Three Russians and a Bulgarian ...

Remember, the three Russians and the Bulgarian visiting us? No joke!

It was a good time ... the Bulgarian is home by now, and the three Russians are at their hotel and then in for a bit more travel before heading home.

If you can't travel, have some guests from other countries - there's always so much to learn.

We rode the train with them, and they were surprised to hear that it wasn't free for students and seniors.

Moscow's subway system is huge and works well, they said. And it's free for students and seniors.

Well, that's socialism for ya'.

And I thought:

Is that so evil?

Is that so wrong?

As a nation, we could do so much more for one another ... to boost life-quality ... to ensure a stable society ... to lift people out of the terrors of poverty ... give a little more health to each other ... better schools, transportation, housing ... we could do that, and more, if we wanted, and still there'd be plenty leftover for the top dogs.

The rich, of course, hate the idea, and keep telling us that we can't have free-riders and welfare queens robbing us.

They preach the message of scarcity, that somewhere someone undeserving will get something that doesn't belong to them, by taking it from us, who, of course, deserve it.

So we look at one another with a competitive eye, suspicious thoughts, and outright condemnation sometimes. After all, there isn't enough to go around, so we gotta fight for it, and there have to be losers, then, and that's okay, because the rich tell us so.

But the rich have it wrong, and I can only hope that in time, this nation will get it right.

Boehner's Ceaseless Lies

These are the kinds of lies always 

told by the wealthy to America.

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, members of the "ruling class" were wise enough to know just how terrible these lies are, and that's why they "betrayed their own class"- a class of liars and deceivers, driven by greed, and the enormous fear that some might gain at their expense.

I wish I could take John Boehner on an LA bus for a day - let him really see people, how hard they work, bone-tired and poorly paid too often, hoping and dreaming, being good citizens. To drive Vermont and other great streets to see the hustle and the bustle of mom and pop shops, street vendors and folks working hard to make a dime.

Yes, there are some who need help, and who will always need help. Is this so hard for us to understand? Is the need for kindness, mercy, compassion, so galling to us that we cannot muster the will to be generous? What's wrong with this man, and his handlers? What's wrong with the ruling class?

Shame on Speaker John Boehner for such lies ... shame on the ruling class for spouting this unpardonable sin, that of darkening our counsel, muddying the waters, and casting aspersions on millions of decent people.

We can do better. We have done better, and by God's grace, we may again do better. Throw these liars out of office, and put firm leashes back on the ruling class, lest they run us all, like lemmings, off the cliff to certain death.

What Hateful People Ignore

What hateful people always ignore is the children. 

Boehner and Company, the Koch Bros, and all the rest have so hardened their hearts against the children. Watch children. Listen to children, and all the t-bag nonsense is revealed for what it is - a great evil in the land. 

For the sake of the children, let the whole damn country go bankrupt, if that what it takes to give to our children every opportunity they deserve, and the children will grow up and rescue us and restore us. And we won't go bankrupt when we spend ourselves silly on the children. We will go bankrupt when we behave miserly. 

For the first time in my life, I'm beginning to understand Matthew 13.12 ... "For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. "

The miserly, the skimpy, the cheap, those who cry poverty - yes, they already have nothing, and what they have will be taken away. But those who have compassion, open hands and open hearts, whatever they have, more will be given to them.

This is a spiritual principle, AND an economic reality.

Poverty of spirit breeds terrible policy.

But kindness builds a great nation.

Kennedy Family, Wealth and Romney

Just saw a slide show of rarely seen photos of JFK, Jackie, and their family.

They were a family of great wealth.

And often burdened by the temptations and problems of great wealth.

But they possessed an America Quality - that of public compassion.

Sadly, I've seen the wealthy of America succumb to the greatest temptation of wealth - to look upon others with contempt.

It's this very attitude that prompts Jesus to say, "It's easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a person of wealth to enter the Kingdom of God" (not a place, but a way of life).

How striking might it have been if Romney had stood before his wealthy cohorts and said to them, "We didn't build it. All of America built it. We're the luckiest people in the world, and we're fools to think that we did this by ourselves. So I stand before you today, asking you to contribute to my campaign, and I ask you to welcome all of America with compassion; I ask you to step up to the plate and pay your fair share of taxes, and even more - because the Bible says: 'to whom much has been given, much is required.'"

But he didn't. Instead, he portrayed Americans as a lazy and dependent - the attitude of contempt.

With his wealthy folks, Romney raised a few more million, but he lost the heart of many. His obvious contempt for so many Americans - does he really believe this, or was he saying only what his audience wanted? In either case, he's wrong.

If Romney believes this, he's not fit for the Oval Office.

If he says such things only to please his monied friends, he's not fit for the Oval Office, either.

It's a sad day for the GOP as it has hitched its wagon to the wealthy - and not the great wealthy, but the greedy wealthy.

We have much to learn from the old and true wealth of America - families, surely not pure, but with a sense of compassion and duty - compassion for all, and a duty to make this a better nation.

Mother Drowns Herself and Her Children

LaShanda Armstrong and her children, driving into the Hudson River - just one story among many, the quiet desperation that overwhelms millions of people in our GOP world.

When a nation fails to provide good education, good jobs and a reliable safety net, and tells people they're on their own, and get a job, and make something of yourself, desperation engulfs millions of people who are born without connections, without privilege and without hope.

There's no doubt that Ms. Armstrong was working hard and trying her best to improve her lot, but the odds were stacked against her, and there came a moment, when she could no longer see her way clear, for herself and for her children.

This isn't a personal failure; it's the failure of a soceity growing cold and callous and greedy. This is the story of a GOP world - where the few live in comfort and pleasure and millions struggle to make it through a day.

Her sorrow is the sorrow of a nation gone crazy with greed and power. The 400 have gained the upper hand and are stripping away our values, turning life into a nightmare for millions. The 400 have destroyed unions, weakened public education and have bought the soul of our government.

Is this the kind of world in which we want to live? Ms. Armstrong could no longer find her way in just such a world. Is that important? In the kingdom of God, it's the only thing that counts! She and her children are in heaven now, while we continue to create a hell on earth!

A Dose of Reality for the Republicans

Nothing like a dose of reality to change one's mind and create the possibility of kindness toward others in similar straits.

Gov. Mark Sandford's extramarital affair knocks one more contender out of the ring.

But this is no time for cheering; this is a time for grieving - for his family, for the man, and for the State of South Carolina.

But it's also a time for the Republicans to take stock, those who love to scramble to the top of the moral high ground, throwing their caustic remarks at “lesser human beings.”

The GOP - the Greedy Old Party, has become the party of smoke and mirrors, guided by the religious right, which seems to lack in the body-politic what we used to call an "honest bone."

Jesus has been turned into a scam for success, popularity, white teeth, winning beauty pageants and body-building championships, not to mention wealth, health and power, and, even heaven, for heaven’s sake - what a deal.

But as Peter DeVries once observed, down deep, it's shallow - very shallow, indeed.

Sin happens! For Republicans and for Democrats (see Monica Conyers in Detroit) alike, the flesh is weak - and so shall it remain.

So I hope, likely against the current in the GOP right now, that a new humility and a new compassion might emerge:
* For the GLBT community and their quest for marriage equality.
For the right of the mother to make basic decisions about her own body.
* And a fresh awareness that “family values” are all about education, work-place safety and benefits, environment, the reduction of global warfare, a single-payer health care system to rid us of a $400 billion industry bent on profits and not health.

It’s not likely to happen.

But I can hope.

I feel for Mr. Sanford.
He’s just a human being after all.
But as a member of the GOP, he has to pretend, as they all do.

Too bad!

Conservatives Trying to Rewrite History

The conservative movement meltdown is going into overdrive, if Peter Wehner's op-ed in the Washington Post today is any indication. With most Republican candidates explicitly running on a platform promising a revival of Reagan conservatism and berating the supposed "socialism" of Democrats, this former Bush hack writes that "it is a mistake to assume that significant GOP losses, should they occur, are a referendum on conservatism."

For the full article, click HERE.

That America might repudiate the lies of Reagan and the deceptions of the Bush administration is nothing less than a miracle.

The Reagan and Bush lies appealed to the worst in our psyche - power, domination, nationalism, superiority, innocence (we do no wrong), white supremacy, militarism and endless success.

Americans bought this garbage hook, line and sinker, and it's nearly killed us.

I'm a Christian, and I'm ashamed of how so many "christians" have bought into this idiocy - while "believing" fervently in Jesus, they have followed other gods - nationalism, personal achievement and a feel-good philosophy.

Could we be on the verge of national renewal?

To really be a nation influenced by Christianity?

And Islam?

Buddhism?

Judaism?

Atheism?

All the great faiths that hold up to the light the values of peace, compassion, kindness, fairness and love.

It's time for a new day.