The Venus Project - Zeitgeist Movement - Fascinating

I viewed the 2 hours length film twice. No. I don't have a lot of time on my hands. However, the subject of the film seems to me, in my mind too important not to view. And, after viewing it once, you might be compelled to see it again. I am not the only one with this reaction.

The film is both compelling and frightening. It's effect is to have you take a closer look into the state of economic affairs in the US and as it connects with the global economy. It's frightening because it makes too much sense. It's an "a-ha" moment although if you're like me and have been scrutinizing politics and the recent events on Wall Street it might be more like - its all becoming crystal clear. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

I will not give away the film. You'll need to watch it, in it's entirety. I will say, I've already taken some steps in my personal life to move toward a world community. I exercise the following:

My banking is done at a small local credit union. We've switched over years ago because we got very tired of the high fees of large, commercial banks. I do not purchase gas at Exxon/Mobil. I will do everything in my power to be sure my children do not enter the military. I'm attempting to live my life as green as I possibility am able to do so. When my husband bought a car recently, our top priority was efficiency. He commutes daily and gets up to 38 g/pm on the highway. That's not great but it's a step in the right direction. If I could, I would get my house off the grid and oil dependency. I would use solar and other clean energy sources to heat and cool my home. Unfortunately, we don't have the budget to move to solar. However, it's something every homeowner should be advocating for - affordable, clean energy for their homes. It should be a top priority and it should be affordable.

After watching the recent bailout unfold with the masses opposing it's passing and it got passed regardless of what the people wanted, you can't help to wonder. Think about whether or not it matters who you vote for - does it really matter? Will it truly make a difference? Only yesterday, in the "regular' news, it was reported the three biggest banks: JP Morgan, Citicorp and Bank of America will be benefiting from the bailout package taken by our government. This bail out plan for the above-mentioned banks was reported yesterday. The film was not created yesterday but discusses these banks. Think. It will make you think or at least it should.

I don't expect the changes being advocated in the film to happen in my lifetime. At best, I might see a strong movement in it's direction. My children or perhaps their children might see a better world as suggested in the film. It is not propaganda. Our government would lead you to believe it is but it's the government that's spewing propaganda and fear. Do not be fooled. It's time we stop and take notice. The change must happen with each individual starting with ourselves if we hope to have a better world and future for our children.

Palin Has No Shame...

Or sense of decency. Palin still hangs in the race but that's probably a good thing as it wouldn't look any better for McCain if he dumped her at this late juncture to pick up the person he originally wanted as a running mate and that was Joe Lieberman.

Still, I can't help to wonder what Palin thinks she's doing. I tell you one thing, she is bold and has guts but a Vice President it does not make. The recent VP debate proved only that she's gutsy as she stood their responding with scripted, peppered answers with her little cutesy winks in between. I watched as my mouth gaped open with the 1st wink and after that all I can think about is this woman trying to give male Americans a cheap thrill. Sarah, girlfriend, you need to put away those winks and 3 inch spike heels you wear that scream hussy if you hope to have a remote chance of being taken seriously. Is that a sexist thing to say? No. It's not. Why? She needs to present herself in way of what she represents. You know the adage, "dress for the job".

According to this morning's news flash in my email, "they" are saying that although Palin abused her power as Governor with Troopergate, she didn't break any laws. Huh? Did I miss something. You know what, she can't have it both ways. In the real world, that's not how it works. Lets see...hmmm, she abused her power but didn't break any laws. It doesn't add up to me but then again, I could be wrong. It's a head scratcher, isn't it.

Lets go over it.... Palin used her power as governor to fire Commissioner Walt Monegan because he refused to knuckle under her and Todd (why does Todd have any authority is another question that needs to be asked but that's a side discussion) by getting rid of Trooper Woten. Ok - by accounts Woten is a loose canon BUT the reason behind Palin's vendetta was the messy divorce thing going on between Palin's sister and Woten. Hence, Palin used her authority as the Governor to fulfill a personal objective which in sum means, she overstepped boundaries, abused her power and broke the law. Ok. I think I got it in a nutshell.

If that doesn't make it bad enough, Palin is using rallies to stir up hate and racism toward Barack Obama. Are politicians who are in office to serve the people suppose to stir up and divide the very citizens they claim to represent? Further, she's taking serious shots aimed at Obama based solely on his race and his middle name with nothing to back up her alleged claims. Barack Obama is not a Muslim and if he were a Muslim is that something to hold against him? I think not. Muslim doesn't equate terrorist and people really need to wake up and get off that track because it's a slippery slope. Palin is firing up the masses with this rhetoric by tying all Muslims to terrorists and further saying that Obama has terrorist ties. That is just plain nuts!

Gosh, darn! I hope you're not buying into the McCain/Palin spin machine. And, you betcha, all politicians need to be held to a higher standard. I expect the persons who will serve to run our country to have integrity and a strong intellectual capacity. McCain might have been all right if he were a bit younger, healthier and made better choices. He might of been a good choice if he had shown fortitude by making a better decision for a VP. However, that ship has longed sailed and McCain is now in the position to defend Obama because his VP crossed some serious lines in the recent rallies with inappropriate messages.

Palin can't seem to help herself and that's reason enough. McCain has to clean up after his VP by telling the American people, Obama is trust worthy and is a good man. Honestly, I already have that high opinion of Obama. I knew that which is why Obama has my support.

The Truth Unfolds

Finally the truth has come out on Sarah Palin regarding Troopergate. It was determined by a bipartisan committee today that Palin abused her authority as Governor of Alaska by the firing of Commissioner, Walt Monegan. Thank goodness these findings have been revealed during this critical time in the Presidential campaign and our crumbling economy.

Palin has no right to hold any public office and impeachment proceedings need to commence post hast. Especially so given the fact that Palin is stirring up dissension, hate and fear at political rallies. As I've stated in previous postings, Palin's mentality has the potential to bring us back in history where intolerance, hatred and racism was the norm.

The McCain/Palin rallies are drawing throngs of wing nuts attracted to Palin's venomous, negative rhetoric pointed at Barack Obama. Palin uses the political stage to wrongfully accuse Obama of being a Muslim and associating with terrorists. Only uneducated people would take these false claims to heart.

Palin has a hidden agenda for her political interests. Interests that move so far to the right that she is known to associate with those who have interest in Alaska succeeding from America. Todd Palin, the "first dude" has been pushing toward succession from the US. How on earth did Palin get in the VP position in the first place? There are those who have good reason to believe that Carl Rove is responsible for Palins positioning as McCain's VP.

I'm just a blogger with an interest in the direction of my country is moving in. I'm scared with all the recent events in our economy, the disgusting hatred springing up in the McCain/Palin rallies and the possibility of yet another fixed Presidential election. I write this blog for all interested parties that the average American person such as myself is paying close attention to this very important time in our history. I hope you, the reader is paying close attention also and taking the information and testing it's validity. That you're actively participating in the political process by reading, researching, talking to everyone you know about the issues at hand.

As you consider the person who will receive your vote in November, I hope you are well informed and will base your vote on the issues, integrity of the person and the much needed new direction our country needs to head in. I hope the persons you support are not based on gender, race or hearsay but a well informed decision.

Affirmative Action for Sarah Palin?

An open address to all white women voters:


Please do not tell me you're in favor the McCain/Palin ticket for the following reasons:


A) McCain is white

B) Palin is white

C) Palin is white and a woman


Are white women in America not better than that? Are white women in America not more concerned about the future than that? Please do not tell me you'll not support Barack Obama because his skin color happens to be different from yours? Truly, you're joking - right?


And, please do not tell me you're rallying behind Palin because she happens to be a woman. I think the women of America are smarter than that.


In my previous posts I've tried to identify so many reasons why it's not a good idea to stand behind Palin. As a recap, first and foremost - she's not qualified to be the President of this great country if McCain croaks while in office. The idea of that should be a frightening thought for many sensible thinking people.


Please don't tell me Obama doesn't have enough experience. At one time, I too, thought that way until I entered the age of reason and sensibility. Barack Obama is a well educated, level headed man. I feel it's safe to say, he'll make well thought out and wise choices in selecting his Presidential cabinet. The cabinet he selects will be there to help with the difficult decisions that lay ahead for our country. And, why do I think this way? Obama chose Joe Biden as his VP and that's reason enough to feel confident. The decision was well thought out unlike McCain who snatched up Palin after needing to change his shorts following the highly favorable democratic convention. Plus, there's been much rumor that McCain was "encouraged" to select Palin as VP. Do we need another President who'll be a puppet on a string? I think not.


True, I was a bit disappointed Obama didn't select Hillary, I have to admit. However, his choice of Joe Biden, in my estimation, is a sound one indeed and one you can take to the bank.


McCain chose Palin for political reasons only. McCain didn't put country first in selecting Sarah Palin. Not only is the choice political, it's incompetent as well. Why? Because, if he cared a rats butt about country being first, McCain would've considered his own mortality in choosing a VP. At least the possibility as distasteful as the subject may be for many of us. It falls under the realm of possibility and that should be enough to scare the pants off of most sensible thinking people.


I ask all white women voters to think again, if they're dismissing Barack Obama due to his race. In my opinion, that is backward thinking and I know, I believe, the white women in this great country are much smarter than that.


The demographics on the American landscape is quickly shifting. Within the next 20 years, the country will be much more a sea of many colored pearls, not just white. There's no room left for a mentality to vote for a person because the skin color or gender fits a framework. That just doesn't play out any longer. We, the people, need to be concerned about the issues and there are many, too many. We need a new administration in Washington with the fortitude and strength of character to pull America out of the deep ditch the Republicans created. Once again, the Democrats need to come on board and clean house - the huge mess left in the Republicans wake. These are the very things that need to be in the forefront of people's minds.

Wasteful Unauthorized Spending is Palin's Legacy

Sarah Palin's wasteful ways
She poses as a fiscal watchdog, but when Palin was mayor, she grabbed city funds to give her office a pricey "bordello" makeover.
By David Talbot

Sept. 17, 2008 WASILLA, Alaska -- Sarah Palin has been touting herself as fiscal watchdog throughout her political career. But Palin's tenure as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, was characterized by waste, cronyism and incompetence, according to government officials in the Matanuska Valley, where she began her fairy-tale political rise.

"Executive abilities? She doesn't have any," said former Wasilla City Council member Nick Carney, who selected and groomed Palin for her first political race in 1992 and served with her after her election to the City Council.

Four years later, the ambitious Palin won the Wasilla mayor's office -- after scorching the "tax and spend mentality" of her incumbent opponent. But Carney, Palin's estranged former mentor, and others in city hall were astounded when they found out about a lavish expenditure of Palin's own after her 1996 election. According to Carney, the newly elected mayor spent more than $50,000 in city funds to redecorate her office, without the council's authorization.
Enjoy this story?

"I thought it was an outrageous expense, especially for someone who had run as a budget cutter," said Carney. "It was also illegal, because Sarah had not received the council's approval."
According to Carney, Palin's office makeover included flocked, red wallpaper. "It looked like a bordello."

Although Carney says he no longer has documentation of the expenditures, in his recollection Palin paid for the office face-lift with money from a city highway fund that was used to plow snow, grade roads and fill potholes -- essential municipal services, particularly in weather-battered Alaska.

Carney confronted Mayor Palin at a City Council hearing, and was shocked by her response.
"I braced her about it," he said. "I told her it was against the law to make such a large expenditure without the council taking a vote. She said, 'I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't.'"

"I'll never forget it -- it's one of the few times in my life I've been speechless," Carney added. "It would have been easier for her to finesse it. She had the votes on the council by then, she controlled it. But she just pushed forward. That's Sarah. She just has no respect for rules and regulations."

Carney, who comes from a long-established homesteading family in the area and once ran the city's garbage collection business, has decided to speak out for the first time since Palin's vice-presidential nomination. He is viewed as a longtime Palin gadfly, ever since he sided with her opponent in the 1996 mayor's race. After Palin won, she froze out Carney, refusing to call on him at City Council meetings and deep-sixing his proposals. "That's the way Sarah is," Carney said. "She rewards friends and cuts everyone else off at the knees."

Other local officials -- who lack Carney's acrimonious history with Palin -- share his dim view of her mayoral reign. When Palin ran for mayor, she dismissed concerns about her lack of managerial expertise by saying the job was "not rocket science." But after a tumultuous start, marked by controversial firings and lawsuits against the city, Palin felt compelled to hire a city manager named John Cramer to steady the ship.

"Sarah was unprepared to be mayor -- it was John Cramer who actually ran the city," said Michelle Church, a member of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, who knows Palin socially. "As vice-president she'll certainly have to rely on faceless advisors with no public accountability. Haven't we had enough of that in the past eight years?"

Other officials in the borough government -- the equivalent of county government in other states -- point out that Palin actually had very little executive responsibility, since the borough oversees many of Wasilla's vital functions.

"After all her boasting about her executive experience, what did she do?" asks a longtime borough official, who, like many in local circles, requested anonymity because of Palin's reputation for vengeance. "The borough takes care of most of the planning, the fire, the ambulance, collecting the property taxes. And on top of that she brought in a city manager to actually run the city day to day. So what executive experience did she have as mayor?"
Palin does have two major accomplishments to her name as mayor: the by now highly publicized sports complex on the outskirts of Wasilla, which she pushed through city government, and the less well-known emergency dispatch center, which she also brought to her hometown.
The sports complex, however, is seen by many local officials as a budget-busting white elephant.
"I feel sorry for our current mayor, because of the mess that Sarah left behind," said Anne Kilkenny, a respected government watchdog in Wasilla. "And the sports arena is still a money loser for the city."

"Sarah was very focused on the sports complex," said Wasilla council member Dianne Woodruff, who began serving after Palin's tenure. "But somebody forgot to buy the land before they started building on it. Somebody dropped the ball. It was the fault of the people running the city at the time. As a result, we've spent well over a million dollars more than we should have. And we're still paying for it."

Today, the sports complex sits like a huge airplane hangar outside the Wasilla city limits, in a clearing in the woods. Since Palin's administration decided to build the complex far from Wasilla's population center, kids can't walk there or ride their bicycles. On a recent, drizzly afternoon, the cavernous building sat nearly empty. Inside, two girls glided aimlessly around on the ice rink.
But the quiet arena still held Palin's charged presence. A wall plaque commemorated Mayor Sarah Palin and her City Council for constructing the edifice. And on the walls, big, bold quotations urged young athletes to attempt impossible, Sarah Barracuda-like feats: "'You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.' -- Wayne Gretzky."

Local officials are also highly critical of Palin's decision to build an emergency dispatch center -- even though Wasilla and nearby Palmer already shared the costs of an emergency operation for the Mat-Su Valley. As a result of the duplication, there are now two expensive operations for an area with 85,000 people, while the city of Anchorage, with a population of over 300,000, makes do with one emergency station.

"Don't tell me about earmarks," snorts a borough official. "Because of Palin's ego, she couldn't stand the idea of sharing an emergency dispatch operation with Palmer, which has been Wasilla's town rival ever since her high school basketball days. So she ran to [Senator] Ted Stevens to get an earmark for her own system. Now we have two expensive emergency systems and both are losing money. She's no budget cutter -- give me a break. She's just the opposite."

Nick Carney, who is now retired in Utah, has a lot of time to ponder Sarah Palin's rise these days. When he and his wife picked Palin to run for City Council in 1992, because they felt the council needed an average-mom type like her, Carney had no idea how far their protégé would soar. "It was a very casual process, she wasn't even our first choice. We had known her since she was a girl, she went to school with our daughter. It wasn't that she was the brightest thing on the horizon, a rising star or anything like that."

But, in hindsight, Carney can see the qualities that have rocket-propelled Palin to where she is today.

"'Sarah Barracuda' -- she's proud of that name now, she uses it in her campaigns," said her former mentor. "But she got that name from the way she conducted herself with her own teammates. She was vicious to the other girls, always playing up to the coach and pointing out when the other girls made mistakes. She was the coach's favorite and he gave her more playing time than her skills warranted. My niece was on her team; she was a very good player. I used to sit there in the stands, and I would wonder, Why on earth is Sarah getting so much playing time?"

Ménage à Trois Anyone?

Sarah Palin's powerful "First Dude"
Todd Palin has exerted unusual influence on his wife's Alaska government. In Washington, their methods would do Bush and Cheney proud.
By Mike Madden

Sept. 16, 2008 WASHINGTON -- Not long after Sarah Palin was sworn in as Alaska's governor in December 2006, her husband, Todd, started showing up in the state capitol in Juneau. He'd hang around her office, or he'd sit in on meetings with Cabinet officials or legislators. He'd leave for a few weeks to go work his $100,000-a-year oil job on the North Slope, then come back to Juneau (or Anchorage, depending on where Palin was spending her time). At some point, the "First Dude" became enough of a fixture in the statehouse that people just sort of figured he belonged there.

Soon, Todd Palin was getting copied on e-mails dealing with official state business. He had already helped write the state budget, gotten involved in personnel matters and called up lawmakers when he -- or Sarah Palin -- had a bone to pick with them. Apparently Palin's inner circle figured they better include him on messages about pending legislation or ongoing controversies, too. The First Dude's involvement in Palin's efforts to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police force have now earned him a subpoena from the Legislature, and he also allegedly intervened to have John Bitney (a former friend) fired from the state payroll for having an affair with the ex-wife of one of Todd Palin's buddies. The Washington Post reported last week that the Palins billed the state $1,371 for Todd's airfare to Washington, when he joined Sarah Palin at a National Governors Association conference, and for the whole family to fly around Alaska watching him compete in the Iron Dog snowmobile race.

In the Palin administration, Todd appears to have had an unusually strong role, the extent of which remains unclear. He is not on the state payroll and was never elected -- but the First Dude has crossed over from the standard-issue supportive political spouse to something far more influential, weighing in on policy and political matters in ways that few observers seem to understand. His apparent influence in his wife's administration -- some in Alaska have referred to him as the "shadow governor" -- has raised questions about whether a Sarah Palin vice-presidency would hand the same type of backstage power to Todd, and what that might mean in the running of the U.S. government.

No one has accused Todd Palin of interfering in state business for his own personal benefit -- instead, the situation has remained somewhat inscrutable, if not odd. According to local politicos and observers, he lurks around the capitol if he doesn't have anything better to do, which, since he works seasonal jobs in oil and fishing, is fairly often.

"It's sort of puzzling," says Gregg Erickson, a Juneau columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and a longtime watchdog of state government. "He obviously plays an important role ... I've seen him in the governor's office, and I know she's conducted interviews in the governor's office with him present."

John McCain's campaign didn't answer a request for comment on Todd Palin or what his role in the Palin administration might indicate about how he'd be involved if McCain and Palin win the election.

In Sarah Palin's political profile and governing methods, critics see a direct political heir of George W. Bush. And Todd Palin's behind-the-scenes strength is one way in which Palin's Juneau administration appears to mirror that of Bush and Cheney -- with its proclivity for secrecy and cronyism. Sarah Palin has used a private e-mail address on most of the e-mails her husband was copied on, and reportedly was advised by aides that such nonofficial communications could be protected from potential subpoena. Legislators and political insiders in Alaska say a small circle of trusted Palin aides keep most decisions and deliberations close to the vest, with Todd Palin among them. These maneuverings may sound quite familiar, if you recall Bush staffers using private Republican National Committee e-mails instead of whitehouse.gov accounts, or the faith George Bush has put in trusted advisors to work closely with him in private, even when they don't seem up to the job.

The extent of Todd Palin's involvement in state business only began to come into view recently, when a conservative critic of the Palin administration used Alaska's public records laws to request copies of e-mails sent by two of her closest aides about state business. The activist, Andrée McLeod, is a Republican gadfly in Anchorage and an on-again, off-again state employee herself; she worked in Alaska House Speaker John Harris' office during the last legislative session. She was once a friend of Sarah Palin's -- the two worked together when Palin was on the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to expose conflicts of interest by the chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, Randy Ruedrich. ("Though she ruffles a feather or two now and again, this intelligent Alaskan is exactly what we need during these times," Palin had said of McLeod, a quote that McLeod used in a campaign flier for a failed 2004 bid for the Anchorage school board.)

Now McLeod says Palin is using government time and resources to pursue political goals -- the same thing the two of them accused Ruedrich of doing. But when she requested copies of administration e-mails, Palin's office redacted most of what they turned over, and refused to turn over more than 1,000 messages, citing executive privilege. Todd Palin got a copy of about 40 of those messages, though -- which makes it hard to figure out why other members of the public can't also have them. "This whole [notion of] open, transparent, honest ethical government is bogus," McLeod told Salon. "Her rhetoric has been shown to be bogus."


Palin's administration has refused to release records for other reasons that don't seem convincing; Erickson says he once had a request for internal documents denied because, according to Palin's administration, the public might not understand the documents he was seeking.

What Todd Palin's role seems to underscore is the extent to which his wife has run Alaska without engaging in the normal machinations of government. Insiders say Palin pays scant attention to the day-to-day workings of the bureaucracy that employs about 15,000 people. John McCain's campaign has used that number of employees to talk up Palin as having the executive experience necessary to be vice-president, or president -- but critics say she hasn't displayed an understanding of the details needed to manage even a state as sparsely populated as Alaska. "As far as her governing ability goes, it's a learning curve," says House Speaker Harris, a Republican who has clashed with Palin since she took office. "I think she's trying to learn, and that's one of the problems of somebody who comes from the outside -- completely from outside government, or state government, and maybe even federal government, for that matter."

Democratic Les Gara, a state representative in Alaska, says that Palin is too detached from the job to do it well. "I do not believe that she's paid enough attention to the details of policy and how government works and the issues facing the state to run the nation," Gara says. "It's not her lack of experience -- I think a smart person who's really engaged and really curious can be in national office [without experience]. It's the lack of curiosity on the day-to-day workings of government that I've got the concern about."

However much she may or may not grasp the political system in Juneau, Palin has apparently given her husband much opportunity to insert himself in state business whenever the two see fit. Will she operate the same way if she finds herself in Washington?

Democratic Underground Is Loaded With Intelligent Discussion

There's a truck load of interesting thoughts on the Democratic Underground. I love pulling off comments that are posted there. This post shows exactly where the priorities are with the Republican administration and if we end up (pray not) with the McCain/Palin disaster, you bet you can expect more of the same:

We don't have enough money to fix Social Security
We don't have enough money to fix Medicare
We don't have enough money to provide health care to ALL Americans
We don't have enough money to help out Americans losing their homes
We don't have enough money to help all our veterans returning from war
BUT We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out Bears Stearns
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to bail out AIG
We DO HAVE ENOUGH MONEY to pay for an unnecessary TRILLION DOLLAR war
When the LITTLE GUY needs help, they scornfully say, "GET A JOB!"But when of their BIG GUY CRONIES need a bailout, what do they say? SURE, NO PROBLEM. Where's the checkbook?"

But what about the debt we're leaving on the backs of our children and their future?"
"Children? WHOSE Children. OUR children won't have to pay for this. YOUR children will"
The Republicans have had their hands in our pockets for 8 years. Now they are robbing us blind IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! The Republicans have shown their true colors and now they expect us to vote them back into office? What's next? Should we bend over and spread 'em? Oh, I'm sorry, but we've ALREADY DONE THAT! SEVERAL TIMES!

Let's show 'em OUR color this November: BLUE