GIVING THANKS * HELP IS ON THE WAY

Think about this tomorrow as you sit down to your Thanksgiving Feast! And remember your local Food Bank!

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.

If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation .... you are ahead of over 700 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.

If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare.

If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.

And if you can't seem to rev yourself up and out of depression, just quietly say "thank you." Just find ONE SMALL THING to be grateful for. Then go outside, look up and breathe. The more you are grateful, the more you get out of yourself. "It's by self-forgetting that we find..." - Lydia

If you can read this you are very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, and count your blessings!!- Anonymous

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Obama: 'HELP IS ON THE WAY' .... and 'Change will come from me' (despite keeping Gates on as Secretary of Defense)

Designates Former Fed Chair Volcker As Head Of New "President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board"... Third Straight Economic Conference This Week...

President-elect Barack Obama said today that "people should understand that help is on the way" for the nation's ailing economy. Obama held his third press conference in three days on the economy. He named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to lead a new economic recovery board. developing story... Obama stresses patience

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New link to my cover story: http://www.retroality.tv/retrohotLydiaCornell.html

GIRLS LIKE EROTIC TWILIGHT

I have to admit I'm obsessed with "Twilight," which I saw this weekend. Maybe I'm 14 years old — oh yeah, that's right I am. I'm very interested in vampires that hold back, and in the erotics of abstinence. Teenage girls are my cause lately. Girls are in a lot of pain, with the highest suicide rate of any other group. I blame a culture of materialism, but it's an "inside job" and we each have to work out our own dark forces. According to the CDC, suicide attempts tripled in the past three years for girls ages 10-14. I really want to help them navigate life better than I did.

As a Harry Potter freak, Lord of the Rings fanatic and a lifelong Trekkie, I think films like this are great for girls. We need our own Harry Potter.


"We are in the business of love. Put "love" into what you do for a living."

By 2010 the number two form of disability will be depression. What goes on inside you is the cause of your outside experience."

"No one can be successful alone."

"The purpose of marriage is to learn how to be a compassionate human being." - Bob Lancer

Remember, if the time should come, when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.* - Albus Dumbledore

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. — Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

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TWILIGHT CULT PHENOMENON (The Christian Science Monitor)
Tween bibliophiles are armed with antecedent knowledge of the storyline, courtesy of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling 2005 novel. It was the first of a tetralogy, which has been translated into 37 languages and collectively sold 25 million copies worldwide.

Excited fan girls queued up for sold out Thursday midnight showings, generating a $70 million gross. Made on a modest budget of $37 million, Twilight swept into the number one box office spot for the weekend, playing on 6,000 screens and pulling in $70 million.

You have to hear Carter Burwell's haunting score, especially, "How Will I Die?"
Go to http://www.twilightthemovie.com/ and click on the movie trailers, but if you want to hear the score, go to Soundtrack and pause the songs, but listen to what plays automatically.

THEY CAN'T STEAL THIS ONE

Keith Olbermann talks with Richard Wolffe about the infighting within the McCain campaign about Palin’s going off script. On her “fruit fly” gaffe, Richard Wolf says: "Keith, I’m going to be as restrained and measured as I possibly can about this. This is the most mindless, ignorant uninformed comment we’ve seen from Governor Palin so far, and there’s been alot of competition for that prize."

OBAMA has so many Republicans jumping ship and supporting him — including Colin Powell, White House former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Andrew Sullivan, Christopher Hitchens — and McCain's former advisor. And he has some of America's most beloved icons supporting him.

Look at this: Andy Griffith, Ron Howard and Henry Winkler publicly endorsed Obama?

From Republicans For Obama.org

Republican Elected Officials supporting Obama:

Jim Leach, Former Congressman from Iowa

"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally. We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that."

Lincoln Chafee, Former United States Senator from Rhode Island

"As I look at the candidates in order who to vote for, certainly my kind of conservatism was reflected with Senator Obama, and those points are that we're fiscally conservative, we care about revenues matching expenditures, we also care about the environment, I think it's a traditional conservative value to care about clean air and clean water."

William Weld, Former Governor of Massachusetts

"It's not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that's a product of his equally deep intelligence."

Arne Carlson, Former Governor of Minnesota

"I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president. I would contend that it's the most important election of my lifetime."

Wayne Gilchrest, Congressman from Maryland

"We can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness."

Larry Pressler, Former Senator from South Dakota

"I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul] Volcker better."

Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

"I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job."

Lowell Weicker, Former Governor and Senator from Connecticut

"At issue is not the partisan politics of two parties, rather the image we have of ourselves as Americans. Senator Obama brings wisdom, kindness, and common sense to what is both his and our quest for a better America."

Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska Mayor

"If we are as a nation concerned with energy, then our consideration should be a national energy policy that is not predicated on crude oil 50 years into the future. We need to get to it, and I think Barack Obama is very clear in that regard."

Linwood Holton, Former Governor of Virginia

"Obama has a brain, and he isn't afraid to use it."

Republican Government Officials Supporting Obama:

Colin Powell, Secretary of State under Bush 43

"...he has met the standard of being a sucessful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world state, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."

Douglas Kmiec, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan & Bush 41

"I was first attracted to government by Ronald Reagan, who lives in our national memory as a great leader and an inspiring communicator. Senator Obama has these gifts as well, but of course, more rhetorical flourish without substance would be worth little. Is there more to Senator Obama? I believe there is."

Charles Fried, Solicitor General of the United States under Reagan

"I admire Senator McCain and was glad to help in his campaign, and to be listed as doing so; but when I concluded that I must vote for Obama for the reason states in my letter, I felt it wrong to appear to be recommending to others a vote that I was not prepared to cast myself."

Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the U.S. Senate

"Barack Obama is a thoughtful visionary leader who as President will end the decline of American law, liberty, and fiscal responsibility that are the hallmarks of the extremist policies of the current Administration, now adopted by John McCain."

Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower & President of the Eisenhower Group

"Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole."

Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan

"...Obama probably has the greatest promise of delivering a different kind of politics."

Rita Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor under George W. Bush

"McCain will continue the wrong-headed foreign policy decisions of Bush, while Obama will take us in a new direction."

Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor

"I suspect Obama is more free-market friendly than he lets on. He taught at the University of Chicago, a hotbed of right-of-center thought. His economic advisers, notably Austan Goolsbee, recognize that ordinary citizens stand to gain more from open markets than from government meddling."

Scott McClellan, Former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush

"From the beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping."

Bill Ruckelshaus, served in the Nixon and Reagan administrations

"I'm not against McCain, I'm for Obama."

Ken Adelman, served in the Ford administration

"The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate. That decision showed appalling lack of judgment... that selection contradicted McCain's main two, and best two, themes for his campaign-- Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick."

Lilibet Hagel, Wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel

"This election is not about fighting phantom issues churned out by a top-notch slander machine. Most important, it is not about distracting the public-- you and me-- with whatever slurs someone thinks will stick."

Republican Columnists and Academics Switching to Obama:

Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor

"It turns out that these political parties are not always either liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. The Democrat, under certain conditions, can be the conservative."

Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University

"For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one."

David Friedman, Economist and son of Milton and Rose Friedman

"I hope Obama wins. President Bush has clearly been a disaster from the standpoint of libertarians and conservatives because he has presided over an astonishing rise in government spending."

Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review founder William F. Buckley & former NR columnist

"Obama has in him-- I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy 'We are the people we have been waiting for' silly rehtoric-- the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."

Andrew Sullivan, Columnist for the Atlantic Monthly

"Obama's legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him."

Wick Alison, Former publisher of the National Review

"I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses. But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history."

Michael Smerconish, Columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer

"...an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe."

CC Goldwater, Granddaughter of Barry Goldwater

"Nothing about the Republican tickets offers the hope America needs to regain its standing in the world, that's why we're going to support Barack Obama."

Please comment and about other Republicans for Obama. I will post a commenter's list of the current McCain-Pain circus lies shortly... but first these healing thoughts that can change your life.
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LOVE HEALS because it’s so powerful. It’s so big, it’s ever present. It has no hint of confusion, fear, or hate. It just wipes those out. Ignorance, fear, and sin—those are the foundations of illness. And what Love does—it’s the divine eraser that removes each one of those.

Interview with Keith Wommack on Spirituality.com:

This website is the ancient metaphysical truth behind The Secret, Emmet Fox, The Law of Attraction, and Eckhart Tolle's beautiful books. It's all the same truth, the law of life. It is as simple as turning your heart to love no matter what the external appearance is. And no matter who the "enemy" is.

Caller: “If Divine Love is here for us 24/7, when and how does hatred and fear come about?”

Keith: Good question. You know, hatred and fear come about when we are accepting that love is absent. Darkness is the absence of light. We pour in light and the darkness flees. So the more that we acknowledge and cherish that God is that ever-present 24/7 Love, that we express that Love dynamically and effortlessly 24/7, then we’re going to see an abatement of fear and hate.

This reminds me of when I was performing in the band, and one night after a performance, I walked out the backstage door of an auditorium, headed to a parking area. And I found myself right in the middle of a race riot. The back door of the auditorium slammed shut. And I was immediately surrounded by a group of young men, and their anger just turned on me. Everything happened fast, but what came to my thought was the idea, “Love has no opposite sides.” It just came whooshing into my thought. And surprisingly, I felt spiritual peace.

I was then poked in the back, and when I turned around, a large man hit me in the face with his fist as hard as he could, but it only felt as if I had been tapped with a balloon. My head didn’t move at all. The man who hit me looked me in the eye, looked at the others, and then he walked away, and every one of them followed after him. If I had tried to fight back, the situation would have turned out quite differently. I’d probably be a little grease spot on the asphalt. But my nonreaction was an act of love. “Love has no opposite sides,” the anger and danger just disappeared. All that remained was love.

These are six simple things that can help fill an empty heart

1. Stop being critical. Criticism closes our eyes to the good that has always been present. Critical states of thought lead to critical mistakes, as well causing critical states of the body. So let’s stop being critical.

2. Stop keeping score. It’s not how someone else is acting, but how much of God’s love you are expressing that will satisfy you. That’s two, stop keeping score.

3. Stop trying to prove you are right. Instead of telling others you are right and they are wrong, live what is right and you will begin to sparkle. Let’s stop trying to prove you’re right.

4. Be honest. Honesty allows you to be at peace, even in the middle of turmoil. It keeps you strong, and it keeps a relationship strong. "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help.” That’s number four—be honest.

5. Start forgiving. Forgiveness means starting over with love. Forgiveness is learning to see others as God made them. That’s important. Number five, start forgiving.

6. Be grateful. Pain and gratitude are incompatible. Be grateful for everything good in your relationships and your home and in your life. Gratitude completes the circuit in every healing.

That’s six things. One, stop being critical. Two, stop keeping score. Three, stop trying to prove you’re right. Four, be honest. Five, start forgiving. Six, be grateful.

And then the characteristic traits that are bad—what we call personality traits that are kind of harmful—will begin to fall away because we’re not holding on to them. They’re not a part of God’s being, therefore, they cannot be a part of ours. We can refuse to live our life with them any longer.

PAIN IS INEVITABLE, SEX OPTIONAL

Tomorrow night comic headliner Stephanie Hodge ("Unhappily Ever After, Nurses), Destiny (The Tonight Show, VH-1, MTV plus my Riviera, Pechanga and Sahara co-star) — and I present our 3-woman comedy show, "Pain is Inevitable, Sex Optional" at the Whitefire Theatre on Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. It's a work in progress. We discuss men, sex, love, sex, death, sex, God, sex and politics... Our MC is the funny, brilliant Nestor Rodriguez... and we'll have other standup comics warming up the crowd.

/SEX%20OPTIONAL%20SHOW.doc
Our host, the hilarious Nestor Rodriguez:
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Pain is Inevitable as thousands are finding out each week as indicators of a worsening crisis in the US are mounting daily as the economic downturn takes an ever greater toll on jobs. More layoffs were announced this week in the US and new data was also released showing a rising numbers of American families losing their homes through foreclosure.

There are fears that the US economy was ready to go into a depression. It has been said that the banking system manufactures recessions to give investors a chance to pick up bargain stocks or entire businesses. One has to wonder if there is reality in those sentiments.

Reuters reports that several US corporations which have made major layoff announcements in the past few which include:

• Chrysler, which announced an additional 1,825 layoffs on Thursday

• Goldman Sachs, which said it will cut 10 percent of its staff, or almost 3,300 jobs

• Pharmaceutical giant Merck, which announced it is shedding 12 percent of its workforce

• Biotechnology company Maxygen, which said it will cut nearly 30 percent of its workforce

• Money manager Janus Capital Group, which is sacking 9 percent of its workforce

• Xerox, which said yesterday it will cut 5 percent of its staff, or 3,000 positions

• Mining equipment maker Terex Corporation, which is laying off hundreds of its workers

• United Parcel Service, which announced plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs next year

• Fidelity National Financial Inc., which announced it will slash 1,000 jobs and cut pay by 10 percent

• Financial services conglomerate Popular Inc., which is cutting 600 jobs and closing more than a quarter of its branches in the US.

The US Labor Department reported that new applications for unemployment insurance increased by 15,000 to 478,000 in the week ending October 18, significantly more than was anticipated by economists. A year ago, new jobless claims stood at 333,000.

Unemployment rises in a recession. At the end of a longer recession, companies have the luxury of hiring from a larger labor pool at lower wages. Some companies citing hard times reduce benefits, cut vacation and other benefits of their workforce.

Workers in the auto industry continue to bear much of the growing assault on jobs and conditions. Chrysler announced 1,825 layoffs through the elimination of a shift at an assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio and said it would bring forward the closure date of a plant in Newark, Delaware that had been scheduled to close in 2009.

JP Morgan told Reuters they expect the General Motors to lose more than $12 billion next year. Like Chrysler, GM is slashing costs ahead of a potential merger between the two companies.

GM announced Wednesday it was considering selling AC Delco, its international parts subsidiary, a measure which will inevitably lead to further job losses. The company also said it will suspend many salaried employee benefits, including matching contributions for workers' 401(k) retirement plans.

A survey released by listing service RealtyTrac found that foreclosure filings, default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions—were reported on 765,000properties in the three months ending in September, up 71 percent from the third quarter in 2007. Six states—Nevada, California, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona—accounted for more than 60 percent of all foreclosure activity. Nevada recorded the highest foreclosure rate, with one out of every 82 housing properties issued a foreclosure filing.

The RealtyTrac report concluded that the third quarter figures underestimate the situation. Many states have passed new laws requiring lenders to issue extended notices before filing default notices. These laws artificially suppressed September's foreclosure figures by temporarily postponing the full impact. Rising unemployment will further accelerate the catastrophe.

Rod Dubitsky, managing director for asset-backed securities at Credit Suisse, told BusinessWeek he expects that more than 5 million American families will lose their homes through the year 2012. He said 1.69 million families will lose their homes in 2008.

As election day draws near the hopes of millions of struggling Americans rest on whether or not Barack Obama is elected. In Obama we see a light at the end of an ever-growing darkened tunnel.

In the ever growing world of layoffs and foreclosures we all feel that "Pain Is Inevitable, Sex Optional and the election of Barack Obama is a must.

GOOD NEWS: FARMERS HELPING VETERANS

I just want to share this photo of our sweet "uncle Lou" and me at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in August. Lou Tabat was the Constable of Las Vegas and boxing judge of the famed Muhammed Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard fights. Lou recently survived a heart attack in the middle of life-threatening lymphatic cancer surgery. Neither the doctors nor his wife Annie thought he would survive, even though many were praying for him. I focused on seeing him healed perfectly, the way Divine Mind, Truth and Love would see him —  with perfect breathing, perfect lungs, a perfect heart. I focused only on the spiritual qualities that reflect God, or omnipotent good. This is the metaphysical way I have learned to pray. And the next day his breathing came back, his lungs were strong and he came back full force. Everyone was astounded at the miracle. God Bless you Aunt Annie and Uncle Lou -- two of Earth's angels!!
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FOCUS ON THE GOOD

Despite appearances, there is so much good going on in the world. This is the perfect time for all of us to get together and get rid of old ways of thinking, competing, reacting, building, creating energy and farming.

Shepherd Bliss - “Feeding people can be as patriotic as protecting people.”



The Farmer-Veteran Coalition http://www.farmvetco.org/ seeks to help our returning veterans find employment, training, and places to heal on America’s farms. At the same time the Coalition hopes that some of these young men and women may help address our country’s critical need for more good, hard-working people entering the field of agriculture.

The coalition is acutely aware of the high number of soldiers entering the military from our rural communities and the need to improve both job opportunities and veteran services in these areas. We believe that our family farms, the sustainable farming movement and growing support for local and regional agriculture could all be well served by people already accustomed to hard work, discipline and dedication. If given the opportunity, our returning veterans can benefit from and help to stimulate the growing green economy, even in these hard times.

Our goal is to start with an initial program focused in California, and move quickly into a national organization.

The organization will hold strictly to being politically neutral and take no position on the war.

Shepherd was the first speaker at the benefit dinner in Sebastopol. Drawing from his experience as a military veteran, small farmer, poet and psychologist, he talked about the “broken systems” of our country’s veterans affairs and farming industry. Having been working with veterans for many years, he understands the healing potential that comes with working with living plants in the fields. He knows the power that farming holds in the transition from warfare to civilian life.

Posted on on September 24th, 2008 in Land, Support, Transition, veterans

Nadia McCaffrey - “Let’s do this!”

Nadia McCaffrey is a Gold Star Mother: she lost her son in the Iraq War and is doing something about it. She founded Veterans Village to provide compassionate healing and living environments for returning veterans damaged by their war experience.

In these clips from her address - following her introduction by FVC’s Michael O’Gorman - she describes the expansion of Veterans Village to sites in Minnesota and New York, where land is avaiable for farming and gardening - important components for both the healing and livelihood of the communities.

Nadia sees a clear connection between Veterans Village and the agricultural training goals of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition. We hope to soon be helping vets become the competent farmers and gardeners that they can be.

SOME THOUGHTS ON FAITH

All this talk about the Rapture is very strange to me. I believe that when humans can love each other unconditionally — love their enemies and their neighbors as themselves — then the “Rapture” will happen. It will not be a big Broadway show; it will be a change in consciousness. This is the Second Coming. It will occur in the hearts of men. - Lydia

A man arrives at the gates of heaven. St. Peter asks, "Religion?" The man says, "Buddhist" St. Peter looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."

Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "Religion? “Muslim.” Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."A third man arrives at the gates. "Religion?" "Jewish." "Go to room 11, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."

The man says, "I can understand there being different rooms for different religions, but why must I be quiet when I pass room 8?"

St. Peter tells him, "Well only Christians are in room 8, and they think they're the only ones here."

I am writing an article for The Nation about modern-day fundamentalists. I do not believe in an anthropomorphic God or devil, or in heaven as a "place" but I do believe in the law of love, the Christ Truth - which is to love our enemy and our neighbor as ourself. Our enemies can be our worst thoughts about our fellow man, and ourselves. We must realize that our thoughts create our reality. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Late in life when Gandhi was asked if he was a Hindu, he replied, “Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew.”

I hate to break the news to certain Christians who are waiting for the Rapture, but Jews, gays, Muslims, abortion doctors, and even liberals, are just as welcome in heaven as you are. God will welcome all his children, regardless of whether or not they have accepted Jesus as their savior.

A mensch like George Burns is not burning in hell on a technicality just because he’s Jewish, or just because some fundamentalist Christians say so. And can you imagine Billy Crystal, one of the nicest humans on the planet, burning in hell? Or Larry David, creator of the funniest TV series in history — going down in flames with all his Seinfeld episodes? I just thought of a line from Curb Your Enthusiasm when Larry David asks his father-in-law “Do Catholics say grace for snacks?” His father-in-law answers, “It doesn’t apply to snacks.”

I highly doubt any of these gifted funny-men are going to hell just because they weren’t raised as Christians. The Jewish people often have a better understanding of God’s will for us than the modern-day evangelicals. They believe we should make this life count by doing good deeds.

For all of those who use the LaHaye-Jenkins "Left Behind" books as their bible — the only people who are going to be “left behind” are the ones who think others will be left behind! I don’t say that to be cruel, but here’s how it works: since God is Love, and the kingdom of heaven is within you, then it’s obvious, isn’t it, that those who don’t have love in their hearts will not be “entering heaven?”

Since God is love, the people whom these militant “Christians” ostracize and judge so harshly — in other words, the pacifists, the anti-war activists, poor, the meek, the outcasts (meaning gays and liberals) and anyone who loves his enemy — will all be in heaven before the exclusionists will be. To attain heaven means filling our hearts with so much love, love is all we see.

This, by the way, is what the new bestselling book The Secret is all about. But it’s nothing new; it’s ancient metaphysics. It’s how Christ healed. He saw man through God’s eyes: as a perfect reflection of God. He saw no sickness, sin or death. Even Shakespeare knew this secret when he said, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Our thoughts create our reality. God is Love and the Kingdom is within us.

There are seventy million Evangelical Christians in America right now, and many believe in the Left Behind revenge fantasy books, which hope to hurry up the end of the world in a blood bath of catastrophic proportions. These books promote the theory that good Christians will be raptured or “caught up” with Christ in heaven, leaving their eyeglasses and everyone else behind — everyone who didn't technically declare Jesus Christ as their savior. I guess that includes the unborn! This theory, believe it or not, might actually be determining America's current foreign policy in the Middle East. The Evangelical market is so big now corporate America doesn't dare ignore it. But I believe this brand of evangelism is not only severley misguided, but dangerous and sophomoric.

There is a panicky website for Dominionist Christians called RaptureReady.com. I read a comment there from a woman who her hair and nails done for the Rapture, because she had no idea when she would be ‘caught up’ to heaven and had to be ready at a moment’s notice for Christ, her bridegroom. Another woman said she had stopped giving to charity, and instead was investing all her money in the Rapture Ready website to warn others of the end of the world.

All this talk about the Rapture is very strange to me. I believe that when humans can love each other unconditionally — love their enemies and their neighbors as themselves — then the “Rapture” will happen. We will then see heaven as we “become one” with God, or love. It will not be a big Broadway show; it will be a change in consciousness. This is the Second Coming. It will occur in the hearts of men.

As the Native Americans reminded us: "No tree has branches so foolish as to fight among themselves."


I have to praise Richard Belzer for his fantastic new book "I AM NOT A COP." Belzer is scheduled to be on our radio show sometime next week. I hosted the World Travel Awards in 2005 with Belzer, Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) in 2005, Greg Proops, Davy Jones (The Monkees!) and Martha & the Vandellas.

Also ran into Larry Charles, the brilliant comic director of Borat, Bill Maher's "Religulous," Seinfeld, Cheers, Curb, etc.. Larry Charles is one of the greatest comic minds of our time, and we hope to have him on our show soon with Bill Maher.


Quick note: Respected writer, friend and Progressive Democrat Linda Milazzo wrote a brilliant piece, " What I Learned at the Sarah Palin Rally Before They Threw Me Out!" I will publish the entire article later this week, but here is an excerpt:

By unleashing Sarah Palin, John McCain has reinvigorated the anti-choice/anti-woman/anti-reproductive rights fanatics, who not long ago were at the forefront of domestic terror. Interesting that Palin insinuates Obama when referring to: "terrorists who would target their own country"when it's those who share her ideology who have committed heinous domestic crimes. Let us not forget the health-care workers who were murdered by anti-choice radicals who share Palin's no exceptions for abortion beliefs. Let us not forget the women and family clinics that were bombed. Let us not forget Eric Rudolph - the anti-abortion terrorist who killed two people and injured 100 others during the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. The same Eric Rudolph who bombed abortion clinics that killed even more people. The same Eric Rudolph who sadistically attacked a gay bar. Let us not forget that the Sarah Palin wing of anti-choice fanaticism victimized America for years, committing crime after heinous crime. What John McCain has unleashed on America with his choice of Sarah Palin is an outright invitation to these cults to wreak havoc all over again.On Saturday I got a taste of this anti-choice fanaticism as Palin's zealots shouted "baby killers" at the pro-Obama activists outside.

So, Where's That ACORN 'Voter Fraud'?! It Doesn't Exist, But That Fact Won't Keep the Wingnuts From Claiming Otherwise...
-- Brad Friedman

So far, nobody's been able to offer us a single instance of voter fraud as committed by ACORN, or even by any of the 1.3 million registered by them over the past two years. You sure wouldn't know it if you listened to the crazed rightwingers...

** McCain Was ACORN Keynote Speaker in '06: (Video) Tells crowd they are "what makes America special"

* Brad at UK's Guardian: 'The Republican Voter Fraud Hoax'
* 1.3 Million Reasons for the GOP 'Dixie-Chicking' of ACORN
* IRONY ALERT: FL's 'Vote-Rigging' Feeney Alleges 'Voter Fraud'
*E-Vote Company Added 1000s of Extra Votes in D.C.
* November Surprise: 1000s Illegally Purged From Voter Rolls
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So Where's the ACORN 'Voter Fraud'?
It Doesn't Exist, But That Fact Won't Keep the Wingnuts From Claiming Otherwise...
-- Brad Friedman

So where's the "voter fraud"?

Fox "News" and its Rupert Murdoch-owned print brethren, the New York Post, continue to bang the GOP's phony ACORN "voter fraud" drum, but as far as I can tell, they've failed to come up with a single incident of any actual voter fraud committed by the dastardly "left-wing extremists."

Yes, Ann Coulter has committed felony voter fraud, but neither of the Murdoch outfits has yet to note that point, even while they go wall-to-wall with misleading reports claiming that ACORN is committing massive "voter fraud" on behalf of the Democrats.

So, as it's now been revealed that John McCain himself was a keynote speaker at a 2006 ACORN rally (on immigration reform) in Florida, where he declared to the ACORN volunteers in the room that they are "What makes America special," and as I've been going back and forth with commenters on my "Republican Voter Fraud Hoax" piece at the UK's Guardian (which today has shot up to one of their most read items), still, nobody seems to be able to show me an instance of any actual voter fraud committed by ACORN, or even anybody who registered via ACORN, for that matter.

Those who wish to believe in the hoax, however, attempt to link to article after article about allegations of voter fraud carried out by ACORN. And yet, the articles themselves --- if one bothers to actually read them --- reveal that either 1) They describe allegations and investigations brought by Republican agents, with little or no evidence of any wrong doing, and certainly no "voter fraud," 2) Where voter registration fraud has occurred it has been by rogue ACORN employees, originally reported to authorities by ACORN themselves (who are the actual victims of any such fraud by their employees), or 3) Smoke and mirrors are used to cloud the fact that not a single fraudulent vote has actually been cast by anyone.

Let's take a look at just two recent, oft-linked, oft-quoted New York Post articles from today and last week to give you an idea of how the scam works, and how the rightwing suckers fall for it. Every time...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... BradBlog.com

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The What ‘IF's’ on Obama & McCain

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, following the debate, including a three month-old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his college graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was divorced?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to publicly display a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected a reality, if the tables were turned, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative characteristics in another when there is a color difference.

And, think of this: the candidates' educational backgrounds:

Barack Obama:

Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization innternational Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:

University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

John McCain:

United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world.
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"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by, 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.'" - Mother Teresa

For SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS to the world crises, along with some amazing prayer miracles in the next few weeks, please check out my other blog THE PEACEMAKERS* LIGHT OF TRUTH

HOW TO GET RICH

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by, 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.'" - Mother Teresa



As the Native Americans reminded us: "No tree has branches so foolish as to fight among themselves."

To all the people who show up at McCain-Pain rallies and chant bigotry and send virulent anti-Obama emails here is what I have to say to you:The saddest, strangest thing I've ever seen is this pretend "Conservative political agenda" put forth by right-wing hatred. It is the furthest thing from American or Christian. One day you'll know this. While your heroes like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly get $25 million a year in salary to spew right-wing hatred, you don't even stop to ask why. Why are they so angry at liberals? Why are they siding with a Republican agenda? Could it have something to do with being against corporate tax cuts and on the side of big business? Could it have something to do with their salaries? They are being paid very highly for lying. Follow the money. Use your brain and think independently.

You are not an American, nor are you a "Christian" if you believe Muslims are less than human, if you believe it's okay to bomb innocent people in the name of patriotism or if you think Christ would ever condone war, guns, greed or NOT helping the poor. We are all one race: Human. Fundamentalism itself is the anti-Christ but they've tricked you into believing differently.

Several Republicans agree that McCain and Palin have gone too far and have become the face of hatred. John McCain voted against giving WOMEN EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK! John McCain voted against health care for low-income children 5 years in a row. Most republicans voted for the bipartisan health care program but McCain, who takes more medicare and veterans benefits than any GI, doesn't believe in helping the poor.

Even Republican Frank Schaeffer says McCain and Palin are out of line:

"We will hold you responsible.

"If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence.

"Sarah Palin is a hatemonger. Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs."

John McCain, you're walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out "Terrorist" or "Kill him," history will hold you responsible for all that follows.

John McCain and Sarah Palin, you are playing with fire, and you know it. You are unleashing the monster of American hatred and prejudice, to the peril of all of us. You are doing this in wartime. You are doing this as our economy collapses. You are doing this in a country with a history of assassinations.

Change the atmosphere of your campaign. Talk about the issues at hand. Make your case. But stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever.

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Today I went down to the new Obama headquarters and bought more merchandise. Put OBAMA-BIDEN 08 lawn signs up and my OBAMA magnet on the car. I was wearing an Obama button in the grocery store but the cashier begged me to give it to her, so I did.

You can reach my Home page at: LYDIA CORNELL

And for SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS to the world crises, along with some amazing prayer miracles in the next few weeks, please check out my other blog THE PEACEMAKERS* LIGHT OF TRUTH