The North Koreans Win?

 With the recent death of the leader of North Korea and seeing the stuff that has been approved by them for the world to see, something has me wondering about the things in this country.

 Now I learn a long time ago that in reality those that refer to themselves as Liberals are really Conservatives in heart, and those that wave the flag of the conservatives are really Liberals in their hearts. But as I watch and think about North Korea I realize that in reality both sides in this country really want to take us into the way that North Korea is. Both sides want for us to “Goose Step” in their thinking.

 Here in Oakland there are two drives to recall our Mayor, who has only been in office for about a year, as the people driving these recalls are really upset in that she will not do things the way that they want for her to do. I am sure that you have heard and read about the events that has happened here concerning the Occupy Movement. The Occupy Movement is the ones that are driving the recall of her. They are blaming her about the way that the police handled things and that they were booted out of the spaces that they had occupied. The thing is that after the first eviction and when they returned, she came out to talk with them, and they booed. They weren’t going to give her a chance to be heard. For all that they know, she could have been coming out to apologize for the events that had happened, but they weren’t going to give her a chance to even say it.

 I hear people on both sides yelling about the right to free speech, but if you really listen to them they are really saying that the only true right to speak is in a way that they approve. At the city council meeting last night, when people would speak before them, if they were saying stuff that people in the gallery didn’t like, they would start booing and making other noises. One of the member of the council made a good point in that they talk about the freedom of speech, but when it comes to others being the ones speaking, they don’t want to offer that same right to others.

 On a national level, we have the Republicans acting like little children in that they are trying to do whatever they can to bring about any change in this country. They seem to want to keep things exactly the same as when President GW Bush was in office, plus add things into our lives to make sure that we don’t Goosestep out of where they want things to go. They can’t even bring a bill forward to be signed without adding stuff that is not even related to the bill added on.

 Where they are really screwing up is that they aren’t being smart in what they do. When the President says that they want something, the Republicans should work on a compromise that will get what they want done, but make sure that when they know things will blow up it will really make the President look bad. They could work things that with the things that do work in the bill, they can clearly take credit for it. But it appears that they don’t have enough brains to be able to do that. Didn’t they learn anything when the Democrats where leading the House of Representatives? Oh that’s right, the “Tea Party” thought that they could just come in and run things. Wait a minute? People were yelling about the lack of experience that now President Obama had and his lack of understanding on how things operated in Washington, but the “Tea Party” came in without that understanding also.

 But really think about it and the the things that both sides say and do. Really look and think about there actions and think about places like North Korea and other Dictatorships that we supposedly don’t like, and what is the real difference in the rhetoric that they have? How much are well really fooling ourselves in thinking that we are better than they are, when the truth is that in most ways we are identical to them.

 But even though I say these things, don’t get me wrong, in that I really do love this country and all of it’s people. I not only love this country, but I love all countries, even North Korea. Without the diversity that we have on this planet, it would really become boring and not want make us think.

 Has North Korea won without firing a single bullet? Only the future will tell.

 Post your thoughts in the comment box below

The Loss Of Art

 I just sat and watched a documentary of Jefferson Davis, then something hit me that I hadn’t realized, in this age of technology and film & video, we no longer have the art of painting of the things that go on in our Congress or most forms of the US Government outside of the court system. We have come into a time where what we see of many things is on film and no longer through the eyes of artist.

 We now live in a “CSpan” world where what goes on in Congress & Parliaments really don’t have that special magic that the world saw through those paintings. We no longer read articles about battles that occurred and look at paintings and imagining with our minds the person really saying the stuff that we read. We now turn on our televisions and watch stuff on the Internet and see the actions that occurred in these houses of laws.

 When was the last time that you went into someone’s home and saw an artist portrait on them or someone in there family hanging on the wall? When was the last time that you looked at a photograph of someone and looked at it in the same way that you would look at it like you would if it had been a painting?

 A program is on now that is about Native Americans and showing paintings that were done at the time, and those paintings are telling a story that pictures and videos of today that aren’t duplicated. Oh sure it would be nice to be able to see the reality of what was going on, but it is hard to get certain details that an artist can get.

 Yes we still have artist today who do capture things in there paintings and sketchpads, and one of my favorites is Lorielle New, and I do see a number of others artist around, but I want to see those paintings from within the buildings where laws are made telling me a story that a digital picture can’t.

Life Beyond Earth

 I was sitting here watching some documentaries about life on another planet. Yes I do believe that God created life on other planets, and I don’t think that I would be surprised to find out that some of that life looks just like us.

 When it has come to hearing people talk about life on other planets, it was always in a positive manner where we could talk and learn from each other. not only would we exchange and learn things, but people from there would live here, and people from here would live there. It would be a kind of  “Student Exchange Program”.

 But as I watched the documentaries, I suddenly began to wonder something. What would we do if we did find life on another planet and they said that they didn’t want to have anything to do with us? Oh I am sure that we would try and try again to have a “relationship” with them, but what would happen if they looked at us and said that they don’t want us to contact them or have anything to do with us in any way?

 Think about it. Would we as a planet become so arrogant that we would not accept what they say and force our way onto the planet to do as we wish? Would we send up satellites their and basically invade upon their privacy? Would we leave them alone and continue to look for life elsewhere?

  In a way I hope that in my lifetime we find life elsewhere and that we can learn from each other, but I kind of also wish that we don’t find life elsewhere and find ways to bring about total peace upon this planet.

 So what do you think?