Roni

IMAGINE PEACE

I am a political and social activist. This is something I say proudly and without reservation.

I have always been inspired by the songs of John Lennon, especially "Imagine". He was given a bum rap that he never overcame in American society when he stated a simple truth, that at the time "the Beatles were more popular than Jesus". Popularity has nothing to do with worship, but people took him to mean just that, that the Beatles were worshipped more than Jesus. It was just as maniacal and presumptuous a conclusion to make, not to mention the public lunacy that occurred, as it is to assume that every person who practices Islam is a terrorist. Yet, there are many Americans who think exactly that. Coincidentally, each day we remain in Iraq or each time we threaten Iran or side with Israel against the Palestinians that we are creating more hate for America. Hate begets terrorism. It is just as true in the Middle East as it is in Northern Ireland or as it is when another Timothy McVeigh gets fed up with the government. Are the actions they take appropriate? You can only understand that when you know what motivates the action, not when you see the result of it. If you defuse the motivation, you defuse the action.

IMAGINE
Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try.
No hell below us, above us only sky.
Imagine all the people living for today.

Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions. I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us and the world will live as one.

-John Lennon

The Bush Administration has proven that Americans can be patriotically scared to the point of rationalizing the stripping away of their rights as established within the Constitution. The actions of this administration have been clouded and shrouded in one lie after another. This statement includes
1) The war in Iraq
2) The Patriot Act
3) Spying on American citizens
4) Executive orders that are weakening of our civil rights and neutering the checks and balances of our government
5) The use of torture to obtain information
6) The refusal to abide by the Geneva Conventions
7) The use of preemptive strikes against anyone they deem to be possible threats to America, now or anytime in the future
8) Their attempts to establish an American Empire

The list goes on. These are just a few of the total number of acts committed by this administration and heaped upon the American people as acts we should believe are acceptable.

All of these have been done under the guise of protecting us from terrorism and ALL of these actions are in direct conflict with the ideologies of our founding fathers.
The word "terrorism" (terra as GW says; apparently soil scares him to death unless he is drilling it for oil) has been used to keep Americans constantly scared, mesmerized, and the under control of the ruling elite. George Walker Bush is the closest thing to an American dictator as America has ever witnessed. He is a puppet under the control of Corporate interests that are really calling the shots. Dick Cheney has done his part to keep us headed down the path they dictate. Then there is Homeland Security.
Do you really feel more secure since its formation or do you feel more constrained?

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" - Benjamin Franklin

I see Homeland Security as an American version of the Nazi SS. Bush, his administration, and his cronies do not have the interests of America at heart. They are power hungry and want to create a world that is controlled and enslaved by Corporations. Essentially, their goals mirror the original goals of Nazi Germany, and that is "World Domination"; a New American Century.

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. - James Madison, fourth president of the United States.

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." – Hermann Goering, Commander of the Luftwaffe, at the Nuremberg trials

Educate yourself on our reasons for going to war. Don't take anyone's word for it. Never listen to the rhetoric of politicians or those who blindly support the actions of our government. Ignorance begets ignorance. An ignorant populace is a controlled populace. Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear from those who wield power, including and especially a corporately controlled press. What poses as truth is often manufactured.

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official. - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States

The Propagandist credo:
"Education is dangerous. Every educated person is a future enemy." - Hermann Goering

"It's not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true." - Henry Kissinger

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) – Russian revolutionary, primary theorist of Leninism, and first head of the Soviet Union

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." - George W. Bush

These are very contradictory thoughts for a country that prides itself on the notion the we should spread Democracy throughout the world. George Orwell's novel "1984" is essentially becoming a reality right before our eyes, right under our noses.

How long will you remain silent?

"For in a Republic, who is 'the country'? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant - merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them." - Mark Twain [Samuel Langhornne Clemens] (1835-1910)

"My generation's apathy. I'm disgusted with it. I'm disgusted with my own apathy too, for being spineless and not always standing up against racism, sexism and all those other -isms the counterculture has been whining about for years." - Kurt Cobain, American Musician and Singer of the grunge rock band Nirvana (1967-1994)

The apathy and cynicism of America is best exemplified in the argument surrounding global warming. How anyone can look at the evidence provided by scientists globally, including American scientists, and deny that global warming is happening is just shear ignorance and brainwashing. I call them sheople.

The mainstream media has proven to be pawns in the hands of corporate America. After all, it isn't in the best interests of corporate America to report world events with integrity or accuracy.

This little video really hit home. So much so that NBC only aired it once. It is called "Conspiracy Theory Rock" and is done in the style of School House Rock, which originally aired back in the early seventies. The video was made by TeeVee Funhaus. Can you say "ouch!"?

Paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell. - Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice of the United States

If you want accuracy in the news you hear, you need to get it from independent news media; media that is not embedded and not beholding to corporations. Please use some of the links I have provided. One of my favorites, in addition to those listed under the "Television" section provides not only articles from independent sources, but they provide quotes from historical figures, some popular, some hated. Either way, the quotes are telling and provide the reader with the wisdom of the past. The source is the Information Clearing House.

The Information Clearing House (ICH) obtains articles from many sources. This is one of the sources of some of the articles you will find at ICH.

There are many in our country who do not embrace the concepts of equality, fair and equal treatment, and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. They don't believe all people are created equal. They promote the idea that rights only belong to those who conform to their idea of what is appropriate. There are religious extremists who wish to tear down the whole idea of building up the family unit, ironically enough, under the guise of protecting the family. They say they love unconditionally, but encourage mothers and fathers to shun their children because they are different, even to the point of removing their own children from their homes and forcing them to live on the streets. They encourage brainwashing to cleanse these children of a dreaded illness that doesn't exist. They want to convince you that living a life that is not in line with their notion of what is acceptable should be abolished; that such a life is evil, yet they love you anyway.

This is their leader!

"I BELIEVE that God wants me to be president." - George W. Bush

EQUALITY FOR ALL!

One example of their irrational reasoning is their stance on Roe vs. Wade. George Carlin best sums up my thoughts in this video

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

"We kill at every step, not only in wars, riots, and executions. We kill when we close our eyes to poverty, suffering, and shame. In the same way all disrespect for life, all hard-heartedness, all indifference, all contempt is nothing else than killing. With just a little witty skepticism we can kill a good deal of the future in a young person. Life is waiting everywhere, the future is flowering everywhere, but we only see a small part of it and step on much of it with our feet." - Hermann Hesse, German poet and novelist.

If you really care about equality and "loving thy neighbor as thyself" you will challenge the extreme right. They are the people who support ethnic cleansing and setting their own timetable for the coming of Armageddon. They just occasionally say it in a way that is more pleasing to the palate. It is true that enough sugar can make anything taste sweet. Don't buy into their rhetoric. It is all falsehoods! They are living in a delusion! Only the gullible and desperate sheople allow themselves to be sucked in by their teachings and beliefs. It is for the weak-minded!

On another note, it is my fondest desire to help educate others about living life as a trans person. I want to help people to see that people like myself are not the devil or freaks, in fact, we are genuine and loving people, and just like the rest of society we have a mix of people who display the same characteristics as their "straight" counterparts. My desire in this is what sustains my ability to stand against the blind hatred of those who fight against equality; who condemn us without knowing us; who believe that with such an attitude that they have the favor of a higher power. To those I say, "Wake up! Smell what you are shoveling! Realize that your ideas were not shared by the one you call the Savior!"

Violence against Transgender People is the highest per capita of any other violent crime perpetrated against another human being. We understand that we don't fit the mold of what is considered to be "normal" society. Because of that we are relegated to the margins. Many consider us to be less than people. Throughout the years, many Transgender people have been killed simply for existing and living the day-to-day lives that the rest of society takes for granted. Seldom are their stories carried in the news because they are on the fringes of society and aren't considered newsworthy. We are mocked by TV shows and stereotyped by movies and the media. We live all sorts of lives, from doctors to nuclear power plant operators to bakers to Walmart employees. Many of us go undetected, but many of us are the victims of violent crime. Gwen Smith set up a memorial site to document the deaths of Transgendered people. The list is huge and continues to grow. Please visit her site. You might see the name of someone you know or knew. Thank you Gwen for the effort you put into such a noble project.

I Love the Renaissance Festival and things related to it, especially faeries (no pun intended). I have a small but growing collection of faeries and faerie-related items.

Yes, in many ways I am a living, breathing little girl at heart, but don't think for a moment that I am gullible or one to be trifled with.