A Prayer for America

Speech By Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH)


To The

Southern California Americans for Democratic Action.

February 17, 2002

Los Angeles, California



A Prayer for America





(to be sung as an overture for America)



"My country 'tis of thee. Sweet land of liberty of thee I sing. . . .

From every mountainside, let freedom ring. . . . Long may our land be

bright. With freedom's

holy light. . . ."



"Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave. O'er the land of the

free

and the home of the brave?"



"America, America, God shed grace on thee. And crown thy good with

brotherhood from sea to shining sea. . . . "





I offer these brief remarks today as a prayer for our country, with

love of democracy, as a celebration of our country. With love for our

country. With hope for our country. With a belief that the light of

freedom cannot be extinguished as long as it is inside of us. With a

belief that freedom rings resoundingly in a democracy each time we

speak freely. With the understanding that freedom stirs the human

heart and fear stills it. With the belief that a free people cannot

walk in fear and faith at the same time.



With the understanding that there is a deeper truth expressed in the

unity of the United States. That implicit in the union of our country

is the union of all people. That all people are essentially one. That

the world is interconnected not only on the material level of

economics, trade, communication, and transportation, but

innerconnected through human consciousness, through the human heart,

through the heart of the world, through the simply expressed impulse

and yearning to be and to breathe free.



I offer this prayer for America.



Let us pray that our nation will remember that the unfolding of the

promise of democracy in our nation paralleled the striving for civil

rights. That is why we must challenge the rationale of the Patriot

Act. We must ask why should America put aside guarantees of

constitutional justice?



How can we justify in effect canceling the First Amendment and the

right of free speech, the right to peaceably assemble?



How can we justify in effect canceling the Fourth Amendment, probable

cause, the prohibitions against unreasonable search and seizure?



How can we justify in effect canceling the Fifth Amendment, nullifying

due process, and allowing for indefinite incarceration without a

trial?



How can we justify in effect canceling the Sixth Amendment, the right

to prompt and public trial?



How can we justify in effect canceling the Eighth Amendment which

protects against cruel and unusual punishment?



We cannot justify widespread wiretaps and internet surveillance

without judicial supervision, let alone with it.



We cannot justify secret searches without a warrant.



We cannot justify giving the Attorney General the ability to designate

domestic terror groups.



We cannot justify giving the FBI total access to any type of data

which may exist in any system anywhere such as medical records and

financial records.



We cannot justify giving the CIA the ability to target people in this

country for intelligence surveillance.



We cannot justify a government which takes from the people our right

to privacy and then assumes for its own operations a right to total

secrecy.



The Attorney General recently covered up a statue of Lady Justice

showing her bosom as if to underscore there is no danger of justice

exposing herself at this time, before this administration.



Let us pray that our nation's leaders will not be overcome with fear.

Because today there is great fear in our great Capitol. And this must

be understood before we can ask about the shortcomings of Congress in

the current environment. The great fear began when we had to evacuate

the Capitol on September 11. It continued when we had to leave the

Capitol again when a bomb scare occurred as members were pressing the

CIA during a secret briefing. It continued when we abandoned

Washington when anthrax, possibly from a government lab, arrived in

the mail.



It continued when the Attorney General declared a nationwide terror

alert and then the Administration brought the destructive Patriot Bill

to the floor of the House.



It continued in the release of the bin Laden tapes at the same time

the President was announcing the withdrawal from the ABM treaty.



It remains present in the cordoning off of the Capitol. It is present

in the camouflaged armed national guardsmen who greet members of

Congress each day we enter the Capitol campus. It is present in the

labyrinth of concrete barriers through which we must pass each time we

go to vote.



The trappings of a state of siege trap us in a state of fear,

ill-equipped to deal with the Patriot Games, the Mind Games, the War

Games of an unelected President and his undetected Vice President.



Let us pray that our country will stop this war. "To provide for the

common defense" is one of the formational principles of America.



Our Congress gave the President the ability to respond to the tragedy

of September 11. We licensed a response to those who helped bring the

terror of September 11th. But we the people and our elected

representatives must reserve the right to measure the response, to

proportion the response, to challenge the response, and to correct the

response.



Because we did not authorize the invasion of Iraq.

We did not authorize the invasion of Iran.

We did not authorize the invasion of North Korea.

We did not authorize the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan.

We did not authorize permanent detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

We did not authorize the withdrawal from the Geneva Convention.

We did not authorize military tribunals suspending due process and

habeas corpus.

We did not authorize assassination squads.

We did not authorize the resurrection of COINTELPRO.

We did not authorize the repeal of the Bill of Rights.

We did not authorize the revocation of the Constitution.

We did not authorize national identity cards.

We did not authorize the eye of Big Brother to peer from cameras

throughout our cities.

We did not authorize an eye for an eye.

Nor did we ask that the blood of innocent people, who perished on

September 11, be avenged with the blood of innocent villagers in

Afghanistan.

We did not authorize the administration to wage war anytime,

anywhere,anyhow it pleases.

We did not authorize war without end.

We did not authorize a permanent war economy.



Yet we are upon the threshold of a permanent war economy. The

President has requested a $45.6 billion increase in military spending.

All defense-related programs will cost close to $400 billion.



Consider that the Department of Defense has never passed an

independent audit. Consider that the Inspector General has notified

Congress that the Pentagon cannot properly account for $1.2 trillion

in transactions. Consider that in recent years the Dept. of Defense

could not match $22 billion worth of expenditures to the items it

purchased, wrote off, as lost, billions of dollars worth of in-transit

inventory and stored nearly $30 billion worth of spare parts it did

not need.



Yet the defense budget grows with more money for weapons systems to

fight a cold war which ended, weapon systems in search of new enemies

to create new wars. This has nothing to do with fighting terror.



This has everything to do with fueling a military industrial machine

with the treasure of our nation, risking the future of our nation,

risking democracy itself with the militarization of thought which

follows the militarization of the budget.



Let us pray for our children.



Our children deserve a world without end. Not a war without end. Our

children deserve a world free of the terror of hunger, free of the

terror of poor health care, free of the terror of homelessness, free

of the terror of ignorance, free of the terror of hopelessness, free

of the terror of policies which are committed to a world view which is

not appropriate for the survival of a free people, not appropriate for

the survival of democratic values, not appropriate for the survival of

our nation, and not appropriate for the survival of the world.



Let us pray that we have the courage and the will as a people and as a

nation to shore ourselves up, to reclaim from the ruins of September

11th our democratic traditions.



Let us declare our love for democracy. Let us declare our intent for

peace.



Let us work to make nonviolence an organizing principle in our own

society.



Let us recommit ourselves to the slow and painstaking work of

statecraft, which sees peace, not war as being inevitable.



Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic.



That is the vision which the proposal to create a Department of Peace

envisions. Forty-three members of Congress are now cosponsoring the

legislation. Let us work for a world where nuclear disarmament is an

imperative. That is why we must begin by insisting on the commitments

of the ABM treaty. That is why we must be steadfast for

nonproliferation.



Let us work for a world where America can lead the day in banning

weapons of mass destruction not only from our land and sea and sky but

from outer space itself. That is the vision of HR 3616: A universe

free of fear. Where we can look up at God's creation in the stars and

imagine infinite wisdom, infinite peace, infinite possibilities, not

infinite war, because we are taught that the kingdom will come on

earth as it is in heaven. Let us pray that we have the courage to

replace the images of death which haunt us, the layers of images of

September 11th, faded into images of patriotism, spliced into images

of military mobilization, jump-cut into images of our secular

celebrations of the World Series, New Year's Eve, the Superbowl, the

Olympics, the strobic flashes which touch our deepest fears, let us

replace those images with the work of human relations, reaching out to

people, helping our own citizens here at home, lifting the plight of

the poor everywhere.



That is the America which has the ability to rally the support of the

world.



That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil,

but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and

freedom. America, America. God shed grace on thee. Crown thy good,

America.



Not with weapons of mass destruction. Not with invocations of an axis

of evil. Not through breaking international treaties. Not through

establishing America as king of a unipolar world. Crown thy good

America. America, America. Let us pray for our country. Let us love

our country. Let us defend our country not only from the threats

without but from the threats within.



Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good with brotherhood, and

sisterhood. And crown thy good with compassion and restraint and

forbearance and a commitment to peace, to democracy, to economic

justice here at home and throughout the world.



Crown thy good, America. Crown thy good America. Crown thy good.



Thank you.

A Message from the Dalai Lama

A Message from the Dalai Lama


(Or perhaps another source. Good thoughts, in any case.)





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1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.



2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.



3. Follow the three Rs:



Respect for self

Respect for others

Responsibility for all our actions.



4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.



5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.



6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.



7. When you realize you�ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.



8. Spend some time alone every day.



9. Open arms to change, but don�t let go of your values.



10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.



11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.



12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.



13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.



14. Share your knowledge. It�s a way to achieve immortality.



15. Be gentle with the Earth.



16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.



17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.



18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.



19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.



We hope the message brings you happiness and joy.













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Perennial Wisdom




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Truth alone wins, not untruth. By Truth is established the path that leads to the Divine, by which the seers, who have fulfilled their desires, reach to the Supreme abode of Truth.



- - Mundaka Upanishad III.1.6









Throughout history wise and discriminating people of all lands have sought a Truth which is Universal and Eternal. Yet this has been the main quest not only of philosophers and mystics but of all of us in life's more profound moments. Deep inside ourselves we all long for an Absolute Truth through which we can transcend suffering and death and gain bliss and immortality. Many great thinkers, looking beyond the names and forms of the various religions and philosophies which have existed through history, have looked for tradition of knowledge which reflects the Universal Truth and allows people of every generation to connect with It.



More importantly we should recognize what is universal in the different teachings of the world - which is to discard that which is not universal. The real unity is self-existent at the core of who we are. It cannot be fabricated by validating the differences that exist at the surface. The unity of the ocean exists at its depth, not at the level of the waves, which must ever remain turbulent.



There are others who want to create a universal tradition anew by discarding the religions of the world, recognizing that all the religions we possess have become limiting identities. Yet this would be like trying to create a new science by discarding all that science has previously discovered. We must take what is universal in the teachings of the world, neither validating them at the level of their surface differences, nor discarding all that they have to offer.



As such a tradition always exists in the cosmic mind we only need to restore its outer functioning. To do this we must recognize the tradition which has existed and the forms it has created.



Excerpts from writings by David Frawley







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In the pursuit of learning every day something is gained.

In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Tao Te Ching

The I ching how to proceed

The I Ching


Once in a long while, I have a specially deep question to ponder, and I seek the counsel of the I Ching. This requires focusing on the question, which usually is easy because it is important to me anyway, and ringing around in my head. Sometime in September 2001, a couple of related issues came together to require some decision-making that would affect the GCP's future in practical terms, but also potentially in style. This involved a proposition that the PEAR lab become a home for the project, while at the same time, there was considerable new public attention because of the Sept 11 disaster, to which the EGG reacted, strikingly. A number of suggestions and pressures to be more public were in the air.



I asked, "How shall I proceed with the public EGG, with PEAR, with giving up simplicity, control?"



Here is my reading, on October 3, 2001, at 06:45, using coins.





_______

_______

___ ___

_______

___ ___

___ ___

This is Chien, hexagram number 53, which is composed of the sun above and the mountain below. Its primary wisdom is summarized as "Development, Gradual Progress." The trigrams are Sun, the gentle, wind, wood; and Kên, keeping still, mountain. I interpret this and the more detailed commentary in the I Ching to mean that I should continue in the path of doing research, doing it well, staying with my decisions to not seek publicity, and allowing the EGG to grow naturally in its own time. The situation is good; it is harmonious and stable.



What is perhaps most striking in a magical sense is that when I last asked a question of the I Ching it was about how I should deal with my feeling of frustration at the slow progress in 1998 when I was working on the practical issues of logistical support. At the same time I was pushing the development of the technical network and other aspects of the project. I asked much the same question, "How shall I proceed with the EGG, no EGO?" and the I Ching gave me Ching, the well. Ching has K'an, the abysmal, water above; and Sun, the gentle, wind, wood below. My throw had changing lines so the hexagram became Chien.



Chien is the answer that I received for the present question, this time with no changing lines. Just a coincidence, perhaps, but it is for me deeply meaningful to have again this obviously appropriate message when I am looking for wisdom about how to proceed.

December 10/11 2004


Again at a moment of some turmoil about how best to proceed, I have decided take advantage of the I Ching's wise counsel. The question in a major sense is whether to go ahead with a theory meeting soon -- like in March 2005, just three months from now -- even though there is not as much product or "meat" from the Analysis 2004 project as I had hoped there might be. The question has to do with depending on others and having confidence in the actuality of the correlations and anomalous effects in the data. It also is about believing that as a small group of volunteers we will be able to collect and display some new features in the GCP data, as well as to gather sould and instructive results from other sources. The purpose of the meeting will be to work toward an integration of findings in models and theory that can begin to give understanding.



There also are personal aspects to the question, again hingeing on relationships and distribution of time. In any case, this was a moment in my path where it seemed most appropriate to ask the I Ching for its wisdom. Here is the reading, on December 11 at 00:58, that is, just after midnight of the 10th.



___ ___

_______

_______

___ ___

___ ___

___ ___

___ ___

This is Ts'ui, hexagram number 45, composed of the lake above and the earth below. Ts'ui is about "Gathering Together [Massing]. The trigrams relate to the joyous and the receptive, and this hexagram could hardly be more clear as a counsel to trust in the gathering of people in a common interest, and to accept that leadership is required. The Judgement notes that the leader must first of all be collected within himself. On the larger stage, "Only collective moral force can unite the world."


This hexagram had changing lines at the beginning, in the third, and the sixth place. These all indicate that there will be difficulties, that persisting sincerity is required, and that reaching out is both good and necessary.






The changes yield hexagram number 13, T'ung Jên, composed of the Creative, Heaven above and the Clinging, Flame below.



_______

_______

_______

_______

_______

___ ___

_______



Remarkably, this hexagram is named "Fellowship with Men" and seems to give in other words the same fundamental message as Ts'ui. There is also the counsel that fellowship must be based on a concern that is universal, not the private interests of the individual. It is about the goals of humanity. Again there is in the Judgement a clear message that perseverance is essential.



I am encouraged by the resonance I feel with these readings from the I Ching, and I will proceed, with the help of my friends.

Birthing a Lion The Nature of Dreams

Birthing a Lion


I rarely have the pleasure of remembering dreams, and still less frequently do I find them interpretable. I offer the following as an exceptional case, because it did immediately help me through some knots and provided almost literally some needed direction for the next stage of work on the EGG project. I will append some brief notes on that work. Here is the dream description, written first thing after waking.



98-09-10



Woke from a dream at about 07:30. I received a large package that contained all the apparatus for helping a baby lion be born. The mother was "frozen" I guess, but somehow would be alive and give birth to a live cub. There was much technological apparatus. The first part was a practice. A baby's foot would be born. I now don't remember the instructions much but there was a long tube to unroll, and some personal preparations, maybe just washing. I strung up the tube, which was thin, like an eighth of an inch in diameter, there was a sort of receiving box, and it seems some thing like a switch that I must press to start the process. Then there was some long waiting, and even some feeling of urging, comforting, helping, some squeezing? ... finally there was a bulge in the tube and it expanded to a diameter large enough for a paw about the size of a man's finger; the paw and a part of the leg, a forepaw. The paw proceeded through the tube, which became semi-transparent from the stretching, and finally issued into the containter, a little touch of blue, like stains in the matted fur, but really a paw and pretty big, maybe the right thing for a lion. There was someone else involved, but I only remember he (or possibly she) had no more experience than I. We were pretty drained from all this, and decided to pack up and rest, and learn more before proceeding. There was a little difficulty with a tangle in the tubing, but it finally resolved. More stuff about how to arrange things better. I was also worrying over how long the frozen mother lion could be kept so, and beginning to realize there must be some far more sophisticated stuff involved than mere freezing. I think, for example, the package was not big enough for a full grown lion. This and some other logics brought me awake.



Seems very easy for me to interpret: We, the EGG crew, have successfully birthed a beautiful practice lion, at least the paw, and must learn more, must read (write?) the instruction manual before we turn on the system with a live, public presence.



*****



Planning for next stage, growth of the EGG network:



The primary linkages are made and we are now taking data that are well-qualified, though we still need some synchronization work, and probably a little more testing before we can say fully-qualified.



This means we are ready in a fundamental sense to begin directly recruiting more egg hosts, and I have a few who are in fact ready. Practically, there is still much to be done to make the setup of new eggs possible. There are several options that we may pursue:



1. Recruit friends, and egg-friendly people, who run unix or linux systems. They will need:





REG/RNG device

Eggsh software (which may need to be locally compiled)

NTP time synch (maybe help with configuration)

Internet connection

Instruction

2. Provide computer that is set up and ready to plug in. This requires that we build a setup package or arrange setup with provider:





Buy 486 or better, with 300+ meg disk, cdrom, modem *

Create minimal linux installation on floppy and cdrom.

linux (how about x-wndows?)

eggsh

ppp, slip, other communication?

NTP

other possibles, e.g., netscape

Configuration form, to get host information

Arrange shipping of computer and REG/RNG

Internet connection **

Instructions, which will need to be extensive

* Yesterday, I discovered via www.PC-today, a company 10 miles from Princeton that builds and sells refurbished computers via mail/UPS. For example, the item that caught my eye: 486 DX/66, with 16meg ram and a 540 or 818 meg disk, cdrom, modem, and 15" SVGA monitor, for $299 -- no operating system :-). I will visit, and discuss possibility of installing our minimal linux and software package, for shipping to our egghosts.



** For connections inside the US, one very simple possiblity, suggested by Charles, is to long-distance dial directly to noosphere. As I recall Greg's calculations in the spec document, this would cost on the order of $1.50 per day to dialup 1/hour, at 10 cents per minute.



3. Let host provide computer or buy one locally. This requires the same material as option 2, but with additional instruction.



4. Port eggsh for Windows, and use host's machine already in use. This requires steely nerves, great courage, boundless determination, and, yet, it may be sensible. In addition, this requires the package from option 2, with greatly enhanced instruction module.