The Historical Jesus of Nazareth

The bible is a book of revisionism...meant to take people's power and place them in awe of authority...exactly the opposite of what the real, historical jesus taught. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could recognise that we are all 'sons and daughters of god'? That we all have the capacity to heal and create miracles... Certainly that is not what authority wants us to believe...keep 'em under the thumb...and hopin' for a better world to come, someday... I'm with jesus...kick out the money changers...and question the authority of the pharisees... Throughout His ministry, Jesus violated many of the pharisees' oral laws. He mixed freely with tax collectors and sinners, making Him ceremonially unclean (Luke 7:39). He ate and drank with them, and was called a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34). He ate with ceremonially unclean hands (Luke 11:38). He broke their Sabbath laws by healing people, and gleaning 'corn' to eat (Luke 13:14, Matthew 12:1-2). He forgave peoples' sins, which to the Pharisees was blasphemy (Luke 5:21). He also freely criticised the Pharisees for their hypocrisy and self righteousness (Luke 11:37-52). In the Pharisees' eyes, Jesus was guilty of law breaking and blasphemy. The idea of Jesus criticising them was an outrage (Luke 6:11). They also saw Him as a threat both to their popularity and their authority over the people (Luke 13:17). Because of this they plotted to kill Him. I think it is incumbent upon all of us, as 'sons and daughters of god' to freely criticise the 'Pharisees' (regardless of their religious, military or economic philosophy) for their hypocrisy and self righteousness... To work toward healing the earth and her inhabitants...and to manifest miracles... That is my christmas wish for us all.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall+The North American Union

I'm not with Lou Dobbs, nor am I an anti-immigrant. As a fact, "Imagine" is a dream of mine...but, not in a coercive, fascistic manner. I don't trust the cabal who run this country...I don't even trust Ron Paul...I'm more in the Kucinich camp...although as a practical matter I'm talking up John Edwards... I'd love for there to be open borders and equality and justice for everyone in the world...I'd love for there to be an end to economic, environmental and religious strife..."can't we all just get along?"... It is coercion and inequality I rail against...the top down control...(sh*t floats as well as cream, btw). As for people like Putin...he is capable of having people killed...but as long as the people he supports are in power and the people don't make too many waves everything can be hunky-dory...kinda like in this country only more blatant...(although we did have a president who was the former head of our secret police/KGB/CIA...and now have his son [who was selected to office through judicial fiat] leaving his turds lying about as legacy)... Young people in china don't even care that they live under an authoritarian regime anymore...why should they...they have MTV and Ipods...and commodity...and times where they can act like an individual...why bother with the garbage collectors who are in office? As long as we continue our commute to town each morning and our consumptive greed driven habits, we are giving tacit approval to the policies of any administration...but why should we care about blood for oil, or death squads? We have MTV and Ipods...and commodity...but durn it all...things are getting expensive...and our pocketbooks matter more than our souls... When we all decide we aren't going to take it anymore...and stay in bed one morning instead of making that commute to town, or that trip to the shopping mall...when a general strike happens, perhaps it'll wake up the powers that be...United we stand, divided we fall...and we're falling rapidly.

Conservation and Solar Energy

I originally had two small solar panels I purchased from an 'Energy Sciences' advert in the back of a Mother Earth News Magazine...about 1980/81...I'd fussed around with a 6 volt windcharger back in the mid 70s...and with these panels, it was a real 'wow' moment. When I built my current home, no mailbox, no phone, no electric...no bills...a postal box in town...those two panels and a large truck battery gave me a light in my bedroom, a light in the kitchen and a light in the 'living' room...a 12volt JVC combo SW/AM/FM dual cassette recorder/player and record player...and a 9 inch 12 volt tv...which gave me three channels...rambo, dumbo and bimbo...18 bucks a year for my property taxes, a root cellar/pantry for refrigeration...no meat unless it was killed that day...(an occasional rabbit/grouse/woodchuck/squirrel)... It was very freeing... My wants grew as my income grew, over time...many people mention to us how green we live...but, thinking back to those times...I really lived green, with a much smaller footprint... Can't turn back the clock, but I remember and kick myself back into shape every now and again. We've become much more spoiled over time. I remember thinking...not what I was doing without...but the luxury of what I had...no bills/no ties...no 9 to 5... Conservation is the key...and quelling our desires. I'm in the process of using more efficient products...such as LED lights...but, they are products, which means...they had to be produced...and there are ramifications in the production of anything. I think I'm lecturing myself as much as posting about conservation and solar energy.

Detoxifying and Cleansing

In the first week of the cleanse you are encouraged to consume a plant-based diet. A move away from animal products will decrease your harmful exposure to toxins by as much as 50%. In the second week of the cleanse you are encouraged to consume an organic, raw (uncooked) plant-based diet. In the third week, a liquid diet of raw fruit juices and raw vegetable juices . A move away from whole live-food to a live-juice fast will give the digestive organs a complete rest. If you'd began sprouting some seeds when you began the second stage, you should have many live sprouts to add to your diet...which can include radish, fenugreek, alfalfa, clover...and another group of larger seeds such as mung bean, adzuki bean, red lentil, and green lentil. I would also add sea greens to the green veggie juices, as well. Good health to you all...do some research. Take care of your ass...for it carries you.

Have a Nice Day! (No, Really!)

I just finished 'The Road', by Cormac McCarthy

I have a very depressed hermit friend...I mean, truly hermit...who has no electricity, not even a 12 volt bulb...candles...a small cabin which up until a year ago had only a mexican blanket for a door...this in 30 below zero weather...an army cot and a dog...cuts firewood by hand for that day...often green. Artist, with beautiful drawings and paintings lying about on his floor, as if they were throw rugs. Anyway...he told me once that whenever he gets truly depressed he reads about Aushwitz...so that he realises he has it pretty good. I've never known it to cheer him up.

It warmed up enough to wear shorts today. And Little Blackears came to the door to see if her cat friend, Pogo, would come out and play.

The Military Avoids Responsibility and Dumps on the Troops...Or...Support the Troops, Hate the Veterans

Click on the heading for an article in The Nation, which appeared in the 15 Oct 2007 issue, following up on an article appearing on 9 April 2007. Another topic I wish to raise...is about the many returning OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and Afghan theatre combat troops who have Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, and even combat physical wounds who have been denied medical discharges and instead have been drummed out of the service as having a pre-existing 'personality disorder'...after having been vetted through physical and mental testing at the time of enlistment, further physical and mental testing through basic and advanced trainings, and even further being found physically and mentally able to fight in this 'war on terrorism'... I'll tell you some people with personality disorders...GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld...ad nauseum... This is a dysfunctional nation, with dysfunctional leaders and representatives and a dysfunctional media...a dysfunctional economic system and a dysfunctional political system...and the wounded troops are the ones with pre-existing personality disorders which are not recognizable until tested by combat? Puke...that portion of the military personnel manual should be expunged...anyone with a 'pre-existing personality disorder' should not be allowed to serve...therefore, anyone who served did not have a pre-existing condition.

An Open Letter to the Minnesota DNR "Planners"

As a proud member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and a concerned citizen who lives near the areas of concern, I believe these comments, which are written very eloquently, need to be considered as testament to closing the OHV/ATV trails in the Mississippi Headwaters and Smoky Hills State Forests. *** Former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth called off-road vehicle (ORV) abuse one of the “four threats” to the health of public lands.· Poorly managed OHV use damages hunter, angler, and other quiet-user experiences, adversely affects wildlife habitat and behavior (including big-game and fisheries), and impacts water quality.· OHV-caused soil compaction triggers a cascade of negative effects ranging from impacts on water quality to a shift in plant and animal communities. After vehicle tires compact loose soil, rain or snowmelt can no longer percolate fully, and the subsequent surface runoff generates hillside erosion. This is of particular concern in the MHSF and the Smoky Hills.· Steep hills and sandy soils make the MHSF/Smoky Hills area vulnerable to off-road driving damage and significant erosion already has occurred from illegal driving near and through the river and wetlands and on hillsides by lakes.· Closing OHV trails on state land in the forest is reasonable because hundreds of miles of OHV trails are already available on nearby county lands and in other state forests.· According to a 2000 Minnesota DNR “Awareness and Satisfaction Survey,” the statement that survey respondents disagreed with most was: “The DNR should establish more sites on public land for motorized off-road vehicle recreation.”· According to a 2002 “Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Opinions and Attitudes Toward Deer Management” survey, the typical Minnesota firearms hunter hunted with a group, used a tree stand at least some of the time, and did not use an ATV. Most hunted for the sport and to be with friends and family.· Multiple studies and surveys have shown that OHVs scare away big game and do not improve hunters’ success.· Former Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation biologist Alan Christensen, states flatly: “Roads are the single biggest problem on the landscape…It’s well documented and everything else pales in comparison.” · The approach of sharing public land sounds reasonable, but in practice it has often failed. What usually happens is that those who prefer quiet recreation are driven from areas where off-road driving becomes popular. So where’s the multiple use?· Data shows that the people of Minnesota who do not use OHVs vastly outnumber those who do (even among deer hunters in the north central and northeast part of the state). Those who recreate in non-motorized ways on public lands outnumber those who ride OHVs in terms of both the number of people and number of recreational days, and Minnesotans react negatively to suggestions that the DNR should supply more OHV trails in public satisfaction surveys when questioned about how DNR should cater to recreation tastes.· When hunting skill and effort is reduced to twisting a throttle, hunting and habitat disappear. Motorized hunters have to continually reach further. And thus it spreads. Like cancer cells, if the use of ATVs continues to grow unabated they’ll eventually kill the host. In this case, the host is hunting. *** It's absurd in this nation's time of crisis with global warming, dependence on foreign oil, and obesity/health problems...not to mention budget constraints and debt...that we are even considering wasting money and fuel and our environment by allowing increased use of ATV/OHVs...walking is probably the single best approach to some of our nation's health problems. I'm astonished and appalled...at the gratuitous pandering to the lobbyists who represent wasteful industries...and to people who wish to destroy our natural resources for their own chills and thrills. I invite you to come and witness the environmental degradation. I invite you to come and listen to the noise pollution.