ArloNet • The Threat You'd Hope You'd Become...Calling All Leaders!

Faith7 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:29 am

DRR wrote:

Every now and again I'm moved by feelings to speak out. To seek out, or dream about solutions to what seem like unresolvable problems. For a short while it seemed like progress was beginning to be made. Like the roots of democracy were not dead, but instead sprouting. Then it all flat-lined.

Now the House tells us of "progress" in the great budget compromise of 2013. But they are not fixing anything. No funding for long term unemployment. No tax reform to end our $900B corporate welfare. No help to rein in health care costs. Just more of the same.

How many of us see the injustice in government for hire that only the ultra rich can afford to hire? How many of us know our leaders have turned a blind eye to the free-falling middle class. Thanks citizens united!

I enjoy studying history. I know that as a country we have been in similar situations to this in the past, and things got better eventually. But as our population grows here as well as all around the world, the scope changes. The slope gets steeper and the trouble deeper.

They tell us that we are better off today. We are now energy independent. We now produce more oil than we import for the first time in 40 years. Great right? Unless you consider how we are getting all this oil. If you know the answer, and ask anyone who is on the side of making money off it, fracking is not, and can't hurting the environment. And bp just asked for a permit to drill in the Gulf into a new field (down 22K feet) at much greater pressure and depths than ever. Nothing can go wrong there, right?

The point is we should have found a way to stop burning fossil fuels long ago. But the true owners and drivers of our government are not about to give up without a major fight.

Where are the fighters for my side? I was a bit too young to march against the war or the draft, or in support of equal civil rights in the 60's. But my heart and my mind was in the proper place. I looked up to the heroes who led us to challenge those in power to create change. There were so many of them back then. They led and people followed.

In my study of history, I learned that UC (California) started out as a tuition free educational system. Today, how many young people are saddled with a student loan bill greater than $100K? To make matters worse, the job environment being what it is today, these kids get jobs that make paying of these loans and interest take a huge portion of what they make.

Education has become a for profit entity. The same can be said for "serving" in government. Will it ever be time to correct this imbalance?

I guess I'm starting to think that education, and maybe even healthcare need a major change in how they function for our society. Oops, we need to include prisons in this category too. Seems like a conflict of interest to let them be for profit too. Oh wait, what about energy? Another industry that can't do the right thing, so we better rein them in too. Education, prison, healthcare and energy are national security issues! Tell me what other issue is more important to the future of our country?

To all you "don't tread on me" types, who will say we need less government and less regulation, I reply you had your way for the last 30 years, and don't you feel like you've been, well, tread on enough? I do...

leoburg · **Posted:** Sat Jun 21, 2014 2:03 pm

Hemp with the paper, plastics, textiles and among many other things we can produce from Hemp, bio-fuel, could go a long ways towards building a sustainable economy. But we must also cut the Military at least in half and turn Foreign Policy of Empire building around and focus at home.

Giantone · **Joined:** Aug 29, 2012 **Posts:** 674 **Images:** 0

Military should stay were it is if not increased .

leoburg · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:57 am

If military stay or is increased we shall continue to see more and more domestic messes.

agnes · **Joined:** Sep 15, 1999 **Posts:** 8265

DRR wrote:

…..Education has become a for profit entity….

i agree, it has outrageously so. if we could spend money more wisely, like say, on quality public education for instance, and make higher learning more accessible (instead of more and more out of reach), maybe it would lead to things like war becoming less and less "necessary" or "important" . of course i am thinking globally, unfortunately there are apparently those here and there who equate education science with satan. education on world religions sounds like not a bad idea too. see where we've come from, and move toward a more positive direction as a species

woodstock69 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:27 pm

War, like sex is a 'natural' man thing (possibly inspired by some god of sorts) Those who believe in real freedom and not just their own seek peace and pursue it. But such freedom comes at a cost to someone. Iraq today is suffering because someone, somewhere decided to bring their idea of freedom and impose it on others. The history of the Iraq region is one of blood letting (blood sacrifices to the "gods") and hatred of fellow (scapegoat) human beings has become the norm while the rest of humanity's leaders fiddle about. It would appear that we have or are quite near the 'tipping' point of no return in relation to humanity ever getting its act together and Father Nature will eventually win out no matter what we humans do.
The US requires its military might because those who believe in the notion of real freedom need to be protected from those who would impose what they see as right. Imagine the world today without your own personal freedom being protected and yes freedom needs protection.
But I also believe that nations should first and foremost take care of their own as an example to others and on the world stage the US has pursued the quest for freedom, justice and truth to the detriment of many of its own citizens, including thousands of brave women and men of the US armed services who one way or another have paid the price for real freedom.
Growing hemp is a positive and productive alternative. It is getting harder to sow seeds of peace and goodwill in a Garden that has weeds sprouting up everywhere and where the weedkiller approach seems to be the order of the day rather than a focused choice of tending to the Garden for everyone's children's children. (better than hoping for some sort of utopia in this life (or the next).
We all can make choices to reach out in peace and goodwill in whatever wee way we are able too and most folks do for their own but what about …..
In the end everything is meaningless but I like the notion of passing on the love-gene to future generations and sowing 'mustard' seeds of love. Being human and a man I tend to make a balls of things most times and forget to water those very seeds. I acknowledge billions of others are better at growing peace and goodwill seeds but therein lies the encouragement and the necessity for leaders to lead by example wherever they happen to be in the Garden.

"Yes we can"
:mrgreen:

leoburg · **Posted:** Wed Jun 25, 2014 5:38 am

Not sure who first said, 'A standing army has been the bane of liberty sine the invention of the sword", but agree with what Teddy Roosevelt said "it has proven to be." The thought goes as far back as ancient China when Tao said, "Where armies are quartered thorns and thistles shall spring forth." I see those thorns and thistles in American society, and it don't look like freedom to me. Even Ike said this:

woodstock69 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:18 pm

leoburg wrote:

Not sure who first said, 'A standing army has been the bane of liberty sine the invention of the sword", but agree with what Teddy Roosevelt said "it has proven to be." The thought goes as far back as ancient China when Tao said, "Where armies are quartered thorns and thistles shall spring forth." I see those thorns and thistles in American society, and it don't look like freedom to me. Even Ike said this:

This is true but those in leadership, including the UN, have failed miserably in bringing the peoples of the world to dump the swords for ploughshares and without pointing fingers have in our time created a situation around the world that has allowed extremism to flourish to the point that it doesn't just threaten some it has the potiential to destroy all. America, no matter what President Obama has said, will get more involved in World War 3 for that is what it is and will be acknowledged as such in the future. Just think about it, Will people who are willing to kill themselves in order to murder others use every weapon at their disposal or perhaps given?
America, in my opinion, is carrying the torch for Europe, Russia, China, the Middle East, Africa and basically the 'Free World' but America, worts and all, should be, not just encouraging others to take up the fight but willing to step back and begin the task of preparing its people for its own defence.

The Middle East is imploding in the blood of its own peoples, Africa is falling apart and extremism, hatred and madness is on the rise. Europe is also going to fall apart and the cry then will be "Where are the Americans" or worse! The can of worms that originated in oil, greed, divide and conquer strategies and sectarianism has been opened and the worms continue to spill out. War isn't coming - its already here and we are were we are.

Thus the sane nations of the world and humanity itself requires leaders that will step up to the plate. We require leaders who can get through to each other for the sake of humanity and all creatures great and small that inhabit our beautiful Mother Earth. War may be more necessary but it should be agreed that the goal is to "beat the swords into ploughshares…" It can be achieved and more so for the generations that come after us. There may be a few citizens from countries around the world (Thank you Arlo!) that read this but we are more that just a 'citizen' we are all fellow time/space travellers that breathe in the same air, look at the same sky, love, eat, fart, laugh and cry. We all will die someday and we will cease not just to matter but cease to be the matter we are. Life is too short for hatred, wars and strife. There is enough dealing with Mother Natures bloody periods than killing each other, hating each other and destroying our planet. Our generation is guilty of what we have allowed to happen but of course, some are more guilty than others!

Lets hope we get leaders that will give hope with truth, peace with justice and goodwill to more than the few, more than their own, more than themselves, so that perhaps we each as individual citizens will follow as a nation alongside other nations. Leaders that will not just 'Talk the talk' or 'Walk the walk' but will inspire peoples and nations to reach out and grasp the nettles and hug their neighbour in the way they'd liked to be hugged! Maybe we should all eat grass rather than drink beer in the knowledge that nothing will change and that change is here to stay, isn't it?

"The world is getting stupider as time goes by." - ADG

:mrgreen:

leoburg · **Posted:** Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:15 am

My foreign policy idea is to export Thanks Giving Dinners all over the world.

woodstock69 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:41 pm

leoburg wrote:

My foreign policy idea is to export Thanks Giving Dinners all over the world.

Music to my ears!

DRR · **Joined:** Feb 19, 2008 **Posts:** 560

koch brothers are taking the lead. We fall farther behind and all lose...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/1 ... 87577.html

Discuss?

Cuss!

agnes · **Joined:** Sep 15, 1999 **Posts:** 8265

i haven't read the article just now but heard a little about this mentioned on the news.

about all i can think to say about it at the moment is that i guess they (these schools) will have to make sure they have a curriculum that teaches facts as well.

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