All Global News on One Page

Seeing Arianna Huffington in Beverly Hills the other night was a full circle moment for me. A year ago a Huffington Post Technology Editor (Jose) asked me to blog about collective consciousness and that was the first step on a writer’s journey that brought me to Los Angeles. I felt the synchronicity when she opened the evening talking about “Cassandra,” her favorite Greek heroine, who happens to be my namesake. I also represent many of the people she writes about in her latest book Third World America. Validation. I’m where I’m supposed to be.
As fate would have it, I too was gifted with vision and have been cursed by men who claimed to love me. When I spoke to Arianna afterward, I briefly told her about a time in my life when I sold chocolate chip cookies at concerts in the Bay Area with my teenage daughter to make ends meet and she asked me to write about it.
It’s a success story in many ways but not a rags-to-riches story. It’s worth telling now because it is time to shift the current meaning of “success” in the collective consciousness from obtaining large amounts of money, to living life gratefully, taking good care of our children, treasuring our planet and inspiring each other to be better people. This is true and lasting “success.” I have achieved this success and you can too. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, you can start right now to live successfully.
The great spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says you are most close to your true nature and life’s purpose when you no longer know who you are. When all the things that have fed your ego-identity are gone, what’s left is the real you. A “you” that is very powerful, joyous and inline with the energy of the universe.
With so many people facing financial struggles, unemployment and worries about the future, this can be a time of great positive transformation if people can adjust their values. This is the up side. In this amazing time of instant connection to each other through technology, what you create and send out can affect many people quickly. This could be a time to turn your passion into a business or reach out as a mentor, filling a need of society. It is possible to align your actions with what is truly meaningful in life and let go of the false capitalism love story that has been fed to us. It’s time for the Aquarian Conspiracy of the 21st century.
I have nothing against making lots of money. I’ve had financial ups and downs my whole life through many different careers. I had a rocky start, got married at 16, had my daughter at 19 and was divorced by 20. I could always cook well, so I became a chef and restaurant owner at 24. I made some good money for a little while. Things went south with my partner/ boyfriend and I found myself starting over again at 28 with a very bright 9 year-old daughter.
At this point my life as a mother became very difficult when my paychecks were getting levied to an unlivable level for taxes owed on the former restaurant. My job as a Chef kept me away too many hours from Christina. We were broke, I was exhausted and she started heading down the wrong pre-teen road so I knew I had to make some changes. I was so desperate for money one weekend that I made a bunch of jewelry and took it to a 3-day Grateful Dead show at Shoreline. The jewelry didn’t sell but I noticed food was selling very well to the happy fans. The next night I came back with a few pans of Spanakopita, a spinach and feta cheese pastry and a specialty of mine. My daughter and I sold spanakopita at concerts for awhile but it was very labor intensive and expensive to make. One weekend there was only one event to do, Sesame Street Live, so with new found confidence we changed the menu to chocolate chip cookies, made hokey signs and gave it a shot. The cookies sold really well and we were able to see the show, spend time together and go home with a purse full of cash. This was the birth of Chippity Doo Da Cookies. We made giant batches, perfecting our big tasty cookies over time and sold them for $1 at every concert and at sporting events. We eventually became a welcomed, legitimate fixture at Shoreline and other Bill Graham events in the Bay Area. We would buy bottled water from Costco and sell it for $1 out of cooler at big events for bonus money. People would run up the hill after a Shoreline concert with dollars in their hands, grabbing our cookies with ritualistic zeal. We went to many concerts, met many artists including my favorites Peter Gabriel and Ian Anderson, made some money, we both finished school and we survived with a very close relationship. We did not get rich, but we got by. It was a success.
One Halloween concert at Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View California
People judged me for making my kid work during her formative teenage years and at times I felt guilty, but at the end of the day I’m positive that this lifestyle choice was paramount in making her the successful political reporter she is today. She wasn’t partying, she developed a great work ethic, got good grades as the cool concert kid at high school, graduated from UC Berkeley and is currently very skilled at manifesting her bliss in DC as a happily married, White House Correspondent (recently became an editor). We had plenty of adventures and stories to tell and when I think of those difficult times now, I thank my lucky stars we took that unusual path. It was a true blessing at the end of the day.
Christina Bellantoni with Sam Donaldson. A full circle moment for her because he gave her good journalistic advice while she was still in San Jose.
Having to start over many times in life has made me a uniquely strong and resourceful person. I accept life as it is. I no longer fear the natural highs and lows. Every hardship I’ve faced has made me stronger, taught me valuable lessons or led me to amazing people. I’m grateful for the times life’s challenges pushed me outside my comfort zone. Which is good because like so many others, I’m currently starting over, again.
Things are a bit different this time. I’m older. My body has been damaged by breast cancer and the treatment that kept me alive, so a pirate cookie company is probably not in my immediate future. My daughter is across the country and it took time to recover emotionally from the unexpected betrayal of my husband, destroying a successful business and lifestyle that was financially comfortable.
Of course that stable, successful life was a complete illusion, but I’ve been through this before so I’m a bit more equipped than many others in the same boat. I know this too shall pass and there are valuable lessons to be learned. When the worst I could imagine actually happened, instead of becoming self destructive, I really focused on the spiritual lessons of my predicament, kept myself open, present and began to write everything down. Instead of grabbing a pack of smokes and a bottle of tequila (my old stand-bys), I pampered myself as much as I could. As a survivor, I truly appreciate each and every day I’m blessed with simply being alive and I try to help others feel that way too. I’ve finally learned how to eliminate debilitating stress no matter what is happening, I love myself consciously and want to teach others this skill. None of this spiritual development would have occurred if it wasn’t for this dark period and I’m grateful for it.
This is why I’m here in L.A. starting over working for a Beverly Hills magazine selling Ads, writing a book to help others, producing guided visual imagery recordings for teens and at Temple Emanuel listening to Arianna Huffington, the master of reinvention. I now say YES to whatever the universe puts in my path, including writing this and I’m ready for whatever. I know success for me isn’t about getting rich or getting remarried. I’m feeling really hopeful and excited about becoming more knowledgeable than I already am so I can help others during this difficult time. I feel a shift in consciousness and those that are losing things may actually be the lucky ones.
I have had my share of help, miracles and lucky breaks. One amazing moment happened while I was visiting my daughter on Christmas Eve in the White House. Robert Gibbs kindly offered to show us the Oval Office on a quick tour. As I looked around I took stock of my life and felt that magical moment fully. I realized this would have never happened without Chippity Doo Da Cookies. Who would have ever guessed that me, Cassandra M. Bellantoni, teenage mom, would be standing in the Oval Office with my daughter and Robert Gibbs laughing with glee? Life is truly beautiful.
One of the most amazing days of my life. Christmas Eve 2009 at The White House! Lucky me!
My tips for people facing tough times:
The thing to remember is that if you are alive, you matter and are important to the world or you wouldn’t be here. The gift of life is only given to those that have a purpose. It might not be to become rich and that’s fine. Your purpose could be helping others, or just one person, or animals, or the planet. You could be here to be a great parent, invent something, make people laugh or stop someone from being hurt. These are all successes. Everyone has a destiny to fulfill and it is impossible to know how deeply our own imprint is affecting the whole. Look to what makes you truly joyful for the clues to your purpose.
Starting over again with nothing but my doggies and a grateful attitude. Come what may, I trust the universe.
If you are facing losing your home, unemployment, divorce, kids going away, people dying, illness or any of the many ebbs and flows that life brings, do not let these events define you. Remember, where you stumble lies your treasure. Take notice of where you are. Every cloud has a silver lining. FIND IT! Stay in the present and separate yourself from negative mind-chatter and the people in your life that mirror it. Involve your children in the family challenges. They will learn about reality and that is never wrong. Look to animals and nature for a lesson in accepting life joyously. My dogs make me smile everyday. A beautiful flower or fantastic music can really change your frequency, which is important to attract new experiences. Feel grateful for all you do have. Ask for help. Take good care of yourself. Exercise, take a walk and get plenty of sleep. Eliminate corn syrup, junk and chemicals from your diet. You will feel better and be stronger to face the next chapter. Let go of stuff, hold on to love, true friends and your values.
Most of all trust the universe.

Follow Cassandra M. Bellantoni on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/StarShineSpeaks

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

There are many people hoping the GOP chooses Sarah Palin to run against President Obama so we can finally get a definitive answer to this nagging question of national self-immolation. I do not believe we will be able to make that choice. The electorate tends to dance with radicals and buy them drinks but generally lets them go home alone to have more scary dreams. Well, here is another frightening notion to all y’all from your friends down here in Texas: President Rick Perry.
Perry painted the state an even brighter red, in part, because his democratic opponent, former Houston Mayor Bill White, suffered from the heartbreak of ineffectuality. Nothing he tried inspired and his strongest messages were, “I’m not Rick Perry,” and “Rick Perry has been governor long enough.” Coyote-killer Rick, however, was taking credit for the state’s geography and climate, which have been essential to job and business growth. Regardless of what the governor argues, no one is coming here as a result of his or his party’s policies. Property taxes are the worst in the country and the schools that are funded with that money are overwhelmingly mediocre, which has led to a scandalous charter school program. Roads are falling apart, state parks are suffering decaying infrastructure, our air is the dirtiest in the country, mass transit is resisted by leadership, and we are ranked 48th or 49th in every government consideration other than raising up unqualified presidential candidates.
Perry might be a little light in his Lucchese’s but he has shown a great facility for ignoring standards and even the law without enduring penalty. On the same day his reelection filled the column inches and the web site of the Austin paper, there was also a report that the governor was refusing to release a copy of a $4.5 million contract with the state. The money went to a startup technology company founded by one of Perry’s major donors. The American Statesman filed a Freedom of Information request but Perry’s office said no and ignored the fact that those millions are tax dollars and the manner in which they are spent is subject to public disclosure. How money is used and where it comes from makes the kid from Paint Rock a bit nervous, unless, of course, he is the beneficiary. He has become inexplicably wealthy during his term while earning less than $200,000 annually. Conversely, he has turned down hundreds of millions in education dollars from the federal government that would have provided improvements to Texas schools because he claimed there were “strings attached.” There were: good grades.
The red run of Election Day does more good for Perry’s opaque ambition than it does Sarah Palin’s. As he brags about having the best job in America, the governor begins a national tour for his slim book about being fed up with the feds. Answers to softball questions will saturate the airwaves from friendly media over the next few weeks and there will be talk of his Texas mandate and it how it compares to the whopping win George W. Bush earned in his race against former Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro. The pretext to begin circulating Perry’s name for a presidential run will be easily established and the Tea Partiers that he energized with his irresponsible talk of secession will slowly turn pragmatic and confront the question of who can win in 2012.
Palin may not have been the personality who sent those Tea Partiers to the polls but she loves them and they have affection for her. That attraction, however, cannot be consummated because there will never be enough Tea Partiers to elect a president. A compromise is inevitable since the GOP cannot field an electable candidate without energizing the party’s Diaspora, which has tipped way right. What’s a bad speller to do? Palin will do well in several early primary states and if the GOP wants to have any chance against President Obama it will have to engineer a ticket.
No matter what either party suggests, American presidential politics is more about viscera than intellect and issues. Uncertain voters tend to make decisions based upon charisma and aesthetics. Few people trust political ads and when they are busy trying to pay down credit card debt or keep the mortgage banker at bay they do not have time to read party platforms or study issues on candidate web pages. Party activists are the only people paying attention to campaigns until the last few weeks. Which leads us back to Rick Perry.
The GOP is already spending time trying to find a prospect to get Sarah to act a bit more politically demure. Their options are limited. Haley Barbour, the well-wired governor of Mississippi (State motto: Thank god for Texas) has the round face and weary drawl of an old school southern pol. As connected as he is to governors’ mansions and DC insiders, he would have a tough task against Obama if for no other reason than aesthetics. Mitt Romney is arguably too polished and too Mormon. Whether they will acknowledge it or not there are millions of Christians in the US that still view Mormonism as a cult and it hurts Romney’s chances. (The John Kennedy and first Catholic president analogy is not relevant.) Jeb Bush will not be able to help himself and will pursue the White House because he wants to prove he is the “smart one” in his family but there are no more than two dozen voters that want to see another Bush or Clinton on a national ticket. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will likely enter the picture as an independent and burn enough money to make E-Bay’s big bucks Meg Whitman look fiscally prudent but he will not travel well in the south; except for Florida.
The compromise ticket will be Perry and Palin. They will make a lovely camera-ready couple from the union’s two biggest states. (The Hair Pair?) Team Tea Party has fondness for both of them and the mainstream party machine can convince donors that Sarah will never get her hands on the nuclear launch codes but that she is necessary to elect the ticket. The only complication is Karl Rove’s role. He is still ginning up cash and running a big fund-raising operation and he has offended Palin and the Tea Party. Karl, who does not seem to be able to keep friends, led Perry’s campaign when he won his first statewide office in Texas but there has been an alienation of affection. Rove supported Sen. Kay Hutchison in her race for governor against Perry in the Republican primary. Karl will need to be taught to heel but that should not be a problem since he has proven in the past that victory and money are more important than any principle.
So, there you go, America; since you are too busy to get informed we will just turn this into American Idol or maybe Dancing with the Stars. Nothing to read. Just use your cell phone or your remote to vote. Have fun!!!
And we will go ahead and start grooming you another goofball down here in Texas.
Also at: www.moorethink.com

Follow James Moore on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/moorethink

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

Arianna appeared on CNN’s “Larry King Live” Wednesday night to discuss the fallout from Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“The Democrats and especially the White House did not listen to the American people,” she told King and her copanelists. “Jobs never really became a priority. The sense of urgency that brought all the establishments together when it came to Wall Street never happened when it came to Main Street.”
WATCH:

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

Religion is all about being good. The critical question is: To whom? A recent review of the scientific literature on religion and morality argues that our evolutionary past may hold the key to understanding why religion can bring out the best and worst in us.
Much to the annoyance of angry atheists, there is considerable evidence that religion encourages cooperative, pro-social behavior. Studies show that religious people engage in more charitable giving, volunteerism and civic involvement than their non-religious counterparts. Religion facilitates self-control which translates into lower rates of delinquency, criminality, substance abuse, promiscuity and divorce. When reminded of religious concepts, people are more generous, honest, trusting and trustworthy. Finally, religious groups tend to be more cohesive and enduring than non-religious ones.
But take heart, angry atheists, for the evidence is not all positive. For example, increased religiosity — especially of the fundamentalist variety — has been associated with more intense prejudicial attitudes. Both covert and overt prejudice against African-Americans increases when people are reminded of Christian concepts. Religion can also increase aggressive tendencies or hostile attitudes against perceived competitors or out-group members and in some instances intensify vengefulness.
In an attempt to make sense of this seemingly conflicting evidence, social psychologist Jesse Preston and her students (Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, p. 574) argue that a distinction must be made between two guiding principles of religious pro-sociality: A religious principle, where moral concern is primarily targeted at protecting the integrity of the religious in-group; and a supernatural principle where moral concern is focused on following divine laws of virtuous behavior.
The religious principle emphasizes the communal aspects of religion, where traditions, rituals and distinctive behaviors (e.g. keeping kosher, wearing a turban) mark and unify members of the religious community. A constant threat to any community, including religious ones, are free-riders — individuals who attempt to reap the benefits of community membership without making necessary contributions. To remain viable, all communities must find ways of thwarting free-riders. Excluding them from community benefits, such as the monetary and emotional largesse of the group, can be an effective control mechanism.
Thus, a thriving religious community must be able to clearly distinguish “worthy” in-group members from “unworthy” out-group members and predominately dispense their moral concern amongst the former. This would explain why studies have often found that religion facilitates pro-social actions toward some people some of the time but not everyone all the time. Being “good” to members of one’s religious community often means being indifferent or even antagonistic to those outside the community. Taken to its extreme, the religious principle is the motivation behind the bin Ladens and Torquemadas of the world.
The supernatural principle involves adherence to divine laws of virtuous behavior. Virtuous behavior includes anything believed to be pleasing to or required by one’s God (or gods). Typically virtuous behaviors are such things as being honest, charitable, just, compassionate and temperate. The supernatural principle is the basis for the universal love motivating the Ghandis and Mother Theresas of the world.
So what are origins of these two principles? It is here that evolutionary history becomes relevant. In the deep past, the religious and supernatural principles probably overlapped considerably if not perfectly. For example, one might believe that God requires that virtue be restricted to one’s religious community and that enmity be demonstrated to out-group members. In small tribal communities, interactions with out-group members would have been rare. The neighbor that one was supposed “to love as oneself” would almost always have been a fellow religious in-group member.
However, as societies grew larger and more complex, the religious and supernatural principles would have increasingly diverged. A more universalist understanding of virtue was probably essential as interactions with both out-group members and widely-dispersed co-religionists became more common. Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, redefines “neighbor” in a way consistent with the supernatural principle (anyone in need) and in stark contrast to the religious principle. It is also of more than trivial significance that this parable emerges at a time when Jews were both widely dispersed across the Roman Empire and interacting regularly with non-Jews. Just as the religious principle may have been essential in successfully broadening community beyond just kin, the supernatural principle may have been critical in moving us from tribes to nations. Indeed, research has found that as societies grow larger and more complex, their tendency to envision moralizing gods increases.
How well does the supernatural vs. religious distinction hold up under scientific scrutiny? In their review paper, Preston and her colleagues describe a study where subjects are given the opportunity to cooperate with either an in-group or out-group member (defined by racial/ethnic identity). When reminded of concepts associated with “religion,” subjects showed increased cooperativeness with in-group members. However, when reminded of concepts associated with “God” they showed increased cooperativeness with out-group members. A similar finding was obtained when it came to choosing to contribute to a charity. When reminded of “religion” people gave more to a domestic charity, when reminded of “God” people gave more to a foreign charity.
Religious morality (indeed all morality) struggles with an ever-present tension between universalist ideals and the gritty practicalities of human social life. Outside of kinship, religion is humanity’s most potent mechanism for building social cohesion. Common rituals and traditions are the social glue of religious communities, binding them together while clearly defining their boundaries. Deep moral concern thrives within but not beyond these boundaries. Religion, however, did not invent bounded moral concern. It is inherent to the human psyche. The family, clan, tribe and nation have, throughout all of human history, taken moral priority over the stranger. In order to have some confidence that the stranger was not a dangerous free-rider and could therefore be invited into the circle of moral regard, humans have historically employed either common gods or common enemies. If the gods are now outdated, are common enemies all we have left?

This Blogger’s Books from
Evolutionary Psychology: The Science of Human Behavior and Evolution
by Matthew Rossano
Supernatural Selection: How Religion Evolved
by Matt Rossano

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

This was supposed to be a post about Election Day from the sidelines. My first since 1978 neither voting nor reporting the results. We are in Vancouver, British Columbia and ‘though I mailed my absentee ballot I feel a world away from the civic pride that comes with going to the polls or the excitement as the votes are tallied.
The Canadian newscasts are of course covering the U.S. elections, with leads referring to how contentious this year’s campaigns have been.
Due to its proximity, the state of Washington is being more closely watched than the other Washington and rancorous TV commercials spill over the border.
But Canadians are focused on another November date… and it is fiercely non-political. No flags or even maple leaves mark Remembrance Day (aka Veteran’s Day.) But poppies are everywhere: on the lapels of newscasters and on the coats of the young and old. The red and black felt flowers are passed out by veterans on street corners, collecting donations by passersby English, French, and Asian.
When I asked someone wearing the pin what it symbolized, he seemed to wonder what planet I was from. “It’s to remember,” he somberly answered. I got up the courage to try again, on the Granville Island ferry. This time my answer was delivered in verse: “In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses row on row…”
Thank goodness for Google: In 1915 a Canadian physician, Lt. Col. John McCrae is believed to have written that poem during WWI, after McCrae witnessed the death of his friend. A few years later, an American woman named Moina Michael wore a red poppy to mark Remembrance Day. The symbolism caught on in France, Great Britain, and Canada, but not so much in the States.
This is a picture of Captain Arthur Hughes. The 78-year old served during the Korean War. Every November the veteran dons his old uniform and stands on the corner of Robson and Hornby in downtown Vancouver for ten days passing out some 13,000 poppies and raising money for The Royal Canadian Legion. He tells me the money now goes to children’s programs since there aren’t that many veterans left. Every so often he gets an anti-war comment, to which he generally agrees. Besides the fact that he happens to be against war, he says Remembrance Day is completely apolitical.
Veteran’s Day in the US is still a federal holiday, but some local governments and schools remain open. It’s marked by sales as much as by ceremonies. And the symbolism? Some wear a flag pin, but its meaning may be misconstrued. Our Stars and Stripes have been high-jacked, fodder for political warfare. Right vs. Left, instead of right vs. wrong. September 11th toned down the vitriol for a while, but time seals old wounds.
Another election day for the history books. From the outside looking in, the vote seems to have been more about saying “No Bama” than yes to anything else. I’ll be back home for Veteran’s Day. And I’m bringing my poppy with me.

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

And so Obama has lost.
As expected, though less than predicted and, especially, much less than the Tea Party whack jobs had hoped, the electorate delivered a vote of sanction.
Moreover, he himself immediately recognized the fact — with a simplicity, an elegance, and an attitude of fair play that inspire admiration.
That said, the campaign is over.
And there is a type of argument that, while the battle was raging, was perhaps part of the game (and even so… ) but that, now that it is over and it is time to get down to serious issues, one would like to stop hearing.
People must stop saying, for example, that Obama’s economic policies “created unemployment,” when all serious studies (beginning with that of the pro-Republicans Mark Zandi and Alan Blinder in late August) concluded that his policies created nearly three million new jobs and that, without them, the unemployment rate would now have reached between 11 and 16 percent.
They must stop saying that the global economy under Obama bordered on collapse and that it was his fault, when in all probability (as Franois David, French CEO of COFACE, wrote in Le Figaro on November 1st) it began to turn around, most certainly, when spurred on by the “emerging countries,” but with the support as well — why not admit it? — of a US monetary policy that was the only possible one in a country whose consumers represent, by themselves alone, 18 percent of the world GDP.
At any rate, one cannot hold a president elected two years ago responsible for this dilapidation of America, for the this slow destruction of its infrastructure, this decline of its education system or in its productivity that Arianna Huffington brilliantly denounces in her book (Third World America, Crown), but that began, as she points out, when he, Obama, hadn’t even entered politics yet.

One cannot blame him for going at once too fast and not fast enough.
For paying too much attention to consensus, compromising too much with his adversaries — and having a taste for steamrolling.
One cannot lament his 49 percent of favorable public opinion in the polls when others, like Sarkozy, are at 29 percent.

Nor the “disenchantment” of his partisans when two great TV showmen, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, managed to attract 150,000 demonstrators, furiously favorable, to the Mall in the last hours of the campaign.

One cannot keep repeating in a loop that an earthquake is threatening Washington when what has happened to this president at mid-term has happened to so many before him: Without going all the way back to Eisenhower, Nixon, or Johnson, Obama is, today, in more or less the same situation as Reagan in 1982, Clinton in 1994, and Bush in 2006 — and it’s not the end of the world.
People must stop droning away, again, that Obama “hasn’t kept his promises.”
What promises, after all?

As for the health system that, before him, condemned 46 million indigents to an absence of care and, thus, a premature death, he began the greatest revolution the country has seen since the civil rights movement. It remains, of course, to follow it through, that is to say, to vote the requisite budget. But on this point, the ball is in the Republican camp and it is up to them to say if they will behave like saboteurs or responsible individuals.
In Iraq, Obama kept his word, for the retreat has already begun, and by the end of 2011 there will be no more US soldiers in Baghdad and Basra.
In the Middle East, he did the opposite of what his predecessors did, which consisted of waiting until the final months of the last year of their last mandate to become aware of the existence of the problem and to rush into a race with the clock whose goal was to snatch, like a trophy, a vague, slapdash accord they would never, of course, obtain. Barack Obama became aware of the urgency and the complexity of the affair on the first day of the first year of his first mandate — and that, already, is not bad.
On the vaster front of what Samuel Huntington imprudently termed the “war of civilizations,” he calmed things down, held out a hand to moderate Islam and, sometimes through a great speech (as in Cairo), sometimes through subtle signs (the affair of the mosque in New York), limited the risk of confrontation, bloc against bloc, from which democracies, and Democracy itself, would emerge the loser.
He has changed the face of America.
He has invented a tone, and a thrill, that are new.
Arm-wrestling with Wall Street, he avoided the trap of a populism that would, unfortunately, no more have spared the Democrats than it would have their adversaries.
He reacted calmly, without giving in to the temptation to overplay the role of Commander in Chief on the front lines of the “war on terror” when al Qaeda invited itself into the campaign in its last days by addressing two explosive packages to Jews in Chicago — and that, too, is evidence of a manner of conducting politics of an entirely different style than that of his predecessor!
In a word, Barack Obama has sometimes “disappointed” (Guantanamo, Iran), but he has not “failed.”
And only those who confuse politics and magic, regretting that he did not transform his country and the world in the wink of an eye, can speak of “failure.”
For my part, I believe more than ever that his appearance, then his election, and his actions, were one of the best things to have happened in these times of darkness that are, everywhere and more and more often, our own.
And as regards this president, one who is weakened but who has retained both his majority in the Senate and his control over the country’s foreign policy, I am willing to bet he is not done surprising us, including by getting brilliantly even, in two years, with those who, basically, have never been able to swallow seeing a black man living in the White House.

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

One of the striking things that this week’s elections forcefully represent is the dramatic erosion of trust in President Obama. Two years ago he hadn’t yet earned our confidence, but he did inspire deep trust. Our frustration with his leadership has not just been disappointment with specific policies that haven’t worked. The frustration and the anger seem also to come from a feeling of betrayal – feeling that we trusted the wrong guy. The elections don’t really show any movement to “the right guys.” They just demonstrate a vacuum of trust — the triumph of suspicion.
This can be fixed. Here are three things Obama can do that would help.
1.Show you understand. For all the smarts of the team, for all the capacity for soaring rhetoric, the administration became consistently associated with being out of touch. The notion that Obama is an elitist isn’t just a phony charge drummed up by mean-spirited attack ads. The appearance of elitism comes from a sense that the president’s team “just doesn’t get it,” that they are insensitive to the plight of ordinary Americans.
This can be fixed. The president and his team must rediscover their abilities to connect with people who are suffering from the systemic economic dislocations of the last few years. This will mean articulating priorities that resonate with the visceral concerns of the millions of people who feel that their economic futures are doomed to steady decline.
2.Show you are competent. When I was in Washington recently, I heard some members of the administration complain that people hadn’t really understood how bad things were when they came to office. One told me that trying to fix the economy was like arriving at a party at which people had been drinking for days: all the party-goers were sick and intoxicated, and yet one had to work with them to set things right. The health care bill, financial reform, saving the entire banking system from ruin…these were major accomplishments, saving us from a much deeper national catastrophe. But despite the fact that the deeper catastrophe was averted, few were giving the administration credit for that because things are still so bad for so many.
The lesson of these elections is that when you own the problem, as the Obama administration did when it took office, you have to provide more tangible evidence that you are competent to fix it. It’s not enough to say that things would have been a lot worse without us. Health care reform and financial reform were major long-term accomplishments, but the only thing that will matter in the next two years is visible progress on jobs.
This can be fixed. Visible efforts at job creation and consistent attention to the plight of the unemployed will make a difference in how much trust we put in the competence of the administration. Creating jobs without spending money is impossible, and the administration must continue to emphasize this basic fact as it comes to terms with the new realities of the Republican Congress.
3.Show you have the grit to get the job done no matter how much work is required. The president’s perceived aloofness and his deliberate style, even in crises, have been understood as a lack of engagement. An essential element in any successful leader these days is the willingness to work as hard as his or her followers. Whom do we usually trust outside our families? We trust our teammates when they play hard alongside us, our co-workers when we know they are doing their share of the job, our neighbors when we stand shoulder-to-shoulder to get something done.
This can be fixed. President Obama can begin to reweave the fabric of trust with more of the American people when we can see how his concerns are our concerns, that his work is our work. He can restore confidence in his capacities if he shows he understands the most pressing problems in the economy, displays competence in dealing with them, and demonstrates the work ethic to get things done.
There is plenty of time for President Obama, politically speaking. But there is very little time for those living with economic catastrophe. We might be tempted to throw up our hands or just display contempt for any possible improvement in American public life. That would be a disaster for the country. We need understanding, competent and hard working leadership right now. We need our president to earn back our trust.

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

HuffPost editor Roy Sekoff appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” Wednesday night to discuss the impact of Sarah Palin’s endorsements on Tuesday’s midterm elections, particularly the defeats suffered by Christine O’Donnell, Carly Fiorina, and Sharron Angle.
“If we give an honest assessment, I don’t think we can peg all these on Palin,” Sekoff told host Ed Schultz. “As much fun as it would be to ‘refudiate’ her influence, I think we’ve got to be honest and say that the ‘Palin factor’ was really no factor at all.”
WATCH:

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

I’ve been mulling over both my take and my stake in regards to the Rally to Restore Sanity and the recent and related Tea Party March on Washington, not to mention yesterday’s Republican and Tea Party (voting) rallies that led to their re-taking of the House. In all cases, we witness the same ironic free fall I’ve discussed earlier: perfectly real rallies organized around glaring glorious fakes that may or may not be understood as such. What seem particularly relevant here is that these fakes in the realm of the real have lead to actual change in material circumstances.
So what can I contribute? I’m a film professor after all and have made a career making and theorizing about the role of authenticity, in relation to issues of identity, community and social justice, and within the realm of representation. I don’t study or make real rallies (although I attend them), but rather, think about and try to mobilize how the representation of real things can be consciously linked to what might then happen in the real world. My work and action focuses upon the connections and movements between representation and reality, looking at inter-related strategies like fakery, beliefs (or not) in things like truth, and hopes in processes like action and movement that can change conditions that matter to people.
[yout
As the differences between reality and representation, truth and lies, performers and politicians, television shows and people’s movements become less clear and in some cases less relevant, my orientation as a maker and theorist of fakes of the real who is invested in political change in lived reality, leads me to suggest that two things become increasingly critical:
1) MIND THE GAP: people and movements need to think about and make best use of the differences and strengths that both reality and fiction provide; we need to know the difference, valuing and using both modes
2) MOVEMENT MATTERS: so that we can flow gracefully, but also self-consciously, and carefully and purposefully between and among artifice and belief, complacency and change.
While it is fun, pleasurable, funny, and increasingly familiar to be in the place where the difference between fake and real become unknowable, this is not the best place for directed action, community interaction, and intentional change.

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

I feel a deep sense of relief today, with victory on the puppy mill ballot measure in Missouri behind us. As the votes from rural counties were being posted on the state’s official website, Prop B fell behind, and badly so. At one point, we were trailing by 200,000 votes, and we hadn’t even gained the 40 percent mark. The mood in the auditorium at the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis was somber. Then some of the suburban and urban counties of Kansas City and St. Louis started to deliver partial returns. Our numbers started to climb, and the mood in the room turned to one of nervous excitement. Vote by vote, we were closing the gap.
The anti-Prop B coalition’s lead shrank to 80,000 votes, and at that point, we thought we just might be able to do it. I felt a grave sense of responsibility to the dogs languishing at the thousands of mills in the state, and I knew how much was at stake. Then the gap narrowed even more. After a few hours, the website refreshed and we were within 21 votes of our opponents with 1.75 million votes counted. We were crunching the numbers, looking at percentages and expected turn-out numbers, and we soon realized that we were on a trajectory to win — and therefore the dogs were on the same trajectory. The “yes” votes passed the “no” votes by a few thousand. Then our lead climbed to 30,000. I then took the podium and told the crowd that our campaign was declaring victory. The room exploded. By the end of the night, our lead was 60,000 as the last precincts trickled in.
Michelle Riley/The HSUS
It was 12 years ago that we used the initiative process to outlaw cockfighting in Missouri, and to start a national wave to outlaw that execrable practice everywhere and to make it a felony offense at the federal level. I had that same feeling of the start of a wave last night — this was the first-ever ballot initiative on this particular form of animal cruelty, and it marked a turning point in the effort to rid the nation of abusive, overcrowded, squalid puppy mills that treat the breeding moms like machines and the puppies like a cash crop.
As the returns came in from Arizona, showing us handily defeating an NRA-backed measure to take away voting rights and block future animal protection initiatives, we learned again that our cause can prevail even in the face of a strong headwind and with determined and well-financed opponents.
In Missouri, there was a rural/urban divide, not seen in many of our other successful ballot measures, including Prop 2 in California two years ago. The Missouri Farm Bureau and other opponents were responsible for this. They told the public a series of untruths — mainly, that Prop B had a hidden provision to end all animal agriculture. Some of the most vociferous of our opponents even said Prop B was a formula for ending pet ownership. Those arguments gained some level of traction, but they were built on a series of false claims.
We will reach out to rural voters in Missouri, and show them that these were false statements and characterizations. We want everyone in Missouri and all the people of the nation to stand with us for animal protection. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, not an urban or rural issue, not an us versus them issue — rather, it is an issue of decency. It’s a cause every good person should associate with and embrace because it is right and proper and upholds the highest standards for human conduct toward other creatures.
We’ll work hard to deliver that message. These political victories are mightily important, but in the end, we want to change all hearts and minds, not just convince a simple majority of citizens in the voting booth.
This post originally appeared on Pacelle’s blog, A Humane Nation.

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love costumes, candy and debauchery, and It’s an opportunity to get really crazy with our show here at Economy Bites. 99% of the time, our #1 focus is bringing you great, accessible recipes at affordable prices. Occasionally though, our inner creative demons get a hold of Daniel and me and we have to bust out with something a little different. Example A: today’s episode!
If you saw last year’s Halloween show, you know that, sadly, my life came to an abrupt halt when I was electrocuted in Kitchen Studio. In today’s episode…well, let’s just say that incident comes back to haunt me.
ENJOY! Be sure to watch until the end!! BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Stay up to date with Economy Bites by becoming a Facebook fan, joining our
email list or by downloading our free video podcast on iTunes
Chocolate Covered Toffee
INGREDIENTS
-1 cup butter
-1 cup sugar
-pinch of salt
-8 oz baking chocolate
PROCEDURE
-Turn heat on stove to medium
-Melt butter and sugar and salt in a heavy pot. Bring it up to a boil and let it get to 285 degrees (you can use a candy thermometer or give it about 6 minutes).
-Pour melted butter and sugar into a 13×9 metal baking dish. Give it a few minutes to cool then use a spatula to spread the chocolate on top.
-Put toffee in the fridge for an hour to chill. After an hour, break it up and eat!

Follow EconomyBites on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/econobites

Source:www.huffingtonpost.com