Friday

A letter to the New President and New Congress

I found this and thought I would publish it

A letter to the new president and Congress

I want my country back. I want America back. I don’t care which party or candidate wins as long as you do the following.

Please bring back the system of checks and balances. There is a reason for it to be there. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial branch are there for a reason. Don’t undo it. We won’t allow it. No more secrets please.

The media is no longer the fourth power in America. Don’t privatize the internet. The truth will eventually set us free. The corporations which own our so called mainstream media can do as they like. The people will eventually find the truth. It will just take longer.

Get rid of torture in any form. It does not work and it trashes our American values.

When you want to win the war on terror, besides weapons you must use soft diplomacy. Let me remind you what the Marshall plan did for American and the world in World War 2. Bring it back. Hatred breeds more hatred. We are not safer. We need allies and we need to understand why people do what they do besides a simplistic “They hate us because we are free”

I don’t care how you figure it out. We need access to health care. We need for people to become responsible for their own health as well. Quit pandering to the pharmaceutical, insurance companies and hospital corporations. Let’s focus on health, not medicine, Prevention, not treatment once and for all.

Global warming is not a HOAX. It is real . Let’s do something about it. Commit to alternative fuels that don’t hurt the environment either. Build rail. Make fuel efficient cars. Sign international treaties that hold everyone accountable, including China and India. We are all interconnected.

We need immigrants and we also need a safe border. We can stop scapegoating by comprehensive reform. Come up with a bipartisan plan. They would not be here if we didn’t have jobs for them.

Why are you allowing our banks to trick consumers into getting more credit cards than they need or loans they can’t pay? Wake up and then wake us up!

In the past 30 years, the gap between rich and poor has gotten bigger and bigger. No great country can thrive without a middle class. Figure out how to close that gap or we’ll become a second rate country.

Move away from an economy based on war. We don’t want it and we can’t afford it.


We the people are the government too and eventually we wake up and we’ll kick you out if you keep messing up our nation.

Quit using fear to do whatever you want. What we have to fear is fear itself. This worked for a while but we are tired of it. Don’t use it anymore.

Quit lying. Tell the truth. Sooner or later we’ll find out. We just don’t want millions of people dead in the process. Don’t forget. We don’t want any more secrets, lies, and fear in your speeches. We want the truth as painful as it is because it will set us free.

The only way American can get back on her feet again is to unite, among party lines, racial lines, cultural lines. We are Americans and we are a great nation because when we finally get fed up. We act. We are fed up. Wake up Mr. President and Congress. Wake up.


ANONYMOUS

Thursday

Living Smart music on "You Tube"/Spitzer scandal

We can finally hear it and see it on You Tube click here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=STafkoKUWTc
We shot this at the ARTERY an incredible art space you should check out to expand your soul and horizons.
www.arteryhouston.org
Mark Larsen runs the place and it is the most incredible greek theatre in town. They host musicians and artists from all ethnic backgrounds and music genres. I am proud to have performed there on the last concert of at least, last year!
I am still working on Season 4 of Living Smart and remember it launches on April 6th at 3pm with one of my favorite Jungian analysts (if not the best in the nation) James Hollis PhD who discusses how we create a life worth living and worthy of our soul. He's a genius and I love learning from him.
On to current news. It is all over the news, the tintillating prostitution story about the Governor of New York Elliot Spitzer and who we now know, the siren prostitute Kristen! I don't want to waste my time on this because everyone will talk it to death. I do want to share this. I think we must all think about his family, have compassion for them. He has two teenage daughters and a wife who are suffering silently in the limelight. I don't point fingers because I am not God but I wish the media didn't plaster the images of the call girl all over the place. It also made me think about what tends to happen in our society a lot and we seldom take into consideration in the media and in our lives. It has to do with having affairs, or starting new marriages or relationships even while we are married. Have you noticed at least for celebrities that the ex wife, or ex husband or "ex" children dissappear from their lives, as if they didn't exist? It is as if all that counts is the present. What I want to leave you with is this. Any time you start a new relationship, think how it will affect who you left behind and bless them for they too were an important part of your life and forgetting all about it will not make it right. "ex"'s need love too!!!

Tuesday

Why you should vote today? March 5th 2008

Believe it or not. I am an independent voter. I have voted for Republicans and Democrats alike because I vote for the person, not the party. Iam constantly stereotyped as a liberal because I work for PBS but that is just too simplitic. I am like most Americans, IN THE MIDDLE. I don't believe in absolutes. I call myself a politcal cynic. After leaving a country for political reasons (Argentina) I don't believe in politicians generally speaking. There are exceptions. I think Bill White has done a good job in Houston but nationally, I don't like the job Congress or the President have done in the past 8 years.
I feel strongly that as Americans we are at a crossroad. We can either continue the path we have been on or we can demand real change. (I don't mean the rhetorical change we hear from all candidates) I mean real change. I have my opinion about what real change means.
I would like to see an economy that is market driven but socially just. This means we hold banks, mortgage companies, financial advisors etc. accountable and we take responsability for bad decisions ourselves. For instance, if you don't have the money don't buy it. period. Seventy percent of Americans are in debt. I don't think spending money and just consuming is the solution. Let's look at the future of this country. Would it be smarter to stop spending on a war that seems to have no end? Should we leave or Stay in Iraq until the situation is stable? Should we not change the way we consume oil? If the war was in fact fought for oil, what behaviors have we as Americans changed to stop our eternal dependence on oil?
What about health care? Can our politicians really break away from the pharmaceutical, hospital and insurance lobbysts? Do you realize, our politicians depend on their money to win elections? Do we understand that we need campaign finance reform to change a system that depends on big money to get elected? What is our responsability for our health? Do you realize food manufacturers may be advertising food that is just plain and simple toxic? Why don't we focus on prevention as a nation, because it is not a smart business decision? Please. Let's not forget, in my view, people are more important than the almighty dollar. We have to learn about nutrition so that when we get older, we won't get diabetes, or heart disease or high blood pressure.
Finally another issue is of course immigration. I will be doing a town meeting on April 24th on the subject here at HoustonPBS at 7pm. If this is an issue that really concerns us, then let's look at a comprehensive immigration reform. Getting emotional about the issue does not lead to solutions. Deporting people who have been living here for years is not the answer. What is economically, socially feasible? Every candidate has his or her views on all these subjects. Listen to them, ask questions and then VOTE..If you don't vote this election, you can't complain. We have to start standing up for what we believe without fear. We have to have the courage to cast a vote and hanle the consequences. We can no longer be an apathetic nation. If we are to be a great nation. WE MUST VOTE!!!