The World According to Sketch

New Study Exposes Dangers of Monsanto's Frankenfoods

2010-01-23T07:45:00.001-05:00

Genetically Modified Foods Now Shown Unsafefrankenfoods

Dec. 11, 2009 In the most comprehensive study yet on the health effects of three of Monsanto's genetically modified corn varieties, researchers from CRIIGEN and the French universities of Caen and Rouen have revealed a number of new side effects linked with their consumption.

The analysis of Monsanto's trials clearly highlights adverse effects on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well as damage to the heart, adrenal glands, spleen and other organs. This new research only became possible when the European Union obtained Monsanto's raw data and made it publicly available.

Now, for the first time, researchers have been able to obejctively and independently analyze Monsanto's data! Needless to say, there is a huge difference between how Monsanto wants to spin the studies versus what independent scientists concluded --- that all three GMOs contain new pesticide residues which can cause serious health risks. The scientists called for immediate prohibition on the import and cultivation of these GMOs in Europe and have strongly recommended additional long-term (up to two years) and multi-generational animal feeding studies on at least three species to provide true scientifically valid data on the acute and chronic toxic effects of GM crops, feed and foods.

I believe that GMO's are one of the single biggest threats to sustainable life as we know it. The other is climate change. One of the big reaosns I am a raw foodist is that it is the single biggest thing I can do to protect the environment! Buying locally produced organic produce not only avoids GMO's and pesticides, it avoids buysing foods grown in thrid-world countries by exploited workers and shipped as much as 8,000 miles or more, using up climate-changing resources of water, fuel and electricity. In addition, by avoiding animal products, which are mostly factory farmed, it reduces my carbon footprint even more, since gowing a single cow takes enough water float a battleship (fresh water is a no-nrenewable resource), as well as heaps of power and fuel to process and transport! Both climate change and engineering are potentially not just cataclismic, in their worst case scenarios they both have the potential to be extinction events! Think about it! -- really, really think about it!

Read rest of article here.

HAARP - Irreparable Damage is Being Done to the Earth!

2010-01-21T14:40:00.005-05:00

I have copied this article from http://www.haarp.net. Please visit the site for more information.

The Military's Pandora's Box

by Dr. Nick Begich and Jeane Manning

This article was prepared to provide a summary of the contents of a book written in 1995 which describes an entirely new class of weapons. The weapons and their effects are described in the following pages. The United States Navy and Air Force have joined with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to build a prototype for a ground based "Star Wars" weapon system located in the remote bush country of Alaska.

The individuals who are demanding answers about HAARP are scattered around the planet. As well as bush dwellers in Alaska, they include: a physician in Finland; a scientist in Holland; an anti-nuclear protester in Australia; independent physicists in the United States; a grandmother in Canada, and countless others.

Unlike the protests of the 1960s the objections to HAARP have been registered using the tools of the 1990s. From the Internet, fax machines, syndicated talk radio and a number of alternative print mediums the word is getting out and people are waking up to this new intrusion by an over zealous United States government.

The research team put together to gather the materials which eventually found their way into the book never held a formal meeting, never formed a formal organization. Each person acted like a node on a planetary info-spirit-net with one goal held by all -- to keep this controversial new science in the public eye. The result of the team's effort was a book which describes the science and the political ramifications of this technology.

That book, Angels Don't Play this HAARP: Advances in Tesla Technology, has 230 pages. This article will only give the highlights. Despite the amount of research (350 footnoted sources), at its heart it is a story about ordinary people who took on an extraordinary challenge in bringing their research forward.

HAARP Boils the Upper Atmosphere

HAARP will zap the upper atmosphere with a focused and steerable electromagnetic beam. It is an advanced model of an "ionospheric heater." (The ionosphere is the electrically-charged sphere surrounding Earth's upper atmosphere. It ranges between 40 to 60 miles above the surface of the Earth.)

Put simply, the apparatus for HAARP is a reversal of a radio telescope; antenna send out signals instead of receiving. HAARP is the test run for a super-powerful radiowave-beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by focusing a beam and heating those areas. Electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything -- living and dead.

HAARP publicity gives the impression that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program is mainly an academic project with the goal of changing the ionosphere to improve communications for our own good. However, other U.S. military documents put it more clearly -- HAARP aims to learn how to "exploit the ionosphere for Department of Defense purposes." Communicating with submarines is only one of those purposes.

Press releases and other information from the military on HAARP continually downplay what it could do. Publicity documents insist that the HAARP project is no different than other ionospheric heaters operating safely throughout the world in places such as Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Tromso, Norway, and the former Soviet Union. However, a 1990 government document indicates that the radio-frequency (RF) power zap will drive the ionosphere to unnatural activities.

" ... at the highest HF powers available in the West, the instabilities commonly studied are approaching their maximum RF energy dissipative capability, beyond which the plasma processes will 'runaway' until the next limiting factor is reached."

If the military, in cooperation with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, can show that this new ground-based "Star Wars" technology is sound, they both win. The military has a relatively-inexpensive defense shield and the University can brag about the most dramatic geophysical manipulation since atmospheric explosions of nuclear bombs. After successful testing, they would have the military megaprojects of the future and huge markets for Alaska's North Slope natural gas.

Looking at the other patents which built on the work of a Texas' physicist named Bernard Eastlund, it becomes clearer how the military intends to use the HAARP transmitter. It also makes governmental denials less believable. The military knows how it intends to use this technology, and has made it clear in their documents. The military has deliberately misled the public, through sophisticated word games, deceit and outright disinformation.

The military says the HAARP system could:

*
Give the military a tool to replace the electromagnetic pulse effect of atmospheric thermonuclear devices (still considered a viable option by the military through at least 1986)

*
Replace the huge Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) submarine communication system operating in Michigan and Wisconsin with a new and more compact technology

*
Be used to replace the over-the-horizon radar system that was once planned for the current location of HAARP, with a more flexible and accurate system

*
Provide a way to wipe out communications over an extremely large area, while keeping the military's own communications systems working

*
Provide a wide area earth-penetrating tomography which, if combined with the computing abilities of EMASS and Cray computers, would make it possible to verify many parts of nuclear nonproliferation and peace agreements

*
Be a tool for geophysical probing to find oil, gas and mineral deposits over a large area

*
Be used to detect incoming low-level planes and cruise missiles, making other technologies obsolete

The above abilities seem like a good idea to all who believe in sound national defense, and to those concerned about cost-cutting. However, the possible uses which the HAARP records do not explain, and which can only be found in Air Force, Army, Navy and other federal agency records, are alarming. Moreover, effects from the reckless use of these power levels in our natural shield -- the ionosphere -- could be cataclysmic according to some scientists.

Two Alaskans put it bluntly. A founder of the NO HAARP movement, Clare Zickuhr, says "The military is going to give the ionosphere a big kick and see what happens."
The military failed to tell the public that they do not know what exactly will happen, but a Penn State science article brags about that uncertainty. Macho science? The HAARP project uses the largest energy levels yet played with by what Begich and Manning call "the big boys with their new toys." HAARP is an experiment in the sky, and experiments are done to find out something not already known. Independent scientists told Begich and Manning that a HAARP-type "skybuster" with its unforeseen effects could be an act of global vandalism.

HAARP History
The patents described below were the package of ideas which were originally controlled by ARCO Power Technologies Incorporated (APTI), a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Company, one of the biggest oil companies in the world. APTI was the contractor that built the HAARP facility. ARCO sold this subsidiary, the patents and the second phase construction contract to E-Systems in June 1994.

E-Systems is one of the biggest intelligence contractors in the world -- doing work for the CIA, defense intelligence organizations and others. $1.8 billion of their annual sales are to these organizations, with $800 million for black projects -- projects so secret that even the United States Congress isn't told how the money is being spent.
E-Systems was bought out by Raytheon, which is one of the largest defense contractors in the world. In 1994 Raytheon was listed as number forty-two on the Fortune 500 list of companies. Raytheon has thousands of patents, some of which will be valuable in the HAARP project. The twelve patents below are the backbone of the HAARP project, and are now buried among the thousands of others held in the name of Raytheon. Bernard J. Eastlund's U.S. Patent # 4,686,605, "Method and Apparatus for Altering a Region in the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere; and/or Magnetosphere," was sealed for a year under a government Secrecy Order.

The Eastlund ionospheric heater was different; the radio frequency (RF) radiation was concentrated and focused to a point in the ionosphere. This difference throws an unprecedented amount of energy into the ionosphere. The Eastlund device would allow a concentration of one watt per cubic centimeter, compared to others only able to deliver about one millionth of one watt.

This huge difference could lift and change the ionosphere in the ways necessary to create futuristic effects described in the patent. According to the patent, the work of Nikola Tesla in the early 1900's formed the basis of the research.

What would this technology be worth to ARCO, the owner of the patents? They could make enormous profits by beaming electrical power from a powerhouse in the gas fields to the consumer without wires.

For a time, HAARP researchers could not prove that this was one of the intended uses for HAARP. In April, 1995, however, Begich found other patents, connected with a "key personnel" list for APTI. Some of these new APTI patents were indeed a wireless system for sending electrical power. Eastlund's patent said the technology can confuse or completely disrupt airplanes' and missiles' sophisticated guidance systems. Further, this ability to spray large areas of Earth with electromagnetic waves of varying frequencies, and to control changes in those waves, makes it possible to knock out communications on land or sea as well as in the air.

The patent said:

"Thus, this invention provides the ability to put unprecedented amounts of power in the Earth's atmosphere at strategic locations and to maintain the power injection level particularly if random pulsing is employed, in a manner far more precise and better controlled than heretofore accomplished by the prior art, particularly by detonation of nuclear devices of various yields at various altitudes... "

"...it is possible not only to interfere with third party communications but to take advantage of one or more such beams to carry out a communications network even though the rest of the world's communications are disrupted. Put another way, what is used to disrupt another's communications can be employed by one knowledgeable of this invention as a communication network at the same time."

"... large regions of the atmosphere could be lifted to an unexpectedly high altitude so that missiles encounter unexpected and unplanned drag forces with resultant destruction."

"Weather modification is possible by, for example, altering upper atmosphere wind patterns by constructing one or more plumes of atmospheric particles which will act as a lens or focusing device.

... molecular modifications of the atmosphere can take place so that positive environmental effects can be achieved. Besides actually changing the molecular composition of an atmospheric region, a particular molecule or molecules can be chosen for increased presence. For example, ozone, nitrogen, etc., concentrations in the atmosphere could be artificially increased."

Begich found eleven other APTI Patents. They told how to make "Nuclear-sized Explosions without Radiation," Power-beaming systems, over-the-horizon radar, detection systems for missiles carrying nuclear warheads, electromagnetic pulses previously produced by thermonuclear weapons and other Star-Wars tricks. This cluster of patents underlay the HAARP weapon system.

Related research by Begich and Manning uncovered bizarre schemes. For example, Air Force documents revealed that a system had been developed for manipulating and disturbing human mental processes through pulsed radio-frequency radiation (the stuff of HAARP) over large geographical areas. The most telling material about this technology came from writings of Zbigniew Brzezinski (former National Security Advisory to U.S. President Carter) and J.F. MacDonald (science advisor to U.S. President Johnson and a professor of Geophysics at UCLA), as they wrote about use of power-beaming transmitters for geophysical and environmental warfare. The documents showed how these effects might be caused, and the negative effects on human heath and thinking.

The mental-disruption possibilities for HAARP are the most disturbing. More than 40 pages of the book, with dozens of footnotes, chronicle the work of Harvard professors, military planners and scientists as they plan and test this use of the electromagnetic technology. For example, one of the papers describing this use was from the International Red Cross in Geneva. It even gave the frequency ranges where these effects could occur -- the same ranges which HAARP is capable of broadcasting.

The following statement was made more than twenty-five years ago in a book by Brzezinski which he wrote while a professor at Columbia University:

"Political strategists are tempted to exploit research on the brain and human behavior. Geophysicist Gordon J.F. MacDonald, a specialist in problems of warfare, says accurately-timed, artificially-excited electronic strokes could lead to a pattern of oscillations that produce relatively high power levels over certain regions of the earth ... in this way one could develop a system that would seriously impair the brain performance of very large populations in selected regions over an extended period"

" ... no matter how deeply disturbing the thought of using the environment to manipulate behavior for national advantages, to some, the technology permitting such use will very probably develop within the next few decades."

In 1966, MacDonald was a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee and later a member of the President's Council on Environmental Quality. He published papers on the use of environmental control technologies for military purposes. The most profound comment he made as a geophysicist was, "the key to geophysical warfare is the identification of environmental instabilities to which the addition of a small amount of energy would release vastly greater amounts of energy." While yesterday's geophysicists predicted today's advances, are HAARP program managers delivering on the vision?

The geophysicists recognized that adding energy to the environmental soup could have large effects. However, humankind has already added substantial amounts of electromagnetic energy into our environment without understanding what might constitute critical mass. The book by Begich and Manning raises questions:

* Have these additions been without effect, or is there a cumulative amount beyond which irreparable damage can be done?
* Is HAARP another step in a journey from which we cannot turn back?
* Are we about to embark on another energy experiment which unleashes another set of demons from Pandora's box?

As early as 1970, Zbigniew Brzezinski predicted a "more controlled and directed society" would gradually appear, linked to technology. This society would be dominated by an elite group which impresses voters by allegedly superior scientific know-how. Angels Don't Play This HAARP further quotes Brzezinski:

"Unhindered by the restraints of traditional liberal values, this elite would not hesitate to achieve its political ends by using the latest modern techniques for influencing public behavior and keeping society under close surveillance and control. Technical and scientific momentum would then feed on the situation it exploits," Brzezinski predicted.

His forecasts proved accurate. Today, a number of new tools for the "elite" are emerging, and the temptation to use them increases steadily. The policies to permit the tools to be used are already in place. How could the United States be changed, bit by bit, into the predicted highly-controlled technosociety? Among the "steppingstones" Brzezinski expected were persisting social crises and use of the mass media to gain the public's confidence.

In another document prepared by the government, the U.S. Air Force claims: "The potential applications of artificial electromagnetic fields are wide-ranging and can be used in many military or quasi-military situations... Some of these potential uses include dealing with terrorist groups, crowd control, controlling breaches of security at military installations, and antipersonnel techniques in tactical warfare. In all of these cases the EM (electromagnetic) systems would be used to produce mild to severe physiological disruption or perceptual distortion or disorientation. In addition, the ability of individuals to function could be degraded to such a point that they would be combat ineffective. Another advantage of electromagnetic systems is that they can provide coverage over large areas with a single system. They are silent and countermeasures to them may be difficult to develop... One last area where electromagnetic radiation may prove of some value is in enhancing abilities of individuals for anomalous phenomena."

Do these comments point to uses already somewhat developed? The author of the government report refers to an earlier Air Force document about the uses of radio frequency radiation in combat situations. (Here Begich and Manning note that HAARP is the most versatile and the largest radio-frequency-radiation transmitter in the world.)

The United States Congressional record deals with the use of HAARP for penetrating the earth with signals bounced off of the ionosphere. These signals are used to look inside the planet to a depth of many kilometers in order to locate underground munitions, minerals and tunnels. The U.S. Senate set aside $15 million dollars in 1996 to develop this ability alone -- earth-penetrating-tomography. The problem is that the frequency needed for earth-penetrating radiation is within the frequency range most cited for disruption of human mental functions. It may also have profound effects on migration patterns of fish and wild animals which rely on an undisturbed energy field to find their routes.

As if electromagnetic pulses in the sky and mental disruption were not enough, T. Eastlund bragged that the super-powerful ionospheric heater could control weather.

Begich and Manning brought to light government documents indicating that the military has weather-control technology. When HAARP is eventually built to its full power level, it could create weather effects over entire hemispheres. If one government experiments with the world's weather patterns, what is done in one place will impact everyone else on the planet. Angels Don't Play This HAARP explains a principle behind some of Nikola Tesla's inventions -- resonance -- which affect planetary systems.

Bubble of Electric Particles
Angels Don't Play This HAARP includes interviews with independent scientists such as Elizabeth Rauscher. She has a Ph.D., a long and impressive career in high-energy physics, and has been published in prestigious science journals and books. Rauscher commented on HAARP. "You're pumping tremendous energy into an extremely delicate molecular configuration that comprises these multi-layers we call the ionosphere."
"The ionosphere is prone to catalytic reactions," she explained, "if a small part is changed, a major change in the ionosphere can happen."

In describing the ionosphere as a delicately balanced system, Dr. Rauscher shared her mental picture of it -- a soap-bubble-like sphere surrounding Earth's atmosphere, with movements swirling over the surface of the bubble. If a big enough hole is punched through it, she predicts, it could pop.

Slicing the Ionosphere
Physicist Daniel Winter, Ph.D., of Waynesville, North Carolina, says, "HAARP high-frequency emissions can couple with longwave (extremely-low-frequency, or ELF) pulses the Earth grid uses to distribute information as vibrations to synchronize dances of life in the biosphere." Dan terms this geomagnetic action 'Earth's information bloodstream,' and says it is likely that coupling of HAARP HF (high-frequency) with natural ELF can cause unplanned, unsuspected side effects.

David Yarrow of Albany, New York, is a researcher with a background in electronics. He described possible interactions of HAARP radiation with the ionosphere and Earth's magnetic grid: "HAARP will not burn holes in the ionosphere. That is a dangerous understatement of what HAARP's giant gigawatt beam will do. Earth is spinning relative to thin electric shells of the multilayer membrane of ion-o-speres that absorb and shield Earth's surface from intense solar radiation, including charged particle storms in solar winds erupting from the sun. Earth's axial spin means that HAARP -- in a burst lasting more than a few minutes -- will slice through the ionosphere like a microwave knife. This produces not a hole but a long tear -- an incision."

Crudely Plucking the Strings
Second concept: As Earth rotates, HAARP will slice across the geomagnetic flux, a donut-shaped spool of magnetic strings -- like longitude meridians on maps.
HAARP may not 'cut' these strings in Gaia's magnetic mantle, but will pulse each thread with harsh, out-of-harmony high frequencies. These noisy impulses will vibrate geomagnetic flux lines, sending vibrations all through the geomagnetic web. "

"The image comes to mind of a spider on its web. An insect lands, and the web's vibrations alert the spider to possible prey. HAARP will be a man-made microwave finger poking at the web, sending out confusing signals, if not tearing holes in the threads. "
"Effects of this interference with symphonies of Gaia's geomagnetic harp are unknown, and I suspect barely thought of. Even if thought of, the intent (of HAARP) is to learn to exploit any effects, not to play in tune to global symphonies. "

Among other researchers quoted is Paul Schaefer of Kansas City. His degree is in electrical engineering and he spent four years building nuclear weapons. "But most of the theories that we have been taught by scientists to believe in seem to be falling apart," he says. He talks about imbalances already caused by the industrial and atomic age, especially by radiation of large numbers of tiny, high-velocity particles "like very small spinning tops" into our environment. The unnatural level of motion of highly-energetic particles in the atmosphere and in radiation belts surrounding Earth is the villain in the weather disruptions, according to this model, which describes an Earth discharging its buildup of heat, relieving stress and regaining a balanced condition through earthquakes and volcanic action.

Feverish Earth
"One might compare the abnormal energetic state of the Earth and its atmosphere to a car battery which has become overcharged with the normal flow of energy jammed up, resulting in hot spots, electrical arcing, physical cracks and general turbulence as the pent-up energy tries to find some place to go."

In a second analogy, Schaefer says "Unless we desire the death of our planet, we must end the production of unstable particles which are generating the earth's fever. A first priority to prevent this disaster would be to shut down all nuclear power plants and end the testing of atomic weapons, electronic warfare and 'Star Wars'." Meanwhile, the military builds its biggest ionospheric heater yet, to deliberately create more instabilities in a huge plasma layer -- the ionosphere -- and to rev up the energy level of charged particles.

Electronic Rain From The Sky
They have published papers about electron precipitation from the magnetosphere (the outer belts of charged particles which stream toward Earth's magnetic poles) caused by man-made very low frequency electromagnetic waves. "These precipitated particles can produce secondary ionization, emit X-rays, and cause significant perturbation in the lower ionosphere."

Two Stanford University radio scientists offer evidence of what technology can do to affect the sky by making waves on earth; they showed that very low frequency radio waves can vibrate the magnetosphere and cause high-energy particles to cascade into Earth's atmosphere. By turning the signal on or off, they could stop the flow of energetic particles.

Weather Control
Avalanches of energy dislodged by such radio waves could hit us hard. Their work suggests that technicians could control global weather by sending relatively small 'signals' into the Van Allen belts (radiation belts around Earth). Thus Tesla's resonance effects can control enormous energies by tiny triggering signals.
The Begich/ Manning book asks whether that knowledge will be used by war-oriented or biosphere-oriented scientists.

The military has had about twenty years to work on weather warfare methods, which it euphemistically calls weather modification. For example, rainmaking technology was taken for a few test rides in Vietnam. The U.S. Department of Defense sampled lightning and hurricane manipulation studies in Project Skyfire and Project Stormfury. And they looked at some complicated technologies that would give big effects. Angels Don't Play This HAARP cites an expert who says the military studied both lasers and chemicals which they figured could damage the ozone layer over an enemy. Looking at ways to cause earthquakes, as well as to detect them, was part of the project named Prime Argus, decades ago. The money for that came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, now under the acronym ARPA.) In 1994 the Air Force revealed its Spacecast 2020 master plan which includes weather control. Scientists have experimented with weather control since the 1940's, but Spacecast 2020 noted that "using environmental modification techniques to destroy, damage or injure another state are prohibited." Having said that, the Air Force claimed that advances in technology "compels a reexamination of this sensitive and potentially risky topic."

40 Years of Zapping the Sky?

As far back as 1958, the chief White House advisor on weather modification, Captain Howard T. Orville, said the U.S. defense department was studying "ways to manipulate the charges of the earth and sky and so affect the weather" by using an electronic beam to ionize or de-ionize the atmosphere over a given area.

In 1966, Professor Gordon J. F. MacDonald was associate director of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at the University of California, Los Angeles, was a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee, and later a member of the President's Council on Environmental Quality.

He published papers on the use of environmental-control technologies for military purposes. MacDonald made a revealing comment: "The key to geophysical warfare is the identification of environmental instabilities to which the addition of a small amount of energy would release vastly greater amounts of energy. " World-recognized scientist MacDonald had a number of ideas for using the environment as a weapon system and he contributed to what was, at the time, the dream of a futurist. When he wrote his chapter, "How To Wreck The Environment," for the book Unless Peace Comes, he was not kidding around. In it he describes the use of weather manipulation, climate modification, polar ice cap melting or destabilization, ozone depletion techniques, earthquake engineering, ocean wave control and brain wave manipulation using the planet's energy fields.

He also said that these types of weapons would be developed and, when used, would be virtually undetectable by their victims. Is HAARP that weapon? The military's intention to do environmental engineering is well documented, U.S. Congress' subcommittee hearings on Oceans and International Environment looked into military weather and climate modification conducted in the early 1970's. "What emerged was an awesome picture of far-ranging research and experimentation by the Department of Defense into ways environmental tampering could be used as a weapon," said another author cited in Angles Don't Play This HAARP.

The revealed secrets surprised legislators. Would an inquiry into the state of the art of electromagnetic manipulation surprise lawmakers today? They may find out that technologies developed out of the HAARP experiments in Alaska could deliver on Gordon MacDonald's vision because leading-edge scientists are describing global weather as not only air pressure and thermal systems, but also as an electrical system.

Small Input - Big Effect

HAARP zaps the ionosphere where it is relatively unstable. A point to remember is that the ionosphere is an active electrical shield protecting the planet from the constant bombardment of high-energy particles from space. This conducting plasma, along with Earth's magnetic field, traps the electrical plasma of space and holds it back from going directly to the earth's surface, says Charles Yost of Dynamic Systems, Leicester, North Carolina. "If the ionosphere is greatly disturbed, the atmosphere below is subsequently disturbed."

Another scientist interviewed said there is a super-powerful electrical connection between the ionosphere and the part of the atmosphere where our weather comes onstage, the lower atmosphere.

One man-made electrical effect -- power line harmonic resonance -- causes fallout of charged particles from the Van Allen (radiation) belts, and the falling ions cause ice crystals (which precipitate rain clouds). What about HAARP? Energy blasted upward from an ionospheric heater is not much compared to the total in the ionosphere, but HAARP documents admit that thousandfold-greater amounts of energy can be released in the ionosphere than injected. As with MacDonald's "key to geophysical warfare," "nonlinear" effects (described in the literature about the ionospheric heater) mean small input and large output. Astrophysicist Adam Trombly told Manning that an acupuncture model is one way to look at the possible effect of multi-gigawatt pulsing of the ionosphere. If HAARP hits certain points, those parts of the ionosphere could react in surprising ways.

Smaller ionospheric heaters such as the one at Arecibo are underneath relatively placid regions of the ionosphere, compared to the dynamic movements nearer Earth's magnetic poles. That adds another uncertainty to HAARP -- the unpredictable and lively upper atmosphere near the North Pole.

HAARP experimenters do not impress commonsense Alaskans such as Barbara Zickuhr, who says "They're like boys playing with a sharp stick, finding a sleeping bear and poking it in the butt to see what's going to happen."

Could They Short-Circuit Earth?
Earth as a spherical electrical system is a fairly well-accepted model. However, those experimenters who want to make unnatural power connections between parts of this system might not be thinking of possible consequences. Electrical motors and generators can be caused to wobble when their circuits are affected. Could human activities cause a significant change in a planet's electrical circuit or electrical field? A paper in the respected journal Science deals with manmade ionization from radioactive material, but perhaps it could also be studied with HAARP-type skybusters in mind:

"For example, while changes in the earth's electric field resulting from a solar flare modulating conductivity may have only a barely detectable effect on meteorology, the situation may be different in regard to electric field changes caused by manmade ionization... " Meteorology, of course, is the study of the atmosphere and weather. ionization is what happens when a higher level of power is zapped into atoms and knocks electrons off the atoms. The resulting charged particles are the stuff of HAARP. "One look at the weather should tell us that we are on the wrong path," says Paul Schaefer, commenting on HAARP-type technologies.

Angels Don't Play This HAARP: Advances in Tesla Technology is about the military's plan to manipulate that which belongs to the world -- the ionosphere. The arrogance of the United States government in this is not without precedent.

Atmospheric nuclear tests had similar goals. More recently, China and France put their people's money to destructive use in underground nuclear tests. It was recently reported that the US government spent $3 trillion dollars on its nuclear program since its beginnings in the 1940's. What new breakthroughs in life science could have been made with all the money spent on death?

Begich, Manning, Roderick and others believe that democracies need to be founded on openness, rather than the secrecy which surrounds so much military science. Knowledge used in developing revolutionary weapons could be used for healing and helping mankind. Because they are used in new weapons, discoveries are classified and suppressed. When they do appear in the work of other independent scientists, the new ideas are often frustrated or ridiculed, while military research laboratories continue to build their new machines for the killing fields.

However, the book by Manning and Begich gives hope that the military industrial academic bureaucratic Goliath can be affected by the combined power of determined individuals and the alternative press. Becoming informed is the first step to empowerment.

---------------

A story of interest in this matter, especially read the part in bold.

Taken from http://globalpsychics.com/enlightening-you/prophecy/red-skies.shtml

Originally told/written by Tom Brown Jr.

The Four Signs

Grandfather had been wandering for several years and was well into his forties when the Vision of the four signs was given to him. He had just finished his third Vision Quest at the Eternal Cave when the Vision made itself known. He had been seated at the mouth of the cave, awaiting the rising Sun, when the spirit of the warrior appeared to him. He felt as if he were in a state somewhere between dream and reality, sleep and wakefulness, until the spirit finally spoke and he knew that it was not his imagination. The spirit called Grandfather's name and beckoned him to follow.

As Grandfather stood, he was suddenly transported to another world. Again, he thought that he was dreaming, but his flesh could feel the reality of this place; his senses knew that this was a state of abject reality, but in another time and place.

The spirit warrior spoke to Grandfather. "These are the things yet to come that will mark the destruction of man. These things you may never see, but you must work to stop them and pass these warnings on to your grandchildren. They are the possible futures of what will come if man does not come back to the Earth and begin to obey the laws of Creation and the Creator. There are four signs, four warnings, that only the children of the Earth will understand. Each warning marks the beginning of a possible future, and as each warning becomes reality, so too does the future it marks."

With that, the spirit warrior was gone and Grandfather was left alone in this strange, new world.

The First Sign

The world he was in was like nothing he had ever known. It was a dry place with little vegetation. In the distance he saw a village, yet it was made out of tents and cloth rather than from the materials of the Earth. As he drew closer to the village, the stench of death overwhelmed him and he grew sick. He could hear children crying, the moaning of elders and the sounds of sickness and despair. Piles of bodies lay in open pits awaiting burial, their contorted faces and frail frames telling of death from starvation. The bodies appeared more like skeletons than flesh, and children, adults and elders all looked the same, their once dark-brown complexions now ash-grey. As Grandfather entered the village, the horror of living starvation struck him deeper. Children could barely walk, elders lay dying, and everywhere were the cries of pain and fear. The stench of death and the sense of hopelessness overwhelmed Grandfather, threatening to drive him from the village.

It was then that an elder appeared to Grandfather, at first speaking in a language that he could not understand. Grandfather realized, as the elder spoke, that he was the spirit of a man-a man no longer of flesh, but a man who had once walked a spiritual path, possibly a shaman of this tribe. It was then that he understood what the old one was trying to tell him.

The elder spoke softly. "Welcome to what will be called the 'land of starvation'. The world will one day look upon all of this with horror and will blame the famine on the weather and the Earth. This will be the first warning to the world that man cannot live beyond the laws of Creation, nor can he fight Nature. If the world sees that it is to blame for this famine, this senseless starvation, then a great lesson will be learned. But I am afraid that the world will not blame itself, but that the blame will be placed on Nature. The world will not see that it created this place of death by forcing these people to have larger families. When the natural laws of the land were broken, the people starved, as Nature starves the deer in winter when their numbers are too many for the land to bear."

The old one continued. "These people should have been left alone. They once understood how to live with the Earth, and their wealth was measured in happiness, love and peace. But all of that was taken from them when the world saw theirs as a primitive society. It was then that the world showed them how to farm and live in a less primitive way. It was the world that forced them to live outside the laws of Creation and, as a result, is now forcing them to die."

The old man slowly began to walk away, back to the death and despair. He turned one last time to Grandfather, and said: "This will be the first sign. There will come starvation before and after this starvation, but none will capture the attention of the world with such impact as does this one. The children of the Earth will know the lessons that are held in all of this pain and death, but the world will only see it as drought and famine, blaming Nature instead of itself."

With that, the old one disappeared, and Grandfather found himself back at the mouth of the Eternal Cave.

[Author's note: This is the great African famine that inspired the Bob Geldof "We are the World" Live Aid relief effort.]

Grandfather lay back on the ground, thinking about what he had witnessed. He knew that it had been a Vision of the possible future and that the spirit of the warrior had brought him to it to teach him what could happen. Grandfather knew that people all over the Earth were now starving-but why was this starvation so critical, so much more important than all the rest, even more important than the starvation that was taking place now?

It was then that Grandfather recalled that the tribal elder had said that the entire world would take notice, but that the world would not learn the lessons of what the death and famine were trying to teach. The children would die in vain.

Grandfather looked out across the barren land that surrounded the Eternal Cave to try to re-establish the reality of his 'now'. He said that it was still hard to discern between waking reality and the world of Vision, but he felt that he was back into his time and place.

He told me that the Eternal Cave was always a place to find Visions of the possible and probable futures, and it was not uncommon for the searcher to have a Vision at the mouth of the cave, not just inside.

In a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, Grandfather fell into a deep sleep, but it was in this sleep that the warrior spirit appeared to him again and brought the remainder of the first sign to completion.

In his dream, the spirit spoke to Grandfather. "It is during the years of the famine, the first sign, that man will be plagued by a disease, a disease that will sweep the land and terrorise the masses. The white coats [doctors/scientists] will have no answers for the people, and a great cry will arise across the land. The disease will be born of monkeys, drugs and sex. It will destroy man from inside, making common sickness a killing disease. Mankind will bring this disease upon himself as a result of his life, his worship of sex and drugs, and a life away from Nature. This, too, is a part of the first warning; but, again, man will not heed this warning and he will continue to worship the false gods of sex and the unconscious spirit of drugs." [Author's note: This is presumably a reference to AIDS.]

The spirit continued. "The drugs will produce wars in the cities of man, and the nations will arise against those wars, arise against that killing disease. But the nations will fight in the wrong way, lashing out at the effect rather than the cause. It will never win these wars until the nation, until society, changes its values and stops chasing the gods of sex and drugs. It is then, in the years of the first sign, that man can change the course of the probable future. It is then that he may understand the greater lessons of the famine and the disease. It is then that there can still be hope. But once the second sign of destruction appears, the Earth can no longer be healed on a physical level. Only a spiritual healing can then change the course of the probable futures of mankind."

With that, the warrior spirit let Grandfather fall into a deep and dreamless sleep, allowing him to rest fully before any more Vision was wrought upon him.

The Second Sign

Grandfather awoke at the entrance of the cave once again, the memory of the warrior spirit still vivid in his mind, the spirit's words becoming part of his soul.

When Grandfather looked out across the landscape, all had changed. The landscape appeared drier; there was no vegetation to be seen, and animals lay dying. A great stench of death arose from the land, and the dust was thick and choking, the intense heat oppressive. Looking skyward, the Sun seemed to be larger and more intense; no birds or clouds could be seen, and the air seemed thicker still. It was then that the sky seemed to surge and huge holes began to appear. The holes tore with a resounding, thunderous sound, and the very Earth, rocks and soil shook.

The skin of the sky seemed to be torn open like a series of gaping wounds, and through these wounds seeped a liquid that seemed like the oozing of an infection, a great sea of floating garbage, oil and dead fish. It was through one of these wounds that Grandfather saw the floating bodies of dolphins, accompanied by tremendous upheavals of the Earth and violent storms. As he held fast to the trembling Earth, his eyes fell from the sky, and all about him, all at once, was disaster. Piles of garbage reached to the skies, forests lay cut and dying, coastlines were flooded and storms grew more violent and thunderous. With each passing moment, the Earth shook with greater intensity, threatening to tear apart and swallow Grandfather.

Suddenly the Earth stopped shaking and the sky cleared. Out of the dusty air walked the warrior spirit, who stopped a short distance from Grandfather. As Grandfather looked into the face of the spirit, he could see that there were great tears flowing from his eyes, and each tear fell to the Earth with a searing sound.

The spirit looked at Grandfather for a long moment, then finally spoke. "Holes in the sky."

Grandfather thought for a moment, then, in a questioning, disbelieving manner, said, "Holes in the sky?"

And the spirit answered. "They will become the second sign of the destruction of man. The holes in the sky and all that you have seen could become man's reality. It is here, at the beginning of this second sign, that man can no longer heal the Earth with physical action. It is here that man must heed the warning and work harder to change the future at hand. But man must not only work physically, he must also work spiritually, through prayer, for only through prayer can man now hope to heal the Earth and himself."

There was a long pause as Grandfather thought about the impossibility of holes in the sky. Surely Grandfather knew that there could be a spiritual hole, but a hole that the societies of the Earth could notice would hardly seem likely.

The spirit drew closer and spoke again, almost in a whisper. "These holes are a direct result of man's life, his travel, and of the sins of his grandfathers and grandmothers. These holes, the second sign, will mark the killing of his grandchildren and will become a legacy to man's life away from Nature. It is the time of these holes that will mark a great transition in mankind's thinking. They will then be faced with a choice-a choice to continue following the path of destruction, or a choice to move back to the philosophy of the Earth and a simpler existence. It is here that the decision must be made, or all will be lost."

Without another word, the spirit turned and walked back into the dust.

The Third Sign

Grandfather spent the next four days at the cave entrance, though for those four days nothing spoke to him, not even the Earth. He said that it was a time of great sorrow, of aloneness, and a time to digest all that had taken place.

He knew that these things would not appear in his lifetime, but they had to be passed down to the people of the future with the same urgency and power with which they had been delivered to him. But he did not know how he would explain these unlikely events to anyone. Surely the elders and shamans of the tribes would understand, but not society, and certainly not anyone who was removed from the Earth and Spirit.

He sat for the full four days, unmoving, as if made of stone, and his heart felt heavy with the burden he now carried.

It was at the end of the fourth day that the third Vision came to him. As he gazed out onto the landscape towards the setting Sun, the sky suddenly turned to a liquid and then turned blood-red. As far as his eyes could see, the sky was solid red, with no variation in shadow, texture or light. The whole of Creation seemed to have grown still, as if awaiting some unseen command. Time, place and destiny seemed to be in limbo, stilled by the bleeding sky. He gazed for a long time at the sky, in a state of awe and terror, for the red colour of the sky was like nothing he had ever seen in any sunset or sunrise. The colour was that of man, not of Nature, and it had a vile stench and texture. It seemed to burn the Earth wherever it touched. As sunset drifted to night, the stars shone bright red, the colour never leaving the sky, and everywhere the cries of fear and pain were heard.

Again, the warrior spirit appeared to Grandfather, but this time as a voice from the sky. Like thunder, the voice shook the landscape. "This, then, is the third sign, the night of the bleeding stars. It will become known throughout the world, for the sky in all lands will be red with the blood of the sky, day and night. It is then, with this sign of the third probable future, that there is no longer hope. Life on the Earth as man has lived it will come to an end, and there can be no turning back, physically or spiritually. It is then, if things are not changed during the second sign, that man will surely know the destruction of the Earth is at hand. It is then that the children of the Earth must run to the wild places and hide. For when the sky bleeds fire, there will be no safety in the world of man."

Grandfather sat in shocked horror as the voice continued.

"From this time, when the stars bleed, to the fourth and final sign, will be four seasons of peace [that is, one year]. It is in these four seasons that the children of the Earth must live deep in the wild places and find a new home, close to the Earth and the Creator. It is only the children of the Earth that will survive, and they must live the philosophy of the Earth, never returning to the thinking of man. And survival will not be enough, for the children of the Earth must also live close to the Spirit. So tell them not to hesitate if and when this third sign becomes manifest in the stars, for there are but four seasons to escape."

Grandfather said that the voice and red sky lingered for a week, and then were gone as quickly as they were manifest.

The Fourth Sign

He did not remember how many days he'd spent at the mouth of the cave, nor did it make a difference, for he had received the Vision he had come for.

It was in his final night at the Eternal Cave that the fourth Vision came to Grandfather, this time carried by the voice of a young child.

The child said, "The fourth and final sign will appear through the next ten winters [that is, ten years] following the night that the stars will bleed. During this time, the Earth will heal itself and man will die. For those ten years, the children of the Earth must remain hidden in the wild places, make no permanent camps, and wander to avoid contact with the last remaining forces of man. They must remain hidden, like the ancient scouts, and fight the urge to go back to the destruction of man. Curiosity could kill many."

There was a long silence, until Grandfather spoke to the child spirit, asking, "And what will happen to the worlds of man?"

There was another period of silence until finally the child spoke again. "There will be a great famine throughout the world, like man cannot imagine. Waters will run vile, the poisons of man's sins running strong in the waters of the soils, lakes and rivers. Crops will fail, the animals of man will die, and disease will kill the masses. The grandchildren will feed upon the remains of the dead, and all about will be the cries of pain and anguish. Roving bands of men will hunt and kill other men for food, and water will always be scarce, getting scarcer with each passing year. The land, the water, the sky will all be poisoned, and man will live in the wrath of the Creator. Man will hide at first in the cities, but there he will die. A few will run to the wilderness, but the wilderness will destroy them, for they had long ago been given a choice. Man will be destroyed, his cities in ruin, and it is then that the grandchildren will pay for the sins of their grandfathers and grandmothers."

"Is there then no hope?" Grandfather asked.

The child spoke again. "There is only hope during the time of the first and second signs. Upon the third sign, the night of the bleeding, there is no longer hope, for only the children of the Earth will survive. Man will be given these warnings; if unheeded, there can be no hope, for only the children of the Earth will purge themselves of the cancers of mankind, of mankind's destructive thinking. It will be the children of the Earth who will bring a new hope to the new society, living closer to the Earth and Spirit."

Then all was silent, the landscape cleared and returned to normal, and Grandfather stepped from the Vision. Shaken, he said that he had wandered for the next season, trying to understand all that had been given to him, trying to understand why he had been chosen.

Grandfather had related the story to me in great detail during that night of the four prophecies. I don't think that any event had been left out, and his emotions and thoughts were such that he actually relived it for us. Thus the power of his Vision became part of our spirit, our driving force, and a big part of our fears.

I sat for a long time up on the hill. The fire had gone out, and all had retired to sleep for the night. Creation seemed to be at a standstill, awaiting this darkest part of the night to pass by. I felt alone and vulnerable, as if all of Creation were scrutinizing my every thought.

Grandfather had this Vision some time in the 1920s.

--------------

Ever since the Haiti earthquake last week, I keep having this sickening feeling that it was a deliberate event. There are no real reasons that I am thinking this other than the research I have done in the past few years reading about HAARP. I have also been thinking about Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka, the huge earthquake that hit China right before the olympics. All of these events hit the poorest of the poor in the world, the "useless eaters" as Henry Kissinger would call them. Now maybe this is just a reality in the world that those who are the poorest in the world have the hardest time dealing with disaster as it comes.

Let us consider this idea for just a moment though. If you were a part of a ruling class who had a fancy new weapon of mass destruction, wouldn't you want to test it out? And how would you test it? Would you hit those who were your peers? Your family and friends? Hell no!

And lets add another piece to this puzzle. Let's say that you and your elitist buddies have stated that the world is overpopulated. That 95% of the people on the earth are "useless eaters." You and your kin consider these people expendable. Unworthy of life. Chaff for the fire so to speak.

And lets say that the most brilliant thing about your fancy new weapon of mass destruction is that when you use it, no one recognizes it because the event of destruction looks like a "natural disaster."

Just think about. Think evil for just a moment. Put yourself in the shoes of those of the lowest spiritual order. The ones detached from even the smallest amount of empathy, if you are able.

God be with us all and especially the poor people in the world, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

A Must See Video!

2010-01-08T08:07:00.002-05:00

Absolutely incredible. At a time when we are seeing incredible hardship loaded on the people of this country, we have unprecedented growth behind government lines. How brilliant would it be for a government to have fooled its people to the point when they don't even know they are living in communist government and in fact believe they live in a democratic free market government.

Why is it that WE BELIEVE that it is right and good for our governments to extort 40% of our LIVELIHOOD, that which makes it possible for us to live on? One cannot take a shit without paying someone to flush it. Increasingly we are required to fall in line or face the consequences. In the state of West Virginia, we have to pay tax of 3% on the food we buy. The Boston Tea Party, recognized by most as the one of the pivotal events that led to the Revolutionary War and the founding of the United States of America, was a protest against a 3% taxation by the British on tea.

So why do I continue to pay taxes? Why do you continue to pay taxes? One word, FEAR. We all have bought the lie, swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. We accept as the norm that our government, the government supposedly of, by, and for the people, has the right and obligation to force each and every one of us to turn over a significant portion of our livelihood to said government, whether it be local, state, and/or federal. What would happen if we all refused to pay? Can they imprison all of us at the same time? If the police don't pay, will they arrest themselves?

Just some questions to ponder with your morning tea.

Take me home

2009-05-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Almost heaven, west virginia
Blue ridge mountains
Shenandoah river -
Life is old there Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growin like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

All my memories gathered round her
Miners lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice
In the mornin hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin down the road I get a feelin
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
Take me home, now country roads
Take me home, now country roads

John Denver "Country Road, Take Me Home"

So I've made it to my new home, Harrisville, West Virginia. It's a small town (only one traffic light in town, one grocery store, a couple of gas stations, Berdine's - the General Store, some special places, a state park, rail trails, lots of churches - non of which I am interested in). You may ask, "Why would a 28 year old, highly educated, modern woman want to live in the land of old ways." Well, I'm not really sure myself. All I know is that she has been calling me. The hills have been calling me home for a while now. The only thing different from now till then is that I CHOSE to listen. I am creating my life with intention and purpose. My purposes here are many. I will learn to garden, to can, to take it easy and enjoy the rain. The pace of life here can be slower, if one so chooses. And space, green lush space. Stars at night clear and bright. No doubt there's potential for hard times here too. West Virginia has beaten by the culture for years. And her economy has been down for so long. But in these times, would you want to be in a place that has seen hard times long enough to know what to do? Most of all, I hope I can clear my heart and then my mind in this place. In the end, I want to look back and say that I did a little better each day to live in harmony with the truth and in love with my neighbor and my enemy. If I can say that, then contentment is acheived.

Peace to you all. I have truely amazing friends, some who are receiving me, some who are releasing me, and most who are praying in their hearts, all of whom love and care for me. I am so grateful for the love and care and the willingness to go gracefully into the change that I bring. You are my heart.

Stay tuned in. I will write more about this journey as time goes by. Maybe even post a few gardening and canning tips as they come to me :-) The image is of that house where I will be living. Google maps had a street view!

A must see video

2009-03-24T00:35:00.000-05:00

BOOKS FOR SALE!

2009-03-21T12:01:00.001-05:00

Hi All,

At the bottom is a list of books I have for sale. Most of them are books I bought for my seminary work (plus some extras of course :-). There are 120 books altogether that I am selling. The majority of them are in very good to new condition. I am asking only $5 per book on most of them. For the commentaries I would like $10 each. Some of the books are only $2 (these are older books that aren't worth much unless you are interested in the information). If you are interested in any of these and/or have questions, please message me. I am moving and I am tired of moving all of these books.

As far as shipping/delivery, if you live in the Dayton/Cincinnati area, we can arrange for pick-up so that shipping isn't necessary. If you live elsewhere, I can mail them to you as cheap as I can find.

So, if you or someone you know is a book lover, buy some books for a good price. Feel free to pass this along to others who may be interested.

Thanks,
Cortney

---------------
Click HERE for a pdf version.

$2 Books
Women of Christendom
Really Old Book in rough shape

The Biblical vision of Sabbath economics
Ched Myers

Fat is a Feminist Issue
Susie Orbach

Some old Hymnals

The Great Religions of the Modern World
Edward J., Editor Jurji
(Old Book)

Symbols of the Church

$5 Books
The Amnesty of Grace: Justification by Faith from a Latin American Perspective
Elsa Tamez

Ancient Christian Gospels
Helmut Koester

The Angry Christian: A Theology for Care and Counseling
Andrew D. Lester

Archaeology, History, and Society in Galilee
Richard A. Horsley

Art in Service of the Sacred
Catherine Kapikian

Beyond the Big Bang: Quantum Cosmologies and God
Willem B. Drees

The Bible with Sources Revealed
Richard E. Friedman

A Black Theology of Liberation
James H. Cone

Blessings for the Fast Paced and Cyberspaced
William John Fitzgerald

Breakthrough (Image Books)
Matthew Fox

C.S. Lewis for the Third Millennium : Six Essays on the Abolition of Man
Peter Kreeft

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
Richard J. Foster

Christ and Culture
H. Richard Niebuhr

Christian Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Ages
Ursula King

The Creative Spirit: Harmonious Living with Hildegard of Bingen
June Tillman & June Boyce-Tillman

Difference & Identity: A Theological Anthropology
Ian A. McFarland

Dirty Hands: Christian Ethics in a Morally Ambiguous World
Garth Kasimu Baker-Fletcher

Earth Habitat: Eco-Injustice and the Church's Response
Dieter Hessel and Larry Rasmussen, Editors

The End of the World: A History
Otto Friedrich

Entering Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle: A Reader's Companion
Gillian T. W. Ahlgren

Envisioning The Word: The Use Of Visual Images in Preaching
Richard A. Jensen

Eyes to See Wholeness: Visual Arts Informing Biblical and Theological Studies in Education and Worship Through the Church Year
Doug Adams

The Faith Of The Christian Church: An Introduction to Theology
Tyron Inbody

The Faith We Sing: Singers Edition

Faith Works : How to Live Your Beliefs and Ignite Positive Social Change
Jim Wallis

Genesis
Bill Moyers

God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality
Phyllis Trible

God and the Victim: Theological Reflections on Evil, Victimization, Justice, and Forgiveness
Lisa Barnes Lampman, Editor

God-Christ-Church
Majorie Suchocki

God of the Oppressed
James H. Cone

God-the World's Future: Systematic Theology for a Postmodern Era
Ted Peters

Good News Bible
Hardback– New Edition

Great Biblical Characters: Illustrated Profiles of…
Corinne Bonnet & Paolo Xella

A Handbook of Theological Terms
Van A. Harvey

Healing the Broken Heart: Sin, Alienation, and the Gift of Grace
Susan L. Nelson

Hildegard of Bingen: Inspired Conscience of the Twelfth Century
Regine Pernoud

The Historical Figure of Jesus
E. P. Sanders

The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide
Gerd Theissen & Annette Merz

History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel (New Testament Library)
J. Louis Martyn

If God Is Love : Rediscovering Grace in an Ungracious World
Philip Gulley & James Mulholland
Hardback, signed by Mulholland

If Grace Is True : Why God Will Save Every Person
Philip Gulley & James Mulholland

Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy (Studies in the History of Sexuality)
Judith C. Brown

In God's Presence: Theological Reflections on Prayer
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki

In Her Words: Women's Writings in the History of Christian Thought
Amy Oden

Inside LightWave 8
Dan Ablan

Introduction to Theology
Owen C. Thomas & Ellen K. Wondra

A Journey Through Christian Theology: With Texts from the First to the Twenty-First Century
William P. Anderson and Richard L. Diesslin

Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality)
Edmund Colledge & James Walsh & Jean Leclercq

The Land: Place As Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith
Walter Brueggemann

A Layman's Guide to Protestant Theology
William E. Hordern

The Many Faces of Christology
Tyron Inbody

Matthew's Christian-Jewish Community
Anthony J. Saldarini

The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions
Marcus J. Borg & N Wright

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
Marcus J. Borg

The Message Remix
Eugene H. Peterson

Micah: Volume XXIB (Forms of the Old Testament Literature Series)
Ehud Ben Zvi

More Ready Than You Realize
Brian D. McLaren

Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology
F. C. Happold

A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith is Dying and How a New Faith is Being Borm
John Shelby Spong

A New Handbook of Christian Theologians
Donald W. Musser and Joseph L. Price, Editors

The New Testament in Modern English
J.B. Philips

NIV Study Bible

No Sense of Place : The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior
Joshua Meyrowitz

The Other Side of Silence: A Guide to Christian Meditation
Morton T. Kelsey

The Other Side of Sin: Woundedness from the Perspective of the Sinned-Against
Andrew Sung Park and Susan L. Nelson, Editors

Our Spiritual Brain: Integrating Brain Research and Faith Development
Barbara Bruce

The Oxford History of Christianity
John McManners

The Oxford History of the Biblical World
Michael D. Coogan

Philosophical Introduction to Theology
J. Deotis Roberts

Philosophy of Religion
David Elton Trueblood

Postmodernism and Public Policy: Reframing Religion, Culture, Sexuality, Class, Race, Politics, and the Economy
John B. Cobb

Quarks Chaos & Christianity : Questions to Science and Religion
John Polkinghorne

Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective
Andrew Sung Park

The Ragamuffin Gospel Visual Edition : Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-up, and Burnt Out
Brennan Manning

Readings in the History of Christian Theology: From Its Beginnings to the Eve of the Reformation (Readings in the History of Christian Theology Vol. I)
William C. Placher

Readings in the History of Christian Theology: From the Reformation to the Present (Readings in the History of Christian Theology Vol. II)
William C. Placher

Religion and Science (Gifford Lectures Series)
Ian G. Barbour

Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross-Cultural Reader
S. Brent Plate, Editor

Resisting State Violence: Radicalicism, Gender, and Race in U.S. Culture
Joy James

The Revelation of Divine Love in Sixteen Showings Made to Dame Julian of Norwich (Triumph Classics)
(A Liguori Classic)

A Sacred Voice Is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience
John Neafsey

Sadhu Sundar Singh: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)
Charles E. Moore & Sundar Singh

Savage Energies : Lessons of Myth and Ritual in Ancient Greece
Walter Burkert
Sexism and God-Talk: Toward a Feminist Theology
Ruether Rosemary Radford

Sheer Joy: Conversations With Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox

Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the the First Century to the Present
Bernhard Lohse

Single-Camera Video Production, Third Edition
Robert B. Musburger

The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God
Tex Sample

Symbols of Jesus : A Christology of Symbolic Engagement
Robert Cummings Neville

Television Field Production and Reporting
Frederick Shook

Teresa of Avila: Interior Castle (Classics of Western Spirituality)
Otillo Rodriguez

Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives
Phyllis Trible

Theology and the Arts: Encountering God Through Music, Art, and Rhetoric
Richard Viladesau

A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation
Gustavo Gutierrez

Turn My Heart: A Sacred Journey from Brokenness to Healing
Marty Haugen & Susan Briehl

Understanding Movies
Louis Giannetti

Video Production: Disciplines and Techniques
Thomas D. Burrows, Lynne Schafer S Gross, James C. Foust, and Donald N. Wood

Virtual Faith : The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X
Tom Beaudoin

Visual Leadership: The Church Leader As Imagesmith
Rob Weber

Warriors of the Lord: The Military Orders of Christendom
Michael J. Walsh

The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology
Alan Richardson and John Bowden, Editors

The Whispered Word: A Theology of Preaching
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki

Who Killed Jesus? : Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus
John Dominic Crossan

The Will of God
Leslie D. Weatherhead

With One Voice: A Lutheran Resource for Worship
The Women's Bible Commentary – expanded edition – with Apocrypha
Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, Editors

Written that You May Believe, Revised and Expanded: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel
Sandra Schneiders

$10 Books
The Epistles of John (Anchor Bible)
Raymond E. Brown

The Gospel According to John I-XII (Anchor Bible)
Raymond E. Brown

The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Anchor Bible)
Raymond E. Brown

Isaiah (Old Testament Library)
Brevard S. Childs

Isaiah 1-39: With an Introduction to Prophetic…
Marvin A. Sweeney
Isaiah - Philosophy

Isaiah 40-55 : A New Translation with Introduction to Prophetic Literature (Forms of the Old Testament Literature)
Joseph Blenkinsopp

Isaiah 56-66 : A New Translation with Introduction to Prophetic Literature (Forms of the Old Testament Literature)
Joseph Blenkinsopp

Paul, the Fool of Christ: A Study of 1 Corinthians 1-4 in the Comic-philosophic Tradition (The Library of New Testament Studies)
L. L. Welborn

Reading the Old Testament : Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac)
Barry L. Bandstra

God help us!

2009-01-20T00:51:00.002-05:00

Take this however you will. For my whole life, I have known I was put here/chose to come here/whatever to do something to help the people of the earth or at the very least, my immediate sphere of influence. You, if you are reading this, are one of those in my sphere of influence. You may know me, you may just be an acquaintance, you may not know me at all. No matter who you are or what you think about me - listen! I am an honest person. All I can tell you about this information is that for me, when I watch and listen and read, it resonates. It makes sense. We are not separate, we are one. Consciousness connects us all. Many of us are so lulled into unconsciousness by what we watch on television and in the media.

For many years now, I have been downloading information into my brain. This information is vast and of varying importance. In the past week and a half, I have been hyper focused and acquiring information at a very quick rate. I have become much more aware of the forces at work in the world, the powers of destruction and the powers of creation. Take a moment and prepare yourself to receive this very challenging and disturbing information. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Put the barriers in your mind away for the moment and simply listen/read/know.

We are under assault by the powers of darkness, the Order of Death, the shadow government. Their goal is to decrease the population of the world by 2 to 4 billion, leaving only the elite, and even some of them will be sacrificed. It sounds to horrible to be true right?

Watch this video:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/lmoret.htm
And then watch this video:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/lmoret2.htm

This is just a start. Next watch this video:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/slewis.htm
Then listen to this:
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=181830&cmd=apop

That's a lot to take in and a lot of time I know but we are talking about YOUR LIFE! I cannot stress this enough. I do not care what you think of me. Write me off as a lunatic or whatever. My purpose is to pass this information on.

Some very important videos: David Icke
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/dicke.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/dicke2.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/dicke2.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/dicke3.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/dicke5.htm

The life is being sucked out of us in every way. Take a look at your life. Do you have the energy you need to get through the day? Do you have the money you need to support your life? How much REAL personal choice do you really have?

More videos:
Past and Future Regression Therapy:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/csnow.htm
The Terror Conspiracy:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/jmarrs.htm
Mind Control:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/mphillips.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/cobrien.htm
The Big Picture:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/ggreen.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/ggreen2.htm
Cell Phones and RFID chips:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/nbegich.htm
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/nbegich2.htm
HAARP:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/jsmith.htm

There are even more on this wonderful site:
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com

Do with it what you will.

Love Cortney

The truth about Israel and Palestine

2009-01-17T12:05:00.002-05:00

Just wanted share this link with you all.

http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/19027

Inaguration of Hope?

2009-01-15T10:19:00.002-05:00

Interesting video here

An article about mind-control and Obama:
http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/18281

My point - what does "hope" mean to Obama? What does "change" mean to Obama? "Believe" in what? I think we have been fooled by our own projections and the projections of the media.

We'll see. We the People absolutely MUST be clear about our own intentions in this country and in this world. Don't be "sheeple"!

Earthbag architecture - a beautiful thing.

2009-01-14T06:44:00.003-05:00

All I need is a small piece of land and a open-minded code office.

Why I like to paint trees

2009-01-13T11:44:00.009-05:00

I have always felt a spiritual connection with nature and especially trees. I feel more at home with myself when I am in nature. I often make trees and abstracted natural environments in my paintings. There is beauty and poetry in the trees. They sing to us if we listen and they dance with the wind, just like our hair. Here's an article about trees from http://www.pleiadians.com/sample_ptimes3.html

THE MAGICAL MYSTERY OF TREES
By Karen Marciniak

As nature reawakens in spring I find myself awed and energized as I feel the frequency this wondrous transformation produces. Here in North Carolina the redbud tree with its lavender flowers heralds the arrival of the season, followed soon after by the white petals of the dogwood. As these two woodland companions brighten the landscape, I perceive a magical energy beginning to stir.

Most of us are so accustomed to seeing trees that we take them for granted. Often we forget they are fundamental to our life on Earth: They act as our planet's lungs, absorbing carbon dioxide and returning to us life-giving oxygen. Trees provide us with food, raw materials for our homes, heating, shade in the summer, warmth in winter — and they beautify our environments year-round.

Trees are allies and a continuous reminder of the richness and power that the living library of nature holds. In this day and age, however, we have forgotten our bond with these powerful entities because our current way of living is not designed to help nurture or revive this connection.

Our ancestors were intimately connected to the landscape; they revered nature and noted the seasonal changes and intuitively knew that everything held its own magical meaning, especially trees. They approached trees with respect because they knew these entities — who resided in the underworld, the earth and the heavens simultaneously — were endowed with their own form of consciousness. Trees are the longest-lived and largest plant form on Earth, and through history have been acknowledged as symbols of power, wisdom, fertility, and life.

The famous Biblical stories of the tree of life and the tree of knowledge are two archetypal views of the tree, which can be found in mythical traditions and spiritual teachings from cultures the world over. Ancient people believed trees to be infused with an abundance of divine creative energy that could be consciously harnessed by the adept, allowing access to other states of being. Thus, groves of trees were revered in many ancient civilizations, considered a place of reflection where quiet encounters with supernatural forces and beings could take place. Trees growing in rings were used by the Celts as sites for their rituals and ceremonies. Cultures in Asia and Australia regarded trees as mythical ancestors frozen into a vegetable form, believing one could tap into their wisdom.

Over time, different species of trees acquired culture-specific significance. To Buddhists the bodhi, or fig-tree, is considered a symbol of enlightenment, as it was under this type of tree that the Buddha had his spiritual awakening.

The great cedars of Lebanon, prized for their durability, were said to be used by King Solomon in the construction of the great Temple in Jerusalem. The oracular priestesses in Delphi chewed leaves of the laurel tree before opening their minds to receive cosmic wisdom. And the mighty oak, a symbol of immortality and endurance, was revered by the Druids, who ate its acorns before making prophecies.

In my life I have experienced memorable encounters with a variety of trees. However, the best tree story I know involves a dear friend named Henry, who passed from this life several years ago. Henry was a wise, caring, and colorful character who over the years helped many people with their spiritual awakening. With a sweet grin on his face he would often remark, "When it's time for me to leave this world, I'm going to slip out of my body just like I'm slipping out of my jacket."

As Henry said this, he would dramatize his statement by removing his jacket in an effortless, fluid fashion, holding it up, and then gracefully dropping it to the floor. One fall day, Henry who was in his 80's, and in good health, was out delivering telephone books. As I was later told, at some point he sat down under a tree to rest and for Henry that was the end of this reality — he quietly slipped away. When they found Henry, he was leaning up against the tree's trunk, a smile on his face. It seems when his time came, Henry intuitively used a tree to transcend this reality.

Recalling stories such as Henry's and my own tree memories makes me wonder: What will have to happen before our culture is able to rekindle its connection to these majestic entities? Perhaps, as our lives go faster and faster, and we are more easily thrown off-center, we will realize that an antidote to the madness of life can be a visit to the woods; where a few hours spent in the company of trees, or a special tree, can bring a rich harvest of inner discoveries and understanding.

When I take a walk in nature I allow myself to be led to a tree and I send an inner greeting to show my respect and appreciation. As I approach the trunk of the tree, I sometimes sit facing it, or I get close and lean against it. I relax, breath deep, and calm my mind, allowing myself to become one with the tree. At times, in the deep silence, I quickly become aware of how fully alive and powerfully present the tree is, and I feel an all-encompassing connection to the web of existence. As I have come to know, appreciate and revel the mysteries of a tree, I have in turn developed a closer connection to the mysteries within myself.

* All of the images above are painting I have created with trees as primary subject matter. I am more interested in the spiritual nature of trees in these paintings than their particular species or type of tree. Realism is not the goal in my paintings - ever.

2009-01-08T09:10:00.002-05:00

The 'misunderestimated' president?

All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue in the heat of the moment - and President George W Bush has made more than most. The word "Bushism" has been coined to label his occasional verbal lapses during eight years in office, which come to an end on 20 January. Here are some of his most memorable pronouncements.

ON HIMSELF
"They misunderestimated me."
Bentonville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000

''I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right." Rome, 22 July, 2001

"There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again."
Nashville, Tennessee, 17 September, 2002

"There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead."
Washington DC, 11 May, 2001

"I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."
Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May, 2004

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
"For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times."
Tokyo, 18 February, 2002

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself."
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 29 January, 2003

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Washington DC, 5 August, 2004

"I think war is a dangerous place."
Washington DC, 7 May, 2003

"The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the - the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice."
Washington DC, 27 October, 2003

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat."
Washington DC, 17 September, 2004

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."
CBS News, Washington DC, 6 September, 2006

EDUCATION
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
Florence, South Carolina, 11 January, 2000

"Reading is the basics for all learning."
Reston, Virginia, 28 March, 2000

"As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards."
CNN, 30 August, 2000

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''
Townsend, Tennessee, 21 February, 2001

ECONOMICS
"I understand small business growth. I was one."
New York Daily News, 19 February, 2000

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."
Reuters, 5 May, 2000

"I do remain confident in Linda. She'll make a fine Labour Secretary. From what I've read in the press accounts, she's perfectly qualified."
Austin, Texas, 8 January, 2001

"First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill."
Washington DC, 19 May, 2003

HEALTHCARE
"I don't think we need to be subliminable about the differences between our views on prescription drugs."
Orlando, Florida, 12 September, 2000

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."
Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 6 September, 2004

TECHNOLOGY
"Will the highways on the internet become more few?"
Concord, New Hampshire, 29 January, 2000

"It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber."
Washington DC, 10 April, 2002

"Information is moving. You know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."
Washington DC, 2 May, 2007

OUT OF LEFT FIELD
"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."
Saginaw, Michigan, 29 September, 2000

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, 18 October, 2000

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
Tucson, Arizona, 28 November, 2005

"That's George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three - three or four books about him last year. Isn't that interesting?"
Speaking to reporter Kai Diekmann, Washington DC, 5 May, 2006

ON GOVERNING
"I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together."
Bartlett, Tennessee, 18 August, 2000

"I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."
Washington DC, 18 April, 2006

"And truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is, I read it, and [Tony Blair] read it."
On the publication of the Baker-Hamilton Report, Washington DC, 7 December, 2006

"All I can tell you is when the governor calls, I answer his phone."
San Diego, California, 25 October, 2007

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
Washington DC, 12 May, 2008

From the BBC International News website, Wednesday, 7 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7809160.stm

A New Year

2009-01-03T12:02:00.003-05:00

Well, it is a new year, as if you didn't know that already. I don't really do new year's resolutions. I used to but then I never followed through with them. I finally decided that it was a waste of time to worry about self-imposed expectations just because it is a new year. I simply try to do a little better each day, no matter what the date. I do try to set goals for myself (occasionally).

My current goals are centered around my career. I am working on starting an online store for my website. I am working on my art and plan to apply for a show at the Fitton Center. I am working on future dreams of a dwelling/sculpture built with my own two hands. I plan to offer some art courses for children this winter/spring. From there I hope to expand to offering a beading/jewelry design course and possibly some adult art and spirituality classes. And these are just a few of the things I would love to do in the coming months and years.

So, happy new year and happy day. May we all be happy in the end.

* Note: The top picture is of my nephew Bradley. The bottom picture is of my nephew Alex. I took them on December 26, 2008.

Call me crazy

2008-12-09T10:54:00.004-05:00

Well, you may have in the past called me crazy. You may have looked as some of my posts and said, "she's lost." I have posted here about many issues dealing with 9/11, the war on terror, politics, etc. I don't buy the official story about 9/11. There is far too much evidence to the contrary for me to forget and become a sheep.

Much of the videos and information I have posted here was from sites that some may consider conspiracy centered - not something I have a problem with because conspiracies are only theories until they are proven true, then they are simply conspiracies.

So, here's something from the "main stream media." Would you consider the Financial Times a so-called "reputable news source?" Well, here's an editorial for you to read. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a03e5b6-c541-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

The New World Order is about ready to knock down our proverbial door. Don't buy the shit that is a necessary thing. It isn't. Hegemony is not good for local systems and it sure as hell is not good for governments. God help us if it takes over the world.

2008-12-04T15:17:00.005-05:00

What do Gerald Celente and Webster Tarpley have in common? They have both been on my radar this week. Here are a couple of videos showing why.

At great personal risk to my standing as one who is considered sane, I feel I can no longer keep silent about what has been occupying my mind these days. I am very concerned about the future of the United States. For approximately five years now, I have experienced an intense process of spiritual awakening. Really, I've been in this process all of my life but the intensity these past five years has been far more - and so has the progress. With this spiritual process of awakening has come an understanding about the world as it is, not as I've been taught that it is. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Hang in there with me.

The world we were born into is full of myth. This world and the cultures and civilizations that run it are mythic creatures who thrive on human fear. The more the fear is increased, the more power that is up for grabs. True power is held by the individual. Corporate power only comes into being when individuals lend their power to it. Oligarchical power is built up by time and a continued concentration of power. The concentration of power happens when generations of people lend their individual power to the few. History shows us that the concentration of power, which leads to oligarchy, ends, usually in tragedy. History is the telling of the rise and fall of civilizations.

America is in the process of ending (at least as we know it). Ours will be a financial demise. This fall will lead to a global government, founded on a bed of lies. The crime is being perpetrated by the global elite (the New World Order oligarchy). There is only one aim of this group - one world government in which they are on top and ONLY they are on top. They are seeking to create a world of slaves based on class. There will be two classes - the elite and the slaves. Ironically they will do it in the name of humanity, under the guise of peace. Most of you will go into it willingly, out of fear of terror or whatever myth they concoct next. You will not see yourselves as slaves, nor will you be called slave; you will be called world citizen.

They will tag you like high tech cattle so that everything you do can be tracked. If you get out of hand or become a problem, they will simply turn off your chip. No more will you be able to buy or sell. No more will you be able to participate in every day life. You will be the walking dead.

The mythology of the elite is reinforced constantly by their symbology. Their main ideology is fed by the myth of redemptive violence. War and the losing of one's life in war is the height of courage and sacrifice. Die and kill as many as you can on your way out and you too can be a hero. Stop for just a minute and think about all of the films and television shows you have seen just in the past year that reinforce this idea. Now multiply that by the number of years you have been watching television and movies. If you actually do this, you might be startled to see just how much you have supported these ideas with your time and your money.

Just how far are we willing to proceed into the abyss?

I hope to expand on these ideas in the coming weeks. Time is of the essence.

I believe I chose to come here in order to help people wake up to the world as it is, not as it is perceived. If you don't know where you are and where you have been, then you cannot choose where you are going next.

I see these challenges in many dimensions and at times it is hard for me to write it effectively. My plan is to develop an outline - pieces of the puzzle - so that I can systematically do this work. I am starting a new blog to contain this work. This blog will continue to exist as my personal blog. My new blog for my work in the areas of history, politics, myth, and the powers that be is here - http://littlebluespinning.blogspot.com/

Peace and light to you all and please, if you don't understand what I am saying and even if you do and perhaps think I've lost my marbles, comment. I want this to be a discussion.

On salvation and the true aim of the Word of God

2008-11-11T09:39:00.002-05:00

I posted a response to Brian's blog, the Beautiful Heresy. You can read Brian's entry here.

Here's my response:

Sounds like an interesting read. A few points on your post:

Salvation has not always been seen as simply saving ones soul from eternal damnation. Salvation can also mean - I think this is a more holistic meaning - recognizing ones connection to the whole and to God and then acting upon it in THIS LIFE. The idea of salvation being simply about ones "eternal" choice is shallow and weak. Shallow because it doesn't address the pain of this life and the need for salvation in the hear and now. Weak because in so believing that salvation is about the hereafter, one can be bullied and bulldozed into believing thing that make this life - the one you can actually do something about - is simply the audition for the next life. This undoubtedly gives those who seek power for themselves and undue advantage. The politically and religiously savvy use this fear-based salvation to control and manipulate the masses, ultimately making themselves more powerful. It is a system that supports idols of the ego, both personally and corporately.

My second point is about the analogy used by the author about Jesus' "work" on the cross being like a so-called liberating military. I understand the analogy but I condemn its use because it re-enforces our preoccupation with violence being an agent of salvation. One train of thought in current biblical scholarship of the Old Testament is that the whole Old Testament was edited after the Exile, in light of the massive failure of the nation of Israel, to point to Israel's folly in believing in the myth of redemptive violence. Why did they hate the prophets? Because the prophets were very outspoken about this folly and warned the nation of their impending doom. And guess what, they were surely destroyed - the Exile.

The same thing is true of the New Testament. It was edited and some of it wasn't even written until after the Jewish-Roman war and the whole of the Gospel were edited/written as polemic against the war and those who sought the earthly kingdom of Israel and ultimately brought destruction upon the nation - again. And Jesus' death on the cross was the most absurd part of the story! It is the pinnacle of the folly - the ones who believed they were fighting to restore the nation to God, ended up killing God, or God's agent. Think about the absurdity of that.

In both instances, the temple, the home for God was destroyed and the people had to find another way to worship. "We worship God in Spirit and Truth," says the Gospel according to John. The Gnostic gospels talk about Jesus not being in buildings of wood and stone, but in the hearts of the ones who believe in his way - the way of peace and hope for salvation in this life, in the here and now.

The next time you read through the Bible, read it with this in mind and see what you think about it. Also, read the stories aloud - hear the words. It makes a huge difference.

Disclaimer - I am a biblical storyteller and believe in hearing the stories as they were originally TOLD. For more on biblical storytelling, please visit http://www.gotell.org or http://www.nobs.org

November5.org - The movement forward!

2008-11-06T11:21:00.000-05:00

November 5. 2008 from Tarek Milleron on Vimeo.

http://www.november5.org

My vote has been cast

2008-11-04T07:46:00.005-05:00

Well, after two years of pundantry, controversy, questions, and speculation, I have voted. I have cast my vote. I went at about 6:45 this morning, hoping to beat the lines. I was able to go in and vote right away, but that is because I opted for the optical scan ballot and not the electronic ballot. The option presented to me was, you can vote on paper now, or wait an hour for the electronic machine. I chose the paper ballot, which is actually what I prefer. I have had a lot of reservations about the electronic voting machines and was happy to fill out a paper ballot. My question to the pole workers was, will this be counted with the rest of the votes tonight? They assured me it would. Woo hoo!

Even as I went into the booth, I was not sure which presidential candidate I was going to vote for. No, I was wavering between McCain and Obama. McCain simply was not on my radar. It was between Obama and Nader. I so badly wanted to vote for Nader. I agree 100% with Nader on the issues. Universal health care, ending both the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, putting a check on corporate control of our political process, human rights (no torture, no preemptive strike, gay rights, women's rights, etc.), intelligent debate, not just political grand standing, and environmental policies that work.

While at first I was optimistic about Obama, and I admit, I was caught up in the primaries by his speaking, I am not fully confident in Obama's advisers and backers. Also, I have been greatly disappointed by Obama's move to the middle. On the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I very much disagree with Obama. I do not think that shifting troops from Iraq to Afghanistan will be helpful, and I actually think that it may make things worse. Also, attacking Pakistan and Iran is OFF THE TABLE in my mind. Also, Obama's stance on Universal health care is very troubling to me. I think his plan is week and does not address the problem of rising costs and the role that the insurance industry has in that.

That being said, he is a step in the right direction. So, I made a strategic vote, not an ideological one.
However, this is only the beginning. From this day forward, I am no longer a Democrat. I am a progressive. I plan to be an organizer for the progressive movement in this country. I believe that Nader will be shifting focus to the legislature and I think that this is absolutely the right move and is something that I can get behind. I think it will have far more impact than his runs for the executive branch.

So, here's my last strategic vote.

And as a fitting symbol of my new way forward, as I left the polls, the sun was rising and I was filled with hope. Not hope for Obama, as his symbol suggests, but hope for us - the American people. This is historic, not just because of the color of Obama or the gender of Palin and Clinton. It is even more historic in my opinion, the level of engagement by the voters of this country. My hope is that this enthusiasm and engagement can be maintained and that people will be willing to continue to make their voices heard - for peace, for health care, for education, for the environment. This is true change. This is what will bring the change we need about, not simply electing someone who says they will do it all.

You can believe this simple truth. We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

NOTE: Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.

W.

2008-10-21T18:13:00.003-05:00

I am soooooo depressed right now. I just saw the new Oliver Stone film, W. It cuts between scenes of George W. Bush's pre-White House life and the lead-up to the war with Iraq. Josh Brolin plays W. Richard Dreyfuss plays Dick Cheney. There are a whole host of other big names playing the major roles.

All in all, I think Stone did a pretty good job with this film. I think what he was trying to do was fill in some of the gaps as to how it is that this man, G.W. Bush, became President. Most of the political "intrigue" was old news. Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Tenant and so on were as we have seen them with our own eyes and have imagined them behind the scenes - in the shadows. All of this however, left me feeling that something was missing.

After reflecting for just a moment, I think I know what it was that was missing in Stones film - COURAGE. Stone wimped out I think. He gave a very safe read of the man W. and his posse, so to speak. Why this was seen as somehow controversial is beyond me. There was nothing controversial in Stone's portrayal of the man and his life. At first though, perhaps Stone seemed to show a bit of courage to make a film about a sitting president but after viewing the film, I don't think so. The film very much stays in line with what we all KNOW about W.

He's not the brightest bulb in the room but he isn't the dullest either. He was constantly being bailed out by his father for most of his life. Perhaps that is why he so in favor of bailouts now. He's married to Laura, the former school teacher and librarian who is no doubt far more intelligent that her husband but he purposefully stays in the background. He knows more about baseball than anything else in his life combined. He's ambitious and arrogant. He's a man who has a faith and prays at the drop of a hat. He was a frat boy (although Stone quite noticeably left out the details of his membership in Skull and Bones, a family legacy). He was an alcoholic and drug abuser. He and the rest of his first administration needlessly went to war with Iraq in order to control the oil of that country and to exact revenge against Saddam Hussein for being such a pain in the Bush families ass. He authorized torture - by another name of course, illegal wire tapping, spying on the American people, he doesn't know shit about the Constitution which swore to uphold, and he's a wanna be cowboy, always happy on the ranch.

These are all things that the majority of the American people already believe about the man, W. What I wanted was for Stone to delve deeper, to probe into his life and discover what happens in the shadows of this man's life. How is it that his father was able to keep him from going to Vietnam? How was it that Carl Rove was able to get this man elected? What does W. hear when he talks to God? He should have probed more. He should have poked that balloon till it popped. That would have been truly courageous.

Now, there was another kind of cowardice in the film that I would like to touch on and that is the cowardice of the people Bush surrounded himself with. Colin Powell was a coward. He didn't not agree with the President and Cheney and Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld's agenda to go to Iraq and yet he became the face of the invasion. He bowed himself to the neo-con agenda and disgraced himself. What I cannot understand is why the hell, when I watched him on Meet the Press last Sunday, I heard him defend his actions out one side of his mouth while endorsing Barak Obama out the other side of his mouth. Where is Colin Powell's backbone? True courage would have been to have stood up and said - HELL NO! Not on my watch. And that goes for all of those in the room, in the shadows, who disagreed yet did nothing.

Nothing brought this more to the forefront for me as the scene when W. gives his cockamamie speech to the Congress. To see the actual footage of our elected representatives standing up and applauding this man, the real W., was deeply disturbing. Where was the courage in that room. Why didn't anyone cry out HELL NO? Yes, some did in their speeches before the overwhelming passing of the act that gave W. the power to go to war, but why didn't they do it then, at that moment when the eyes of the world were upon us? That would have been truly courageous.

Cheney said it best, "There is no exit strategy." And we have seen those words come to fruition. I have never felt so implicated in a film, except for perhaps The Passion of the Christ, as I have in this one. My way of life is a cancer on this planet. Your way of life is a cancer on this planet. It is because of us and our oil cravings that we are becoming the most destructive force in the history of the world. We must demand something better for ourselves and for the ones who come after us. We must sacrifice for a better life, not expect that it will come at the snap of our fingers. That is true courage, to do what is right and good, in the face of adversity.

We should have demanded something better than vengeance for 9/11. We should have demanded peace, reconciliation, and healing. We should have planted trees and built schools. We should have laid down our guns and bombs and took up peace lilies. This is true courage and honor, to do what is right and good and to LOVE OUR ENEMIES. There is no us and them, good and evil. God does not bless America. America is already blessed, as is every country and every person on the face of this earth. God calls America to justice and righteousness; courage of the heart, not cowardice of the gun.

Well, the writing has helped. I am feeling less depressed about this film. I would recommend the film, even though I don't think it goes deep enough. There were a few laughs in there.

Let Ralph Debate!

2008-09-23T18:12:00.001-05:00

Let Ralph Debate! I am not asking you support him or vote for him but let us at least listen to what he has to say. If independent and third party candidates are never allowed to debate on the national stage, then we will never have the hope of choice in so called democracy. Ralph is now on the ballot in 45 states - more than he has ever been on. If being on the ballot in 45 states isn't good enough to be considered a viable option, then what is? And the process for getting on the ballot in those states has been a long, arduous process. Aren't we mature enough to at least recognize the man's tenacity and perseverance. Never before has Ralph been allowed to debate in the two party talks that they call "debates." Now more than ever, we need a new voice. All I am asking is let Ralph debate!

Report of interest -- stay posted for more.

2008-09-22T12:45:00.004-05:00

This was reported today on Democracy Now!

Army Unit to Deploy in October for Domestic Operations

Beginning in October, the Army plans to station an active unit inside the United States for the first time to serve as an on-call federal response in times of emergency. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent thirty-five of the last sixty months in Iraq, but now the unit is training for domestic operations. The unit will soon be under the day-to-day control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command. The Army Times reports this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. The paper says the Army unit may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control. The soldiers are learning to use so-called nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds.

More to come on H.R. 1955 and S. 1959.

He says it about all

2008-09-20T07:19:00.002-05:00

Etsy has been doing some really great videos called Handmade Portraits that showcase artists in the natural environment, their studio/workspace. This one is the newest one. I love what this man says about his life. He definitely hits on some of the major points of why it is I want to live my life differently and why it is that I create art.

Reunions, windstorms, and the way it used to be.

2008-09-17T08:38:00.005-05:00

Reunion
Last weekend I traveled back to my hometown, Pomeroy, Ohio to play in the alumni band and to attend my 10 year high school reunion. The alumni band was great. I loved playing again. I hadn't played tenor sax in about 2 years. I have an alto sax but something is messed up on it plus I really don't like playing alto sax. In high school, I played bari sax my freshman year and then I switched to tenor my sophomore year. Anyway, it was great to play again and to see good friends too.

The "reunion" was pretty lame. I wasn't able to do two of the three things planned. I was able to go on the boat ride on Saturday evening. It was o.k. but not thrilling by any means. It was dark on the boat so it was hard to see people. The drinks were expensive, although I kinda knew that would be the case. It was good to talk to people I hadn't seen in a long time though.

Do I feel older 10 years later? Yes, of course I do but I think that is a good thing. I have always wanted to move forward in life. I am sure at some point I will change my mind about that but for now, I keep looking forward to the future.

Windstorm
Woooooo. Well, I didn't have to live through the windstorm but I am still living with the aftermath. As far as I know, my apartment is still without power. I lost a bunch of food that was in my refrigerator. I am staying with a friend in Trotwood (Dayton) who has power and internet access. Not the most comfortable sleeping situation but it will do.

This brings me to my third point of interest...

The way it used to be
Well, anytime the power goes out, it offers us an opportunity to imagine the past and the way it used to be. What was it like for people before electricity, internet access, and all of the other modern convinces we so enjoy? Can we ever go back? I think not, simply because of the fact that we remember having all of these things. I do however believe that we could have a more blended life, one with these modern technologies but in more moderate amounts. Conservation, alternative energy sources, and valuing the technologies of the past for their wisdom are all important strengths we need to build for the future.

Birthday

2008-09-09T11:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a pretty good birthday this year. Sunday my friends Deb, Cindy, and Carolyn took me to breakfast and then we went to a really cool antique and flea market (a real one - with lots of old stuff - love it!). On the way home, we had dinner at Logan's. That was a lot of fun. Thanks ladies for your generosity and friendship!

Then yesterday I worked in Dayton and then my clients and friends, Tom and Amelia, took me and my former roommate, Jan, to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Dayton, El Rancho Grande. Then we went to Cold Stone Cremery for dessert. We had a great time and I so appreciate Tom and Amelia for their generosity and support.

My mom called a couple of times and wished me happy birthday. And my aunt Kathy called and sang me happy birthday. And many, many people emailed me to wish me happy birthday.

It was a good couple of days and I so love and appreciate all of my friends and family for their support. It means the world to me.

Peace and light,
Cortney

Me and my friend Keith. May 2008

Sarah Palin and her beliefs

2008-09-09T10:43:00.004-05:00

O.K. So there's been a lot of talk about Sarah Palin's religious beliefs in the past few days, mostly due to this video...

Some of the most controversial parts are her statements about praying for the Alaska Pipeline and her statements about the Iraq war being part of God's plan.

For more commentary on the faith of Sarah Palin, I suggest the Democracy Now episode from today. http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/9/stream The part about her starts at about 25 minutes in.

In this program, some interesting questions are raised about faith and theocracy. For those of you who don't know what theocracy is, here you go:

Main Entry:
the·oc·ra·cy Listen to the pronunciation of theocracy
Pronunciation:
\thē-ˈä-krə-sē\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural the·oc·ra·cies
Etymology:
Greek theokratia, from the- + -kratia -cracy
Date:
1622

1 : government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided 2 : a state governed by a theocracy

Most of us know that the "Christian Right" has been seeking after and working to implement a theocratic government in this country for years now. In fact, the "Christian Right" was devised as a political movement, not a religious movement. Religion has been a political tool for most of human history so we can't say that they invented it. The real problem with this is that it flies in the face of the Constitution and the separation of Church and State that was set up by the founders of this country.

Religious fundamentalism has been around in this country from the beginning - what do you think the Puritans were interested in? It wasn't just to escape religious persecution in England, it was to establish their own theocratic government. The witch hunts of the Middle Ages and the witch trials of Salem have a lot in common - they were all politically motivated yet carried out by the church.

This is the real danger of theocracy and I believe our founders were profoundly aware of these dangers and sought to guard against them by ensuring the separation of church and state and enabling all people to practice their faith, apart from the influence of the state.

Back to Palin. In the Democracy Now program today, one of the commentators said that Palin is the real deal when it comes to her beliefs about "God's will" and the theocratic attitude that she represents. This is contrast to George W. Bush who uses/used the religious right for his own political agenda. We were never in danger of a theocracy with Bush around - even though he has done enough damage without that detail. But with Palin, theocracy becomes a very real possibility. She will be one heart beat, one breath, one bullet away from the presidency - and we all know how ironic and seemingly destructive "God's will" can be - read the Hebrew Bible for background on that.

This is the victory of the "Christian Right." They have almost done it. They pressured McCain into picking her - not simply because she is an "Evangelical" but because she believes it. She believes in and prays for a theocratic government, with the idol Christ at its head (the idol Christ is the imagined Christ, who is made real in our own image - powerful, rich, in control. This Christ is very different from the man Jesus and from the Creator God. This is Christ the judge - who condemns most and lifts of up a few, who were politically wise by choosing to align with him.)

These words are my own personal analysis of the situation. This is beyond persons. This is about implementing an ideology that is not unlike other fundamentalist ideologies - all of them seek the same goal - a world ruled by their particular religion; a one world, theocratic government where the worst crime is not believing in the idolized God.

Don't tell me belief doesn't matter. It always matters to those who practice it. And let's face it, the fulfillment of their practice means an end to religious, political, and cultural freedom. If god's on top and he has an automatic weapon pointed at your head, what are you going to believe?

This is pretty wild and interesting.

2008-09-07T16:47:00.001-05:00

Kids gone wild.

Sometimes I feel like these kids.

About Sarah Palin: A Letter From Anne Kilkenny

2008-09-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

What follows is an open letter written by a resident of Wasilla, Alaska named Anne Kikenny.

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters. She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city. As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideasor compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job.

In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.

They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked toglobal warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT

•"Hockey mom": true for a few years
•"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
•"NRA supporter": absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
•"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
•"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS

I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.

Nicole Salazar Being Brutally Arrested FOR NOTHING!

2008-09-03T18:33:00.002-05:00

Here's a video that I couldn't find yesterday for my other post. It is Nicole Salazar, a Democracy Now producer who was arrested on Monday for covering the so called "riot" as member of the press. She clearly identifies herself as press, PRESS! She is told to "get out of here" at which point she asks "where do I go?" They proceed to push her to the ground, screaming at her to put her face on the ground. She and three other journalists were arrested during this raid by the police. The press are credentialed and act as our eyes and hears in this democracy. If we don't have freedom of press, then we don't have democracy.

The end and the beginning

2008-09-03T09:46:00.005-05:00

Check this out! http://www.realitysandwich.com/2008_the_return_chicken_little

It is a great article by Daniel Pinchbeck posted on his blog.

How this relates to me and my blog:
Since my early childhood (I can remember back even as early as 4 or 5 years of age having these thoughts/intuitions), I have felt that I am living in a time of great transition. Back then, and really up until a few years ago, I called this time, "the end times," which was based on my upbringing in a rural part of Ohio, surrounded by primarily evangelical Christians. During that time, I read the book of Revelations, searching for information about the time I was living in and ultimately scaring myself into submission.

Well, I began a transformation process about five years ago (it really began before then - but I started to notice it five years ago). I went to seminary - at the time I believed I was going to seminary to be in traditional ministry, like working in a church or agency as a media producer. Something happened with me though. I couldn't rest with simply working in the church. It seemed too limiting. I went back and forth for years, fighting with myself about what it was that I would do. I ultimately decided that the church, the Christian church, was not enough for me. Simplistic answers and basic faith were not enough. Ecumenism was not enough for me.

Why? Why wasn't it enough for me? Why couldn't I be satisfied with what is and what was the faith of the fathers and mothers?

Simply put, the faith of the fathers and mothers is inadequate for the questions and the experiences that I have had. I had to let it go so that I could/can become more fully myself.

A part of my transformation has been to reconcile my uneasiness about the future of our world with my uneasiness about my own personal future. The two seemingly coincide and I experience connectedness in this quest. What am I to do about?

At times I feel as though I have one foot in the world I was born into and the other foot in the world that I long to be in. And what keeps me split between the two is fear. Fear of the consequences of stepping into the longed for world. What will the world I was born into say about me. How will my transition be perceived by those I love and those who love me? More on the two worlds later.

Check back for more ramblings.

Daniel Pinchbeck on 2012

2008-09-02T11:17:00.002-05:00

I am reading 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. It is really fascinating and further reinforces my desire to drastically change my life.

Here's what is really happening at the RNC!

2008-09-02T10:13:00.002-05:00

Here's a series of videos of what has been happening in the Twin Cities since last week. Minneapolis/St. Paul has been turned into a police state. Warrantless house raids, illegal searches and seizures, illegal detainments and arrests, bogus, trumped up charges, police brutality, and violations of first amendment rights are all happening and on a mass scale. This is a reality - no a bunch of whiners. Those who have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, as well as the rule of law. Who will hold them accountable to that oath?

Police Seize Journalists Notes About RNC Protest Plans

Amy Goodman, Internationally Acclaimed INDEPENDENT journalist and host of Democracy Now is arrested at the RNC September 1, 2008. For what? Defending our right to free speech and for trying to ask what was happening to her producers who were being brutally arrested and attached by the Twin City police.

Police Raid on RNC Protest Site on Iglehart Ave in St Paul

RNC Eve: "Police Are Acting Like Nazis"

Young Hippy Girl's "Sustainable Living Bus" Stolen By Gestapo

'Pre-Crime' Arrests and Detentions in St. Paul-Minneapolis
- Funny thing: Seems like a truly David and Goliath thing - sling shots and piss vs. M16's, bullets and toxic smoke, pepper spray and an army of police. Also, why don't they interview someone from this group?

RNC Eve: Police Confiscate Urine, Feces, Paint, Old Tires

Lawyer in handcuffs-Police raid RNC journalist's house

RNC: Queen linchpen of protests 78 yr old Anarchrist Nun arrested

9/01/08: RNC anti-war protest - Raw Footage
Tell me who the aggressors are here?

Peace Protesters Raided At RNC in Minneapolis

And some of this stuff happened last week at the DNC as well.

History is written by the winners - or those who control the media. Why does the corporate media insist on labeling ALL of these protesters as "anarchists." And when was being an anarchist declared a crime?

Beautiful and powerful!

2008-09-01T14:01:00.002-05:00

Watch this video! It is truly great.

I want to consciously step into my right brain and experience the connectedness that I believe exists. Perhaps if each of us seek after this type of connection, then we won't need to debate anymore about the power of this connection and about our deep responsibility for one another.

May it be so.

For all of my gay and lesbian friends

2008-08-24T08:10:00.002-05:00

Marriage is not just a religious term. There are lots of heterosexual people who practice no faith, yet they are married in the eyes of the state and in our culture. Why then cannot gay and lesbian people, of faith or not, be called married? This is a horrific double standard and an huge form of discrimination. To claim that allowing gay and lesbian people to marry would infringe upon religious freedom is absolutely ridiculous. What about allowing freedom for all, including allowing freedom to MARRY the person you love.

These religious bigots are burning me up. They seek a world where they are on top. Where they are the rulers. They don't want Christ as their ruler; they want the idol in their head, which they call Christ, to be ruler of all. Well you know what? I don't want your ego-centered Christ. I don't want your cookie cutter faith. I don't want your demented God who condemns those who don't say the right words or practice the right faith. Your God, the one in your own head, is not worth my time.

BEING GAY IS NOT A SIN! PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT!

2008-03-20T06:55:00.000-05:00

This is incredibly disturbing. I cannot believe that people would fall for this, meaning that people would believe that the bible actually sanctions Martial Law. The "pastor" who says that the government is created by God is extremely wrong. Does he really think that this government is created by God? God is beyond human government. Jesus specifically spoke about God's government not being of this world. He spoke of God's government (Kingdom) as coming or eminent, meaning that it was not here yet but it was/is emerging.

I do not think that God's government here on earth has been fully realized and I certainly do not believe that its form will be the US government and especially not Martial Law. Are we all so blind and ignorant that we will believe anything these charlatans tell us. They are not agents of God, they are agents of political parties and corporate governments.

God is not about ruling us with an iron fist. God is about being in relationship with us and about co-creation. We create a better world WITH God, not in spite of God. We are not separate from God but we can act as though we are separate from God. This is the root of all disfunction in the world, including war, power mongering, control, bigotry, hate, fear, etc.

We must realize that God's government first and foremost has nothing to do with any of these things, for in God, there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, slave nor free. God transcends all of these categories, as do we when we choose to. God is one, we are one in God. The sooner we realize this, the more perfect our unity will become and the more realized God's government becomes.

5 years too many

2008-03-19T12:14:00.002-05:00

God help us, God forgive us. Today marks the 5th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. What a disaster! We all have blood on our hands. Each American is responsible for this war. We elected and continue to elect those who personally and socially profit from this war. They are the corporate Democrats and the corporate Republicans. They benefit from military contracts. Their districts benefit from military contracts.

This war is immoral, unjust, and ineffective. It does not spread democracy. It spreads violence, resentment, anger, and destruction. Most Iraqis now believe that we are worse than Saddam Hussein! Can you believe it? We, you, I are worse than Saddam - "the great Satan!"

How long must they suffer? How much destruction is enough? END THE WAR NOW! Say, NOT IN MY NAME! NOT IN OUR NAME!

Raplh on Democracy Now!

2008-03-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

Great interview of the current 2008 presidential race with Ralph Nader on one of my favorite news programs, Democracy Now!

One reason I am supporting Ralph Nader

2008-03-19T10:47:00.000-05:00

One of the best South Park episodes EVER!

2008-03-18T13:46:00.001-05:00

Via Crucis 2008

2008-03-18T08:58:00.012-05:00

I went to Via Crucis :: Immersion on Sunday evening. Via Crucis is the way of the cross or stations of the cross. This was an "experiential" stations of the cross that Vineyard Central does every two years. The last time, 2006, I was a part of it. I did station 14, Jesus is laid in the tomb. Here's a video of what I did then.

My goal was to transform the tomb experience - the lowest point of Holy Week and the essential predecessor to the Easter experience - from an experience of grief and lost hope to that of something beyond. I fundamentally believe that death is only a transformation from one form to another. So, I made a tomb room, blocked out all light except the light from the projector, hung white sheets around the interior walls and made a body and covered it in white. The video that is projected on the body is a three part cycle. The first part represents the violence of the world and our COLLECTIVE "sin." The second part is the death and han or suffering that comes from this. The third part represents the transformation into another form - i.e. resurrection. I spent a lot of time and a good chunk of money to make it happen. I also collaborated with several people and institutions to make it happen. It is one of my best pieces of art. I really love to do this kind of work and I was hoping to do it again this year. There's one problem with that. They want groups to this and while I worked with a group last time to do this, it was primarily my vision. It was bold and I sense that some folks didn't appreciate that. Plus, I have no established group to do this with. I am not a part of a church anymore. I am not a part of the seminary anymore. I have a loose network of friends and myself. I'm not complaining at all, I am just describing the situation. Anyway, it just didn't work out for this year.

So, here's what I experienced this year at Via Crucis :: Immersion. First let me say that I don't really dig the idea of the stations of the cross in a more general way. I think that our preoccupation with the violence of Jesus' death and the "road" he was led on is theologically and spiritually weak. I find power in Jesus' action of non violent resistance, not in his brutal murder. I also do not think that the early church "celebrated" the way of the cross. They were an Easter people, not a "Good Friday" people. Now, this doesn't mean that I think we should just skip the "Good Friday" experience and jump straight to Sunday morning. I do think however that the focus should be more on the actions in the world that seek to end human to human violence, rather than the superficial sacrifice of Jesus for my and your petty sins.

All in all, I thought that the stations could have been more bold. Last time I think there was more boldness to the stations. Also, there was WAY TOO MUCH READING involved. At every station you had to read something, and at many stations, writing was the main "interactive" element. It's as if someone said, writing is THE way one is to interact at Via Crucis. I am sure that did not happen but it did feel quite redundant after about the third station. Oh, and did I mention that you have to read a lot. I mean a lot of stuff in order to be "immersed." Personally, I thought the whole point of immersion was to overcome detached reading and to experience something. Well, that's my two cents on it.

Here's some picks from Via Crucis 2008: For all of my pics, click here .

Where the hell have I been?

2008-01-04T20:59:00.001-05:00

So, I haven't posted in a really long time. I guess the blogging thing isn't really my cup of tea. I guess I'd rather make an image than write a blog entry. Oh well, I guess once every six months will have to do :)

I have been working on lots of projects lately. My steady and probably most exciting work has been my work with GoTell Communications. I have been recording biblical stories, making images inspired by the stories, and doing some of the nitty gritty stuff too. I love working with Tom and Amelia Boomershine.

I have also been continuing my work with Biblenerd Productions on the Uppity Women of the Bible series. We completed Ruth in the early fall. We are now about 75% done with Song of Songs.

On the religion front, things have went downhill again. I am fully aware that my expectations of what church COULD BE has never really met the reality of what church IS. This inconsistency is hard to live in sometimes. After much time and trials with "church," I have resigned myself to the fact that at this time in my life, I seek community, not institution. I want faith friends, not leaders/pastors/moral dictators. I want my money to go to the poor, not the pastor and other church staff. I realize that most of my pastor friends might see my point-of-view as a naive one, or perhaps as a cynical one. After all, I too once desired a career in/with the church.

I assure everyone, I am not saying these things about the institutional church in vain or haste. I have spent many hours, days, weeks, years, perhaps even a decade, thinking about and discussing with others the state of the institutional church in the 20th/21st century. I have pondered and struggled with my own role in the church. I have consistently wavered between becoming a committed participant in the institutional church - even a leader in it and standing in opposition to the institutions of the church as a prophetic voice of change. So, I guess I am resting now in the latter position, as a prophetic voice, calling for necessary change in the church and the world.

I am all fired up about politics - not uncommon for me - and the possibilities that lye ahead in the next year. I am pretty much a Democrat by definition. I am very much as far to the left of the social spectrum as one can get. I have been supporting Dennis Kucinich since the beginning of this election but I am concerned about the shaft that he has gotten from the beginning. Barak Obama and John Edwards come in second in my book. Hillary Clinton is at the bottom of my Democrat list. I want to see a female president in my lifetime but not Hillary.

On the Republican side, the only person that I can even pretend to like is Ron Paul. The rest of them are quacks in their own way. Especially disturbing is Huckabee. He is a wacko and I really hope he doesn't get the nomination.

Anyway, perhaps I'll blog more regularly - or not. Happy New Year! Hope we have a good one!

Jesus as Messiah means peace!

2007-07-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

We are not the "gods" we think we are!

Oh beautiful our polluted skies,

Amber waves of genetically modified grain,

For purple mountains where we keep our poor

Above the rotting plains!

America! America!

God shed her justice on thee

And crown thy arrogance with humility

From see to shining see!

America, America, wake-up and smell the fascism that is taking hold.

WE the PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ARE the GOVERNMENT.
That is what a DEMOCRACY is all about.
OF, BY, and FOR the PEOPLE.

Corporations are not people! Did you HEAR ME!
CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE!!!!

We must demand a democratic society once again!
We must declare ourselves free from corporate controlled government!
We must insist that our will be done!

For those of you who claim that America is a Christian nation, I ask you this, when did Christ raise an army? When did Christ kill his enemies? When did Christ systematically oppress any person, let alone whole groups of people (i.e. blacks, Hispanics, Asians, gays, women, etc.)? When did Christ pretend that injustice was something of the past? When did Christ stick his head in the sand and choose to not see the suffering and dying around him?

If being a Christian means being "Christ-like", then shouldn't being a "Christian nation" mean that it is a "Christ-like" nation? I think so.

So, when were we "Christ-like"? When were we willing to be killed rather than kill? When were willing to sacrifice our comfort and security in order to ensure the comfort and security of another country? When were we willing to give up our national defense fund in order to fund education, healthcare, and food for another country, or even for ourselves?

We are not the "gods" we think we are. For such a "Christian nation" filled with Christians who practice Christianity, don't you think we should exhibit some of the characteristics of Christ? Do you think we should be Messiah-like?

Jesus as Messiah is not a conquerer. He is not a warrior. He is not a CEO. He is not a President.

Jesus as Messiah is a martyr, Prince of Peace, Light in the world, love that lasts, food for the hungry, healing for the sick, justice that is just. Jesus as Messiah will be the salvation of the world. Being Christ-like is more that saying you believe in Jesus' way, it is doing things Jesus' way.

Some things for you to consider.

The peace of Christ be with you,
Cortney

On choosing life.

2007-04-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

How sad are the events today? Random, senseless acts of violence make us question everything about how things appear to be. How could it be that some just walks into a classroom and begins shooting? What drives and/or inspires such violence in a person?

All I can say is my God, my God who has forsaken him and how can it be?

It reminds me to choose life in every way I can. Our time here is fleeting and fragile and yet we are a resillient group, always able to bounce back somehow, someway.

God be God, you be you. All stop killin', for no one deserves to be ended before their time.

It's been a while.

2007-04-09T07:50:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since the last time I posted. So much has happened since January. The major happening is that I went on an amazing trip to Greece and Turkey with my chosen family (friends) Barb and Russ R. We went to the ancient cities of Corinth, Philippi, Thessolaniki, Athens, Pergamum, Patmos, and Ephesus. I really enjoyed the quiet and charming Greek island of Patmos. This is where Jesus' disciple John was exiled. The monastery we visited there was amazing. To see all the images from my trip (at least the 400 good ones that I picked out of the 1600+ I took), go to my website - www.cortneyhaley.com.

I have been working at Journey Church in Lebanon. Things have been going fairly well. I have been designing a lot of ads and posters for concerts and other publicity.

I joined Nexus Church in March, which was a great move for me. There are amazing people at Nexus and I have enjoyed every minute of being there. This past weekend we participated in an Easter Vigil with 4 other churches in the Cincinnati area. It was an amazing time of storytelling and singing. It was great to see these different traditions and denominations come together and celebrate the resurrection together.

In seeing all of these young, committed religious leaders come together, I was inspired. I felt like I should be counted among these young, committed religious leaders. I have been wrestling with God on the issue of ordination for a long LONG time. I keep coming up with excuses and reasons as to why I don't "need" to be ordained. But, sitting back on Saturday night, I felt a great sense of peace about the whole issue. I finally said to God and to myself "why not me?" Really, why not me? The only difference between those who were standing before us serving communion and me was that they had said yes and I had not. I have felt the call since I was a senior in high school. And yes, I notice the call more in times of uncertainty in my life, in times of change, but I no longer think that this is a negative. I think that this means that this is the time when God is able to get through to me. These times of uncertainty is when I am searching for the answers. This is when I ask God to "show me the way" and why shouldn't I expect a response in these times? God is still speaking...I have heard the call time and time again...and I am finally ready to say yes, I will go where you lead me.

This is a HUGE step for me. It means a lot of things for me practically. It means that I will have to go back to seminary and get an MDiv (and figure out how to pay for it). It means that I will have to start in the processes of the UCC to become ordained. It means that I am going to have to learn new things and develop the things I have already learned. But, all of this will be worked out in time. The important thing is that I have said yes and now I feel a sense of relief. For all of this time, I have really felt the weight of the struggle and frankly, it has worn me down. I have been depressed and unhappy and uncertain and fearful about my future. At times, it was hard to find joy in anything in my life. I felt as though I couldn't make progress with anything because my vision was clouded. But, after Saturday night, I feel as though the cloud had lifted a bit.

God, be with me.

UPDATE 7/24/07: I was out of my mind then. I really don't think I will go forward with this idea. We'll see but chances are that I will not seek ordination. I just don't think I would be happy being in full-time church leadership. It seems like a lot of work for nothing.

MLK, Jr. sermon against Vietnam War.

2007-01-30T09:33:00.000-05:00

This video is pretty amazing. Just replace the words Vietnam with Iraq and you have something very appropriate for today.

I'm Back!

2007-01-28T18:55:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Just got back from D.C. on Sunday morning at 5:30. What a day Saturday was! This was my first time in D.C. and what a way to go. The protest went very well in my opinion. Whether we were heard or not, I don't know. What I do know is that I did what I could. I went and spoke my peace :-) It seems that Pres. Bush won't listen to anyone at this point. All the more reason to impeach him and Cheney. Check out some of my pics below. I picked some of my favs to post here. I will be posting the rest on my website (www.cortneyhaley.com) in the next few days.

A March to End The Iraq War!

2007-01-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

Are you down with it. I am. I think I am going to try to go to this. For more info, click this link.

This is very good.

2007-01-15T17:28:00.000-05:00

I have been saying for a few years now, we need our military men and women to refuse this war and to refuse to fight it. This is an awesome example of what happens when they do refuse!

God help us.

I have a job and Bush is just plain stupid!

2007-01-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hi all. I have a new job. I will be working at Journey Church (UCC) in Lebanon. I am really excited about this new job and the ministries and other things that are happening at Journey. The people there are cool and think that it will be a good fit for me. Right now, it is part-time but I hope that it can be expanded to be more in the future. Time will tell. I am very happy to have the work. I will still be doing freelance work too and my art of course. More about that later.

On a different note, George W. Bush is just plain stupid! What is he thinking? We are going to be eating the fruits of his bad labor for GENERATIONS. God help us. This man doesn't listen to anyone who disagrees with his agenda and the Neo-Con agenda. What will it take? How many have to die? How much do we have to spend? How long do we have stay in this horrible situation before he will admit to this collosal failure? Pray for our President. If anyone needs prayer, it is he. Don't pray that he be destroyed, that is not the call of Christ. No, we should pray that his heart is changed and that he will see the error of his ways. This is the call of Christ, to love your enemies and pray for them.

President Bush, please stop this madness. You will accomplish more with honey than with war. Lay down your pride and take up a just heart, filled with the love of God for all people. Only this will bring you victory. Only this will bring you peace. Our future depends on it.

A Great Poem

2007-01-02T17:21:00.000-05:00

I love this poem. I have always loved dancing. I think that dancing is also a very good metaphor for life. I found this in a book I am reading called I'd Say Yes, God If I Knew What You Wanted by Nancy Reeves, PhD (pgs. 49-50). The poem is written by Nancy Reeves herself.

I love it when we waltz

I love it when we waltz.
Held securely in your embrace,
swirling down and in.
Easiest for me to let go into you.

Then you begin to foxtrot.
I don't know this dance.
Let's go back to waltzing.
What if I step wrong?

How freeing, though, to know that if I follow,
I don't need to know where we're going
You danced all into creation,
you will dance me if I let you.

Then, I read about the rhumba.
Some swear it is the best dance to dance with you.
So I start to rhumba, but you don't follow.
Don't you want me to have this experience?

I feel your love stroking me, but I turn from you and pout.
Being wallflower is so lonely though,
I turn back and you dance your delight to rock and roll.
How often I forget, you always want what's best for me.

Sometimes you start a folk dance.
And I feel all the dancers as one
And I greet you in each new partner,
colorful diversity in joyful abandon.

Then my ego decides that you have all the good moves.
And I want to lead.
You move with me into the waltz,
and don't complain as I step on my own feet and yours.

There are many dances left to learn,
And you will teach me the ones I need,
to be the dancer I was meant to be.
Although the waltz is still my favorite.

Your Love makes my dancing lovely
Your Grace makes my dancing graceful
Thanks be to you, Holy Dancer.

God is a "Holy Dancer" and I love the way God moves. Even when I don't know the dance.

Peace.

Hello and Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't posted in quite a while. Sorry about that. I really haven't been focused on this kind of work. I've been doing other things like web design and video editing. But, I'm back. I thought it fitting to start the new year off with some posting and some reorganization of my blog. New year, new look. I don't really do new year's resolutions (I find it hard to stick to it and then I become negative with myself) but I do like to change a few things each year to start it off anew. I find that it helps me stay focused on progress.

Well, I have made a pretty big decision this week. I have decided to become a part of the United Church of Christ and in particular, Nexus Church. I have come to this decision after much deliberation and soul searching. I really wanted to be a part of a denomination that was socially progressive, that works for justice, and that really cared about the local church. Well, that is the UCC (or at least Nexus Church). This is a big step for me. I grew up United Methodist (from age 9) and joined the UMC pretty much by default. It is good to now find my best fit with the UCC. It will be official by the end of the month hopefully.

My other major decision this week was to honestly and openly consider answering God's insistant plea that I would seek ordination. I haven't said yes yet, but I am pretty close to that decision. The good news is that maybe God will shut up for a bit and let me rest. The bad (or tough) news is that I will have to venture back to seminary. I have an MA but for ordination, I will need an MDiv. Don't get me wrong, I love learning. I just hate the thought of writing all those papers again. But, it would be much better to do this now than in 10 or 20 years when I have other obligations and such. Now, the next question is, how the hell am I going to pay for it. I am already in considerable debt from my previous education. I really don't want to have to take out more loans. God help! It's your fault that I have to do this, you need to help financially.

And no, I don't think I will be going to UTS here in Dayton. I would like to go to a UCC seminary. I think it would be good for me to make those connections and to get a fresh perspective.

Love ya'll and hope you check back soon. I hope to be blogging more regularly this year. Also, leave me your thoughts and comments. Do you think I am totally crazy?

WAKE UP!!!

2006-11-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I voted a couple of hours ago. I had to do a provisional ballot because I didn't get my address changed in time. No worries though, I would much rather fill something out on paper rather than trust Diebold electronic voting machines (please see post below and Hacking Democracy to learn why).

God only knows what will come of this election. One thing is for sure, whether I vote Republican or Democrat, they really are two peas in a pod. I have virtually no faith in 80% of our "elected" officials. And how can we expect them to repair a system that benefits many of them directly in more ways than one. America is a Republic, that is a limited democracy. When are we going to start acting like it?

Sometimes I get so sad when I think of all that goes on behind closed doors between the powers that be. I feel as though we are slaves and don't know it. And when I think of what it will take to flush the system clean of its money and corruption and deceitfulness, I become discouraged. Do we really have a say in what happens with our lives any more?

Where are you God? We need God as our leader, not just spiritually, but in every way. Why? Because only God is just all the time.

Only God has the perspective to see everything at once. Only God can unite us in ways that bring about peace and harmony. We need God. We need mystery. We need love. We need peace.

We need hope!

TerrorStorm Deluxe High Quality (Alex Jones)

2006-11-07T16:32:00.000-05:00

From the great mind that brought you documentaries such as "Martial Law 9/11: The Rise of the Police State" and "Dark Secrets Inside Bohemian Grove" comes a new movie to awaken the masses.

TerrorStorm goes into documented cases of government-sponsored terror before exposing the 7/7 bombings as an orchestrated event and brings another update on the current state of the 9/11 Truth Movement.

This video is copyrighted but is allowed for non-profit, educational distribution. If you like this film or any other, please visit the website's shop for this and other great documentary films.

Hacking Democracy (HBO Special)

2006-11-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

Hacking Democracy (HBO Special)
Electronic voting machines count about 87% of the votes cast in America today. But are they reliable? Are they safe from tampering? From a current congressional hearing to persistent media reports that suggest misuse of data and even outright fraud, concerns over the integrity of electronic voting are growing by the day. And if the voting process is not secure, neither is America's democracy. The timely, cautionary documentary HACKING DEMOCRACY exposes gaping holes in the security of America's electronic voting system.

At the end of this Film
Cleveland, Ohio. Dec. 23rd 2005. Cuyahoga County spent 22 million Dollars on these Diebold voting system.
Cuyahoga did not change there mind after a hearing. What does this tell you?
Business as usual, and F the American people, we're using them anyway. Argue all you want! They are going to what they want, not what we want. Sign up for NATIONAL HAND COUNT REGISTRY HERE http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-profile.cgi?action=register
Black Box Voting WebSite
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
Forum
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/discus.cgi
HBO Info
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/hackingdemocracy/synopsis.html
I'm a 911 Activist Chuck Newell, and it time to make a change in a America, and fix our Voting System

9/11 Mysteries (Full Length, High Quality)

2006-10-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

You will know the truth and the truth will make you free!

I am sure many will consider me a conspiracy theorist for posting this. I would suggest that you watch it, then determine for yourself. I have been contemplating these things for many months now and I can longer sit on what I know. God knows that we need a little more truthfulness in this world today. May this open your mind and allow you to ask questions, because at this moment, all we have are questions.

After you have watched this piece, please respond and let me know what you think. I would really like to dialog with you about 9/11 and the possiblity that the "official" story is lacking.

This is a brand new public domain 9/11 Truth documentary about the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center complex. It's excellent. Pass this link on!

World Trade Center WTC twin dowers controlled demoltion thermate thermite explosions 9/11 911 9-11 september 11 11th truth conspiracy theory theories theorist george bush dick cheney donald rumsfeld paul wolfowitz doctring PNAC project for a new american century NORAD FAA FBI CIA NSA cutter charges molton steel WTC7 building 7 larry silverstein pull it BYU physics professor steven jones loose change alex jones NIST pentagon flight 77 missile flight 93 shanksville PA lets let's roll put options gold emma e. booker elementary jersey girls

Hello Again

2006-08-25T07:42:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a long time since I posted. Things have been crazy this month. I just returned from Arizona on Wednesday. I was there for five days. I went with my good friend Rebecca. We are working on a documentary called Faithful Borders in which we are presenting several faith-based groups who are working to help prevent migrants from dying in the Sonoran desert while trying to cross into the US (to see the trailer, click here, then click "News"). Tucson is a pretty cool city. It was hot but not as hot as it usually is there this time of the year. I got a jumping cholla stuck in my big toe (right through my shoe) the first day I was there. Leave it to me!

The desert was beautiful, very green because they've had so much rain this month. And the mountains, oh my God they are gorgeous! But, the vegitation in the desert is so unforgiving. You screw up there, it counts! It is a stark beauty. Sparse, dangerous, lovely.

Before I went on my trip to AZ, I was in WV working with my B&B friends. What a difference between AZ and WV. Not just the landscape, the urban/suburban vs. the rural. It has really got me thinking about place and the affect that place has on a person. Place can be extremely important on the one hand. If I'm in the right place at the right time, amazing things could happen. Problem is, what's the right place, and what's the right time?

The other thing that I really started thinking about (I guess I never really stop thinking about this, the debate with was I guess rekindled by Tucson) was grad school, MFA. I had forgotten that the University of Arizona was in Tucson, in fact, it was all around us at the church we stayed in. The UofA has a really good school of architecture and a really good school of art. In fact, it was one of the schools I had looked into when I was thinking about going to grad school for art or architecture.

This is something that I can't shake. I really don't want to do more school right now. Don't get me wrong, I love school. I love the energy, the interaction, meeting new people, debating people, etc. I don't like jumping through hoops (however, I realizing that the hoops are not just a school thing, they're a life thing). I feel like my degree from United is pretty worthless in the professional world. The church doesn't know what to do with it and the rest of the world doesn't care about a religious degree. So, I feel that after three years of hard graduate level work, I am right back to the B.S. This SUCKS! Thanks so much United for selling me a worthless degree. Anyway, the only thing I really want to do is make art.

I applied for a job at newspaper in WV several weeks ago to be a graphic designer. I still haven't heard anything from them so I am assuming that I am not being considered for the postition. At first I was excited about the possibility of having a "real job" but then I thought to myself, "Are you crazy? You hate the thought of working in an office. You think your going to find yourself in an office, 9 to 5 or 6 or 7? Come on, you are better than that!" I guess the thought of a steady income intoxicated me for a moment. It would be nice to have something to show for all my work. However, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to sell out yet. Perhaps the people at the newspaper could sense that about me. Who knows?

Anyway, I have rambled enough for the time being.

What Type Are You?

2006-07-27T12:44:00.000-05:00

I took these tests about a year ago and found that I was an ISTJ, then I took it again and I was an INTJ. My Ennegram came out as a strong 8 the last time. The one thing that has remained the same is the T in the Jung test. I am fascinated by these things.

ENTP - "Inventor". Enthusiastic interest in everything and always sensitive to possibilities. Non-conformist and innovative. 3.2% of the total population.

Take Free Jung Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Main type	Variant

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Enneagram Test Results

Type 1	Perfectionism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	53%
Type 2	Helpfulness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Type 3	Image Awareness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Type 4	Sensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Type 5	Detachment	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	53%
Type 6	Anxiety	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	40%
Type 7	Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	60%
Type 9	Calmness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%

Your main type is 9
Your variant is sexual

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Descending the Staircase

2006-07-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

So many of us are consumed with ascending the staircase of life. Life is about my promotion. My net worth. The schools that my children attend. You are what you do. God becomes something to attain (i.e. be good so you can go to heaven when you die).

Well, I have realized that one of my problems with finding my place in this society is that I have absolutely no interest in climbing that external staircase. Rather, I hope to descend the staircase of the self. To dig deep within myself for wholeness is my only desire. This is not self-ish-ness, it is self-full-ness.

To discover ones full (whole) self is to recognize ones place in the world. This is the journey that I am on right now. I am descending the staircase of the self into the depths of the unknown. I am searching for the light within, but the road is dark at times. This is my work these days of waiting. It is a quiet and necessary work.

So what have I found so far?
1. I have found that I am not comfortable with myself. I squirm when someone offers me a compliment. I really feel disconnected with my body at times (like it doesn't really matter).
2. I have an immense need for diversity. Diversity in experience. Diversity in people. Diversity in learning. I love when things change and I learn something new. This is why I loved being in school.
3. The further I descend the staircase, the more I realize how happy I am to help others.
4. I am realizing that I have an intense desire for people to understand me at a deeper level.
5. I am also realizing that I desire companionship on a different level. I really would like to have a sparing partner, someone to push me further, harder, to challenge me.

I'll keep posting what I find.

Longing for the unknown

2006-07-22T12:32:00.000-05:00

I have a restlessness within myself at this time in my herstory. I've been reading a lot lately, mostly things that are fun to read. I started reading the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evonovich. I love the way she writes. I laugh a lot when I read her work. I have also been reading a book called "The Rule of Four". It is very different from the Stephanie Plum series in that it's setting is Princeton, where as Stephanie is set in Trenton, NJ. The thing that these books have in common is that they are both of the mystery/suspense genre. Really, the only kind of books I read for fun are mystery/suspense.

One thing I've noticed about myself as I read these books is great sense of longing. I think I am longing for mystery in my life. I have been very upset by the things happening in our world. The Israel/Lebanon conflict. The war in Iraq. Iran and North Korea. Global warming. Politics in America. The powers that be. Etc, etc, etc. I feel that I/we are surrounded by the very real possibility of destruction, both on a microcosm and a macrocosm level.

I keep wondering and searching for meaning in my life. Why am I here? What should I do? Who should I be? And then I read the news and all of those questions seem futile. What does it matter? We are all going to hell in a handbasket anyway. Another part of me feels that I am just wanting for something big to happen, and then I'll have my answers. Then I'll know my purpose in life.

Sometimes I am so worried that my passion will go unfulfilled and that I will die with regret in my heart. But when I ask myself, "what is your passion," the only response I give myself is emptiness. Shit! I am so sick of feeling empty inside. Passionless. Wanting. Wanting to be loved.

God, I so badly want to feel loved. Not just friends either. I know my friends love me. No, I want romantic love, something that I have never felt. I've never had a first love. Hell, I've never even had an attempt at first love. I want someone to rap their arms around me and kiss my head and tell me that I'm their passion. That I make them crazy. That they can't stop thinking about me. And I want to feel the same way about someone.

Do I think this will solve all my problems? Hell no! It will probably be even more of a headache but I still welcome the challenged. I feel like there is a huge part of life missing for me. No love. No sex. No intimacy. No cuddling. No impassioned fighting. I would love to feel an emotion other than sadness. Hell, even rage would do.

Point: I am ready to step off the ledge of life into the unknown if it means that I will experience life in a new way. I am willing to suffer the consequences of failure if it means that I will feel something different.

Moving to WV?

2006-07-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

So, I'm thinking about moving to West Virginia. Why? Because it is gorgeous. Because I feel comfortable here. Because I like the pace of life here. Because I would rather live somewhere I like and earn a little than to live somewhere I hate and earn a lot. Because I have friends here. Because it is closer to home (Southeast Ohio). Because I want to.

In talking about this decision with other people, some have asked me why. Why would you move to West Virginia? I don't think that people realize the many good things about West Virginia. The people are friendly. The terrain is trecherous at times but so gorgeous that I really don't care. The place I am wanting to move to is a very peaceful small town.

Some think that I will be bored here. Well, first of all, I don't think it is possible for me to be bored. I can sit in front of the television and do just about anything. I can read. I can blog. I can sew, knit, crochet. I love to do beadwork. I can paint. I can make furniture. I can restore photos. I can make videos. Etc., etc., etc.

So, I think I've pretty much made up my mind. I think I'm moving to West Virginia.

I'll let you know for sure later.

I took these pictures at my friends, Barbara and Russell Rogerson's Bed and Breakfast in Harrisville, WV. Check it out at http://www.loghouseatsweettrees.com.

Trying to figure it all out

2006-06-13T15:21:00.000-05:00

Hello again. I know it's been a while since I last blogged. I graduated (what a relief - and a let down). I went on a road trip to Houston, TX. Then I hung out back home while my car was being worked on. Then I came back to Dayton and moved in with my friend Jan (she is a kick-ass friend). Now I am just trying to figure it all out.

Some of the books I have been reading since graduation (you know, now that I can read for fun) are Po Bronson's What Should I Do With My Life?, Dr. Phil McGraw's Self Matters, and Mathew Fox's On Becoming a Musical, Mystical Bear. Like I said, I am trying to figure it all out.

I am so unsure of the future. I truely do not know which way to go, what to do, who to be. Reality has hit me that I am on my own. I can't go back to mom and dad. I have great friends, such great friends that I don't want to take advantage of them in any way. I am trying to learn what life is like for the non-student. I really don't know what I will do for a job. In absolute honesty, I don't want a job. I don't want a boss. I don't want to have to kiss ass just to make it. Make what?

I wish I could do over my life from the age of 5 on. I wish that I had never been fat. I wish that I had never been mean. I wish I hadn't ever gotten my self in debt. I wish that I would have been a foreign exchange student. I wish that I had really learned another language. I wish that I would have stayed an art major in college. I wish that I had dated lots of people. I wish that hadn't been so afraid to be me. I wish I knew who me was.

And now, I have to do the hard work. I have to forgive myself for the mistakes that I have made. I really don't know if I can forgive myself.

Any advise from those who have been there is greatly appreciated.

My Life: the Random (sorta) Soundtrack

2006-05-11T07:45:00.000-05:00

This idea came from my friend Missy Ann.

Directions:
Open your choice of music [itunes,limewire,kazaa,ect] and put it on shuffle.
Press play.
For every question type the song thats on.
When you go to a new question press the next button. Ready? GO!

My Results (I cheated on some of them):

Opening credits:
If I Didn't Know Any Better – Alison Krauss and Union Station

Waking up:
Oh Draw Me Lord (reprise) - Selah

Average day:
Seen it All Before – Amos Lee

First date:
King’s Highway – Kenny Wayne Shepard

Falling in love:
Exodus – Bob Marley and the Wailers

Fight scene:
Desire – Tres Chicas

Breaking up:
Echa Pa'Lante (Spanglish Cha-Cha Mix) – From Dance With Me soundtrack

Getting back together:
Yanzi (Swallow Song) – The Silk Road Ensemble

Secret love:
Fat Bottomed Girls - Quenn

Life's okay:
Conventioneers – Barenaked Ladies

Mental breakdown:
Got to Give It Up, part 1 – Marvin Gaye

Driving:
Are We the Waiting / St. Jimmy – Green Day

Learning a lesson:
I Can’t Get Over You – Julie Roberts

Deep thought:
A Song for You – Joe Cocker

Flashback:
Don’t Miss You at All – Norah Jones

Partying:
Bye Bye Blackbird – Joe Cocker

Happy dance:
I Can’t Get Next To You – The Temptations

Regretting:
Gotta Have You – The Weepies

Long night alone:
Touch, Feel, & Lose – Ryan Adams

Death scene:
Be Thou My Vision – Fernando Ortega

(Try it! I think you'll have fun!)

Wow, I'm done, but it's just the beginning.

2006-05-07T07:16:00.000-05:00

Next Saturday, May 13th, I am graduating from seminary. I almost can't believe that I am done. On the other hand, it is time to be done. I need to be done with school for a while. I need to be done with this seminary for a long while.

I have been very depressed for the past couple of weeks though. For the first time in my life, I actually thought about not wanting to be on this earth. Don't panic, I would never kill myself. I was just thinking about the relief that death would bring. Sometimes I feel so alienated and alone. I feel like I don't really have a place in this world. There really isn't a place for me in the church. There isn't a place for me in society. There isn't a place for me in work. I feel lost.

On top of it all, I am going back "home" to live with my aunt. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that my aunt and her husband are willing to give me shelter for a while. But it is still depressing. I love having my own place and my own space. Really, that's all I've wanted for a long time. I love walking around in my underwear and eating when I want and turning up my music really loud while I take a shower. Both my aunt and her husband smoke cigarette's and I HATE cigarette smoke.

So why am I going to live with them? Well, I have no job lined up, I am in over my head with debt (credit cards and student loans), and I don't know how to live the life I really want to live in this world. I was talking with some friends yesterday and I said that I don't know what I want to do. I have been saying that for a while now. The reality is that I do know what I do and do not want to do with my life. The problem is that I don't really know how to achieve the life I want and still support myself financially.

What I don't want:
- I don't want to waste my life.
- I don't want to work for people who are morally bankrupt (i.e. steal, cheat, use/abuse their employees, etc.).
- I don't want to work in a cubicle ("The Office") type of environment.
- I don't want a 9-5, 40 hour a week job that sucks the life out of me and makes me want to give up on life.
- I don't want to waste my passion for minimum wage.

What I do want:
- I want to make art at least 30 hours a week.
- I want to travel the world.
- I want to have a small house of my own with a studio and a garage (or basement) for my tools.
- I don't want to work all the time. I would be happy to have a European pace of life.
- I want to live a healthy life (everything in moderation, lacking nothing).
- I want to have a boyfriend - and perhaps a husband one day - who wants to be with me because of who I am, not in spite of who I am.
- I want to have a close family again (I don't want drug addict parents, a distant brother, a scattered extended family. I love my family and I want them to be healthy and happy and to love each other again.).
- I want to have a community of friends that includes all different types of people (culturally, racially, physically, religiously, age, wealth, etc. - DIVERSE).
- I want to feel that what I do with my life will/does make a difference for the better (this will be my measure of success, not how much money I have).

So, it isn't that I don't know what I want, it's that I don't know how to get there. I really don't have a role model for this kind of life. Also, I think that I am still consumed a lot of the time with what other people think of me. Well, now you know a bit more about me. I just had to get it all out.

In Response to Christopher's Thoughts on Science or Faith

2006-05-01T06:20:00.000-05:00

I think that your question is a little off. It shouldn't be "science or religion". Instead, we need to take science and religion together. God is the inventor of science. No scientist sees something without God having knowledge of it first. So many Christians have a hateful relationship with science, seeing science as the enemy to faith. I have experienced a different way of living in a scientific and religious world. Science (especially things like evolution, the big bang, and now string theory) has and does inform my faith. I do not believe in a mechanistic worldview that says God is a big clockmaker who made the world and then let it go.

No, God is still creating and we are called to be co-creators with God. If we do not evolve, then why would Jesus say "these and greater works will you do"?

You are right in saying that science cannot prove the existence of God or that Jesus is a savior. This is because science and religion are concerned with two different aspects of belief. Science is concerned with imperical data, theories, and proof, which lead to reasonable, left-brained believe. Religion is concerned with belief that is centered on faith and faith alone. Yes we have our miracles that some see as proof of the existence of God but miracles are not proof, they are signs of God.

Every time I look a tree, I see God's creativity and God's science. When I examine a flower, I see God's fingerprints and I smell God's fragrance. There is evidence of God in the world but one must see it with one's spiritual eyes. Science has not spiritual eye, only the eyes of the rational mind.

For what it's worth.

It's a beautiful day!

2006-04-23T07:49:00.000-05:00

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood... I miss Mr. Rogers. He always had such a positive outlook on his neighborhood and the world. Seeing the beauty of Spring all around this morning reminded me of that song. I'm sure many of you can sing it instantly.

Even though I don't have a traditional job lined up and even though the future seems very uncertain, I can't help but thank God for this beautiful day. The sun is shining. The trees have leaves on them (which happened this week by the way). People are out cutting their grass. It is hopeful.

In this waiting time, here are some things I am learning:

1. God is here with me.
2. There are a lot of people who care about me and love me.
3. My life is worth so much more than what I earn, how I dress, where I live, and what I own.
4. Patients is a virtue.
5. Creativity will get me through this life and is my most secure asset.
6. Education is good but I am tired of talking about doing. I am ready to just do it!
7. Blessed are the poor, weak, ugly, hopeless, unemployed, uncertain, depressed, etc. - for they have no choice but to ask for help.
8. Arrogant people really bother me.
9. Life never ends; it is transformed.
10. I have a lot of books, which I haven't read and would surprisingly like to.

There are more things but I think ten is a nice round number.

Well, happy Sunday and God be with you.
Sister Cortney

He isn't here, he is risen!

2006-04-16T06:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I am celebrating Easter at home this year. When I thought about going to a church to celebrate, I wasn't too excited. I would rather stay home and be peaceful and joyful, than go to a church (doesn't really matter where) and come out angry and disappointed.

I am at a really strange place with the structures and politics of the church (again, it doesn't matter what denomination). I really don't want anything to do with the church as it stands today. What for? Oh, I have heard all the reasons why other people are staying with the existing structures.

Here are the top five reasons other people say I should, or we should, stay in the "church" (which means, the organized, structured, and politic ridden church):

5. You cannot change the church unless you stay in it.

4. You aren't really saved if you aren't in a church.

3. You are separated from the body of Christ, therefore, you aren't really a Christian.

2. God works only through the church.

1. The church is a whore but she is still your mother (a paraphrase of something Martin Luther said).

Well, let me just go down through these ideas and help you understand what I think about each of them.

5. If this is the case, then I guess Martin Luther didn't really change the church. Of course at first, ML did try to reform from within the church. After almost being killed as a heretic, he changed his mind. He was not alone. There was Zwingli, Calvin, and others. And yes, there was the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which happened from within the church. What I am saying is that both ways bring about reform. Guess which way I am going.

4. Well, what does it mean to be "saved" in the first place. If being "saved" means that I stand up and recite a creed or statement of belief, then no I refuse to be "saved". However, I am saved in a much deeper way. I am saved from my violence. To take up Jesus' cross is to take up the cross of non-violent resistance. Because I am saved from my violence, I can help others become saved from their violence.

3. I am not separated from the body of Christ. I can never be separated from the body of Christ. I am a part of the body of Christ and so are the rest of you. We need to broaden the idea of the body of Christ to include the whole human family. In this body of Christ that is the human family, there are those who realize their lineage and those who do not. However, your lineage is not determined by whether you realize it or not. You are who you are.

2. If God only worked through the church, then the world would be in a pickle. Misguided pride in the church has caused wars and persecution throughout its history. The church is not, in reality, the end all and be all in this world. Ideally, it should be, but it is not. The church should always be willing to examine itself and check itself.

1. One of the quotes I hate the most is this one. There are so many things wrong with this idea. The sexist innuendo in this quote turns my stomach. First of all, God is my mother/father. God is not only father, but mother too. Nor does God need a wife (the church) to birth new life into the world. And the church may be unfaithful but why use this derogatory term of "whore". This just perpetuates the male language for God and God does not have a penis.

Well, enough ranting for this Easter Sunday.
Jesus is risen and this is our hope. There is life beyond death. There is potential with God.

Peace.

Week's Up!!!

2006-04-09T08:39:00.000-05:00

Well, my last week is up and everything is done (kinda). I have a few more finishing touches on my Directed Study and my Seminar classes, but other than that, I'M DONE! What an accomplishment. To be finished with seminary.

I will graduate on May 13th. So, what's next? Your guess is as good as mine. I really have no clue where I will be working, what I'll be doing, where I will live, etc.... But, I am determined to not just jump into something just because I am scared. God didn't bring me this far to leave me to fin for myself. I do get tired of responding to peoples question, "so what are you doing after graduation?" I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!! Did you hear me? I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!

I've been searching like crazy in newspapers, on websites, etc. but there just doesn't seem to be anything out there for me (at least nothing that I want to do). Someone suggested that I publish on my website a description of what it is that I would like to do or can do for people and just see what happens. I think I am going to do that this week. Can't hurt anything.

I'll post a link here when I get it up on my site.

Till next time.

One Week Left!!!

2006-03-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

Well, my classes are almost done. I can't believe that I am almost done with this seminary thing. What a good feeling. At the same time, I don't have a clue as to what I am actually going to do to support myself. This is the first time in my life that I don't have clue as to what my next step will be. This is kinda frightening. At the same time, it is kinda exciting in a way that I didn't expect.

Transitions are always and time of excitement and danger. I am trying to stay aware of this so that I don't make any big mistakes. I know that God is with me in this time of limbo. So, we'll see where I land.

For now, I just need to get through the next week. I have so much to do but I work well under pressure.

Blessings till next time.

Learning Buddhism

2006-03-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

So, I am taking this world religions course right now with Dr. Aaron Milavec (great teacher and guide). We first studied the Orthodox Church. What a trip that was! Then we studied Islam and I learned so much about a faith that I had been taught to fear. I realized that we have far more in common than I had thought originally. Now we are learning about Buddhism.

Now, before I signed up for this class, I committed to myself that I would engage whatever I came across in this class with an open mind and heart. I believed that Buddhism would be the most difficult for me to do this with. Suprisingly though, Buddhism has actually been the easiest for me to relate to, especially Theravada Buddhism. Why? Because it is a practice more than it is a religion, at least in my opinion.

My mind is making connections between Jesus' words and the Buddha's. I am imagining these two seemingly opposing faiths coming together to create a new cosmic synthesis. I also now have language and ideas from another way of life that I can use to talk about the divinity of Jesus, and of you and I.

For about one and a half years, I have been contemplating the "divinity" of Jesus and his "two natures" and I have been perplexed by this idea. If one is fully human, then one cannot be fully divine. It doesn't make logical sense. "Well, it's a mystery" some say. Well, if it is a mystery, then why do we talk about it at all? Others say, "it's church doctrine (in other words, don't question it, just accept it)." Well, I've NEVER been one to just accept something because others tell me I should. God gave me a brain and I hope to use it.

The answer to my question came about eight months ago when I took a class from Dr. Andrew Sung Park called Theology for the Scientific Age. In that class we studied many different aspects of science and then connected those scientific ideas with theological ideas. It was then that I began to imagine Jesus being divine. It was also the time that I began to imagine that we all are divine, or are moving toward divinity. Yes, you read me right. We are all divine. We all have the potential to live out our divinity as Jesus did. If this is not possible, then Jesus' dual nature is not possible. If we cannot be divine and human, then neither can Jesus. He would have to be either fully divine or fully human.

What I learned about Buddhism yesterday from Sam Johnson at the Gar Drolma Buddhist Center was that they too believe that we all are Buddhas inside and that the practices of Buddhism are to help us uncover or peel back the layers that cover-up that Buddha nature within. When I heard this, I knew that I had found a kindred idea. Sometimes confimation comes from unexpected people and places.

So, I'll work on peeling back my layers and you do the same and perhaps God will emerge.

Via Crucis

2006-03-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

Via Crucis is an artistic emersion in the stations of the cross. Faith community's and artists are banding together to create an experiential stations of the cross. Each station is taken over by different groups of people to design and put together. I am leading the one for UTS, station 14 - Jesus' body is laid in the tomb. I will post some sketches of my ideas here this weekend. There will be a kick-off event on Sunday, April 9th, Palm Sunday at St. Elizabeth's in Norwood, Ohio. Click the Title to view a more complete description.

I think that this event is going to be really great. I hope that lots of people will come and be emersed in the experience.

O.I.L.

2006-03-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Check out this article by Alex Jones. I think he is right. I had never thought of the Bush/Cheney plot in this way before, but now it makes perfect sense. You have to admit, Big Oil just keeps getting richer and richer. So, read this and then post your comments here. I am interested in reading what other people think of it.

End Bush's Bullshit!

2006-03-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

I am sooooooooooo sick of George W. Bush's rhetoric. I am sitting here watching his press conference and it is all I can do to keep from punching the TV. This man is a consummate LIAR! He refuses to accept blame or to admit mistakes. He has an excuse for everything. What will it take for America to WAKE-UP? We have been stripped of our freedom because we have allowed ourselves to be stripped of our freedom. WE continue to elect THIEVES and LIARS. Although, did we REALLY ELECT this liar and thief?

I am damn sick of it all. I request the impeachment of President George W. Bush. I request the impeachment of Vice President Richard Cheney. I request the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. I request the resignation of Secretary of State Condolesa Rice. I request the resignations of the rest of the Bush cabinet. I request that we the people of the United States of America be given back our rights and that the Patriot Act be abolished. I request that we stop killing people on behalf of the get rich or die trying oil, pharmaceutical, insurance, and weapons corporations. I DEMAND the end of corrupt governments, which lie, steal, murder, rape, pillage, crusade, and many other nasty things.

We, as people of the light, must usher in the Kingdom of God. WE MUST STAND IN THE LIGHT. We must be beacons of hope and offer alternatives to the empire that is building in our very midst.

He (Bush) just said that it is a funny thing that people are questioning the spreading liberty in the world. Question Mr. President: Who said that liberty comes from murder? You speak a double language. You speak of liberty while spreading the very tyranny that defeats it.

God, save us all and bless ALL people, not just America!

God, help us usher in your Kingdom.

War, what is it good for?

2006-03-19T10:10:00.000-05:00

So, it's been three years since America invaded Iraq. I remember watching the coverage on my 13" color TV in my room back at my parents place. Shortly after the war started, I came to seminary. In these three years, I have grown so much. My spirit has grown closer to the light. My mind has grown closer to the Truth. My opposition to the war in Iraq, and all wars for that matter, has grown exponentially.

I like to watch Meet the Press on Sunday mornings. Today the subject was Iraq. One military man said that the fact that Baghdad street markets and stores were busy was a sign that there has been progress in Iraq. I subsequently began screaming at the television, "Baghdad was busy before we went in too!" What the hell is wrong with these people. I want to hear the dissonant voice in the military. What about the men and women who don't want to be in Iraq and who no longer believe the lie that they are defending America by being there.

The rhetoric from the White House is BULLSHIT! How much more will it take for people to see the truth? They fixed the elections. They made the war. They care about nothing but lining their own pockets and gaining power. God, save us from the time of liars and thieves.

I also watched Good Night and Good Luck last night. What a great film. Kudos to Clooney! Murrow was absolutely right in his prediction that television would only entertain and insulate the public from the reality of the world. Oh, how many times have I watched the Today Show and after about ten minutes shut it off? I am disgusted by the lack of care for others in this world. They only cover the stories that give people a warm-fussy feeling. And how many times does one need to see the latest fashions or watch stars promoting their latest project?

I pulled an excellent quote off of the DVD's extra material. "Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit." --Edward R. Murrow

Well, enough bitching for today. Know this though, I am watching you evil ones who deceive the masses. Justice and righteousness will prevail. God always shines the light on those who love the darkness, if not now then in the hereafter.

My DNA

2006-03-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of my DNA.

Free-Wheeling Creator

I am...

You are a Creator

Your imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty make you a CREATOR.

You are independent, and you enjoy your self-sufficiency.

Defying convention, you are very innovative, and you have a vivid imagination.

The look of things is important to you, and you have a keen eye for aesthetic beauty in multiple arenas.

You have a strong interest in what is new and exciting—and that includes forging ahead with new ideas, not simply discovering what is already out there.

Your eagerness to seek new and varied experiences leads you into many different situations.

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you are creative when it comes to finding novel solutions to complex problems.

You trust yourself to be innovative and resourceful.

Your confidence allows you to take your general awareness and channel it into creativity.

Your independent streak allows you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts

You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

Generally, you believe that you control your life, and that external forces only play a limited role in determining what happens to you.

If you want to be different:
Appreciate the earthly, practical elements of things—there is beauty in form as well.

While you are good at thinking abstractly, focusing on details a bit more may help you discover things about the world.

How You Relate to Others

You are Free-Wheeling

Your charismatic nature, liveliness, and independence make you FREE-WHEELING.

You don't mind being in the spotlight, preferring larger gatherings to quiet nights.

You take a practical approach to people, not getting too involved in their feelings—or their business.

At the same time, your acceptance of others leads you to be understanding of their life circumstances, even if you don't quite understand their emotional reactions to some things.

Although you have a wide circle of friends, you're very discerning as to whom you can trust.

You're not rigid in your beliefs about the world, and you don't want to impose your perspective on others, but at the same time, you know that plenty of people don't always act responsibly.

Engaging with others is a large part of how you live in the world, and most importantly, it plays a role in how you see yourself—you tend to learn the most about yourself in situations where you are with other people.

You have an understanding of the complexities of situations, and you don't judge others too hastily.

If you want to be different:
Your open-mindedness about the world gives you a great perspective on things, but your lack of trust in others limits how close you can get with them. Try opening up to people a bit more without losing your healthy skepticism.

While being the life of the party comes naturally to you, be sure to reserve time for yourself—see what you can learn by spending some time observing the world rather than just by diving in.

Your Personality Chart

»Glossary of Traits

This chart shows thirteen personality traits. Each bar indicates the percentage of test takers who entered a lower value for that trait than you did. For example, if Confidence is at 80, that means that 80% of people entered lower values for confidence questions than you did. Based on a sample of 30,000 users.

Confidence
LowHigh
70
Openness
LowHigh
98
Extroversion
LowHigh
50
Empathy
LowHigh
16
Trust in others
LowHigh
38
Agency
LowHigh
94
Masculinity
LowHigh
90
Femininity
LowHigh
36
Spontaneity
LowHigh
68
Attention to style
LowHigh
14
Authoritarianism
LowHigh
4
Earthy/Imaginative
ImaginativeEarthy
48
Aesthetic/Functional
FunctionalAesthetic
88

My New Blog

2006-03-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

So, I was using iWeb to do my blog before but that didn't allow you to comment, so, I have switched over to Blogger for my blogging stuff. You can still get to it from my website when you click on blog.