Marianne Williamson Department of Peace Interview

I just received this bit of information from a colleague. Whereas the current department of defense was known as department of war during WWII and before that era, it is important to be "proactive" in developing and continuing peace in our world. Thus it is important to develop a cabinet level Department of Peace. Thus Williamson's call for a Department of Peace and all the monies and divisions that would serve peace in our country and world. Given the events of 4/16 in Virginia, it is evident that we need a Cabinet level Department of Peace.

Can Decreasing Poverty Lead to Peace?

Many people I am certain have posed the question I ask in the title to this post. It seems on a surface level that many if not most problems around the world share an underlying area--poverty. I think when poverty is severe people lose hope and entertain radical ideas and anger. These as seen in many of our city streets and perhaps other places around the world lead to the kind of violence and war on our daily news. Of course, sometimes greed leads some corporations to take advantage of the disenfranchised which in turn leads ot more angry people. I can't understand how giving more power to corporations will truly answer the needs of people looking for work. Yet our government hires many of the same corporations that have participated in the by now ritual outsourcing of jobs. This leaves us with greater poverty related issues. Yet today a man actually praised the very government that makes it necessary for him to take on a post-retirement job. Such is life.

Radicals for Peace

I suppose people wanting an end to the war now are on the "radical" side of politics. In the not so distant past, people asking to end the war were labeled unpatriotic. However, recent increase in the dissatisfaction of the war in Iraq and the administration's handling of it seem to have decreased the rhetoric of labeling people negatively just for wanting peace.

For Lasting Peace Put God First?

I had a brief errand to run in Glendale Arizona. I live in Tempe. On the return trip from ASU-West, I noticed a sign for a church, "For a Lasting Peace, Put God First." It's quite interesting that not too many months ago that sign on route 17 had quite a different message, one that parroted the Bush pro-war line.

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: The Injustice at Justice: The White House's Fingerprints Begin to Show | The Huffington Post

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: The Injustice at Justice: The White House's Fingerprints Begin to Show | The Huffington Post

Will the White House do more than offer a sacrificial lamb or scapegoat for this scandal? That is the question du jour. Who will be the counsel firings' Libby? It'll be sad for our country if people so eager for war demonstrate such cowardice because of their attachment to power.

Bait and Switch

When reading the HuffPost today I came across a cartoon that illustrates the bait and switch approach to keeping focus off of pertinent issues. It's quite amusing--applies to the recent Bill Maher "incident."

From Arrianna

Arianna Huffington hits the right tone on the implications of the Libby verdict. Yet, I'm sure that none of the Bushites will get impeached for their mendacity. Meanwhile while they proceed to cover their posteriors, young men die, at risk students fail poverty levels rise and the world in DC continues as is without anyone applying the brakes.

What a lousy system!

Leaving Iraq?

Following the November elections I expected greater momentum toward our military draw down in Iraq. From the story about leaving Iraq, there may be a slim opportunity to do this. However, I don't believe the Republicans in the US Senate will allow such a plan to move forward. Peace would be so great to have, especially if we can gain it quickly and with the use of diplomacy that includes nations in and around the Middle East.

Eisenhower's Farewell Address: A Lesson for Today

I like history and frequently wonder how people I admire from the past would deal with current issues. We are living in a world where our current POTUS initiated a war in the Middle East. His motives are ostensibly "noble," yet when the thousands of wounded men and women who served at his behest return to the US too many find insufficient treatment, belittlement of their conditions, loss of careers and lack of actual support. My cousin in Florida tells me that is not the case where her son works as a medical doctor working at the VA Hospital near Tampa. I write about this tonight, March 7, 2007 because the story about VA issues is off the front burner today displaced by the "Scooter Libby" verdict. That story is fascinating in what we learn about the current POTUS' administration's handling of events that displease them. However, the Libby verdict should not take all the attention away from important issues such as the veterans' issues, education issues etc.

I heard Bill Gates in front of a senate committee providing cogent and forward thinking suggestions about how to deal with education and nary a word of this was published on the online blogs and news papers I read. A nation that does not keep its citizens well prepared for the future has a bleak future of its own.

It was great hearing that problem solving assignments engage even high risk students. I'll see how that plays out at the conference I'll attend in the next two weeks.

Unlike Eisenhower who cautioned a future government to aim for balance in the use of a military industrial complex, current presidents have failed and now we are neglecting social programs for an increase in military spending. The costs are mighty in terms of lives, blood, and money and in terms of what we do not do for the future citizens of our country and what we do not do now for the poor, under educated etc.

So I wish that the Shrub would be more like George Washington and Dwight David Eisenhower and less like Cheney.

Column of the Americas

While ruminating on the concept of peace, I frequently encounter writers' works that intimate the ideal of social action and justice to achieve a lasting peace. Earlier today, I noted that some people take seriously the fact of poverty and its contribution to global warming. Many have noted that poverty may lead to feelings of victimization by one power over groups of people with money and the power that money provides in our global village.

As a Latina, I look to writers like Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez in their Column of the Americas. I hope the occasional reader who stops by my blog will find their words helpful in understanding people with the rich perspectives they provide.

Listening to NPR I Was Surprised

Rarely will I agree with Jonah Goldberg on anything because he has seemed so strident on television programs. The topic du jour was global warming and Mr Goldberg actually presented a cogent argument for a position with which I disagree. His take on global warming is to leave the solution to the future. I do not agree with that. However, somewhere in his argument he and later other speakers addressed the inequities to the poor around the world which global warming will create. The costs will be unbearable for the poor. Moreover, solutions according to Goldberg and another speaker whose name I missed, lies in solving problem of poverty around the world. Now if Goldberg could get behind that idea for solving poverty here in the US, I might become a fan of his.

Kiva Org

Came across the following url at another site and began wondering if an americanized version of Liberation Theology is at work here or if its just another symptom of USCapitalism run a muck. Poverty flames the fires and passions of people into unpeaceful actions and perhaps fundamental issues of poverty create hoplesness and make it easy for people to gravitate to radicalism. So although the kiva.org site may be too commercial, the thought of what we as members of the human race could do to increase peace might include other social justice issues which when left unaddressed lead to disparity of division of wealth, education etc and to the increased fanaticism seen around the world today.

http://www.kiva.org/

Competence in Policy

From Quote of the Day, I found the following by Isaac Asimov:
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." I imagine the word to focus is incompetent. Not a very "nice" thing to say about people who lead our country, but one that should/could be considered given many issues that affect our lives. War, peace, poverty programs or lack thereof, education, all these and many more issues require thoughtfulness and knowledge of the issues. Some of the policy created by leaders at many levels of government show a lack of competence. My question then becomes how can we raise the level of our leaders' competence to do the work people elected them to do? How can we work for a more peaceful world when so many issues remain unresolved, untended, or downright made worse by poor choices and political pandering to the lowest common denominators in our society?

Language and Peace

As stated in an earlier post, many of us teach language and are aware of the power it has to get people to take action. Recent postings in the media concerning war, peace, and even entertainment have reflected a callousness that all too often leads to a deadening of nobler human instincts. This appeal to the baser elements of human beings' nature or in our society are quite evident in much of the rhetoric of public discourse. Soon, however, this will end. I hope that we can use language for peace more often by avoiding name calling, finding alternatives to violent images and metaphors. Let's paint pictures of peace with the language we select.

Playfulness and Blogging

I need to write more and use the two blogs I do have for that purpose. Although I am more politically minded in this particular blog, readers to it can see a bit of playfulness in the added cyber pets and YouTube videos included. As I tell students, communication requires all the various technologies available to us.

Opinion of Congress Improving?

A story that mirrors my own thinking claims many USAmericans remain dissatisfied with Congress, although people's opinions of Congress are slowly improving. Congress has too many procedures that actually getting work done in a pace that many of us want. We want more action and less talk from these congressional and senatorial types.

It's good that the congress' polls are up. Now let us hope that more of these political types will take steps to do what is right for USAmerica instead of what will keep them in power. Our country has been hurt too much by war mongering, incompetent people now running the executive branches of government.

Beginnings of Peace?

The Middle East's problems often have at their core issues concerning the people of Palestine. This week two factions met in Mecca Saudi Arabia to find ways of unifying their government and ending Palestinian on Palestinian violence and in hopes of persuading outsiders to end their embargo and isolation of the people of Palestine. I wish these efforts good fortune and pray that our government will see the wisdom of allowing the democratically elected members of the Palestinian government to work for their people. Palestinians' choices cannot be our choices for we do not live in Palestinian lands. Those lands, too, should be returned to them without further delay. While Israeli security should be maintained, the close fisted tough approaches used to date do not provide for a long term solution and not demonstrating fairness to both sides of the longstanding struggle only makes USAmerican interests at risk.

Thoughts on Oversight Committees

Since Leahy and Gonzales' exchange last month, more people have gone before congress to present information. Now that more of the interviews or presentations can be seen on CSpan, an average citizen can read the postures, tone of voice and other gestures that people make when giving testimony. I just wonder how deeply invested in the current administration many citizens are because too many citizens, despite the president's low poll numbers, remain unquestioning of the things that politicians do.

If we went to war to bring "democracy" to Iraq, then why are so many of our civil rights being trampled on?

More importantly, why can't we get straight answers from those charged with preserving the republic/democracy? If so many acts lack transparency, we should have a greater outcry about the behaviors of those in power who work so hard to dampen our freedoms. See patriot act and the various attorney generals, generals, and others who obfuscate in front of congressional oversight committees.

Clash in Palestine Despite a Truce

These kinds of events must end if we are truly for peace. I realize the bulk of the news is concentrated on the Iraqi war, yet there are other conflicts within the Middle East that require the greatest support from all of us--where ever in the world we reside.

Lust for Pets

I keep adding pets to my blogs because I can't have them where I live. If I could have the space I'd have horses, dogs, and cats. Tigers are exotic but not practical when other domestic animals form part of the family. Hence I'll not include them in a real life fantasy but in a cyberspace "realityl". As I get older, many of the films, books, and teachings come back as old haunts to remind me of who I really am. This is important as I strive to find my real self and the real reasons for my desires. Now I have been discovering that my greatest desires are not to become reality because I lack stamina these days. So I'm hoping to slow down to give my stamina an opportunity to grow and reach a point of strength that will support all that I need to do before my time on earth expires. Molly Ivins' passing reminds me how limited or finite our time here is and that I must make the most of it.

In terms of peace, I feel more strongly that we must become more radical in demanding our rights as citizens of the most precious place on the planet--USAmerica. Who having read the founding fathers' struggles, and the struggles of subsequent generations can give up on such a wonderful place or at least a place that promises so much to all who live within its borders. These are the things that all politicians must address. We must work to fulfill the promise of the past as we work to meet the needs of the present.