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Freedoms Just Another Name...

We are beings of law, of culture and society just as we are of our religion, our morals and our upbringing. You work all week, belly up to the bar on Friday night, talk sports, politics, your love life, what have you. We come and go as we please, we wear what we please, we say as we please, we hang with who we damn well please, because we are free.

We are a civilized, morally and technically  progressive society, and we are free because our parents fought the great war, our grandparents fought the noble civil war. We are free because we are Americans. We have fought hard for our freedom, our right, to say and do as we please.

Yet there is a thread, a thought that perhaps something, is not quite right. A thing which you can not put your finger on, a lingering that bothers you every now an then, but easily swept aside by hanging at the drinking hole, shopping, fishing or perhaps, watching a movie.

You have it all, poor, black, rich, Asian, the sick, white, the insane, native, Christian, Muslim Americans all, we are free, free to not be bothered by nasty little lingering doubts. Indeed, here in America, freedom is of such importance that we give it to brick buildings and signed contracts and damn those who disagree.

And with all our freedoms, we have created a great many people with nothing to fucking lose!

The freedoms you have are illusions. Freedom is not about the right to own a home. You make your home. Not about free speech, man has always spoken his mind, and willingly paid the price. Freedom is not your right to choose what doctor you see, not about what politician you vote for or the right to choose who you hang with. That’s capitalism, Democracy and good decision making.

Freedom is about oppression, equality, the right to grow, to be more than what you are, to choose your course, to write your destiny, to fulfill your dreams.

Are you doing any of these things? Or are you simply existing? Paycheck to paycheck, tired of the long, repetitive days broken only by the annual vacation to Casa del Lobo. Perhaps you’re lucky, you’re financially secure, you’re really free.

You, in all your glory believe yourself to be free. Than let me ask you, why do you practice the Religion you choose? Why do you vote for who you vote? Why do you live in the community you live in? Why are you swayed by a movie to tears? How have you changed spiritually, grown as a person in the last decade?

Freedom is also about, and inclusive of, responsibility. Freedom, true freedom is about thought, introspective inquiry and action. It is freedom from fear. Fear of starvation, of assault, sickness, of recrimination, of abuse, of poverty, of death. True freedom requires you to take all the your mother and father gave to you, to establish that which is useful, and to note the rest. Chances are, you have not done so.

There's a good chance you have not studied the worlds religions, spoke out against inequality, volunteered in a local shelter, researched a political topic. You have not done so, because you believe you are free to not do so, and you rather not waste your time. That is not freedom and you have absolutely nothing to lose in doing so.

Swr 12 9 14

Rob, in 2016!

Are we Asses, or What?

Politics suck. Even more so when you’re on the losing end. Me? I hate to lose! Most people don’t know that about me, thinking I’m generally a nice guy, but boy, I not only hate to lose, I really hate to lose big time, and that’s exactly what happened November 4th.

I actually went into the election believing the polls were wrong. They were, but not to my Democratic advantage. The red wave was embarrassing and damaging to my entire belief system, and I’m still in shock. How could someone like Brownback in Kansas, or Ernst in Iowa be elected?

Yea, I don’t get it! Okay, maybe I do. It could be said Ernst was the stronger Candidate, character wise. She said some pretty outrageous things, had colorful ads, and she really didn’t make any serious mistakes, and she bashed Obama relentlessly.

Yep, that’s how she got elected, being colorful, not making mistakes, not having a strong opponent and hating the President. But that’s one race out of how many? How do you explain Brownback winning? A guy that ran his state into the financial ground, so much so, Republicans actually turned against him? Exit Polls suggest that people voted for him based on Brownback being white, male, conservative, Christian and because they felt the country was going in the wrong direction, even while their own Kansas economy was in disarray due to  white, male, Christian conservatives leadership.

Yea, I don’t get it!

I suppose I could blame Voter turnout, specifically Democrat turnout, as being low, and it was, but c’mon, so was Republican turnout. So, who actually bothered to vote? Everyone that hated Obama? Maybe? I don’t know!

I guess it’s a combination of colorful characters, political anomalies, and low voter turnout.
I guess the only thing messing from the above, is looking in the mirror, and asking what part the Democrats played in their loss, because that question is going to be asked by a lot of everyday, normal democrats, but probably not those politicians that need to be asking the question.

Bottom line is, you all let the reds have their way, you let Republicans define the entire election. There was no talk of issues, it was all about the President and his policies. You allowed that party to create an environment of fear, and even hate, long before Ebola. That was a mistake you paid for, and will pay for, because that hate has permeated the nation, setting the stage for a conflict you don’t even see coming.

From the moment Mitch McConnell declared his only job in his political life was to make Barack Obama a one term president, you should have been on the offensive. We should have been on the offensive!

We ran away and refused to have a seat at the public table, letting Republicans define every issue for the last six years. It was almost like, we went to bed after the ‘08 elections believing that just because we elected Obama, everything was going to be alright, our work was done, people had come to their senses. When Republicans started to gain traction, when the far right took control, we analyzed, mystified, mollified and did little else. And when we woke up concerned about the far right, we were too scared to do anything, and we ran, straight away from our beliefs.

And that’s why we lost last night.

Because the Democratic Party leaderships and politicians are nothing but cowards! They will reinforce that belief with the coronation of Hillary Clinton.

I won’t accept that.

Let me offer up another scenario.

Start with taking the ‘Financially responsible’ mantra back. The Republicans have been the most fiscally irresponsible party while in power for the last 50 years, and yet we allow them to claim otherwise. Second, start hitting them where it hurts, not their pocketbooks, their swarmy little claims that their ‘Patroits’. Let’s start callin ‘em what they are, what the far right really is, fascists! What moderate Republicans really are, corporate owned war hawks!


and finally,
Coronate a true Progressive.
That’s how we build the future, or we can die with the old!

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The Fear Flavor of the Week
September 26th 2014

I’m going to enjoy this first Autumn Friday night around a campfire sucking down some MGDs scattered with a few shots of Cuervo. Hopefully, when I wake on a crisp Saturday morning, my mind won’t be dull and not notice the changing of the seasons. I hate the cold winters, but the beautiful color in the trees is in itself, a reminder of life. The trees, the very planet itself is exhaling, ready to sleep here in our Northern hemisphere.

Things change constantly, and I find a comforting irony in the fact that change is the only consistent thing in life to hang onto. You can’t stop change, but you can shape it. There’s a lot of truth in knowing how to make lemonade out of lemons but the sad truth is, far too many people fail at a such a simple task. Especially change that’s dark and foreboding.

Yea, I know, easy to say, huh?

It is easier to say, and much harder for most to bear. Change at times, is by nature hard, sometimes even tragic. A life threatening diagnosis, the abrupt death of a cherished friend, a paralyzing accident. There is also a slower type of change that's harder for most to deal with. The change that you see coming like a slow motion train wreck. A sister caught in an abusive marriage, a brother who drinks way too much, a wandering husband or a friend who lives a bit too dangerously.

Most of us just set back and kinda watch. Most of us fall into that category these days because we're tired, tired of trying to help and getting our asses bit, and bit hard. So much for trying to do the right thing! We have our own lives to worry about.

It’s not that we don’t want to help, it’s that we no longer know how to help. Energy, time, money has already been spent, and to what avail? Nothing has changed! You look around and see others stepping up to the plate, and you wish them the best of luck, you’re going fishing or shopping.

Seem familiar?

Think about this old saying, ‘As Above, So Below’ which can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, one of which is; what happens on the smaller scale of the individual, happens as well with the collective whole. It’s a nice way of saying, we are all in this together.

I believe most of us are tired. Tired of reading about hate, police brutality, racism, financial inequality, ineffective politics, war, terrorism, mass murders or whatever else happens to be the fear flavor of the week. How can you not be beat down, your compassion drained, your energy sucked right out of your soul as if your mouth was duct taped to the end of a vacuum cleaner hose, 24/7. It just never ends.

You and I are busy with our personal lives and in those rare moments, when we happen to look up, the leaves on the trees have changed, and when we look around us, all we see is a train wreck waiting to happen, how rotten the world is, how terrible people are. We've listened to it all week long. We’re ready for the weekend, for Friday night.

Some will find refuge in other things, facebook and twitter come to mind, you know, cute little kittys, jokes, cartoons and memes are always a nice distraction to comment on as opposed to all the evils and ills in our world

That’s when my tequilla really calls.

swr 9 7 14

The Handiwork of Man
September 9th, 301

With summer quickly receding, I find myself relishing the past few months of late moon-lit nights, searing campfires, friends and quiet conversations. I have one, maybe two weekends left as leaves are dropping, trees turning. My youngest has started school. On a much more personal level, I’m looking to the future, a future that isn’t so bright, but one that I’ve come to understand, I own.

Not all businesses succeed, and I’ve always known that but I’ve never believed that I would fail. I took a chance, I lept and fell short. I took a chance and I failed, it’s that simple.

There's a new beginning, a new adventure that’s about to start, the genesis will be born of pain and suffering no doubt, but in the long run, it’ll be ok, I’ll be okay.

When I look around at what’s happening in our world and I think of my particular life's experiences and journeys, I’m struck by an indelible sadness. Life has not been particularly good to me but neither has life been good for most of our population. By good, I do not meant the financial security that many enjoy, rather the security of what ever we value in our lives. Our loved ones, our friends, our God, our morals and personal ethics, for those, are those things of importance when we take our last breath.

Human pain and suffering, be it sickness or war, seem the prevalent theme with our species, a theme I fail to appreciate much less understand. I find it easy to understand why one would find comfort in their God and the next, deny there is such a deity.

I find none of Gods handiwork in the human theme of things and I blame none except those individuals of yesterday and those alive today.

This is our doing.

There are of course, those who look out across the width and breadth of their lives on a cool but bright, summer day and give thanks for all that is good in their lives. They smile, and wonder what joy will come next. They lead good, energetic and hardworking lives. They will claim they understand that everything can change in a split second, but they do not know how everything can change in a split second. No one can until that fateful second arrives. Yes, there are many insulated from the horrors of the world, their only knowledge is from sources they choose to pursue. Far too many of us understand the horrors of sickness, war and all the proverbial ills of mankind, but not enough know, not enough know to care.

This is our burden, humanities burden, that essentially, we are a weak species, indifferent to those in need and in pain. We accept that weakness, we give it reason, we give it value, we find merit in being poor, in suffering and then claim our salvation lies in whatever God we justify. We intellectualize that there are those who suffer greatly, that it is Gods will, as long as I am not one of them who suffer so..

But their fates are not in the hands of God, they are in your hands, and that is where you will find salvation.

hmmm... reincarnation, huh?

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Life Got Ya Down?

I want you to know, I understand. Your backs up against the wall, there's no where to turn, no one to ask for help, you're stressed to the max and you don’t have an answer. You flitter into a restless sleep, and when you dream, your stress makes them weird. You’re days are spent praying to God for an answer that never seems to come. Personal relationship, work, financial or all three, sometimes life just dumps on you. There are times you see it coming from a mile away and just refuse to believe it and when it impacts, you’re still bewildered, stunned by the gale force. There are times too, when you are unable to see that gale force  coming and when it hits, it changes everything in a passing, remarkable and memorable second, often in the most tragic of circumstance.

 As if life's demon has his foot in the small of your back, grinding your face into the dirt, and to make it worse, he's laughing at you. You spend your days on the edge of tears and you begin to question, everything. You wonder what's wrong with you, question where your friends are and more than anything else, you wonder what the point is, of anything. Your favorite refrain is now, ‘why me?’.

There comes that time in all our lives where the pain and suffering seems overwhelming to overcome, you’re just too tired to fight, much less to stand, if not outwardly, certainly inwardly. Your soul aches behind every smile, wondering why you’re even bothering to force a smile.

Like I said, I understand!

Here’s a bigger revelation. Most people will understand, most have been there to some degree or another, and survived. In it’s way, suffrage and troubled waters go hand in hand as a rite of human passage. None of this makes it any easier for you, or anyone to bear their burden. It makes for us an easier way by our experience, to understand, but that doesn't necessarily calm your waters.

There are things you can do. I’m not a self hep guru, a therapist and some will say I’m the last person alive to give advice to anyone, and they might be right. But I do have experience in surviving my own personal ocean of troubled waters.

First and foremost, know that life is walked on a thin line between sorrow and happiness, that everyone walks in one direction today and the opposite direction tomorrow, all to different degrees. There's a huge amount of truth that we are more alike than not. The biggest difference between you and I? How we look at things, our perception. That perception is based on genetics, our current environment, our education, our ego, self esteem and a lot of other factors.

The takeaway, perception can be changed. Some change their perception of the world around them by finding God or engaging in professional help. Some merely through friends or through books, some by grit and determination. Changing perspective on the world, in your life isn’t that hard once you decide to change it. Deciding to change is the hard part. People will argue that the decision is the easiest part, but ask yourself this, if you can’t follow through on a decision you’ve made, are you really committed to that decision?

But what the hell is perception? Well here’s a surprise. It’s not how you view the world and your life, perception is who you are as a person. So if you want to start walking a bit more on that thin line in the direction of happiness, it starts with you.

Start with that recognition, own the troubled ocean you’re drowning in. Once you own that perception, you can mold it by writing about it, by talking to others, by research, by sharing. By even, OMG, by asking for help. Asking for help and understanding can be humiliating, I get that, but what you’re not getting, is that asking for help, asking for a friend to listen, can be one of the most rewarding human experiences in the entire catalog of human experiences. It can be, and often is, the first step in an experience that is transformational.

It ain’t easy, it never is, and like I said, I understand.

Than again, maybe I don’t know nothing and I oughta just slap a piece of duct tape over my big mouth.

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swr 8 9 14

I am Right, There is Nothing Else!

I am tired. From a political viewpoint, I am tired of what we as Americans have become. More than that, I am ashamed that we have become an uneducated mass of Jello that holds no honor, gives no compassion nor cares what those on the opposite side of the aisle have to believe. The mantra everywhere is, ‘I am right, there is nothing else’. There is no honor, no fairness and not a smidgen of intelligent conversation about the problems we face here in this great Nation. Our politicians are setting an example that many are already following, and we all are the worse for it. The only truth there is, is the need, the ability to win, to gain power, to gain wealth, and those that do, don't have the wit to use it to benefit the Nation. Themselves, yes, the rest of us, not so much.

This reality really has gone on long enough, don’t you think? It seems, every time I turn around, the level of stupidity expands exponentially, to the point where if a visiting species happened across us, they'd place a great big yellow band of caution tape around the earth, warning others that there exists beyond the tape, a mental ward.

We should be ashamed that we allow this!

Yes, we have our differences. Yes, we can argue, we can disagree, and even, once in a while, engage in a knock down, drag out fight. But to stoop to the level that makes the notorious village idiot look like a genius? Really? WTF?

No matter what side of the political aisle you live and breath in, there are times when you need to speak out. To not do so, is disgusting and belittles you, especially if there's a voice crying out somewhere in your heart, demanding you to say something. Honor starts in the heart.

I do not believe this is who we are as a people, but I do have to wonder if this is who we are becoming, illiterates feeding at the troth of the insane.

The question I ask is simple, ‘Does human decency amount to less than political bullshit?” It appears so, that civil discourse no longer exists. The way to move the masses, you included, is to be outrageous, to get your attention with lies, slander, deceit and hurtful, malicious words. That says as much about you as the person slinging the mud.

But you don’t care do you? You enjoy it don’t you? Even at the expense of this great nation.

Sad state of affairs indeed. Thanks for helping to destroy  the greatest Nation ever seen in the history of all humanity. I’m sure your children have a lot to be proud of of.

The Commodity of our Lives

Truth is a commodity in that everyone has a vested interest in having their wants, their desires, their needs not only filled, but exceedingly so. Not our wants, not our desires and not our needs. Truth after all, is a personal thing, relegated to align its very existence with no less than God. God and truth are twined and bound, inseparable in their existence. For many, they are the one and the same thing. One can defend any argument, any belief system simply by stating their position is God given or based in truth. Once that statement is made, there is no argument left, there is no room left for compromise.

Of course, we all know most truth is a lie. And excuse me, the sun doesn't really rise in the morning sky, it just appears to, but I know what your thinking, and I’ll give you that. There are indeed some ‘God given’ truths that endure. We live, we die is one. There is a moon in our sky and we understand the physics which keep it there. These truths are remarkable because we live them, we experience them every single day of our lives and most don't question their existence. The larger truth is that scientific fact and God given truths exist together. The fact that we understand Gods math in keeping our moon its distance from our planet is a beautiful thing. The fact that we are beginning to understand the dynamics of the Universe isn't a contradiction to God, it's a contribution to our love for God, no matter how you define God.

That beauty and that contribution diverge at the human level of individual perception where truth and god become non capitalized words to be used in personal agendas. Personal agendas to divide and conquer, to gain false esteem, and we all are guilty. Every religion, every individual is guilty of using their belief in god to further their belief system.

God did not make the world in seven days. God made the world in billions of years because God has given us evidence of his handiwork in ice cores, in tree rings and rock strata.
Now, you know I’m not even close to being a thumper and spouter of the good word. I do, however, have a great respect, not only for Christianity, but for all Religion. What does bother me is the fact  that there are people who twist, bend and crank out whatever truth they deem necessary to get their point across, and sometimes, it’s people of a religious nature. I mean, they lie to people to get people to believe them and it seems to work. This is where truth has become a commodity, born to serve the interests of specific desires, wants and needs.

Two things before I end this, Politicians are just as guilty of using truth as a commodity as anyone else, perhaps more so. The second thing is, I have read that human footprints dating back to the time of the dinosaurs have been found, and dated, and all I can do is go hmmmm...

The Long Hard Truth of the Matter

You and I are our own worse enemies as we have forsaken Lincoln’s proclamation that a house divided cannot endure. The fractures run through cultural and social communities, are spread as a living virus throughout the entire religious and economic strata of America and visibly exists in the political factions. Compromise is no longer a word of honor and now means abject surrender, and is to be avoided and feared, for if one gives ground, power is lost.

There are those who believe that power is a physical commodity in finite terms. That when a opponent loses power, there is gain to be made in their own commodity. As in all material pursuits, human behavior is often guided by greed, and power as a commodity lives and breaths as a living reminder of that fact.

The failure to reach out and compromise, to understand the needs of others, to give comfort and compassion, all long held American values, no longer exist. In their place, lies, distrust, and disrespect have taken not only deep root, but are flourishing.

As a People, we are deeply divided. As People, we are not  bad nor cruel of heart with deceiving intentions. In our daily lives, most desire nothing more than to live their lives, to work hard, to be secure and to be free. Yet, as a people we hold responsibility and accountability for the divisions among us for we have left the moral ground that our forefathers established. Each of us, in our refusal to put our Nation before our personal desires have turned our back on our fathers and mothers who struggled daily amid constant and continuing hardship and agony, to make this Nation great.

We have come to a time and a place, that in a way, is unrecognizable to our founding fathers. Unrecognizable in the sense that their Nation, a Government of, by and for the People, no longer exists. In it’s place exists a Nation not of People, but a nation of Government! A Government that holds contempt for the welfare of it’s People and praise for those who hold power and undistributed wealth. A Government that has traveled far in it’s ability to spread division.

A Government that propagates unresolvable moral and ethical issues. A Government that actively participates and insures separation of economic classes. A Government that bases it’s decisions not on what is best for it’s People, but what is best for it’s own sustained lust for wealth and power. A Government  that believes the wealthy, the strong and the powerful will take care of the needs of those who are less fortunate when in fact, they have stole our rights and our freedoms. A Government that distorts facts and offers opinion as fact in total disregard for the intellect of the People. A government that will not speak of issues, of problems and possible solutions, yet will speak often and loudly to thrust upon the People, a dismal and foreboding sense of fear and distrust. That sense of fear and distrust is meant not only for those who live outside our borders, but those within who seek change, who seek answers. Truth has become a tangled nightmare to never end, forever to haunt our lives.

A truth that no one speaks, that you and I are accountable. It is the best kept secret in America that we all know and never mention. From local Government to County Government to State Government to Federal Government, all are influenced not by what is right for the people they represent, but they are influenced by a belief that what is good for the City, for the County, for the State, for the Federal Government, is good for the people they represent.

At heart, it is an easy belief system to grasp a hold of, to invest ones dreams in. Yet it is a system that can only work when all levels of Government listen to it’s constituents on an equal footing as they listen to the voices of the local contractors. All levels of Government must balance the needs of the Community as a whole with the needs of the People.

Our economic troubles began at the local level, this too is a unspeakable truth that we do not hear. Our troubles began with City Governments allowing vast tracts of land to be developed without asking who will buy these houses and instead looked at Tax revenue and plunged those numbers in their annual budgets. When local citizens asked, ‘Who will buy these houses?’, they were ignored. When no one came to buy, local banks found a way out by offering up dreams to those who were in no financial position to dream. Just as it is true in the housing market, so is it true of other issues. Much of the cost of Health Care can be attributed to what is known as the Medical Arms Race at the local level. Look around your community and count the number of medical facilities and services. In many Communities, we have isolated the poor into apartment complexes clustered in a specific part of town, turning that section into a virtual prison for the poor, with no hope of redemption, no hope of escape and many of us have the despicable gall to blame the poor and yet, the poor too, are accountable for their lives.

We are a people who have turned the corner in that we desire to be entertained as opposed to being informed, who accept opinion and speculation as fact as long as those opinions and speculations agree with individual beliefs. We have become a people that allow a black American running for President to be called a traitor, a terrorist, an Arab, along with calls for his lynching and murder. And if such a terrible thing were to happen, who would be accountable? Those who purposefully spread such hate for political gain, those who repeat such hate or those who remain silent in it’s presence.

We are a good and honest people. We are hard working, inventive, innovative and I believe we actually care about our neighbors. The truth is simple in that we all have much more in common than we have differences. The commonalities of desired equality and security, of earned respect, and the right to prove that I can work as hard as the next person, to have house and home within means, to have access to my medical needs as my neighbor, to have a financial future, to see my children admitted to college, are not bad things and remain a common thread among all People. Yet our refusal to understand the way to these obtainable goals is through compromise, through the sacrifice of individual desires and even long held morals for the benefit of all People, divides us on all levels and in all aspects of our lives.

There is blame enough to go around but it is, essentially, you and I who hold the solutions to the trials and tribulations this Great Nation is enduring. It is time for each American to ask what is more important, my beliefs, my desires, my wants, my needs, ...or my Nation? Not that we need to give these dear and precious things up on an individual basis. Never!

But it is time to ask what you can sacrifice to unite our Nation. And that needs to start with people speaking out and participating at the local level all the way to the state and federal Level.

What The Fu*K

Sometimes, that’s all you can say about life. Sometimes, there's just no other explanation other than an exclamation. Consider, Gary Hegna, 45, who forces a little girl of seven to wear costumes and perform sex acts for five years and walks away without a prison sentence. Remember that affluent defense a while back. Let’s not forget, Ricky Vitte, Jr, an esteemed Ohio State Trooper who taught a pre teen how to jerk off to porn. When investigated, his excuse was that he didn't want the teen to feel pressured into having sex before he was ready. Apparently, even with his history, the investigators thought the act, justified and good ol’ boy Ricky Vitte remains an officer in good standing.
I mean, really! What the fuck is wrong with our judicial system?

I’ll tell you a secret, this is nothing new.

Some thirty years back in my wild and woolly days I was waiting for my turn in front of a local judge for a D-dub. Now it was bad enough that this particular judge really had no business setting on the bench because he was popping nitro pills and slobbering all over the bench (true!) and when he spoke, you didn’t have a clue what he was saying. The only saving grace was that the bailiff pretty much repeated everything he said.

Turns out, the guy just before me was Chester the Molester. Judge banged his gavel, mumbled and dribbled spittle and the bailiff decreed 6 months probation. I thought, ‘Hmmm, strange. Easy going judge’.

I meandered respectfully up and stood before the judge and I no sooner said ‘guilty’ than he slammed his hammer down and pronounced a six month sentence. Yep! Go figure? I can't. Chester walks and I set 6 months.

You know as well as I do, our judicial system isn't fair, isn't about what is right. You know as well as I do, it treats those of color differently, it treats people of class differently. Our courts are not about justice! They are about the rule of law, the word of law and how that law has been and is, interpreted.

You will see Mr. Pervert in court again, but it will be too late. Another victim will have suffered, and I ask you, who is the guilty party?

Like I said, some days, all you can say is , what the fuuuck!