I’ve been promising a magic spell or guide to get Gaga to truly follow her heart and endorse Bernie Sanders. Here it is. This is not just for Gaga, of course, but for all who have been misled into supporting Hillary or are scared of Bernie. There is hope for all of us. This gagablog has been following my spiritual journey with Gaga as my Goddess for years. She has helped me, and millions of little monsters, saved our lives too many times to count, and now it is time to return the favor. I’ve been focused on getting Gaga’s endorsement for Bernie for months and started talking more specifically about it in the last few editions. And while I began this just a few days ago I was just leading up to “what to do about it” when Gaga met with the Dalai Lama. Last Tuesday, I believe, the 28th, is when they met, or when it became the Top Trend on facebook. Gaga was also the Top Trend yesterday when the news was that China had banned her in response to her meeting with him. I have not been on facebook today but I would guess she is trending high again, or at the top, because they announced she and Lenny Kravitz would be performing at the DNC in Philly this year.
These are some of the media events, lately, and I will explain how they fit into my plan to get Gaga, and everyone, to support Bernie. As soon as I heard she met with the Dalai Lama I shared the story with the claim that he better convince her to switch to Bernie or he is no true spiritual leader and we need to primary him. I don’t know if anyone got the “joke” about the primary, but I kind of meant it, too. I bet people would say it is unreasonable to expect Gaga to be involved enough in politics to make an informed decision. They might say the same thing about the Dalai Lama. I personally believe the Lama has been outspoken and involved enough in world politics that he Knows how important it is to elect Bernie. He is a pacifist, surely, but he even gets into specifics, including agreeing with Vladimir Putin that the US created the ISIS terrorists. (http://isis.trendolizer.com/2016/05/dalai-lama-putin-is-right-us-created-isis-world-truthtv.html)
If he believes this, and criticizes Obama’s administration and their foreign policies in the Middle East, how could he possibly support Hillary who was so instrumental in those policies? And of course he could not support Trump, that’s a no-brainer. And he could not be so involved in politics and be unaware of Bernie. For all I know he does endorse Bernie, but I was expecting him to do so in his conversation with Gaga. I know it is “too much to ask” but I certainly believe it was possible. The “ironic” or magical thing about the interview was that it was just like the Leonardo DiCaprio Oscar acceptance speech about saving the environment: everything they said Meant “Bernie” but they never said Bernie. I took notes and just for an overview it was about increasing the sense of inner value that comes from connectedness and helping others to combat a culture of individualism that leads to isolation, strife, depression, suicide, and sickness in individuals and society. The Lama pointed the finger at the culture that needs to change so people can be healthy. These are the exact things Bernie stands for, “Not me, Us” and everything about democratic socialist ideals, and changing the culture to make all the changes we need possible. He specified the educational system that does not teach inner value. I just smoked one and returned from that and realized the basic American principle of “what college you can afford to attend determines your value in society” is undone by Bernie’s free college for everyone. He said life will not be free of problems but our mental attitude is key to addressing them, then talked about being able to keep calm by reaching a deeper level, where we sense our interconnection with others, and that the Future can change and is up to the kids. All of these things mean Bernie: we have to solve problems with the greatest hope for the future, not make decisions based on fear. Trump motivates people with fear of others, terror, the government, etc, and Hillary motivates people with fear of Trump. Neither of them are offering anything positive, but Bernie is. And that is why he is the one who has the most appeal to the youth today, even though he is a little older than the other candidates and has much more of an Old Man image. Bernie sounds more hopeful, confident, and involved than the Lama does, though the Dalai Lama is a little older he was talking like his time was near over and it was up to us while Bernie is leading us and with us all the way.
It’s not “just coincidence” everything they were talking about were the factors of why Bernie needs to be President and I wrote the last edition about why Gaga had been misled on the same day. It's the media magic I’m talking about. I didn’t know they were going to meet. I was finally writing something I’ve been increasingly focused on. So when I saw they met, I was hopeful, I said “This is the chance for her to learn, Bern, and turn to the Light side again.” I really did hope that the Lama would tell her to switch to Bernie. This is supposed to be about how to get her, and everyone, to change their mind about Hillary and support Bernie. It’s important because the consequences are dire. I do expect the Lama to be aware of all of this and on the right side of history, on Bernie’s side. And I fully expect that of Gaga, too. I think analyzing what is holding them back can provide a blueprint for saving them, and others, from a fate of supporting evil or fatal neutrality. The two types of meditation the Lama described, focused and analytical, are what I am employing for this magic. The focus is making Bernie president and all that this will mean: World Peace, Justice, Equal Rights, ending poverty and disease and saving the planet.The analytical part is this, focusing on what is holding us back, individually, collectively, and spiritually.
When I posted about this in the Bernie Sanders Activists facebook group, one response I got was “It makes sense for the Dalai Lama to remain neutral.” I don’t know if he even is neutral, so I don’t want to sound like I am condemning him if he is not, but I am disappointed that he is not more vocal about it if he supports Bernie. I know there is a media blackout about most Bernie-related things but celebrities and others manage to pierce that so I want to know about it if he is a supporter. But I am a pacifist and one reason I respect him is as an advocate for peace. I saw another article that he was recently criticized for advocating diplomacy with ISIS. I feel that my greatest fear associated with the nightmare of Hillary in the White House is that she would start World War 3 basically to look tough and truly for the same reasons she does everything, to make money for the evil Status Quo. I’m not as scared of Trump because he is not as experienced or connected in that way, but then again he could very easily start World War 3, too. And like the meme says, the choice is yours, Civil War (Trump) or World War 3 (Clinton). And whenever I share that one I then add “OR” and a Bernie World Peace one. This is the choice we are making, and Bernie will avoid World War 3 and lead us into a future where war does not exist. The Lama surely knows enough to know this if he criticizes the Obama administration for creating ISIS. And it doesn’t make sense for anyone who can possibly know this, or any of the other many horrible things about Clinton to remain neutral. And she’s in a lot of bad things, from escalating instead of resolving problems in the Middle East to opposing wage increases to rigging the primaries to KKK support to completely representing evil corporate interests to killing people who are about to testify against them, just to name a few off the top of my head. Oh,and supporting fracking here and around the world. And not legalizing marijuana, and supporting the prison industry, blaming “superpredators” and other racist statements. And taking money from foreign dictators and corrupt businessmen and people indicted by the #panamapapers. The Dalai Lama should know all of this and speak up. World War 3 is not a chance any of us can take, so if you see that much of what is going on you can’t stay neutral and risk that. I assume the person meant it makes sense for him to remain neutral so he has a better chance of working with whoever the next president is, but by that logic you shouldn’t criticize Trump, either. This is a question of principles but more importantly if we all die in war there won’t be any Free Tibet movement or countries to negotiate. If you see it this way, you must choose Bernie. Maybe the Dalai Lama does not see it that way, or maybe he is just another politician “playing his cards right” instead of doing the right thing.
Gaga is not a politician even as much as the Lama certainly is, in his way, as a symbol of Tibet and the conflict within China. But she has had plenty of political involvement especially in the Gay Rights movement and anti-bullying, making speeches and meeting with the president, creating the Born This Way Foundation, raising money for causes/ disaster relief, and motivating all of us little monsters to create change in our multifaceted ways. It is because of her close association with Gay Rights that we expected her to support Bernie from the beginning since he has supported the cause from the beginning. As mayor of Burlington VT he made Gay Pride Day official in 1985 and has always stood up for gay rights his entire career. Thus the meme “what If I told you…. The exact same thing I’ve been saying for 40 years.” Hillary has only recently “evolved” and accepted gay marriage, which is why I say we need the Pre-Evolved, Mega-Evolved Bernie, not an opportunistic politician with no real belief. Gaga should know this, she should have enough people around her and enough little monsters all over the world who care enough about these issues to tell her. And this is not the only issues we associate with Gaga because she claims to stand for them. She has expressed environmentalism, pacifism, and support for legalizing weed. Bernie truly represents these causes and will achieve them while Hillary works for the industries causing these problems. She really should support Bernie. She will support Bernie. Now all that remains is how it will happen.
I don’t feel like I have to predict how it will transpire, but I do feel like I am in a magical state and moment. Just as I finally got into it last edition and was rewarded with Gaga being the Top Trend for meeting with the Lama and a Chance, as I saw it, for her to be swayed, after I watched it I knew his words could have a deeper effect and cause her to realize and Feel the Bern in her heart, but of course how that would happen depends on what is holding her back. I want to free us all from that thing and I want to focus on freeing Gaga from it because I love her for her art and magic helping set me free from difficulty and worry all these years. So I want to analyze what could possibly be holding her back and predict a breakthrough. If it doesn’t happen just as I say I won’t be disappointed, as long as it happens, and long and Bernie wins. I feel, personally, like Gaga coming around to Bernie before it becomes The Future is somehow key, at least for her retaining her current connection to the culture. It might not be THE key to turning things around and making him the nominee, but then again it could help a Lot and actually could be.
And maybe that was the plan all along. I want to give Gaga the most credit possible, first, which is why I was totally shocked by her endorsing Hillary but quickly thought “maybe it’s all part of a plan.” The only other mistake I felt Gaga made was wearing fur - she asked for us not to criticize her for it, which I took to mean she had some deeper reason. It could be friendships in the fashion industry, an issue she did not want to address, but giving her the most credit possible, even if it is too much, I like to believe she was “playing along” to reach a prominent position in the fashion industry from which she could have a better chance of ending fur altogether. It is the same basic idea, here. I respected her desire to not talk about fur, also feeling like I would like to be vegetarian myself for many reasons and would like that for Gaga, too, but feel hypocritical if I do not first hold myself to higher standards and stop eating meat. The idea that she is supporting Hillary is okay as long as it is part of a plan and another major part of that plan is myself and other little monsters doing all we can to convince her to switch to Bernie, because the activity and discussion will build support for him through social media. But she can’t ask us not to criticize her endorsement of Hillary, even if she thinks she believes it, because the outcome will affect all of us. It is our duty to try to get her to feel the Bern, even if she already secretly does, in order to convince others. And when she does switch to Bernie it will have an even greater effect to bring others over as the right thing to do.
This is where I feel like the timing of recent events in the media are so key as to be obvious magical signs. You can also see it as orchestrated by the media, but if Gaga has a “trump card” to play and is manipulating the media I will be gratified, not surprised. She met the Dalai Lama on the 27th, I believe, and was the Top Trend ever since. Yesterday, or this morning, they announced that she and Lenny Kravitz would be performing at the DNC. Of course that set my mind racing, with excitement for the show but more for the whole event since Berners are going to show up in Yuge masses to protest, and the mecca of little monsters will add some interesting magic and spice. But also of course my conspiracy hat told me that this was how they got Gaga’s endorsement of Hillary, a quid pro quo. It would be beneath her and a betrayal to all of the little monsters and Love itself, a betrayal to the world, if she goes through with it. But now that they have announced it, she can switch to Bernie. If they cancel her, it will look bad and get the little monsters and their media power more actively against them. If they let her play even after she endorses Bernie then it will help swing all the momentum in his favor even more, but whether she plays or not it will do that, because all the Media is already involved, in motion. She will make news either way, but of course my most hopeful plan is that she endorses him fairly soon, plays the show as the magical culmination of the Berning of the Tide and him winning the nomination.
Of course I know most people probably think I am giving Gaga too much credit. As I’ve been writing for years, for her inspiration, art, and liberation of peoples’ creativity and sexuality she is the Goddess of Love, or Ozma, I have been envisioning since I was a kid in the 80’s. As such, if this is true, she would have to support Bernie. As a Spirit of Feminism she will have to support Bernie. But of course most people won’t see her that way or expect that, although I believe many other little monsters do. I’ve heard the same arguments from people about why they assume she could never support Bernie. I used to hear it a lot in magical groups when people would object to Gaga as a goddess figure that she is a tool of the Illuminati and someone brought that up again in #WitchesforBernie, too. Then there are the insults about her character, or intelligence, that show the people really react with jealousy or animosity to Gaga or something they associate with her without really getting her at all. But another criticism was that she was only focused on her as a woman and that trumped every other concern, having a woman president. I truly don’t think Gaga is that shallow, uninformed, or gender-specific. I do think she knows more about Clinton than the fact that she is female. And I don’t think you have to know too much to realize you can’t support her. I saw Bell Hooks in a video explaining how she could not support her anymore in about one minute and Susan Sarandon’s “Why I broke up with Hillary” appearance on Stephen Colbert is pretty direct, too. And if it is not a plan, a way Gaga is using the media in a trick to get even more support for Bernie, then I can only conclude that she does not know enough about Hillary, Bernie, and what is happening in the primaries and at stake for the future. In one way I want to say “maybe that is because she is in love with Taylor and living it up, maybe why we’re waiting for her next album longer than we hoped” but I have to say something about that. From seeing him act on Vampire Diaries I wondered if Taylor was a good match for Gaga but gave them the benefit of the doubt and put aside the fantasy that it could be me, that we were complimentary artistic spirits. Now I have to question everyone in Gaga’s sphere, everyone she is around, because I would expect artistic folks to feel the Bern and for one of them to feel it strongly enough for Gaga to catch it, too. I truly believe anyone with a good heart, especially with luxurious lifestyle and free time, a sense of conscience and no barriers to doing right would learn enough to feel the Bern in a short time of researching. So if Gaga is truly uninformed about Bernie, it does make me suspicious of her team, friends, everyone close to her, including Taylor, and conclude that while they might still all be good people she just deserves better, still. If she is uninformed there are still a few weeks to become enlightened. I don’t believe she is so focused on gender that she can’t see anything else. She is Jo Calderone and made “G.U.Y.” after all, and never expressed negativity about the suggestions that she was transgender or hermaphrodite. Some people might be like that but I think more often others assume that someone could be that way when in fact they just don’t have enough information. Because the truth is that Bernie is the Feminist candidate, not Hillary.
Maybe I shouldn’t give Gaga so much credit as to say she is planning all of this out to use the media to Bernie’s advantage, to sway more people to him just in time for the convention and tip the balance so he wins. If she does, it would make sense that she would not announce it until after they announced that she would perform at the DNC. Also, it would make sense, even if they didn’t talk about it, for her to say that her conversation with the Dalai Lama made her look more deeply, follow her heart and support Bernie. In fact, that could be “what happens”, with no prior plan in place. Or maybe little monsters, or a meme or artwork or statement by someone, or even myself or something here, magically, will be the ones to change her mind. The reason I write this as if it is all part of a Divine plan, and as a Goddess she is aware of this and doing it intentionally, is that this is my style. I would like her to prove me prophetic in this regard. But I also allow that she can make mistakes, as a Goddess and as a human. One reason I focus on the many things I see as divine about her is that I do see her as a true guide toward Perfection - the world of art, love, and magic - but of course endorsing Bernie is that path and anything else would be a mistake. Of course, just as the Dalai Lama said, what is divine in her is the same thing in all of us, connecting us all. I like how she brings it out and feel it has become a spiritual path for me to become the artist I truly am. So when I talk about her having a plan, or not having a plan, I don’t have to be talking about “Her,” specifically. It applies to all of us. Even those of us who support and believe in Bernie give in to despair sometimes. And those of us who have not felt the Bern yet are in even more despair. It is because they can’t be hopeful enough yet that they can’t Feel the Bern, because it is in all of us.It IS Love.
Whatever you call the Goddess, or whatever you call “It”, we all have Love inside us, connecting us. It comes out and transforms us and transforms the world. Gaga has all the love and ties with little monsters and the world through these same ideals that are The Bern - it’s the same yearning for justice, peace, and harmony with nature and each other. But in another video I saw recently she mentions that she still suffers from depression. The Dalai Lama gave her the prescription for that, to connect with others by helping them, to see beyond yourself and stay calm and positive, to create the best imaginable future. All of this means Bernie, he stands for all of these things and the movement, the Bern, manifests and shows these principles working in actions. If she IS only thinking about her career, playing for the presumptive “winner”, then she is guilty of this mistake me mentioned, focusing on individualistic concerns instead of the whole. The answer is to look within, to what she truly believes and connects her with all of us, The Bern, Love. That is the key to happiness, to truly seek it for others as much as yourself. I know Gaga knows and understands this just like I know we all get it, deep down. The solution is to uncover this heart within all of us, to strip away the false, individualistic concerns because none of us is isolated, but feeling so is the source of great misery. If we don’t increase our internal value, which is the divinity or value we all have in common so it means we value others infinitely, too, we turn to false forms of “feeling good about ourselves” that ultimately lead to feeling disconnection, isolation, and suffering.
Other people might have other things, issues, beliefs, experiences, prejudices, or greedy interests that prevent them from Feeling the Bern, that hold them back and isolate them from the Love that truly connects us all. Maybe Gaga doesn’t have a plan, it’s not a big trick to use her powers to manipulate the media. Still, I hope that what is divine inside her, inside all of us, shines through and makes her have a change of heart and feel the Bern. If you believe in Guardian or other angels, call it that. I hope all our angels wake us up to what we need to do. Someone said “the more you learn, the more you Bern” and I believe that. We learn “what’s happening” much better from each other than from the news media, which is working for Hillary. But we also just learn from each other about all kinds of things every day and come more together as we do so. There are spirits and angels of truth guiding us and they want the truth to come out through us. Sometimes the truth is best expressed, most compelling, when it comes from someone who is transformed by it. Maybe this is why some of the best preachers are or were the worst sinners, or something like that. But we all have this truth, and more truth, about how we can solve our problems and live better together. It’s trying to come out of all of us. Each of us has our own issues, our own considerations, but the Love, the Truth, trying to connect us all is the same. As we come together, sharing our different perspectives and approaches will benefit everyone. All it takes is truly respecting each other through realizing our infinite inner value. Our culture distracts us into devaluing ourselves and each other, into hopelessness. But we can overcome that and change society and craft a culture that teaches all of us to love ourselves and each other fully and unconditionally. Bernie is the way to do this. We all can play a part in making it happen, especially in this campaign. It does take all of us, in our own ways. I focus on Gaga, in this context, because it’s something we will all hear about when she changes her mind. But I want everyone who hasn’t yet felt the Bern to open up their hearts and be transformed by it, so we can save the world together.
Before I move on to some recent media magic examples, I do want to say a few things to the Dalai Lama. I will primary you, bro. If you are a peacemaker, make peace with China. If you say it is internal value, not individualism, that leads to happiness, why not apply that on a national scale, to Tibet? The people are still the value even if it is not individualistic or independent. Maybe if you could help yourself overcome some ego you could help Tibet overcome the ego of insisting on independence and at the same time help China overcome the ego of authoritarianism. Be Tibet in China and help the rest of the country, don’t try to isolate yourself just as you advise individuals not to isolate themselves to avoid depression. I know there must be problems with China, just as there are problems in the US. But one good solution is to have faith in people, in humanity, and work within the system. That is still my hope, for a few more weeks, that the Democratic Party can be redeemed and saved by nominating Bernie, but if they don’t then it has just outlived it’s usefulness and just like the Republicans will crumble after this year. When I say I will primary you, people totally don’t get the joke and point out that you are not an American political figure. The “joke”, by the way, is that Berners are going to primary every Democrat who does not end up supporting Bernie and get them out of office. But for the Lama, there is a twist. He has announced that he will not reincarnate after this lifetime. I don’t know if that is up to him so I’m just saying I will put my laugh in the ring. I know that China has been authoritarian but I also know they have 5 times our population yet we have more people in prison. I know we are authoritarian, too, but only the even more authoritarian places like Texas consider seceding. I have to mention the way colonial powers drew the map of the middle east to “balance” (or manipulate) tensions and the way America set up an “Iraq” that some say will become three or more countries are examples of division. Authoritarian governments can oppress the minorities or even the majority, as in Syria, but such arrangements can’t last, they are doomed to fail by their nature. A counter-example is the Brexit and catastrophe, financially and politically, that followed. Everyone regrets it because it was the wrong thing to do for the wrong reasons. People were motivated by xenophobia and lies and the leaders who led them, that Boris guy, just tried to step aside. They will probably get to revote and correct the mistake but the rich already took a big hit in stocks and I laugh about that. This is the outcome when you don’t educate people and let them be politically exploited by fear. The western world set up Strongman dictators in the Middle East based on the belief that people “can’t get along.” Now we are realizing the mistakes of this belief. We have to rely on people to be able to get along, to share a country and a region and live harmoniously with each other. Yes, some have advantages others don’t have, just as England was the second strongest economy in Europe. What makes an advantage good is the ability to help others with it, not to exploit the difference between you and those less fortunate. England will learn this lesson from the Brexit: their strength lies in being part of something greater. This is true for all of us, because a whole is more than the sum of it’s parts, far more.
When we are whole, as people, when we escape despair into hope, we can be More of ourselves, more connected to others, more whole and more a part of a greater whole. We might have to step back from some of our roles to do this best, like the Dalai Lama might have to see himself more as a human than Tibetan Freedom fighter. Fight for human dignity for everyone, from within China. As a Berner, I don’t want to retreat to some Berner state and secede, and I don’t want Bernie to win to secure more rights for “my” people or just some people. I want it for everyone. I want us to spread the word all over the country, even the least Bernie-friendly areas, because the message is the truth. You can do that within China and ultimately attain much more dignity for the Tibetan and Chinese people by giving up on misguided isolationism. I certainly don’t believe America should be the world’s policeman but I oppose isolationism as a reaction that is based on the idea that force is the only thing anyone can do. There are problems in the world, just as there are problems in individual life. The Dalai Lama’s advice works for both - it’s all about attitude. If we, as a nation, have an attitude of seeking peace and helping others, which we will have with Bernie, we will lead the world in coming together to end the problems of climate change, war, poverty, injustice, and disease. We have to do it and call on everyone to do what they can. We have to expect more from those in positions of influence and hold them to our ideals they claim to share, whether they are Lamas, Gagas, or Superdelegates. And we just need to talk about it and act on our beliefs through art or protest and other expressions to watch it manifest around us.
I just want to mention a few media magic examples that make me feel like I am getting more and more in tune with the world. If I don’t put them here I won’t likely reflect to include them later and like all media magic they relate to everything that is going on. One I forgot from last gagablog was the anniversary of the killing of all those kids at Sandy Hook and some of the parents were on the news. That same day, reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Abraham Lincoln sailed past Sandy Hook on it’s way out to sea. I wanted to mention it for the coincidence, magic, that made me feel I was reading “the right” book, but just noticed as I typed that the connection with Lincoln also being a victim of gun violence. I mentioned Renaldo to my friend the other day, talking about sexism in the reporting of the Icelandic men’s soccer team making the big tournament. A feminist said she was protesting the celebration because they were making it out like it was the first time an Icelandic team had made it to that level when the Women’s team did so years ago but they didn’t celebrate it. She gave more examples of sexism in their culture by saying that when Reynaldo tweeted something about Iceland an Icelandic actor responded “Reynaldo? Who is she?” as if it was in insult to be a girl. We were talking about sexism and it came up, but I also made the comment that I’m not at all a soccer fan but I know who Reynaldo is from the media and the Simpsons. Later that night the CW showed that episode of the SImpsons where Reynaldo appears. The second episode began with Burns getting an award for being the oldest man in town. The oldest man had died at the podium when Britney Spears kissed him so Burns stole his speech when the award went to him. He starts to read the speech, all about how he loves the whole town and everyone in it, and I’m already reminded of an old man, Bernie, who Loves us all and the country, and that meme “Bernie is just a kind old man who wants to save America, why not let him?” Then Burns skims through the rest of the speech: “... puppies….patriotism...bluebirds…” Of course the “bluebirds” stuck out to me as another magical symbol of Bernie, the Bernie Bird. But I don’t have to stretch at all to say this is the recipe for The Bern: The Bluebird representing nature, goodness, hope, and even democrats, ideally. Patriotism is for the country, the land, the people, and in honor and to make up for errors in our history, and also especially for democracy - if Bernie doesn’t win democracy may come to an end since people will stop believing it is possible. And Puppies, well, puppies are just good and loving and fun and young, like The Bern. But also Puppies, especially in Autumn, are symbols of the Buddha-nature. It is the Love, compassion, the Bern, in ALL of us. That is what all good things are about and what will bring us together the more we honor it.
For all the examples of strife and conflict between different communities we have plenty of examples of diverse communities living in harmony, too. We just need a culture, and thence government and institutions, that promote this ideal and we can have it. Bernie can do this for us in America and we sorely need it here. We elected our first black president and are making progress but Obama has not been all we hoped he could be or done all we needed. The fact that the #blacklivesmatter movement is so influential yet still so underground and has only been accepted by Bernie’s campaign during the Obama years shows the danger of thinking we’re making progress fast enough. We need to come together to save ourselves, our country, but also to set an example to the rest of the world of how it can really be done. For all our flaws we may still be the best country in the world, potentially, to set that example. We just have to live up to our ideals and believe in them and act on them instead of acting out of fear.
And there have been some bad, terrible things in the news lately, too. There was a terrorist attack in Turkey, at the airport, that killed many people and is a shift in the balance. American and Iraqi forces blew up a couple hundred ISIS vehicles, too. The news I heard today suggested the Erdogan government in Turkey was not focused on destroying ISIS but instead relying on them to destabilize Assad. According to the Dalai Lama and Putin and others, America has been doing the same thing. But the attack in Turkey suggests they could “get in the fight” more. The attackers were from countries around Russia and ISIS has not claimed responsibility but the media is treating it like it is them. I wonder sometimes how much we are involved, allowing or fostering uprisings or dictatorships just to sell weapons and to sell the very idea that war is necessary to the public. ANd of course my greatest fear is that Hillary, a pseudo-liberal war-hawk, with her connections to the Establishment, will start World War 3, thinking she can manage it or win it, when in fact such a war could be the loss of all humanity. Since we have the power to destroy ourselves we really must stop just playing around to satisfy someone’s ego and live up to our responsibility to save humanity and the world from ourselves. An Turkish girl in America was on NPR talking about how authoritarian the government there was becoming, that two years ago people were hopeful about joining the European Union and making progress and now there was little hope. I feel the same could be said of us and our hope for Obama. While some gave up and settled when things did not get as much better as it seemed possible, the rest of us demanded what we’ve been hoping for and see as possible and necessary and Bernie rose to the challenge to champion it. It could be said of our hope in Bernie, now, if we are thwarted. This is our chance, millions are feeling the Bern and getting involved but letting Hillary steal the election will certainly turn them off to Democrats and some to politics altogether. I’m not surprised because the other recent news is how the Democratic platform refused to adopt any of the actual progressive agenda including the $15/hr minimum wage. It’s not just Hillary herself, all establishment Democrats, non-Berners, are Republikkkans in disguise. And many good people are realizing, partly thanks to the evil of Trump, that they are not really Republikkkans and many of them have already discovered Bernie and overcome their issues that would keep them from supporting him. I’ve said many times online that politics is like a magical ethics class we are all in together. Yes, there are bad things we have to deal with. But with the right attitude we can view them as challenges and ways to forge new creative solutions to benefit everyone.
There were two more stories I heard today that I wanted to mention. One is the American military officially allows transgender people to enlist, as of today, though they don’t expect to start doing it until next year. I’m a pacifist but I appreciate how some changes in society can be shown to “work” in the military, first, to help people appreciate, understand, and accept them. I may have mentioned it last edition but I will say again that it was good news that Obama designated Stonewall as a national monument, the first monument for the Gay Rights movement. But it seemed like a token or attempt to buy support from the gay community after selling out to Hillary when Bernie is the actual pro-gay, and feminist, candidate. And it was the timing, so I hope it backfired on him, that people were celebrating the monument and movement but including in their expressions that the best way to honor them and reach equality and justice would be to elect Bernie. I believe Obama must know and believe this, too, and just be wrapped up in the System, controlling him. Or maybe he has the same plan I hope Gaga does, to bring even more people to Bernie in the end. But whether it is a plan or something that we realize I know we all have it in us and it will come out as this country prepares for the long-needed transformation that is coming. There was a local news story about a man who shot his estranged wife and then himself. He had once threatened to fly a plane into the building where she worked and went in there and shot her instead. They had people from the scene, traumatized, on the news broadcast then more details today. I never watch morning news and just happened to be this morning. Of course the questions come up, maybe a gun was better than a plane but why can someone who says that, who had mental issues, have a gun? We do have some laws against people buying guns specifically if they are angry at their spouse and maybe some gun sellers ask a question to try and “enforce” that but it is obviously an example of the Gun problem in america as well as mental health. And like magic, another story came on the local news after that one, that an active shooter was at Andrew’s Air Force Base, where the President’s Air Force One is. There was an idea that it could be confusion since there was a drill scheduled for today and luckily that is what it turned out to be. But for about an hour even the White House press secretary was tweeting that it was a real event, not the drill. I felt bad for the local FOX News folks because they even said “some would criticize us for reporting on this when we just don’t know yet” but to me it was fascinating to see, on TV, how uncoordinated our government is and how it can lead to such mistakes. Mostly, though, my idea was that no one should expect it to be true because there just should not be any way to take a gun there, and that should be the case for many places, why not everywhere? But of course I am totally against guns. I’m glad it turned out to be imaginary but the sad truth is it got coverage because of where it is but in our society there is an “active shooter” somewhere everyday. That is something we can change as we change our culture. Also I heard China made an $80 billion dollar oil deal with Nigeria, who would use some of the money to update their refineries so they don’t have to import oil, and also that rebels there were demanding more oil money. I wish it was already a green energy world but as it is I suppose this can be good for Nigeria if it is done well and they use the opportunity to help people so they don’t feel rebellious. There are great fears about globalization because of the idea of the strong preying on the weak. But in a new culture, a new paradigm, where strength is understood as the ability to help the disadvantaged become stronger we will all grow in our own unique strengths with mutual support and we will honor helping others the most so that will become what we all strive towards.
The last news story I will mention was a local Colorado Public Radio report about Weed arrests. Now that weed is legal here the arrests are mostly of young people, under 21, who still can’t legally smoke weed. They did say that since legalization arrests of adults have been cut in half but I still see that is an example of a police force that is out-of-touch and corrupted by power. I know that after Denver decriminalized weed in 2005, when I moved here, the cops still gave out tickets for years and when asked said they didn’t want the tickets to go to waste, they were already printed. But the real evil that the story exposed is that arrests of kids for smoking weed is completely racist. The arrests of white kids has gone down in recent years but the arrests of black and latino kids has increased. They said out of 12 cases in the courthouse that day, one was a white kid. This is the same racism inherent in the “Drug War” all over, as someone pointed out in response to the police claim that it is not racist. The police say they are call-driven reports, but of course this relates directly to the issue of having legal weed but excessive restrictions on where we can smoke it. And it also relates to the other issue the cops recognized, but did not see it as a racial issue. They said since they patrol black and latino communities more of course there are more arrests there. But this contradicts the claim that they are only call-based. It implies when cops see kids of color smoking weed in public they arrest them. They don’t have to do that but it’s like they can’t help themselves. One cop excuse was that the weed stores were mostly owned by white people but that is completely ridiculous as a factor. Maybe, since some towns don’t allow weed stores, there are more illicit sales to “bust”. I guess my point is this simply does not need to be a priority or even happening. It’s not helping anyone to give them a record for smoking weed “too early.” There was another story in the news about this bias against weed, just retaining a “Drug War” mentality. Some events with street kids on the 16th Street Mall have prompted a response from the media and police. The police requested that the pot stores in the area stop selling single joints since that is what poor people are likely to smoke. The response from a weed store owner was “Are they going to ask the liquor stores to stop selling shooters?” which is a much more pertinent question since weed chills people out and alcohol makes us violent. When the Broncos won the Superbowl in the 90s there were riots, everyone was drunk. Last year it was totally chill, everyone was stoned. We have biases towards some things, including racism, that are just inappropriate and untrue and we will learn better. Weed is really good and helpful to people and we have the opportunity, finally, to openly show and discover even more benefits. Liberating weed is one example, like seeking peace, that tests our faith and demands we stay true to our principles. Gaga supports legalizing weed and credits weed for helping inspire her lyrics. I assume she would also want to reform the prison system since it is driving this evil Drug War and many others. Bernie is the one who will legalize weed. He has already put motions before the Senate to do so. Bernie is the one who will reform the prison industry, already calling to end the business of private prisons. We have a 2 trillion dollar prison in Colorado that is empty because they decided solitary confinement was a bad idea -thankfully -with a new director. But we pay 10 million dollars a year on taxes for it, just to pay it off. They are also building a 2 Trillion dollar VA hospital here. It reminds me of a joke someone told on a Carson rerun, so in the 80’s, that the government spent 180 billion dollars that year on Defense. He said he would just take his 10 million a year and take his chances. But this is the same math that applies to healthcare and defense and college, etc, today. These programs are so expensive if they just gave us the money, split up 300 million ways, it would make us all rich. But it’s not like the programs are bad or unnecessary -well, defense is - it’s just that they are so badly run and include all the slush profits all the way up. We can reform that, make the systems work properly and have PLENTY to go around so we don’t need nearly as much health care and prisons in the first place because we can all take better care of ourselves and others. And the institutions we will have will be focused on health, rehabilitation, not punishment and coercion. And within all the evils of the justice system the racism of America is most apparent. It’s a place to focus, to expect to fix the problems and heal from them, not blame them on a demonized “other” as Hillary did with her “Bring the Superpredators to heel” comment. I’ve turned that into #bringthesuperdelegatestoheel and I know we will. And we won’t forget why it is dangerous to settle or only talk but not walk.
We can’t just claim to believe things,we have to let those beliefs guide our actions and even guide us to change and transform and become better versions of ourselves. Bernie is the one doing this, politically, and the way we can all help each other do it better, together. Technically it is possible for Hillary to become enlightened and become that kind of person, too, and I hope she does, but I don’t expect it as she is now and certainly don’t expect it to come from her getting even more power. Maybe another defeat will help her understand. If she had focused on becoming a better person after Obama won she might be a good candidate, now, but instead she focused on getting better at stealing elections. It’s just not right and she does not deserve to win after closing so many polling stations, getting Berners kicked off the roles, refusing to seat our delegates, rigging machines and more hands-on vote-stealing like I suspect in Colorado, plus who knows what else. I do completely trust Bernie, and Tulsi, and of course I had that psychic instinct years ago, when I first saw Tulsi, that she would be our first woman president. I believe in Gaga and the Dalai Lama and the American people, the people of the world, too, since there are Berners all over, to get on the bright side of history, the Future, and support Bernie. I’m excited to see it as it all comes true! Let’s hold ourselves and each other up to our highest ideals and make it happen!
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