it up the best:

To me, this plays into the theory that if there is legislation that goes against the wishes of the CFR / Trilateral / Bilderberg crowd, which improving education inadvertantly does.

The politicians, no matter what their affiliations, are going to be backpeddling just like this knucklehed and have to pathetically defend their position, no matter how absurd. And that’s exactly the way he sounds… Absurd. Their only thought – is to retain their hold on power.  How fricking crazy is that?

Your thoughts welcome!