TRENDING: McConnell: Tea Party not racist
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that the Tea Party movement is not racist. Washington (CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that the Tea Party movement is not racist, clarifying a position voiced last week in which he sidestepped the prickly issue. Last week, when asked about the controversy on CNN’s State [...]
The popular phrase used to describe John McCainâs presidential aspirations has been the “Straight Talk Express”. According to the popular myth, John McCain “tells it like it is” and lets you know exactly where he stands. Those that have bought into this myth have flocked to John McCain as someone they can trust. Others have been scared onto his campaign, accepting him as by far the lesser of two evils. And while it is true that John McCain is nearly always reliable in telling people where he stands, even when he is blatantly wrong, the fact is that he often fails to “tell is like it is”. Also, like Barack Obama who eagerly throws anyone and everyone under his own bus when they dare to speak about the ultimate goals and ideas of an Obama presidency, the track behind the Straight Talk Express is littered with the bodies of those that have “told it like it is” and defied John McCainâs image as the one true straight talker. John McCain is not merely content to toss those who stray from his set of talking points off the back of the train either. Oh no. He makes sure to toss them off the front and run over them good and hard with the entire train. The problem for McCain is that every time he takes to this tactic, the bodies being run over throw the Straight Talk Express off the tracks and derail his presidential aspirations. Then those that have begrudgingly hopped on board the train start to get off and wander away, wondering why on earth they are supporting him beyond any other reason than the fact that he is not nearly as far left as Barack Obama. The latest example of this phenomenon came this week when his newest victim was tossed from the engine compartment. Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who is the national cochairman of McCainâs campaign, was speaking about how many people in America are in a self-inflicted and pretend state of suffering. I have talked about this before in past columns; how we are often battered over the head with talk about Americaâs economy is terrible when it is not, that it is in a recession despite repeated growth and increased leisure spending at places like Disney World, and that we are all just one paycheck away from soup lines despite a mere five percent unemployment rate. Mr. Gramm went out on the stump for his man in the race and against all this mindless rhetoric told it like it was. He said that people were suffering from a “mental recession” and that you hear “constant whining” about it. Well, that caused McCain to spring into action! Mr. “Straight Talk” himself was quick to denounce the comments saying, “”The person here in Michigan who just lost their job isn’t suffering from a mental recession. ” And, “The person unable to get affordable health care isn’t whining. ” Then finally, “Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. “Fair enough on the last statement. But the rest of this response is absolute idiocy. So now because you, in particular, cannot find a job the country must be in a recession? Horse hockey! There is a popular saying is goes a “recession” is when your neighbor is out of work but a “depression” is when you are out of work. The point of that saying is to point out how insane and illogical people can be when it comes to evaluating the overall economy based on their own situation or the situation of a few people they know. In reality neither are indicators of either, but John McCain is buying into it hook, line and sinker. As for his healthcare comment, with all the plans out there for healthcare coverage you have to really be in dire straights to not afford at least some sort of health insurance. Ok, maybe you cannot afford that nice $500 a month plan that covers every boo boo and sniffle under the sun, but considering that we already have a potpourri of socialist programs to cover the poor in this country and many private plans start for as little at $70 or less per month or less, then yes, if you cannot afford that amount, then you are lazy and probably a whiner sitting around complaining about why you cannot afford it too. Sorry, but that is “straight talk” you will not hear from John McCain apparently. Go pick up a second job to make ends meet for crying out loud and stop complaining about how you are not happy and spend some time an effort pursing happiness like you are guaranteed to be able to do here in America. John McCain is obviously too scared to actually stick to the concept of telling us like it is; too scared to alienate potential voters who are just unwilling to believe the truth. That is the only conclusion I can come to when I hear him talking like this. The facts are the facts. There is no recession and yes, I am sad to say, Americans do “whine” far too much. All you have to do is look at all the special interest groups hovering around politicians complaining about this or that and pleading for special favoritism from the hands of government to overcome some hardship that has befallen those they represent. If that is not enough evidence for you, listen to your typical liberal voter hovering around Barack Obamaâs feet moaning and complaining about everything under the sun and about how everything is so unfair. When Americans do not get exactly what they want, many of them do indeed whine about how things are unfair and start demanding other people pay for what they want. See the latest debate on universal health insurance for a glaring example of this. Instead of standing up and giving us “straight talk”, McCain has done nothing but pander. Meanwhile, Barack Obama took these comments, ran with them and mocked them before a live studio audience gathered for him. They laughed as he discussed these comments and showed exactly how far from reality the typical Obama supporter really is and once again showing just how easily they believe talking points about doom and gloom and how America really does stink. But unwittingly they are proving Mr. Graham correct by whining about being called whiners and then going on and whining about everything that is wrong! In fact, Obamaâs entire campaign has been nothing but one big whine fest about how bad, evil and unfair America is to people too stupid, ignorant or unwilling to take responsibility for their own lives. These are the people that complain they cannot get the job they want because the picked a career that was either too competitive or where no jobs exist. These are the people that whine that America cannot defeat terrorism. They are the poor souls that complain the “rich” are not paying their “fair share” and giving them “free” health insurance. Oh, they are also the same ones complaining that they do not have enough vacation days and that they are not making enough money at their job and demanding government do something to help. They are the hordes of people that complain they are not where they want to be but cannot be bothered to work harder to better their own situation. And while all this is happening, John McCain and his crew are standing around along side of the Straight Talk Express which is now stranded somewhere far away from the station. They are all standing around scratching their heads wondering why they have not arrived at their destination and for some reason cannot figure out why the train has come off the tracks yet again. Had they stopped pondering why they were off the tracks they might even have noticed as some of his reluctant supporters had packed their bags and taken this moment to disembark.
Carol Bice told the prestigious Texas Senate Ladies Club the vibrant colors of flowers send powerful messages that recipients’ brains process as more than simply the thoughtfulness of a gift – although most aren’t aware it’s going on.
In a recent presentation – “Chromotherapy and the Healing Power of Colors and Flowers” – to the wives of Texas state senators, Bice cited a growing body of evidence that humans react physiologically, as well as emotionally to different colors. For example, research has demonstrated that a blindfolded person will have varying psychological reactions when placed under different colors of light rays.
“Chromotherapy is still in its infancy,” Bice said, “but the scientific evidence is mounting. It gives us a lot to think about in terms of preventive and therapeutic potential. ”
There is solid science behind chromotherapy, beginning with the fact that light is energy. Sunlight is essential to make plants grow, and it’s the best source of Vitamin D for humans. The different colors in the spectrum are actually energy fields vibrating at different frequencies. Red, for example, has a wave length of 1/33,000 of an inch, about twice that of violet.
Light therapists say light is a nutrient to the body, just as food is, and that humans need light in different intensities and color ranges to regulate their biological clocks. The pineal gland acts as the body’s light meter, processing spectral differences it then passes on to the brain. Various systems in the body respond positively to different colors.
Humans sense light both through the skin and visually, so simply seeing different colors can be therapeutic. Color studies have long played a major role in marketing and product development of everything from automobiles to high fashion.
Bice says people sending flowers should have a basic understanding of the meanings different colors convey and the reactions they can evoke:
RED – excitement, passion, vitality and aggressiveness. Red stimulates the nerves, increases respiration rates and raises blood pressure. Avoid reds for those with anxiety or high blood pressure.
ORANGE – connotes joy, enthusiasm, determination, excitement and ambition. Orange increases oxygen to the brain, produces an invigorating effect without raising blood pressure.
YELLOW – conveys warmth, sunshine, happiness and energy. Yellow stimulates mental activity and the motor nerves, which generates energy for muscles. The best color to send to cheer up someone.
GREEN – suggests health, fertility, freshness and harmony. Green is the most restful color to the human eye; it relieves tension in blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and producing a sensation of warmth.
BLUE – means security, authority, confidence, wisdom and is used to represent heaven. Blue is the second most powerful color, producing a calming, soothing effect.
PURPLE – combines the stability of blue with the energy of red, suggesting spirituality, sophistication, luxury and authority. Nearly 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors. One of the most universally preferred colors by all ages.
WHITE – the color of purity, formality, elegance and neutrality. Represents a successful beginning as well as solemn peace, which makes it appropriate for births and funerals.
BLACK – embodies power, elegance, formality, mystery and death. Strictly speaking, black is not a color but a non-reflective absence of pigment that gives depth and power to other colors.
BROWN – symbolizes earth, order, convention and dependability. Found throughout nature, brown complements other colors and conveys simplicity and friendliness.
“We are One” is the essence of Bhagavad-Gita in one line, which reveals the spiritual secrets to achieving worldly peace and prosperity. We are reminded every year of the gruesome human tragedy that faced this planet earth on September 11, 2001.
Every one of us, every rational thinking person living on this planet, has some unanswered questions that jolt our consciousness regarding the scale of hatred for fellow human beings.
Some day in the future, the scientists would be able to know and link this force to the morphogenetic field of our hearts and how the higher levels of consciousness can enhance and develop this force with the purity of their intent; can manifest things and events by merely wishing, by the power of the nobility and intensity of their thought-waves.
It took scientists thousands of years before they could decipher that the atom is not static or inert, and perhaps it will take another thousand years for the scientists to uncover this truth of the potency of this divine cosmic energy called by different names.
We are on the threshold of evolutionary progress heralding the shift in the collective consciousness to emerge towards the collective good of mankind as a whole.
The same energy manifests in all animate and inanimate things. The whole universe is permeated by this energy. Even animals have it-even plants have it. Large scale destruction of forests and man-made pollution can create imbalance-similarly killings of millions of animals, creates negative energy frequencies, producing calamities and occurrences in our ecosystems which are hard to justify at scientific levels.
If the flapping of the wings of a hurt butterfly in Brazil or Australia can cause a storm in Texas -Imagine what the negative frequencies reverberating from the cries from the heart of the suffering humanity can do.
What about the Einsteinian Pain Waves Theory(EPW) which gave rise to all natural calamities? Whether it is the humans or the animals, we cannot be happy if the rest of the world is suffering. Needless to say we are all one.
“Idd NanMmam” the Vedic saying that implies “nothing to the little self but everything for society” and “Vishwa Bandhutwa” meaning universal love and brotherhood or the concept of One Family Global Village-it is about the time we patch up all our differences and start living from the heart-center.
The famous verse from ManuSmriti: Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam which literally means that the entire world is but one family. We are all related to eachother since the beginning of time. What good is it if we don’t love eachother and we have only hatred for each other. Our lives and our environments are interconnected and interrelated to he sun, the moon, the sky, the clouds, the wind, the rivers, and the oceans. To know and appreciate this interconnectedness we have to dig deep into our hearts and set aside all the outer differences, then only we can live in peace.
It is only when our hearts brim with the feelings of selfless love and compassion for others that this feeling of love and brotherhood is brought about between all the people and amongst all the nations, in the spirit of oneness from within the hearts.
Healing The Hearts
It is no secret that we live in a world where we need to open prison gates not for free men to go in, but for those imprisoned to come out. We need to start reducing the prisons and adding new institutions of learning, medical facilities and research centers to create new jobs by teaching them the new technologies and new skills and services to heal bodies, minds and hearts now.
We live in a world where the terrorists and the soldiers need to stop their fire now. We need to win the much larger struggle, worldwide, for the emancipation of the human spirit and to restore human dignity from political tyranny and mass scale oppression now. This has to be done now.
In an age where violence, strife and tension has become a way of life, I applaud the modern day seers, the likes of Dalai Lama, Dada J. P. Vaswani, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer, and host of others, I call them the global visionaries, who are spreading the word of unconditional love, higher spiritual values and peace.
The only secure and lasting foundation of peace is not through weapons of mass destruction or making of powerful military alliances but in solving the problems of human existence.
When every race on this planet is united by the common bond of love from the heart and brotherhood of mankind, then it does not matter whether it is civilized or uncivilized, black or brown and white or yellow.
When social institutions of various countries will not discriminate between man and man, when privileged classes would not claim undue privileges, when various religious faiths will live in harmony and shake off fanaticism, intolerance and bigotry and when the only religion they practice is love that stems from the core of their hearts; love that spreads love through thoughts, words and actions, then only we will have peace.
What is needed is the unity of all religions in Universal Brotherhood and family of mankind, where love becomes the chief tenet of all religions, in the service of mankind.
I have so much to say but no words can say what my heart can say without saying a word, those who are reading these words, I just want to say:
Go! look deep within the inner recesses of your heart and see with the eyes of compassion, kindness and humanity, to realize that while a few of the privileged among us live in absolute luxury, while half the world subsists on less than $30- per month, half the population of this planet has never used a modern toilet or a phone or much less drank clean water or been out of the village they were born in.
Wars have been fought in the name of peace or domination of one group of people by another. Take a recent example. The perpetual war machine in Iraq and Afghanistan is costing the U. S. more than billion dollars a day, (by conservative estimates) is not only hurting the most developed nations on this globe and bankrupting their economies but also devastating the entire planet.
The same money can be used to build two hospitals a day or improve the lives of millions on this planet, thus building the bridges of love and understanding from the heart.
But that does not stop us from meeting the challenge of radical terrorism head-on with all the means at our disposal whether they are in USA, Europe, Middle East, Iran, Africa, Russia, India or Ceylon not only with weapons but by spreading goodwill to change their minds and hearts and by reforming them to be the citizens of the world.
We need a president who has a new mind-set, one who is responsive to the real needs of the times, one who can guide us through the dangerous waters internationally, one who is aware of the mass sufferings of humanity, one who is aware of the morphogenetic field of the heart, one who is aware that our thoughts (non-violent and truth-based thoughts) are powerful magnets, have the power to draw, heal and unite everybody in this planet and to change the world we live in for better.
This is the only way to peace.
Peace is the answer by aligning ourselves with the higher spiritual laws and moral values of the heart. It was J. William Fullbright who wrote in “The Arrogance of Power”
“Thinking men and women the world over are beginning to realize that patriotism is too narrow a concept to meet the necessities of our times. ”
We are one, we are all part of this universe, are all connected from the heart-center: One verse. . . Universe.
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Democrats testify before party leaders Friday morning over the Texas two-step process. The advisory committee headed by Texas Senator Royce West has been listening to public testimony all across the state for the last few months, and eventually, the committee will make a final recommendation to the State Democratic Executive Committee. When the Lone Star State votes in presidential primaries, delegates are assigned by the results of both a primary and a caucus. The majority of those that spoke out against the current system Friday said the two step process disenfranchises many voters who cannot caucus after the polls close. “We discriminate against single parents who can’t hire child care,” Concerned voter Peter Nolan said. “We discriminate against firefighters and policemen and restaurant workers who can’t take off from work.” Others argue that the system keeps grassroots groups alive. Kirsten Gray with the Texas Democratic Party said without record voter turnout during the March 4 primary, concerns about the current system might not have come about. Three more public hearings will be held after Fridays hearing in Austin. Those hearings will be held in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. If the system were to change, only the legislature has the power to change the current election code.
The case for breaking up Washington — and scattering government across America
Americans are angry at Washington, and it’s not hard to see why. Not only does the federal government seem more ineffectual than ever in the face of ongoing economic hardship, but the capital has so far coasted through the downturn relatively unscathed. Washington – United States – Business and Economy – Miami – Colton Harris-Moore
Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams joins me to discuss his run for US Senate that got short-circuited because TX Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison did not retire. Should she decide to run again, Commissioner Williams says that he will run against her in the primary for US Senate.
salcostello.blogspot.com Double tax toll road Watson…HARDBALL’S Chris Matthews Pummels Sen. Kirk Watson for not doing his homework. Karma is a bitch. It’s just too bad that it has to make a presidential candidate look bad. In October, Sen. Kirk Watson voted to ignore the public and divert nearly a Billion tax dollars to convert portions of Austin existing freeways (183, 290W, 290E, 71E, and 71W) into tollways. This is a Gov. Perry scheme to shift freeways to tollways. Why is Watson selling out citizens for special interests? This double tax, of tolling drivers to use public expressways to drive to work, school and shop, benefits Watson contributors, developers he was hired to lobby for and the City of Austin, who pays Watson $450 an hour to do land deals. Watson probably thought this was his entrance to be a national figure and he peed down his own leg, and made a leading presidential candidate that he supports look like someone that has not accomplished anything.FAIR USE NOTICE: This video contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Material from diverse and sometimes temporary sources is being made available in a permanent unified manner, as part of an effort to advance understanding of the social justice issues associated with the the privatization of public roads and eminent domain abuse. It is believed that this is a ‘fair use’ of the information as allowed under section 107 of the US Copyright …
Chris Bell received the Political Courage Award in 2001 from the Harris County Republican Party for helping to pass Houstons first property tax rate cut. As your Texas Senator, Chris will continue the fight!