Poverty Is Not an Accident

Poverty Is Not an Accident
Nelson Mandela

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

KUNMfm Podcast: "What's a Disability to Brenda's Girls? an Oral History"



Cris Williamson
You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com/

Free Podcast software download:http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/

You need to have the above, before you can download the podcast on KUNM's website:http://kunm.org/podcast/

Look under the Sunday specials section.

If the podcast software I suggested, above, doesn't work, try another. Remove the OLD one, before downloading a new one.

You can find podcast software here:http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS256US258&q=podcast+software

Thank you for your interest in the radio documentary, "What's a Disability to Brenda's Girls? an Oral History," produced by Rogi Riverstone.

Friday, February 15, 2008

"Sob" stories????

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

Well, I made it through this transcription, but it was very painful for me.
I have to honestly voice my opinion, no matter the consequences.
First, I found scant evidence, in this episode, of a discussion about creating peace.
In fact, particularly with Lynn Twist, I experienced an actual assault, a declaration of war, against the most financially disinfranchised and exploited peoples of Earth.
I'm not talking about my own circumstances. I'm "low" income, in the wealthiest nation on Earth.
One of my internet friends, Ahmed, lives in Alexandria, Egypt. He's a computer specialist, as are most of the other members of his family. They're middle class, but could NEVER afford a microwave, nor do they see a need for one. He's astounded that I have one, that I found it in another "poor" neighbor's garbage, and that call myself "low income!" He can't afford to marry, as he can't afford to buy an apartment, the custom in Egypt, and a requirement before marriage.
I'm also much smarter than a lot of people, a lot wealthier than I. So, my resourcefulness has helped me to create a very comfortable standard of living, compared to my former neighbors, when I lived in the War Zone -- and even compared to my neighbors, now.
Barring severe illness, I could probably continue to muddle through my life, on less than $1,000/mo., as I've done for over 20 years now.
But I'm not living in real poverty.
I flashed on how utterly ludicrous Lynn Twist would look, conducting such a workshop, in most of the third world. They'd either laugh her out of the country, or beat her to death.
This was the same "Prosperity" doctrine that has always sold well to the affluent, and to the aspiring affluent, the latter of whom take on an artificial mantle of guilt for not being spiritually "good" enough to be wealthy. It works; it sells. And it kills people.
I will never forgive Shirley McClain for a portion of _Out on a Limb_ in which she basically states that the poor & suffering are CHOOSING this experience, based on her very faulty interpretation of Karma. Therefore, she implies, her "liberal" instincts to end suffering and fight for social justice were misguided. It's not her responsiblility to interfere with others' working out of their Karma. It works; It sells. And it kills people.
Blaming the victim is nothing new, is not peacemaking and is not enlightened. It works; it sells. And it kills people.
I WISH someone would interview Don Schrader. I KNOW everybody brands him as a "kook," but he's right. He lives as low-impact, sustainable and peaceful life as anybody I know.
Going to a health food store, buying "organic" fast food, wrapped in petrochemical packaging to be tossed in the landfill, is NOT sustainable living! And the poor cannot AFFORD that fancy stuff.
But Don lives poor, and very well, without causing much damage to his part of the planet.
The second guest, Kessel, is right on the edge of discovering something profound about human brain chemistry and human psychology. He ALMOST said we live in a culture of addiction, in which we constantly seek stimuli for our overloaded dopamine receptors, which have been so BADLY abused that they can't absorb dopamine anymore, at normal levels, and require ever higher levels, just to allow an individual to feel "normal."
He also ALMOST said something very profound about the need for nurture, for mothering. But he skipped right by that one.
What NOBODY said, and what is actually true, is that the addiction to acquisition is actually a search for love, for true wellbeing. THAT is the peacemaking aspect of the conversation about money. But NOBODY went there!
I have to wonder if that's because both of these people earn money, telling people how dysfunctional people are about money. Are their writings and workshops not just another device by which people seek higher dopamine levels by buying a product?
I'm sorry, but I found the conversations very incomplete, misguided, dangerous and, frankly, self-serving on the parts of the guests.
I feel they exemplified the problem, not a viable solution.
Please see citations, below, esp. DIRT COOKIES.
"Prosperity" doctirinehttp://livinginthehood.blogspot.com/2008/02/state-sponsored-prosperity-doctrine.html
"sob story:"Haitians trick empty bellies with dirt cookieshttp://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/01/31/haitians_trick_empty_bellies_with_dirt_cookies/With food prices rising, Haiti's poorest can't afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies.
Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau.
The mud has long been used by pregnant women and children here as an antacid and source of calcium. But in places like Cite Soleil, the oceanside slum where Charlene shares a two-room house with her baby, five siblings, and two unemployed parents, cookies made of dirt, salt, and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal.
"When my mother does not cook anything, I have to eat them three times a day," Charlene said. Her baby, named Woodson, lay still across her lap, looking even thinner than the slim 6 pounds, 3 ounces, he weighed at birth.
Though she likes their buttery, salty taste, Charlene said the cookies also give her stomach pains. "When I nurse, the baby sometimes seems colicky, too," she said.

Peace Talks transcript, 02/08

KRYDER: How much inner conflict does money make for people?

TWIST: I don’t think money does anything to people. I think people’s inner conflict around money is their own creation. Money’s the innocent victim. Money’s neutral. Money has no power, except the power we give it. We assign it its power, its value, its emotional and psychological power over us. We assign it so much emotional value, so much psychological power. We’ve even given it spiritual power over us. We have tremendous inner conflict over money. Pretty much everybody does. Even the wealthy have inner conflict over money.

KRYDER: What’s the solution?

TWIST: Our culture is confused and upset around money. We live in what’s now an intense tyranny of a consumer culture: a commercialized, monitized, consumer culture. Everyone alive today – not just in the United States, but it’s really intense in the United States – lives in a consumer culture that tells them they need to be something that they’re not.

KRYDER: How did we get from citizen to consumer?

TWIST: I don’t know. I wish I could answer that question; it’s a good one. I think part of what happened is that the political leadership of our nations, our churches and education gave way to corporate power. Commercialization has taken over ‘most every, basic institution on Earth. That commercialization, that monitization – thinking of everything in terms of how much money does it produce or how much money does it spend – has the lens about life become so narrow, that we can’t see outside of it anymore. We can’t see our own humanity.

KRYDER: I attended one of your workshops. You had us break into pairs. I was supposed to tell my partner my personal, financial “sob” story, while my partner looked at me with no verbal or nonverbal feedback. My story was that I should have saved more money for retirement by now. I ranted and raved. I was embarrassed and humiliated. My partner did nothing, like a stone statue. Something happened. I wouldn’t say my story is one hundred percent gone, but it’s mostly gone. How did that work? Explain to our listeners how they can let go of their “sob” story.

TWIST: Everyone has a “sob” story. Everyone thinks that theirs is real and true – that they’re the victim of this and that. That mindset, that understanding of ourselves as victim of some terrible divorce or horrible, harsh father or some awful business deal that didn’t go through – things we did that we shouldn’t have done, things we didn’t do that we should have done – that runs our relationship with money. We are all so caught in those “sob” stories. I call them “sob stories” to insult them. It doesn’t mean that the divorce the person had wasn’t enormously painful, that the settlement wasn’t unfair. But, if you live your life out of that upset, you’re never going to be satisfied. You’re never going to get over your baggage about money. If you realize that you’ve taken that incident – the divorce, the harsh father, the investment that fell through – and made it into a justification, a reason why you can’t get anywhere in your financial life. It starts to be something that makes you right, and everything else wrong. Then, you have no power. You can’t create a new future for yourself. I invite people to start labeling it a “sob story,” tell it to someone who won’t agree with or feel sorry for them -- who won’t not and moan, make you feel better, “poor you.” If you don’t give anybody agreement with their “sob” story, it starts to sound silly. It sounds like what it actually is, which is whining, moaning, complaining and not getting on with your own life. I recommend people look at where is their “sob” story located – the business deal, the dot com bomb, a divorce, an inheritance you’d hoped for that didn’t come, a harsh lesson from a parent – and just release it. Create a new future with money.

KRYDER: Lynn, you refer to Buckminster Fuller’s “Radical, Surprising Truth:” there is enough for everyone. You say “enough” is a context, not an amount. Can you explain that?

TWIST: We’re so enamored with content, which means, “how much?” We’re obsessed with amounts and measurements. What really shifts things in life and changes the game is not the content of life, but the frame – or context – from which we perceive life. That’s where we all have an enormous amount of power. When I talk about the “context of sufficiency” or the “context of enough,” I want to remove people from trying to understand, “what is enough?” I don’t want to get caught with people in that conversation, but, rather, that there is a space and a place to live from where you start to experience the “enough ness” of life. The needs of you, of me, are met – sometimes in miraculous and exquisite ways. If we let go of trying to get more of what we don’t really need (which is what we’re all scrambling to get more of; the consumer culture forces you to think that way), it frees up tons of energy to turn and make a difference with what you already have. When you make a difference with what you have, it expands. That’s a context, or a principle, of sufficiency. What you appreciate, appreciates. Focus on what’s already there. Realize how your needs are being met in exquisite, beautiful and sometimes-surprising ways. Appreciate that. That leads you to a sense of prosperity and “enough ness” in life.

KRYDER: Our show is about making peace. But making peace is a two-way process. How can people make peace with money, if it can’t talk back to us?

KESSEL: I actually feel that it does talk back to us. It’s not so much that the money’s talking back to us; it’s our inner reactions to it that are talking back. I’ve seen people have a two-way relationship with money. They project a lot of feelings, almost personifying money: it’s evil, or it’s got bad or good intentions for them. Because it’s so closely tied to survival, it’s almost a supplanted mother. Whatever issues you have with your parents, you’re likely projecting those issues onto money.

KRYDER: In your book, you talk about how people become accustomed to a specific state of being with money. It reminded me of the “set point theory,” with weight control. They say it’s largely, genetically, predetermined how much we’re going to weigh. Is that true about money, that there’s a financial “set point?”

I don’t think it’s so much genetic, but I do think that the environmental influences we have, when we’re young, have a huge impact. That impact is largely unconscious. We’re not really aware of the formative moments when something happened to us that created trauma, pain or a decision that, “I’m never going to let that happen to me again. I’m going to behave this way with money in the future, so I don’t have to go through these feelings again.”

KRYDER: It is really complex. My mom had a lot of stuff about money. There were five kids in our family. We were only allowed to have four, Oreo cookies at a time. It was all about counting. Another thing she did – and people will be horrified to hear this, but bless her heart – she said she couldn’t afford to pay for Novocain when we had our fillings worked on. That’s what you’re talking about: those kinds of experiences really impact how we relate to money as adults?

KESSEL: Right. What’s interesting to me is almost genealogically looking back and seeing what caused your mom to have that relationship to money. What was it about having money? When had she not had money? Many people approach not having money with cutting costs. A lot of people, especially in today’s society, approach not having money with ignoring it: with, essentially, putting their heads in the sand and having credit cards, parents, family members or friends pick up the slack. Many people approach not having money with earning more. That’s really why I wrote about these financial personality types or, what I call, the eight, financial archetypes. People react very differently, given a certain situation in life, like not having enough money.

KRYDER: The archetypes are based on the “wanting mind,” it sounds like. Let’s talk about that. You tell a fascinating story about a dentist who doubled his portfolio from four million to eight million. When he saw the eight million on paper, what was his response?

KESSEL: Essentially, his response was, “where are we going from here?” When’s the eight going to become twelve? The response behind the response was, “it’s not enough.” “I thought I wanted to double my money, but now that I have, I’m left with the same feelings of discontent or mal-ease about my money or about my life, so, I guess, I must just need more of the same. That’s what the archetypes are, “more of the same. I think that this will do it for me.” “This” is more savings, as in the dentist’s case, or more spending, as in the case of the pleasure-seeker’s case, or taking more and better care of people that are suffering and need my help, which is what the caretaker would do.

KRYDER: Isn’t that just part of being human, that we have this “wanting mind?” Is it something we can really change?

KESSEL: I think the way we change it is by putting our awareness on it. It’s not that the thoughts stop. I’ve spent many hours, days and weeks in silent meditation. A lot of people think of meditation as emptying your mind of thoughts. I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as placing your awareness in a different place, a different perspective, so you see the thoughts and their unrelenting nature, how they keep rising and falling away. You see there’s no choice in what rises and falls away, really. The change is not to believe them. The change is not acting with money, based on those thoughts that tell you what to do. One of the things I do, with myself, clients and in the book is to ask yourself what the promise is. If the “wanting mind” is saying to you – like with this dentist, “Get from eight million to twelve million,” ask yourself to be very specific about what the inherent promise is. “Why? Will I be happy? Will I be relaxed? Will I not stay awake, late at night, fretting about money and expenses? Tell me exactly what that’s going to give me.” Generally, the “wanting mind” can’t; it doesn’t want to get that specific. But, if it can, then you’ve got an audit trail. You can see if it happens or not. By and large, it doesn’t, as it didn’t for the dentist.

KRYDER: You say the suffering ends – not when we get that thing – when the wanting stops.

KESSEL: That’s right. For some moment, keeping with the dentist, when he first got to eight million, there were a couple of days of peace, of relaxation, of not wanting. I’ve had other moments, in my own life I’ve eaten an incredible meal and I’m so taken with the sensory enjoyment of that meal, that I’m not wanting anything else. Or, I love snowboarding and I’m snowboarding on an incredible, powder day and I’m absolutely present, and there’s no wanting going on. Most entertainment, if you think about what we call a great movie, CD, is great because it keeps us from thinking about our own wants and desires. We’re completely enraptured in the entertainment. It’s that cessation of wanting that is the drug, if you will, that keeps hooking us back into wanting more. We think it’s the object, the four million, the snowboarding, the meal or the blouse that gave us the pleasure. It was the catalyst. It was really the absence of wanting anything that was the real source of our peace.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Sweet Life

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

Sweet Life
By Rogi Riverstone
02/09/08

Cultural illiteracy,
Boss man’s decree:
Bachelor’s degree,
Basic currency.
Got no job for me.
Think you’re getter than me?
Celebrity.
What are we celebrating?

"The warm, the richly coloured, the infinitely friendly world of soma-holiday. How kind, how good-looking, how delightfully amusing every one was! "

Soma and Somalia appear together in a Google search.

Since SOMA may cause drowsiness and/or dizziness in some patients, make sure you know how you respond to SOMA before engaging in potentially hazardous tasks, like driving an automobile or operating machinery.

Soma is manufactured by MedPointe,
Of the Monsanto Corporation.

"All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects."

Things go better with Coke.
Got hope?
Change in America.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
I put $1.00 in the Pepsi machine.
I was a quarter short!

"Swallowing half an hour before closing time, that second dose of soma had raised a quite impenetrable wall between the actual universe and their minds."

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
ADM, Supermarket of the World.
$1.00 ADM HFCS costs US taxpayers $10 in subsidies.

"You do look glum! What you need is a gramme of soma."

Brazilian sugarcane refined as ethanol
ADM, Supermarket of the World.
$1.00 ADM ethanol costs US taxpayers $30 in subsidies.

“Why you don't take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You'd forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you'd be jolly. So jolly."

ADM: Sponsor of News Hour on PBS.

Let’s drive to the store for a soda!

Somalia exports: sugarcane, corn,
The largest refugee population in the world.

Since 1985, all ADM humanitarian food deliveries
To Somalia arrived at harvest time.
None arrived during critical hunger periods.
Consensus of the donor community:
ADM’s timing lowered farmers’ prices
To discourage domestic production.

"Too awful! That blood!" She shuddered. "Oh, I wish I had my soma."

Quick! Let’s get in the biodeisel and get a soy milk!

ADM processes Monsanto GMO soybeans
As soy oil in Franfort, Indiana.
Roundup Ready soybeans.
Roundup is a Monsanto product.

Frankfort, Indiana,
Hometown of William Aughe Ghere, botanist.
Learned botanical names
of local plant species
from his grandpa.
Will Geer. Grandpa Walton,
Sheriff in “Salt of the Earth,” about
Zinc Town, New Mexico.
Will Geer, blacklisted for giving a damn.
At his deathbed,
His family sang,
“This Land Is Your Land.”
His ashes were later scattered
In the Shakespeare Garden
Of his Theatricum Botanicum.

Years earlier,
I’d swung from the “Swashbuckling” rope,
Thick sailor’s hemp,
Knotted twenty feet up
A barrel-thick limb
Of the live oak
Which anchored that stage.
One muddy, December day,
Playing with my Goddaughters.
Virtually homeless, house sitting next door
To, of all people, Will Geer.
A wall of threatening mud
leaned over the tiny cabin as
I chopped firewood in downpours,
Gritted my teeth each time I drove
Over the hand-crafted, wooden bridge
That barely straddled the overflowing creek.

Two months after my father committed suicide,
My mother, psychotic, brandishing a knife,
Accusing me of killing him.
I lived in that mud for a month.
I swung frequently from that rope,
Screaming in sweet release.

This land is your land, Mr. Geer.

ADM invented the modern feedlots.
ADM corn,
Fortified with minerals, including zinc.
Stinking, fetid miles
Of sky and trampled ground,
Poisoned groundwater.
Cattle standing to knees in their own filth
Force-fed for the slaughter.

It’s no longer smarter to eat tofurkey than Big Macs.

"Soma may make you lose a few years in time," the doctor went on. "But think of the enormous, immeasurable durations it can give you out of time. Every soma-holiday is a bit of what our ancestors used to call eternity."

I print out this poem
I practice reading it
In my back yard.
My goat snags it from my hand
And eats it.
My illegal goats.

Albuquerque law used to say that,
As long as they had adequate
Shelter, fenced space, food and water,
Citizens could keep livestock
Within city limits.
Now, the law has been amended.
Citizens must provide 40,000 square feet
Of land, per animal.
My goats compost grass, paper, leaves, bamboo
For my garden.
My garden feeds my goats, me, my chickens.
I got the chickens for eggs.
I got the goats for milk.

But I’m not Archer Daniels Midland.
I’m not Monsanto.
I must acquire food,
Wrapped in petroleum plastics,
Laced with antibiotics
And high fructose corn syrup,
Shipped in planes, trucks, boats,
Powered by petrochemicals
And biodeisel.

"And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there's always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there's always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your mortality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears-that's what soma is."

This Land Is Your Land.

local "Characters," "Gadflies," "Kooks," "Whack Jobs."

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

The links I'm sending you are about people for whom I feel a genuine: respect, sympathy, appreciation, etc. I wish I had the commitment to go to EVERY city council meeting to make comments. I wish I had the nerve to actually live by my principles SO exactly as to piss off total strangers. I wish I stood in front of the UNM bookstore for the past, twenty years or so, protesting military spending and war, even when we're not currently IN an active war.

I wish I had the discipline to show up at the cable access station, week after week, and broadcast my points of view on political and social issues, whether or NOT anybody listened to me.

Geraldine and Don are two of my favorite people. I'm one of the ONLY people in Albuquerque who actually GREETS them, when we meet on the street! I compliment them, frequently, on their dedication. I believe they are heros.

People in the so-called "progressive" community here view both of them as embarrassments. I think this is actually because BOTH of them are ACTIVELY participating in REAL CHANGE -- NOT just talking about it! They're both dirt poor, because affluence is a sign of corruption. They both work VERY hard to get the word out about living a conscious life. And both actually live conscious lives.

They're not crazy, as the public seems to need to believe. If the public were to actually listen respectfully, they'd have to confront themselves on their complacency, CHOICE to be ignorant, selfishness, bad priorities. So, better to ridicule those who live ethical lives, than to live one.

Now, believe me: I do NOT agree with everything Geraldine and Don say. Far from it.

But I'm committed, to the very end, to the RIGHT of Don and Geraldine to speak, to attempt to influence culture in their direction, and to live by their principles.
You Say Whack Job; I Say Amato
http://frannyzoo.blogspot.com/2006/08/you-say-whack-job-i-say-amato.html
The Amato Mobile
http://archives.dukecityfix.com/index.php?itemid=194

Don Schrader Openly Expresses Life's Convictions
http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/storage/paper344/news/2006/09/19/Culture/Don-Schrader.Openly.Expresses.Lifes.Convictions-2284808.shtml

Albuquerque personalities: Don Schrader reveals the inner layers of his life
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/12/don-schrader-reveals-inner-layers-his-life/

Thursday, February 07, 2008

state sponsored "prosperity doctrine?"

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com


The more I read, the sicker I feel. SOME QUOTES:

He points out that material success is necessary
because if you don't have it you'll be thinking about
it all the time. But it is just one ingredient in his
mantra for real success which includes the progressive
expansion of happiness, the ability to have love and
compassion, the capacity for innate joy and the
ability to spread it to others. It also includes a
sense of meaning and purpose in life, and the
progressive realization of worthy goals--and that
includes material acquisitions. If you make those the
criteria for success, then you'll be very successful
and you won't get hypertension and heart
attacks--these are modern epidemics of disease caused
by a very fragmented view of success.

Chopra observes, "There's only one kind of poverty and
that's spiritual poverty. If you have spiritual
poverty, then you'll be unsuccessful. You can be very
rich, but if all you think about is money then you are
very poor. Wealth and poverty are states of mind."
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2000/7-8/2000-7-09.shtml

Creating Affluence
Explore the full meaning of wealth consciousness and
follow a step-by-step plan for creating affluence and
fulfillment on all levels of your life.

• SynchroDestiny
Once you master the principles of SynchroDestiny,
you’ll be able to use your newfound power to manifest
abundance in every area of your life. Much like a
powerful magnet, you will begin to attract material
wealth, emotional well-being, spiritual fulfillment,
and a deep awareness of your life’s true meaning and
purpose.

• The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams.
Deepak Chopra distills the essence of his teachings
into seven simple, yet powerful principles that can
easily be applied to create success in all areas of
your life.
http://www.allaboutprosperity.com/profiles/deepak-chopra.htm

John Hagee

"Poverty is a curse."(John Hagee, Praise-A-Thon,
Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), 4 Nov, 1992.
Christian Research Institute Article on John Hagee)

"Poverty is caused by sin and disobeying the Word of
God."(John Hagee, Praise-A-Thon, Trinity Broadcasting
Network (TBN), 16 April, 1993. Christian Research
Institute Article on John Hagee)

"Jesus was not poor...Jesus had a nice house! John
1:38 says that Jesus turned to those that were
following him and said, 'Come with me.' And they said,
'Where dwellest thou?' He said, 'Come and see.' And
Jesus took that whole crowd home with Him to stay in
His house. That meant it was a big house! Jesus wore
fine clothes! John 19:23 says, 'He had a seamless
robe.' Roman soldiers gambled for it at the foot of
the cross. It was a designer original! It was valuable
enough for them to want it!...And then there are
christians that have a poverty complex that says,
'Well, I feel guilty about having nice things.' Jesus
didn't!"(John Hagee, Praise-A-Thon, Trinity
Broadcasting Network (TBN), November 5, 2004)

Marilyn Hickey:

"What do you need? Start creating it. Start speaking
about it. Start speaking it into being. Speak to your
billfold. Say, "You big, thick billfold full of
money." Speak to your checkbook. Say, "You, checkbook,
you. You've never been so prosperous since I owned
you. You're just jammed full of money." (Marilyn
Hickey, "Claim Your Miracles" (Denver: Marilyn Hickey
Ministries, n.d., audiotape #186, side 2)

Benny Hinn:

"Poverty is from the devil and that God wants all
Christians prosperous." (Benny Hinn, TBN, 11/6/90)

"Say after me, all of you, everybody say it, 'The
wealth of the wicked is mine.' [The audience repeats.]
One more time, (The audience repeats) One more time.
(The audience repeats it again)" (Benny Hinn.
Praise-a-Thon, TBN, April 1990) (Its an old practice
that if you hear something said by your own voice long
enough you will believe it).

"The Lord giveth and NEVER taketh away. And just
because [Job] said, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord,'
don't mean that he's right. When he said, 'Blessed be
the name,' he was just being religious." (TBN, Nov.,
1990).

Juanita Bynum:

"You need to send a thousand dollars. If you can’t
send a thousand, send five hundred...if all you have
is a nickel, wrap it in tissue and put it in an
envelope. If all you have is your clothes, send
them." (TBN, Fall Praise-A-Thon, November 8, 2003)

"If all you have is $79.36, I double-dare you to empty
your bank account. Close your account." (TBN, Fall
Praise-A-Thon, November 8, 2003)

"If you want the power, you have to sow the seed."
(TBN, Fall Praise-A-Thon, November 8, 2003)

Bishop Neil Ellis

He will pastor a church “That has to be, has to be,
poverty free”. This “has to happen”. He added..
Because of the ‘anointing’, (His Emphasis).
“I am not supposed to be pastoring poor people”. (He
did add that God will send poor people to him but only
so they get a release from poverty).

Bishop Harold and Brenda Ray

Our goal is as simple as it is strategic: To create
wealth! And empower our people to steward that wealth
for the purposes of the kingdom, the strengthening of
their communities and for the economic well being of
their children's children! (Emphasis in red on their
official web site)

Fred Price

You can talk about me all you want while I'm driving
by in my Rolls Royce that's paid for, and I got the
pink slip on it. Talk all you want. Bad mouth all you
want. Don't hurt me in the least. Doesn't bother me.
It's a whole lot easier to be persecuted when I'm
riding in my car and I got the pink slip than it is
when I'm riding in a car and owe my soul to the
company store. Fred Price. (Ever Increasing Faith
program, TBN, March 29, 1992.)

“Yeah, God has pleasure in the prosperity. So he must
have displeasure in the poverty. So if he does, then
poverty couldn't be from God. Yeah, but Brother Price,
but God allows it. God lets it happen. You're right,
he does. He does, because you do. He can't do anything
about it” (Ever Increasing Faith 11/16/90).

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/the_prosperity_doctrine.html

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

State sponsored religion?

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

Ok, I've kept my mouth shut about this too long.

Here are my questions:

When will we let Jim Bakker, Pat Roberston, an Islamist Imam (a la Taliban), high priest from the Church of Satan, etc. raise funds for KUNM?

Is not UNM funded by state taxes, as well as federal?

Is this not a state-endorsed religious event?

quote:
A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state.
end quote.
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion

Why aren't we holding a fundraiser at which an athiest, an agnostic, a SCIENTIST (who knows "Intelligent Design" is simply double speak for Creationism) will be speaking? I would think that, if the subject of quantuum physics is of interest to KUNM's listeners, the latter might be quite satisfying.

quote:
In August 2005, Chopra posted a series of articles on the blog The Huffington Post (to which he is a frequent contributor) in which he offers his solution to the creation-evolution controversy. In doing so he expressed support for Intelligent Design without the Bible, or the politics of religion. According to Chopra, Nature displays intelligence.[5]

In the article, Chopra states:

"To say that Nature displays intelligence doesn't make you a Christian fundamentalist. Einstein said as much, and a fascinating theory called the anthropic principle has been seriously considered by Stephen Hawking, among others."
"It’s time to rescue "intelligent design" from the politics of religion. There are too many riddles not yet answered by either biology or the Bible, and by asking them honestly, without foregone conclusions, science could take a huge leap forward."
Chopra also offers a series of questions about evolution he believes cannot be answered by science alone.[5] [6] Science writer Michael Shermer, founder of The Skeptics Society and long-time critic of Chopra, posted a response. [7]

Additionally, Chopra has strong beliefs that Jesus was thought of as having a higher knowledge than most, and that he may have studied Kabala.[8]
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepak_Chopra

In my opinion, Chopra is another fast talking snake oil salesman: if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull chips.

And the LAST thing our mind-muddled citizens need in the downside of an eight-year neoTheocracy is more lazy thinking! I'm sure this will make them "feel good," but at expense of the intellect, reason, and exercise of the right to REAL education!


--- Richard Towne wrote:

> Hello,
>
> As you may know, the World Wellness Weekend is
> coming to Albuquerque on
> March 8 and 9. This event looks great (Deepak
> Chopra, Marianne Williamson
> and Michael Franti among many others. The event
> will be a partial benefit
> to KUNM. Details on the event are available at
> www.worldwellness.org
>
> A weekend pass to all events costs $75. There are
> less expensive options
> but you can also volunteer with the World Wellness
> folks and earn a full
> pass for the weekend. They are asking for an 8-10
> hour commitment. Their
> volunteer opportunities and a .pdf application form
> are available here:
> Feel free to share this with anyone you know who
> might want to volunteer and
> attend the weekend.
>
> http://www.worldwellness.org/Page.asp?NavID=2179
>
> ---
>
> KUNM will have an exhibitor booth for both days of
> the weekend so we can
> meet our listeners or introduce ourselves to people
> who have never listened
> to our great programming. Mary Oishi is looking for
> volunteers to take four
> hour shifts in exchange for a day-pass at the World
> Wellness weekend. Mary
> also has some other upcoming public events where we
> will have a table or
> booth to meet listeners. Please contact Mary and
> let her know you would
> like to help.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Richard
>
>
> --
> <><><><>
> Richard S. Towne
> KUNM General Manager
> (505) 277-8009
> 89.9 FM and kunm.org
>

Monday, February 04, 2008

Where to vote in New Mexico TOMORROW!

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com



Rogi --

Tomorrow is Caucus Day in New Mexico, and I'm writing to you with an important reminder to vote and to make sure that your family, friends, and neighbors get out and vote too.

Use our online tool to find your polling location:

http://my.barackobama.com/NMlookup

When Michelle and I talked about my running for president, one of the core goals we both had for this campaign was to leave the political process better off than we found it.

You have challenged conventional thinking and built a grassroots movement for change that is sweeping this country.

I have no doubt that the election tomorrow will be close. It's vitally important that you vote and ensure that others who want change in this country vote too.

Our work here will have a lasting impact in New Mexico for a long time to come.

I believe that this movement for change can do more than just win an election. Together, we can transform this country.

Find your polling location and vote tomorrow:

http://my.barackobama.com/NMlookup

Thank you for being part of this,

Barack

P.S. -- Here are a few details and rules that will help make the voting process run smoothly. Make sure to share these with your friends:

Your polling location for this caucus may not be the same location where you have voted in the past. Be sure to find your polling place by clicking any link in this email or by calling 1-866-675-2008.

The polls are open on Tuesday between 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. If you are in line or in the process of voting at 7:00 p.m., the polls must remain open until you have an opportunity to vote.

If you requested an Absentee Ballot, but did not submit that ballot, you may still cast a provisional ballot at any polling location in New Mexico.

If anyone challenges your right to vote, or if your name does not appear on the voter rolls, you have the right to vote by provisional ballot.

Friday, February 01, 2008

I just shook hands with the first Black US President!

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

Man, how times have changed: a white woman and a Black man, front runner nominees! What's a girl to do?

Well, Hillary was on the board of Wal*Mart of 6 years and NEVER spoke up in favor of employee unionization.

AND she voted for the invasion.

The end.

So, I never go to political rallies. Well, rarely. When Sonia Johnson ran for Prez, I was there. When Mohammed Ali's counsin, whatshisname ran for congress on the Rainbow Party ticket, I was there -- but really only cuz Jesse Jackson was gonna speak.

So, Bill Clinton was in town yesterday, but I passed. Apparantly, Teddy Kennedy was at the Hispanic Cultural center, for some reason. I thought he was Irish.

ANYway, Obama was having a thing at the MUCH too tiny for the crowd that showed convention center. Lotsa peeps said it shoulda been at the PIT! Steep & scarey, but holds a crowd.

So, they say doors open at 11:30. I was there 11:15. CCccccolder than hell on the windy street. the line OUTSIDE was a block long, and thousands (but I didn't know that at the time) were snaking their way through several other convention rooms inside!

So, we get in and I'm thinkin: Where are the metal detectors? the bomb sniffing dogs? the cops and other security with weapons and wands? nothing.

Well, they herd us into the HUGE room, with a line of over a thousand people, snaking around.

No concessions stands are open, anywhere. Oh! To have had a pot of hot water, instant cocoa and styrofoam cups, outside! I coulda sold cheap, nestle's quick for $2.00/cup and NOBODY would have given me grief! I coulda paid off all my credit cards! I ain't kiddin: it was COLD!

THere's two, huge tv screens in the room, so I'm thinking: overflow.

It took about an hour to get through that room and come out almost exactly where we came in.

They were hawking obama buttons for FIVE BUCKS EACH!!! Remember when campaign buttons were FREE???? They WANTED you to have them????

ANYWAY, now, we gotta climb the stairs. That took about 20 minutes.

Upstairs, I see metal detectors in the opposite direction of where we're herded. OH NO! Another snake room!

But, in THIS one, they say, turn on your electronics (I guess so they'll know they're not BOMBS!) They say, get metal out of your pockets. Ladies, get purses ready for inspection. I read the website: no bags.

We get around to the other side of the room and I look where we'd just been: NO PEOPLE!

On the staircase, I could see out a window. The line had stretched all the way around the convention center. THOUSANDS more were waiting to get in!

So, I'm thinking: they're turned away. WHY did they hand out SO MANY tickets???? Just to get contact info, I'm thinking.

We're maybe 10 feet from the exit to that room, which is just across the hall from the metal detectors.

Volunteers say we have to go BACK DOWN to the overflow room!

HELL! Two hours, standing on cold concrete, with my gimpy leg!

So, I go back down, thinking, I'll just leave. I wanted to see the first Black president of the United States of American IN PERSON! I can ALWAYS see him on a SCREEN in my own home, in my jammies, thanks.

I hear screaming from the overflow room. I'd have thought he'd visit AFTER his scheduled speech. He's gotta be in there!

I walk in and HUNDREDS of people are standing on ricketty convention tables & chairs, cell phones held high, to snap a photo.

People behind me push me out of the way to go stand in the herd and scream.

I walked AROUND them, behind the screens, with only the press and some cops standing there.

I asked a young cop if I could just poke my head around a huge, concrete pillar; I just wanted to see him.

The kid said ok.

I must say, coming from a generation that still remembers the fire hoses, the dogs, the whites only signs, I felt tears in my eyes, seeing him.

He's pretty tall. And he's REALLY thin! His suit trousers hung as though empty. I don't think he even has a butt!

The crowd was dangerously excited and it scared me. NONE of these people had been through metal detectors, remember.

I saw secret service agents, jaws locked, eyes scanning the crowd. Some actually looked worried. I also saw plainclothed somebodys in the crowd, some with ear pieces.

It looked dangerous to me.

And here he comes.

I feel the crazed fans -- not voters, fans -- pushing into me. There's a steel barracade and a camera tripod in front of me; there's no place for me to go! They're pressing into me and reaching their hands over me, hitting my ears and neck!

A flock of security began to slowly pass me. When I could catch an individual's eye, I thanked him, for they were all men. I said, take care of him. And take care of yourselves, too. Be careful.

The barracade bruised my belly and lowest ribs.

The crowd behind me sounded like a tornado: wild and ruthless, unpredictable and destructive.

I was scared, but I couldn't move.

And here he is, standing in front of me, letting secret service pass him so he can exit.

He looks so tired. He looks so young. He looks so determined. He looks so determined.

The hands stretched around and in front of me flap like wounded birds.

I put mine out, just to see what will happen. There are so many hands, what are the odds he'll shake mine.

And there it is: a long, bony grasp, warm, firm but gentle. And he lingered there long enough to squeeze almost affectionately.

The crowd is hysterical, mindless. He knows this. His smile is professional, meaningless, expected.

He passes, moving with a bubble of very lethal and concerned security.

The pushing subsides as the crowd shifts like iron filings before a magnet.

Right at the door, I hear them murmer, "aw!" as Obama picks up a grubby, snotty baby, holds it shoulder high, shows all his teeth -- is that a smile, or is he planning to EAT it? while the crowd brandishes its cell phones.

I'm free now. I leave while they glut on some mindless celebrity worship.

I'm heading for the doors where I came in.

Camera people rush past. One guy hits me with his boom mic.

Why are they running out? Isn't he about to speak? Did a wino blow up in Civic Plaza, across the street?

Oh, no! Is that crazy fool going OUT THERE?

By the time I get outside, a flock of the turned away is cheering.

On the stage stands Obama, with a faulty bull horn that screetches madly. I yell, hold the speaker away from the MIC! He's got the speaker right under his arm; the mic is in his other hand, less than a foot from the speaker!

He finally gives up on the bull horn and gives it to someone.

I've never heard a throng get so quiet before.

He spoke a few generic platitudes about togetherness, medical care for all, economic security and ending the war.

Sounded nice, but HOW?

I walked back to the sidewalk, now swathed in police tape. That was fast!

APD looked worried. Secret Service looked overwhelmed.

I sat and watched the direction he'd have to go to get back inside the Convention Center and thought, please let him get back alive.

When I saw he had crossed the street and disappeared, I ignored the police tape and walked back to my truck, parked blocks away -- but for FREE!

I saw a business on the next block with a huge Obama sign out front.

They make hand-carved furniture. I walked in. The tile floor was slippery with a fine dusting of sawdust. The place was saturated with farnish smell.

I could hear the song on KUNM I'd been listening to in the truck.

One bedraggled, bearded hippy dude appeared from the work shop.

He told me Obama headquarters is on 10th & Lomas, about 6 blocks away.

So, the truck now has a 10'x4' Obama sign on the driver's side.

And I shook hands with the first Black President of the United States.

Then, I went to the feed store, and life went back to normal, mostly.

Except, lotsa people honked happily at my giant sign. One guy yelled, I ain't votin for no nigger, which is about the best endorsement FOR Obama I've heard yet.

Quite a day.