Life is a State of Mind

I am completely stunned… insulted, surprised, and in disbelief….

Am I the only person who thinks it is completely unacceptable for any strict Creationist to be seriously considered for the office of President of the United States?

Blueweeds has a more thoughtful summary, it is well worth a read:
http://blueweeds.typepad.com/blue_weeds/2008/08/palin-a-risky-j.html

This is more evidence of horribly bad judgement on the part of Senator McCain.

I know, she is not the candidate - he is; but given his age, and the fact that we are a nation at war, the choice of vice president actually does matter…

Problems:

• She admits she does not know the first thing about what the job of vice president entails.
• As Governor of Alaska she tried to push the teaching of Creationism in public schools.
• She fought to keep funding for the infamous bridge to nowhere (so much for that bogus entry in wikipedia that described her as a reformer)
• She is avidly pro-life
• She fought to prevent same sex couples from getting benefits for their non-working partners in Alaska
• Her record on the environment is horrible
• Her lack of experience, while acceptable to me in general, blatantly shows how little respect McCain and his handlers have for the intelligence of the American voter. Her experience pales compared to Obama’s, yet McCain and his cronies feel free to attack Obama and still propose Palin for V.P.?!?!?

This is not just bad judgement folks, it is risky (McCain could be elected, and could die in office), and it is insulting. McCain is telling us all he just does not give a crap what we think.

Saturday Erci drove us up to Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia to stay at the posh Rittenhouse Hotel for a couple of nights. We’ll be visiting with Tasha (she took us to a restaurant Jim recommended).

This hotel is posh. We were welcomed with champaign and strawberries. Our suite is like a small apartment. They brought fresh fruit when they turned down the bedding while we walked around the square. The bedding is very nice, and there is a spa we probably will not have time to enjoy, but the idea is pleasant enough. The alarm clock/radio is also a dock for iPods, and you can play your iPod through the thing if you prefer. The TV has a DVD player.

When we walked in the square, we passed a bunch of people practicing with plastic light sabres. The little bit of Western martial arts training I have has ruined the fun of seeing this sort of thing because now I can’t help but see flaws in the fighting styles I witness.

The Mexican restaurant, Cantina Los Caballitos, is very, very yummy (Thanks Jim!). We ordered too much because it all sounded so good, and Tasha got stuck with some take-home left-overs. Fabulous conversation outside on a perfect night with just a slight breeze.

Sunday morning Tasha picked us up and took us to a Zen tea ceremony, liturgy chanting (Heart Sutra) and Dharma discussion in New Jersey at Pine Wind Zen Center. It was very different from our normal Soka Gakkai meetings, but interesting. The discussion was excellent, and focused on extending the compassion parents have for children to other human beings. We had much to talk about on the way back to Philadelphia.

Erci had to study for her MBA class a little, and Tasha had to do some child-care duties, so I was left to walk over to Philadelphia’s beautiful Rodin Museum on my own, which turned out to be splendid as I had plenty of time to contemplate the sculptures that inspired me, and was also free to rush by the ones I was not interested in. There were several that inspired me, including: “The Man with the Broken Nose,” “The Hand of God,” “Shame (Absolution),” and “Kneeling Fauness.” The thing that continues to strike me about Rodin’s work is the hands. So alive, so expressive, so much energy and tension. Amazing. Awesome. Wow…

Wow, just wow. If you are at all interested in dance, you need to get to a local showing of the live traveling show “So You Think You Can Dance” with the top dancers from the TV show of the same name. We saw a lot of the same routines we saw during the competition on TV, but the dancers have had time to refine the routines and polish their performances. Also they added a few new routines. The show was fantastic.

Thank you Erci, for scoring tickets and making us go to Philadelphia to see the show!

Monday was a vacation day for me, and we came back from Philadelphia, and then I caught a couple dance lessons and an episode of season 1 Heroes.

I know it’s a paid for commercial for the music group “The Bastard Fairies” and that it was all scripted, but the truths coming out of this little girl’s mouth are so profound and so awesome that I had to share it. Also, the band is giving away their first album in MP3 format and asking people to download and share it if they like the music, I do.

I am reading Sam Harris’ “The End of Faith” right now - so her diatribe about religion causing violence strikes a familiar chord in me. Anyway, enjoy. I downloaded the album “Momento Mori” and I am enjoying it - though I’d like to buy higher quality version I think.

In protest over the bigotry of the Marshall/Newman amendment to Virginia’s constitution, and in support of all our gay and lesbian friends, Erci and I have decided to stop calling each other husband and wife. Henceforth we shall call each other domestic partner instead, and we shall introduce each other to people we meet as “my domestic partner” in the hopes that it will cause more people to really think about having some compassion for their fellow human beings.

I mentioned this to some guys a work and Rob suggested extending it from just spouses calling each other “domestic partner” to using the generic term partner to describe all kinds of relationships between same and different sexed people. What an awesome idea. So now you are all partners!

In other news I wore my “Jim Webb for Senate” t-shirt today and walked into a Baja Fresh for a burrito. Another customer said hello and asked if I worked the Webb campaign. I told him I had as well as several other campaigns. He said he used to be involved in politics, got focused on family and career for a number of years but would like to get involved again. He asked me to hook him up with the local Democratic party, that the Webb victory gives him hope, and gave me his business card. Now I am glad I wore that shirt today! I met a new partner in continuing to bring compassion and democracy to the state.

This last weekend before the election we should all be getting voters to commit to going to the polls or voting absentee, and I certainly have been doing that and will continue, but only after a short break from politics. My wife and I are sporadically celebrating 14 years of adventure together (yes, sweetheart, I know the wedding was only 13 years ago, but our adventure began about a year before we stood up for the ceremony). We are seeing the Cirque du Soleil show Corteo in Washington, DC tomorrow night. We usually get the cheapest tickets at a show, and that is always awesome, but this time we splurged and got Tapis Rouge Tickets so we could see a little more of the behind the scenes point of view. It will be a nice cap to an whole day with the Smithsonian Resident’s Association at India in all Its Senses: Understanding What You See When You Go.

Life is a wonderful story and a grand adventure, and for us; marriage is about sharing that story equally and all the time. All of you extremely motivated and altruistic election volunteers should take a small breather and appreciate your loved ones out loud and with complete focus this weekend, at least for a little while. I have been so caught up in the election that I have not spent the time I should have with my beloved, and I plan to change that this weekend, if only for a little while. It has been wonderful having a partner in the revolution; for us sharing our efforts has been a reward, but a short break is needed.

Sunday morning we are going to cheer for a friend who is receiving his own Gohonzon (NOVA Community Center, 11:00) and being formally accepted into our Soka Gakkai community. Then we may jump back into literature drops, get out the vote efforts, phone banking, and staffing to change our government into one that responds to and for people.

Update (6 November): India in all Its Senses was an awesome series of mini-seminars, giving a tiny taste of the rich history and culture of the sub-continent. Corteo was spectacular, and the Madera is a very comfortable hotel to stay at, and has a restaurant/bar called Firely (how cool is that!?!). Sunday morning the community center was packed with SGI-USA members and 4 gohonzons were conferred.

Now, do your last minute research and go vote. Specifically, in Virginia, vote for Jim Webb for U.S. Senate and Vote NO on the first proposed amendentment question (please make us all proud to be in the first state to reject this bigoted and mean-spirited hatred). Depending on your congressional district, please vote for Judy Feder, Andy Hurst, Jim Moran, Shawn O’Donnell, Al Weed, Phil Kellam, Jim Nachman, Rick Boucher, Barbara Jean Pryor, or Andre Peery. If you are in Prince William County vote for Sharon Pandak. If you are in the 50th house of delegate’s district, vote for Jeanette Rishell. Most important of all though, please go vote.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We started with the SGI-USA Fortune District discussion meeting at Maria’s house where we talked about compassion and embracing our neighbors, and we heard an experience from Maria. Jeff announced that the 2006 Annual Study Guide is available online, by order, and at the community center bookstore. Then many of us went from the meeting to participate in the interfaith 9/11 Unity Walk for Peace.

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It’s getting close to the anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States by a group of men, mostly from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who were outraged by the sexual liberty of women, gay marriage, birth control, and no-fault divorce.

RenaRF has a great story about Fear, Real Fear vs. Manufactured Fear in her Thank You to President Bush. Excellent reading, highly recommended. I can’t help recalling the story of a local (to Reston) Buddhist medical doctor who said to his wife as he was dying of cancer: “Fear is not real.” He told her to anchor her heart in peace, love, and culture. That is what he hoped his life was all about, and that is what would keep her happy even without him.

To quote Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

It is fear that our government is using to try to manipulate elections and laws and even the constitution.

It is fear that the terrorists used on September 11th, 2001. In fact terrorism is the use of fear as a weapon against non-combatants throughout history, both before and after September 11th, 2001. Oklahoma City bombing, Anthrax mailings, shootings and bombings of family planning clinics, any nation possessing nuclear weapons; these are all examples of terrorism and the power of fear. All such power is ultimately fleeting.

The power of love is far greater. One man’s love for humanity has changed the lives of billions, not just once - but several times. Jesus of Nazareth, Siddartha Gautama, T’ien T’ai, and Muḥammad all brought messages of peace and love. Their impact is still felt all over the globe a thousand years and more after their passing.

Do something for love, for culture, and for peace this weekend.

Erci and I plan to participate in the interfaith 9/11 Unity Walk for Peace this Sunday in Washington, DC. Our purpose:

“We walk together as neighbors from many faiths and cultures. We gather in peace to demonstrate our unity, recalling the spirit of togetherness that grew out of 9/11. We commemorate this day because concern for each other’s welfare is the shared hope of us all.”

Saturday, Erci and I hosted our third annual men’s division Virginia West chapter meeting in our home. The chapter is a lot smaller now, as it has been split two years in a row because of growth in local Soka Gakkai membership numbers (woo hoo!). Yesterday we went up to Purceville for Potomac Chapter’s annual men’s division meeting hosted by Vijay. It was remarkable how different the two meetings were even though they were nominally focused on the same topics: “the oneness of mentor and disciple” and “building a self-reliant faith.” Both were pulled from the July/August issue of Living Buddhism magazine and from the July 21st issue of the World Tribune.

For the Virginia West chapter the discussion focused on the definition of the mentor and disciple relationship and on speaking from the heart. We talked a lot about how the mentor disciple relationship is disciple initiated, that we each choose our own mentors, and that sometimes our mentors can choose us. We also talked a lot about practicing an engaged and active life, where we take actions on those things closest to our hearts.

In the Potomac chapter there were more experiences given, and they were particularly heart-wrenching and moving. One man talked about his mother’s passing, and another about his fight with alcohol and substance abuse. Potomac men’s discussion focused more on actively establishing great friendships with those around us and staying connected both in faith and in community regardless of faith.

Both meetings were followed by excellent food and fun, and at both there was a reminder that Fall study review is coming, and that the interfaith walk for peace is coming even sooner (SGI-USA is participating).

Couldn’t resist… the devil (prehensile-wit) made me do it…

You can misbehave yourself by visiting churchsigngenerator. We all “aim to misbehave” don’t we?

This just about sums up my feelings about the U.S. administration so eloquently and succinctly that it deserves spreading around. Sorry if the language is not suitable for certain environment… it is a flash slideshow with music, runs a few minutes. Worth every precious moment it takes to watch.

FilmStripInternational

Thanks Kate!