Quarantine
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Stray Thoughts Sam Aurelius Milam III Wasting the Wealth — Hurricane Isabel reportedly caused one billion dollars in damage. That entire bill could be paid with one week of the cost of occupying Iraq. If the U.S. government spent one billion dollars per week in medical assistance to African nations, they could cure the AIDS epidemic. Bush wants more than $20 billion for reconstruction in Iraq. If he spent that for reconstruction in this country, do you suppose they could fix all those holes in the roads? If he brought the troops home and just gave one billion dollars to the Iraqi people each week, they could reconstruct their own country, and they wouldn't hate us. Ruining the Schools — When I was a kid, the U.S. government didn't dictate the testing of students, or judge the effectiveness of schools. The teacher of each class decided what to put in the tests for that class, and when to give the tests. School effectiveness was judged by the parents. Accountability was imposed by way of local school board elections. Rail Passenger Service — We don't need trains that run fast. We need trains that run on time. Monopoly — A copyright is a monopoly created and enforced by government for the benefit of one or of a few and to the detriment of everyone else. Supreme Hypocrisy — Even among themselves, Christians cannot agree about what is or what isn't God's Law. Yet they presume to use the legislatures and the courts to impose "God's Law" on the rest of us and punish those of us who refuse to cooperate. Supreme Arrogance — The Christians who absolutely demand that Christian shrines, like the Ten Commandments, must be placed in public buildings, such as court houses, are the very same Christians who object when public schools try to teach about the beliefs, history, and way of life of Muslims. Supreme Cop-Out — Whenever I object to misbehavior by Christians, some Christian always says, "It isn't us real Christians who are doin' that! It's those phoney ones!" Looking for a Home Funding this Newsletter
Some Rules By Men, For Women Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Don G. • Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days. • If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. We refuse to answer. • If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and if one of the ways makes you sad or angry, then we meant the other one. • You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, then just do it yourself. Checks are accepted only by prior arrangement. Please inquire.
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Letters to the Editor Sam, I got a kick out of Not Human in Sept. issue. I am a dog person, but I am also capable of telling the difference between them & us (fur, 4 legs, places they lick in a non-sexual manner, etc.) Carolyn & Freida both made excellent points. What does OTAR mean? Marko made a lot of sense. Funny shit. The Rules By Men, for Women were good this month, also. I do not have anything to write about, as I have no T.V., newspaper, radio (brain fart) or other ways to keep up on current affairs because of my being placed in the hole. Oh well. Screw 'em. I must say that I do like your take in Tough on Crime. Most of the crimes on the books are based on Christianity. (The same ones who funded the Crusades, pushed hot pokers into the vaginas of innocent women accused of being witches, etc.) Thus, criminal law is to protect the Christians. I want to be protected, (not really, but it makes a good argument) How can I be protected? If someone murders someone in my family, not only should they be civilly actionable, but I should be exempt from any action I may wish to take against that person. This is coming from a convict in a state pen, so I feel that it validates my opinion even more, because I am an active member of the community who would be the most aggrieved. The populace wants revenge give 'em revenge. Those that are too weak to take it, well let them be weak. On Shape Up or Ship Out, who cares if someone is selling guns in a war-torn country. If he wants the "blood" on his hands, let it be. If our soldiers don't want to be shot at with those guns, they can come home. It isn't the arrogance, belligerence, & brutality that are dishonorable, it's the lying to the public about a conquest. So what if we are picking up our imperial roots. (See your history book & look up what happened to Hawaii & Puerto Rico, many others, like the whole continent. This land is taken, not bought. Where do you think Russia got Alaska, or France got the Louisiana purchase?) Imperialism isn't great, but let's at least call it what it is. Just a thought. — Brian; Sterling Colorado Some Observations on the Path Thanks and bravo to all of you who have given time, energy, thought and emotion to increasing the awareness of, dialogue around and action upon political decisions within our nation and the impact that it has had on our brothers and sisters around the world. Sometimes I get responses from people that reflect their fatigue and/or a sense of hopelessness with the enormous amount of energy it appears to take to effect the inertia of public belief, misinformation and denial that supports the uncivil if not immoral or criminal behavior of our government towards what "IT" (not WHOM, meaning living blood and tissue and feelings and family) perceives as a threat or opportunity. Many of you joined in this fight? dialogue? prayerwork? grieving? long before me and there are those who witnessed and suited up long before we were born. It seems very clear to me that the attitude of our leaders that initiated the attack upon the Iraqi people and persists in denying the results of and responsibility for those actions — is an ancient sickness of mankind, one that by necessity, readily turns another human being into an object so that inhuman acts can be performed upon another without the hindrance of compassion or empathy or sense of personal horror at the sheer atrocity. What I am trying to say, is that what we are addressing is a condition far greater then what is happening in Iraq and within our country today. Throughout all of time, within every moment, we have an opportunity to bring into the light, the truth of the terrible secrets we withhold and the immense unconscious waves of fear, pain, grief and shame that we as a race collectively stuff and desperately deny. In the 12 step tradition the saying goes, "we are as sick as our secrets." My teacher insures me that, "I shall know the truth and it (the truth about the lies I guard) shall make me free." So, I suggest a course of self-care and kindness, not severity with ourselves as we proceed. What we are experiencing is nothing new. It has been with us since the beginning of mankind and that is not to say that we need accept it as a condition of our lives. No! However, I believe in my heart of hearts that we cannot change it by using the same forces that we oppose, those fueled by our hate, anger, fear or shame of knowing what we (our brothers, our ancestors, ourselves) have done and continue to do. No Checks are accepted only by prior arrangement. Please inquire.
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matter what, we are not our actions, we are
the actors. As Gandhi said, "Man and his deeds are two distinct things. Whereas a good deed should call forth approbation and a wicked deed disapprobation, the doer of the deed, whether good or wicked, always deserves respect or pity
as the case may be." We don't need to change ourselves, we need to change our actions. The problem is how. Albert Einstein said, "The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Here's where my logic and understanding stop. All I know is that I and all of us need each of us to be the best me and we that we can be, the clearest, most respectful, most open and renewed heart/mind/body/instrument Higher Power created us to be. If we feel disheartened, maybe it's just time to take a break for a while and nurture ourselves. The movement of transformation will continue. It won't suffer for our taking the time and we will always be a part of its movement because we have joined with it at its very core. That core is compassion and empathy for another — our willingness to feel for another. One of my favorite quotes comes from a gospel unrecognized by the Christian Church. It's called the Gospel of Thomas. In it Jesus tells his disciples that if anyone asks what is the sign of your God in you, "say to them: 'It is a movement and a rest.' " We need both, it's how we come into new ways of thinking and new power for action. Sam I have observed that this wonderful government of the United States of America has acquired a disturbing trait. I will not go into detail here so I may keep it short and simple. We fought World War Two to defeat those governments that used the Fascist theme in one form or another. What I observed is that we emerged from that war enacting many changes to make the government of the United States of America more Fascist. Further, the cold war with the Communist movement resulted in the government of the United States of America enacting many changes that reflect the Socialistic views expounded by the Communists. In other words, the government of the United States of America seems to emulate its enemies. What really scares me is that now the government of the United States of America is fighting terrorists. I am waiting to hear confirmation of the rumors of the torturing and killing of prisoners by the government of the United States of America. It has already been in the news that prisoners are being held without recourse or trial. Things like this tend to support my suspicion that the government of the United States of America is becoming a terrorist organization. — Sir James the Bold Sam — Your article on "Tough on Crime" was/is right on .... Your "DOUBLE STANDARD" in Stray Thoughts is excellent. Joan of Arc was 14 1/2, Cleopatra 13 3/4 when she & Marc A. did it!! Shall we research how old Amie Bolyn really was? or Guinevere? In days of old a girl who started her "period" & was not married was called an "old maid"! What's different today? There's more to "learn", but we have computers, T.V., telephones, supermarket, malls, so really girls should be getting married even sooner! — inmate; Jamestown, California A clarification is necessary here. Double Standard mentioned pedophiles. A pedophile is a man with a sexual attraction to children. A man with a sexual attraction to adolescents isn’t a pedophile, all the whining of the reformers to the contrary notwithstanding. A female who has gone through puberty isn’t a child. She’s an adolescent. The distinction between adolescence and adulthood is entirely arbitrary. — editor
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Buck Hunter Shoots Off His Mouth Dear Buck I'd like to buy an RPG. Do you know of a good source? — Radical Dear RadicalNever heard of that model before. Maybe you could ask at a GMC dealer. Acknowledgments — editor
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