DRIVING LESSONS

Gisele Bundchen

DRIVING LESSONS

I took my older son for his first pre-driving lesson today. He won't be eligible for his learner's permit for six more months, but he convinced me that other kids' parents were already teaching their kids to drive. We went to Franklin Canyon after school, and drove down a long country road, and he was slightly freaked out by the power break. Every time he put his foot on the break, it would lurch and slam to a stop. He isn’t used to the power yet.

There was one solitary man on the road ahead of us walking his dog. My son sat and waited until the man became a speck in the distance. I sat there ready to pull my hair out, looked at him like he was crazy and asked, "What are you waiting for? Just pull out from the curb and drive already!" He said, "But there's a pedestrian up ahead. I would really like to avoid casualties today.” I burst out laughing.

Watching my son over the past year, I have more compassion for men by observing his teenage struggles. He is so anxious to grow taller, and now I think I appreciate men more. I am becoming softer toward them. They have so much to prove, and are under so much pressure to be "real men." They really do stress and worry over how tall they will be, how they will ever measure up to society’s standards, how will they ever get a girlfriend. They are just little boys inside.

And after watching The Real Housewives of New York City/Orange County.. now I see that women act so obnoxious because they’ve been forced to compete with other women for men. The beauty industry has put so much artificial pressure on young girls. Women have been assigned these horrifying roles in this pornogrified pop culture and we've all become vultures. We are thrust into such an unhealthy world.

Miss USA, I'm one of the judges (center)

Beauty and Body Image in the Media

"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty."
Source: Robin Gerber, author and motivational speaker

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.

Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it’s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure they’re all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health in its 2001 report Changements sociaux en faveur de la diversité des images corporelles. And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with.

The stakes are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth $100 billion (U.S.) a year. On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.

The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. And the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute warns that weight control measures are being taken by girls as young as nine. American statistics are similar. In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight.

Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, "Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight."

Unattainable Beauty

Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that media images of female beauty are unattainable for all but a very small number of women. Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition.

Still, the number of real life women and girls who seek a similarly underweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer equally devastating health consequences.

The Culture of Thinness

Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.

Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies ("How about wearing a sack?"), and 80 per cent of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter.

There have been efforts in the magazine industry to buck the trend. For several years the Quebec magazine Coup de Pouce has consistently included full-sized women in their fashion pages and Châtelaine has pledged not to touch up photos and not to include models less than 25 years of age.

However, advertising rules the marketplace and in advertising thin is "in." Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less. Advertisers believe that thin models sell products. When the Australian magazine New Woman recently included a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, it received a truckload of letters from grateful readers praising the move. But its advertisers complained and the magazine returned to featuring bone-thin models. Advertising Age International concluded that the incident "made clear the influence wielded by advertisers who remain convinced that only thin models spur the sales of beauty products."

Self-Improvement or Self-Destruction?

The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells "ordinary" women that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected.

Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real women’s bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards. Women learn to compare themselves to other women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability "effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate."

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm


MEDIA REFORM

As our friend and progressive talker Thom Hartmann pointed out on his show this morning, Stephanie Miller, another friend and progressive radio host, noted that she's syndicated on some 60 affiliates from 9 to Noon ET each weekday, while rightwing whack-job Laura Ingraham is on some 300 stations during that same time slot. Yet, Hartmann noted, Miller beats Ingraham in almost every single market where they air at the same time. Does that sound like fair competition, or that "Progressive Talk" has failed? We haven't failed, corporate America, however, has failed you.

CONTEST: WHO is the model at top on left, with her butt to the camera? Put your answer in comment section. Thank you.
11:11

DID THE CIA LIE TO BOB GRAHAM? DID DICK CHENEY LIE?

DID DICK CHENEY LIE TO AVOID MILITARY SERVICE

FIVE TIMES?

DRAFT DODGER DICK CHENEY PROMOTES TORTURE TO

SAVE HIS OWN SKIN

We know Karl Rove makes a business of being dishonest. But how did Dick Cheney get five draft deferments, enabling him to avoid military service in the Vietnam War? How did this happen? Who helped him dodge the draft and why is he on a media blitz promoting torture? I suspect Cheney is doing this to save his own skin, to preempt any indictment against him. He is going on the offensive in a propaganda war to make sure no future jury will be untainted. He is making sure there will always be some doubt about the value of torture. What a scoundrel Cheney is.

First, a summary of what's going on: Pelosi has insisted she was not briefed by the CIA about the use of water-boarding or any enhanced interrogation techniques, but the CIA recently undermined her case. The agency released an account of a September 2002 meeting that the CIA says Pelosi attended and at which those harsh techniques were discussed. Pelosi said the CIA account was wrong and then went a step further. She said briefers in that meeting explicitly said water-boarding was not being used. We now know that at the time Abu Zubaydah had been water-boarded 83 times. Pelosi charged the agency with deliberately misleading Congress as part of the larger effort to mislead the nation in the run-up to the Iraq war.

BOB GRAHAM: CIA Gave Me False Information About Interrogation Briefings

by Sam Stein at HuffPo

In testimony that could bolster Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA misled her during briefings on detainee interrogations, former Senator Bob Graham insisted on Thursday that he too was kept in the dark about the use of waterboarding, and called the agency's records on these briefings "suspect."

In an interview with the Huffington Post, the former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman said that approximately a month ago, the CIA provided him with false information about how many times and when he was briefed on enhanced interrogations.

"When this issue started to resurface I called the appropriate people in the agency and said I would like to know the dates from your records that briefings were held," Graham recalled. "And they contacted me and gave me four dates -- two in April '02 and two in September '02. Now, one of the things I do, and for which I have taken some flack, is keep a spiral notebook of what I do throughout the day. And so I went through my records and through a combination of my daily schedule, which I keep, and my notebooks, I confirmed and the CIA agreed that my notes were accurate; that three of those four dates there had been no briefing. There was only one day that I had been briefed, which was September the 27th of 2002."

As for the one briefing he did attend, the Florida Democrat said that he had "no recollection that issues such as waterboarding were discussed." He was not, per the sensitive nature of the matters discussed, allowed to take notes at the time. But he did highlight what he considered to be pretty strong proof that the controversial technique was not discussed.

"What struck me...was the fact that in that briefing, there were also two staff members," he said. "As you know, the general rule is that the executive is to brief the full committees of the House and Senate Intelligence committees about any ongoing or proposed action. The exception to that is what is called "covert action," where the president...only briefs the Gang of Eight, which is the four congressional leaders and the four intelligence committee leaders. Those sessions are generally conducted at an executive site, primarily at the White House itself. And they are conducted with just the authorized personnel, not with any staff or any other member of the committee.... Which leads me to conclude that this was not considered by the CIA to be a Gang of Eight briefing. Otherwise they would not have had staff in the room. And that leads me to then believe that they didn't brief us on any of the sensitive programs such as the waterboarding or other forms of excessive interrogation."

The remarks made by Graham bolster the comments offered by Pelosi on Thursday. The Speaker told reporters that during her briefing session in the fall of 2002 she was not just kept in the dark about the issue of waterboarding, she was assured that it had not been used.

"Yes, I am saying that the CIA was misleading the Congress," she said.

Nancy Pelosi: CIA Lied To Me
David Espo | HuffPo May 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly accused the CIA on Thursday of misleading her and other lawmakers about its use of waterboarding during the Bush administration, escalating a controversy grown to include both political parties, the spy agency and the White House.

"It is not the policy of this agency to mislead the United States Congress," responded CIA spokesman George Little, although he refused to answer directly when asked whether Pelosi's accusation was accurate.

But the House's top Democrat, speaking at a news conference in the Capitol, was unequivocal about a CIA briefing she received in the fall of 2002.

"We were told that waterboarding was not being used," the speaker said. "That's the only mention, that they were not using it. And we now know that earlier they were." She suggested the CIA release the briefing material.

Pelosi also vehemently disputed Republican charges that she was complicit in the use of waterboarding, and she suggested the GOP was trying to shift the focus of public attention away from the Bush administration's use of techniques that she and President Barack Obama have described as torture.

Coincidentally, Pelosi spoke as the CIA rejected former Vice President Dick Cheney's request to release secret memos judging whether waterboarding and other harsh techniques had succeeded in securing valuable intelligence information.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 14, 2009. Earlier Thursday, under strong attack from Republicans, Pelosi accused the CIA and Bush Administration of misleading her about waterboarding detainees in the war on terror and sharply rebutted claims she was complicit in the method's use. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/14/graham-cia-gave-me-false_n_203683.html

WANDA, STAR TREK and BOOBGATE

British Film Festival Opening Night: Film Festival President and Swansea Resident extraordinaire Binda Singh, Lydia Cornell, Film maker Nick Meade

Did you know that Swansea, Wales, UK is an amazing Welsh town? Dylan Thomas, Richard Burton, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kingsley Amis, and my new BFF Binda Singh all hail from Swansea, Wales, UK. (Among a throng of other notables.)

Saw STAR TREK with my three wild banshees over the weekend, as part of Mother's Day. I was blown away! We all thought it was wonderful. I thought the actor who played the young "Bones" was especially dead-on, and the young Spock looked exactly like Spock. Loved Lt. Uhura and Captain Kirk too. My kids aren't familiar with the original cast, so they didn't get all

the inside jokes, but they loved it anyway.

NEWS UPDATES: Miss California Vows to Use Her Naked Breasts for Good

From one of the funniest men in America, Andy Borowitz http://borowitzreport.com/

Fight Against Gay Marriage Will Be ‘Tireless, Topless'

Just moments after being told she could retain her beauty pageant crown, Miss California Carrie Prejean renewed her commitment to her mission, telling reporters, "From this day forward I promise I will use my naked breasts for good."

Ms. Prejean blasted the critics whom she claimed tried to silence her for her views on gay marriage, saying, "I intend to fight back with the two greatest weapons I have: my naked boobies."

The embattled pageant winner said she would be both "tireless and topless" in her efforts to fight same-sex unions.

She added that she plans to tour the country to speak out against gay marriage and hopes to draw attention to the issue by displaying her naked torso wherever possible.

"I will go anywhere, anytime, anyway to make my case," she said. "These breasts are made for walking."

Ms. Prejean refused to answer questions about another controversial topic, enhanced interrogation techniques, but she did remark, "I have always been in favor of enhancement."

At the White House correspondents' dinner, comedienne Wanda Sykes said things America needed to hear such as the following:

"Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails, so you're saying, 'I hope America fails,' you're like, 'I don't care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq.' He just wants the country to fail. To me, that's treason," Sykes said.

"He's not saying anything differently than what Usama bin Laden is saying," she continued, before addressing the guest of honor, President Obama. "You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight."

Sean Hannity....Sean Hannity said he was going to get waterboarded for charity for our armed forces. He hasn't done it yet I see. You know talking about he can take a waterboarding. Please. Hey okay you might want to get waterboarded by someone you know or trust but let somebody from Pakistan waterboard him, or Keith Olbermann. Let Keith Olbermann waterboard him. He can't take a waterboarding.

I could break Sean Hannity just by giving him a middle seat in coach. Oh I need leg room!!

Dick Cheney...he's a scary man..scares me to death. I tell my kids, I say look if two cars pull up and one has a stranger and the other car has Dick Cheney...you get in the car with the stranger.

Please use this open forum to give us your opinion of Sykes humor commentary on Limbaugh.

Regarding the "kidney" comment about Limbaugh, remember that Republicans in the audience laughed too. It's an automatic response to a comic's presentation. So stop the fake shock and anger at Obama for laughing, as every other Republican did. And by the way, remember when Bush actually mocked the deaths of our troops in Iraq by pretending to look under the table for WMD at HIS White House Correspondent's Dinner? Why didn't Bush apologize for his despicable "joke" and his lies that killed thousands?

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

"You are the creator of your own reality, and so you are not in jeopardy. You do not need to control the behavior of others in order for you to thrive. Your attention to things that you think they do that keeps you from your thriving is, in fact, what keeps you from thriving... It is not what they do to you; it's what YOU do in fear of what you think that they will do to you." Fear is the operative word here and fear is an acronym for "false evidence appearing real."

Excerpted from Abraham-Hicks workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Thursday, May 12th, 2005
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Remember - - - 'STRESSED' spelled backwards! is 'DESSERTS'

I am trying to avoid Blogging, Twittering, Facebook and email. I am trying to shut out the world while going through what Robert Benchley calls "the upheaval of the soul" in writing or producing any decent work of art. But as you can see, it's not working.

Here is the exact quote by Robert Benchley: "Great literature must spring from an upheaval in the author's soul."

I love this Benchley quote too: "Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment."

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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

One of my favorite songs is by Jackson Browne. It's called "The Only Child."

"Take care of your mother,

And remember to be kind

For the pain of another

will serve to remind

There are those who find themselves exiled,

On whom the fortunes never smiled

And upon whom the heartache

Has been piled... "

_______________________

THIS IS LIFE! PICASSO IN PARIS - A MOTHER'S DAY GIFT

I have always loved Paris, and couldn't get enough of it when I was there years ago writing my Trotsky book, and visiting the sights on three separate occasions. I love Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" and years ago discovered another wonderful little book called "Paris Was Yesterday" by Janet Flanner.


Here is a lovely little memory that Janet Flanner, former Paris correspondant for The New Yorker, writes in the introduction to a collection of her segments from the 1920s and '30s. She tells of one day when she met Picasso after seeing him in the same café nearly every night years before but never having the courage to speak to him.

"As I walked into the salon, which was as crowded with varied art works as an auction room, Picasso turned to me with his hand outstretched in greeting, and then, with a loud cry of astonishment, shouted, 'You! Why didn't you ever speak to me in the old days at the Flore? For years we saw each other and never spoke, until now. Are you just the same as you were? you look it!' By this time he had his arms around me and was thumping me enthusiastically on the shoulders. 'You look fine; not a day older,' and I said, "Nor do you,' and he said, "That's true; that's the way you and I are. We don't get older, we just get riper. Do you still love life the way you used to, and love people the way you did? I watched you and always wanted to know what you were thinking ... Tell me, do you still love the human race, especially your best friends? Do you still love love?' 'I do,' I said, astonished at the turn the monologue was taking. 'And so do I!' he shouted, laughing. 'Oh, we're great ones for that, you and I. Isn't love the greatest refreshment in life?' And he embraced me with his strong arms, in farewell." (from The Happy and Young Blog)

La vida es bella
No lo olvides
Serás felíz.
---------------------------------
Life is beautiful
Do not forget it
You will be happy.
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GREEN NEWS REPORT from BRADBLOG.COM

File (6 mins) at: Green News Report BradBlog MP3

More details and links on today's report at: More Details at BradBlog.com

Quick summary for today:

IN TODAY'S AUDIO REPORT: Fires and bats and bears --- OH MY!; Congress to offer 'Cash For Clunkers', PLUS: A new lightbulb that lasts for 25 years?!? .... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
---
Brad Friedman
Publisher/Editor, The BRAD BLOG
http://www.BradBlog.com

______________________________________________________________
Basham and Cornell Radio Show airs at 8 am Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas and worldwide on the web.

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas. Again, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

RECENT GUESTS:

M*A*S*H Star Mike Farrell was live on our show Listen in the audio archives at Basham and Cornell Radio Show

Mike is best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the popular television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). He is also a prominent progressive, political activist.

Mike narrates the new film, "The Life Penalty," which will screened at the British Film Festival Los Angeles, which takes place May 3rd thru' May 8th in Redondo Beach, California. Why does the United States rank with China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Vietnam in executions?

Listen to our recent interview with legendary White House Press Correspondent HELEN THOMAS in the archives on our radio website. THIS IS AN AMAZING INTERVIEW. Helen Thomas has covered every president since John F. Kennedy. Barack is her 10th. She flew on Air Force One with JFK and has been in the front row of the White House press room with ten U.S. presidents. She served for fifty-seven years as a correspondent and, later, White House bureau chief for United Press International (UPI) for 25 years.

Thomas was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents Association, and, in 1975, the first female member of the Gridiron Club. She has written four books; her latest is Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas. Again, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

If you've missed our show, check out the audio archives for MP3 podcasts. Recent Guests: Obama Cabinet, Obama Transistion team MikeLux, founder of American Center for Progress; Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader; Presidential candidates, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage; MSNBC's Pat Buchanan, former Reagan advisor; CNN's Paul Begala, former Clinton advisor; Bill Press, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Sen. John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich, John Dean, NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher, Congressman Charlie Rangel,Valerie Plame, Vincent Bugliosi, Christine Pelosi, Dahr Jamail, Senator Mike Gravel; Senator Byron Dorgan; bestselling authors Naomi Klein, Paul Krugman.... and many more. ain, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

WE LOVE MEXICO! plus THE POWER OF COMPASSION *

Rest in peace, Dom Deluise. You're probably flipping tortillas in heaven on Cinco de Mayo! My friend Sumi Lee says: "Met Dom Deluise once at Koo Koo Roo. He was very sweet and we discussed chicken." This makes me laugh, and I know Dom would appreciate us laughing! When people pass, we should celebrate them.

We extend our love, and prayers to Mexico. HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!! My favorite food EVER is Mexican food, and I love the Mexican people.

Yesterday, May 4th was Star Wars Day: May the Fourth be with you!


THE POWER OF COMPASSION

Buddhists believe strongly that people must immerse themselves in feeling other’s pain in order to gain the compassion that heals the world. When your heart is full of love for your fellow man, you can reach out and actually change people’s lives.

"The only response to hatred is love." - Wayne Dyer

"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which can not fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance; that principle is CONTEMPT PRIOR TO INVESTIGATION." - Herbert Spencer

One day when my son was 8 years old, in third grade, he came home from school with a notice from the principal that a 10-year-old boy had died overnight from a high fever. My own son had also been home from school that week, suffering from a similar fever. We had never met this boy or his family, but I instantly felt the mother’s pain so deeply it shattered me and I couldn't stop crying. I looked up the family name in the school directory to see if they had any other children, which they did: one other son in ninth grade at our local high school.

I prayed deeply for this mother — pouring compassion out to her, holding her in my heart and communing with the divine love that passes all understanding. I asked God to comfort her, to fill her with peace. And then the tears stopped. It was four o’clock in the afternoon. I felt an urgent need to get in my car and find this woman. All I knew was that she lived in a large apartment building on Rexford Drive, a few blocks away. The car seemed to drive itself down the street, and at the end of the block, I saw a tall woman in a bathrobe, pacing the sidewalk, bleary-eyed. She looked at me with a sadness I will never forget. I parked in a driveway and rolled down the window. “Are you Benjamin’s mother?” I asked, getting out of the car. The woman ran towards me — literally rushing into my arms, sobbing. We held each other, both of us crying and she said “Did God send you?”

The woman was Korean-American, and explained in broken English that she had just come outside to search for her husband, who had disappeared in grief earlier that day. She asked if I would come in and look at pictures of her son. We went inside and she showed me her son’s “room,” which was just a corner of the living room. Though this was Beverly Hills, they lived in a modest one-bedroom apartment. Both sons slept in the living room. She showed me Benjamin’s report card, schoolwork, baseball trophies, Yugioh cards — which were just like my son’s. She poured tea and told me all the wonderful things about Benjamin.

I silently asked God to give me the right words to say, and out of my mouth came some memories formed into words I could not take credit for. I told her about my precious brother Paul and how he had come to me in a vision a few days after his death. I’ll never forget this because I was driving my car and literally had to pull over and stop. On the radio they were playing the song from the Disney movie “Pocahontas” with the lyric “Who knows how high the Sycamore grows... if you cut it down you’ll never know.” This struck me because we had Paul’s memorial service underneath a giant Sycamore tree. My head collapsed onto the steering wheel I was crying uncontrollably. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a surge of warmth and light filled my body and I bolted upright in my seat. I saw my brother’s face beaming at me so broadly I had never seen him this radiant. He told me to stop crying, that he'd “see me later,” that “there is no death.” He even said “I love you Lydia; you really helped me.” This was in 1995, on the third day after I had found his body. I felt completely at peace about him from then on.

I kept a picture of Paul by my bedside that week, with a candle burning next to it. One morning three days after his death, my toddler Jack, who was a year and a half old, woke up, giggled, pointed to the picture and said, “Paul happy!” This gives me goose bumps even now when I remember it. Now I’m going to sound completely loony, but on the day we scattered his ashes at sea, before we left for the boat, three white doves alighted on our lawn, and these were not doves for hire. What is it with the number three?

As I sat with the woman, I told her that her son Benjamin was a gift that she was blessed with for ten years and now God needed him back home for bigger things. I told her “our children are on loan to us.” I don't know where these words came from. As she walked me out she said she felt an enormous wave of peace come over her. “I was so depressed and now I feel I was visited by an angel.” It dawned on me that we can all be comforters or ‘human angels’ for each other when we open up and begin to really care about others.

Our entire school attended Benjamin’s funeral. During the eulogy, the minister read a letter written by the mother, in which she said: “Benjamin was a gift to us for ten years, and now God called him back home for more important things…"

It’s amazing how Love uses us when we make ourselves available. I've had full-blown miracles and healings from prayer -- and I’ve come to rely on ceaseless prayer for every problem in life including overcoming "genetic" diseases. But the best kind is praying for others with compassion.

After my crash and burn, I began to transcend my ego in fits and starts. It did not succumb willingly. Sometimes the ego is so big it needs an apartment of its own.

But the most important change was when I began to have more compassion for others. I believe that’s the main idea: to transcend our demanding egos and put others first. There’s no time to waste; we all need to get over ourselves and branch out. As Christ said, “you have to lose your life to save it,” and the St. Francis Prayer,“It is by self-forgetting that one finds.”

I always tell my children, “No matter how much you acquire or accomplish in life, if you’re not kind to others, you’ve missed the whole point.”

It's really hard to get out of my self-centeredness and actually do it. There are so many times I’ve received a nudge to extend myself to help someone, but out of laziness or fear, I’ve ignored the call.

Einstein said it beautifully here: "A human being is a part of the whole called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

It took years to smash my ego, gain some humility, stop forcing things my way, let go of fear and begin to deeply care about others. As I’ve become more enlightened, I’ve become more generous, more “liberal”, but I don’t mean this politically.

I believe "good conservatives are really liberals at heart."

Why are so many fundamentalist Christians stuck in the Old Testament with its eye-for-an-eye mentality — which is the exact opposite of Christian? Maybe they don’t realize the word “Christ” is the root of the word “Christian” because the vowel sounds are different! Christ brought the new law, in the new testament -- which brought the law of love. Christ talks about how we must take care of the “least among us,” we must be peacemakers and take care of the poor, the meek, and the outcasts. Perhaps this doesn’t fit their worldview of the downtrodden as “victims.”

I heard Gay Talese talk about his interest in the common man, the humble underdog who struggles through life without fame, fanfare or charisma – and how important it is to celebrate everyday heroes rather than superstars, gorgeous models and million-dollar athletes. In other words, we should value substance over style.

M*A*S*H Star Mike Farrell on our Show plus SPIRITUAL ARCHITECTURE

Quote of the Day: “If there isn't deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenges of life will cause true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short-term success." —Stephen R. Covey

One of the most inspiring stories of 2008: 'Good Samaritan' saves crying woman's foreclosed home (from CNN.com)... But first some infuriating things my husband said that weren't so funny while they were happening...





Spiritual architecture

My husband and I went to a sports bar to watch the last Packer game of the season on Sunday. We had so much fun — but we have the goofiest relationship. Paul hates it when I use big words; he always wants me to act like a dumb blonde. So when the waitress came over to take our order I happened to be telling him an idea for a chapter in my book called "Spiritual Architecture" he got really embarrassed and told me to please not use intelligent words like that. "It might make the waitress uncomfortable," he said.

WTF?? Was he implying the waitress was stupid? No. What he meant was that he wanted me to fit into the Neanderthal crowd. Usually I have to use very pornographic language just to get his attention.

When we fight, we are talking to each other's wounds...not to each other. We fight over who’s being nicer. We strangle each other over who is doing the Golden Rule better. This reminds me of my favorite line from Dr. Strangelove: “You can’t fight in here, this is the War Room!”

By the way, when I first met my husband I was shocked at how much TV he watched. And it was always some celebrity tabloid show featuring the flavor of the month. I asked him, “Don’t you think we’re too obsessed with celebrities in this culture? He just stared at the TV and said, “No, it’s educational.”

My big question is, why am I experiencing life with this particular person? Oh yeah, according to Bob Lancer -- the purpose of marriage is to learn compassion!

So I asked him, “Tell me how, how is it educational to learn how many belly-button rings or mansions Britney Spears has? I think this is making us a nation of covetous, jealous, greedy, panicky zombies.”

He wouldn't answer. He was zoned out staring at the TV, and didn't hear me.

Over Christmas, my sister and I were going through all our old record albums, LPs. I have all the original Beatles, Jethro Tull ('Benefit' is the best, especially the song 'Sossity!') Led Zeppelin, Moody Blues, ELP, The Band, Zephyr, Fleetwood Mac ('Mystery to Me' - my favorite before Buckingham-Nicks came along...) We were reminiscing about how much fun it was to put the needle into the groove of the record, even if it would scratch the record. There was something so solid about “playing a record” on an actual turntable.

I began to think about the way we are becoming less material and more digital. Doing away with cumbersome record players, cassettes, and even CDs. We are becoming "thought" -- one mind. We are able to communicate and almost think directly to each other over computer signals and “text” messages – which is like grabbing words out of thin air.

Think of the invisible notes of music or the invisible numbers of mathematics. There is a divine harmony underlying everything. Everything is beauty and harmony. The physical picture is not the real story. Kind of like the inner software in a computer — the substance, the meat. Everything else is just temporary packaging. What's real is what's inside. The invisible.

Speaking of music, our kids blew our minds on New Years Eve. We took them to a party and they sat down at the piano and played the entire night. Each separately - Kevin, 13 played Cold Play and Muse. Jack, who is 14, played songs from the new Jack's Mannequin album (his favorite band) plus The Pink Panther, Sting and lots of other stuff. Jack wants guitar lessons too. A couple of years ago, I couldn't get them to even consider piano lessons. Now they each have a Yamaha in their rooms and they compose music everyday! You can plug in your laptop and compose as it creates sheet music.

My father was a violinist, my sister is a composer who wrote a new theme song for Extreme Home Makeover (and a major Gospel Choir is singing her composition!!) and my younger brother, who died a few years ago, was a prodigy with perfect pitch.
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New Year's Resolutions

In 2009 I am going to try to be less sensitive. I am so sensitive I feel sorry for that little depressed egg bobbing around in the “Depression” commercial…

I am so sensitive, I cried at the violence in the James Bond movie and then jumped out of the car when my husband said I had “too much compassion." My son Kevin was upset that I reminded him to have a conscience after the movie – that I made him less numb to violence. In other words, I ruined his high... and therefore it’s a bad thing! …???
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Jim Bullock put his face on my body when we were signing autographs. Fans actually bought this one: (Jimmy: Sorry you missed our Christmas party and we couldn't make it to your play in KC!)


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Epiphany: I woke up on December 1, 2008 out of the ether and realized I was depressed. Usually I light a candle on this sad day, but I had even forgotten to call my mother — as it is the anniversary of my brother's death. I picked up Eckhardt Tolle's bestseller "A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose" and randomly turned to a page at the back, which said that the only times we are unhappy are when we are looking backward or forward — in other words, when we are not living in the present moment: RIGHT NOW. Right now, nothing bad is happening. It is only when we live in the past and future that we feel pain.

The book said that we must wake up and fully enjoy the present moment - be fully conscious and look at the joy we can create by being grateful for the tiniest thing. We must also see what we can do for others, for "Only a life lived for others is worth living." I realized I had two kids in the house who needed me -- and one in particular was in a lot of pain, hobbling around after his bone surgery, with his foot bent in a crooked position. He needed me to be in good spirits, to really care about him (which I always do, but sometimes I am focused on my own deadlines and projects and fear -- that I forget to "feel his pain." So I got up and made his breakfast with so much love. Then I made his lunch and put a note in it. Then I got his shoes and rubbed his feet with Tiger Balm. Then I offered to drive him to school. He was so grateful that I lifted his burdens for the morning. My whole world changed from this simple committtment to "stay in the present moment" and stay out of my head (it's a bad neighborhood.) Stay out of worry and fear -- for they are not real and do not exist. Only the GOOD is real.






M*A*S*H Star Mike Farrell was live on our show Thursday. Listen in the audio archives at Basham and Cornell Radio Show

Mike is best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the popular television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). He is also a prominent progressive, political activist.

Mike narrates the new film, "The Life Penalty," which will screened at the British Film Festival Los Angeles, which takes place May 3rd thru' May 8th in Redondo Beach, California. Why does the United States rank with China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Vietnam in executions?

Support for ‘death’ centers in the former slave states, and “who must die” is not a question of justice, but of politics. Casting a revelatory and often uncomfortable light on the US justice system, The Life Penalty shakes the ethical and moral foundations of capital punishment.


Basham and Cornell Radio Show airs at 8 am Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas and worldwide on the web.

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas. Again, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION * HOW WE CAN HELP OUR NEIGHBORS... read below

Listen to our recent interview with legendary White House Press Correspondent HELEN THOMAS in the archives on our radio website. THIS IS AN AMAZING INTERVIEW. Helen Thomas has covered every president since John F. Kennedy. Barack is her 10th. She flew on Air Force One with JFK and has been in the front row of the White House press room with ten U.S. presidents. She served for fifty-seven years as a correspondent and, later, White House bureau chief for United Press International (UPI) for 25 years.

Thomas was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents Association, and, in 1975, the first female member of the Gridiron Club. She has written four books; her latest is Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas. Again, all shows are simulcast worldwide on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Radio

If you've missed our show, check out the audio archives for MP3 podcasts. Recent Guests: Obama Cabinet, Obama Transistion team MikeLux, founder of American Center for Progress; Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader; Presidential candidates, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage; MSNBC's Pat Buchanan, former Reagan advisor; CNN's Paul Begala, former Clinton advisor; Bill Press, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Sen. John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards, Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich, John Dean, NBC Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv Martin Fletcher, Congressman Charlie Rangel,Valerie Plame, Vincent Bugliosi, Christine Pelosi, Dahr Jamail, Senator Mike Gravel; Senator Byron Dorgan; bestselling authors Naomi Klein, Paul Krugman.... and many more.

WE MUST TAKE CARE OF THE 'LEAST AMONG US'

Ways we can all help: I was devastated by the news that California is cutting hot lunches from schools, firing teachers, closing down arts and music programs and closing several public schools. I started Googling Food Banks and supplemental programs to see which non-profits can pick up the slack. Some churches in under-privileged communities offer after-school snacks and places to hang out. Think about ways in your community in which you can mentor a young person who is having a hard time in school, or doesn't have enough to eat. Join the Boys' Club or your neighborhood YMCA.

Found this on Mashable.com
This just sounds funny: “This week, Yahoo announced a deal with Bebo that will help it compete with Google. I had to wiki Bebo to find out it’s kind of like Friendster and Woofie. Gosh, I hope they can all band together to save Fuzzelton village from the evil Snords. Grow up. If I want to see uncaring, money-making machines with cutesy names, I go to a strip club.”
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Dick Cheney: Through the Cracked Moral Compass, Darkly
by Brian Ross HuffPo

Should it be surprising that Dick Cheney, the guy who is the chief architect of the morally and ethically bankrupt Bush Administration policies on everything from the Iraq War to torture to padding Halliburton's pockets to shipping jobs overseas to the gelding of the media now wants to use his Fox News mouthpiece to try and spin a positive light on his misdeeds in office? It is as if he is daring the Obama Administration to put him on trial. The question is, why?
Read more at: HuffingtonPost.com

Flashback: CHENEY'S HALLIBURTON/KBR WAR PROFITEERS: Dick Cheney's Haliburton influence during the Bush administration: Apparently, no-bid contracts awarded to Halliburton skyrocketed, enriching the oil giant by billions.

"Halliburton's CEO also enjoyed an incredible personal gain from Iraq and the commensurate rise in gasoline prices. A HalliburtonWatch analysis reveals that CEO David Lesar's stock holdings in Halliburton increased by a stunning $78 million since the Iraq invasion."

Now, a bribery conviction spurs call to terminate KBR contracts.

BREAKING: Could former Bush administration cabinet members like Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Alberto Gonzales face charges that could result in prison terms or worse? A new report from the Senate Armed Services Committee — of which John McCain is a member — says there is growing proof that Bush Senior officials ordered torture, inhumane treatment of prisoners, and other criminal abuses...

Trickle-Down Torture: Rumsfeld Memo Used to Justify Torture in Gitmo, Afghanistan and Iraq
By Susie Madrak crooksandliars.com

WASHINGTON — A newly declassified Congressional report released Tuesday outlined the most detailed evidence yet that the military’s use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects was approved at high levels of the Bush administration.

The report focused solely on interrogations carried out by the military, not those conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency at its secret prisons overseas. It rejected claims by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others that Pentagon policies played no role in harsh treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq or other military facilities.

The 232-page report, the product of an 18-month inquiry, was approved on Nov. 20 by the Senate Armed Services Committee, but has since been under Pentagon review for declassification. Some of the findings were made public in a Dec. 12 article in The New York Times; a spokesman for Mr. Rumsfeld dismissed the report at the time as “unfounded allegations against those who have served our nation.”

The Senate report documented how some of the techniques used by the military at prisons in Afghanistan and at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as well as in Iraq — stripping detainees, placing them in “stress positions” or depriving them of sleep — originated in a military program known as Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape, or SERE, intended to train American troops to resist abusive enemy interrogations.

According to the Senate investigation, a military behavioral scientist and a colleague who had witnessed SERE training proposed its use at Guantánamo in October 2002, as pressure was rising “to get ‘tougher’ with detainee interrogations.” Officers there sought authorization, and Mr. Rumsfeld approved 15 interrogation techniques.

The report showed that Mr. Rumsfeld’s authorization was cited by a United States military special-operations lawyer in Afghanistan as “an analogy and basis for use of these techniques,” and that, in February 2003, a special-operations unit in Iraq obtained a copy of the policy from Afghanistan “that included aggressive techniques, changed the letterhead, and adopted the policy verbatim.”

Months later, the report said, the interrogation officer in charge at Abu Ghraib obtained a copy of that policy “and submitted it, virtually unchanged, through her chain of command.” This ultimately led to authorization by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez of the use of stress positions, “sleep management” and military dogs to exploit detainees’ fears, the report said.

“The paper trail on abuse leads to top civilian leaders, and our report connects the dots,” Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said on Tuesday in a conference call with reporters. “This report, in great detail, shows a paper trail going from that authorization” by Mr. Rumsfeld “to Guantánamo to Afghanistan and to Iraq,” Mr. Levin said.

Dave N.: Suzanne Ito reports reaction from the Senate, including Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich:

In my judgment, the report represents a condemnation of both the Bush administration’s interrogation policies and of senior administration officials who attempted to shift the blame for abuse — such as that seen at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and Afghanistan — to low ranking soldiers. Claims, such as that made by former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz that detainee abuses could be chalked up to the unauthorized acts of a “few bad apples,” were simply false.

....The abuses and the dangers do not end with the torture memos. Americans still know far too little about President Bush’s decision to illegally eavesdrop on Americans — a program that has since been given legal cover by the Congress.

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Harman begins to backtrack denials of wiretap story
John Byrne -- Wednesday April 22, 2009
Raw Story.com

The California Democrat who was allegedly caught on an FBI wiretap promising to aid accused Israeli spies in 2005 has begun walking back her original denials after requesting the transcript of the wiretapped conversation be released.

Pelosi tipped off to wiretap after intelligence mutiny
John Byrne -- Thursday April 23, 2009
Raw Story.com

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was told that a fellow Democratic congresswoman had been wiretapped because intelligence officials were irate that then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had blocked a probe into the congresswoman's involvement related to an Israeli espionage case, CQ's Jeff Stein revealed late Wednesday.

Holder says 'no one is above the law' as calls for special prosecutor mount
Jeremy Gantz -- Wednesday April 22, 2009
Raw Story.com
Hours after being presented with more than a quarter million signatures demanding that he appoint a special independent prosecutor to investigate Bush-era torture practices, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that "no one is above the law" and that his department would "follow the evidence."

Fox anchor: 'This is America! We do not f---ing torture'
David Edwards and John Byrne -- Thursday April 23, 2009
Fox News' Online Webcast
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Quote of the Day: "Reagan proved deficits don't matter. We won the midterms, this is our due." - Dick Cheney

So why, Mr. Cheney, are you attacking Obama for a the deficit you helped create that you are now blaming on Obama?

From TPM: "I mean...long before 9-11, Cheney laid out the plans to invade Iraq, detailing the locations of Iraq's oil fields in the infamous Energy Task Force memos. A founding member of PNAC. The CEO of Halliburton, who, during his tenure, not only sold Saddam $26 million worth of illegal oil drilling equipment, but oversaw their Enron-style hiding of $100 million worth of debt from the books, their auditors and their stockholders. He bought Grace, CO, which was then under siege by dozens of lawsuits for asbestos poisoning of entire Montana cities, and then as VP, conveniently muscled through legislation limiting said asbestos lawsuit claims. All aside the obvious no-bid contracts to his former company while his stock was held in a so-called 'blind trust'.

Finally, this is the man who directed George W. Bush's Vice President search team, and found the one man who could satisfy his discerning viewpoints perfectly - himself.

BOMBSHELL #2: from Senate Armed Services Committee report: Bush torture team ordered the abuse of detainees to manufacture a link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks. But despite their failure to do so, President Bush and his water carriers continue to perpetuate that myth to this day.

USS INCHON REUNION!!

Don't Miss the USS Inchon Association's 5th Reunion! April 22-26 2009, Washington DC

On Christmas 1982, I had the honor of going to Beirut, Lebanon to visit our troops for the USO. I went with Johnny Grant and singer Kellee Patterson. Shortly after I left, over 250 Marines of the 24th MAU were blown up by a suicide bomber. I have such wild tales of my time in Beirut. The Marines picked us up at midnight from the airport in a blackout, driving the jeep through mine fields. We stayed in the partially bombed out Beirut Carlton hotel, where we sat up all night drinking whiskey with Capt. Dale Dye. The next day we were picked up by helicopter and flown to the decks of the USS INCHON and USS SHREVEPORT where I met these amazing men, one of whom is David Fix. David found me on Facebook and invited me to Washington D.C. for the 5th Inchon reunion, which starts tomorrow.

Talk about a strip search! As we left Beirut we were strip searched by the Lebanese... (just the women were!)

I am still trying to figure out a way to fly in on the weekend and surprise them. I had a work-related conflict and couldn't make it as of last week. If by Friday, I am back in town I would love to be there!

The 5th Reunion for former shipmates of the USS Inchon will be held in Washington, DC From April 22-26, 2009. We will be meeting for hospitality, tours, dining and friendship at the Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Dulles Airport.
Host Hotel:

Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts
DULLES AIRPORT
2200 CENTREVILLE RD.
HERNDON, VA 20170

ReservationWeb Site: Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts
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Rematch- Buchanan V O'Donnell Over Chavez' Fawning handshake with Obama ...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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VETS YOU ARE NOT ALONE... plus FRIDAY COMIC RELIEF

But first, an important word from VoteVets.org:

"War is the thread that binds, even as it unravels." - Scott Kesterson, veteran and war reporter

Today we'd like to tell you about an important new project that has the potential to both change the way veterans communicate and to revolutionize the treatment of combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It's called Not Alone, and this is what it's all about:

Mike Jones was back home for almost a year when he started to wonder why the problems weren't going away. He wondered why he couldn't drive down the road without his heart racing, why he could still hear the echo of chatter on the tactical radio in his head, and why the dreams wouldn't stop. "I can do this," Mike said to himself. "I survived war. I can defeat this."

Yet there he was, angry and bitter a year after his second tour. He was alone. For the first time in his life, something was defeating him. Mike's body and his mind were still on patrol. He just wasn't deployed anymore.

It doesn't have to be like that.

"Not Alone" is a community, by warriors and spouses and for warriors and spouses, created to help find the new normal after the war. It lets warriors and spouses anonymously talk about their problems through forums, social networking and blogs. Here you can find others that have gone through exactly what you have gone through. And soon you will be able to find expert help here too.

You can help and find help at Not Alone in three ways...

1. Listen to stories of other VoteVets.org members such as Brandon Friedman and Kayla Williams, as they discuss what war is like and what they faced in coming home. Hear how they've begun to rebuild their lives after the devastation of war. Or hear how spouses like Michelle Briggs and Marshele Waddell picked up the pieces after their husbands returned with deep wounds, visible and not.
2. Sign up now! Join the community. Find support and be supported in the forums.
3. Donate either time or money to tackle the issues that combat stress are placing on our warriors and families today. Rand, in their groundbreaking 2007 study, estimates that over 300,000 families are dealing with combat stress and post-traumatic stress.

Most importantly, you can spread the word. Tell others about Not Alone.

Sincerely, Brandon Friedman
Vice Chairman, VoteVets.org
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
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I really feel badly for these women. If there are any psychiatrists in the house, please tell us where phobias like these come from. What causes this kind of thing? Is it a brain disorder or did someone the kid to eat cotton candy early in life? And to viewers, would you please share your own phobias? You can do it anonymously, as I turned on "anonymous comments" here in the comment section. Thank you.

ACTUAL SIGNS IN CHINA:






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