Who's the Democrat?

It's time to play that ol' favorite game again, peeps!

See if you can "Name that Democrat!"

Just watch this ad and tell me WHO is the Democrat in the race!

One Nation rally

Well, well, it's wonderful to see so many "progressives" coming out. The rightards are trying to make "progressive" a dirty word, like they did to the word "liberal." We couldn't make this rally, but we're still trying to set up a visit to D.C. for Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" on Oct 30.

Tens of Thousands of Progressives Rally at the Lincoln Memorial for Jobs, Justice and Education

Tens of thousands of civil rights, labor, and other progressive activists gathered on the National Mall today for the One Nation Working Together rally, meant to bring attention to the fight for jobs, justice and education and energize the left one month before the midterm elections.

"October 2nd is about November 2nd," SEIU President Mary Kay Henry recently told MSNBC host Ed Schultz, who heavily promoted the event on his show and gave opening remarks today. "And it's about what we do after November 2nd to hold elected officials and corporate America accountable to getting us back to work."

More than 400 organizations representing tens of thousands of individuals sponsored the rally, bringing together groups like the Sierra Club, United Mine Workers of America, and the NAACP. Backers were touting it as the most diverse march in history.

Organizers insisted that One Nation was not a response to Fox News host Glenn Beck's Aug. 28 "Restoring Honor" rally, although some attendees held signs referencing the personality and his network, such as "I want my country back from Glenn Beck" and "Fox News: The more you watch, the less u know." "I didn't really appreciate that he took away from Martin Luther King," said Sheila Robinson, a member of AFSCME's District Council 37, noting that Beck's rally was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of the civil rights icon's "I Have a Dream" speech.

"His [Beck's] rally was in response to what the civil rights movement has always been about, which is a multiethnic movement," National Urban League President Marc Morial, who spoke at the rally, told The Huffington Post in an interview on Friday. "But I do invite people to consider the contrast they'll see, in terms of the diversity. This is named One Nation because this rally will look like the way the nation looks. It's going to be yellow, it's going to be black, white, Hispanic and Asian. It's going to be men and women. It's going to be people from various walks, areas and religions. That's what it's about, and that's what the future of America is about. So this is really also a demonstration that that is a future that we should be proud of, and that's a future we should embrace as a nation."

The National Mall looked like a patchwork quilt, with thousands of union workers grouped in clusters wearing t-shirts in their respective colors. Unions such as the AFL-CIO and SEIU bused in workers from all over the country, and many attendees at the event said that they learned about it from their local chapters and were hoping it would mobilize people to get out the vote for November. The Rev. Al Sharpton called the upcoming elections the country's "midterm exams" and said the left needed to get ready. "We've got to go home and got to hit the pavement," he urged attendees. "We've got to knock on doors... We've got to get ready for the midterm."

"I hope that people will go home, be energized to get their neighbors and their neighbors' neighbors out to vote so that we can out-vote those who don't know how to vote," said Lula Stewart, a member of the Office and Professional Employees International Union. "I will be calling, I will be visiting, going door to door, telling them how important this midterm vote is."

There didn't appear to be many conservatives at the rally; all the attendees with whom The Huffington Post spoke wanted to vote Republicans out of office in November, saying the GOP was more interested in defending corporations and the wealthy. There were some people waving signs and wearing clothing supporting President Obama, and most people gave him credit for trying but said he needed a Congress that was more willing to back him up -- both on the Republican and Democratic side.

Only one elected representative, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), spoke today, although Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) was also in attenance. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) was invited but was unable to participate. "On TV news, we don't see many pictures of the immigrant sweeping the floor in the hospital or caring for a sick child," said Gutierrez's prepared remarks. "But we see lots of pictures of scary invaders jumping over fences. Of prisoners in handcuffs. For too many people, the two words that come to mind when they think of immigrants are: Go Home. It's our job to replace them with two words that tell the real story: Hard Work."

Most attendees seemed to have received the message about focusing on jobs, justice and education, although there were a smattering of off-topic signs about war, not eating meat, and child abduction.

"I'm hoping this helps to be a counter-balance to all of the press that says there's this right-wing wave that everybody is more concerned about taxes than they are about justice," George Sheridan, a first- and second-grade teacher from California and member of the National Education Association told The Huffington Post. "We want to show that in fact, what we need is good jobs; that's where we'll get taxes from. What we need is social investment. If we educate the children, then we don't have as many people in welfare, we don't have as many people in prison. So we're looking for a just society. This is one step. That doesn't come from today, but this is one piece of a movement we have to build for years."

The One Nation Working Together website is still up. Go here. And you can see more pictures from the rally by clicking here.

October Stargazing

Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun.
John Lennon

Stargazing Summary

Some of the signature constellations of autumn scoot into the evening sky this month, including Taurus, the bull. Look especially for his V-shaped face and his shoulder, which is represented by the Pleiades. Venus and Mars offer up one last glimpse of themselves this month, although Venus quickly disappears as it moves into the morning sky. Saturn is climbing into the morning as well, leaving Jupiter as the only planet in good view throughout the evening. It is in the east as night falls, and climbs high across the south during the night. Jupiter far outshines all the true stars in the night, so it’s a brilliant accent for the autumn sky.

More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky

Radio Program Highlights

Hear StarDate every day on more than 360 radio stations nationwide or subscribe to our podcast: http://stardate.org/feeds/podcast.xml

October 4-10: Building planets. Young stars are encircled by wide, thin disks of gas and dust — the raw materials for planets. We'll tell you all about these disks and how they give birth to planets — plus talk about one star system where it's happening right now.

October 11-17: Dark energy. Most of the stuff that makes up the universe is not just something we can't see — it's something we don't yet comprehend. Join us for the mystery of dark energy, and the effort to understand it.

October 18-24 Moon meanderings. The Moon passes by the bright planet Jupiter this week, and they put on quite a show. And late in the week, the Moon will be full — the Hunter's Moon. Join us for details on the Moon's meanderings across the sky.

October 25-31: Measuring the stars. Even though the stars are a long way away, astronomers still know quite a bit about them — from their age to their weight to what they're made of. We'll explain just how astronomers learn all these details about the stars.

October Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates.php

News From The Observatory

Tom Barnes Celebrates Six Months as Superintendent of McDonald Observatory
As Tom Barnes celebrated six months as Superintendent of The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory in September, he laid out several goals for the Observatory. Barnes, an astronomer who specializes in studying variable stars, took over permanent management of the West Texas site in March after serving as Interim Superintendent for four months. His 40-year history with McDonald includes 21 years as its chief operating officer, based in Austin.

Find out more: http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/releases/2010/0913.html

New Cosmology Videos on YouTube

McDonald Observatory has launched a YouTube Channel. The channel currently hosts about 30 videos on topics from overviews of the Observatory, to fighting light pollution, to skywatching event animations. Be sure to check out our new videos on Dark Energy and Dark Matter from the Texas Cosmology Center. Subscribe to our channel, and be notified when new videos are posted!

YouTube videos

Coming Up In StarDate Magazine

In the November/December issue, look back on the astronomy research carried out over three decades by the space shuttle program as it draws to a close. Comet and meteor expert Gary Kronk returns to discuss the popular hysteria surrounding the appearance of comets in past centuries.

Subscribe online: http://stardate.org/magazine

Swami Beyondananda

Lose Weightiness Now!

"I lost weightiness ... ask me how!"
-- Swami Beyondananda

In these stressful times, it's easy to gain weightiness. Weightiness gain is not your fault!

Work ... the economy ... and now the election season ... and pretty soon ... yes, that's right. You've gained weightiness. Well, if gravity's got you down, let levity lift you up!

Here are just some of the serious problems that can be caused by overweightiness:

• Irregularhilarity
• Humorrhoids
• Irony deficiency
• Truth decay

Absolutely FREE here is Swami's 5-step program to lose weightiness now!
1. Take a vow of levity! Remember, levity will help you rise above whatever is bringing you down. In a toxic situation? Laughter will keep you from taking it poisonally. Feel the levitational pull uplifting the corners of your mouth into a smile. You want to uplift humankind? Uplift your face first! Here is the levity vow: "All for fun ... and fun for all!"

2. Don't Get Even -- Get Odd. Instead of staying stuck in dualing dualities, use your one-of-a-kindness to find the odd solution that beats the heck out of getting even.

3. When You See A Sacred Cow, Milk It For All It's Worth. When our sacred cows give the milk of human kindness, we are fortified to take the bull by the horns.

4. Enlighten Your Load. Is your life stuffed with stuff? Unstuff it! Stuff is a major cause of weightiness. You'll be surprised that the more liquid you get, the more solid you will feel.

5. Wake Up Laughing, and Wise Up Loving. Time to wake up. You'll never lose weightiness if you keep hitting snooze. Wake up with a laugh, and end the day with an embrace, and if you are alone ... embrace yourself, and immerse yourself in a warm solution of love. And in addition to these five steps to fool-realization, a vital laugh force, and fully opened clown chakra, here are four things you can do every day!

Daily Weightiness Loss Exercise Plan.

1. Wake up laughing. As Swami says, "If you wake up with a funny feeling ... go with it." If you don't immediately laugh upon rising, then rise and start laughing. Nothing funny? Go look in the bathroom mirror. If you're still not laughing, pretend you're looking at someone else. Do that, and you'll laugh.

2. Do Ha-Ha-Ha Breaths. Very important to move the laugh force early in the day to insure regularhilarity. So, we use the vowel sounds, and we put a h- in front of it ... so we begin way up here at the top of our heads with a hee-hee-hee. Then we move down to the throat and we chuckle a heh-heh-heh. Next, down to the heart for some hearty laughter, ha-ha-ha, and now the belly laugh ho-ho-ho. and way down to the bottom hoo-hoo-hoo ... and now move the vowel sounds back up hoo-hoo-hoo, ho-ho-ho, ha-ha-ha, heh-heh-heh, hee-hee-hee ... ah, nothing like a good vowel movement early in the day.

3. Enlighten Up the News. You want to know where most weightiness gain occurs? In the morning, eating breakfast and watching the news or reading the paper. Why? All the studies are conclusive: The news puts on weightiness, and is a major factor in truth decay. That's why we recommend using mental floss after every serving of mainstream media. Just put your thumb and forefinger about six inches from each ear. Ready? Then, with a gentle back and forth motion, dislodge all the illogical logic, all the petrified bullshit, and every dysfunctional belief masquerading as reality. Ahhh ... you will feel so much better. Your synapses will start synapping again.

4. Play at Work, Work at Play. You know what the secret of a happy life is? To be able to answer yes to the question, "From this you make a living?" If you aren't doing what you love -- or at least loving what you do -- you are slathering on pounds of excess weightiness! So ... if you can't be with the work you love, love the work you're with. And if you hate the work you're with, love hating it. Invent a hilarious character, and use that character to complain loudly about everything you hate. Then laugh.

Note. If you begin feeling lightheaded due to sudden weightiness loss, simply surrender to the levitational pull. If symptoms of ascension continue, consult your metaphysician.

Help Others Lose Weightiness Too!

During this contentious election season where it's hard to escape barking dogmas and dueling dualities -- not to mention feud poisoning -- it's so very important to maintain regularhilarity. That's why we've extended Swami's Cosmic Comedy Specials throughout our upcoming Wake Up Laughing Wise Up Loving Tour.

First of all, you can order the Fool Enchilada Special for the very special price of just $59 (includes U.S. shipping) and get $112 value! That's more laughs per penny than the high-priced laughsitive!

And ... if you want to go audio only, you can order all four of Swami's hilarious CDs for just $39 (includes U.S. shipping).

If you want to immerse yourself in the what's, how's and why's of creating cosmic comedy, there is the Wake Up Laughing e-book, AND a four hour teleclass A Course In Laughter available for download for just $15. https://www.wakeuplaughing.com/epistore/

And ... if you're in a really generous mood, you can be part of our Buddysattva program and get the Wake Up Laughing e-book for a dozen of your friends. Hey, that hole in the Bozone Layer that has compromised our planet's clown chakra can't heal without your help!

And remember, when it comes to laughter what goes around, comes around. The laugh you save may be your own!

Go to Swami Beyondananda's website by clicking here.

Go Rabbi Lerner!

It's not often I say something like, "The rabbi is right."

Obama (and Biden) Have No Clue

About What's Bothering Their Political Base

Rabbi Michael Lerner
Original

Shortly before the California Democratic primary in 2008, the San Fransisco Chronicle invited me to write a short article explaining why I, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives, was supporting Barack Obama. Like most other progressive activists, I understood that a president is limited in what s/he can accomplish in limiting the power of America's economic and political elites and in restraining the military-industrial complex, the pharmaceutical and health care profiteers, the oil industry's relentless destruction of the environment, or the selfishness and materialism that had become the hallmark of Wall Street and increasingly the "common sense" that was conveyed by the media and advertising into the consciousness of many Americans.

But what a president can do is to challenge the ideas of the powerful and rally those who have become aware that the current system is not only destructive to the future of the planet, but also to the possibility of constructing lives that have a sense of higher meaning than accumulating money and things, or building families and friendships that are about love and not dominated by the self-interest "what's in it for me" consciousness of the capitalist marketplace.

President Obama is now traveling the country seeking to rebuild the enthusiasm he generated in 2008, and seems clueless as to why it is not there. And the Democrats who followed his lead seem similarly clueless. They imagine that we, their political base, must have had unreasonable expectations that somehow a Democratic majority in Congress and a Democratic president could overcome the Republican party of "no" and the powerful institutional constraints built up over many decades. So they try to explain to us why they failed to pass the legislation that we, their political base, would have wanted.

It's easier to believe that their liberal and progressive base is naïve than to acknowledge that we are not alienated for their failure to pass appropriate legislation, but for their failure to fight for such legislation. And our upset with Obama is not that he didn't accomplish what he couldn't accomplish, but that he didn't do the one thing he could do: consistently speak the truth, tell us and the country what was really happening in the corridors of power and what the constraints are that he was facing.

It's one thing to make compromises after you've struggled for something you believe in, another to make the compromises without ever trying. Liberals and progressives had already been deeply disillusioned after the Democratic sweep of Congress in 2006, continued to fund the war in Iraq despite overwhelming popular opposition to that war. So when Obama entered the primaries and spent much of his time distinguishing himself from Sen. Clinton on precisely the grounds that he had opposed the war from the beginning, he gave his base the impression that he would be a leader who would challenge the war makers. Similarly, when he challenged the selfishness and materialism that pervaded Wall Street, we felt we had a candidate who would be willing to speak truth to power.

So what happened? Massive bailouts for Wall Street while almost nothing for the millions of unemployed or those losing their homes to avaricious financial lenders; escalation of the war in Afghanistan and leaving 50,000 troops as "advisors" in Iraq; refusing to consider a "public option" for health care and supporting a plan that forces tens of millions of people to buy health insurance without putting any restraints on insurance companies' continuing escalations of the amount we have to pay for health care; repression against immigrants; allowing continued drilling in the oceans for oil even after the Gulf disaster, and substituting the empty promise of "cap and trade" for the tax on carbons that is the only plausible way to reduce carbon emissions; refusal to punish those engaged in torture in the US intelligence community; and the list goes on.

The president has a bully pulpit that could have rallied the American public to an alternative worldview. Reagan did that while facing a hostile Democratic Congress; Roosevelt did that while facing a hostile Republican Congress-and that is what made them the most significant presidents of the 20th century.

Many of us will vote Democratic in November, despite all this. But don't expect us to be able to rally others when the best we can say is that the Democrats and their national leader are better than the plausible alternatives. That is not a rallying cry likely to produce many votes or move us beyond our deep disappointments. And many others, feeling humiliated at allowing themselves to have opened to the hope Obama elicited, now find themselves either totally uninterested in politics or wishing to strike back at the Democrats for making fools of those who trusted. Obama and the Democrats remain clueless.

Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine and author of 11 books, most recently a national best-seller The Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country from the Religious Right ( Harper, 2006).

Real Pledge to America

This site is a whole lot more truthful than what the Republicans just came out with.

The Real Pledge to America.

WE WILL PROTECT SENIORS. EXCEPT WHEN CROOKS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM. THEN THEY'RE ON THEIR OWN.

Click here.

How to win in 2010