Saturday, March 12, 2005

March Of Madness!

Hi Everyone,

Yes its almost spring and our lives are beginning to get very busy. In the last two weeks I
have had more days with multiple-conflicting events than days without!- how bout you?
Social calendar filling up faster than the price of gas at the pump? March Madness is upon
us, but what we need to realize is that THIS March Madness has nothing to do with
college hoops and brackets, but rather is a fight for our freedoms and a marginalizing of
our rights as citizens. This is the March OF Madness. Our nation's leaders are Marching in
new nominees for leadership roles faster than sportscasters are stumbling over
themselves to pick the outcome of the final four. New Justices, New UN Leaders, New
Ethics Committee Members, New Congressional Leaders, New Ambassadors in the Middle
East, New Rulers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine... New Heads of Corporations,
New Leaders of the FDA, New Supreme Court Justices, and hundreds of New regulations,
laws, mandates and "reforms" and New atrocities across the globe to be scuttled and hid
from our basketball-minded masses!

It is important that we keep focused on our duty as citizens in America, to participate in
the political process. That means we may have to adjust our priorities now and again to
fit-in important actions that help get our voices heard by neighbors and our elected
officials.

We are living in very precarious times... Judges who owe their loyalty to major corporations
and industries are again up for appointment to LIFETIME posts as adjudicators of our well-
being. It is not inconceivable that their ties to big business will affect their judgment. 20 of
these Judge nominees were narrowly refused two years ago by congress... now that the
conservatives control even more seats, these same "unacceptable" judicial nominations are
up again. Without your voice, they stand a chance of being successfully passed... with no
way to renege their seats as they turn our court systems in favor of big business and
against we consumers.

Don't remain silent and while companies like Enron and Tyco, big business' and their
shady banking partners get away with stealing billions of dollars from good citizens and
remain exonerated by a judicial system that is in-their pockets... don't let our leaders
insulate their cronies behind an impenetrable defense they call "democracy" Those same
cronies who boldly divert billions of dollars in off-shore accounts- free from taxation.
While we suffer to make up the balance of their Trillion Dollar Deficits! It's your country
too. Time is coming to defend it from the enemy- within.

Yes, don't sit back and watch March Madness Basketball —while the real March of Madness
happens all around you. The United Nations is being sabotaged by the newest Bush
appointment, US Ambassador to the UN, NeoCon dandy, John Bolton- who has repeatedly
denounced the viability of usefulness of the UN for years... now with the unilateral power
of the US behind him, he can singlehandedly castrate the very institution he has publicly
abhorred... and you won't see highlights of those games on any half-time report.

I hope you take time to participate in some of the many events that either are, or soon will
be coming to debate before our legislators - (Federal, Regional, State and Local). The few
minutes you spend now attending a local meeting does make a difference. The few phone-
calls you make to neighbors or legislators does make a difference. The time you take from
your busy schedule to attend events that educate you in alternative perspectives to the
rhetoric we are told is "news" - does make a difference.

It certainly does seem a good time to be alive for many of us... seems like we have much
to be happy about... great shows on tv, great movies in theaters, wonderful resorts to visit,
terrific vehicles to move about in, fabulous clothes to wear, wonderful clubs to be seen at,
sporting events elevated to near circus-like pagentry...I imagine the citizens of Rome felt
that way too- right up to their collapse. Don't let this artificial buzz our leaders call
"prosperity" lull you into submission... educate, activate, participate. Our children's future
is in the balance and we should feel obligated to do our best for them- as our parents did
for us and theirs before them.

No grandstands, no bleachers, no luxury boxes, no sidelines, its time to get in the game.