12.25.2003
America's Longest Night
Statement given at a Veterans for Peace Solstice Concert
Gainesville, Florida
December 22, 2003
by Doris "Granny D" Haddock
Greetings to you all, Brave Veterans for Peace and Friends!
We now come to the longest night of the year. In ancient times people
worried that the sun would just keep falling further on the horizon
until the world turned to one long, cold night.
But we have come to understand that there is a rhythm to life, and that
the dark is followed by the light, and the sun halts its retreat and
begins its way back to us. And so it is in the history of our nation,
for there is some natural gravitational pull that provides for a return
of human warmth after the frightening chill of dark times.
America, politically, is in one of the darkest nights of its history.
There is a way forward, and the forces of nature are with us.
Although many of us hesitated to think it as such, America suffered
something very much like a coup three and a half years ago. A radical
faction took over the institutions of government after sending thugs to
physically stop a vote that was not going their way. That sounds harsh
to say, but history now shows it to be the simple truth, and every
day's news plays out the brutal changes sought by this usurping
faction. If American values are for the growth of the middle class, the
equality of the races, the projection of peace and justice in the
world, and for the preservation and advance of our own rights and
freedoms, then this coup is so radically against the values of the
nation that it may be called a kind of treason. But it is different in
that it is a legal treason, just as the large campaign donations from
business interests are legal bribery. This complication has put many to
sleep, but also it has caused many others to awaken from long political
sleeps.
In the years since the 2000 election, this coup, which was launched on
behalf of a wealthy elite, has destroyed or damaged our ability to care
for each other now and for decades to come, has redefined American
policy abroad in a unilateral new and bloody garment, has ruthlessly
ravaged the environment, and has coldly undermined the personal
liberties and rights formerly granted to all Americans through our Bill
of Rights. It is indeed an overthrow of some sort, though it is
sophisticated and the old institutions remain functioning and appear to
be little changed--though they are propped-up corpses. The same wealthy
elite who yet engineer this American nightmare, thanks to corporate
deregulation they paid for with awesome bribes legalized as campaign
contributions, own our largest news organizations, which they have silenced
on all but issues of films and celebrities and celebrity crimes and foreign
danger and the bright young heroes and martyrs of
America's New Imperial Army. The corporate radio stations, and much of
the cable spectrum, is filled with the mind-poisoning lies of this big
lie machine.
If brave courts and a bare handful of elected Members of Congress who
are not corporate whores nip at the heels of this coup, they do not
long deflect the cruel trajectory of this overthrow. We worry now for
our very elections. We know we cannot endure another four years of
it--and yet we will have to do just that, if a fair election decides in
that direction.
Those of us who are awake to the villainy, who wonder why the few good
newspapers do not call it the treason it is, who despair sometimes at
the comatose intoxication of our neighbors, have to now work an
important miracle for our nation and its future.
And on this solstice night let us know that the cycles of nature do
favor our work and they doom our greedy and hatemongering enemies.
Our strength rises from the gentle and fair aspect of the American
character, which is indeed mighty. There are other aspects of our
character, as our violent history shows. But at heart, Americans have
an idea of America as a good and fair and caring place. It is the
America they cherish.
We who are awake must become circles of influence in our families,
neighborhoods and workplaces, so that the next election will be the
counter-coup. Republicans, Democrats, Greens and Independents must
unite to elect people who will destroy the goose-stepping advance of
this un-American invasion that now is destroying our moderate and
rational nation. Our enemies are not Republicans or their party, which
has been hijacked away from its values of moderation, fiscal
conservatism, American jobs, American family businesses, and individual
rights and privacies. Good Republicans must be tough against this
takeover, and Democrats must help them by offering useful candidates
for this moment of historic intervention and correction. These
candidates must be able to not only offer a strong and wide bridge,
but--and here is the trick--they must be able to inspire the half of the
citizenry who do not vote, for their services are needed if we are to
come into November with overwhelming strength, so that no villainy by
election officials or voting machine makers can have enough effect.
After the November election, if it is a fair election, we must live
with the result. All our energies are required now, in these months
before the election, if we believe in democracy as we say we do.
And democracy is indeed what it is about. Democracy is the welling-up
of power from the hearts and minds of free and equal citizens. It is a
conceptual framework that the radical right abhors. It is why they
insist upon the strict hierarchy of a creationist view, where orders
are all given from yet higher above and there is no creativity or power
below--only servants, only slaves, who need no rights or protections or
health care or overtime, nor life itself. It is a power-mad mindset
that invades every aspect of their thinking. It is a neurotic -and in
some cases psychotic-- illness that now threatens the peace and health
of the world.
Many of our neighbors are mentally disposed to look to political,
cultural or religious leaders for the formation of their own opinions,
and they do not see what is in front of them or how their own lives are
being destroyed. While these many are authority-friendly, others of us
are not that at all. We the authority-averse have had our smoke alarms
blaring in our heads for three and a half years now, and we offer our
services to those who have fallen asleep in the smoke and who need
waking or dragging from the building.
When America has good, decent and creative leaders again, those
neighbors of ours who only take their cues from leaders will be singing
friendlier tunes again. But for now, we have a massive rescue effort
ahead of us, and we had better know what this struggle is all about.
It is a culture war. Remarkably, it is not as much about issues as you
might think. We met a fellow in a West Virginia coffee shop who thinks
Bush may not be able to win, so he is thinking about moving his support
to Kerry. "He's a vet and he seems like a person of moral strength,
like Bush," he said. White fraternity boys at Ole Miss in Oxford,
Mississippi watched a Dem debate and came out impressed with Dean,
according to a TV pundit. Why? "He seemed like the strongest guy," was
the group agreement. And of course Arnie won in California. An
African-American college student in Philadelphia said he would support
Arnie for President if he could. Why? "You know, man, the Terminator!"
he said--as if that said it all.
The common thread in these examples is this: it isn't about issues; In
a dumbed-down political environment, it's about the personal strength
or, more truly, the perception of personal strength. It is to be a
battle of comic book heroes, and issues are not important, except as
weapons of character assassination.
So when one democrat criticizes the issue position of another democrat,
it doesn't do much damage except to the accuser, who looks weak to be
making criticisms about things that no one really cares about. A
culture of fear has been shaped, and the voters demand a strong leader
to lead them through it. Issues are only important to the political
junkies like us.
A culture war cannot be won if it is fought like a regular political
campaign. It is about the creation of images and the framing of futures
and the posterization of complex candidates into comic book colors. It
is more like professional sports promotion. Until all the candidates
understand this -Bush and Rove certainly do--they won't stand much of a
chance. If Dean has a head start, it is because he does get it. If you
want another candidate to beat him and Bush, you had better send him or
her to comic book school.
And while the campaigns do all that, we the people have to use the
issues to get to our friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors,
and open their eyes to where their self-interest resides in this battle
of dumbed-down warriors. They will not get this information from the
campaigns.
As I say when I rap it to students, "It's not just a game for your
Matrix mind: It's a culture war--you're on the front line." And so we
are this war's foot soldiers, and foot soldiers are all about shoe
leather, not email.
The Democratic Party seems not yet up to this challenge of fighting and
winning a culture war. The moderate wing of the Republican Party, as we
know, is in chains. That leaves you and me and the temporary
institutions of the counter coup that we may devise.
It will require discipline if we are to succeed--not the strong suit of
we the authority averse. But we will do it.
The MeetUps of the candidate campaigns, the email-based progressive
organizations, and the local groups that have formed around peace and
Bill of Rights issues must coordinate their efforts in prosecuting a
simple and well-understood strategy.
In terms of logistics, I hope the Dean people, who are so very good at
websites and email, can use their talent to turn "Dean Space," as they
call the environment where hundreds of local Dean websites communicate,
into "Team Space," where the volunteers of all the campaigns can
coordinate voter registration and issue education work.
I hope MoveOn and the other e-orgs will be the communications committee
for such an effort.
And we must remember that much of what is done on the web and through
email is preaching to our choir. Victory is to be had in shoe leather,
not in emails. The email lists, of course, can raise the money to
finance the shoe leather, and finance advertising.
Ads, however, will be ineffective unless we realize that those many
people who only believe authority figures need to hear from cultural
authority figures if they are to change their minds. Millions of
dollars have already been wasted for lack of that understanding.
For myself, I hope to recruit as many people as possible for shoe
leather work. We are standing in front of stores, getting into local
newspaper and television stories, and visiting music clubs on campuses
to recruit volunteers ( I have learned to rap, as one can convey a lot
of message in a short time, and they do pay attention and get
emotionally involved). I hope to use these volunteers to get to many
others--specifically, to help tens of thousands of working women to set
up voter registration offices on their desks and to become circles of
influence within their workplaces, so that everyone will be registered,
well-informed about issues, candidates and voting procedures, and so
that they will indeed vote on election day.
Let us take courage on this dark night. Let us know that we have the
wisdom and the courage and the aggressive love to do this, to manage
this counter coup, to save our country. It isn't enough to know what we
don't want, by the way. We must hold in our imaginations an America and
a world where people are decent to one another, where they live in
harmony with the earth that sustains them, and where the potential of
each person is respected and developed in freedom. It is not an
authoritarian world. It is not a world of harshly divided good and
evil. It is a world of reasonable people, living with manners,
forgiveness, and joy. If we are to be an underground of rebels who
struggle for the cause of love, then that, too, is a joy, and we have
already won. But we struggle also for the lives of others, and for a
future of the world's children and their children, and this struggle is
just beginning.
So take your part. Sign up for duty if you have not already done so.
Work for a candidate, work for a party. If you can spare the time, work
with me by signing up at GrannyD.com. We know that dark times go away.
But here is a hard fact: they only go away because brave people make
them do so. Let us do so.
Thank you.
Granny D.
12.17.2003
A Drug War Carol
Jesse Ventura, tv host, had a tremendously interesting discussion regarding:
Should marijuana be legalized?
JESSE VENTURA, HOST: Imagine an alien suddenly dropped into the 21st
century America. He goes to a Monday night football game and witnesses
thousands of people guzzling a liquid refreshment as fast as vendors
can supply it. Observing the spectacle of the game itself, the alien
is constantly distracted by fans whose behavior seems to become more
and more bizarre. He watches as fights break out between half-naked
fans with painted bodies.
By the end of the contest, on the playing field, he notes that most of
the people around him seem to have lost their ability to walk and for
some reason, their speech has changed. Words are less audible. They
seem to be talking in slow motion. Once the game is over, he watches
the fans stumbling toward their cars, cursing and threatening other
fans.
Clearly, the alien observes, something has caused these fans to have a
mind-altering experience. But whatever is going on, it seems to be
acceptable behavior for this society, because all the while, many
police officers observe the behavior, but remain at a distance and
don't interfere.
The next day, the alien attends a lecture on a college campus. After
the
lecture, he's invited by some students to a party. At the party,
students are sitting around drawing smoke from a bottle-like structure
with water in it. The smoke is inhaled into their bodies, the
conversation is friendly, calm and respectful, and music is playing in
the background. But all of a sudden, many police officers arrive with
guns, grab the water-filled bottle, put handcuffs on everyone in the
room, and take them off to jail. The alien is totally confused.
Welcome to the United States of America, the land of hypocrisy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VENTURA: It's time to do it.
How simple can it get?
I'm sure I'll get plenty of heat over that, but so what?
You may not always want to hear it, but you will get honesty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VENTURA: Welcome to JESSE VENTURA'S AMERICA, the show that isn't afraid
to tackle tough issues and take, maybe, sometimes unpopular stands.
As you can see, free Tommy. I'll get to that later. First I want to
welcome our audience. Our audience is made up from people from all
walks of life. They're not pundits. They're real people. They are not
politicians, they're common ordinary citizens. Audience, get ready,
because we're going to talk about a very emotional issue.
Drugs have been a serious problem for many individuals and for our
country as a whole. But are we making any headway? We'll talk with
critics of the war on drugs and we'll talk with the representative of
the federal Office of Drug Control Policy. And be assured, we'll be
asking a few tough questions.
Our first guest is Robert Kampia, probably the most ardent spokesperson
for ending the war on marijuana users in America. Rob is executive
director of the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C. Rob,
give us a little background. What is the Marijuana Project, Rob?
ROB KAMPIA, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: We're a national organization. We
have dues-paying membership across the country, a staff of 21 people in
D.C. who are working to end the federal government's war on marijuana
users. And we do that primarily through lobbying state legislatures,
running ballot initiatives and lobbying Congress directly.
VENTURA: Rob, do you think there's any chance in hell that they're
going to relax their laws on marijuana and make it legal? Do you
believe that?
KAMPIA: Absolutely. You know ...
VENTURA: What indications are you being given ...
KAMPIA: We have ...
VENTURA: ... that they are going in that direction?
KAMPIA: Well, on the medical marijuana front, which we, you know, keep
separate from the full issue of regulating marijuana, like alcohol,
medical marijuana, we win every battle. There's been seven ballot
initiatives, all seven have passed. Medical marijuana is now legal in
eight states.
VENTURA: But -- can I interject? You're saying you're winning but the
feds come in and overrule the states.
KAMPIA: No.
VENTURA: And they tell -- they tell the states, no, you can't do this.
We're going to imprison doctors. That's not happening?
KAMPIA: No, the feds go in and they shut down wide-scale large medical
marijuana distributors. And those are not really legal under state law
any way. But they're not touching the core of these laws, which is
that it allows patients to grow their own and to use medical marijuana
in the privacy of their home. Those laws are standing and they are
working well.
VENTURA: You know, Rob, you hear this talk all the time that well, we
don't dare legalize marijuana because it is the gateway drug. Everyone
starts with marijuana, and then will progress to cocaine and
eventually, get on heroin and what we would call the hardcore drugs.
Do you find that as factual or fraudulent?
KAMPIA: It's fraudulent. You know, the Institute of Medicine issued a
study four years ago, which was actually commissioned by the White
House drug czar's office. And they said that there is no gateway from
marijuana to the hard drugs.
I mean, look at it logically. Most people who use marijuana do not use
cocaine. It's not a gateway. To the extent that you want to argue it
is a gateway, there is some people who when they go and they buy
marijuana from a drug dealer, that drug dealer is also, you know, has
LSD, cocaine, heroin, what have you.
VENTURA: Sure.
KAMPIA: And so, if you want to talk about a gateway, you could say that
the drug dealers are the gateway. And if you regulated marijuana and
brought it in off the streets, an adult who wanted to go and purchase
marijuana would not see cocaine or heroin or what have you. That's the
way to eliminate it.
VENTURA: I would come back and say the gateway drug is tobacco. And I
say that only from my own personal experience. When we were little
kids, the first thing you always did, you found the kid that could
write the best. And that kid would write, please give my son so and so
two packs of Marlboro and sign it. And you'd walk into the local
little grocery store in those days. We all had the little mom and pop
groceries on almost every corner anyway, and, you know, the guy in
there, if you had a note, OK. You're buying them for your parents. And
I'd be out back in the alley passing out the cigarettes and everybody,
I don't know, seventh, eighth grade, whatever we were, smoking
cigarettes.
So to me, if they want to talk gateway drug, the gateway drug in
America is tobacco. That's the first -- And let me say, when you're
under what? 18, that's illegal. Excuse me. How many years did it --
did it take for us to admit that children smoking was illegal? I
remember it was laughed off for most part at all. Well, he's just
smoking. Who cares? Anyway, Rob, what about, you hear about cancer and
you hear about the toxic of smoking. Doesn't -- isn't marijuana the
same? You're ingesting smoke into your body? Isn't it going to give
you cancer the same way tobacco will?
KAMPIA: No.
VENTURA: No?
KAMPIA: There's no scientific evidence that shows that smoking
marijuana causes cancer.
VENTURA: But they tell -- they tell you there's more carcinogens in it
than there is in tobacco. Are they being untruthful to us?
KAMPIA: It's fair to say that there is more tars and -- and other nasty
chemicals in marijuana than there is in any one hit that you would take
off of a tobacco cigarette. But I wouldn't use the word carcinogens.
Let's -- let's be honest here. There's something like 90 million
Americans have used marijuana. If marijuana really led to cancer,
where are the bodies?
VENTURA: OK, stay with us. We'll take a break, we'll be right back, and
we'll take a look at some of the most outrageous criminal activity in
the country. You won't want to miss it. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VENTURA: Welcome back to JESSE VENTURA'S AMERICA. We're talking about
the war on drugs, and our next guest is Stan Levenson. Stan is an
attorney from Pittsburgh who defended the infamous Tommy Chong when Mr.
Chong was charged with selling water pipes as drug paraphernalia.
Tommy Chong was arrested this year when the FBI, the Drug Enforcement
Agency, and Attorney General Ashcroft's office and many local law
enforcement agencies got together for Operation "Pipe Dream." Stan,
what do you think about all this? I mean you -- you represented Tommy.
Give us a background. What happened here? Why is Tommy Chong serving
nine months in prison for selling a pipe over the Internet?
STAN LEVENSON, TOMMY CHONG DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I wish I had the answer to
that. Unfortunately, Tommy will be probably the only one of the 55
defendants charged with no prior criminal convictions who will see the
inside of the jail cell. Everybody else thus far who has no prior
criminal convictions has gotten house arrest and work releases, which
is what we were asking for for Tommy and thought it would be the
appropriate sentence.
VENTURA: Why -- why didn't Tommy get that if he's never been convicted
of anything before and this is his first offense, why wouldn't he get
what the other defendants got?
LEVENSON: I don't know for sure. But he is certainly the poster boy
for
marijuana.
VENTURA: Sure.
LEVENSON: And I think that putting him in jail lent credibility, such
as it is, to this -- to this whole silly endeavor.
VENTURA: Now, isn't it true that Tommy plea bargained and accepted a
jail term, as I heard, correct me if I am wrong, to save his wife and
his child?
LEVENSON: You're partially right.
VENTURA: OK.
LEVENSON: Tommy determined from the outset that he was not going to
contest the charges. If we could arrange a deal that would assure that
neither his son nor his wife were charged.
VENTURA: OK.
LEVENSON: We were able to arrange that deal after several months of
negotiating with the U.S. Attorney's office. So instead of charging
Tommy's wife or son, the corporation was the second defendant. So it
was Tommy and the corporation. Tommy did not expect, nor did we, that
he was going to get a jail sentence out of this. We were fully
expecting that he would get house arrest and the work release.
VENTURA: First of all, counselor, let me ask this. How can this be
against the law? You're selling a pipe. He wasn't selling the actual
marijuana. I mean, that pipe, yeah, we all know what they're used for,
water pipes. We know what they're used for. But there -- you still
could be putting Bull Durham in it.
LEVENSON: They -- unfortunately, that's an argument that's not accepted
by the courts. However ...
VENTURA: Why?
LEVENSON: Because our lawmakers have determined that they need to
protect us from this evil by having a statute on the books that makes
it unlawful to sell this kind of equipment that can be used for smoking
marijuana. It is a ridiculous law. It has seen little law enforcement
until this operation in Pittsburgh earlier this year. As a criminal
defense lawyer for 37 years, I can tell you, this is the first federal
case I've ever had and I do a lot of drug work, where this was a
charge. I was quite surprised even to see this on the books.
VENTURA: Do you think we're going in a direction today of these laws
getting even worse, counselor? Or are we going in a direction to where
they're starting to back off now? Tommy Chong out of the mix.
LEVENSON: No, we're going in serious reverse. We've been thrown back
about 70 or 80 years by recent enforcement policies and ...
VENTURA: Why -- why do you think that's happening?
LEVENSON: I can't answer that question. I'm sure that Attorney General
Ashcroft has a reason for it. It bewilders me what that reason could
be. With everything else that's going on in this world, I don't
understand why this particular emphasis, especially since the war on
drugs has been an unmitigated failure. We keep incarcerating more and
more people for longer and longer amounts of time. And all we're doing
is building more jails. We're certainly not reducing the use of drugs
in this country.
VENTURA: Counselor, we're out of time. We want to thank you very much
for your time and please, give Tommy my best, tell him we're all
wishing him well and we're behind him on this show 100 percent. Thank
you, counselor.
LEVENSON: I will tell him.
VENTURA: Thank you. Stay with us. Because when we come back, a
representative of the drug czar's office will join us in our
discussion, and I can tell our audience is just itching to weigh in on
this one. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VENTURA: Welcome back to JESSE VENTURA'S AMERICA. Joining me now is
Tom Riley. Mr. Riley is the director of public affairs for the Office
of National Drug Control Policy.
TOM RILEY, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Hey, Governor
Ventura.
VENTURA: Hi, Tom, how are you?
RILEY: Thanks for having me on the show.
VENTURA: Well, it's my pleasure but you may not say that when you're
done.
RILEY: I was -- You've already got me. You're a common sense guy, and
you are falling for all that baloney that was spilled out by the first
two guests.
VENTURA: Well, first of all, being a common sense guy is exactly what
I'm talking about, Tom. My -- let me ask you this.
RILEY: Sure.
VENTURA: Would you -- would you have supported the prohibition of
alcohol 75 years ago?
RILEY: I'm glad you brought up the alcohol example. I mean, as a
governor, you must have known firsthand the cost of alcohol. I hear
this argument a lot of times, like alcohol ...
VENTURA: That isn't what I asked you, Tom. I asked you a specific
question. Don't give me a spin. I said ...
RILEY: I would not have ...
VENTURA: I said, would you have supported the prohibition of alcohol 75
years ago?
RILEY: I don't think I would have.
VENTURA: Why?
RILEY: Because alcohol for better or worse, and a lot of times for
worse, it's a close call, is long entrenched and ingrained part of our
culture and our society. I mean you go back thousands of years. The
first writing is about alcohol, the Bible, everything else. It is
really hard to reach in ...
VENTURA: Really? Well, Tom, wait a minute.
RILEY: ... and pull this out of the society.
VENTURA: Let me object something down here.
RILEY: OK.
VENTURA: If you believe that God -- God also made the marijuana plant.
RILEY: I'm talking about society. I'm talking about -- about our
culture and our society.
VENTURA: Wait, you just said the Bible.
RILEY: It's hard to pull it out of our society.
VENTURA: All right.
RILEY: It is hard-wired.
VENTURA: Tom, my point is this: my mother lived through prohibition of
alcohol. She passed away a couple years ago. She was a very bright
woman. A nurse, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), World War II vet in Africa. She
looked at me in her latter years and said, you know, this war on drugs
is identical to the prohibition of alcohol.
RILEY: All right.
VENTURA: Now, here is a woman that lived and saw both. And she said,
all they're doing is creating criminals' wealth, because criminals like
Al Capone got wealthy during the prohibition of alcohol and criminals
like Pablo Escobar are getting wealthy today because of the prohibition
of drugs. How do you answer that?
RILEY: Prohibition is a hard policy. It's a tough policy. But the
problem with drugs in this country isn't about one policy or another.
It is about drug use. It is about drug addiction. There are seven
million Americans right now with a clinically diagnosable addiction to
drugs. The costs that has to society are staggering. Health care
costs, education costs, violent crime. All these things.
VENTURA: And imagine how staggering it is, Tom, to have to pay the
prices for these illegal drugs. You don't see people out holding
people up to get their next drink. You don't see people out sticking
up the 7-eleven store to buy a pack of smokes. But when they're
addicted to these other substances, the price goes through the roof
because they're illegal and therefore, they have to commit other crimes
to support their addictions.
RILEY: Most of the violence that's associated with drugs is people who
are on drugs, not drug trafficking. Drug trafficking is a crime.
That's what prohibition is about. But the thing that drives it is that
most of the violent crime that's committed, or most of the crime,
period, that's committed are having to do with drugs. It's people who
are on drugs committing violent crimes. If you make it legal, if you
make it cheaper, you make it more available, you are going to have more
violence, more addiction, more crime.
VENTURA: Tom, that is not true. Stop lying to us.
RILEY: Oh, now, come on.
VENTURA: Stop lying to us. That is not true. You know -- don't tell
me that. I've smoked pot, Tom. I've admitted it. I've done it. I've
done all of the big three. I've done tobacco, I've done alcohol, and
I've done marijuana, Tom. Guess what? Marijuana is the least of the
three, pal.
RILEY: What about ... I mean -- you did ...
VENTURA: Wake up to that. How many people smoke pot and go home and
beat their wives up? How many people drink and go home and beat their
wives up? Let's talk common sense here, Tom.
RILEY: OK, OK, OK. But you said you'd answer me one tough question.
VENTURA: Go ahead.
RILEY: Which is what do you think about drugs like methamphetamine or
crack, cocaine? Should they be illegal or should they be widely
available?
VENTURA: No. I don't believe any of them should be widely available.
But I think they should be available at hospitals without people being
forced to face prosecution ...
RILEY: Wait a minute.
VENTURA: ... to support their habit.
RILEY: What about (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
VENTURA: Nobody is talking about putting them in the 7-eleven. And
you, guys, use that crap all the time. There ain't -- nobody talking
about that. What we're talking about is making it available to people.
Making it so the addict can come forward and say I'm an addict.
RILEY: How do they get addicted? They were -- they born addicted to
cocaine or crack?
VENTURA: No, they weren't. But how do you ...
RILEY: ... fight it.
VENTURA: Well, how do you get addicted to cigarettes?
RILEY: By trying it. By having it marketed to you. By having it
widely available like cigarettes are.
VENTURA: Well, let me ask you this, Tom. In our Constitution, it says
the right to the pursuit of happiness, doesn't it? It doesn't say
anything in there that your pursuit of happiness might be that you want
to be stupid.
RILEY: And ...
VENTURA: There is nothing in our country that says you can't be stupid.
And yet you, people, want to throw people in jail for being stupid.
RILEY: Well, no, that's not true. That's not true.
VENTURA: That's totally true.
RILEY: Who is in jail for drugs? I ask you that.
VENTURA: Tommy Chong.
RILEY: Tommy Chong? You know, OK, you want to talk about? Even
marijuana, which is the most controversial, the average amounts that
someone is in jail for marijuana possession for it is over 100 pounds.
They're drug traffickers. It's not college kids.
VENTURA: And you're not being truthful with me. We will be back right
after this. He has given us federal spin, baby.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VENTURA: Welcome back to JESSE VENTURA'S AMERICA where we're talking
about the war, but not the war that most people are talking about
today. We're talking about the war on drugs. You think that the war
in Iraq is a tough one. Well, stick with us. Because we're going to
talk more and more about how much it costs the taxpayers billions more
than Iraq and it's had far more casualties and hundreds of thousands of
more prisoners than Iraq. And again, I'm not talking about World War
II or Vietnam. I'm talking about the war on drugs. With us is
Tom Riley, the director of public affairs for the Office of National
Drug Control Policy. First of all, Tom, I want to say thank you. You
got guts. You got courage because you came on here. No, and I say
that in all seriousness. I really appreciate it. You've allowed me to
hammer you a little bit today. But then again, that's kind of your
job, isn't it?
RILEY: Oh, it is. But I think that this is one of those ones, I think
drug legalization is one of those ideas that, you know, it sounds like
an easy answer to a complicated problem. You were talking earlier
about, you know, the drug war, the drug effort being something that's
gone on for a long time and costs a lot of money. It does. It is
really hard. But the thing we're trying to do is to reduce drug use.
Because it is the consequences of drug use that are the hard part. Can
I ask you one more thing?
VENTURA: That if you really want to get drug use, then you should be
leading for the prohibition of tobacco and alcohol. You know ...
RILEY: Alcohol and tobacco do terrible damage to our society. Health
costs. You said before, people getting drunk and committing crimes and
violence to the family. That's -- that's huge. It's a huge problem.
And anybody who says it isn't is lying to you.
VENTURA: OK.
RILEY: But on the other hand, why would we want to make that bigger?
Why would we want to make that -- take that already giant problem and
make it worse by having more drugs?
VENTURA: Because -- because you're not going to make it bigger, Tom,
and I'll tell you why. I've been over to the Netherlands. I've been
over to Holland. And they have -- they have a holiday there called
Queen's Day, which is the biggest holiday in town where all the
merchants come from out of town. It's a big party. I talked to a
couple cabbies there, and if you really want to know about somewhere,
talk to a cab driver, because they're down on the street level.
They're not sitting up in offices wearing suits and ties and all that.
You know what they told me in Holland, Tom, where drugs are pretty well
legal?
RILEY: Marijuana.
VENTURA: No. They said they're going to -- they said they're going to
thinking of banning alcohol on Queen's Day because of all the problems
it causes. Now, you laugh over that. The point of the matter is this.
I said to him, why do you need to ban alcohol? He said because there
is fights, there is disruptive behavior; there is everything that goes
along with it. I said what about the cannabis smokers? He said
they're not a problem. There hasn't even been talk of that.
RILEY: Well, let me respond to you there with two parts. One is that,
you know, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Netherlands, just paradise, one, the
biggest movement there is to move away from cannabis cafes. About half
of them have been shut down in the last few years and they just barely
staved off a government measure to cut them -- to shut them down this
year. You can take other countries in Europe like Sweden, which have
tougher anti-marijuana laws than we do. And they have much lower drug
use than us or than Netherlands. So you can pick and choose. That's
fair. But you know what -- you said something earlier that.
VENTURA: Go ahead.
RILEY: I'm a good Republican. I'm skeptical of the federal government,
too. You said ...
VENTURA: Oh, no, no, no.
RILEY: ... that federal spin ...
VENTURA: Wait a minute, Tom. Don't fire that at me. I just found out
you Republicans have increased spending 26 percent.
RILEY: Wait ...
VENTURA: Don't tell me you're a good Republican ...
RILEY: You told audience ...
VENTURA: ... or you are anti-government, because you, Republicans, want
as much to control government as anybody.
RILEY: Yeah, but you told the audience to not believe the federal spin.
OK, don't. I mean you know what are you saying? And you say, don't
believe me about marijuana being harmful, about marijuana being
addictive, about people being in trouble, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a
dangerous drug. Don't believe me.
VENTURA: I do.
RILEY: Don't believe the lobbyists from the ...
VENTURA: I don't ...
RILEY: ... don't believe the activists either.
VENTURA: Tom, I know.
RILEY: Do you know what you can do?
VENTURA: You know why I don't believe you? Because I'm 52 years old
and I've tried it.
RILEY: Well, then...
(CROSSTALK)
VENTURA: And so you can't tell me ...
RILEY: Well ...
VENTURA: You can't -- you can't excuse the pun, blow smoke in my eyes
on that one.
RILEY: Well ...
VENTURA: Because I've done it. Number one, it is not addictive. It is
not addictive.
RILEY: You know what? You don't -- I said, you don't have to believe
me, but there's some people that you should believe. Don't even
believe the government if you don't want to. Minnesota is a great
state for a treatment. They have some of the best treatment centers in
the country. Call them. Anybody watching this,
open up your yellow pages right now. Pick a treatment center random,
drug treatment, people work in drug treatment are the people who pick
up the mess on the drug problem.
VENTURA: And they also ...
RILEY: God bless them.
VENTURA: And Tom, they get paid for it, don't they? So they want their
job.
RILEY: So the good people who are working in drug treatment ...
VENTURA: Follow the money, Tom! Tom, follow the money. Let's go to
the audience.
RILEY: If marijuana is harmful or addictive, ask them. And you know
what? I'm confident that no matter who you pick, if they're medically
reputable, they are going to say the same thing, they are going to say
wow, it is a much bigger problem than most people realize.
VENTURA: Sure, it is. But they name as biggest alcohol and tobacco,
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
RILEY: That doesn't mean -- that doesn't mean we add to our problem. We
should try to reduce our problems.
VENTURA: Come on. It's called freedom, Tom. Freedom. Freedom.
RILEY: Freedom ...
VENTURA: Freedom to be stupid if I want to.
RILEY: Freedom to destroy our (UNINTELLIGIBLE) community?
VENTURA: Yes.
RILEY: No, I don't think that's ...
VENTURA: Audience, go ahead, fire away at Tom.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm wondering what he thinks about those with
debilitating medical conditions who choose to use marijuana as a
medicine? Do you think that they should be arrested and thrown into
prison?
RILEY: I think that the medical marijuana issue has been very cagily
used by people like your first guest as a wedge issue to try to get
this in. Now, you know what? You said earlier about blowing smoke.
That's -- that's definitely an issue that's got some complication to
it. Is -- are there elements of the cannabis plant that might have
medical uses? I don't know. Let's let scientists decide that and let
them make -- turn it into medicines.
VENTURA: Well ...
RILEY: But I do know ...
VENTURA: Tom, scientists are -- scientists ...
RILEY: ... there's no smoked weeds that are a medicine.
VENTURA: Wait, Tom. Science has already proven it.
RILEY: How is that?
VENTURA: How is that? Well, first of all, they know for a fact that it
helps chemotherapy patients to eat. Now, if you can't put proper
nutrition in your body, how are you supposed to battle and use those
drugs to fight cancer? And Tom, let me ask you this. If I've got
cancer, you can go straight to hell if you think I'm not going to try
marijuana to help myself. What other, if I've got cancer, what do I
care what the government says to me?
RILEY: Well, I hope you care what your doctor says to you, because he
probably prescribes something for you, which is far more efficacious,
far more proven and far more controlled. There's plenty of other
medicines for those thing. And again, look at the people who are
advocating for this. Is it the American Medical Association? Is it
the Chemotherapy Association? Is it the American Cancer Institute?
No. It is the marijuana legalizers. And you're a skeptical
guy. I mean, why aren't medical professions and the patients
organizations pushing for this?
VENTURA: Because they wouldn't dare to go against you, guys, Tom, the
government. That's why. You're not fooling me on that one. I've been
around too long. Tom, thank you very much. You have great courage. I
appreciate it. And we 'll bring you back again if you dare.
RILEY: I'll be here.
VENTURA: All right, here we go. He'll be here. We have to take a
break, move on to another subject. But thank you to Tom, Rob and Stan,
for a very interesting discussion. But if you think the war on drugs
gets to me -- stay tuned for our next segment when we'll be talking out
pork -- and we're not talking about little piggies. We'll be right
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Source: Jesse Ventura's America (MSNBC)
Editor's Comment:
This is potentially the placement of the "New World Order". A heralding of the return of the Star of David patch that was "required" by the Third Reich to designate Jewish people. Maybe more like the "markings" as in those used in Slavery and Native American's Destruction.
No Matter What - "THIS IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST"
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
An ATM card under your skin
By Declan McCullagh
Nov. 25, 2003
Company pushes chip implants as ID alternative
Nov. 25, 2003 - Radio frequency identification tags aren’t just for pallets of goods in supermarkets anymore. Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card.
The surgical procedure, which is performed with local anesthetic, embeds a 12-by-2.1mm RFID tag in the flesh of a human arm. ADS Chief Executive Scott Silverman, in a speech at the ID World 2003 conference in Paris last Friday, said his company had developed a “VeriPay” RFID technology and was hoping to find partners in financial services firms.
Matthew Cossolotto, a spokesman for ADS who says he’s been “chipped,” argues that competing proposals to embed RFID tags in key fobs or cards were flawed. “If you lose the RFID key fob or if it’s stolen, someone else could use it and have access to your important accounts,” Cossolotto said. “VeriPay solves that problem. It’s subdermal and very difficult to lose. You don’t leave it sitting in the backseat of the taxi.”
RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which some manufacturers have managed to shrink to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting a unique ID code, typically a 64-bit identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. Most RFID tags have no batteries. They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.
When embedded in human bodies, RFID tags raise unique security concerns. First, because they broadcast their ID number, a thief could rig up his or her own device to intercept and then rebroadcast the signal to an ATM. Second, sufficiently dedicated thieves may try to slice the tags out of their victims.
“We do hear concerns about this from a privacy point of view,” Cossolotto said. “Obviously the company wants to do all it can to protect privacy. If you don’t want it anymore ... you can go to a doctor and have it removed. It’s not something I would recommend people do at home. I call it an opt-out feature.”
Chris Hoofnagle, a lawyer at the Electronic Privacy Information Center said implanted RFID tags cause an additional worry. “When your bank card is compromised, all you have to do is make a call to the issuer,” Hoofnagle said. “In this case, you have to make a call to a surgeon.
“It doesn’t make sense to go from a card, which is controlled by an individual, to a chip, which you cannot control.”
ADS shares have slid from a high of around $12 in 2000 to 40 cents, and the company is now fighting to stay listed on the Nasdaq. “Our common stock did not regain the minimum bid price requirement and on Oct. 28, 2003, the Nasdaq Stock Market informed us by letter that our securities would be delisted from the SmallCap,” ADS said in a Nov. 14 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also warned that its implantable microchips are manufactured solely by Raytheon without a “formal written agreement,” and any price increases or supply disruptions would have serious negative consequences.
MasterCard has been testing an RFID technology called PayPass. It looks like any other credit card but is outfitted with an RFID tag that lets it be read by a receiver instead of scanned through a magnetic stripe. “We’re certainly looking at designs like key fobs,” Mastercard Vice President Art Kranzley told USA Today last week. “It could be in a pen or a pair of earrings. Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything—someday, maybe even under the skin.”
ADS is running a special promotion urging Americans to “get chipped.” The first 100,000 people to sign up will receive a $50 discount.
CNET News.Com
Copyright © 1995-2003 CNET Networks, Inc.
12.15.2003
Mary Jemison, Captivity Narrative
from the 1750s (1824)
Mary Jemison was probably about 15 years old when she was captured and
adopted by Seneca Indians in the late 1750s (during the Seven Years War
or "French and Indian War"). Although written in the first person, Jemison
was 80 years old and illiterate when she was interviewed by James Seaver
who wrote the narrative. Although mediated by another person, this narra-
tive does give us a glimpse of the voice of an English woman who chose to
remain and live within the Indian culture into which she had been adopted.
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Chapter 3.
The night was spent in gloomy forebodings. What the result of our captivity would be, it was out of our power to determine, or even imagine. At times, we could almost realize the approach of our masters to butcher and scalp us; again, we could nearly see the pile of wood kindled on which we were to be roasted; and then we would imagine ourselves at liberty, alone and defenseless in the forest, surrounded by wild beasts that were ready to devour us. The anxiety of our minds drove sleep from our eyelids; and it was with a dreadful hope and painful impatience that we waited for the morning to determine our fate.
The morning at length arrived, and our masters came early and let us out of the house, and gave the young man and boy to the French, who immediately took them away. Their fate I never learned, as I have not seen nor heard of them since.
I was now left alone in the fort, deprived of my former companions, and of every thing that was near or dear to me but life. But it was not long before I was in some measure relieved by the appearance of two pleasant looking squaws, of the Seneca tribe, who came and examined me attentively for a short time, and then went out. After a few minutes' absence, they returned in company with my former masters, who gave me to the squaws to dispose of as they pleased.
The Indians by whom I was taken were a party of Shawnees,* if I remember right, that lived, when at home, a long distance down the Ohio.
My former Indian masters and the two squaws were soon ready to leave the fort, and accordingly embarked -- the Indians in a large canoe, and the two squaws and myself in a small one-and went down the Ohio. When we set off, an Indian in the forward canoe took the scalps of my former friends, strung them on a pole that he placed upon his shoulder, and in that manner carried them, standing in the stern of the canoe directly before us, as we sailed down the river, to the town where the two squaws resided.
On the way we passed a Shawnee town, where I saw a number of heads, arms, legs, and other fragments of the bodies of some white people who had just been burned. The parts that remained were hanging on a pole, which was supported at each end by a crotch stuck in the ground, and were roasted or burnt black as a coal. The fire was yet burning; and the whole appearance afforded a spectacle so shocking that even to this day the blood almost curdles in my veins when I think of them.
At night we arrived at a small Seneca Indian town, at the mouth of a small river that was called by the Indians, in the Seneca language, She-nan-jee, about eighty miles by water from the fort, where the two squaws to whom I belonged resided. There we landed, and the Indians went on; which was the last I ever saw of them.
Having made fast to the shore, the squaws left me in the canoe while they went to their wigwam or house in the town, and returned with a suit of Indian clothing, all new, and very clean and nice. My clothes, though whole and good when I was taken, were now torn in pieces, so that I was almost naked. They first undressed me, and threw my rags into the river; then washed me clean and dressed me in the new suit they had just brought, in complete Indian style; and then led me home and seated me in the center of their wigwam.
I had been in that situation but a few minutes before all the squaws in the town came in to see me. I was soon surrounded by them, and they immediately set up a most dismal howling, crying bitterly, and wringing their hands in all the agonies of grief for a deceased relative.
Their tears flowed freely, and they exhibited all the signs of real mourning. At the commencement of this scene, one of their number began, in a voice somewhat between speaking and singing, to recite some words to the following purport, and continued the recitation till the ceremony was ended; the company at the same time varying the appearance of their countenances, gestures, and tone of voice, so as to correspond with the sentiments expressed by their leader.
"Oh, our brother! alas! he is dead-he has gone; he will never return! Friendless he died on the field of the slain, where his bones are yet lying unburied! Oh! who will not mourn his sad fate? No tears dropped around him: oh, no! No tears of his sisters were there! He fell in his prime, when his arm was most needed to keep us from danger! Alas! he has gone, and left us in sorrow, his loss to bewail! Oh, where is his spirit? His spirit went naked, and hungry it wanders, and thirsty and wounded, it groans to return! Oh, helpless and wretched, our brother has gone! No blanket nor food to nourish and warm him; nor candles to light him, nor weapons of war! Oh, none of those comforts had he! But well we remember his deeds! The deer he could take on the chase! The panther shrunk back at the sight of his strength! His enemies fell at his feet! He was brave and courageous in war! As the fawn, he was harmless; his friendship was ardent; his temper was gentle; his pity was great! Oh! our friend, our companion, is dead! Our brother, our brother! alas, he is gone! But why do we grieve for his loss? In the strength of a warrior, undaunted he left us, to fight by the side of the chiefs! His warwhoop was shrill! His rifle well aimed laid his enemies low: his tomahawk drank of their blood: and his knife flayed their scalps while yet covered with gore! And why do we mourn? Though he fell on the field of the slain, with glory he fell; and his spirit went up to the land of his fathers in war! They why do we mourn? With transports of joy, they received him, and fed him, and clothed him, and welcomed him there! Oh, friends, he is happy; then dry up your tears! His spirit has seen our distress, and sent us a helper whom with pleasure we greet. Deh-hew5-mis has come: then let us receive her with joy!-she is handsome and pleasant! Oh! she is our sister, and gladly we welcome her here. In the place of our brother she stands in our tribe. With care we will guard her from trouble; and may she be happy till her spirit shall leave us."
In the course of that ceremony, from mourning they became serene,-joy sparkled in their countenances, and they seemed to rejoice over me as over a long-lost child. I was made welcome among them as a sister to the two squaws before mentioned, and was called Deh-hew5-mis; which, being interpreted, signifies a pretty girl, a handsome girl, or a pleasant, good thing. That is the name by which I have ever since been called by the Indians.
I afterward learned that the ceremony I at that time passed through was that of adoption. The two squaws had lost a brother in Washington's war, sometime in the year before, and in consequence of his death went up to Fort Du Quesne on the day on which I arrived there, in order to receive a prisoner, or an enemy's scalp, to supply their loss. It is a custom of the Indians, when one of their number is slain or taken prisoner in battle, to give to the nearest relative of the dead or absent a prisoner, if they have chanced to take one; and if not, to give him the scalp of an enemy. On the return of the Indians from the conquest, which is always announced by peculiar shoutings, demonstrations of joy, and the exhibition of some trophy of victory, the mourners come forward and make their claims. If they receive a prisoner, it is at their option either to satiate their vengeance by taking his life in the most cruel manner they can conceive of, or to receive and adopt him into the family, in the place of him whom they have lost. All the prisoners that are taken in battle and carried to the encampment or town by the Indians are given to the bereaved families, till their number is good. And unless the mourners have but just received the news of their bereavement, and are under the operation of a paroxysm of grief, anger, or revenge; or, unless the prisoner is very old, sickly, or homely, they generally save them, and treat them kindly. But if their mental wound is fresh, their loss so great that they deem it irreparable, or if their prisoner or prisoners do not meet their approbation, no torture, let it be ever so cruel, seems sufficient to make them satisfaction. It is family and not national sacrifices among the Indians, that has given them an indelible stamp as barbarians, and identified their character with the idea which is generally formed of unfeeling ferocity and the most barbarous cruelty.
It was my happy lot to be accepted for adoption. At the time of the ceremony I was received by the two squaws to supply the place of their brother in the family; and I was ever considered and treated by them as a real sister, the same as though I had been born of their mother.
During the ceremony of my adoption, I sat motionless, nearly terrified to death at the appearance and actions of the company, expecting every moment to feel their vengeance, and suffer death on the spot. I was, however, happily disappointed; when at the close of the ceremony the company retired, and my sisters commenced employing every means for my consolation and comfort.
Being now settled and provided with a home, I was employed in nursing the children, and doing light work about the house. Occasionally, I was sent out with the Indian hunters, when they went but a short distance, to help them carry their game. My situation was easy; I had no particular hardships to endure. But still, the recollection of my parents, my brothers and sisters, my home, and my own captivity, destroyed my happiness, and made me constantly solitary, lonesome, and gloomy.
My sisters would not allow me to speak English in their hearing; but remembering the charge that my dear mother gave me at the time I left her, whenever I chanced to be alone I made a business of repeating my prayer, catechism, or something I had learned, in order that I might not forget my own language. By practicing in that way, I retained it till I came to Genesee flats, where I soon became acquainted with English people, with whom I have been almost daily in the habit of conversing.
My sisters were very diligent in teaching me their language; and to their great satisfaction, I soon learned so that I could understand it readily, and speak it fluently. I was very fortunate in falling into their hands; for they were kind, good-natured women; peaceable and mild in their dispositions; temperate and decent in their habits, and very tender and gentle toward me. I have great reason to respect them, though they have been dead a great number of years.
Chapter 7.
After the conclusion of the French war, our tribe had nothing to do till the commencement of the American Revolution. For twelve or fifteen years, the use of the implements of war was not known, nor the warwhoop heard, save on days of festivity, when the achievements of former times were commemorated in a kind of mimic warfare, in which the chiefs, and warriors displayed their prowess, and illustrated their former adroitness, by laying the ambuscade, surprising their enemies, and performing many accurate maneuvers with the tomahawk and scalping knife; thereby preserving, and banding to their children, the theory of Indian warfare. During that period they also pertinaciously observed the religious rites of their progenitors, by attending with the most scrupulous exactness, and a great degree of enthusiasm, to the sacrifices, at particular times, to appease the anger of the Evil Deity; or to excite the commiseration of the Great Good Spirit, whom they adored with reverence, as the author, governor, supporter, and disposer of every good thing of which they participated.
They also practiced in various athletic games, such as running, wrestling, leaping, and playing ball, with a view that their bodies might be more supple -- or, rather, that they might not become enervated, and that they might be enabled to make a proper selection of chiefs for the councils of the nation, and leaders for war.
While the Indians were thus engaged in their round of traditionary performances, with the addition of hunting, their women attended to agriculture, their families, and a few domestic concerns of small consequence and attended with but little labor.
No people can live more happy than the Indians did in times of peace, before the introduction of spiritous liquors among them. Their lives were a continual round of pleasures. Their wants were few, and easily satisfied, and their cares were only for to-day -- the bounds of their calculation for future comfort not extending to the incalculable uncertainties of to-morrow. If peace ever dwelt with men, it was in former times, in the recess from war, among what are now termed barbarians. The moral character of the Indians was (if I may be allowed the expression) uncontaminated. Their fidelity was perfect, and became proverbial. They were strictly honest; they despised deception and falsehood; and chastity was held in high 'veneration, and a violation of it was considered sacrilege. They were temperate in their desires, moderate in their passions, and candid and honorable in the expression of their sentiments, on every subject of importance.
Thus, at peace among themselves and with the neighboring whites -though there were none at that time very near- our Indians lived quietly and peaceably at home, till a little before the breaking out of the Revolutionary War,
Chapter 9.
Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, my Indian brother, Kau-jises-tau-ge-au, (which being interpreted signifies Black Coals,) offered me my liberty, and told me that if it was my choice I might go to my friends.
My son Thomas was anxious that I should go; and offered to go with me, and assist me on the journey, by taking care of the younger children, and providing food as we traveled through the wilderness. But the chiefs of our tribe, suspecting, from his appearance, actions, and a few warlike exploits, that Thomas would be a great warrior, or a good counselor, refused to let him leave them on any account whatever.
To go myself, and leave him, was more than I felt able to do; for he had been kind to me, and was one on whom I placed great dependence. The chiefs refusing to let him go was one reason for my resolving to stay; but another, more powerful if possible, was, that I had got a large family of Indian children that I must take with me; and that, if I should be so fortunate as to find my relatives, they would despise them, if not myself, and treat us as enemies, or, at least, with a degree of cold indifference, which I thought I could not endure.
Accordingly, after I had duly considered the matter, I told my brother that it was my choice to stay and spend the remainder of my days with my Indian friends, and live with my family as I hitherto had done. He appeared well pleased with my resolution, and informed me that, as that was my choice, I should have a piece of land that I could call my own, where I could live unmolested, and have something at my decease to leave for the benefit of my children.
Source: James E. Seaver, The Life of Mary Jemison: The White Woman of the Genesee (1824; 5th edition, New York, 1877).
12.03.2003
Message from the Mayan Elders of the Eagle Clan,
Guatemala C.A.
Friday, September 19 2003
Contributed by: Admin
It is not our possessions, nor our actions that determine who we are. It is our decisions that make us. And if in this reality, with the divine power of life we have been given which is not defined, the destiny of our life is marked by its transience.
Don Isidro
Wise elder of the Kekchi Maya
Throughout thousands of years, the traditional Mayan world has preserved the ancestral knowledge. This legend has been transmitted throughout different clans or groups that follow the highest Mayan spirituality - which is where the purity of the ancient wisdom has been maintained. Today we are living in prophetic times. Various prophecies of the Maya as well as other traditions point to these times. This transcendental time is where the changes are manifesting. Humanity needs to see these changes with respect to themselves and towards the whole of the sacred mother earth. We are at the doors of change for the structures of the system that we know both economically and socially, which need to be transformed towards something that is more just and balanced. The Mayan prophecies are a mixture of scientific/technological knowledge based on the sacred Tzolkin calendar and the visionary powers of the Chilanes Balanes (shamans/prophets). To date, all of the prophecies they made have been realized with a high degree of precision. The prophecies are the foundation of the Mayan world, which is based on the sacred calendar. In the Mayan world, this reality exists in the Najt (space-time), and is an infinite spiral in which cycles and events are repeated with a certain correlation to a previous/future time, corresponding to similar events. This is why each person has a sign inside of the cycles of the Winales (period of twenty days). This will mark their destiny regarding events that occur during different periods of their lives. Every human brings a certain energy and purpose to their life.
When a wise one speaks, it is not to convince the incredulous. They do it to guide and awaken the consciousness of those that follow the path towards consciousness. Their words are not only for intellectual debate or for the nourishment of the spirit. In actuality, the spirituality of these prophetic times are not limited to contemplation and meditation. Today spirituality is synonymous with action; and action is every act of your life, in harmony with Mother Nature, and most importantly the harmony within ourselves, and in relation to the way in which we live.
Don Pascual
Wise elder of the Mam Maya
This message begins from being with the elders and Aj'qij'ab (Mayan priests) of the Quiche Maya people on the Cerro Turkaj of Chichicastenango in the highlands of Guatemala on April 9th, 2002, at the start of the celebration for the beginning of the cycle of the sacred Tzolkin, known as the sacred Mayan calendar of 260 days. We received a phone call from a spiritual brother, Dr. Marco Cagastume G., that transmitted the words of the eldest wise one from the town of the Mam, member of the council of the grand confederation of Ajq'ij'ab, wise-ones, elders and Mayan principals. His call was of simple but very strong words. There was a tone of desperation, incredulousness; his strength and desire was to shake us from unconsciousness. He told us, "Enough is enough! Don't you realize the damage that you are doing to your home? When did you loose your sense of reason? When did you loose the respect for our mother earth?" He would ask, "Why haven't we taken action towards the implacable destruction we make every day, all the contamination? How is it that you can sleep at night, having this knowledge? Is it that perhaps we don't feel a responsibility for what is happening? The reality is we do have a responsibility, a very big one. By our permitting a few others who have suspect economic interest to do what they want without our putting a stop to this action, we become equally responsible. Is it not enough to see how the climate has changed? How the earth is contaminated, as well as the air? How the rivers are poisoned, and without mentioning, the oceans as well? Where are our green Mountains? Where did the spiritual guardians run off to? Where will the jaguars, the birds and the flowers inhabit? And the rest of the brothers and sisters that gives joy and balance to life? Why have we let mother earth dry up? And then we become frightened of the floods, the plagues and the earthquakes? All of this, WHY? You know the answer. It seems we only live for the moment. We only live to obtain the material illusions, the uncontrollable consumerism of things that don't serve us. Things that pacify us, distract us and make us feel as though we are somebody. What to say of the spiritual guides? This call is primarily for them, and for all the beings that are working for the light. Let's take awareness - it is time to assume the role that they are responsible for. It can all be put into one simple word: UNITY! Let it bring us harmony and a return of consciousness. Harmony with mother earth, respect for each other, respect to our brothers and sisters the animals, towards the plants and most of all, toward ourselves. Ask your grandmother, your grandfather, the elders? they have the peace and the wisdom, the awareness. Listen to the wind. Hug the ancient trees and ask them. Listen to the river or simply quiet your mind. You will see that the answer, the truth is within yourself, in the depth of your soul ? then you will know that you are a warrior of the light, of the peace, of love and of harmony. And then raise your voice ? without violence, but with strength. All of us united will reconstruct the wonder of life. Please, let's return to be human beings!"
Today, one year after this phone call, after the prophetic warning, (about the war in Iraq and what this encompasses with this charge of violence and death. In spite of these unfortunate events, there was good fortune that the war began in March rather than April, because there could have been more tragic consequences. Before the start of the war, the visionaries and the prophets had begun to talk) we have received the messenger from Xibalbay, known as the underworld. This has nothing to do with the inferno of other traditions. It is a subterranean world where humanity lived for a long time, after a cataclysm that made it impossible to live upon the surface of the world. There are still some powerful magicians/beings of Xibalbay that live in the depth of this world and they have sent this messenger.
Cablicot is the name of this messenger. Its origin is as ancient as the night of time and has as its companion Camalzotz. Cablicot is the owl with two heads and Camalzotz is the bat with two heads. Today, Cablicot has come and its words are a warning; it is of the prophetic memory for these times during which various prophecies converge, be they from Mayan or other traditions. Because of its own dualistic nature, its words came with the war, like a preamble. This is a special messenger that looks towards the darkness. Its head turns three hundred-sixty degrees. Each of its faces looks with indifference towards the two polarities. Its words bring a call without charge, almost like a recording. Its own essence of polarity is the message.
The Mayan prophecies speak to us of the changes towards the fifth Ajaw (fifth sun), on the famous date of December 21, 2012. This date begins the period of 5,200 years. This is a cycle of wisdom, harmony, peace, love, of consciousness and the return of the natural order. It is not the end of the world as many from outside of the Mayan tradition have misinterpreted it to be. The first cycle (Ajaw/sun) was a feminine energy and its element was fire. The second cycle (Ajaw/sun) was of masculine energy, and its element was earth. The third cycle (Ajaw/sun) was a feminine energy and its element was air. The fourth cycle (Ajaw/sun) is a masculine energy and its element is water. The fifth cycle (Ajaw/sun) will be a fusion of both feminine and masculine energies. It will be a transition where there won't be any more confrontations between the polarities. It will bring balance and there won't be hierarchy of one over the other. Both energies will support each other. It is why this period is called one of harmony, the kingdom of love and the return of consciousness. Its element will be the ether. This fifth Ajaw/sun comes with the power of transmutation. To reach this state of supreme harmony, it will be necessary to create the balance of the forces of the light and the dark. This is where the importance of the call of the Mam elder comes into place ? the quest for the unity, the return of the natural order. This call is urgent in the face of the prophetic times in which we are living ? principally for the spiritual guides and conscious people. At this time, we need to unite and create a belt of light that will contrast with the negativity.
Those working with the negativity are clear in their purpose. They are the owners and lovers of the material world. They govern with their power and with the illusions that they create. They have most of humanity half asleep. A human being has become an object for the purpose of production, to generate certain output during their lives. Today, s/he is a number, and object which creates necessities and useless gratifications that fills the void of their unconsciousness. Those working with the negativity are clear in their roles ? they don't discuss hierarchy, they know who the boss is in the different levels of power and they do their job with precision. The contrary exists in the side of the light. Here there is no idea of hierarchies ? every person goes off on their own, each one with their own ego. They believe they are the owners of the truth, the wisdom and in their egoism scream to the four winds that they are the path of salvation. Many don't have a sense of what is happening. They have sold the knowledge that has been given to them. One of the gravest situations is that many cults and "new age" movements have emerged. Let it be clear that we are not against their work, but we are suggesting they return to the origin where their techniques came from. Many of them were taken from ancestral traditions ? but only in bits and pieces, not in their entirety. Although it may work for specific aspects, the most essential elements have been left aside - the integral and harmonious development. We know that they are necessary steps for development and are a bridge or a path towards the essence of the great traditions, but it is important to recognize the origin of their techniques and to guide the persons towards the depth of the highest spirituality. The call is for unity, to leave aside all differences, to find respect and tolerance, to create the balance. It is true that when a white magician is born, a dark magician is born as well. The ones that are being born now are not wasting any time and they are clear on their mission.
They prefer to destroy the planet (something which we can not deny nor close our eyes to) before the moment of the fusion arrives, rather than relinquish their position of power as owners of the material world. "We are living in dangerous times, my son" my teacher don Pascual would tell me. "If there is no clarity, if there is no unity, if we do not return to the natural order, if we do not reach harmony amongst ourselves we are condemned as a species to disappear as a result of our own madness."
This is the call to spread, the cry of hope, of returning to the brothers and sisters to create balance based on consciousness, love, the surrender and above all the clarity that we don't have time to play around anymore. This is the time of action! When we talk about not having any more time left, I am referring to the prophetic projections of the ancestral science of the Mayan world, and of our own intuitions in conjunction with our work with the visionaries, the diviners. This has given us the message of Cablicot. This makes us see a close future of great danger. This is a cycle that starts in mid August and lasts until mid-December of this year (2003). This period is of instability, destruction and confrontation and natural catastrophes can emerge: droughts, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes ? like we have never before seen ? bringing the consequences of death's appetite. The most difficult confrontations are with intolerance as well as the economic interests. The most delicate confrontation is of the religious fundamentalists, guided by the negative forces that can provoke great conflicts. This is a tendency, an energy that is gestating, which does not mean that we can not change or minimize it on the level on which we are affected. At this moment, the elders and the shamans of the Mayan world are making fire ceremonies daily, without end, in a manner similar to the Native Americans who are working hard with their own ceremonies. This is true of our brothers the Hopi, the Huichol elders, the powerful Taitas throughout the Amazon, the great wise ones of the eternal snows of the Andes, the Ayamaras, our brothers in the Sierra Nevada, the great Tibetan wise ones and all others that don't have a visible form. Each one with their own tradition and mystical knowledge and sciences, are working to create this balance that has been denominated "El K'uxaaj Saq' Be'" - the path of the positive energy / the white path of the good heart. This is where the two poles intersect over the west coast of the American continent, touching the continent's energetic centers simultaneously reactivating the positive flow of energy.
The call is so that we may all work together? the elders, the shamans, the wise ones and all of the people that have the awareness in order to change the negative force. It is about reaching all of the people with an urgency, to counteract the events that are juxtaposed to this period of August to December. The elders are making a call for the balance that needs to exist, with the intention of calling all leaders as well as all of the people that have the desire to achieve the balance.
As an immediate action, it is important to meditate at sunset (if this is not possible i.e. work, then as close as possible), placing the focus on harmony, reconnecting with Mother Earth, asking for forgiveness for the damage we have done to her, for our own personal responsibility and for other peoples and institutions that are repeatedly destroying her. Then we can place the intention on sending a message to the negativity to let it know that we are active, that there is an awakening, that there is unity and that we will no longer permit the destruction of mother earth or of humanity and that we are conscious of the importance of this moment and to project to the transition of the date of Dec. 21 2012. For this, it is suggested that you light two candles? one white, that represent peace, harmony, the positive thought - one red that represents the force, the light, the energy of a new dawn and the action. The reason for doing this at sunset is because this is the time of transition from day into night and it is the moment to create the balance and to send positive energy. As inheritors of an ancient civilization, the Mayan elders make us reflect upon the need and the urgency for creating this path of positive energy. The events of the cycle between August and Dec of this year can be extreme expecting plagues, natural phenomena, (such as hurricanes, earthquakes, drought and floods, overheating and the melting of the glaciers), if we don't create that strength of peace , harmony and balance with mother earth and between human beings. There is also a possibility of creating a major warlike conflict. Theses cycles have occurred in the past with other humans (civilizations) and also at the end of cycles of the Ajaw, cycles of 5,200 years. We are now at the end of the fourth cycle Ajaw that will end Dec 20, 2012, and the fifth Ajaw enters Dec 21, 2012, a date that is known to be catastrophic by people outside of the Mayan tradition- which in reality marks the beginning of changes in the way we see and live life, focusing more on harmony, the key word for existence in this reality.
FROM DECEMBER 4- TO DECEMBER 7 OF 2003
Inside the charge of these cycles of changes, there are vortexes that open up a space. After the red planet distances its charge, there is a subtle convergence between the cosmic and telluric forces, a time that lasts four days. This openness gives us the opportunity to create the force and balance. It is a sublime space that will allow us access to Jun'ab'ku, heart of the heavens. This is a good time to ask for the internal strength, strength for the community, for the consciousness and to synthesize balance. This is the moment when the strength of all those beings of light, are needed. If possible, it is asked to fast, perhaps on fruit, to remain abstinent for at least four days prior and to do ceremonies at sunrise and sunset. It is important to work from sunup to sunset on both the 4th and the 7th, because this is the opening and the closing. The point of focus is to create the longing desire to awaken the south. Beginning from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, to the Amazons, to the mountain range of the eternal snows of the Andes and carry that energy to the most ancient mountains on this part of the world in Cordova, Argentina. The transcendence of this moment is of much importance for our beloved mother, PACHAMAMA. It is also the survival of this "fourth humanity".
The day of the 4th brings to us the energy of the Nawal Tzikin, the great intermediary between the heaven and the earth. It is the messenger and the eagle-quetzal-condor that will create the unity between the north and the south. This will permit us willingly if we joined our forces together throughout the continent and around the world to awaken the Saq' Be', the white path. On this day we focus on the divine messenger that carries our prayers, our feelings and the drumming of our hearts. Let it be that on this day there is only one heartbeat, one sound of drumming calling to the four corners of the universe and at last finding Great Spirit. In the north it is the Eagle, in the center it is the Quetzal and in the south it is the Condor, (the ancestral messengers between the human and the divine). So, lets have just one heartbeat, one fire, a simple ceremony but very majestic. Let's travel to the sacred places and reclaim the harmony.
The day of the 5th brings to us the energy of the Nawal Ajmaq, the keeper of the sin and forgiveness. This is a day to reflect upon our lives, to be in silence and to go within, to look at the damage we may have caused consciously or unconsciously, to forgive and be forgiven, to forgive ourselves, but most of all to ask forgiveness for the damage we have caused mother earth. We also need to ask for forgiveness for those that destroy without conscience but only for the madness or for riches. This is an internal ceremony we do. The elders will be having their fires and ceremonies, but our connection (be it through ceremony or meditation) will be channeled towards the south to awaken the force and the return of the wisdom of the condor. This is the moment of the return of the kingdom of TIHUANTISUYO, the giant panther. As of now it is called the kingdom of INCARI. As a day of duality, the energy gives way to balance between the polarities, so this is what we need to focus on.
The day of the 6th, brings us the energy of the Nawal No'j. This is the keeper of the wisdom, the harmony, the balance and the understanding, the power of the mind and of the imagination. This is a day to use the energy of the mind to create the power of balance. On this day we need to practice internal peace as well as peace with the community. The polarization based on religious fundamentalism is reaching its unsustainable limits and it depends on beings that are committed to the essence of the real spirituality and the survival of the human race and of mother earth, to help stop this energy. Let's not forget that this thing we call reality is mental, the "great illusion", and the one that commands this force is the Nawal No'j. It is recommended to light white candles, to create chains of meditation and raise our words to the heart of the heavens and to the Great Spirit. We need to purify internally and check our own existence so we can do away with that which no longer serves us; to be free of antagonizing forces so we can then create the force that needs to govern now, which is harmony.
The day of the 7th brings us the energy of the Nawal Tijaax. This day is the culmination of this cycle that opens with the intermediary between the earth and the sky, followed by the forgiveness and the sin, then followed by the purification of the mind (creator of all illusions). Tijaax is the double bladed knife. It is the energy that opens up dimensions and the vortex on this day, creating a space extremely subtle and only perceptive to sensitive spirits. To us humans it gives us the opportunity to cut the negativity, to let go of that which holds us back to the vain illusions, to open up our hearts, to awaken and be able to create the balance between the polarities. We need to ask for all the spiritual guides, so they can leave behind their personal importance, so they may know how to guide us without competition and to be united and so they may not forget they are not the keepers of the truth. Each and every one of us brings a force and internal power and that all the truths are part of one manifestation of reality and this is how we'll be able to face the changes we are about to encounter. This will allow us to reach the date of Dec. 21, 2012, with much harmony. This is the purpose of Tzacol, the planet being alive, to then be able to transcend to the 5th Ajaw.
THE YEAR 2007
As of February or maybe sooner, according to the sacred books, the sacred Tzi'te and the projections of the wise visionaries, this seems to be an extremely delicate year. Again this has to do with us reaching peace and harmony. As of now the economies can start to deteriorate, we can see that it is based on an illusion. We have seen the real value of things have disappeared many years ago. Today the economic value, money as we know it, is an electronic fantasy and if the socio-economic systems doesn't return to being human and to the real value, the actual system is condemned to extinction. This is the unconsciousness, the senseless race in the world that continues without stopping, without going anywhere. It is escapism to live an experience in such an accelerated manner. The fear of destruction and the instant gratifications we experience on a daily basis either help us to carry out our existence or to live alienated.
This year will be hard and bring us natural disasters, warlike confrontations and disaster in the world economy. Like with all prophecies and visions of the future, there is the ability to minimize things and in some cases even change them. Although this year is of much concern, we must focus on the present which is where we will define the balance. The period of now to the end of 2007 is of much importance to maintain the balance. We will be living in a very dangerous time that this humanity has not lived before. It is within each and every one of us to reach balance and change. The focus must be on the energy that got stuck in Panama, which, because of the canal, didn't allow the energy to reach south. This is where the work will be the most revealing, which doesn't consist only of these four days. It is urgent to activate the base of the spinal cord of the continent of the mountain range of the Andes and the ancient mountains of Cordova. To bring on the change and as the wise Mam elder said: "PLEASE LET'S RETURN TO BEING HUMANS!"
Carlos Barrios is a Mayan Ajq'ij, who originates from and resides in Guatemala. Carlos has been given the mission by his elders to begin sharing the prophecies and teachings of the Mayan peoples with the rest of the world. Carlos travels internationally to share these teachings and to generate awareness and support for the rescue and preservation of the ancient Mayan tradition in his homeland. Carlos is also the author of "Kam Wuj: El Libro del Destino", and out of print book on the astrology and prophecies of the Mayan peoples. Carlos is presently working on a revised edition which is to be translated to English.
Saq' Be': Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies is a non profit organization based in New Mexico, US. Saq' Be' works to bring people, especially young adults, together with ancient traditions for the purpose of cultural and spiritual preservation and to open the doors of opportunity for those traditions to share their teachings with the rest of the world. Preservation programs include Radio broadcast capacity for the Native community in Chichicastenango, Guatemala and support for filmed documentation efforts of elders and guides of the Mayan tradition. Meetings programs include trips to Native communities in Guatemala (next trip is for the Mayan New Year, June, 2004) and arranging for travel and teachings for the keepers of this ancient wisdom to the US and abroad.
