“There are two Christianities in our midst. One worships a punitive father and seeks obedience at all costs. It is patriarchal, demonizes woman, the earth, science, gays, lesbians, and deep thought. It builds on fear and it supports empire-builders. Its theology includes a punitive father in the sky and teaches original sin.

“The other Christianity recognizes the original blessing that all beings derive from. We recognize awe, not sin, not guilt, as the starting point of true religion. We recognize a divinity who is source of all things and is as much mother as father, as much female as male. We honor creation and diversity. When God created everything, He pronounced it all good. We are here to make love to life. Yes, we are here to make love to life.”

-Excerpted from “KEEP HOPE ALIVE”, Chapter 12: The Revolution Starts Now”

Yes, I agree many people-and most especially the PAID media are as you wrote:
“lazy… unmotivated”

But might you IMAGINE that at this moment in time-with a free and Mineutral net-we the people of the one world we all inhabit truly do have it in “our power to begin the world again”?

Might you IMAGINE that by regaining COMMON SENSE is the first step?

Might you IMAGINE that we the people who have been given much, much more is required of US?

“Soon after I had published the pamphlet “Common Sense” [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion… The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”-Tom Paine

IMAGINE when America actually does that!

You wrote: “i think she may be sub-rosa either whicken or a Gothic Chick.”

None of the above. What i am is a Christian of The Beatitudes- meaning I follow the best I can what JC taught and NOT the dogma and doctrines of any Institution.

Dear Aaron,

Good points, but I must stand by the one dream can change everything-remember Martin Luther King, Jr.?

“Never doubt that a few, thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

It’s a bit depressing to realise that most of the countries mentioned in Emiko’s letter, along with the US, represent the UN “Security” Council. You can’t run to crooked cops to solve your problems.

Thanks for the great article Eileen. I must politely disagree with your statement “One dream can change everything and change only occurs from the bottom up”. Change can definitely come from bottom-up (albeit slow and frustrating - just ask Hugo Chavez what he’s going through at the moment), but it’s most effective when it comes from top-down……………..simply remove the gangsters and their whole rulership structure and watch the people thrive. I think the elites love to encourage bottom-up methods of change, since it wrongly puts responsibility onto the people for the planet’s woes, and I think that they know that it doesn’t get results. What they’re absolutely shit-scared of is top-down change. We all want to protect our jobs. I can’t see them voluntarily handing in their badges anytime soon. We hope gullibly that we can make a difference by turning off our light globes or riding to work (as I do). Meanwhile the rulers haven’t altered their life$tyle one bit.

As for “uneducated” — well that’s most Americans. See my comments on a recent article on the Florida budget mess, in which I have a couple of examples. You can’t count. Anything with numbers is anathema, treated with disgust and fear. You can’t spell. Don’t know how to use your own language. Basic grammatical errors — just look at the articles and comments. Geography? Do we need to go on? And it’s easy to manipulate people like that, just look at the number of scams out there and how people fall for them. Just look at the number of innocent people in jails, put there by the juries of “believers”.

In any case, as long as there’s knowledge how to build weapons, the weapons will be here. The knowledge to build nuclear weapons is there, too, just like other weapons. Yes, given enough time, more and more countries will have them, and given enough time they will be used, unless something intercedes in our development. But an occasional use pales in consequences to the carnage by other means, already experienced every day.

Additionally, 40,000 are killed on roadways every year, here. And a million more greviously injured, many in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. That’s 1 MILLION killed just since Reagan was in office. So, why don’t we agitate for something to be done here, about our transportation system which, in addition causes untold misery, economic hardship, time wasted, etc.?

Instead, a useless petition that won’t even be read. Those cumulative energies would be better spent feeding just one hungry child for just one day.

During the cold war, there would have been a hot war, for sure, a thousand times over, but for the nuclear weapons. Do you think they would have hesitated, even for a microsecond, while sitting in their armchairs in Washington and Moscow, to send others to die? (Many, many more others than died in WW2). Yes, but it’s different now, when THEY and THEIR families might die. Now, they are a little more cautious, unless dealing with countries without nukes.

The figure of $100M per day for maintenance of nuclear weapons seems to be fictitious. According to the 2007 and 2008 budget figures for Dept. of Energy, $6.5 billion was spent on all weapons activities (that’s approximately $17M per day), but out of that total, only $350M was spent on nuc. weapon maintenance — that’s $1M per day, or 100 times smaller than quoted. A reference is quoted in the text, which is incomplete and thus inaccessible to the reader.

In any case, let’s assume that the $100M/day figure is correct (which it is not). That’s $36B per year. I’d rather pay that and have it wasted on a weapon which will never be used, than pay roughly $1 trillion (TRILLION!) per year on the conventional weapons, which are used, which are a menace to us all, which cause us to be hated and visit untold misery on others, and which will bankrupt us and our children — this is money that’s coming out of our savings, our future, education, health, etc.

Here is the forecast for the States and yes I know for the last two years no big ones hit the US. The oceans are warming and you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
The TSR (Tropical Storm Risk) April forecast update for Atlantic hurricane activity in 2008 continues to
anticipate an active season to high probability. Based on current and projected climate signals, Atlantic
basin and US landfalling tropical cyclone activity are forecast to be about 35% above the 1950-2007 norm
in 2008. There is a high (~63%) likelihood that activity will be in the top one-third of years historically.