Clarity, At Last!

"What we have here is a lack of communication.", said Paul Newman's character, in "Cool Hand Luke". Or words to that effect. Until very recently, you could say the same thing about the messages the Kerry campaign has portrayed. You see, John boy is living down to his upbringing, his bad character. He's at best a second-rate second-rate man. That he managed to finagle a career as a Senator from Massachusetts is no mean feat, since he only had to use his clay feet to march through its election mine fields, which long ago were cleared of any liberal opposing mines.

Well, even John boy couldn't keep up the flip-flop strategy forever, and it seems to me that the true picture of this anti-war appeaser is now pretty much in clear focus.

He's fallen off of the lofty branches of his life 'tree', which was always a phony erection, made out of chimeras, and is presently digging desperately looking for his ROOTS. And we all know, AS nauseum, having been educated by the Swiftees and his own 1971 Senate testimony, that he's STILL that male Jane Fonda of his youth---an unreconstructed radical, the perfectly positioned person NOT to become president.

It's all about VIETNAM = IRAQ

Maybe we should give Kerry the benefit of the doubt, and instead of mocking him for making his Vietnam experience the centerpiece of his campaign, realize that he really means it, and that Vietnam is the whole enchilada, when it comes to his own self-contraction. That is, he has to know, to and as his CORE, that he used and abused his four months in Vietnam exactly as the Swiftees say, AND that he now has to be obsessed with it all.

Hence, maybe the best way to nail this man is to go back in time to those anti-war marches, in the 1970's---I went to a few of them---and picture John Kerry and Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden as the most rabid leaders of them, as the TRUE BELIEVERS. Yes, Kerry is the quintessential TRUE BELIEVER, a la Eric Hoffer. So, come back to the present and the Republican convention. Closely observe the protesters, in NYC, and find someone of Kerry's age who is still living in those old days of protesting, when they really mattered. You know, those guys who never gave up, who still have long hair, wear t-shirts with the peace symbol on it and smoke dope. That's our Democratic presidential candidate!

Therefore, the only possible conclusion we can come to, about where Kerry really stands, revolves totally about Vietnam = Iraq. Here's the kicker. He is a mad dog about ending the war and bringing the troops home---who wants to be the last man to die in a lost cause? The black-and-white moment has arrived, but I don't think its quite yet fully entered the noosphere. I bet it will, though.

Kerry thinks Iraq is a quagmire, a hopeless situation, and he ONLY wants out.

Bush knows Iraq is essential and America must NEVER again do a 'Vietnam' by turning tail, and NOT winning.

The positions couldn't be more stark.

My guess is that, with Iraq the overwhelming hot issue, most of the debate and campaign will be about this, and more Americans will vote to WIN than to LOSE. Forget all the tactical noise, including the Rather BAD acts (which help Bush).

Most Americans won't want to vote into office a self-confessed LOSER!

posted by James at 9:37 AM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

The Transcendence Of The Illusions Of Attention

Need a break from the humdrum beat of politics? So do I. Last night I noticed that a little book by my spiritual master, Da Love Ananda, from 1986, "The Illusion of Relatedness", was on the book shelve backwards, so I pulled it out to turn it around. And, what do you know! It was the "James" who needed turning 'around', and this was just the right thing to do it. I'd like to copy a single page, page 19 ---

"THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THE ILLUSIONS OF ATTENTION

Enlightenment is release from the illusions of attention. The arising of attention generates the illusion of objects, the illusion of witnessing objects, the illusion that self is identical (or reducible) to some objects and the illusion that Consciousness is other (or existing over against) objects.

Truly, Consciousness is not other than objects, and It is not knowing objects as such. The illusion that there are objects (and that self, or Consciousness, is either separate from them or reducible to some of them) arises only when attention arises. What is the status of all that we call 'objects' when attention is not given to them?

Attention is the essence of the self-contraction, until attention itself is understood and constantly 'recognized'. In the 'recognition' of attention, attention itself and the illusions of attention are inherently transcended.

Consciousness is not what attention suggests. Nor is the 'objective' world what attention suggests. When the self-contraction is transcended, the limiting and deluding power of attention is transcended. Consciousness is not attention. Consciousness (or Self-Radiant Being) is That of Which attention and all apparent objects are the apparent modifications.

When attention arises, Consciousness presumes that It knows arising conditions as objects, over against Itself. When attention is 'recognized', so that Consciousness Abides as Itself (and is not reduced to attention or the illusions of attention), arising conditions are known (or directly 'recognized') as apparent modifications of Itself, and they are not in any sense binding or deluding, nor are they other or elsewhere than Consciousness. Therefore, if Self-Radiant Consciousness, the Inherent or Native Being, is Realized, attention and all apparent objects are inherently 'recognized' and transcended. And the Way to Realize this is to observe, understand, and feel beyond the self-contraction, until (or to the degree that) What is always already the case is Obvious.

March 13, 1986"

Wow!

More, More!

"THE FREDOM OF DISCIPLINE IN THE WAY THAT I TEACH

The body is a dependent form. It arises dependently. It survives dependently. Even its death is a dependent process.

The bodily person may be an individual, or an integrated and balanced whole, if conditions permit, but the bodily person is never independent, separate, and relationless. The body, or the bodily person, is inherently dependent and related, and if it fails to function as such, it disintegrates progressively.

The bodily person is the visible or elemental aspect of a total or psycho-physical person. The body of the conditional being is associated with mind (or emotional, lower mental, psychic, and higher mental or intuitive processes). In the case of the human being, all the processes of mind are at least potentially active. The processes of mind monitor and, in general, govern the activities of the bodily person. Mind is the 'I' of bodily existence.

In deep states of mind (in revery, dream, and various forms of psychic awareness), the gross elemental body is not presumed, but the 'I' that originated in the context of the gross elemental body remains. Therefore, there is a deep dimension of mind (or 'I') that presumes itself to be independent of the gross elemental body.

The lower (or bodily based) mind presumes itself to be dependent on the body. The deeper or higher mind presumes itself to be independent of the body.

The deeper or higher mind can relate to or cooperate with the body, but it regards the body to be an object a relation of mind. Indeed, the deeper or higher mind suffers an ambiguous relationship to the body. That relationship is positive to the degree the body is really and presently a source of pleasure (or fulfillment of will and desire) and negative to the degree the body is really or potentially a source of pain (or frustration of will and desire).

Even the lower mind radiates into pleasure and recoils (or contracts) in pain, but it has no option other than to be (or suffer as) the body. Therefore, the deeper or higher mind (above, and even beyond, bodily limitations) is senior to the lower mind.

The 'I' is ambiguous, since real (or present) or psycho-physical pleasure is less likely than the dominant possibility of real (present) pain and the potential of pain. The 'I' also knows that bodily existence, even most pleasurable in the balance, inevitably leads to pain and death. Therefore, the lower mind (or body-mind) is most often (to one degree or another) recoiled (or contracted) in degrees of pain) or non-pleasure), and the deeper or higher mind is typically or generally recoiled (or contracted) from the bodily possibility itself.

The psycho-physical 'I' is a contraction, or a force of contraction. It is not merely the self-awareness of the living person. It is a reaction to bodily or conditional existence itself. The 'I' contracts as the body. The 'I' enforces a bodily expressed notion of independence or separateness. The 'I' governs the body (and the states of mind) and thus works counter to the pleasure and even the survival of the dependent bodily person.

The 'I' is a habit of mind. The 'I' is self-contraction of the total body-mind. The 'I' is ego, or egoity. The 'I', or the ego, or egoity, is not itself an internal entity (although it may be expressed or experienced as such). The 'I', or the ego, or egoity, is not merely the outward or bodily person. The 'I', or the ego, or egoity, is an activity. It is a total psycho-physical activity, founded on a reaction to apparent conditional limitations of being and experience. The 'I', the ego, egoity, is the reactive activity of psycho-physical self-contraction. It is the search for pleasure and ultimate release. And it manifests in the context of dependent or inherently related existence as the complex avoidance of relationship (or relatedness) itself.

If all of this is clearly observed and understood, the motive of self-contraction weakens, and the 'I', the ego, egoity, may even be utterly transcended. Therefore, where such understanding awakens, the 'I'-motive ceases to be the central motive of existence. Indeed, where such understanding awakens, the central motive of existence becomes that of the utter transcendence of 'I', the ego, egoity, or self-contraction.

The 'I'-motive is inherently transcended whenever it is observed as it is (and thus understood), so that the Condition That Always Already Is (before the self-contraction is added) Stands Obvious.

It is not merely the 'I' thought in the mind, but the very and total activity that is 'I' that must be always presently observed, understood, and transcended in its Source-Condition.

The first form of the 'I'-activity that is observed and felt beyond is the bodily, emotional, and lower mental display of the avoidance of relationship (in the ordinary context of human exchanges). When the freedom of no-contraction, relatedness, or love is basically restored in the ordinary human sphere through Spiritual Communion with That Which Is (Always and Already, before the self-contraction is apparently added to What Is), then the 'I'-activity begins to be observed and transcended most directly, as contraction itself, even in the subtlest forms of mind. Finally, the self-contraction is observed and transcended in its essence, root-form, or first form.

The essential form (root-form or first form) of self-contraction is the sense of relatedness, or attention itself (which is the essence of mind).

No matter what arises as experience, 'I' knows it as object or other. When the self-contraction has been observed and felt beyond in the context of every kind of gross or subtle object or other (even in the subtlest form of thought), the single common factor in every experience of object or other becomes the focus. Whatever the object or other may appear to be, the basic sense of being in relationship to it is the same in every case. Therefore, it is the final form of self-contraction to be in every moment observed, understood, and transcended. And when the basic, simple, or bare sense of relatedness itself is observed, even its object or other falls from view, and the sense of relatedness is realized to be nothing but attention itself. Therefore, when the process of self-observation, self-understanding, and self-transcendence resolves into its first, essential, or root-form, the transcendence of 'I', the ego, or egoity. Is simply the transcendence of the cat of attention itself (even prior to any particular objects of attention).

In the ultimate process of the transcendence of 'I', the simple tension or point of contraction that would move toward object or other in any moment is observed and released (or gone beyond) in the Self-Radiant Source-Condition in Which it is arising. Such is the Realization of the Inherent Condition, the Self-Condition in which the self-contraction arises. In that Realization, the Inherent Bliss of Self-Radiant and Self-Existing Being or Consciousness Is Realized, Oblivious to self-contraction, the body-mind, and all objects or others, gross or subtle.

Beyond this Realization of Oblivious Self-Bliss is the Realization that this Self-Condition or Source-Condition of self-contraction is also the Self-Condition or Source-Condition of the total body-mind and all conditionally manifested worlds, objects and others. This Realization Awakens spontaneously whenever Oblivious Self-Bliss allows the apparent and natural arising of attention and mind and body and all the kinds of worlds or objects or others. Once the Self-Condition is truly Realized, attention, mind, body, worlds, objects, and others, if they arise, are spontaneously 'recognized' in and as Itself, so that they, in their arising, do not in any way bind or limit or diminish or overcome the native and steady Realization of the Self-Condition of all conditional appearances.

Therefore, once the Self-Condition is truly Realized, arising conditions are felt as if transparent or non-existing in the Infinite Bliss-Field of Inherent or Self-Radiant Being. And this Bliss of Self-Abiding ultimately 'Outshines' all conditions."

Pages 23-26

Nuff written.

posted by James at 3:29 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Rage Against the Machine

Richard Cohen, a liberal, tricked me into reading his article, today. The title was about why the hatred of Bush is so deleterious to the haters, themselves, and the whole political process. It was pretty good, as far as it went, given his prejudices.

Somehow, the stages one goes through, when told they are dying, popped into mind, asking to be applied to this whole 'hatred' thing. Remember, it was Bill Clinton who provoked extreme hatred and venom by those on the right, so you could say that ever since 1992 the dominant aspect of presidential politics has been just that---HATRED. Of course, there are the other manifestations of this, such as MEANESS, ANGER, LYING, MURDER, CHEATING, CONNING, ET AL. Murder? Character ASSASSINATION is the motivating force behind all of it.

In the winner-take-all binary form of choosing a president, a sure fire way of coming out on top is to 'KILL' your opponent.

There are two different kinds of ANGER (which I'll take as the best of all the ways HATRED expresses itself) that are mutually exclusive. Common everyday ANGER comes from the little ego point of view, and is essentially totally IN-APPROPRIATE. Exceptional, enlightened ANGER, comes from the radiant transcendental UN-point of view, and is totally APPROPRIATE.

Practically all ANGER that explodes from people in the usual cases, like the guy who got thrown off that Canadian airplane for causing a drunken ruckus over a disagreement he had with a lady sitting next to him, serves no good purpose. Short of the use of righteous ANGER, the enlightened attitude is one of equanimity. A classic way to express this is that one lives in the best communion with IT-ALL by never RE-ACTING, but coming from the center, by always ACTING.

Anyone who merely RE-ACTS is a slave to others---call them 'knee-jerks'. Hey, a jerk is a jerk is a jerk. A good example of appropriate ANGER was Reagan's outburst, "I paid for that microphone!", in a primary debate (?) in New Hampshire, I believe, in 1980. Also, if one is in a fight, ANGER, properly controlled, is very useful, and---appropriate.

I contend that the ANGER Clinton engendered was appropriate, because in each case it came up, he was found to have done something BAD, or at least illegal. In fact, hark back to just one of the most minor bad deals---Billy Dale. You could say, no MUST say, in truth, that what Bill and Hill did to that man was a HATEFUL act. Is a freedom loving person supposed to LOVE the Clintons for trying to ruin an innocent serving man? Heavens NO! The appropriate ACTION is to HATE the original HATE, and to get ANGRY about it. Thus, behind the fooling good old boy POSE that Clinton used to fool so many people with, was the living embodiment of HATE. In fact, it's even appropriate to go all the way, and say that Clinton is even more HATEFUL because he was able to hide his core HATEFULNESS!

Just as someone shot by a bullet needs to have it removed, then be bandaged up and take the time needed to heal, the body politic suffered a severe wound from Clinton, and needed 'Doctor' ANGER to at least start the surgery removing his HATEFUL acts. We are still in the healing phase, no doubt about it.

What about liberal's HATRED of Bush? Here's where it gets SLICK. Imagine you are a leftist who bought Clinton's act. You know, I just read an old interview of Rather asking him if he thought Clinton was an honest man. And, of course, he did! The nuance dance he used was superb, but you have to wonder if he didn't know he was ON STAGE, and in his inner self he KNEW what he was saying was a LIE---maybe his inner child still has a lick of honor, before he 'grew up' and became a nuanced sophisticate, and it hurts to know what he's become: a defensive LIAR, himself.

Remember that old saw, about how once you start down the LYING road, it becomes easy to keep doing it? Stalin's infamous statement, that "One death is a tragedy, millions are a statistic" relates, big time.

So, when it comes to today's up-tight HATRED of Bush by fooled leftists, I think it's totally IN-APPROPRIATE, and has nichts, zip, zero, nada to do with the prez, but only says ALL about them. Aha! It is a SIGN that has not yet been read! Here's where the stages of 'death' might come in. Another thing needs to be said. While alive, humans are likely to flit through all the stages, being in denial one day, or moment, and then in anger the next, of vice versa, concerning all five of them---DENIAL, ANGER, BARGAINING, DEPRESSION, ACCEPTANCE. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the overall reality for the mass of leftists, as a set, is that they have a mixed up connection with Clinton, which resembles the interview of Rather I mentioned.

That is, for those who aren't completely closed and deadly rigid in their ideology, if they've been at all open and alert to the news that has come out about the Slickster, since he left office, their own inner child probably knows what a heel he was, and so in some way they've passed beyond DENIAL. Of course, you won't find many of them admitting this publicly, because those who are members of the LIAR party are experts at, well, LYING. Most of all to THEMSELVES.

This means that the prevailing WIND they let out, their 'farts', is ANGER aimed at Bush, which is a PROJECTION. Keep in mind the only 'REASON' anyone is really born----to observe yourself, to transcend yourself, and to wake up from all your own CHOSEN foolishness, which climaxes in a final exam---CONVERSION. Hence, in some subtle way leftists are aware that they did WRONG by enabling Clinton, so they are at once ANGRY with him, and with THEMSELVES, for being so gullible. But, the other ruling 'reason' that un-enlightened humans follow is 'self-preservation'. Prime time evidence of that is Dan Rather.

What do Zell Miller, Pat Caddell and Richard Cohen have in common? (Ah, my mind just won't quit! As I thought of that and typed it, from nowhere the best example of this, in its FORM, which made a REAL WORLD difference, came to my consciousness--the birth of Quantum Mechanics in 1900 when Max Planck solved the black box paradox. As the twentieth century began, there were only a handful of unsolved problems in Physics, which prompted some famous physicist to guide students away from the field, since he thought there wasn't much THERE, there, any more. However, it was precisely those 'anomalies' that were what Einstein and the other geniuses worked on to bring about our marvelous modern world.)

Back to the 'big' three mentioned above. They are all 'anomalies', escapees from the Democratic Party, UN-SOLVED problems. I'd say that the future lies through them. In regards to this blog about HATRED and ANGER, then, it seems to me that they are exhibiting BARGAINING behavior, having basically passed beyond DENIAL and ANGER, at least as it comes to the political party. Actually, Zell showed a lot of righteous ANGER, in public, so perhaps he's still not into BARGAINING yet, although as a politician, he might have figured his keynote speech would be more useful with ANGER than BARGAINING. It's Pat Caddell, in my estimation, who' worth listening to. His recent forays on TV have been forms of BARGAINING, of PLEADING, as he openly and honestly bemoans the way his party is acting, nowadays.

Ah, the political market is working.

posted by James at 4:14 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

It's Lt. Col. Bill Burkett, Ret

Abilene, Abilene, prettiest city you've ever seen, is where 55 year-old retired Lt Col Bill Burkett, lives. Abilene is where the Rather forgery was copied at a local Kinkos. Burkett has a standing account there.

He da MAN. QED

posted by James at 11:55 AM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Spread the Good News SPREAD

Egads! It's difficult not to get too excited about the race between Bush and Kerry, what with the action in the two big futures markets predicting who will win.

Tradesports.com is at 66% ASK, which tells me that there's a lot of confidence that Bush is going to win. Not to put too nasty of a face on the Iowa Electronic poll, but the Animal House in me, that is my permanent adolescent side, just loves the graph, especially the last week or so.

With Bush's number going UP and Kerry's dropping DOWN, the SPREAD just keeps getting wider and wider, resembling a hooker's legs on a busy Saturday night.

Expecting the worst and hoping for the best, while doing my best to help SPREAD the good word, it will be more and more intense, as the last few days wind down.

Next stop----the DEBATES. If Bush holds his own, it should be a welcome CRUSHING of Kerry. Imagine a ball-busting outcome, for him.

posted by James at 4:25 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Putin On the Blitz

One of the most disturbing unintended, perhaps, consequences of the Beslan massacre is the attempt by Putin to consolidate even more power into his hands. He's already been very busy shutting down the free press and jailing political opponents, so this new change is quite ominous.

There are three starkly different ways the future can unfold for mankind. Two of them are horrible, and the other one is wonderful. All three may come about in various places and at various times. Right now, in Iraq and Afghanistan, you have the present battleground where the most extreme tension and attention between these possibilities are happening.

On the good side is democratic capitalism, wherein political and economic and religious freedom obtains: that 'utopia' of Justice, Competition and Freedom.

On the evil side are two choices: 1.) Massive destruction by the use of WMD's. 2.) The arising of totalitarian regimes.

Let's remember the clear distinction made by Jean Kirkpatrick between authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships, exemplified by Chile under Pinochet and the USSR under communists, respectively. I've been afraid of the path taken by Russian gangsters, who are in control of that sad country, for a long time. It sure seems to be on the road to at least authoritarianism, perhaps leading to totalitarianism.

As I fully pondered Putin's latest power grab, the simple question came up---who can stop him? As the former head of the nasty KGB, it seems to me that he and his cronies are without any real opposition. In fact, as I wrote that, the vivid image of Hitler strong-arming his way to Fuhrer jolted my consciousness. When the old hero Hindenburg died, using his fellow thugs in the Reichstag, Hitler bullied it into passing the Enabling Act, and from there it was all over---Hitler was Germany. BTW, one article I read today was about Joseph Wilson's oral history of his experiences in Iraq and Saddam. The key fact, IMHO, that he related was that Saddam, likewise, believed he was Iraq---and, boy, did that belief lead to some inhumane ACTS!

Where Else?

After processing 'Putin', maybe because my computer is merely a couple of feet from the wall on my left, with a large map of the world on it, the other looming-large country, China came to mind. While we seem to be dragging that dictatorship into prosperity, I sense great tensions and contradictions in that politically besotted land, which deeply resemble what Putin seems to be reaching for. Talk about taking TWO different paths, putatively, AWAY from Old Communism! As in Russia, despite the great leaps forward in economic terms, it just seems unthinkable that the political apparatchiks in China will ever willingly yield power. Again, who can stop them---they have all the guns, and WMD's!

Look at South America. Among the countries that matter, only Chile seems not to be retrogressing, at least politically, if not economically. What a disappointment! After the flowering of democracy brought about during Reagan's terms, it's as if Castro is winning, just by remaining in power, and spreading his totalitarian vision, little by little. The stupid war on drugs is probably the main reason for so much trouble. All this leads me to a less than hopeful expectation for that continent. At least they don't have WMD's----yet. As has been noted in the WSJ, and other places, South America is fertile ground for terrorists. Maybe people-power will prevail, though, over time, and we're just experiencing the expected ONE STEP BACKWARD after the TWO STEPS FORWARD.

(The genie is out of the bottle, Pandora's Box has long been open, the toothpaste is out of the tube, I'm out of clichés. Hey! That's me! I, myself, came out of a CLICHÉ box---I was born with a cliché spoon in my writing mouth! Well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! I never do, these days, since I don't eat any animal products.)

Let's chasten the object. Too many people change the subject too often. Attention on the object---now that's a subject to keep in mind! Me, I never do other than flit and sting, so in these white-hot the-most-cutting-edge days, ever, while taking into account all the NEWS and ANALYSIS I can absorb that emanates from TV, now that football has arrived to compete for my precious attention, last Sunday I became so dizzy from such a long weekend jumping around so much, with that damn blasted crawler always seeming to be scooting across the bottom of the picture, that I taped a strip of cardboard over it. (What a long sentence! Calling all editors!) I can't tell you what a relief that was! However, when watching certain programs, I found myself leaping out of the chair so I could sneak a look-see at what was still streaming under it!

More on Rather-ism

I read a lot of informative pieces today about the many previous times "Rather" and CBS 60 Minute-like programs did stuff that was just like last week's forged letters. Using the idea that all time is NOW, I bet the BIG BANG of blogging is just the 'positive' outcome of this shameful Bad Rather-ing action. First of all, Rather, personally, is finished, and sooner or later he will ooze off into the liberal slime, soon forgotten. But, he won't be the only one to die in disgrace.

There is an upcoming BIG BANG of realization, there for the having, by those who pay enough attention, over the next year or so. Those most sensitive and open will come to understand that ALL of the 'Rather' crap, for many YEARS, was the very opposite of what it pretended, with such pomposity, to be---'objective' news. They will have to understand that 'Rather' has ALWAYS been a con artist, and NOTHING he EVER did was even close to honest. Just like a woman scorned, those people, who's brain and memory havn't yet been too addled from too much 'Rather' HARD LIQUOR, will turn from adulation of him to the most disgusting HATE of him.

All of 'Rather's' productions have ALWAYS been Al Jazerra (sp?), American style. Remember when the concept of 'infotainment' arose? The BIG BANG in awareness, now, thanks to Dan's coming out party, is that ALL of the Old Stream Media outputs, for many decades, have always been, at best, THAT. To me, the "That's Incredible!" aspect of what's finally coming about, is that so many people didn't get this JOKE, for so long.

It reminds me, yet again, of an old novel by the popular lady, Taylor Caldwell, which I've mentioned before---"Devil's Advocate". Actually, now I recall its story, it fits perfectly with my beginning theme, Putin. In the book, a future America is being controlled by a cold dictatorship. The good news is that the rebels have managed to become in charge of the top spots, and their strategy is to make thing so bad that the people will rise up and throw them out. It works.

Well, keeping the noospheric scandal that is 'Rather' uppermost in mind, as a good aspect of the whole fight between freedom and slavery, here in the real America, in some weird way all the 'Rather's' in the OSM have gone completely overboard, so that any fool has to wake up. Hand in hand with the BIG THREE, the Internet, talk radio and cable TV, which are having a delightful---LIGHT BRINGING---time easily pointing out said extreme WARTS, we do seem to have a revolution happening. I doubt whether the elite media figures PURPOSEFULLY made the effort to cause their own downfall, but nevertheless, what's now going down are these rigid OLD icons, and what's now coming up are the flexible NEW 'little' people, millions of them, who only want the TRUTH.

Forget the varnished HAIR DO!

posted by James at 1:20 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Improvised Explosive Devises = IED

When you are in the middle of an explosion, does time stand still, let alone space? Well, for some, and UN-well for others, do you think it's an accident that so many hurricanes are now arising? WAKE UP!

Excuse my know-it-all flow of letters, from---

Ah, allow me to say the obvious, which many awake people are presenting, in their self-protecting way---hello Tony Blankley--- that there are too many OLD FARTS too full of their Narcissistic selves, who are keeping too many people FOOLED!

"Dan Rather" is the ICEBERG's TIP!

Go ahead and either moan, or exult, in his (Dan Rather's) perfectly self-inflicted wound. WAKE UP! "Damn Rather" isn't what's it all about, RALPHIE! He is but the BUTT of the KICK ASS that has to happen, in order to CLEAN THE STABLES. Yes, the MSM is awash, or is that a flux, with SHIT! Hey! One of the PROOFS that miracles ABOUND, is that such humans like RATEHR and all the other clogged veins at 60 Minutes still are alive.

Well, put yourself in 2012. A mere eight years from now. I venture to say that the BLOGGING revolution will have long ago have dived deep into the glacier of OLD FARTS, and the ICEBERGS represented by all the "DAN RATHERS" of America will have long ago been melted.

Ah, what will we have to deal with, THEN?

Surely, it cannot be worse than the Rather-gate we now must EAT.

posted by James at 10:58 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

KISS

Keep it simple stupid.

Dan Rather IS Jayson Blair.

Period.

posted by James at 7:35 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

What A HOOT!

I just saw something that has me LAUGHING MY arse off!

Sampling "The Capital Report", there was Byron York, good guy, and E.J. Dionne, bad guy, being interviewed about---guess what? You'd RATHER what?

Afterwards, Alan Murray read a couple of letters from viewers. Expecting the worse, both were quite biting. The second one was a gem. More on it later.

First, it was tough, but I gritted my teeth and allowed the ever UN-RELIABLE leftist, Dionne, to spew the usual OSM = Old Stream Media bilge, just to be sure I was still up to speed. Of course I am! Behind his predictable crap, though, I did catch a glimmer of fear. They played J.D. Hayworth, in the Senate or House, as he really BIT the leftists HARD, where it hurts most. He said, "I only have two questions for Dan Rather." Need I go on? Shell shocked E.J. helped the cause by 'teaching' the audience that the two questions were originally asked of---NIXON! Petard time!

Now for the letter---the writer asked, "What are we going to do if we can't trust DAN RATHER?" Murray read it with a straight face! I wonder if he got it, that the author, perhaps, was being facetious? You can bet members of the blogging community did!

posted by James at 4:58 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

War ALL Out!

There's a whole lot to say about the spectacular death of Dan Rather, and all he epitomizes. I figure the big story is still very hidden from most people's consciousness, but LIGHT'S a poppin', all over the noosphere.

The conventional analogy that just came up relates quite obviously to the stock market bubble of 2000. On a political level, using the left-right split, for the longest time, now, say since around 1913 when the income tax was instituted, and government started getting a bigger and bigger FOOT, there's been a bubble a blowin' in the wind, till now, it's way past the logical point of bursting. If high tech hadn't been allowed to grow enough, there'd have been a pop-goes-the-liberal-government weasel a long time ago. As it is, in a snake-biting-its-tail way, technology is NOW actually enabling this POP, mostly via the Internet, but also using OLD radio--talk radio---and pretty-NEW cable TV.

At the highest level, it's all about individuals waking up and taking ultimate responsibility for their own lives. I've probably written the following before, but it bears repeating, especially in today's troubling crisis----

After I left my spiritual community in 1978, aged 35, I finally grew up from my radical days by getting involved in business as an accountant with a small start up health food store, which became an instant growing success. Simultaneously I started reading, for the first time, the WSJ. Before too long, I realized I was a Libertarian. Even though I'd left the community, I still absolutely loved and followed, to the best of my wayward way, the spiritual master. I had no clue about what His politics were. Then, I heard from someone who was still involved that He told his devotees that he was to the right of Attila the Hun! Of course, this was not meant to imply that he was a barbarian, but that each person must observe themselves and change their act---take spiritual responsibility for their own self-inflicted WOUND, as Narcissus, as the ego.

All of the above old personal history is merely offered as a SIGN, to be read, a la Heidegger and his treatment of the German poet, Holderlin. Here's the poet, translated into English from Heidegger--

"When man is drawing into what withdraws, he points into what withdraws. As we are drawing that way we are a SIGN, a pointer. But, we are pointing then at something which has not, not yet, been transposed into the language that we SPEAK. It remains un-comprehended. We are an un-interpreted SIGN.

In his draft for the hymn, 'Memosyne', (Memory), Holderlin says:

We are a sign that is not yet read,
We feel no pain, we almost have
Lost our tongue in foreign lands."

"Basic Writings", Heidegger pages 358-359

In this light let us consider all things "RATHER"

The War on Terror is embedded in World War IV, as Norman Podhoretz recently so eloquently put it. Even this World War IV, is more profoundly embedded in the need for each human to wake up, and live our born divine nature, as I tried to indicate, to SIGN, above.

However, let's just make tiny step for mankind, here. In WW II, a famous patriotic saying in America was that "They also serve, who work and wait at home", or words to that effect. Just so, then, for today's war. Every human alive is either actively fighting the war, or else is working and waiting, somewhere. Here's the REAL DEAL.

In the noosphere, where it REALLY matters, everyone is a combatant! That's why "Rather" is so important, such a good SIGN.

In this all-consuming WAR, paralleling the structure of the military, within the body of humanity there are 'generals' and 'privates' and everything in between. Hence, anybody with a computer who's connected to the Internet can, by contributing to the CAUSE, rise to the highest rank, by the ultimate metric---MERIT. I am a 'private' ARMY! Such is the joy of Internet 'sex', or interconnectivity! Did I ever tell you the 'Seeing IS F**king"? Well, "Seeing" is simply one of the senses, and the truth is that any of them will fit that equation, including the higher level THINKING that caps what a human IS.

Which SIDE are you on?

What sparked this blog was the silly acronym OSM = Old School Media, which indicated the SIGN, the word, Osama. How outrageous to compare "Rather" to Osama! But, I beg to differ with that. Words matter. All you have to do is recall what Walter Cronkite brought about, after Tet. Just THINK how differently the Vietnam war would have turned out, if the reporting had been, as it was in WW II, as extremely patriotic as it ended up being 'objective' = UN-patriotic.

Because of people like the all-powerful Cronkite and wannabe powerhouses like Kerry, in 1971, the years following the communist's takeover of South Vietnam resulted in the horrible deaths of many millions, along with further depravities for the poor people left behind in the area---they were directly 'killed' by OSM! See what I mean?

So, in every new day, which is a KNEW-THE-REAL-TRUTH day, hopefully, as all the rats = "Rathers" get exposed for being on the WRONG side, fighting the WRONG war, at the WRONG time, it will be possible to roll up all the secret agents fighting for "OSAMA".

That's one of the beautiful aspects of a black-white KNIFE. The sharper, the better! We don't need no NUANCE badges!

EITHER-OR Rocks!

"Either 'you' are for us or against us" applies to each participant in the all-out front war, a war with no home front, or is that all home front? Another hoary bromide---"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

What's the one word SOLUTION for those who are the PROBLEM?

CONVERSION. Yes, this turn-about permeates all layers of life, from a drunk at AA, all the way to a spiritual aspirant 'attaining' satori, in a flash, and in between the many mea culpas that a REAL MAN confesses. Those who are agin' freedom, must either CONVERT totally, or at least live and let live, or else DIE or be imprisoned.

Yes, the WAR is ALL OUT! The cat's out of the bag!

That's MY BAG!

posted by James at 1:44 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Prey, 'er, Pray for Dan Rather

Thank God for Dan Rather! His COURAGE under fire is perfect for the defrocking of his generation of 'journalists'. May he hold out as long as possible! Dan the man, from Texas---listen up: go down shooting away, just like those 'heroes' at the Alamo.

Here's the thing. Dan is the pluperfect first rate second rate man. I knew Walter Cronkite. Dan Rather is NO Walter Cronkite. However, he is the PERFECT man for his end times, as the MSM = Main Stream Media or OSM = Old Stream Media dries up.

The longer he holds out, the better the clarity of REALIZATION possible for all people who are coming into their own. As an oldie-but-goodie myself, perspective is hard on to come by. But, time EATS all, so retards like dandy Dan MUST hold on, as long as possible, in order to serve the awakening of followers of their super nova death.

Make no mistake about it. OSM = MSM is dying.

posted by James at 11:13 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Oh My!

Here's another way to indicate the Main Stream Media = OSM.

Take Rumsfeld's incisive BITE outta Europe's puffed up importance, to wit the division into a New Europe verses an Old Europe.

All the 'Dan Rather's' of the world are Old Stream Media = OSM.

OSM? Hmm? Now who does THAT remind you of?

OSAMA! Looks BAD to me!

OBAMA!

posted by James at 4:52 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

50 Days = 50 Cuts Into Kerry

It seems like only yesterday, but it was just before the Democratic primaries that some writer---Paul Beston?--- on the americanspectator.org website penned a devastating piece on Kerry. The author was from Massachusetts, or else somewhere in New England, so he had had personal experience over years of Kerry's political life. One sticking point was that Kerry, in his opinion, could never even get the nomination, let alone the Presidency, based on this--- when on the campaign trail, doing retail politicking, the disconnect between the HAUGHTY Kerry and 'little' people was profound, almost embarrassingly awkward.

And, what do you know? He DID manage to get the nomination! While we're still in the dark, living out the UN-CERTAINTY PRINCIPLE, about who will get the most votes, fraudulent as well as valid ones, and become President---meaning he actually could win; the HORRORS!---what's one to do or think? I think we should keep in mind that original disconnect, and expand it by enumerating all the other facts we’ve had to find out about this man who would be king.

Where to begin? People like me, who know so much, because they pay very close attention to politics, can hardly find anything GOOD to say about JFK II. In fact, the list of negatives flitting around Kerry is practically endless! The best you can say is that he is not evil, but just has always shown bad judgment. Think of him as the General Meade of our times, or maybe our version of Neville Chamberlain. Personally, I believe he's purposefully engaged in traitorous behavior, and his best trait is consistency, as he always keeps his eye on the BLAME-AMERICA ball, and acts accordingly. Yes, he's a 21st century American Napoleon wannabe! L'etat, c'est moi! Let them = little people eat cake, while I enjoy caviar!

Anyway, one of the worst things about Kerry, perhaps THE worst thing, is that we even have to get to know him, to spend precious time and energy on such a LOSER. We could be contemplating GOD, but, nooo! We have to pay attention to one of the most flawed, UGLY, men ever to seek the Presidency!

What does that tell you? The disconnect is profound! Just as the writer noticed, when he personally saw Kerry and normal voters interact, this is a man of no rightful chance to win. Therefore, the very fact that he CAN win proves how rotten things are in the political 'Denmark' that is America in 2004. Two major truths stand out as bases for this sad state of affairs. The first one has to be that so many people are even self-chosen or brainwashed Democrats, and even more, in this specific race, are not only able to stomach the very marred Kerry, but even to muster any bit of enthusiasm for him. That LIBERAL base is one of the political wonders of the modern world. Secondly, as John Fund comes out with his new book, "Stealing Elections", the other monstrous wonder is the state of the voting system. What a flubbing mess! As Fund notes, when Mexico---MEXICO!!!---has more stringent laws about who can vote (for example REQUIRING a photo ID and a thumb print) than the USA, with its Motor Voter strain that invites fraud, well?

It's no wonder Kerry has a chance, despite his incredible warts.

OTOH

To continue a theme from previous blogs---let ME be consistent!---maybe the hope and prayer is being answered, this election cycle, precisely BECAUSE Kerry is such a less-than-zero candidate. That is, as we come into the home stretch these last 50 days, the furious fight will be about who can project the most convincing image of Kerry. For most people, Bush is a pretty well known quantity. Yes, as part of their strategy the liberals will attack Bush, as witness the forgery. But, the main battleground STATE will be in the noosphere. The right has to continue to get the Kerry record out, while the left has to dolly up Kerry, in essence con people by faking them out of their voting minds.

Since we live in a litigious society, now, the election is basically one huge trial, with voters the jury. What comes up is the concept of the PREPONDERANCE of EVIDENCE. If the right side 'lawyers' make the proper case, by Election Day Kerry could be seen by most people in truth, in the LIGHT of too much 'wicked' evidence. If, OTOH, the leftist lawyers make the improper case, on November 3rd their obscuration and obfuscation will have foisted Kerry atop the free world. This is the fight to watch.

It's the MSM = Oldies but baddies verses the Blogsphere = Newbies but goodies

It could well be that THIS is the battle royale, and the particular candidates are but bit players on this larger stage. That is, we have come to the noospheric WATERLOO. Can 'Napoleon' finally be stopped, indeed DESTROYED, here in America, and thus free up the vast mass of people who are enchained, and don't even know it? See near things far, and far things near.

Finally, the punching line

If, and it's that that immortal beloved, a BIG IF, the good guys win, and win convincingly, not only would that mean that freedom was on the quick step march, but it would also mean that it would be possible to make a monetary killing.

On Trendmacrolytics.com, one of the most useful regularly updated graphs plots the tradesports.com presidential bet against the S&P 500. The former always seems to predict the latter. As I looked at it in more detail for a longer time than normal, today, I spied a huge gap. The odds for a Bush win are over 60%, and have been for a week or so, whereas the S&P 500 hasn't kept up, basically going sideways. Could that be a sign that the latter is very undervalued, or that the former is overvalued?

If it becomes clearer and clearer that Bush will win, as the election days dwindle down---remember 1996 as Dole's chances faded, and it was a sure thing Clinton would win---and if nothing dramatic happens in America, there could be a huge readjustment UP for the stock market.

Semper Fi!

posted by James at 11:53 AM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

Degeneration

To DEGENERATE or to GENERATE---that is always the question.

The twain ever meet. Hello parents and children. As we each play out whatever assumed role, vis a vis any other being, human or otherwise, that we have chosen, as our own PARTICULAR here and now, certain presently arising 'strings' spread their 'wings' attempting to evoke a wished for response. Hey, you gotta use what's THERE! If it takes a reference to a Dennis the menace Kucinich, to convince the PRESENT living beings to VOTE for you, well, blast away!

When we extant human beings wonder about DE-GENERATE, it's the body that captures the attention, oh so painfully. But, you know what? The body FOLLOWS the mind.

"Subtlety" is so subtle! A glance, a word, a snub. All are enough to FORCE gross stuff into enough mouths to produce enough FAT people, so wysiwyg. What you see is what you get. What I'm not so subtly trying to say is that there's a whole lot of DEGENERATION going on, and it's not primarily happening on the physical dimension.

What about the FEELING and the PSYCHOLOGICAL levels?

Yes, say YES, to all the EATING going on in all those other realms. 24/7 we are arising in, are immersed in, are AS, perfectly appropriate FEELINGS IN THE GUT, as well as THOUGHTS about whatever, which FEEL 'GOOD', according to our present state of enlightenment.

Acceptance of 'One's' present CHOSEN reality is the expression of a lot more than nothing. Or, is it "nothing"

Who is psychologically DEGENERATING? What about emotionally? Ah, yes, but we all revel in rationality. How doe it degenerate? Does it go to its grave, ever waving its flag of certainty? Even while blowing its horn?

It ALL makes me wonder.

Experience verses experiment

Experience is a wonderful 'TOOL'. But, you know what? The ONE who experiences is merely, and all ways, an experimental 'BODY'. Imagine that. Here and now 'YOU' are.

And, what an experiment! What an experience!

posted by James at 1:17 AM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

MSM Variation

MSM = Main Stream Media plucked the following---

What word does the acronym, MSM, call to mind?

MUSEUM!

But of course! That's what the MSM has become, a storehouse for DEAD idaes!

The more MUSEUM, the more you don't!

posted by James at 3:56 PM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com

MSM The Manipulator

Aha! There's a new acronym in town! The currently climaxing coming-turning-into-going Rather-gate has brought us MSM = Main Stream Media.

Lots of crystal clear articles in the noosphere, lately, as a result of the 60 Minutes attempt to destroy Bush. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more biased, the elderly un-gentlemen clinging to their media power, like the dying dictators of the old USSR, struggle to their knees to scream one more for their gypper! It reminds me of an old 'black' joke.

Jesus was in his healing mode. He comes upon a man lying on a stretcher who's completely paralyzed. The Lord does his Work. Whereupon, the man gets on his hands and knees, and as he moves, cries out, "I can CRAWL!"

It seems to me that something like that is happening, now, as the MSM acolytes (especially those who are the most FAMOUS, and likely the RICHEST, and thus have the most to lose) who are the most extreme lose their cover, by espousing the most outrageous ideas and doing the most egregious things. From Paul Krugman to Dan Rather, including all the Lawrence O'Donnell slick smoothies, you cannot miss them as they lose their cool, not even trying to pretend otherwise.

A couple of pertinent things relating to this comes to mind. Someone wrote about the New York Times being an admittedly liberal paper. He noted that most of the paper's subscribers live in New York, which is 80% liberal, so it will always have that slant, to sell more and make a profit. Then, Mark Steyn excoriated Rather and his liberal MSM the other day, concluding with the idea that all of us on the other side of the political spectrum should be HAPPY that this coterie of 'losers' continues pushing its agenda. The ultimate result of 'Clinton', assisted by the wild-eyed loud mouth types, like Carville and Begala, has been a LOSS of power by them, even as they SEEM to look good---this is GOOD!

NOW, MORE THAN EVER!

Think of it like this. MSM has always been left of center. When uncle Walter Cronkite managed to change America's 'MIND' about Vietnam, a major shift to the left occurred. Still, with the sixties generation even more radical, the urge was to go even further left. So, here we are, today, and that day has arrived, for MSM. For it, what we now have is basically the NYT story, en masse. That is, the FAR LEFT DEMOCRATIC PARTY and its public relations machine, the MSM, are currently RADICALLY LEFT WING. Hence, the only possible conclusion to draw is that they have nothing to fear, by 'forging' ahead, nakedly and with no contrition, because they are at home in their solid RADICAL base of maybe 40% of the population. NYT's sells newspapers, RADICALS sell ideas to their customers---it keeps THEM happy. It keeps ME happy, since it essentially relegates the Democratic Party to a chosen solid minority status.

This is "GOOD" NEWS! Just imagine. The LEFT has been completely taken over by the most RADICAL 'RED' BABY generation----take the young David Horowitz, before he woke up and became conservative, and picture 'him' infecting the old anti-Communist Democratic Party. Put great attention on the fourth column, which really runs their show, since "What you put your ATTENTION on, you become." rules the noospheric WAVES, the "AIR" waves. Yes, "Tom Hayden" and "Jane Fonda" are what the Democratic Party has become! Oh, happy day!

There is one old Democrat, Pat Cadell, who has passed beyond DENIAL, who has been trying to save his party. Other than this lone wolf, though, the rest of the liberal, 'er RADICAL, pack stand out by their anger and righteous defense of their elite beliefs.

With Bush and the Republican Party appearing so Kind and Gentle and Compassionate, these days, it looks to me like the Green Bay Packers playing a high school team. Maybe times call for such an extreme disparity, in this particular vital election, in order to be able to obviate all the cheating and lying and ballot-box stuffing by the RADICALS, so that the outcome will be a true landslide.

Here's a great quote from "The Way of the Hunter-Warrior---How to Make a Killing in Any Market", by Julian M. Snyder, from 1982.

"If possible, never let a profit become a loss. This is particularly true in these uncertain times. Once you have begun to defeat your HIDDEN opponents---press on strongly, but select a point where you will take a profit. Musashi would call this 'to crush': 'In single combat, if the enemy is less skillful than oneself, if his rhythm is disorganized, we must CRUSH him straightaway, with NO concern for his presence and without allowing him space for breath.'"

There it is. In today's political market, each day before the actual voting on Novemner 2nd, with the battle lines so clearly drawn, freedom lovers must follow that advice and CRUSH the enemy, unremittedly! Then, when ballots are counted, the outcome will shine by dint of the CRUSHING defeat of the RADICALS.

posted by James at 11:02 AM
Contact me at jfcrystal@hotmail.com