Recently a study showed a higher rate of suicide among women who had breast augmentation surgery. Some of the responses to the article at Huffington Post talked a lot about insecurities and depression, but little about why.
We've created a society where women would rather be cut open and mutilated than learn to be comfortable with themselves. Where self esteem comes from a knife and a bottle instead of from within. Where we tell them they must look anorexic, but with disproportionate breasts and plaster faces. Where if they look natural and age normally they're ugly and somehow less valuable. And if they commit suicide they must be flawed.
The flaw isn't so much in the tortured soul as it is the sick machine that causes the pain in the first place. The fashion industry. Hollywood. Advertising. Television. Cosmetic medicine. And a gullible public that has come to believe their propaganda.
We were outraged when the truth came out about the tobacco industry and how they lied. We tried to make them responsible for the deaths they caused. Yet we are silent when our daughters suffer and die from eating disorders. When women jeopardize their health with fad diets and pills. When we spend many millions every year so doctors can inject poison in our faces and other, more brutal procedures so we can look the way we're told we must look.
Real beauty can't be painted on or carved into the skin. It doesn't come from a syringe. No amount of cutting or stretching can create it. It comes from within. It shines from a smile. It twinkles in the eyes. It radiates from a woman who knows & likes herself, and as a result can love others. It comes from the joy of serving others. From loving and being loved. From appreciating happiness after enduring sorrow. It's a reflection of the eyes of her children.
I've seen plenty of real beauty in women who society would consider plain or even disfigured. I rarely, if ever, see it in those who are obsessed with their looks. If you think about it seriously, I bet you'll agree.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/08/08/study-women-with-breast-_n_59719.html
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
"Do-Something Democrats"
Senator Kennedy recently wrote an article at Huffington Post. First he decried the Republicans for being the do-nothing congress. Then he applauded the Dems, calling them the "Do_Something Democrats." As proof, he touted himself for "dramatically reforming our education financing system" by introducing legislation to reduce student loan interest rates.
Making a decent education more affordable is a good thing. And I'm glad at least someone thinks members of congress can accomplish anything!
But I think it's a little early for that moniker, Mr. Kennedy. Your party took control of congress with grandios promises to make sweeping changes in the first 100 hours. Paramount on that list was ending the war in Iraq and raising the ethics bar in Washington. After all the negative screeching about Pres. Bush and his "lies and illegal war", all you could come up with was a SYMBOLIC statement against escalating the battle. How pathetic is that? Where is the bitter resolve we've been listening to for years?
And the ethics reform? A couple of small hoops for lobbyists to tiptoe through as they do their influence peddling dance around the halls of congress. What about ending the lobby entirely? What about making members of congress responsible for their actions?
How do you and the others in the new-improved legislature sleep at night? You make non-binding statements and minor changes to make yourself look good, and all the while you continue to pad your wallets with corporate money and turn your backs on your constituents and the young people dying overseas. Each time you pat yourselves on the back it makes a distictly hollow sound!
Do you really want to accomplish something? Get everybody together and put a stop to the war. Then permanently end the lobby and make profound ethical changes. Then put a stranglehold on corporate oil, drugs and tobacco. Do that, and you'll have the whole country behind you to accomplish all the other things we desperately need.
Making a decent education more affordable is a good thing. And I'm glad at least someone thinks members of congress can accomplish anything!
But I think it's a little early for that moniker, Mr. Kennedy. Your party took control of congress with grandios promises to make sweeping changes in the first 100 hours. Paramount on that list was ending the war in Iraq and raising the ethics bar in Washington. After all the negative screeching about Pres. Bush and his "lies and illegal war", all you could come up with was a SYMBOLIC statement against escalating the battle. How pathetic is that? Where is the bitter resolve we've been listening to for years?
And the ethics reform? A couple of small hoops for lobbyists to tiptoe through as they do their influence peddling dance around the halls of congress. What about ending the lobby entirely? What about making members of congress responsible for their actions?
How do you and the others in the new-improved legislature sleep at night? You make non-binding statements and minor changes to make yourself look good, and all the while you continue to pad your wallets with corporate money and turn your backs on your constituents and the young people dying overseas. Each time you pat yourselves on the back it makes a distictly hollow sound!
Do you really want to accomplish something? Get everybody together and put a stop to the war. Then permanently end the lobby and make profound ethical changes. Then put a stranglehold on corporate oil, drugs and tobacco. Do that, and you'll have the whole country behind you to accomplish all the other things we desperately need.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ethics and Lobby Reform in Washington
Today there's talk of a new ethics reform package in Congress. Democrats want to make some changes so they'll look better than Republicans, but they argue about just how far to take it. Seems no one in Washington is very eager to empty the vast lake of money, influence and perks available to them. They want to put a little damper on the lobbies. That's like saying "Influence peddling is a big deal to us, but we want to make it less obvious for appearance sake."
Here's what I think must be included in an ethics reform bill.....
1. Outlaw the lobby. Period!
2. Mandatory term limits
3. No retirement package
4. Standard health care
5. Salary subject to activity. No vote, no check. 50% there, 1/2 check.
6. Liability for ALL criminal activity
7. Pay raises according to min wage and budget deficits.
8. Even, public funded campaigns.
THAT... would be a good start!
Then we can address the many other problems that comprise the sloth machine in our overblown bureaucracy.
Here's what I think must be included in an ethics reform bill.....
1. Outlaw the lobby. Period!
2. Mandatory term limits
3. No retirement package
4. Standard health care
5. Salary subject to activity. No vote, no check. 50% there, 1/2 check.
6. Liability for ALL criminal activity
7. Pay raises according to min wage and budget deficits.
8. Even, public funded campaigns.
THAT... would be a good start!
Then we can address the many other problems that comprise the sloth machine in our overblown bureaucracy.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Democrats Win The House And Senate
I can't wait until the change is in place with congress. The country will be safe again, the war will end, there will be a full pot on every table, fuel prices will drop, the economy will soar and the whole world will be a beautiful garden. Did you know that a democrat's feces doesn't stink? They all have honesty flowing in their veins. They think only of their neighbors and constituents. They all do an honest days work and they never, ever break the law.
There will be no use for lobbyists because Dems are immune to influence peddling. They refuse to pander to corporations. And they're all staunch environmentalists. The lives of fish and caribou will never again be tainted by the demon crude oil. There will be no unwanted or handicapped children. There will soon be a complete cure for every disease. Pedophelia and spouse abuse will be things of a forgotten past.
And there won't be any need to further reform Congress. Dems are self sufficient. They don't rely on perks, grand salaries, retirement packages or deluxe heath care. They limit their terms of office voluntarily, never vote for their own pay raises, and are totally, fiscally responsible.
Did I mention that a Democrat's crap doesn't stink?
There will be no use for lobbyists because Dems are immune to influence peddling. They refuse to pander to corporations. And they're all staunch environmentalists. The lives of fish and caribou will never again be tainted by the demon crude oil. There will be no unwanted or handicapped children. There will soon be a complete cure for every disease. Pedophelia and spouse abuse will be things of a forgotten past.
And there won't be any need to further reform Congress. Dems are self sufficient. They don't rely on perks, grand salaries, retirement packages or deluxe heath care. They limit their terms of office voluntarily, never vote for their own pay raises, and are totally, fiscally responsible.
Did I mention that a Democrat's crap doesn't stink?
Friday, October 13, 2006
My Christmas Wish
This was a letter to a best friend, a soldier serving in Baghdad...
I'm thinking tonight how grateful I am that you and so many others are willing to sacrifice so much. We're sitting home, fat, lazy, safe (or at least relatively safe in this neighborhood!), trying to get the spirit of Christmas in our hum drum little lives. We seem almost oblivious to the fact that you're over there, a million miles from home, family, loved ones, in the valiant struggle for freedom.
We think we have it rough here. Financial troubles, traffic jams, angry bosses, pesky neighbors, the occasional sound of a gunshot from somewhere else. You're seeing the other side of life first-hand. How different it would be here if it weren't for you who have either put your lives at risk or given them up entirely to ensure our safety. Someone asked, where are Bat Man, Superman and the other superheroes when we need them? Well, we don't need them when we have you! The men and women of the armed forces. You are the real heroes. We owe you a debt we could never repay. And the way we act sometimes, I hope we're worth it.
We whine and complain. We distort the truth to fit our political slant.We are quick to point a finger at others and slow to take responsibility, unless it makes us look good. We are a breeding ground for laws, lawsuits and lawbreaking. We remove God from our lives and then blame Him for our problems. We are a country of greedy, selfish, pompous asses. At first glance, it might seem better if God would just wipe the country clean and start over.
But we are also a country of hard workers. Of people who dream, and sometimes fulfill those dreams. We were founded on principles of faith, and most still cling to those standards. We are a society of freedom. Free to speak our mind. Free to move about. Free to worship. Free to help our neighbor. Free to reach our highest potential or wallow in the lowest depths And we owe those freedoms,in large part, to you... in Baghdad, and around the world.
My Christmas wish for you is that God will reward you generously for your efforts. That He will keep you safe and bring you home soon.That your families will be provided for well in your absence. That loneliness will be replaced with comfort. That He will guide you in your activities. That you will continue to do your best and act honorably.That your work will help to bring peace to a troubled world and keep our nation free. And that we will be more deserving of your service and sacrifice.
Merry Christmas
(Written 12/25/03)
I'm thinking tonight how grateful I am that you and so many others are willing to sacrifice so much. We're sitting home, fat, lazy, safe (or at least relatively safe in this neighborhood!), trying to get the spirit of Christmas in our hum drum little lives. We seem almost oblivious to the fact that you're over there, a million miles from home, family, loved ones, in the valiant struggle for freedom.
We think we have it rough here. Financial troubles, traffic jams, angry bosses, pesky neighbors, the occasional sound of a gunshot from somewhere else. You're seeing the other side of life first-hand. How different it would be here if it weren't for you who have either put your lives at risk or given them up entirely to ensure our safety. Someone asked, where are Bat Man, Superman and the other superheroes when we need them? Well, we don't need them when we have you! The men and women of the armed forces. You are the real heroes. We owe you a debt we could never repay. And the way we act sometimes, I hope we're worth it.
We whine and complain. We distort the truth to fit our political slant.We are quick to point a finger at others and slow to take responsibility, unless it makes us look good. We are a breeding ground for laws, lawsuits and lawbreaking. We remove God from our lives and then blame Him for our problems. We are a country of greedy, selfish, pompous asses. At first glance, it might seem better if God would just wipe the country clean and start over.
But we are also a country of hard workers. Of people who dream, and sometimes fulfill those dreams. We were founded on principles of faith, and most still cling to those standards. We are a society of freedom. Free to speak our mind. Free to move about. Free to worship. Free to help our neighbor. Free to reach our highest potential or wallow in the lowest depths And we owe those freedoms,in large part, to you... in Baghdad, and around the world.
My Christmas wish for you is that God will reward you generously for your efforts. That He will keep you safe and bring you home soon.That your families will be provided for well in your absence. That loneliness will be replaced with comfort. That He will guide you in your activities. That you will continue to do your best and act honorably.That your work will help to bring peace to a troubled world and keep our nation free. And that we will be more deserving of your service and sacrifice.
Merry Christmas
(Written 12/25/03)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The Grace of the Amish
Please read the article by Bruce Kluger, entitled "A Glimpse of Grace."
"In the hours and days following last week's heartbreaking schoolhouse massacre of five Amish children in Nickel Mines, Pa., the story cut across the media landscape like a runaway brushfire.
Almost overnight, we learned the grotesque details of the vicious crime itself, heard the pitiful back story of its deranged perpetrator and were subjected to a flurry of the usual analyses — endless eddies of chatter that swirled about the tragedy without shame or abatement.
Rosie O'Donnell targeted the National Rifle Association in her blistering remarks about the killings; Hannity & Colmes used air time to bring on, then ridicule, a religious zealot who called the murders God's will; and columnists lumped the shocking slaughter into reports of other recent school shootings, as if to imply that this reprehensible act of madness was merely part of a bigger news story. A larger picture. A trend.
The Amish citizens of Nickel Mines were oblivious to it all, their religion having long ago instructed them to forgo TVs, radios and other devices of modern-day mass communication.
Instead, they quietly buried their little girls.
They collected money for the families of the deceased, including the horrified, grieving wife and children of the murderer. They also invited the family to the funerals.
“Grace,” my wife said softly when I told her about this astonishing gesture of humanity by the bereaved people of Nickel Mines. “Pure grace. Maybe we all have something to learn from the Amish.”
Religion is by no means an easy topic of conversation in this country — nor in the world. For many of us, it has lost its power to instantly transform or inspire. Indeed, this year alone, we've stood witness, repeatedly, to the dark and disjointed side of religion, and to its ugliest consequences.
We've seen mounting evidence that Islamic fundamentalists have no intention of retreating from their despicable interpretation of the Quran, bent as they are on deriving from its ancient verses little more than a global death warrant. We've watched in failed hope as peaceful Muslims around the globe largely stand mute in the face of this violence, their leaders unable or unwilling to coalesce into a single voice that might once and for all denounce the perversion of their faith by their misguided brothers.
Over the summer, Lebanese Shiites and Israeli Jews similarly turned a deaf ear to the sacred tracts of their holy books — parables about decency and forgiveness and love — as they went about the business of murdering one another over prisoner exchanges and border intrusions and tiny parcels of arid land.
Catholics worldwide listened in confusion as their new pope, Benedict XVI, reached back to the words of a 14th-century emperor to draw a heavy curtain between the righteousness of Christianity and the “evil and inhuman” teachings of the prophet Mohammed.
And here at home, that small but rabid band of evangelicals continued a single-minded crusade, flocking not to churches, but to talk shows and congressional offices and town meetings, in an unyielding effort to write its own brand of divisive scripture into our laws.
Where religion is concerned, we have reached a moment of critical mass in this nation — and the world — entering into a kind of apocalypse unimagined in the Bible. And our punishment is not the stuff of plagues and hellfire, issued by a wrathful and dissatisfied God. Instead, it is simply the souring of our inner spirit and the crushing loss of our soul. Our undoing is our own.
Meanwhile, the reclusive and serene citizens of Nickel Mines go about their business. They lay their beautiful children to rest, and silently pray for our redemption.
Grace."
This article was first published Oct. 9, 2006 in USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20061009/opthree_09.art.htm
And then at Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kluger/grace-in-pennsylvania_b_31365.html
"In the hours and days following last week's heartbreaking schoolhouse massacre of five Amish children in Nickel Mines, Pa., the story cut across the media landscape like a runaway brushfire.
Almost overnight, we learned the grotesque details of the vicious crime itself, heard the pitiful back story of its deranged perpetrator and were subjected to a flurry of the usual analyses — endless eddies of chatter that swirled about the tragedy without shame or abatement.
Rosie O'Donnell targeted the National Rifle Association in her blistering remarks about the killings; Hannity & Colmes used air time to bring on, then ridicule, a religious zealot who called the murders God's will; and columnists lumped the shocking slaughter into reports of other recent school shootings, as if to imply that this reprehensible act of madness was merely part of a bigger news story. A larger picture. A trend.
The Amish citizens of Nickel Mines were oblivious to it all, their religion having long ago instructed them to forgo TVs, radios and other devices of modern-day mass communication.
Instead, they quietly buried their little girls.
They collected money for the families of the deceased, including the horrified, grieving wife and children of the murderer. They also invited the family to the funerals.
“Grace,” my wife said softly when I told her about this astonishing gesture of humanity by the bereaved people of Nickel Mines. “Pure grace. Maybe we all have something to learn from the Amish.”
Religion is by no means an easy topic of conversation in this country — nor in the world. For many of us, it has lost its power to instantly transform or inspire. Indeed, this year alone, we've stood witness, repeatedly, to the dark and disjointed side of religion, and to its ugliest consequences.
We've seen mounting evidence that Islamic fundamentalists have no intention of retreating from their despicable interpretation of the Quran, bent as they are on deriving from its ancient verses little more than a global death warrant. We've watched in failed hope as peaceful Muslims around the globe largely stand mute in the face of this violence, their leaders unable or unwilling to coalesce into a single voice that might once and for all denounce the perversion of their faith by their misguided brothers.
Over the summer, Lebanese Shiites and Israeli Jews similarly turned a deaf ear to the sacred tracts of their holy books — parables about decency and forgiveness and love — as they went about the business of murdering one another over prisoner exchanges and border intrusions and tiny parcels of arid land.
Catholics worldwide listened in confusion as their new pope, Benedict XVI, reached back to the words of a 14th-century emperor to draw a heavy curtain between the righteousness of Christianity and the “evil and inhuman” teachings of the prophet Mohammed.
And here at home, that small but rabid band of evangelicals continued a single-minded crusade, flocking not to churches, but to talk shows and congressional offices and town meetings, in an unyielding effort to write its own brand of divisive scripture into our laws.
Where religion is concerned, we have reached a moment of critical mass in this nation — and the world — entering into a kind of apocalypse unimagined in the Bible. And our punishment is not the stuff of plagues and hellfire, issued by a wrathful and dissatisfied God. Instead, it is simply the souring of our inner spirit and the crushing loss of our soul. Our undoing is our own.
Meanwhile, the reclusive and serene citizens of Nickel Mines go about their business. They lay their beautiful children to rest, and silently pray for our redemption.
Grace."
This article was first published Oct. 9, 2006 in USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20061009/opthree_09.art.htm
And then at Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kluger/grace-in-pennsylvania_b_31365.html
Monday, August 07, 2006
Proving the Existence of God?
The following is a comment from Huffington Post. The discussion was about, among other things, the existence of God. Several skeptics were doing the usual needling. Then this appeared and seemed to cry out to be shared. Many thanks to the person who wrote it!
I do believe in God however, your statement that the "burden of proof" is on me for believing God exists is indeed your own "straw man" argument. I have no "burden" when it comes to what I choose to believe. I don't attempt to change people's belief system through circular arguments which can never be answered with certainty. For me the evidence of a caring "creator", or "life-force" or "God" is everywhere. For others, maybe they need more definitive "proof" in their own lives, maybe these are the people who can't see anything they can't put their hands on; who can't put their hands on what they can't see. For me, the Bible isn't representative of a Book which should be viewed as a "text book of literal history". It is filled with parables, stories of inspiration as well reflecting the societies and culture of the times. Whether people except it for the word of God or not is entirely up to them. I do believe it is the word of God, but......if you don't, so be it.
What gets me is these people who question if Jesus ever existed. All you need to do is look at the historical writings of the Roman Empire to find documentation of a person named "Jesus" being sentenced to death coinciding with the Biblical account. If the Bibles account is "make believe" so must be the account of the Roman Empire.
I forget who wrote the following little "story", prominent physicists whose name escapes me but, I have to agree with the sentiment.
"There was a time when I used to visit the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. I would spend hours fascinated by the carp, which lived in a very shallow pond just inches beneath the lily pads, just beneath my fingers, totally oblivious to the universe above them. I would ask myself a question only a human child could ask: What would it be like to be a carp?
What a strange world it would be! I imagined that the pond would be an entire universe, one that is two-dimensional in space. The carp would only be able to swim forwards and backwards, and left and right. I imagined that the concept of "up"--beyond the lily pads--would be totally alien to them. Any carp scientist daring to talk about a third dimension "above" the pond--would immediately be labeled a crank.
I wondered what would happen if I could reach down and grab a carp scientist and lift it up out of the "pond". I thought, what a wondrous story that scientist would tell the others! The carp would babble on about unbelievable new laws of physics: beings who could move without fins; beings who could breathe without gills; beings who could emit sounds without bubbles.
I then wondered: How would a carp scientist know about my existence? One day it rained, and I saw the rain drops forming gentle ripples on the surface of the pond. Then I understood.
The carp could see rippling shadows on the surface of the pond. The third dimension would be invisible to them, but vibrations in the third dimensions would be clearly visible. These ripples might even be felt by the carp, who would invent a silly concept to describe this, called "force." They might even give these "forces" cute names, such as light and gravity. I would laugh at them, because, of course, I know there is no "force" at all, just the rippling of the water.
I'm here to say, you are the carp, swimming in your tiny pond, blissfully unaware of invisible, unseen universes hovering just above you. You'll spend your whole life in three spatial dimensions; confident that what you can see with your telescopes is all there is, ignorant of the vast possibilities. Although the higher dimensions are invisible, their "ripples" can clearly be seen and felt. You call these ripples gravity and light."
By: ThePacifier on August 07, 2006 at 11:11am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/08/05/filmmaker-james-cameron-f_n_26613.html?p=7#comments
I do believe in God however, your statement that the "burden of proof" is on me for believing God exists is indeed your own "straw man" argument. I have no "burden" when it comes to what I choose to believe. I don't attempt to change people's belief system through circular arguments which can never be answered with certainty. For me the evidence of a caring "creator", or "life-force" or "God" is everywhere. For others, maybe they need more definitive "proof" in their own lives, maybe these are the people who can't see anything they can't put their hands on; who can't put their hands on what they can't see. For me, the Bible isn't representative of a Book which should be viewed as a "text book of literal history". It is filled with parables, stories of inspiration as well reflecting the societies and culture of the times. Whether people except it for the word of God or not is entirely up to them. I do believe it is the word of God, but......if you don't, so be it.
What gets me is these people who question if Jesus ever existed. All you need to do is look at the historical writings of the Roman Empire to find documentation of a person named "Jesus" being sentenced to death coinciding with the Biblical account. If the Bibles account is "make believe" so must be the account of the Roman Empire.
I forget who wrote the following little "story", prominent physicists whose name escapes me but, I have to agree with the sentiment.
"There was a time when I used to visit the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. I would spend hours fascinated by the carp, which lived in a very shallow pond just inches beneath the lily pads, just beneath my fingers, totally oblivious to the universe above them. I would ask myself a question only a human child could ask: What would it be like to be a carp?
What a strange world it would be! I imagined that the pond would be an entire universe, one that is two-dimensional in space. The carp would only be able to swim forwards and backwards, and left and right. I imagined that the concept of "up"--beyond the lily pads--would be totally alien to them. Any carp scientist daring to talk about a third dimension "above" the pond--would immediately be labeled a crank.
I wondered what would happen if I could reach down and grab a carp scientist and lift it up out of the "pond". I thought, what a wondrous story that scientist would tell the others! The carp would babble on about unbelievable new laws of physics: beings who could move without fins; beings who could breathe without gills; beings who could emit sounds without bubbles.
I then wondered: How would a carp scientist know about my existence? One day it rained, and I saw the rain drops forming gentle ripples on the surface of the pond. Then I understood.
The carp could see rippling shadows on the surface of the pond. The third dimension would be invisible to them, but vibrations in the third dimensions would be clearly visible. These ripples might even be felt by the carp, who would invent a silly concept to describe this, called "force." They might even give these "forces" cute names, such as light and gravity. I would laugh at them, because, of course, I know there is no "force" at all, just the rippling of the water.
I'm here to say, you are the carp, swimming in your tiny pond, blissfully unaware of invisible, unseen universes hovering just above you. You'll spend your whole life in three spatial dimensions; confident that what you can see with your telescopes is all there is, ignorant of the vast possibilities. Although the higher dimensions are invisible, their "ripples" can clearly be seen and felt. You call these ripples gravity and light."
By: ThePacifier on August 07, 2006 at 11:11am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/08/05/filmmaker-james-cameron-f_n_26613.html?p=7#comments
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