via david_shankbone @ flickr

Twenty-five hundred years ago the Buddha occupied the Bodhi tree. He sat there in deep meditation until he awakened and saw reality as it is. Then he got up, moved about, and delivered his monumental four-point message that changed—and continues to shape—history and every Buddhist practitioner’s perception of “reality.”

Two months ago the Occupy Wall Street protesters camped out at Zuccotti Park. They had a rude awakening courtesy of Mayor Bloomberg, the police, and the New York County Supreme Court: It’s okay to protest but you just can’t stay here forever. Occupy Wall Street just had its Bodhi tree moment. The time is ripe to get up, move about, and deliver a laser-like message to the public, the people in office, and the powers that be.

This Economist blog, Democracy In America, put it very succinctly.

“Banding together with a bunch of like-minded citizens to make a big noise is a great way to get noticed, to rally similarly-outraged others to a cause, and to shift the terms of the public debate. OWS has done all that. Now they’ve got to get some sympathetic folks elected to public office, because that’s how this democracy thing works, when it does.”

I believe that the OWS protesters should stand proud, raise their heads, and pat their selves on the back for a job well-done. Then channel the sympathetic public attention and its collective passionate energy to disrupt the political process via the State legislatures, all the while continuing to make their voices heard in a rolling non-violent peaceful protests. It’s high time to Occupy the Courts, the Ballot Box, Washington, Congress and participate in a democratic process which is the very soul of this nation, without being co-opted by any political party or any partisan organization. 

Corruption is the root of all “evil” that has hampered our social and economic democracy. We need a swift and focused surgical strike at the root that rules them all. In my opinion, the top specific policy that Occupy Wall Street ought to focus on moving forward is:

Get money out of politics and move to amend the Constitution to eliminate corporate personhood.

Once the root of the problem is dealt with, we can then shift to a Four-Point Plan to Save America:

1. Tax the rich also.
(e.g. let the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich to expire, or more radically, rollback Reaganomics as kick-ass Economist Ravi Batra recommended.)

2. Get rid of corporate welfare.
(e.g. close corporate tax loopholes and reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act)

3. Downsize the Global War Machine.
(e.g. end the U.S. warmongering and reduce the Pentagon budget by at least 25%)

4. Bring the jobs home.
(e.g. increase the taxes for offshoring and kick off re-shoring initiative)

And when all is said and done the OWS meta-movement will unfold as it will like the law of karma. Protesters will continue to occupy spaces where they are allowed to by the courts. They will continue to march and yell their demands on top of their lungs on behalf of the majority of us who are frustrated with partisan politics and Crony Capitalism that corrupts our government. We’re all bearing witness to a revolution in action. This is what a revolution looks like. It’s messy, chaotic, and full of tensions as opposing forces push and pull, expand and contract, while giving birth to a new social and political cycle. I just hope that the protesters remain non-violent especially in the face of violent treatments by the police and the government that have sworn to protect, serve, and uphold their rights. If Ravi Batra is right—and I believe he is—what we’re seeing is a growing seed of a revolution that will bring the demise of Crony Capitalism and usher in a golden age of economic democracy.

May the central ideas and grievances of OWS continue to flourish around the country and around the world. May we all benefit from the shift in political and public conversations. May we all look back to this time in history with gratitude for the people who put themselves on the line by being *our* collective voices and conscience. And may everything unfold as it will with less suffering as possible.

My dear fellow occupiers, carry on, stay non-violent, take care of yourself and one another, kick ass and be still…. Here’s to the next phase of a revolution on its way to shape our political and social reality.

If you don’t know American economist Ravi Batra, do yourself a favor. Read his books and get to know PROUT (PROgressive Utilization Theory). I highly recommend watching the 4-part video, especially part 4. Again, take note that this video was way back in 2007. Batra not only accurately predicted Occupy Wall Street, he even had the balls and foresight to ask everyone to join it!

Batra has been called the Prophet of Boom (and Bust). Yes, some of his forecasts and predictions were off but his track record is impressive for someone who doesn’t have a crystal ball. Or does he?

Anyway, I’m already impressed with Batra’s predictive and prescriptive mojo. But what impresses me more is the spiritual backbone of his economic theory. My basic moral intuition agrees!

Batra’s writings should be considered in terms of the philosophy of his mentor, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, who has had a profound influence on him. The ideas of Sarkar are in the tradition of Hindu idealism—a cosmology stating that the universe, both inanimate and animate matter, is permeated with a singular consciousness, a living God. The basic premise is that the souls of all life forms have a singular embedded motive over the evolutionary eons, going from birth to death to birth again, to develop their consciousness. Once they reach the level of human reflective consciousness it is their duty to seek to ultimately unite it with the God consciousness. Part and parcel of this view is that humans should regularly practice yogic meditation—ideate on God—and follow an ethical and vegetarian life style. But Sarkar goes further than anyone else in declaring that God realization is easier with full participation in social service. According to this philosophy, Batra rejects the basic foundations of materialist economics, including the need to consume and acquire without limit, as well as the premise that the saving of capitalists promotes the greater good through investment, itself the penultimate justification for allowing inequality to exist. Instead, Batra promotes raising the incomes of people with the sole purpose to increase their consumption, but in a balanced and sustainable way—in harmony with nature, each other and other life forms. An equitable distribution is not seen as a means to only ensure material welfare but also to secure the ability of all to develop a full personality. This is an integral part of Sarkar’s practical theory of PROUT—PROgressive Utilization Theory.

But only time will tell whether Batra is right or wrong. Let’s wait ’till 2016 for the demise of crony capitalism. If and when that happens I hope this guy gets a Nobel Prize and give Krugman a run for his popularity.

I am an economist and historian and made many forecasts in the past about the economy and social change. While 5 percent of my economic forecasts have been wrong, to my knowledge I have never made an error about forecasting a revolution. My latest estimate is that monopoly capitalism will go the way of Soviet communism by 2016.

Now that is my kind of kick-ass economist!

UPDATE: Another case in point why Dr. Ravi Batra is my kind of kick-ass economist. Check out this interview with Dr. Ravi Batra by Thom Hartmann on why the need to rollback Reaganomics.

Hey, maybe this should be one of the top demands of Occupy Wall Street: ROLLBACK REAGANOMICS!

The Occupy protest in downtown Seattle was peaceful and orderly. There were police presence but there were no tensions. The gathering was organized. The environment was clean. The people were respectful and cheerful. The only disturbance in the usual downtown noise were the honking of cars expressing their approval of the protest signs held by the protesters on the side of the street. 

I don’t consider myself an activist. I’m not even that interested in politics. In fact, this is my first time to support a protest of any kind. However, there is something big happening here and I want to be part of it, no matter how small my participation is. I brought my 19-month old son with me so he could be a part of it as well. I believe that when my son is old enough to understand the relevance of the occupy meta-movement he will appreciate that he and his father were there, even for a brief moment, to express solidarity with the people who are on the right side of history.

Here’s to the shift that is currently sweeping the nation, and the world. May all beings be free and may happiness be.

P.S. A revolution without laughing is not a revolution worth having. So here’s something to make us laugh. It’s funny coz it’s true. ~ Bill Maher on Occupy Wall Street [New Rules] -

P.P.S. Like many people who are feeling that there’s something big happening and that there’s a shift that’s occurring, I’m also wondering, Where do we go from here? -

George Lakoff said: “Frame yourselves before others frame you.” So here’s my own way of framing the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Why Occupy Wall Street? You Be the Jury

#OccupyWallStreet: Four-Point+ Plan to Save America

And for those who are still confused about what Occupy Wall Street is all about, I’d like to share this video of Micah White from Ad Busters. He really nailed it and put it very succinctly. If after watching this, and you still don’t get it, go out there on the streets and talk to the protesters so you can learn what it’s all about firsthand.

Godspeed to all the protesters. Thank you for your courage in putting democracy in action.

Why Occupy Wall Street?!

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) meta-movement has been going on for more than a month now with no sign of a slow down. It continues to get stronger day by day, week after week. Just last weekend, demonstrations were held in 951 cities across 82 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. This global phenomenon transcends borders because what the people are up against are a handful of trans-national corporations of which Wall Street has become the de fact symbol.

The grievances are obvious and justified morally, politically, and economically. Sufficiently informed citizens (who are in the 99%) would have no problem choosing the side of OWS. Calling it a no-brainer is an understatement. In fact, in the U.S. alone, in a recent TIME Magazine poll, a whopping 54% of Americans are in favor of the OWS protests. As Glenn Greenwald said:

“Anyone who expressed difficulty seeing or understanding what motivates these protests revealed many things about themselves. None is flattering. The only thing that’s surprising is that these protests didn’t happen sooner and that they’re not more widespread and intense.”

No wonder politicians and corporate news media in the U.S. continue to downplay its significance by deriding it as a movement with no specifics. As the old adage goes, “You don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.” And Wall Street has been the generous goose.

But what makes me sad, however, are ordinary citizens who, for some reason, are not in favor of OWS. I believe that they are either too uninformed and detached from the socio-political arena, have been thoroughly brainwashed by politicians who are wholly owned subsidiary of the corporate overlords, and/or they just continue to dogmatically cling to their political ideologies despite all the overwhelming facts to the contrary.

So I’ve put together this list of solid evidences that I believe will convince the doubters, naysayers, and critics, beyond any reasonable doubt, that they ought to be on the side of the majority of the people in support of OWS.

Exhibit A: The Middle Class is FUBAR by Weapons of Mass Exploitation (WME)

Ravi Batra, the economist who successfully predicted the downfall of communism, wrote a very detailed and specific analysis with a nine-point list of economic measures which had devastated the middle class. He then made another bold prediction: “…monopoly capitalism will go the way of Soviet communism by 2016.”

“In 1978, to the laughter of many and the derision of a few, I wrote a book called, “The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism,” which predicted that Soviet communism would vanish around the end of the century, whereas crony or monopoly capitalism would create the worst-ever concentration of wealth in its history, so much so that a social revolution would start its demise around 2010. My forecasts derived from the law of social cycles, which was pioneered by my late teacher and mentor, P. R. Sarkar. Lo and behold, Soviet communism disappeared right before your eyes during the 1990s, and now, just a year after 2010, middle-class America, spearheaded by a movement increasingly known as “Occupy Wall Street (OWS),” is beginning to revolt against Wall Street greed and crony capitalism. Will the revolt succeed? It surely will, because the pre-conditions for its success are all there.”

For the sake of us in the 99%, let’s hope that Batra’s words become prophetic.

Exhibit B: It takes a woman to clean up, kick ass, and fix this sh*t

Many, if not most, people who have voted for President Obama are by now faced with a rude awakening: that talk is cheap, and that compromise and playing nice are not the virtues of a good leader. A true political leader is someone who listens to the majority of the people who got him elected; someone who will fight for the collective interest of the majority and will mop the floor with those who will stand on his way. From the way things have been going, it looks like it will take a woman to do a President’s job. Enter, Elizabeth Warren. This excellent article in Vanity Fair spells out in detail why Elizabeth Warren is the most promising political champion of the 99%.

“Millions of Americans hoped President Obama would nominate Elizabeth Warren to head the consumer financial watchdog agency she had created. Instead, she was pushed aside. As Warren kicks off her run for Scott Brown’s Senate seat in Massachusetts, Suzanna Andrews charts the Harvard professor’s emergence as a champion of the beleaguered middle class, and her fight against a powerful alliance of bankers, lobbyists, and politicians.”

And here she is in action.

No wonder Wall Street hates her guts. All the more reason for us to support her all the way to 2016.

Exhibit C: Political labels are meaningless. It’s the issues, stupid!

Political pundits and talking heads love to box us with politically-charged labels (e.g. Left/Right, Conservatives/Liberals/Progressives, Republicans/Democrats, Socialist/Communist/Corporatists, etc.) so they could pit us against each other. But Occupy Wall Street transcends political lines and simplistic labels. When actual issues are put on the table and the people are asked to pick a side, most, if not all, reasonable and sane people will make the right choice.

Case in point: Here are Chris Hedges and Alan Grayson hitting a home run and shutting down the loudmouths. Classic.

Another case in point: How do you tell the real grass-roots Tea Party from the corporate-sponsored astro-turf? Simple. The real Tea Party supports Occupy Wall Street.

Exhibit D: Corporations are [not] people, my friend!

Mitt Romney’s famous quote says it all. In a short sentence, Romney described the sorry state of our political system, thanks to Citizens United. This is one of the biggest mistakes the Supreme Court has made which will continue to undermine our democracy and political system. When corporations can spend as much money as they want on political advertising, the corruption skyrockets to epic proportions.

But anyway, if corporations are people, then shouldn’t the government be prosecuting them for dodging taxes?.

And by the way, those who say that OWS is anti-capitalist probably don’t know the difference between a capitalist and a corporatist. Here’s Cenk Uygur putting it very succinctly:

“I believe in the capitalist system. I think it makes sense and it is attuned to human nature. People do not work to the best of their ability and take only as much as they need. They work as little as humanly possible and take as much as humanly possible. Capitalism helps to funnel these natural impulses in a positive, hopefully productive manner.

“But in order to have capitalism we must have choice. If consumers do not have different companies to choose from, if the markets aren’t truly free and there is no real competition, then you kill capitalism. Corporations are a natural byproduct of capitalism, but as soon as they are born they want to destroy their parent. Corporations are the Oedipus of the capitalist system.”

There’s nothing explicitly anti-capitalist in the “official” demands of OWS.

UPDATE (10/19/2011): Serendipitously, Cenk Uygur just kicked off Wolf PAC which is proposing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“Corporations are not people. They have none of the Constitutional rights of human beings. Corporations are not allowed to give money to any politician, directly or indirectly. No politician can raise over $100 from any person or entity. All elections must be publicly financed.”

And I’m all for it! This is Sparta!

Exhibit E: Don’t go the f**k to sleep. We’ve just lost our Republic!

And as I mentioned in my previous post on #OccupyWallStreet, for those who still don’t understand the essence of what OWS is all about, do yourself a favor and watch this lecture by Lawrence Lessig.

Now you be the jury.

Having said all of that, if for some reason people still don’t get Occupy Wall Street then the last option would be to explain it to them like we would explain it to a six-year old.

In the meantime, don’t wait for the 21st revolution to be televised. It’s already playing all over the internets.

Occupy the World: 65 Videos of Global Protest Day

Al Jazeera: In-depth Coverage of Occupy Wall Street

RT.COM: In-depth Coverage of Occupy Wall Street

Alternet.org: Special Coverage: Occupy Wall Street

The Huffington Post: Occupy Wall Street (some news is so big it needs its own page) Coverage

And when everything is said and done, when we’re tired of raging, ranting, cursing, and occupying, it helps to keep our bearing and be aware of the present moment… remembering the maxim: Kick ass and be still….

#OccupyWallStreet: FOUR-POINT+ PLAN TO SAVE AMERICA

Those who are subscribed to my blog, Twitter, Google+ and Facebook feeds are probably getting tired of my politically-charged status updates. Maybe some of you have already unsubscribed, blocked, or unfriended me because you didn’t like my tone or you just don’t agree with my political views. I have no problem with that. We’re all free to express our political views and distance ourselves from whoever we don’t agree with. But there’s an inherent danger with the “I’ll block you and unfriend you just because I don’t agree with your political views” attitude. I don’t have to spell it out. I trust that people who are reading this are intelligent enough to understand the risk of echo chambers and drowning in our own narcissistic cognitive biases.

That said, I’d like everyone to know that I’m not really a very political person. Honest. In fact, I grew up despising politics. I came from a country (Philippines) where corruption in politics, government offices, religious institutions, and business establishments are, for lack of a better description, *in-your-face*. One of the reasons I moved to the U.S. is because of my despair with the politics in my country of birth. Back then I understood that corruption is everywhere, but at least in the U.S. I can “tune it out” and just focus on the “American Dream” and my own personal development.

To a certain extent I have accomplished that “American Dream.” In spite of the recession/depression that the U.S. is in right now, I feel blessed, lucky, and thankful that me and my wife have good-paying jobs, have never defaulted on our mortgage payments, have never left any balance on our credit cards, have a good health care coverage, and could provide for our families here and abroad.

As far as my own personal development — I do acknowledge that it’s a constantly fluctuating, sometimes chaotic, sometimes blissful, spiraling dream…

But I was wrong with one thing: “Tuning out” politics is like stuffing my own head up my ass while going about my business. It’s not a pretty sight. But I’m sure you get the picture.

I don’t consider myself as a radical political activist. I pick my political fights rarely and very carefully. But this is one of them. Everything I love about the U.S. is in danger of being taken over by global corporations. This is no conspiracy theory. It is an ongoing fact. Just follow the money. The government is not the problem. The government is a victim like us. It’s not about black and white, or whatever the color of our skin is. It’s not about gender or our sexual orientation. It’s not about Left and Right, or our political affiliations. It’s about the 99% of us who are sick, tired, and pissed off at the rampant worship of Green and Greed by those we’ve put in power and entrusted to protect our collective self-interests.

And that’s why I’m in 100% support of Occupy Wall Street. I believe that this is a historical event unfolding in front of our eyes. It reminds me of the People Power we had in the Philippines during the pre-internet era. We Filipinos have demonstrated to the world that a non-violent protest, upon reaching critical mass, could change a country virtually overnight. The mainstream corporate media may ignore and deride it, but let them do it at their own peril. I’ve chosen to align myself with real journalists, like Glenn Greenwald, who understand the issue and tell it like it is, with compassion and passionate flare.

I may not march down in the middle of Wall Street but I’m doing my protesting with what I do best: making my voice heard online and supporting and spreading the cause as much as I can. I think that I can express myself better this way and reach more people.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has already issued an official list of demands. I’d like to add the following catchy slogans to the list. They’re short, sweet, direct to the point, and will fit on any protest banner. Thanks to Norman Goldman for putting it very succinctly.

*** FOUR-POINT+ PLAN TO SAVE AMERICA ***

1. Tax the rich also
2. Get rid of Corporate Welfare
3. Downsize the Global War Machine
4. Bring the jobs home

Bonus point: 5. Get rid of Citizens United and the corruption in our politics

(via Norman Goldman)

And for those who still don’t understand the essence of what Occupy Wall Street is protesting about, I suggest you watch this video by Lawrence Lessig.

Here’s to Occupy Wall Street reaching critical mass.

Now excuse me while i take some deep breaths and focus on the other “thing” that really matters: direct perception of the impermanence of it all…

the Debt Ceiling Cat is watching

Like most people who have been following this political circus over the pseudo-crisis that is the debt ceiling negotiations, I too am utterly pissed. So pissed that I even joined the #fuckyouwashington uprising on Twitter.

Those who are following my Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus (hyper)stream are probably pissed off at me too for being overly political in the last few days. Sorry, but I just can’t help it. Any sane person who is aware of this issue has to be either a Vulcan or suffering from an extreme case of apathy not to get angered by the boneheads in Washington. But for the level-headed few, here are some facts to chew on:

Fact-checking Boehner and Obama on debt duel

Fiscal FactCheck – Does Washington have a spending problem or an income problem?

I don’t know whether to cry, bang my head against the wall, or just pack up my bags and watch Jersey Shore after I watched Pres. Obama and Rep. John Boehner’s speech last night. Where is the outrage Mr. President? And as usual, Boehner is a liar. 

Whether we end up defaulting or not, this kind of thing will happen over and over until we break away from the dominant two-party system in the U.S. We need a Third Party of the Sane Majority to break the deadlock of these two competing ideologies. We have to show these a**holes that enough is enough. They are making a mockery out this great country. It’s high time that we kick their collective asses and leverage the voice of the sane and thinking majority. I think that a Third Party is the most viable immediate pragmatic solution short of a revolution. If you think this idea is far-fetched, think again. The majority of Americans are already on board with this idea. See:

“Thomas Friedman: Make Way for the Radical Center”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24friedman.html?_r=1

“Americans dislike two-party system”
http://www.presstv.com/detail/179510.html

“Americans Elect”
http://www.americanselect.org/

Speaking of Americans Elect and a possible Third Party of the Sane Majority, I’d really like to throw in the following names to the 2012 Presidential race: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and Elizabeth Warren. For instance, here’s Bernie Sanders, kicking President Obama’s ass. Too bad he said that he’s not interested in running for President.

The debt ceiling cat is watching you Mr. President. You just missed your place in history as a great leader. From what I’ve seen so far, you are not *leading*, you are *pleading*.

When all is said and done, the root of the problem is bigger than the politics in the U.S. This is a global phenomenon. I don’t have enough cuss words in my vocabulary to express my frustration, so I’ll just leave it to this Irish guy to tell it like it is.

That is all. Thanks for your attention. This has been a good therapy session.

P.S. The RepubliCONs are truly beyond disgraceful but I’m just about done with President Obama as well. But do I regret voting for him? Hell, no! I don’t really think that McCain/Palin was a viable option. However, I think this debt ceiling pseudo-crisis manufactured by the RepubliCONS will not happen if McCain/Palin are in the White House. But do you really want to entertain that idea? I rest my case.

P.P.S. This political rant would be very partial if I don’t go to the fringes of cognitive dissonance. And from the fringes, even my approval for a Third Party of the Sane Majority seems to be just another fantasy.

Marrs finds it noteworthy that both Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were assassinated while attempting to get around the international bankers, “Lincoln by issuing his own money, greenbacks, and Kennedy in bypassing the Fed with US notes in 1963.”

He touched on why third parties in US politics are useful only to whichever of the two major parties don’t share the vote with them. Third parties never win, they just assure that whichever major candidate is closest to them in ideology will lose when they split the vote and leave the other candidate with the most votes of any of the three candidates — though not necessarily a majority….

…without campaign finance reform and instant runoff voting put in place, third parties will never serve as anything more than foils to one of the major candidates on the ballot. Thus, we’re stuck with choosing between kettles and pots in every election, and the kettles and pots are forged in the same fires of special interest funding.

- Trillion-Dolloar Conspiracy a review by Jason Kelley

Ah, well. I’ll just go back to sitting and doing nothing….

UPDATE: 08/02/2011: Finally, the debt ceiling pseudo-crisis is a done deal. The *fix* is in. The dog and pony show is over, folks. We can now all go back to our wretched existence.

Btw, screw both of these parties and their special interests groups and corporate overlords. The real losers in this deal are us middle-class and the poor. But before I finally put this stupid issue behind on this blog, here are some parting links:

Washington Post: Who got what? – A look at what the Democrats and Republicans wanted and what they got in the deal.

The kabuki play on Capitol Hill – The real deficit in Washington is one of political morality and honesty. by Danny Schechter

Paul Krugman: The President Surrenders

Paul Krugman: What Would I Have Done

Joe Nocera: The Tea Party’s War on America

Robert Reich: The Hostage Crisis Continues: Why Obama Can’t Pivot to Jobs and Growth

Ben Bernanke Tells It Like It Is

And of course, good ‘ole Keith.

Keith’s Special Comment: The Four Great Hypocrisies of the Debt Deal

That is all.

A Prayer for Universal Health Care

However, this whole health care reform debacle is frustrating the hell out of me. Republicans have no interest in reforming health care, except to block any progress towards universal coverage, while some Democrats don’t have the spine to stand up to special interests groups and lobbyists from threatened health insurance companies. Most of the so-called debates on mainstream media go on tangent and degenerate into name-calling (“socialists”, “fascists”), racism, and outright lying. And then there’s Rep. Joe “Lyin’ Wilson and the useless Baucus bill which is not even worth the paper it’s printed on. And it just goes on, and on, and on, and on…

Meanwhile, millions of Americans either continue to have no health insurance or are underinsured.

But what frustrates me the most is that the mainstream media gives more airtime (and print space) to the insane and ignorant people — politicians, celebrities, and radical (or more accurately, crazy) fringe groups on both left and right — who have nothing useful to add to the health care reform. Instead of solutions, insights, and wisdom, the media highlights confusions, ignorance, and political food fights. No wonder a lot (if not most) of Americans are drowning in the sea of cacophony when it comes to the issue of universal health coverage.

Fortunately, there are people out there who are doing their best to inject some sanity into the health care reform issue. One of them is journalist T.R. Reid, author of the book, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. Below is a video of T.R. Reid on FORA.TV (watch the whole program here). Listen to what he has to say. It will make you think deeply and wonder what’s keeping the U.S. from extending health care for all.

Finally, whether you believe that health care is a fundamental human right, or otherwise, I highly recommend watching T.R. Reid’s PBS FRONTLINE documentary, Sick Around the World. Go figure.

May we all be safe, happy, healthy, and live with ease. Here’s a prayer for universal health care.

ADDENDUM 09/20/09: Here’s another informative Q&A interview with T.R. Reid on C-SPAN. T.R. Reid should be getting more airtime on CNN, MSNBC, or even FOX, instead of those bumbling politicians and lunatics at the fringes…

I’m at home watching the 2009 Presidential Inauguration on TV, on MSNBC live, and on CNN/Facebook online. The wave of excitement and optimism makes me feel like playing Sting’s Brand New Day. It certainly feels that way.

Godspeed, Mr. President. Make it so.

via Alex Grey’s Obama – Anatomy of a World Leader

“Perhaps you can use this symbol of Barack Obama to send him a prayer of support, to send all the loving hopeful healing and creative energy that we can focus on him so that he can perform the task of leadership in the most effective and powerful way for the greatest good, for the greatest number.”