TURNING THE CLOCK BACK 45 YEARS

A lot of us have periods we look back on as positive in retrospect. For instance in my life I tag the spring and summer and early fall of 1978 as "The Era of Good Feeling". Of course this tag has been applied to our national politic at large during the era of President James Monroe, due to the placid political waters of that time. But within my own lifetime my favorite era to look back fondly on in retrospect is the period from 1963 to 1966. Because in the election of November 1962 as Thom Hartman points out, the political ballance in the US Senate was tipped heavily tword a democratic veto-proof senate. In such an era a lot of bills could get passed that wouldn't have otherwise. For instance the Nuclear test ban treaty of 1963 and the Civil Rights act of 1964 and yes even the income tax cut from 91% to 70% and also the Voting Rights act and Medicare, as well as other "war on poverty" stuff. Some of us hoped that in 2006 that at least in our State Government we would have returned to such an era where spending in infra-structure was again popular. Thom Hartman has pointed out that "Capital goods expenditures" are more helpful to either a corporation's well being as well as our nation's well being. As Barnie Frank pointed out today "No job was ever created or money generated by a tax cut" because if you don't have a job that earns you money, speaking of tax cuts is pointless. It's kind of like "pushing a string" as the analogy goes. You need to fuel the engine that's moving the string to begin with and public works bills are what we need now in Government. Yes they are things that "The Democrats have wanted all along" and maybe we are "taking advantage of the current economic situation" to "sneak these bills into law". But there is no "sneaking". In fact Obama and the Democrats would welcome open discussion of the issues and if the Republicans per chance have anything constructive to add to Obama's bills, we're all ears. So far the only thing we've heard from the Republicans is "It will never work" like Rush Limbaugh has been saying. We need to put the American economy first and "get this country moving again", as John Kennedy used to say. What is going on with Governor Swartzenegger and California State government is nothing short of criminal. Not are only programs like child care and health and student loans being slashed but I regarding the withholding of Tax Cuts for the people that they have coming from their 2008 taxes - I regard withholding these as downright criminal and a briech of trust. Weere it the private sector - there would be legal charges of "mal-feasence" and "misappropiations of funds". You can't pay your bills on I O U's. I don't know of any private corporation that will accept an I O U. The Governor's disapproval numbers are going through the roof. The people don't care if we're running a 42 Billion dollar deficet for this year. The state has obligations to the people and it's the State's problem where to come up with the money. But if they go cheating tax payers out of their refunds - - I don't see why conservatives aren't up in arms at this outrage.

YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD

You know, I find all this stuff about life after death so fascenating. It's the great "Existential Problem" because nobody can in any way measure or quantify the soul, and to say that the soul even exists is honistly an act of il-logic. The axiom is true: "I Think - - - Therefore I am experiancing an Illusion". In Ghost Whisperer they talk about these themes of dead people somehow not knowing they are dead, like nobody told them. Unlike some fifth dimensional transfer ("Sliders") where such an illusion would be understandable- - the idea that you died in your sleep and got up the next day and didn't know you'd died is a strange one. Then you have this young woman saying "You have to go into the Light". Hell, what if you've never SEEN the light? How do you know it's there so you can go into it? Yet this is the theology. Another theme they have adopted is this idea of spirit posession and soul transfer. Like your dead husband's soul is now residing in somebody else's body. I don't know how that would work for a pick up line, "You don't know it but I'm really your dead husband". But if you can't even prove the Existance of the Soul, how can you possibly prove the existance of an Afterlife? I don't know. And if your spirit did jump from one body to another the natural assumption would be to say "That can't be!, because I'd know it if I were suddenly living someone elses life because I'd have no memories of it". But here again is where it gets mucky. Because you'd have the other person's brain. Stripping away that which is unprovable you'd have the first brain thinking its thoughts and living it's life and the second brain doing the same. The only thing that changes would be what you'd call EGO control. It's who was given the "Illusion" that they ARE living the new life. And I imagine if it happened- - you'd never know. Life if I were to live in the fictional Jess Ryder's body in southern Maine- - - I wouldn't even be aware of it because I'd have my Brain and my Brain would be "telling me who I was". The only difference is- - I'd probably make different Decisions from that point on- - - . People say you need to make a "decision for Jesus" - maybe you've heard that one. But what they might REALLY want to do is to "change spirits controling your Will". It's not the Decision but the PERSON MAKING IT that matters to these "evangelical types". It's like they want you to become posessed and controled by an alien will, and often they admit as much.

Today KLOS played US Beatle singles. A couple such as "I Feel Fine" and "And I Love Her" are distinctively different from their British counterparts. John Lennon talks about "Dreams" a lot. People don't question dreams. Weird stuff happens in Dreams all the time and we make decisions we'd never make in real life. It's like a whole different set of realities apply. Most of the time you don't even know it's a dream. When the Bhuddist tells you to "awaken" what he is saying is that there is a whole reality that MATTERS a lot more than the one you're in. (Selah) The program for this evening isn't new- - you've seen this material through and through - - - "Hello, Jim". Did you have a good World when you died?