Freedom Opera

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Germany-Opera-Islam.html

This shows where "sensitivity" leads to censorship. I am all for being sensitive, BUT freedom of speech wins. It is nice to see this debated in Germany. It is nice to see an opera staging choice debated in any nation. Hopefully, someday, the US will catch on to making opera current.

Even if pushing the envelope may wind up offending, the pushing is not wrong. It is needed by open and free societies.

Discuss.

Socialist Christian Hippie

Freedom Opera

This shows where "sensitivity" leads to censorship. I am all for being sensitive, BUT freedom of speech wins. It is nice to see this debated in Germany. It is nice to see an opera staging choice debated in any nation. Hopefully, someday, the US will catch on to making opera current.

Even if pushing the envelope may wind up offending, the pushing is not wrong. It is needed by open and free societies.

Discuss.

Socialist Christian Hippie

Greedy for truth

We are all greedy for truth. I, myself, am often selfish and greedy for truth. We often want to better ourselves, and the value of our truth by putting it on others. I do this all the time.

So, as part of being thankful, and embracing radical thankfulness, I am going to work on building truth by looking outside of myself for it.

What do you think truth is?

What is the paradise you seek?

Thank you for your input.

I will not respond until most of the responses are done.

A couple of brief caveats: I understand many people believe truth begins and ends with a savior, prophet or book. I am looking beyond that to what about that prophet, savior or book is attractive to you. What stirs your heart when you desire the truth of Wicca, or Islam, or Jehovah.

For me, the idea of radical thankfulness, pacifism, and egalitarianism leads to less violence, less envy, less jealousy and a strong sense of community that allows each person to find their place and to feel a part of something larger and joyous.

(anyway, that's as far as I go. But that's what I'm looking for. What would heaven on Earth look like? What does Allah want of his servants? What world would the goddess love to see? What would the world look like if you made it in your dreams?)

Take time, expand on it, leave multiple responses.

The Socialist Christian UU Hippie

Resonse to the Pres, and those who fear

I am infinitely. INFINITELY more in danger of dying in my car than from islamic terrorism.
Also, I never, ever claimed that Bush didn't protect us on 9/11. I don't blame anyone for 9/11. It is an outgrowth of years of miserable cold war foreign policy, and our greed for oil.
Continued miserable foreign policy and greed for oil will not solve the problem.
The President takes an oath to "defend the constitution of the United States". Not me. Not you. Not the guy down the block. The oath says "defend the constitution of the United States".
On that part of his oath. The main part of the oath. He has FAILED.
As to MY privacy. I give away my information to those I please. If I leave my computer unprotected and Joe Blow tracks my computer, that's my problem (and soon his when I sue him). However, the government cannot track my computer unless I give my permission OR a court finds enough evidence otherwise to grant a warrant. Thus, we are protected.
As a socialist, I am concerned that I am monitored. As someone who has been with people who use drugs recreationally, home school, or violate our dumb medical licensing laws (God bless them, I have a healthy child because people will violate the law), or who non-violently protest, or who violate various code statues in an attempt to have a green lifestyle, or who are naturists, or who occasionally violate the hunting laws, or who don't want their livestock tracked by the FDA, or who don't vaccinate, and on and on.
Or people who discuss these things, such as the dream day when the socialist revolution will overturn this capitalist oligarchy.
I would hate to wake up without the constitution's protection, in a foreign country, under torture because of something I said. It chills free speech, free expression, free association, free press, for heaven's sake.
If you don't believe it, talk to the New York Times, go in a Mosque, talk to someone who is black, or latino. I have friends who can't go places in this country because of their race. TODAY. And they are scared, because the government will walk all over their rights!

Vote Obama!

Simple post today. Please contact Senator Barak Obama and urge him to run for President. His views, record and charisma could take the democrats back to the promised land! Dan Hynes may be backing him for various political reasons, but a continued drive by voters to "draft" him will give us the best shot to get him into the campaign. Run Barak Run!

Beauty and Truth

Here is something that I wrote responding to the question of evil on the Unitarian Universalist listserv that I belong to. I thought that this might be a good place for it. It represents my main philosophy:

Actually...truth and beauty exist, where evil does not.
Truth is the solid state, what is known, the past, simplicity, hard to say...impossible to reach...one is always on the way to truth.
Beauty is "truth in action". Change, novelty, variety, experience, the moment...now.
Evil is simply a misinterpretation of truth and beauty. Believing one knows "truth" causes two things to happen:
1. You then need to enforce truth regardless of consequences.2. Beauty ceases to exist. If truth becomes static and known, then beauty ceases to concern you. You race towards truth.
Truth sits in the middle of a many faceted jewel. There are so many facets, and infinite number of lifetimes would be required to view it from all of them. One wanders through this jewel, seeing glimpses. As one gets closer the light of truth grows, until it becomes blinding. Yet, the path is still before you. You still have not seen it all. Yet, the blinding light makes you feel as if you've seen it all. But as you get closer it is easier to make a mistake, see truth in entirely the wrong way. Go wandering on a dead end.
Christ solves this problem in an interesting way. He say "This is Truth. I am the way. Follow me!" Yet...he understands we cannot...will not go. So then he says FORGIVE we are all on this path and we all make mistakes, so forgive each other. Hold to what is beautiful in life. Forget about truth. I am truth. The way is truth. Don't worry about truth. Worry about each other.
This is beauty. Beauty main be painful, dark, sad...and yet without pain there is no joy. Without anger, no reconciliation. Without losing, no winning. Dynamic truth. Wonderful.

The Socialist Christian Hippie

Muslims Welcome!

I extend a hearty welcome and extend the hand of peace to all Muslims in the Quad City Area. There are many people here who are happy you are with us in our community. If it weren't for Islam the western world would be very deprived, and would have never crawled out of the dark ages.

Peace.

9/11 remember, but no change...really

It's time to remember 9/11 and mourn the horrific leadership of this country since then.

I was against the war in Afghanistan, as well as the war in Iraq, and I still am.

On 9/11 the world turned strange for a little while. My day started with the Today show, and then cartoons for my daughter. Until my mother called saying that something had hit the World Trade center. Then it was back to the Today show for the worst few minutes of reporting ever. Katie was in deep denial. Even after the 2nd plane hit, she went on babling about a "navigational error".

I was screaming for the Pres. to ground all flights right then. The instant after the second plane hit. Billions of dollars for defense, and we didn't have an Air Force ready to protect us.

Anyway...we had a midwife appointment that morning for my 2nd child.

Then I watched as fighters criss crossed over our small metropolitan area. The overreaction had begun.

But, aside from increased governmental paranoia, and a feeling that my world is shrinking as our civil rights have eroded significantly, my life, personally, was untouched. Thankfully.

But, yet, there must be millions of us. Millions of people with lives that weren't that shaken, but for a week, or so, we will be convinced that they were.

In a way, our government took the deaths of 3000 innocents, and now has turned that into nearly 150,000 more. ...and untold into the future we go. Throwing the tantrum of war. Hurting ourselves, hurting others, and not helping the pain to go away. Nursing it. Living off the pain. Making money from it. Neglecting ourselves.

Peace, Peace, Peace!

The Socialist Christian Hippie

Almost Sunday

It's not Sunday, yet, but this has been such a depressing week that I think I will start Sunday early.

So, I will thank the Crocodile Hunter, My Friends at Opera Quad Cities, and the staff at my local pizza place, who prepared a great dinner for me tonight.

I encourage all to add three more things to the list.


The sky,
The land,
The farm sits
Waiting for me.
With its endless variation.
Each second, an inspiration.
Each inspiration an infinity of ideas.
A few shining ones I pick lazily
Floating on its ocean.
As time's beach waits
For me.
Like the farm.
The sky.

I am constantly amazed

The Chief Illiniwek problem plays on and on and on.

What is stunning is the general lack of knowledge of history that people show.

1: It seems that many people believe that there is an Illini "tribe" in existence. Not true.

2: People think that white people do not still benefit from the Indian lands we stole. We do...quite a bit. We owe them untold billions. Why untold? We decided not to keep records on how much we owe them. Every American pretty much lives on what was Indian land. I have been to South Dakota many times, and people are still making lots of $$ in the Black Hills. An area that the Indians would like back. An area that the indians in the area held as holy. Imagine if someone came into the vatican and painted an image of four shieks onto the Sistine Chapel. That's what we did in the Black Hills with Mt. Rushmore

3. White people are the dominant race in America, and in the world. China has not taken over yet. White people, white Christians if we want to be more specific, have plundered the riches of more people the world over than any other race of men. The riches of Asia, Africa, Jews, Muslims...name me another group, and white Europeans have stolen from them, raped them, killed them, and made off with their land, gold, silver, oil rights, and on and on.

Then, we go, "Why are they mad at us?"

Well, Jesus says..."Love your enemies". And I try. I fail, but I try.

God says that you shouldn't have any Idols before God.

We lost that battle ages ago. How many mainline churches have services that occur during NFL games? How sneaky that all these services get out at or right before noon on Sunday.

Hmmmmm.

You know, whilst we're on history, we worship Christ on Sunday because the emporer Constantine saw the image of the cross in the Sun? He thought he'd honor them both in one go.

So, get out there and read. If you are confused as to why we have to get rid of the chief, don't hide your head in ignorance. Read our history. Read about Indians ("On the Rez" is a good book about modern indians).

If we're in a war you don't understand, and you want to vote with a clear conscience, ask a historian about America's involvement with foreign countries in the 1980s.

It is enlightening.

Blessings upon you!

Keep barefootin' it! It isn't that cold yet!

SCHQC

On Freedom

We are not free in this country. We are less free every day. With more cameras, and phones, and cars, and soon rfid tags tracking our every purchase and movement. The government has now shown it has no problem monitoring this extensive data of the mundanities of our lives. Look at WHBF deciding what words we can hear. Look at the schools? What are they best at teaching? How to give in and suck up to a police state. It works! Most of the population is fearful, even of their own bodies. We beg corporations to improve our lives, whilst losing the knowledge every person used to have as to how to build things, and grow their own food. We have become babies of the corporations, and we beg for more.
Well, now the corporations have taken over. So we pay to wear their signs on our bodies. We let them control the government for fear that, if we didn't, they would take their jobs and go...where, exactly, I've never figured out. They've already taken all the jobs they could and found people to work them for less $$.
We live in a corporate facist state.

We live in fear of our bodies, and their interaction with the world around us. We are told all nudity is sexual and gross. Even going barefoot is banned as much as possible, and frowned upon otherwise. Pregnancy is controlled by doctors. Oddly, mostly male doctors have taken over pregnancy, and women are told that it is a horrible thing to give birth. People are ashamed of not having the "perfect" body. We put on clothes when we go to the beach!

What freedoms America once had, and were once held as dear, or at least as tolerable, have been erased. We have zero tolerance policies on everything, because we let fear rule. Not until we accept fear, accept terrorism, or, as Christians everywhere should understand, accept death will we be able to live our lives fully. Until then, we live in a fascist state. Be that state only our fear filled minds.

Railroading

Well, my visit to the Iowa State Fair wasn't totally fruitless. I won the railroading gift package! My son will be very happy.

Trains are something that we need a lot more of. Get traffic off the dang interstate. Clear the streets of cars. What would be more awesome than a light rail system connecting the Quad Cities. What would be better than a train from the Quad Cities to Chicago. We'd get there faster than driving.

Yet, even though the interstate system and the airport system in this country are supported with billions upon billions of tax dollars. In the case of automobile transport, it also kills thousands, and costs billions upon billions of private money to support it.

Amtrak wants a couple billion, and "WHOA! WHAT TAX SUCKING LOSERS!"

Look around you. The tax sucking losers are the oil companies, the car companies, and the airliners dumping their pension plans on the taxpayer.