[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
Software release out the door, deadline over, and now I have more time to play, so I will... --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip to You seem to be, well, very hair-triggered about certain concepts. Is that true? You may say no, but then why that tone? That tone, if there was one, was the result of three dozen programmers leaving all of their doc input for the software release until the last day. Again. And having to write it all up in 36 sleep- less hours, while they all went on vacation. Again. It's just one of the realities of the software biz, but when you're in the throes of it, it often doesn't leave you a lot of room for long, extended conversations. Meanwhile, about that God thingy. Here's a way that maybe you can relax about my vocabulary and allow me to use that word: Deadline over, you're probably onto something about the relaxing thing. Most of the time, whenever anyone starts throwing the God word around, I just tune out and hit the Next key, because they're often using it like some kind of all-powerful mantra, as a mallet with which to squash lesser beliefs. You probably know what I mean...people who use the word God like a trump card, as if by invoking it they automatically win every argument...as if, *by* using it, they had called the Heavenly Host to fight by their side. With the pressure of not worrying about delaying the release of a product that sells for a half-million bucks a pop behind me, I can see that you weren't using it that way, and were just having fun with the concept. ...think about your nightly dreams. When you dream at night, how effortlessly do the images, words, furniture, spaces, people etc. get built instantaneously moment by moment. Your sleeping brain has the talent of Spielberg in these nightly productions... More like Robert Rodriguez in my case...bloodier, but with far more of a sense of humor than Spielberg. :-) ...but while in the dream your character feels not the slightest authorship of the whole shebang. Actually, that's not entirely true, given lucid dream- ing and being able to direct one's dreams consciously, but that's a diversion I'm not gonna get into. Yet, verily are you not a god for this dream world? And that's what I'm talking about. I'm a character in God's dream, and though my core self is doing the actual work of creation, I'm caught up with a mere speck of it and calling it me. Can't you allow me to use the word God for that level of me-ness that I am not consciously in touch with? No problemo. Use whatever word you want. If there is a Krishna, with a brain of biblical proportions, ahem, a living self-referential holodeck, can't I refer to Him like I would to that self that creates my nightly dreams? Can't I see that Krishna and my sleeping brain both have me in common, and each one is as responsible for the creation that contains me as the other is? You can see it however you want. Me, I just don't think in terms of Krishna, or gods, or goddesses, or devatas, or whatever. They just don't map to my life in any way. So it's difficult for me to identify with them when used as metaphors by someone to whom they *do* mean something. When I dream, my dream character can be tortured, yet I do not awaken -- a sort of tell -- but, should I wake up, I don't hold it against me that I was being tortured. Something in me accepts the bad dream karma -- isn't this like what we call the compassion of the enlightened? Don't we expect the enlightened to have the ability to surrender to what is no matter what? Don't we expect that the enlightened know that this is a dream, and also that the dreamer cannot be found without destroying the dreamstate? If and when I do meet Krishna, I expect Him to be surprised that He'd thought me up... That's a good line. ...just like I might be surprised to remember that in the dream I just woke up from that I had for some reason created a flaming couch that my dream character was sitting on nonchalantly but, for reasons never to be known, it was unnoticed by any character in the dream until now after awakening. Just so when I awaken from my living dream, might I not be surprised to find my self to be the creator of ALL THIS and that there is no doubt that it was me, me, only me what done the dream but still wonder why the flaming couch? Can't God be Someone like that -- have the dream emerge effortlessly with not the slightest sense of doership, no sense of having created me because He's part of the dream too, another character that the Absolute created? This last part I can identify with, in a way. I've often wondered, since thoughts obviously do manifest themselves from time to time, whether a whole world of people who believe in God might have actually *created* one somewhere. If so, the sucker is very, very confused, because everyone in human history who has ever
[FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
(snip) MDixon wrote: FFL has been awfully quiet in regards to Don Imus and the nappy headed Ho's. I just saw where MSNBC has dropped his show. Any comments? Yeah, I listened to Imus a lot, and I think this really sucks... The whole thing happened, because he was probably have asleep that morning; he didn't mean anything, really hateful or anything... He really had the only really interesting show, sometimes on television; many political figures, and a platform for a lot of debate, and just a good show. I think Sharpton, was driving his own agenda, and will get: what goes around...', Anyway, I think it's just the typical caving of the corporation mentality, of banality; That when push comes to shove, Mr.Imus was pushing too many buttons, including calling Dick Cheney a war criminal, and just had become to controversal- I just hope he finds another platform, because I do think he has lot's of energy, and talent in that particular realm of debate... He kind of reminds me of a Thomas Jefferson type: a true rebel. r.g.
[FairfieldLife] 'NYT on Imus...'
This Time, the Shock Jocks Sidekick Couldnt Shield the Boss function
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12, 2007'); } Published: April 12, 2007
Just before Don Imus infamously referred to the Rutgers womens basketball
team on his radio show on April 4 as nappy-headed hos, another voice could be
heard describing them as some hard-core hos.
Bernard McGuirk, the producer on Imus, doing his imitation of Cardinal
Edward M. Egan.
That voice belonged to Bernard McGuirk, the producer and booker on Imus
in the Morning for more than two decades, who does double duty on the air as
one of a half-dozen supporting cast members. Their task and Mr. McGuirks
charge in particular is often to give their boss some illusion of deniability
or distance. Only then can they express what he might want to say about blacks,
Jews, gays or women but perhaps feels he cant, given his stature as an
interviewer of the famous and important.
Among the many striking aspects of this particular instance is that it
represented a rare, though hardly unprecedented, occasion in which Mr. Imus
took Mr. McGuirks bait and allowed himself to wade into deep trouble alongside
his producer, instead of watching safely from the shoreline. Last night, the
lingering outrage over Mr. Imuss comment resulted in Mr. Imuss losing his
television outlet; MSNBC, which simulcasts his program, announced that it was
dropping it. CBS Radio, his primary employer, has yet to announce any plans to
follow suit.
Sometimes when youre trying to be funny in the way were trying to be
funny, you go too far, Larry Kenney, whose spot-on imitations of the Rev.
Jerry Falwell and Senator Edward M. Kennedy, among others, have been an Imus
staple for more than three decades, said earlier yesterday, before the MSNBC
announcement. Im not saying Imus did that this time. Im saying overall
thats what happens when you do this kind of humor, Mr. Kenney said.
Mr. McGuirk, for example, periodically fashions an oversize FedEx envelope
into a cone on his head to do a profane caricature of Cardinal Edward M. Egan
of New York. Using a high-pitched Irish brogue (the same voice Mr. McGuirk long
used to lampoon Cardinal John OConnor, before his death), the
producer-as-cardinal said on the March 16 installment of the show that the
only thing Hillary Clinton has in common with the late great President John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, God rest his soul, is that they both enjoyed extramarital
affairs with women.
A former altar boy who is the son of Irish immigrants, Mr. McGuirk, who is in
his mid-40s and writes his own material, also had his Cardinal Egan make
homosexual slurs about Anderson Cooper and describe Mr. Imuss wife as having
multiple sexual partners in her husbands absence. Mr. Imus, watching from
alongside Mr. McGuirk onstage in Boston, where the show was being broadcast
live, could be seen laughing but said nothing in response.
As he always does, Mr. McGuirks cardinal ended his homily: In the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, he said, it is Imus on life support
we want the most. The other players, including Charles McCord, Mr. Imuss news
reader, responded in unison, Lord, hear our prayer.
Similarly Rob Bartlett, another impressionist who often appears on the show
(and who has appeared on Broadway) visited on Dec. 4 to do one of his regular
characters: Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, only reimagined as a
belligerent illiterate evocative of Jose Jimenez, the Spanish-accented
simpleton from the old Steve Allen Show.
On Dec. 4 Mr. Bartlett as Mr. Gonzalez lamented the intransigence of
President Bush, whom he addressed as el jefe, on a host of issues, saying,
He dont listen to nothing from nobody, before adding, Im talking Helen
Keller time here.
Neither CBS Radio nor MSNBC has singled out anyone else for his role in the
back-and-forth about Rutgers, for which Mr. Imus has apologized repeatedly
[FairfieldLife] Interpretation help needed
Benefon Oyj today announced that Peter Bamford will become Chairman of the Board of Directors, his appointment will be confirmed at the coming annual general meeting and has the support of the majority shareholders. Mr. Bamford will join Benefon to lead its strategic repositioning into the fast evolving navigation and location solutions market. Benefon's existing leading edge mobile solutions products which are expected to roll out in planned phases ***during the next year*** are designed to make it easier for consumers to use their phones for navigating, accessing location based content and information, as well as enabling the mobile advertising market place. -- Is during the year 2008 the only possible meaning for during the next year? I'm afraid it is...
[FairfieldLife] Re: Interpretation help needed
cardemaister wrote: Is during the year 2008 the only possible meaning for during the next year? I'm afraid it is... eki, fear not ... there might be other interpretations possible: It could refer to the remainder of the present calendar year, 2007 (which is how it sounds to me); or the next year could also mean the next 12 month span, starting now (April 2007 - April 2008); Or even, in the case of some businesses, the next year could mean the next fiscal year which may begin in some different month than the usual calendar year (used for accounting benefits). (i dont think they are saying that here, tho)
[FairfieldLife] Re: Interpretation help needed
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], george_deforest [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: cardemaister wrote: Is during the year 2008 the only possible meaning for during the next year? I'm afraid it is... eki, fear not ... there might be other interpretations possible: It could refer to the remainder of the present calendar year, 2007 (which is how it sounds to me); or the next year could also mean the next 12 month span, starting now (April 2007 - April 2008); Or even, in the case of some businesses, the next year could mean the next fiscal year which may begin in some different month than the usual calendar year (used for accounting benefits). (i dont think they are saying that here, tho) Thanks!
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
In a message dated 4/11/07 6:27:20 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: FFL has been awfully quiet in regards to Don Imus and the nappy headed Ho's. I just saw where MSNBC has dropped his show. Any comments? I believe I speak for everyone on FFL in saying that we've all been preoccupied with a far more important story than some dumbass conservative shock-jock overstepping the bounds of common decency: the paternity of Anna Nicole's baby. LOL! ^5 ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
In a message dated 4/11/07 8:35:37 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: How do they get away with playing those rap songs on the radio? Or, maybe it was a CD that I heard playing. If so, how do they get recorded, and what does Jesse and Al have to say about that? Come to think of it, I don't listen to Jesse or Al in church either, so I probably missed their comments on that too. Da Rev. Al says he has complained about the language used in Hip Hop. He just hasn't ever organized a boycott or made threats to the industry to stop it. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
In a message dated 4/12/07 2:06:54 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: That when push comes to shove, Mr.Imus was pushing too many buttons, including calling Dick Cheney THAT'S IT! It was the Haliburton Brainwave machine that caused Imus to mutter *nappy headed Ho's*! ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[FairfieldLife] Fwd: PBS Documentary
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:34:17 -0700 (PDT) From: George Dill [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: pbs my brother in law's newest (though dated) documentary. WARRIORS A one hour non-fiction film shot on the ground in Iraq 2005 for the series America at a Crossroads PBS Monday night April 16 from 9-10pm Directed, Written and Principal Camera: Ed Robbins Dear Friends: The day has finally arrived - filmed in 2005 during 2 months of a war in Iraq that was a different fight then it is today: Warriors. A film I directed and wrote, and did the majority of filming. I am proud to see airing this Monday at April 16 9-10pm. With Editing by the wonderful Karen KH Sim. Produced by Ann Zinsmeister Karl Zinsmeister. Additional credits are attached. This one nearly cost me my life - yes at that mid-point of the film that is my camera and my vehicle in the middle of it -- but for those soldiers I was with, it's all part of their work routine as they face it day after day. This film's focus is on the job of being a soldier on the ground: a look at who they are, what they do and why. It is not an analysis about the policies of the war - there are plenty of good films which do that by now and more to come. Warriors profiles six soldiers, revealing another side of this fight against a nearly invisible, evasive enemy, in a complex and confusing war. We see them as they deal with the routines, and the dangers but also the tense ambiguities of interacting with Iraqis across divides of language, culture and motivation. WARRIORS Ed Robbins Director, Writer, Principal Camera PBS Monday April 16 9-10pm A part of the series America At A Crossroads WARRIORS Ed Robbins Director, Writer, Principal Camera PBS Monday April 16 9-10pm A part of the series America At A Crossroads Director Writer: Ed Robbins Producers: Ann Zinsmeister Karl Zinsmeister Editors:Karen K. H. Sim Ed Robbins Narrator: Alan Bleviss Music: Associated Production Music LLC Tom Rutishauser Kate Zinsmeister 3rd ID Army Band Title Graphic Artist: Michael Blank On Line:Glue EditingDesign Series Producer:Leo Eaton Executive Producer: Jeff Bieber Dalton Delan attachment: Soldr-ChkpntCU2-Small.jpg
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], shempmcgurk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: No, Amma wasn't caught in flagrante delicto. But she did participate in what I can only describe as a scandal and one best employed with the adjective sexy. But unlike this forum's allegations about MMY's extra-curriculars which are of the he-said-she-said category of rumors, Amma's scandal was filmed for the whole world to see. I am referring to the DVD Darshan which I saw last week for the first time. There was something in it that just didn't sit right with me. Darshan is a documentary that follows Amma the Hugging Saint around various parts of India, including her Ashram, over a few months time it was made by a French film crew a few years ago. At one point near the end of the DVD, Amma is in a stadium of about 25,000 people who all came for that delicious hug she gives and which is her signature trademark (well, she IS called the hugging saint for a reason). And her people made a point of emphasizing that she only had a certain amount of time to be there. So what did Amma and her organization do? Why, they actually put up a SCORE CARD of how many people she hugged! There was an actual TOTE BOARD, just like in those PBS fund-raisers they Michael Flatley and Lord of the Dance or Joseph Campbell are showcased in order to get the largest possible response during pledge week or that thermometer the United Appeal puts on the town square that fills up with red as each new plateau of funds raised is met. Except this tote board didn't list money; the currency measured was HUGS! And Amma wanted to get in as many as she could. She and her crew seemed intent upon trying to beat some record (exactly whose record and what goal I'm not sure but seeing as she's the only hugging saint around, I guess she was out to beat her own record what sports psychologists tell enthusiasts in non-team sports like golf call competing with yourself). And the whole record-breaking vibe was pumped up to the max because Amma wasn't doing her usual embrace (the preceding one hour of the DVD had documented normal-speed hugging). No, along with her court- side minions, TEAM AMMA shifted into mass-production gear. Unlike the earlier recorded sessions, Amma the Pro performed a well- rehearsed and well-choreographed lift and jerk for each poor soul that trotted up to the dais. Amma and her accountants had precisioned the math and knew exactly how many complete cycles of body-embrace-eject-next had to be performed in the time allotted. Her followers had obviously paid attention in high school math class `cause they had the formula down pat: I'm sure the pre-game prep notes looked something like this: T/H = WR T = Time Amma is in the stadium; H= Number of hugs; WR = World Record). Man, she was huggin' em out at the rate of about 15 per minute. Now, that's some massed-produced touchy-feely darshan working there, worthy of respect from the most jaded MacDonald's production line engineer. Ray Kroc's McSlide Ruler holds nothing on Team Amma which can now proudly hang an X billions hugged sign under the Ashram`s arches. Why have I called this a scandal? Why employ the adjective sex to describe it? Bad enough that Team Amma and its star forward Amma appeared interested in only performing for the camera and unabashedly abandoned even the faintest APPEARANCE of devotion or piety. The worst part was what was so clearly their REAL motivation: cranking out the hugs in order to get into some sort of Spiritual Guinness Book of World Records. Talk about an experience devoid of spirituality all that the principles seemed interested in was getting as high a number on the scoreboard as possible generating love or compassion be damned, let`s just churn out what, at minimum, can be defined as a hug and get on to the next warm body. Head `em up, move `em out Rawhide! In a nutshell: the numbers on the tote board was virtually all that she and her Kool-Aid inner circle were interested in. And that's why it seemed so scandalous to me. And when they got the number they wanted (something like 25,000 but I can't recall the exact tally) Team Amma whooped and clapped like the cheerleaders in American Beauty. This sporty mood generated another impression upon me: Kobi Bryant scoring a three-pointer from center court to beat the Knicks with 2 seconds left on the clock. But there was one final image this carnage of spiritual gluttony cast upon me. And this last one also depicted a pro-basketballer: Wilt Chamberlain whose ultimate claim-to-fame in popular culture wasn't the numerous NBA records he broke but his bold and brass assertion that he had slept with 20,000 women during his lifetime. And that's why Amma's scandal seems so SEXY. Yeah, yeah, yeah...you're just jealous, not only do you want to be hugged you want to be
[FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Da Rev. Al says he has complained about the language used in Hip Hop. He just hasn't ever organized a boycott or made threats to the industry to stop it. There are some significant differences of context here. These differences don't excuse the rappers, but they explain why the Imus situation is of greater concern. First, no rapper has a daily syndicated radio and TV show for hours in plum morning airtime. Second, the lyrics in rap songs aren't dissing specific identifiable women. There are also differences between the bigoted dissing of public figures by Imus (calling Gwen Ifill a cleaning lady, for example) and by other media talkers, primarily right-wingers, and Imus's comment about the Rutgers women's basketball team: The women on the team were only accidentally public figures; at the time of Imus's comment, the public didn't even know their names. Casual bigotry on the airwaves generally, of all kinds, including in rap music, has been gradually becoming more and more pervasive. A tremendous degree of hurt has built up. At some point--unless you think it's fine that it continue and even increase--you have to say, Enough is enough; it needs to stop here. Given Imus's prominence and how far his comment's singular inappropriateness stood out from other similar ones, including his own, this incident may have been that point.
[FairfieldLife] Why Brahma is defined as limited in time AND space...
Can only mean that Brahma (the Purusha or only begotten of the Father) is a Soar Deity, that is, his being permeates and animates a Solar System (a limited amount of space) like our own. His body being the Solar System and all of the planets, the highest expression of which is the Sun.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi's House on Raam Navami
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], gullible fool [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Most cultures, including Indian, like lots of lights during celebrations. I'm sure it's not ordinarily lit that way. Have you noticed, though, that the more third world a country is, the greater the amount of celebratory hoopla and whirling trance-dance exists as a substitute for genuine progress? Happy Fourth of July!!
RE: [FairfieldLife] Amma's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 12:28 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Amma's sex scandal In a nutshell: the numbers on the tote board was virtually all that she and her Kool-Aid inner circle were interested in. And that's why it seemed so scandalous to me. Amma always paces herself according to the size of crowd, and in India, it always goes fast. The crowd at that event something like ¼ million, was probably the largest she has ever had. I agree that putting up a scorecard seems a bit tacky. I didnt notice that when I saw the movie. Have you ever been to see Amma? Go this summer and give me your impression of the atmosphere around her.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 12:28 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Amma's sex scandal In a nutshell: the numbers on the tote board was virtually all that she and her Kool-Aid inner circle were interested in. And that's why it seemed so scandalous to me. Amma always paces herself according to the size of crowd, and in India, it always goes fast. The crowd at that event something like ¼ million, was probably the largest she has ever had. I agree that putting up a scorecard seems a bit tacky. I didn't notice that when I saw the movie. Have you ever been to see Amma? Go this summer and give me your impression of the atmosphere around her. I'm sure it's suitably darshanic...but that's equally a function of the people around her, as opposed to just her. And, no, in India it doesn't always go fast. Resee the movie for the other Indian hugging sessions. They do not go as fast. And good atmospheres do not always denote unblemished purity. I've been in countless Catholic churches where the silence and atmosphere has been incredibly profound...despite some alter-boy being fucked up the ass by its Priest in the back room.
Re: [FairfieldLife] The D Word
If doubt apears, it should not be considered the negation of faith, but as an element which was always and is always present in the act of faith. Existential doubt and faith are poles of the same reality, the state of ultimate concern. Paul Tillich, Dynamics of Faith (Perrienial Classics), p. 25. TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It seems to me, based on my reading here and on a number of other spiritual forums, that a lot can be learned about spiritual movements and about the spiritual seekers within them by how they respond to the D word -- DOUBT. In some spiritual movements and traditions, doubt is looked upon as a *healthy* thing. I remember meeting a Paulist (Catholic) priest who told me that within his order, no one was ever trusted with a position of power within the Church until after they'd gone through their own dark night of the soul and had some serious doubts about the Church and Christ and their relationships with both. Before they'd gone through that, they were looked upon as novices, newbies, buying whatever had been told to them without really ever questioning it, and in the process of questioning it, making it theirs. I've encountered other Eastern traditions in which doubt is also seen as a very natural thing, and actually encouraged. In face-to-face meetings with the spiritual teachers of these traditions, it is permitted and encouraged to ask ANYTHING, and to question ANY teaching or point of dogma. In one Tibetan tradition I know of, there is a system of formal debate in which students are regularly assigned the task of defending the very *opposite* of the dogma that they believe and have been told is correct. Interestingly, within ALL of these traditions, there is *no concept* of being declared anathema, of being told to leave the study or the movement. Compare and contrast to other spiritual traditions in which doubt is looked upon as a weakness, or as something that has to be hidden from the powers that be, or worst, can be grounds for excommunication, for being told that your doubt has no place in the movement in question, and that you should get the hell out and stay out and take your doubts with you. Being a lifelong doubter myself, it probably goes without saying that I'm happier with the former situation. :-) I can make a case for the latter approach, in which doubt is demonized and driven out of the gates of the monastery the moment it rears its ugly head, but I honestly believe that this approach is self-defeating, not to mention Self-defeating. I guess this is just another way of thanking Rick for creating a forum on which doubt is not only allowed, but encouraged, and treated as if it were a healthy and normal part of the spiritual path. Such forums are rare, and to be treasured. Earlier today I was told by some students of a former spiritual teacher of mine that I was essen- tially evil because I didn't buy the Party Line that all of the women students he slept with did so willingly, and that they all benefited from the experience. I was told this by students who have studiously avoided ever hearing any stories to the contrary; they have never talked to the women involved. I have. And so, do I have doubts that all of the guy's actions were appropriate? You betcha. It reminded me of reactions here when the same subject comes up with regard to Maharishi. There are people here who have *no problem* believing that Maharishi was human, and scored him some very human nookie along the Way, and who RESPECT HIM ANYWAY. Those are my kinda people, the ones who are unafraid to express their normal, everyday doubts, and who refuse to be intimidated into hiding them. High five all around to those kinda people from me. You make the spiritual path worth walking. - TV dinner still cooling? Check out Tonight's Picks on Yahoo! TV.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Kurt Vonnegut dies
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], bob_brigante [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mr. Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis in 1922, the youngest of three children. His father, Kurt Sr., was an architect. His mother, Edith, came from a wealthy brewery family. Mr. Vonnegut's brother, Bernard, who died in 1997, was a physicist and an expert on thunderstorms. During the Depression, the elder Vonnegut went for long stretches without work, and Mrs. Vonnegut suffered from episodes of mental illness. When my mother went off her rocker late at night, the hatred and contempt she sprayed on my father, as gentle and innocent a man as ever lived, was without limit and pure, untainted by ideas or information, Mr. Vonnegut wrote. She committed suicide, an act that haunted her son for the rest of his life. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/books/12vonnegut.html *** The effects of inherited alcohol money, like with the Kennedys. Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in Dresden when it was fire-bombed: The defining moment of Mr. Vonnegut's life was the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied forces in 1945, an event he witnessed firsthand as a young prisoner of war. Thousands of civilians were killed in the raids, many of them burned to death or asphyxiated. The firebombing of Dresden, Mr. Vonnegut wrote, was a work of art. It was, he added, a tower of smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had had their lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of Germany. He wrote some damn fine books too. Slaughterhouse 5 - about Dresden, the best anti-war novel IMHO Sirens of Titan - Top sci-fi Yes, we have no nirvana - an essay about TM which is well worth a read. It's in his wampeters, foma and granfaloons collection which I have been completely unable to find a link to but check it out for an interesting perspective on MMY circa 1970ish
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
OK I think I get it now. Sullivan is a: Catholic who doesn't believe that the Pope has a special relationship with the truth of reality. Christian who doesn't believe in the divinity of Christ or his death as salvation. the Bible as divinely inspired, but not as a special book differing from all other books written by men. So if I can sum it up in word salad (since we are redefining words as we go along), he believes blabity blap and is upset that Sam Harris doesn't think he knows what he is talking about. You claimed that I had misrepresented Andrew's views on the Pope. I have very carefully not assigned to him the belief in the Pope's infallibility in certain contexts. He does believe that the Pope has a special relationship with the truth of existence and quotes him on matters theological. There is a name for people who do not view the Pope as having a special relationship with the truth, they are called non Catholics. He doesn't have to use the words he does to describe himself. He could just go New Age and believe whatever he wants. He is identifying himself with particular versions of belief systems that have specific meanings and doctrines. This is part of the problem in the debate. Saying that God is love is not the complete definition of the word God or there would not be two different words. No need for a straw man. His beliefs leak out even as he tries to appear more reasonable than he actually is. This is the central point Sam is making about religious moderates like Andrew. They are not owning up to their beliefs because they know it makes them look silly. As I said before Andrew rejects beliefs for the same reasons Sam does. The difference is that Sam is comfortable saying I don't know concerning ultimate realities and Andrew claims that a man who died thousands of years ago loves him. So I'll be an atheist who believes in God for the purposes of this discussion. Want your dressing on the side? --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], authfriend [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: Thanks, I'll trrryy. From Andrew above the your quoted post: A reader addresses one central point of contention between Sam Harris and me - by supporting my position from a more agnostic perspective: My points stand. Andrew didn't write it, he is agreeing with it None of your points stand. The point of contention between Sullivan and Harris in question here was whether one should doubt the whole shebang, as the emailer puts it, i.e., whether it makes rational sense to be an atheist. with one irrelevant qualification. Andrew has been guilty of defining God in terms that are too vague to be challenged in this whole debate and ignoring Sam's attempts to get him to own up to his own specific beliefs. What you're really saying is that Sullivan declines to own up to specific beliefs that Harris (and you) would like to attribute to him so you have something you feel competent to challenge. Get that straw man before he gets you! Andrew is just as skeptical of the historical Zeus and confident of it mythic origins as Sam is about Andrew's Jesus dying for our sins myth. --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: The answer: because doubting the whole shebang is a 'certainty' that could be as mistaken as believing in any particular religion. The argument for believing in a 'tolerant' religious framework is because we do not, and cannot, know the truth of either atheism or of any theismOne can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. But all scientific evidence suggests the physical limitations of the human consciousness separate us from the true nature of the universe. God is merely that true nature; religion, like science, a path to glimpse a part of it, not an expression of the whole. So do you think Andrew is on the fence about the existence of Zeus or is he pretty sure humans made up the whole idea? Sullivan didn't write this. Try reading what I wrote, please. What Andrew is doing is making the definition of God so vague and lacking in distinctive qualities that he might as well say he believes in blabidy blab. Defining God as the true nature of the universe is great for evading being challenged on his specific beliefs, I mean who could argue with that definition? This is a definition that no Atheist should have a problem with. Atheists assert that there is mystery in the world and neither myths nor science have cleared it up. Religion is not just pointing the the mystery, religion is claiming to have explained it. Atheists are saying that religions have added little to our
[FairfieldLife] Re: Codicil 371.3
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rory Goff rorygoff@ wrote: during my return to the Dome last summer, I noticed repeatedly that MMY and I were utterly identical, and *on the basis of this identity* I felt overwhelming waves of surrender and devotion for Him, as I did for Guru Dev and for my own simple/expanded creator self while experiencing reality as its devic/particular creature contraction. This dynamic surpised me; I wasn't expecting it -- rather having been taught only that it is love/appreciation/devotion which brings one into unity. At least in my case, however, it appears that my heart fully breaks open and surrenders only to itself, truly knowing complete creature/creator devotion only *upon the basis* of unity. *L*L*L* jim_flanegin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: the love/appreciation/devotion is the intellect slicing and dicing love into its linear components so that we can find our direction. Then once there, established in unity, in an instant the heart fully breaks open, and the universe is here; angels, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Guru Dev, Maharishi, mother, father, Fairfield, Iowa, anyone at all. The linear yearning of the heart is transformed in an instant, to unified duality, becoming instantly greater than the sum of its parts, resting brightly in unity. Hi, Jim! Yes, beautiful, thank you; I had forgotten -- this reminds me of my first flowering of what I've been calling Brahman, which *does* involve a breaking of the Heart as we come to hold everything, Absolute and Relative, silence and activity, inner and outer, Me and Not-Me, in perfect identity and identical paradoxical perfection Now, THAT alone IS, the simple self. And indeed, all the Archetypes, all things, are then available for communion and identity and savoring and darshan. (Also, come to think of it, there had been a *kind* of devotion or love in the deep appreciation of and mergence with the Golden Solar Angel or Higher Self prior to the Dark Night.) And at times thereafter, there would be real heart- wrenching devotion and surrender as one or another aspects of God/Goddess would present Him/Herself, and merge into this body. What I was attempting to describe above, though, was a bit different, if I understand you correctly, and hinged upon my later and clearer comprehension of the simple self's constant collapse into and incarnation as point-selves, as devic beings incarnate in space-time (my body-mind, all that is), which instantly experience all the effects of what the simple self thinks and feels. The slightest ordinary thought of the simple-self, of Purusha, is experienced by these point-selves as overwhelming divine Will, and is manifested instantly into their/our sensorium as a space-time reality. Fully appreciating the utter identity of THESE aspects of self, was what allowed a far more intense and complete surrender and devotion of self to self, self to and as Guru/devotee simultaneously, self to and as Creator/creature simultaneously. THIS is what fully broke my Heart! As I read this over, I can see I am still failing to elucidate the distinction particularly well. Oh, well. Perhaps the distinction lies only in my mind, no matter! :-) *L*L*L*
[FairfieldLife] Re: Curtis Blues on Youtube.com
Thanks for checking out my music. They have posted two other videos from my site. Search under Curtis Blues and they all come up. It is kinda freaky that videos I put on my site can be taken and posted everywhere. It works out nicely for these ones but it definitely gives me pause about putting up the ones with me dancing around the room with my Inflate-a-date! Cool to hear about your blues bands. I'm more Delta than Chicago but I love it all. I prefer acoustic harp, played away from the mike instead of cupping a green bullet and getting that Chicago distortion sound. Here in D.C. we have a lot of Chicago style bands but very few acoustic players. Is there a good acoustic scene in Seattle? --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: curtisdeltablues wrote: Someone just posted my first video on Youtube from a TV show appearance. (high brow Wayne's World but TV nonetheless!) Any well wishers who care to check it out, give me a star rating, and write comments like I want to have his babies (women and effeminate power-bottoms only please) would be much appreciated. It doesn't exactly have viral potential but it would be nice to boost it up a bit so more people see it. Anyone who writes something nice will be mentioned at my Grammy acceptance speech after Jesus Christ, Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sam Harris...(you get the idea). The song is from Big Joe Williams who used to liven up his performances by shooting a pistol in the air if the crowd got too rowdy. He was a contemporary of Robert Johnson and was re-recorded in the 60's in the folk revival. He used to add 3 strings to his guitar by drilling holes in the headstock which doubled certain strings for busking volume. It starts: When the blues come out of Texas, they were loping like a mule, but those Texas women are just too hard to fool! Thanks for indulging this blatant self promotion. Great stuff. I think you would have enjoyed sitting in with some of the blues bands I played with in Seattle and we certainly would have enjoyed having you sit in.
[FairfieldLife] Guru gimmicks
Amma: hugs Maharishi: giggles Guru Maharaj Ji: being 13-years-old Sri Chinmoy: running marathons and allegedly lifting large weights Osho: sex, sex,and more sex! Muktananda: shaktipat Sai Baba: materializing sacred ash (well, faking materializing sacred ash, anyway)
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
amarnath writes snipped However, if one applies this quote to itself, then you get believe not in believe nothing since (-)x(-) = (+) we get: believe not in believe nothing = believe everything and this is what I have heard Charlie Lutz and Amma and others say, I believe in everything! Hard for me to imagine. So perhaps Buddha's middle path is best; believe some, doubt some but don't dwell too much on either let Silence balance the two. Om, Tom T: ANy idea you believe to be true is just another addictive thought. Tom
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Software release out the door, deadline over, and now I have more time to play, so I will... --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Duveyoung no_reply@ wrote: Meanwhile, about that God thingy. Here's a way that maybe you can relax about my vocabulary and allow me to use that word: A recent thought I had around 'God': When I read the guidelines for this forum now as five posts per day it occurred to me that with growth invariably comes structure. We see it and accept it in the material world all the time, with the growth and acompanying structure for example, comparing the simplicity of a one lane village with the nearly incomprehensible complexity of a large city. Growth is accompanied by structure. Why should the worlds of our consciousness be any different? If we can have large cities, why not extend the organization of where we live beyond the structure of a large city, or a large country, even bigger than that? The hierarchy of beings, the gods, buddha, shiva, vishnu, brahma, krishna, the ant, the elephant, the lion, time, and space, each with its own domain. I don't see the infinite structure of the Universe as a constraint. Not at all. The structure, culminating in God, is just like jelly on a peanut butter sandwich. Along for the ride, sweeter. Built in. And intimate. There is an aspect of God that is sometimes lost when we try to comprehend the infinite immensity of God. It is the intimacy of God, the familiarity, the relationship, that keeps the Reality of God Awake. And because that relationship is practically impossible to achieve all at once, we use the agency of the saints in order to familiarize ourselves with God. And so why God, and not just the universal Me? It is true that my nature is infinite, infinitely connected to everything. So why recognize the relationship with God? Why create that duality? It has to be because of love. To gain that intimate relationship with the fabric of the Universe itself, that then creates a duality so that love has a constant direction, towards our higher self. And how do we know God exists? Purely because so many people recognize Him! And true it may be on the one hand as Barry says that God is schizophrenic, which is certainly true. On the other hand, God is not trying to be anyone. God already Is. God always Is. So there is enough structure there, in God, to delight even the most curious seeker, the most thoughtful ponderer, the keenest intellect. Is this the only way to be gain happiness in life? Impossible to say. Probably akin to paying for an option when buying a car, I'll take the sport trim package please. That will be an additional $415 sir. OK
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], tomandcindytraynoratfairfieldlis [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: amarnath writes snipped However, if one applies this quote to itself, then you get believe not in believe nothing since (-)x(-) = (+) we get: believe not in believe nothing = believe everything and this is what I have heard Charlie Lutz and Amma and others say, I believe in everything! Hard for me to imagine. So perhaps Buddha's middle path is best; believe some, doubt some but don't dwell too much on either let Silence balance the two. Om, Tom T: ANy idea you believe to be true is just another addictive thought. Tom Especially THAT one! :-)
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:10 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal I'm sure it's suitably darshanic...but that's equally a function of the people around her, as opposed to just her. I wouldn't say equally, but they contribute. And, no, in India it doesn't always go fast. Resee the movie for the other Indian hugging sessions. They do not go as fast. Not as fast, but in India it usually goes faster because the crowds are bigger. Has to. And good atmospheres do not always denote unblemished purity. I've been in countless Catholic churches where the silence and atmosphere has been incredibly profound...despite some alter-boy being fucked up the ass by its Priest in the back room. True. The atmosphere around MMY was always sublime, IMO. But here your only accusation seems to be that the assembly-line darshan system seems crass.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Kurt Vonnegut dies
Vonnegut was a meditator back in the day. I think Charlie Donahue used to go out with his daughter.
[FairfieldLife] Greetings!
I am interested in discussion spirituality, religions, beliefs, Gods, atheism and much more. This is an Iowa Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atheistsofiowa
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], curtisdeltablues [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Saying that God is love is not the complete definition of the word God or there would not be two different words. No need for a straw man. The idea that a religious person must have a complete definition of God is the straw man. You and Harris want to impose on Sullivan beliefs about God *you believe* a religious person should hold. And amazingly enough, those beliefs just happen to be conveniently easy to refute. It's a neat racket. It's also profoundly intellectually dishonest. Basta.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 10:10 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal I'm sure it's suitably darshanic...but that's equally a function of the people around her, as opposed to just her. I wouldn't say equally, but they contribute. And, no, in India it doesn't always go fast. Resee the movie for the other Indian hugging sessions. They do not go as fast. Not as fast, but in India it usually goes faster because the crowds are bigger. Has to. And good atmospheres do not always denote unblemished purity. I've been in countless Catholic churches where the silence and atmosphere has been incredibly profound...despite some alter-boy being fucked up the ass by its Priest in the back room. True. The atmosphere around MMY was always sublime, IMO. But here your only accusation seems to be that the assembly-line darshan system seems crass. I find it as unseemly -- even more so -- than the innuendo-laden sex allegations against Maharishi.
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
Actually I was just referring to the part of the definition that includes his having created the universe which has specific cosmological implications which is important for it to have meaning. I am not saying that religious people need to have a complete definition for a decent discussion, but they have to include enough of it so you are actually having a discussion about concepts rather than bellying up to the salad bar. Andrew has made the claim that the dead Jesus love him. No one is putting words in his mouth. He just isn't fessing up to all his odd beliefs, like a good religious moderate. Makes him seem much more reasonable. Intellectually dishonest is one of your favorite phrases to sling into an otherwise interesting discussion. I guess it is supposed to change the tone in the Southern direction. It works pretty well. The dismissive Basta is a nice touch too. --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], authfriend [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], curtisdeltablues curtisdeltablues@ wrote: snip Saying that God is love is not the complete definition of the word God or there would not be two different words. No need for a straw man. The idea that a religious person must have a complete definition of God is the straw man. You and Harris want to impose on Sullivan beliefs about God *you believe* a religious person should hold. And amazingly enough, those beliefs just happen to be conveniently easy to refute. It's a neat racket. It's also profoundly intellectually dishonest. Basta.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Codicil 371.3
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rory Goff [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rory Goff rorygoff@ wrote: during my return to the Dome last summer, I noticed repeatedly that MMY and I were utterly identical, and *on the basis of this identity* I felt overwhelming waves of surrender and devotion for Him, as I did for Guru Dev and for my own simple/expanded creator self while experiencing reality as its devic/particular creature contraction. This dynamic surpised me; I wasn't expecting it -- rather having been taught only that it is love/appreciation/devotion which brings one into unity. At least in my case, however, it appears that my heart fully breaks open and surrenders only to itself, truly knowing complete creature/creator devotion only *upon the basis* of unity. *L*L*L* jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: the love/appreciation/devotion is the intellect slicing and dicing love into its linear components so that we can find our direction. Then once there, established in unity, in an instant the heart fully breaks open, and the universe is here; angels, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Guru Dev, Maharishi, mother, father, Fairfield, Iowa, anyone at all. The linear yearning of the heart is transformed in an instant, to unified duality, becoming instantly greater than the sum of its parts, resting brightly in unity. Hi, Jim! Yes, beautiful, thank you; I had forgotten -- this reminds me of my first flowering of what I've been calling Brahman, which *does* involve a breaking of the Heart as we come to hold everything, Absolute and Relative, silence and activity, inner and outer, Me and Not-Me, in perfect identity and identical paradoxical perfection Now, THAT alone IS, the simple self. And indeed, all the Archetypes, all things, are then available for communion and identity and savoring and darshan. (Also, come to think of it, there had been a *kind* of devotion or love in the deep appreciation of and mergence with the Golden Solar Angel or Higher Self prior to the Dark Night.) And at times thereafter, there would be real heart- wrenching devotion and surrender as one or another aspects of God/Goddess would present Him/Herself, and merge into this body. What I was attempting to describe above, though, was a bit different, if I understand you correctly, and hinged upon my later and clearer comprehension of the simple self's constant collapse into and incarnation as point-selves, as devic beings incarnate in space-time (my body-mind, all that is), which instantly experience all the effects of what the simple self thinks and feels. The slightest ordinary thought of the simple-self, of Purusha, is experienced by these point-selves as overwhelming divine Will, and is manifested instantly into their/our sensorium as a space-time reality. Fully appreciating the utter identity of THESE aspects of self, was what allowed a far more intense and complete surrender and devotion of self to self, self to and as Guru/devotee simultaneously, self to and as Creator/creature simultaneously. THIS is what fully broke my Heart! As I read this over, I can see I am still failing to elucidate the distinction particularly well. Oh, well. Perhaps the distinction lies only in my mind, no matter! :-) *L*L*L* It seems like the experience in the Dome for you was one of your core being expanded greatly through the intense energetic and magnetic attraction of Maharishi when He has His Attention on You. He really brings the Absolute into the relative! Like being in the presence of a friggin' Shiva or something! The perspective that you express, that of the Universe being You, of all beings being within you is one that has been very inspiring for me and I have been able to use it as a shortcut or technique to rapidly expand my sense of self, and so thank you for that! Its interesting how just hearing about your perspective as a more normal way to experience life, as predominating wholeness, made such perfect sense that I have easily adopted it. Why not? It is a great and constant challenge to continue to absorb all that is, within Me. And yet that process occurs by me constantly falling in love with that which is outside of Me, in order to incorporate it within the Bliss vortex:-) Something which amazingly enough can be incorporated into a busy modern life; picking out colors to paint the house, broke up and carried out a 2 and 1/2 ton brick bar-b-q (strength of an elephant on that one I assure you!), got a new great job, now out in my art studio/shed in the backyard. One of my few and treasured days off. Windy today, 52 with a 20 mph wind. Chilly for April here, but clear and sunny anyway.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal True. The atmosphere around MMY was always sublime, IMO. But here your only accusation seems to be that the assembly-line darshan system seems crass. I find it as unseemly -- even more so -- than the innuendo-laden sex allegations against Maharishi. Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. To each his own.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Kurt Vonnegut dies
Rick Archer wrote: Vonnegut was a meditator back in the day. Kurt Vonnegut created a kooky meditating character named Bunny Hoover, in his novel Breakfast of Champions. They made a movie of it, but as usual the book was much better ... very funny! BTW, Bunny Hoover's TM mantra was the word Blue.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
On Apr 12, 2007, at 11:31 AM, Rick Archer wrote: Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. I really doubt Shemp objects to the money part. To each his own.
[FairfieldLife] 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
Just because Mr.Imus is white; And just because he had been dissing- Everyone from Hillary to Cheney... It's a satirical show; is our culture that retarded? Really he was mocking the rappers lyrics... Don't you think the Rappers and Hip-Hop culture; Is infinitely more poisonous, than this slide remark, of Imus'... Don't you think, if he had prefaced his remark with: 'Them Rappers Be All Over, them Bitches...' But the rappers are allowed to rage, perfectly OK to spew this garbage. How outrageous Al Sharpton's world have become; Like everyone who gets a little power, suddenly becomes judge and jury... - Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by Green Rating at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi's House on Raam Navami
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], jim_flanegin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], gullible fool fflmod@ wrote: Most cultures, including Indian, like lots of lights during celebrations. I'm sure it's not ordinarily lit that way. Have you noticed, though, that the more third world a country is, the greater the amount of celebratory hoopla and whirling trance-dance exists as a substitute for genuine progress? Happy Fourth of July!! Beautiful, beautiful pictures, reminds me of the astral heavens, full of light..
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just because Mr.Imus is white; And just because he had been dissing- Everyone from Hillary to Cheney... Thank you for speaking up. It's interesting to be hearing about this from France. Politically Correct has never gotten entrenched over here. It's also interesting for me, living next door to R. Crumb. He's a very interesting person, a true maverick who is unafraid to diss anyone or anything in the pursuit of humor and social commentary. As a result, he's taken a lot of flack over the years for his portrayals of women, of minorities, and even (since his art is very autobiographical) of himself. Having gotten to know him a little, it's pretty clear to me that he harbors *none* of the misogyny or racism he's been accused of over the years. Not an ounce. These days I cut every humorist the same break that I cut Robert. I don't automatically assume that because one of their characters says something that the author believes what his character is saying. It seems to me that only people who have never had a creative thought in their lives believe that of people who have. It's a satirical show; is our culture that retarded? It seems to be. When humor is outlawed, only outlaws will be allowed to laugh.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Maharishi's House on Raam Navami
Comment below: ** --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], BillyG. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], jim_flanegin jflanegi@ wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], gullible fool fflmod@ wrote: Most cultures, including Indian, like lots of lights during celebrations. I'm sure it's not ordinarily lit that way. Have you noticed, though, that the more third world a country is, the greater the amount of celebratory hoopla and whirling trance-dance exists as a substitute for genuine progress? Happy Fourth of July!! Beautiful, beautiful pictures, reminds me of the astral heavens, full of light.. **end** A friend of mine, an artist who worked for Maharishi in Seelisberg before he went on his TTC in Belgium in '74, related to me that when Maharishi was selecting colors for certain rooms in Seelisberg he kept asking for a brighter shade of the orange-pink that my friend was trying to mix up for his approval. Finally, in frustration, my friend dumped a whole jar of dayglo color into the next sample he showed Maharishi. That was almost perfect and after the addition of yet more dayglo Maharishi finally gave it the green light. There's lots that I like about the over-the-top aesthetic of Indian temple architecture and the graphic sensibility of popular religion, even its fundamental garishness. However, Maharishi's personal style and taste for gold, satin and glitter, and interiors suggestive of the funeral home don't do a whole lot for me. Just a difference in sensibilities, but for a long time it disappointed me that he had (IMO) such poor taste, even when judged by the rather free-wheeling standards of modern India.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 11:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal True. The atmosphere around MMY was always sublime, IMO. But here your only accusation seems to be that the assembly-line darshan system seems crass. I find it as unseemly -- even more so -- than the innuendo-laden sex allegations against Maharishi. Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, A 3-second hug in order to break some record. to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. I've never held back my criticism of the TMO on this forum, as you know. But, as I've said countless times, whomever MMY may or may not be didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, for one who is responsible for a 100-odd page file of allegations against MMY and countless posts in which you accuse him of sexual improprieties (all from heresay, mind you) when I point out the obvious shallowness and, yes, materialism of Amma. And, yes, values are relative, as you say. The little (your word, not mine) that Amma and her organisational system gives pales in comparison to the not billions but trillions of dollars provided by another organisational system:, the U.S. government in social programs and international aid. But, gee, I seem to recall that every chance you get, Rick, you bad mouth the U.S. Yes, values are, indeed, relative. To each his own.
Re: [FairfieldLife] 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
Imagine if he had made a JEwish sluror better put a slur about jews talk about set backs. Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Just because Mr.Imus is white; And just because he had been dissing- Everyone from Hillary to Cheney... It's a satirical show; is our culture that retarded? Really he was mocking the rappers lyrics... Don't you think the Rappers and Hip-Hop culture; Is infinitely more poisonous, than this slide remark, of Imus'... Don't you think, if he had prefaced his remark with: 'Them Rappers Be All Over, them Bitches...' But the rappers are allowed to rage, perfectly OK to spew this garbage. How outrageous Al Sharpton's world have become; Like everyone who gets a little power, suddenly becomes judge and jury... - Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by Green Rating at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. - Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Sal Sunshine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Apr 12, 2007, at 11:31 AM, Rick Archer wrote: Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. I really doubt Shemp objects to the money part. I wouldn't begrudge him the money part or the sex part (to each his own) if the World Plan was actually being implemented. But, alas, virtually no one is starting TM these days...more people seem to be flocking to get hugged by Guiness Book of Records hungry publicity hounds...and that's the real tragedy. To each his own.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], TurquoiseB [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Robert Gimbel babajii_99@ wrote: Just because Mr.Imus is white; And just because he had been dissing- Everyone from Hillary to Cheney... Thank you for speaking up. It's interesting to be hearing about this from France. Politically Correct has never gotten entrenched over here. It's also interesting for me, living next door to R. Crumb. He's a very interesting person, a true maverick who is unafraid to diss anyone or anything in the pursuit of humor and social commentary. As a result, he's taken a lot of flack over the years for his portrayals of women, of minorities, and even (since his art is very autobiographical) of himself. Having gotten to know him a little, it's pretty clear to me that he harbors *none* of the misogyny or racism he's been accused of over the years. Not an ounce. These days I cut every humorist the same break that I cut Robert. I don't automatically assume that because one of their characters says something that the author believes what his character is saying. It seems to me that only people who have never had a creative thought in their lives believe that of people who have. Imus isn't a humorist, he doesn't have or play characters, and his comment about the Rutgers women was not social commentary. It was a cheap, entirely gratuitous insult that only racists and sexists could possibly have found amusing. To suggest that his comment was somehow in the same category as Crumb's satire is a profound affront to Crumb. It's a satirical show; is our culture that retarded? It seems to be. When humor is outlawed, only outlaws will be allowed to laugh. Nobody, of course, is suggesting that humor be outlawed, even of the Imus variety.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just because Mr.Imus is white; And just because he had been dissing- Everyone from Hillary to Cheney... It's a satirical show; is our culture that retarded? Really he was mocking the rappers lyrics... No, he wasn't. Excerpt from a post by John Shure on Blue Jersey, a progressive blog, about Imus's appeal: The other part of the appeal, I think, is the nature of Imus's usual targets. He generally unloads on politicians and show biz people. Now, those two groups have something in common. They both seek public approval, and they seek it hard. One group wants votes and power; the other money and fame. We can all probably agree that the attempts of both groups to win us over can get a little pathetic sometimes. So we kind of like to see them put down. Especially when it comes to politicians, there is something in the American psyche that wants our leaders to be no better than we are. Why that is and what to do about are topics for another time. But we enjoy it when they get ribbed and we want to see how well they can take it. Their willingness to sit still for this earns them points with the public. And if they turn out to be good-humored and quick with a comeback, it helps that much more in their quest to be seen as a regular guy--or woman. Bottom line: it's not a great system, but these people--in the world we live in--are fair game. You could go so far as to say they're asking for it. That brings us to what was so downright tacky about Imus's attack on the Rutgers women hoopsters. They didn't appear on national TV last week in search of our votes or our money. They were there because they won the requisite basketball games to play for the NCAA championship. That was a pretty impressive moment in the spotlight, but it by no means made them fair game. What made it even worse was that Imus picked on the way they looked. I think they looked just fine, but that's not the point. Had anyone on the team done anything in the title game that was the least bit questionable (I don't know, a hard foul or an obscene gesture), well then maybe you could go off on them. But to make fun of their appearance? That's juvenile. That's bullying. That's the sort of thing the cool kids could always get away with. Imus is being accused of being racist and/or sexist. Either could certainly be applicable. But I think what has so many of us so annoyed by his latest insult is that is was just so damned mean, so damned nasty, so incredibly uncalled for even under the standards of the political/media culture we live in today. The RU basketball team wasn't asking for it. http://www.bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4493
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, A 3-second hug in order to break some record. I don't remember noticing that on the Darshan DVD, but I assure you that Amma's primary motivation is not record-breaking. She did sit there for 24 hours straight on that occasion. The thing I noticed was the amazing look on her face as she came down the stairs after that stint. I've never held back my criticism of the TMO on this forum, as you know. But, as I've said countless times, whomever MMY may or may not be didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. I suppose you could measure brain waves. People who can see auras tell me they can see big changes when people go for darshan. But the hug isn't the main thing. It's the overall transformation that Amma seems to inspire in people. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, for one who is responsible for a 100-odd page file of allegations against MMY and countless posts in which you accuse him of sexual improprieties (all from heresay, mind you) Not heresay for me, since I spoke with a couple of the ladies. when I point out the obvious shallowness and, yes, materialism of Amma. Obvious to you. You didn't answer my previous question. Have you ever met her in person? Do you live in Toronto? She'll be there this summer. Probably I will too. Would love to meet you. And, yes, values are relative, as you say. The little (your word, not mine) that Amma and her organisational system gives pales in comparison to the not billions but trillions of dollars provided by another organisational system:, the U.S. government in social programs and international aid. True, but she makes a difference in areas where no one else is helping or their help is inadequate. Tsunami relief (she's done much more, more quickly, than the Indian Government), pension funds for widows, a program to reduce suicides by Kerala farmers in debt to loan sharks. More here: http://amma.org/humanitarian-activities/index.html. And these efforts are twofold. Seva helps the people helping as much as it helps the helped. But, gee, I seem to recall that every chance you get, Rick, you bad mouth the U.S. I do? I don't think so. Find a post where I've done that.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], shempmcgurk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: ... ...didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, Shemp, whoever you are, TM works fine for some people and also not for others. People have their different experiences with it, like getting dharshan from a saint or holy person. People have their experience with it. You just might like it too or not. Is spiritual practice people in going know their experience with it. It evidently is helpful to some. I do like your essential observation about the dharsans and wondered also about it too based on my own experience with her longer more generous dharsans generally given in America or the in the West on her tours. Seems though you've gotten some sensitive yourself about this Maharishi sex stuff in trying to put it on Rick and trying to equate it to Ammachi in terms. The Maharishi record is what it is, people can read it and people judge that for what it is. Other than your attacking an innuendo of the record, can you refute it? With Best Regards, -Doug in FF
[FairfieldLife] Re: The D Word
Sal Sunshine wrote: I was thinking the same thing, which seems to happen pretty regularly whenever Barry is crossed on no-matter how trivial a subject. The person doing the crossing then becomes some faceless dude or dudette whose name Barry suddenly can't remember. So, it's all about Barry. geezerfreak wrote: No. It's about, has been about, and always will be about WillyTex. Very impressive.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Imus and da ho's
FFL has been awfully quiet in regards to Don Imus and the nappy headed Ho's. I just saw where MSNBC has dropped his show. Any comments? Alex Stanley wrote: I believe I speak for everyone on FFL in saying that we've all been preoccupied with a far more important story than some dumbass conservative shock-jock overstepping the bounds of common decency: the paternity of Anna Nicole's baby. Speaking of Anna Nicole's baby, I heard on the radio that she had ten prescription medications, all from the same doctor, and most of them were in Howard K. Stern's name. So, I began to wonder - here's Nicole with a lawyer at her side, a maid or two, a nurse, and the whole staff of a motel, at her every beck and call. Now wouldn't at least one of these individuals stand up and say - ENOUGH. You're going to rehab! Now Howard is deep trouble over this, and now he's not even the father of the baby anymore. Nicole and her son are dead, and that's a fact, but I think they should bury Mrs. Marshall in Texas where she was born and raised, not on some island somewhere. That's what I think. And maybe Stern should get a day job now and leave Larry Birkhead alone to raise his own daughter. geezerfreak wrote: So it's all about Anna Nicole?? No, now it's all about a geezer freak.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
In times when we're killing hundreds of thousands of Arabs in Iraq and when we allow Dafur to continue, and when a ninny-brained pretend cowboy can be allowed to rampage across our lives, the mistake of Imus pales. What's obvious to me is the fact that the watchdogs of our culture who parade themselves as our morality cops will scream for Imus' head, but nary a sound comes from any of them when we kill 3,000 of our children and maim another 20,000 in order to steal oil and sell it to China. The amount of money spent on the Iraq war could literally, almost overnight, change America into a green country with a minus carbon footprint. We could be the heroes of the world, and the esteem we'd garner by it would certainly have us resonating with a national health program and other badly needed services. But all we hear about is a stripper's kid in the Bahamas and a snide commentator's burp of darkness. If the world were as it should be, Imus would maybe then stand out as a black hearted rascal, but frankly, as much as he did actually harm those basketball players, as much as he furthered racism's licensing of itself, as much as he's dragging his feet and not facing the situation, well, what's that compared to 500,000 black folks being killed in Dafur? The really sad part is that our watchdogs truly cannot be much better at their jobs. Al Sharpton can complain about PC matters, but let's see him get any airtime complaining about Dafur. And ask Al about his anti-Semite ways while you're at it. That's the tell -- that Al is just doing what's allowed. And, he's a racist too. As for what's not allowed, ask Martin, Bobbie and John. Ask them what happens when globalism gets paranoid about your powers in THEIR WORLD. So, no, I'm not going to ask for Imus to be fired. I ask that he forthrightly admit that as a white male in America he was thoroughly brainwashed by BigMedia to be an elitist, a racist, a denialist, etc. Let's have a psychologist deal with Imus on the air and have our whole culture watch how he struggles to even recognize his flaws that were hardwired in him -- mostly during infancy and toddlerhood. Let's see white America have to face the true horror of how we raise our children in a world where anything goes if you are white, have money or influence, but God help you if you step out of line and are not so endowed. I was raised as a racist. The N-word was heard around my family table. But I went to school with 50/50 black/white enrollments, and I had many black friends, and I consciously in my teens squelched my racist knee jerks, but it's all still there inside me, controlled but not erased. My favorite story to tell about my sons is that in Ottumwa one winter's day, they saw a kid throwing snowballs at passing cars. My sons were 11 and 8 years old at the time. They came running to me, Dad, Dad, one of those kids is throwing snowballs at the cars. They pointed to three kids across the street. Which kid? I asked. The one with the red baseball hat! That kid with the red hat was the only black kid in the group. When I was 11 years old, I would have said, Dad, that n-word is throwing snowballs at cars. So, I think I stopped the racism in my family, but still, how much is my hardwiring still unconsciously skewing my world, beneath my attention? I don't have a strong clarity about it. I'm not a racist by most definitions, but by my own accounting of myself, I sure have parts of me that are ugly. But I do what I can to keep those parts on a very short leash. So, no, as a racist-on-hold, I can't throw the first stone at Imus, but I can sure throw one at Bush, Clinton, and host of others who achieve great heights and just go for the money, power and fame while the world literally dies of thirst. With the evil of the world so easily seen, why do we have to squint our eyes and go tsk tsk tsk because Amma is counting hugs or because Imus is being naughty? Again, the answer is that that is all most of us CAN do, are ALLOWED to do. If you think my summation of the common person's potency in the world today is far lower than it actually is, then I dare you to begin to write emails to all your friends -- and in these emails, use the words that a terrorist might use -- the same vocabulary. Got the guts to run a real world test? Think that there's no Big Brother reading your emails, that there's no software combing your writings for reasons to blacklist you? Be my guest. So sorry, but I don't think anyone here can honestly condemn Imus when so very much real evil has infiltrated our lives. I think that there should be a national 911 Wasn't Pearl Harbor day. And, hell, we provoked the Japanese into bombing us by cutting off their oil supplies, so even that terrorist act wasn't entirely one-sided. And now they've got that heat-ray thing, so where's the angry crowds now outside of the political convention halls crying for representation? They'll be scattered to the winds --
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Duveyoung [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip What's obvious to me is the fact that the watchdogs of our culture who parade themselves as our morality cops will scream for Imus' head, but nary a sound comes from any of them when we kill 3,000 of our children and maim another 20,000 in order to steal oil and sell it to China. Actually, the phrase morality cops is bogus in this context; it's loaded with a great deal of baggage that doesn't apply with regard to the complaints about Imus. PC cops, maybe. But anyone who thinks the only thing wrong with Imus's comment is that it wasn't politically correct is part of the problem. More importantly, the people I see calling for Imus's head are the same ones who are screaming about the Iraq war and Darfur and global warming. The folks who are silent on these catastrophic crimes against humanity are, by and large, the ones *defending* Imus, not the ones criticizing him. There's a sense among those of us who find Imus's comment unacceptable that it's a symptom of a greater insensitivity that underlies the more serious crimes; it's all of a piece. Finally, don't assume that because Imus is a topic of discussion here at the moment that nobody cares about any of these other issues. If you've been reading the forum over any length of time, you know the larger issues have come up repeatedly and been the topics of heated discussion. I suspect there's a certain hesitancy now about raising political issues because they *do* engender controversy, and the recent limitation to five posts a day is inhibiting.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:18 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, A 3-second hug in order to break some record. I don't remember noticing that on the Darshan DVD, but I assure you that Amma's primary motivation is not record-breaking. She did sit there for 24 hours straight on that occasion. The thing I noticed was the amazing look on her face as she came down the stairs after that stint. Yeah, the same look Kobi Bryant has when he wins a game. Same motivation, same look. I've never held back my criticism of the TMO on this forum, as you know. But, as I've said countless times, whomever MMY may or may not be didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. I suppose you could measure brain waves. People who can see auras tell me they can see big changes when people go for darshan. But the hug isn't the main thing. It's the overall transformation that Amma seems to inspire in people. Hey, if it works for them, God bless. Not my cup of tea. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, for one who is responsible for a 100-odd page file of allegations against MMY and countless posts in which you accuse him of sexual improprieties (all from heresay, mind you) Not heresay for me, since I spoke with a couple of the ladies. from dictionary.com: unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge You weren't there, were you, Rick, when Judy or whomever was allegedly being bonked by MMY, so it is NOT part of YOUR direct knowledge. Thus, for you, it's hearsay (which I am spelling correctly this time). when I point out the obvious shallowness and, yes, materialism of Amma. Obvious to you. You didn't answer my previous question. Have you ever met her in person? No, and I have no desire to. Do you live in Toronto? I live in the United States. ?She'll be there this summer. Probably I will too. Would love to meet you. And, yes, values are relative, as you say. The little (your word, not mine) that Amma and her organisational system gives pales in comparison to the not billions but trillions of dollars provided by another organisational system:, the U.S. government in social programs and international aid. True, but she makes a difference in areas where no one else is helping or their help is inadequate. Tsunami relief (she's done much more, more quickly, than the Indian Government), pension funds for widows, a program to reduce suicides by Kerala farmers in debt to loan sharks. More here: http://amma.org/humanitarian-activities/index.html. And these efforts are twofold. Seva helps the people helping as much as it helps the helped. ...well, so has the Catholic Church done all these things, and probably 10,000 times more than Amma. So what's your point? But, gee, I seem to recall that every chance you get, Rick, you bad mouth the U.S. I do? I don't think so. Find a post where I've done that. If the lousy search feature on Yahoo! Groups worked, I'd be happy to.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], dhamiltony2k5 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: ... ...didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, Shemp, whoever you are, TM works fine for some people and also not for others. People have their different experiences with it, like getting dharshan from a saint or holy person. People have their experience with it. You just might like it too or not. Is spiritual practice people in going know their experience with it. It evidently is helpful to some. I do like your essential observation about the dharsans and wondered also about it too based on my own experience with her longer more generous dharsans generally given in America or the in the West on her tours. Seems though you've gotten some sensitive yourself about this Maharishi sex stuff in trying to put it on Rick and trying to equate it to Ammachi in terms. The Maharishi record is what it is, people can read it and people judge that for what it is. Other than your attacking an innuendo of the record, can you refute it? With Best Regards, -Doug in FF Doug: my attitude about the MMY sex stuff is that I just assume the worst, that he did everything he is accused of. Why? Because, for me, it's an internal test. If hearing and believing the allegations doesn't stop me from doing TM twice a day, then that means I'm doing TM for the right reasons, which is for the effects of the technique and program and not because I'm following a Guru and would therefore be shattered to learn that he isn't up to snuff when it comes to claims of celibacy. So, I don't bother refuting it. And, hey, I wasn't there so it would be an exercise in futility anyway. So I just assume it happened and honestly feel: who cares? Doesn't affect MY meditation. Yet many of those who purport to be holier-than-thou practitioners of TM oftentimes fall by the wayside once revelations about MMY or the Movement become known to them. I say: good riddance because they weren't doing the TM Program properly or for the right reasons anyway (and I am differentiating the TM Technique here form the TM Program). The TM Program is doing the TM Technique twice a day balanced by activity the rest of the time...and that activity is dictated by our own common sense, traditions and desires, not those of some Guru. That's Guru TM, not the TM Program. I practise the TM Program. Most people I know that are active in the TM Movement practise Guru TM, they do NOT practise the TM Program. Except in very, very rare circumstances (i.e. if you were born in India to a Brahman family or if you're an Indian Sanyassi), the TM Program and Guru TM can merge and be one and the same. But not for us in the West. So, ironically, the practitioners of Guru TM -- the vast majority of folks active in the TM Movement -- are walking contradictions: on the one hand they purport to practise the TM Program yet, on the other hand, by being practitioners of Guru TM they are in effect spitting in the very face of the Guru they purport to be devoted to by NOT following his instructions vis a vis how to practise the TM Program. That's why alot fall by the way side. I suspect Rick Archer is one of them. If he's reading this, perhaps he'll tell us whether his cessation of practising the TM Technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi coincided with his learning of the revelations about Maharishi's sex life that he's always so eager to remind us of (and note here, Rick, I didn't say your cessation of practising TM because I know that you are convinced that you still practise TM although you changed your mantra...but it's not TM as taught by MMY).
[FairfieldLife] Chicks!
Many of you are probably already aware of the Eagle pair who have a webcam over their nest here on the coast of Maine. Last year, many watched in horror as nature enacted it's normal pattern and two of the strong chicks had their weaker sibling for dinner. There's been some morbid media speculation that this years chicks did not hatch due to the cold spell we had a while back. Due to the normal camera position, you typically cannot see into the nest and therefore cannot really see the chicks. Birth of the chicks is usually deduced by the way the parent react and move. Well guess what! -- today we saw that a chick had actually hatched! Right now the father is still sitting on the remaining eggs. This same pair (eagles mate for life) have raised 20 offspring. We see them fly over our place every year. Here's the live cam: http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/eagle-cam.php Here's the video of the new chick: http://judykb.org/meapr12uc.asf
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:11 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal That's why alot fall by the way side. I suspect Rick Archer is one of them. If he's reading this, perhaps he'll tell us whether his cessation of practising the TM Technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi coincided with his learning of the revelations about Maharishi's sex life that he's always so eager to remind us of (and note here, Rick, I didn't say your cessation of practising TM because I know that you are convinced that you still practise TM although you changed your mantra...but it's not TM as taught by MMY). I agree with you. It's transcendental meditation, in that I meditate and transcend, but it's not TM as taught by MMY. I switched mantras a year or two after learning of those revelations. I didn't feel a compelling or urgent need to do so, but there was probably a causal relationship, as I had lost some (not all) respect for MMY as a spiritual authority, and no longer felt the need to take all his instructions and teachings as gospel truth. But I still retain a large measure of respect and gratitude for him. I credit him with having had a profoundly beneficial impact on my life and on lives of many others.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:11 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal That's why alot fall by the way side. I suspect Rick Archer is one of them. If he's reading this, perhaps he'll tell us whether his cessation of practising the TM Technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi coincided with his learning of the revelations about Maharishi's sex life that he's always so eager to remind us of (and note here, Rick, I didn't say your cessation of practising TM because I know that you are convinced that you still practise TM although you changed your mantra...but it's not TM as taught by MMY). I agree with you. It's transcendental meditation, in that I meditate and transcend, but it's not TM as taught by MMY. I switched mantras a year or two after learning of those revelations. I didn't feel a compelling or urgent need to do so, but there was probably a causal relationship, as I had lost some (not all) respect for MMY as a spiritual authority, and no longer felt the need to take all his instructions and teachings as gospel truth. But I still retain a large measure of respect and gratitude for him. I credit him with having had a profoundly beneficial impact on my life and on lives of many others. Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go?
[FairfieldLife] Vonnegut: Man Without a Country
Snippet of an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's forthcoming memoirs, A Man Without a Country, from The Guardian: For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. Blessed are the merciful in a courtroom? Blessed are the peacemakers in the Pentagon? Give me a break! It so happens that idealism enough for anyone is not made of perfumed pink clouds. It is the law! It is the US Constitution. But I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened instead is that it was taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'état imaginable. I was once asked if I had any ideas for a really scary reality TV show. I have one reality show that would really make your hair stand on end: C-Students from Yale. Read the rest here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,1691370,00.html http://tinyurl.com/9htaa
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:44 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go? Very much so.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
On Apr 12, 2007, at 6:43 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:11 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal That's why alot fall by the way side. I suspect Rick Archer is one of them. If he's reading this, perhaps he'll tell us whether his cessation of practising the TM Technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi coincided with his learning of the revelations about Maharishi's sex life that he's always so eager to remind us of (and note here, Rick, I didn't say your cessation of practising TM because I know that you are convinced that you still practise TM although you changed your mantra...but it's not TM as taught by MMY). I agree with you. It's transcendental meditation, in that I meditate and transcend, but it's not TM as taught by MMY. I switched mantras a year or two after learning of those revelations. I didn't feel a compelling or urgent need to do so, but there was probably a causal relationship, as I had lost some (not all) respect for MMY as a spiritual authority, and no longer felt the need to take all his instructions and teachings as gospel truth. But I still retain a large measure of respect and gratitude for him. I credit him with having had a profoundly beneficial impact on my life and on lives of many others. Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go? #1: you're way over your limit and #2 recent scientific research shows that TM is not actually all it is hyped-up to be. It's actually rather unimpressive. The coherence you've heard so much about, is really just a normal fluctuation. Nothing outside of normal range of waking and sleeping state humans. The now accepted signature of samadhi in humans, high- amplitude gamma waves, is not known to occur in TMers. Go figure. I also should point out: if coherence during TM is a normal, unimpressive variation then the whole idea of of the Maharishi Effect is moot. So, no surprise that many (most?) move towards greater charm by modifying their meditation in that direction.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
---No problem! My recommenation: continue to practice your TM-type meditation with whatever mantra has real power in it; and get sucked into the orbit of Ramana Maharshi by playing audios of Pundits at his Ashram. In particular, get the Veda Parayana, evening. Very powerful!. Also, get the Sage of Arunachala DVD. These media items will be equivalent to having another program just as powerful as TM (or using your other mantra). Play the Veda Parayana regularly and watch a few minutes of the DVD on a daily basis, and the guts will be sucked out of your brain until it's only an empty shell. I can't find any dirt on Ramana. Once, he accidently stirred up a nest of bees or hornets while walking on Arunachala Hill; but readily apologized to them. That's about it. In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:44 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go? Very much so.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
---Unacceptable, Vaj. Your'e great at TM bashing but your Guru Norbu only has the Dance of the Vajra. TM is far superior to anything Norbu Rinpoche has. You go figure. Feature this: a group of Imam troublemakers is on your plane and all of a sudden stand up then bow down to Mecca while chanting Allah Ho-Akbar. The rest of the passengers are all up tight and ready to start a fight; but what would I do? Practice TM. You can take it anywhere...on a plane, in outer space. I challenge you again. Offer something your Buddhist Guru has that is better or put a lid on your baloney. In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Vaj [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Apr 12, 2007, at 6:43 PM, shempmcgurk wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer rick@ wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:11 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal That's why alot fall by the way side. I suspect Rick Archer is one of them. If he's reading this, perhaps he'll tell us whether his cessation of practising the TM Technique as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi coincided with his learning of the revelations about Maharishi's sex life that he's always so eager to remind us of (and note here, Rick, I didn't say your cessation of practising TM because I know that you are convinced that you still practise TM although you changed your mantra...but it's not TM as taught by MMY). I agree with you. It's transcendental meditation, in that I meditate and transcend, but it's not TM as taught by MMY. I switched mantras a year or two after learning of those revelations. I didn't feel a compelling or urgent need to do so, but there was probably a causal relationship, as I had lost some (not all) respect for MMY as a spiritual authority, and no longer felt the need to take all his instructions and teachings as gospel truth. But I still retain a large measure of respect and gratitude for him. I credit him with having had a profoundly beneficial impact on my life and on lives of many others. Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go? #1: you're way over your limit and #2 recent scientific research shows that TM is not actually all it is hyped-up to be. It's actually rather unimpressive. The coherence you've heard so much about, is really just a normal fluctuation. Nothing outside of normal range of waking and sleeping state humans. The now accepted signature of samadhi in humans, high- amplitude gamma waves, is not known to occur in TMers. Go figure. I also should point out: if coherence during TM is a normal, unimpressive variation then the whole idea of of the Maharishi Effect is moot. So, no surprise that many (most?) move towards greater charm by modifying their meditation in that direction.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
On Apr 12, 2007, at 7:14 PM, coshlnx wrote: ---Unacceptable, Vaj. Your'e great at TM bashing but your Guru Norbu only has the Dance of the Vajra. TM is far superior to anything Norbu Rinpoche has. You go figure. Feature this: a group of Imam troublemakers is on your plane and all of a sudden stand up then bow down to Mecca while chanting Allah Ho-Akbar. The rest of the passengers are all up tight and ready to start a fight; but what would I do? Practice TM. You can take it anywhere...on a plane, in outer space. I challenge you again. Offer something your Buddhist Guru has that is better or put a lid on your baloney. As usual, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I sat on a plane from NYC to Salt Lake, post 9/11 and watched as 3 men, all very middle eastern looking got on the plane--clearly together. They would later, during our flight, get up and exchange seats. They'd go to the bathroom for a half hour at a time. Or just stand up and exchange glances. The passengers were freaking. Believe me: I did my practices. And there was no incident to report, other than that the flight crew were well aware of what was going on: a dry run. But a safe flight.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Curtis Blues on Youtube.com
curtisdeltablues wrote: Thanks for checking out my music. They have posted two other videos from my site. Search under Curtis Blues and they all come up. It is kinda freaky that videos I put on my site can be taken and posted everywhere. It works out nicely for these ones but it definitely gives me pause about putting up the ones with me dancing around the room with my Inflate-a-date! Cool to hear about your blues bands. I'm more Delta than Chicago but I love it all. I prefer acoustic harp, played away from the mike instead of cupping a green bullet and getting that Chicago distortion sound. Here in D.C. we have a lot of Chicago style bands but very few acoustic players. Is there a good acoustic scene in Seattle? I don't know what the current scene is like in Seattle, I lived there 16 years ago and was playing in a blues band then (as well as other groups). The guy whose band I played in has been gigging around there a lot now days. He's also a former TM'er and checks in on this list from time to time. I once played a gig with Lightin' Hopkins which was interesting. :) --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: curtisdeltablues wrote: Someone just posted my first video on Youtube from a TV show appearance. (high brow Wayne's World but TV nonetheless!) Any well wishers who care to check it out, give me a star rating, and write comments like I want to have his babies (women and effeminate power-bottoms only please) would be much appreciated. It doesn't exactly have viral potential but it would be nice to boost it up a bit so more people see it. Anyone who writes something nice will be mentioned at my Grammy acceptance speech after Jesus Christ, Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sam Harris...(you get the idea). The song is from Big Joe Williams who used to liven up his performances by shooting a pistol in the air if the crowd got too rowdy. He was a contemporary of Robert Johnson and was re-recorded in the 60's in the folk revival. He used to add 3 strings to his guitar by drilling holes in the headstock which doubled certain strings for busking volume. It starts: When the blues come out of Texas, they were loping like a mule, but those Texas women are just too hard to fool! Thanks for indulging this blatant self promotion. Great stuff. I think you would have enjoyed sitting in with some of the blues bands I played with in Seattle and we certainly would have enjoyed having you sit in.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rick Archer [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 5:44 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Shemp's sex scandal Would you say that you practised Guru TM -- as I described it earlier -- while you were in the movement -- as opposed to practising the TM Program as I described it? That is, you were a follower and disciple of MMY and much of your life choices and activities in life revolved around doing and going where he told you or suggested you do or go? Very much so. I would then suggest that, as I indicated in a previous post, it should come as no surprise that you both left the movement and stopped doing TM as taught by MMY because you weren't doing the TM Program.
[FairfieldLife] American Idol?
To all: What is the magic that makes Sanjaya Malakar succeed in his quest to be the American Idol? I saw his performance last Tuesday and found that his critics were correct. He does not have singing ability, but he does have charm. He is a phenomenon, at least, for the time being.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Curtis Blues on Youtube.com
I once played a gig with Lightin' Hopkins which was interesting. :) That is the coolest thing I've heard this week! What a character that guy was. I play his version of Baby Please Don't Go. His little trick of adding an upstroke beat to his shuffle defines the Texas sound doesn't it. Any details about him are welcome. You gigged with a legend! --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bhairitu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: curtisdeltablues wrote: Thanks for checking out my music. They have posted two other videos from my site. Search under Curtis Blues and they all come up. It is kinda freaky that videos I put on my site can be taken and posted everywhere. It works out nicely for these ones but it definitely gives me pause about putting up the ones with me dancing around the room with my Inflate-a-date! Cool to hear about your blues bands. I'm more Delta than Chicago but I love it all. I prefer acoustic harp, played away from the mike instead of cupping a green bullet and getting that Chicago distortion sound. Here in D.C. we have a lot of Chicago style bands but very few acoustic players. Is there a good acoustic scene in Seattle? I don't know what the current scene is like in Seattle, I lived there 16 years ago and was playing in a blues band then (as well as other groups). The guy whose band I played in has been gigging around there a lot now days. He's also a former TM'er and checks in on this list from time to time. I once played a gig with Lightin' Hopkins which was interesting. :) --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Bhairitu noozguru@ wrote: curtisdeltablues wrote: Someone just posted my first video on Youtube from a TV show appearance. (high brow Wayne's World but TV nonetheless!) Any well wishers who care to check it out, give me a star rating, and write comments like I want to have his babies (women and effeminate power-bottoms only please) would be much appreciated. It doesn't exactly have viral potential but it would be nice to boost it up a bit so more people see it. Anyone who writes something nice will be mentioned at my Grammy acceptance speech after Jesus Christ, Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sam Harris...(you get the idea). The song is from Big Joe Williams who used to liven up his performances by shooting a pistol in the air if the crowd got too rowdy. He was a contemporary of Robert Johnson and was re-recorded in the 60's in the folk revival. He used to add 3 strings to his guitar by drilling holes in the headstock which doubled certain strings for busking volume. It starts: When the blues come out of Texas, they were loping like a mule, but those Texas women are just too hard to fool! Thanks for indulging this blatant self promotion. Great stuff. I think you would have enjoyed sitting in with some of the blues bands I played with in Seattle and we certainly would have enjoyed having you sit in.
[FairfieldLife] : Vedic Pandit Update #4
Note: forwarded message attached. It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/---BeginMessage--- Global Country of World Peace http://globalcountryofworldpeace.org/images/gcwp.jpg Dear Supporters of Permanent Invincibility for America, We thought you would enjoy seeing these pictures of the newest group of Vedic Pandits from India. The Pandits arrived last Friday and went straight to their new campus in Maharishi Vedic City. This was the 10th group of Vedic Pandits to arrive since October. There are now almost 500 Vedic Pandits here on two campuses and more groups will continue to arrive until there are 1050 Vedic Pandits to raise our numbers flying each day on the Invincible America Assembly to 2500. The Vedic Pandits from India are blessing America with invincibility. Jai Guru Dev. Raja Wynne Photo1 http://globalcountryofworldpeace.org/emailing/images/2007_04_11_pandit1.jpg Assembly Hall Awaiting Arrival of the Pandits Photo2 http://globalcountryofworldpeace.org/emailing/images/2007_04_11_pandit2.jpg Inaugural Ceremony for the New Campus Photo2 http://globalcountryofworldpeace.org/emailing/images/2007_04_11_pandit3.jpg Pandits on the New Campus Crowning America with Invincibility ---End Message---
[FairfieldLife] TM-Free Blog: Reader Asks Questions about Angry Sidha
Readers here may be helpful in answering questions a woman raises about her ex's anger, who was a long-term TM insider. She also reflects on the Maharishi's anger and abusive nature. The article is at http://tmfree.blogspot.com/2007/04/request-for-readers-help.html . John M. Knapp, LMSW http://tmfree.blogspot.com/ http://trancenet.net/ [A] bad guru can be extremely good for a sincere devotee . It's the main reason so many bad gurus do good business. They are merely idols upon which sincere devotees project their own divinity, with sometimes seemingly miraculous results. --Jody R, Guruphiliac.blogspot.com
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
In a message dated 4/12/2007 2:21:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) , Sal Sunshine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Apr 12, 2007, at 11:31 AM, Rick Archer wrote: Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. I really doubt Shemp objects to the money part. I wouldn't begrudge him the money part or the sex part (to each his own) if the World Plan was actually being implemented. But, alas, virtually no one is starting TM these days...more people seem to be flocking to get hugged by Guiness Book of Records hungry publicity hounds...and that's the real tragedy. The real tragedy is that the TMO is so bent on doing it their way it turned everyone off so they decided to find a way to grow spiritually without all of the fundamentalist guidelines that the organization has in order to create a superiority complex around the idea that they are protecting the teaching. After all these years of losing thousands of people to Ammachi, Mother Meera, SSRS or whoever they still don't get it. They will go to the ends after MMY dies to protect an ideology and teaching while the world blows itself up. There are many people including myself who are not going to wait around for the Governors of the Age of Enlightenment to save the world since the respect for its own people has been ignored. There are many teachers in the world and many groups in Fairfield, Iowa that can provide a more relaxed approach and make everyone feel welcome. I think MMY is the greatest meditation teacher in the world but he lacks a caring heart for his people. Or maybe he just cares about those who want to do it his way or in his mind the only way. Love and Light. Lsoma. To each his own. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[FairfieldLife] Can TM, Buddhism, and Advaita be merged into one entity?
Not my ideathey already are, 1. TM as a Movement, using (as a remnant of Hinduism) the Holy Tradition puja; but not as a strong religious ideology. The SBAL and BG would be sufficient adjuncts. In the context of this possible fusion into one Great Tradition (Adi Da's term - Wilber has a similar term for the whole unified body of Monist Sadhanas which form an integral part of Buddhism and Saivite Hinduism); TM could easily be practiced by Buddhists without compromising their philosophical orientation. 2. Next, Advaita, i.e. Neo-Advaita since (1.) emerged from the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara and is thus Advaita; but in recent decades, dozens of self-styled teachers and spontaneously Awakened persons have come out of the wood work; many being oriented to Ramana Maharshi: if not outright devotees of R.M. then at least influenced by him, for example: Eckhart Tolle. If one could venture to compare the total Power of this influential group, vis a vis the remnant of the TM Movement; well...it's safe to say that the TMO is a walking corpse, not knowing it's already a zombie, half-way in the grave. But no matter. Though as a Movement TM will perhaps fizzle out in our lifetimes; countless people will be practicing it in a forthcoming true Age of Enlightenment. This will undoubtedly include hordes of Buddhists. 3. Third, as mentioned above, Buddhism can easily adopt TM as a technique (and I predict, will do so on a wholesale basis when circumstances are right). Thus, the 3 Movements mentioned above can be merged into one morphogenetic field, with a complementary mix of diverse energies; all oriented toward the Monist philosophical viewpoint, but adding some additional evolutionary benefits from Buddhism - namely, the Rainbow Light Body. This can be thought of as the ultimate goal of our biological evolution. Using Venn diagrams (as another contributor suggested), we have 3 circles which overlap: Circles A, B, and C. Thus, A intersects B intersects C. We can map prime numbers on each circle, say 2, 3, and 5.. The intersecting area = the product of any of the primes. Of course, the central area = the full unification of all 3 Traditions: 2 * 3 * 5 = 30. How about partial unifications: Say TM + Buddhism. Sure!! This will occur some day, I predict. Not real soon, some day in the future. The possibilities with 3 entities, taken 2 at a time are: Say TM = 2, Advaita = 3 and Buddhism = 5: 1. TM + Advaita = 2 * 3 = 6 2. TM + Buddhism = 2 * 5 = 10 3. Advaita + Buddhism = 3 * 5 = 15. Hope you will be there for the true Age of Enlightenment. We are definitely not in it now, contrary to what MMY would have us believe. There's a lot more work to do. To conclude, TM can be merged with Advaita and Buddhism to form one larger hologram having a certain degree of diversity to make things spicey. But essentially, this will become the Great Tradition Adi Da and Wilber talk about under the guise of various labels. The essential ingredient is non-dualism, common to the 3 traditions which are artificially separate at this time. In decades to come, the 3 entities will fuse, and over the centuries, will gradually displace the dualist Monotheistic religions. Bravo! Can't wait.
[FairfieldLife] Marketing: Guru gimmicks
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], shempmcgurk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Amma: hugs Maharishi: giggles Guru Maharaj Ji: being 13-years-old Sri Chinmoy: running marathons and allegedly lifting large weights Osho: sex, sex,and more sex! Muktananda: shaktipat Sai Baba: materializing sacred ash (well, faking materializing sacred ash, anyway) Pretty good Shemp, whoever you are, i almost missed this one amongst your recent sex scandal. For some reason journalists or academics seem to get pointed or passed to me about FF. To give them a more ready hook to understand a context to FF i often now send them to: 'Marketing Gurus'. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/134996 Sort of like your guru 'gimmicks' It is a way of getting context and getting a hold on the story (stories). I understand that one thing often taught in professional or creative writing programs is the recognition of who you are writing for. The audience. I am always entertained by the voices of people writing here, as if there are not way more than the few people who do write to FFL. Actually, there is way more reading of FFL going on than just us. The last six or nine months has been more trying with the alt.med people finding their place, but there still are a lot of nuggets than turn up. Rick's post limit has been very helpful to bringing back FFL. That is what i hear on the street as people stop me and want to talk about it. Recently, to share with the newly arrived, I am also liking the post: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/132485 to get a perspective on FF and the TMorg in America. With Kind Regards, -Doug in FF
[FairfieldLife] 'Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy'
Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy KC Star ^ | 4/11/07 | Jason Whitlock Imus isnt the real bad guy Thank you, Don Imus. Youve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem. Youve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality. Youve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor. Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like its 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred. While were fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, Im sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cents or Snoop Doggs latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos. I aint saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they dont have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas. It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent. Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves. Its embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes and we all laugh out loud. Im no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack. But, in my view, he didnt do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That shouldve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, its only the beginning. Its an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$. I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had. Somehow, were supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage. But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction. In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive? I dont listen or watch Imus show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that its cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that theyre suckers for pursuing education and that theyre selling out their race if they do? When Imus does any of that, call me and Ill get upset. Until then, he is what he is a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when youre not looking to be made a victim. No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. Theres no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out. To reach Jason Whitlock, call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For previous columns, go to KansasCity - TV dinner still cooling? Check out Tonight's Picks on Yahoo!
Re: [FairfieldLife] American Idol?
In a message dated 4/12/07 8:05:51 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: To all: What is the magic that makes Sanjaya Malakar succeed in his quest to be the American Idol? I saw his performance last Tuesday and found that his critics were correct. He does not have singing ability, but he does have charm. He is a phenomenon, at least, for the time being. It's believed that many of the people that are voting for him ,are doing so as a joke, to see how far he can go. That's all nothing more to it. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
In a message dated 4/12/07 1:39:06 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: But I think what has so many of us so annoyed by his latest insult is that is was just so damned mean, so damned nasty, so incredibly uncalled for even under the standards of the political/media culture we live in today. The RU basketball team wasn't asking for it. I guess you and I see it entirely different. My take was that nothing was said out of meanness,with the intent to cause hurt feelings but rather Imus got a little too comfortable with Ghetto speak, yet couldn't pull it off right without sticking his foot in his mouth. Somebody is always waiting to be offended to claim their status as a victim and all that goes along with it. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/12/2007 2:21:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) , Sal Sunshine [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Apr 12, 2007, at 11:31 AM, Rick Archer wrote: Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, to as many as possible than you are by a spiritual teacher using his power and charisma to indulge his personal cravings for sex and money. I really doubt Shemp objects to the money part. I wouldn't begrudge him the money part or the sex part (to each his own) if the World Plan was actually being implemented. But, alas, virtually no one is starting TM these days...more people seem to be flocking to get hugged by Guiness Book of Records hungry publicity hounds...and that's the real tragedy. The real tragedy is that the TMO is so bent on doing it their way it turned everyone off so they decided to find a way to grow spiritually without all of the fundamentalist guidelines that the organization has in order to create a superiority complex around the idea that they are protecting the teaching. After all these years of losing thousands of people to Ammachi, Mother Meera, SSRS or whoever they still don't get it. They will go to the ends after MMY dies to protect an ideology and teaching while the world blows itself up. There are many people including myself who are not going to wait around for the Governors of the Age of Enlightenment to save the world since the respect for its own people has been ignored. There are many teachers in the world and many groups in Fairfield, Iowa that can provide a more relaxed approach and make everyone feel welcome. I think MMY is the greatest meditation teacher in the world but he lacks a caring heart for his people. Or maybe he just cares about those who want to do it his way or in his mind the only way. Love and Light. Lsoma. Well said. And, curiously, I think in his quieter moments Maharishi realizes his screwup. You write above that there are many teachers in the world and many groups in Fairfield that can provide a more relaxed approach. Well, I took that to mean that you are referring to TM teachers who are already or are ready to teach TM on their own. I actually believe that Maharishi even holds great sympathy for these people because in that famous press conference of about 3 or 4 years ago when asked by someone what he thought about people teaching TM outside the TMO, Maharishi replied we are satisfied (there was more to his response but those three words encapsulate what he said). To each his own. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Marketing: Guru gimmicks
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], dhamiltony2k5 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], shempmcgurk shempmcgurk@ wrote: Amma: hugs Maharishi: giggles Guru Maharaj Ji: being 13-years-old Sri Chinmoy: running marathons and allegedly lifting large weights Osho: sex, sex,and more sex! Muktananda: shaktipat Sai Baba: materializing sacred ash (well, faking materializing sacred ash, anyway) Pretty good Shemp, whoever you are, i almost missed this one amongst your recent sex scandal. For some reason journalists or academics seem to get pointed or passed to me about FF. To give them a more ready hook to understand a context to FF i often now send them to: 'Marketing Gurus'. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/134996 Sort of like your guru 'gimmicks' It is a way of getting context and getting a hold on the story (stories). I understand that one thing often taught in professional or creative writing programs is the recognition of who you are writing for. The audience. I am always entertained by the voices of people writing here, as if there are not way more than the few people who do write to FFL. Actually, there is way more reading of FFL going on than just us. The last six or nine months has been more trying with the alt.med people finding their place, but there still are a lot of nuggets than turn up. Rick's post limit has been very helpful to bringing back FFL. That is what i hear on the street as people stop me and want to talk about it. Recently, to share with the newly arrived, I am also liking the post: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/132485 to get a perspective on FF and the TMorg in America. With Kind Regards, -Doug in FF all very interesting links, especially the Joe Garagiola one. I knew that they appeared with him but never knew that they discussed MMY and so extensively.
Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
In a message dated 4/12/2007 2:48:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: FairfieldLife@ FairfieldLi FairfieldLife@WBRyahoogr FairfieldLife@ FairOn Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:18 PM To: FairfieldLife@ Fairfie Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, A 3-second hug in order to break some record. I don’t remember noticing that on the Darshan DVD, but I assure you that Amma ’s primary motivation is not record-breaking. She did sit there for 24 hours straight on that occasion. The thing I noticed was the amazing look on her face as she came down the stairs after that stint. I've never held back my criticism of the TMO on this forum, as you know. But, as I've said countless times, whomever MMY may or may not be didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. I suppose you could measure brain waves. People who can see auras tell me they can see big changes when people go for darshan. But the hug isn’t the main thing. It’s the overall transformation that Amma seems to inspire in people. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, for one who is responsible for a 100-odd page file of allegations against MMY and countless posts in which you accuse him of sexual improprieties (all from heresay, mind you) Not heresay for me, since I spoke with a couple of the ladies. when I point out the obvious shallowness and, yes, materialism of Amma. Obvious to you. You didn’t answer my previous question. Have you ever met her in person? Do you live in Toronto? She’ll be there this summer. Probably I will too. Would love to meet you. And, yes, values are relative, as you say. The little (your word, not mine) that Amma and her organisational system gives pales in comparison to the not billions but trillions of dollars provided by another organisational system:, the U.S. government in social programs and international aid. True, but she makes a difference in areas where no one else is helping or their help is inadequate. Tsunami relief (she’s done much more, more quickly, than the Indian Government), pension funds for widows, a program to reduce suicides by Kerala farmers in debt to loan sharks. More here: _http://amma.http://amma.WBRhttp://amma.http://amm_ (http://amma.org/humanitarian-activities/index.html) . And these efforts are twofold. Seva helps the people helping as much as it helps the helped. But, gee, I seem to recall that every chance you get, Rick, you bad mouth the U.S. I do? I don’t think so. Find a post where I’ve done that. In Rick's defense I have been on the forum for three months and never heard Rick badmouth America. If anything, i think Rick has been humble with the challenges that have been forced onto him by the TMO. And may I add many thanks to Rick for providing a forum of free speech which MMY has not supported. Ammachi seems very sincere in her work. I have witnessed several saints from India and she just's hugs and hugs without any complaining. Her service to humanity is most impressive. I haven't seen the DVD yet. I am not one to give my whole life up for the Guru and renounce everything for someone else but the world needs more love and Ammachi is providing it regardless if her followers are making a sports game out of it or not. Our main concern as spiritual leaders of the world is to choose leaders that are filled with wisdom and concern for mankind. The Goddess seems to be fulfilling that desire and it is so wonderful to watch Mother Divine do her work without asking for anything in return. Love and Light. Lou Valentino or Lsoma. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
RE: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 8:42 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal In a message dated 4/12/2007 2:48:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: In Rick's defense I have been on the forum for three months and never heard Rick badmouth America. If anything, i think Rick has been humble with the challenges that have been forced onto him by the TMO. And may I add many thanks to Rick for providing a forum of free speech which MMY has not supported. Ammachi seems very sincere in her work. I have witnessed several saints from India and she just's hugs and hugs without any complaining. Her service to humanity is most impressive. I haven't seen the DVD yet. Here’s the DVD that Shemp is referring to: http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Darshan_The_Embrace/70055878?trkid=189530strkid=27984299_0_0
[FairfieldLife] 'Clinton's Behind Imus Firing?'
It wouldn't surprise me, that behind the scenes; The Clinton war machine, encouraged the firing of Mr.Imus... Many times he had called her Satan on the air, And said she would never be invited on his show. In addition Bill Clinton was mocked daily, by a cohort of Mr.Imus. So, it's not surprising seeing Imus go. It was only a matter of time. r.gimbel seattle,wa - TV dinner still cooling? Check out Tonight's Picks on Yahoo! TV.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/12/2007 2:48:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: FairfieldLife@ FairfieldLi FairfieldLife@WBRyahoogr FairfieldLife@ FairOn Behalf Of shempmcgurk Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:18 PM To: FairfieldLife@ Fairfie Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Amma's sex scandal Values are relative. You are more offended by organizational systems being applied to enable someone to give as much as possible, however little, A 3-second hug in order to break some record. I donât remember noticing that on the Darshan DVD, but I assure you that Amma âs primary motivation is not record-breaking. She did sit there for 24 hours straight on that occasion. The thing I noticed was the amazing look on her face as she came down the stairs after that stint. I've never held back my criticism of the TMO on this forum, as you know. But, as I've said countless times, whomever MMY may or may not be didling doesn't change whether the TM technique works. It does. Does hugging by a guru work? Let's see the research on it. I suppose you could measure brain waves. People who can see auras tell me they can see big changes when people go for darshan. But the hug isnât the main thing. Itâs the overall transformation that Amma seems to inspire in people. Methinks you a bit sensitive, Rick, for one who is responsible for a 100-odd page file of allegations against MMY and countless posts in which you accuse him of sexual improprieties (all from heresay, mind you) Not heresay for me, since I spoke with a couple of the ladies. when I point out the obvious shallowness and, yes, materialism of Amma. Obvious to you. You didnât answer my previous question. Have you ever met her in person? Do you live in Toronto? Sheâll be there this summer. Probably I will too. Would love to meet you. And, yes, values are relative, as you say. The little (your word, not mine) that Amma and her organisational system gives pales in comparison to the not billions but trillions of dollars provided by another organisational system:, the U.S. government in social programs and international aid. True, but she makes a difference in areas where no one else is helping or their help is inadequate. Tsunami relief (sheâs done much more, more quickly, than the Indian Government), pension funds for widows, a program to reduce suicides by Kerala farmers in debt to loan sharks. More here: _http://amma.http://amma.WBRhttp://amma.http://amm_ (http://amma.org/humanitarian-activities/index.html) . And these efforts are twofold. Seva helps the people helping as much as it helps the helped. But, gee, I seem to recall that every chance you get, Rick, you bad mouth the U.S. I do? I donât think so. Find a post where Iâve done that. In Rick's defense I have been on the forum for three months and never heard Rick badmouth America. If anything, i think Rick has been humble with the challenges that have been forced onto him by the TMO. And may I add many thanks to Rick for providing a forum of free speech which MMY has not supported. Ammachi seems very sincere in her work. I have witnessed several saints from India and she just's hugs and hugs without any complaining. Her service to humanity is most impressive. I haven't seen the DVD yet. I am not one to give my whole life up for the Guru and renounce everything for someone else but the world needs more love and Ammachi is providing it regardless if her followers are making a sports game out of it or not. Our main concern as spiritual leaders of the world is to choose leaders that are filled with wisdom and concern for mankind. The Goddess seems to be fulfilling that desire and it is so wonderful to watch Mother Divine do her work without asking for anything in return. Love and Light. Lou Valentino or Lsoma. Your ability to hug and/or love effectively is based upon your level of consciousness. That USED to be Maharishi's message (he's more into selling peanut butter today). But I think that's the most appropriate response to what you write above. Hey, by all means go out and love the world to death. All you need is love? Nope. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and good intentions get fulfilled more and faster the more your consciousness is developed. Waiting in line for 7 hours to get darshan from some Indian peasant no matter how enlightened she is and no matter how many soup kitchens she opens isn't going to develope consciousness on the level it needs to be developed here on planet Earth. But if that amuses you, then go ahead and have a grand time. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy'
This is the best take on the whole l'Affaire Imus that I've seen or heard so far. --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy KC Star ^ | 4/11/07 | Jason Whitlock Imus isn't the real bad guy Thank you, Don Imus. You've given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem. You've given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality. You've given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor. Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it's 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred. While we're fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I'm sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent's or Snoop Dogg's latest ode glorifying nappy- headed pimps and hos. I ain't saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold- diggas, but they don't have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas. It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent. Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves. It's embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes and we all laugh out loud. I'm no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack. But, in my view, he didn't do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should've been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it's only the beginning. It's an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$. I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had. Somehow, we're supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers' wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage. But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction. In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive? I don't listen or watch Imus' show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it's cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they're suckers for pursuing education and that they're selling out their race if they do? When Imus does any of that, call me and I'll get upset. Until then, he is what he is a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you're not looking to be made a victim. No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There's no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out. To reach Jason Whitlock, call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Black Racism=Imus' Firing..'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 4/12/07 1:39:06 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: [quoting the Blue Jersey blog:] But I think what has so many of us so annoyed by his latest insult is that it was just so damned mean, so damned nasty, so incredibly uncalled for even under the standards of the political/media culture we live in today. The RU basketball team wasn't asking for it. I guess you and I see it entirely different. My take was that nothing was said out of meanness,with the intent to cause hurt feelings but rather Imus got a little too comfortable with Ghetto speak, yet couldn't pull it off right without sticking his foot in his mouth. Somebody is always waiting to be offended to claim their status as a victim and all that goes along with it. Yeah, I don't think these teenagers were just waiting for him to hurt their feelings. It came out of the blue. Why on earth would they expect a big-time radio and TV host to make fun of their appearance and call them whores? He's a rich, elderly white guy. Why on earth should he have allowed himself to get comfortable with ghetto- speak in the first place? And of course it wasn't just the women. It struck a nerve across the country. You don't toss a guy who's been making you lots and lots of money unless you're getting one heck of a lot of complaints. I don't think he intended to hurt their feelings; he's just so used to letting whatever nasty thought comes into his head go out his mouth without actually processing it through his brain, it never occurred to him there were actual young women who were going to be crushed by it. It doesn't matter that it wasn't his intention. What matters it that it didn't cross his mind that this would be the result. But the bottom line is that *Imus himself* realizes it was an awful thing to say. If he's not trying to rationalize it, why should you? He no longer has a show, but he still has a big potential audience and a lot of reporters eager to give him a platform. He now has a terrific opportunity to make up for what he did by speaking out against the on-air ugliness that's become such a curse in this country, encourage people to protest when Limbaugh and Savage and Beck and O'Reilly and Hannity and their ilk indulge in it. He could become a real force for reform.
[FairfieldLife] Re: 'Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy'
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Robert Gimbel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Jason Whitlock: Imus Isn't the Real Bad Guy KC Star ^ | 4/11/07 | Jason Whitlock Imus isn't the real bad guy Thank you, Don Imus. You've given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem. You've given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality. Which fight would that be, pray tell? Jesse Jackson is using this incident to press for more diversity in hiring in the media. Sharpton is using it to campaign against rappers who indulge in violence to advance their careers. Those are pretty important fights, it seems to me.
