"How the Ayn Rand-Loving Right Is Like a Bunch of Teen Boys Gone Crazy" ~ Sara Robinson/Alternet

Flowers are nice, but this Mother's Day, what I really want is for these immature boys to grow up already.........


CONTINUE READING: http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/155393/how_the_ayn_rand-loving_right_is_like_a_bunch_of_teen_boys_gone_crazy/

May 11, 2012  |  

Photo Credit: ShutterStock.com

  

"My Mother, Myself" ~ Terri Apter, Ph.D/Psychology Today

Mother, Damned-est

Most people think their mom was difficult, but some mothers put their children in a bind that actually warps their development.

By Terri Apter, Ph.D., published on January 01, 2010 - last reviewed on May 02, 2012

Who has a difficult mother?

I pose the question to a group of teenage girls, who raise their hands high. Grown women, too, nod knowingly, while adding, "I hope I don't turn out to be like her."

Teenage boys and men are, of course, less absorbed with wondering how to be different from Mom. Nonetheless, their highly charged love and empathy with her can make them uneasy about regulating closeness and distance.

In a sense, difficult mothers are the norm. Our need for a mother's attention, appreciation, and understanding is great; our expectations are high. We tend to be critical of responses that are not precisely what we hope for. Her shortcomings—the endless reminders to be careful; her compulsive checking-up whether you have your keys as you head out the door, when you forgot them only once, two years ago; her inability to read an instruction manual—irritate and embarrass us, because we retain our idealization of the powerful nurturer of infancy.............

READ MORE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201204/my-mother-myself/mother-damned-est

"Mitt, the prep-school sadist" ~ Joan Walsh / Salon

His attacks on gay students and disabled teachers reveal a preppy, entitled cruelty. Not remembering makes it worse...........

READ MORE: Mitt, the prep-school sadist

Obama Winning Investors by 49%-38% Against Romney in Poll~ Mike Dorning/Bloomberg

By Mike Dorning - May 10, 2012

Global investors increasingly prefer President Barack Obama to Republican challenger Mitt Romney and most say they believe the incumbent will remain in the White House for another four years.

Asked who would be the better leader for the global economy, 49 percent favor Obama against 38 percent for Romney, according to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. In January, the two candidates tied on the question.

By the same margin, they say Obama has a better vision for the U.S. economy, according to the survey of 1,253 Bloomberg customers, who are investors, analysts or traders.

Obama “managed the U.S. economy pretty well, solving a lot of imbalances created by the previous administration,” says poll respondent Mario Di Marcantonio, 35, a senior portfolio manager at Eurizon Capital in Milan.

“I believe the second Obama term will be better than having a U-turn with Romney,” he says. “More stability will mean more visibility and more investment in the future.”

The American presidential election is dividing foreign investors and those based in the U.S., where Romney is favored across the board. U.S. investors choose the Republican candidate as best for the global economy by more than 2-to-1. Respondents outside the U.S. prefer Democrat Obama by almost 3-to-1 in the poll, conducted May 8.

Anti-Regulation

Even with global sentiment against Romney, Republican criticism of new financial-industry regulations that Obama has backed resonates, with 54 percent of poll respondents saying the rules have caused job losses.

Still, Obama’s popularity with global investors is the highest in two and a half years, at a time when political incumbents across the Atlantic, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, are being turned out of office.

The U.S. president is viewed favorably by 56 percent of global investors and unfavorably by 40 percent.

Investors have turned more negative on Romney during the Republican primary campaign, giving him the highest unfavorable reading in the year that respondents have been asked their opinion of the former Massachusetts governor.

The onetime private-equity executive is viewed favorably by 40 percent and unfavorably by 46 percent. In May 2011, he was seen favorably by 25 percent and unfavorably by 28 percent.

Debt-Ceiling Fallout

Doyle Gustus, president and chief investment officer of Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC in St. Louis, cited Romney’s support for congressional Republicans’ “destructive” resistance to raising the U.S. debt ceiling last year.

“It was not necessary to have that debate at a time when the economy was struggling and it raises a serious question about the party’s ability to lead on economic matters,” Gustus said. “Since Romney has followed the party’s positions completely, for me, his leadership is in serious question.”

Even among U.S. investors, Obama’s standing has risen during the past four months. Thirty-one percent have a favorable opinion of the president against 27 percent in January. Seventy percent of non-U.S. respondents have a favorable view of the president, up from 65 percent in January.

Poll respondents hardly fit the demographic profile of typical Obama supporters. Almost 80 percent describe themselves as politically right of center or centrists. Ninety-five percent are men. Two out of five of those who disclosed their net worth are millionaires.

Betting on Re-Election

Investors in every region are betting on an Obama re- election. Seventy-four percent say he will either certainly or probably win another term, about the same as in January.

Investors in Obama’s America have been rewarded. The U.S. stock market’s benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) Index climbed about 8 percent this year and is up 60 percent since Obama took office.

Respondents are now more willing to credit Obama for improvements in the U.S. economy. Forty-seven percent say he deserves credit, the same portion as says he doesn’t. In January, 43 percent attributed improvement to him against 49 percent who didn’t.

They also see another Obama term as favorable to U.S. markets, with 48 percent saying the president’s re-election would be a “good thing” for domestic markets compared with 36 percent who predict it would be detrimental. In January, only 44 percent saw another Obama term as favorable for U.S. markets and last December 38 percent thought so.

Not Caving In

“President Obama hasn’t caved in to the arguments in favor of austerity and deserves some credit for this,” says Brandon Fitzpatrick, 34, a poll respondent and equity portfolio manager at DB Fitzpatrick in Boise, Idaho. “Given the still-weak economy, we need continued stimulus, both fiscal and monetary.”

Asked which candidate has laid out a better vision for the U.S. economic future, 45 percent chose Obama and 34 percent Romney. Another 21 percent had no idea.

As with other measures of Obama, U.S. investors diverge with their counterparts in other countries. U.S.-based investors favor Romney’s economic vision 61 percent to 26 percent; investors based in other countries favor Obama’s vision 55 percent to 19 percent.

“The Democrats have fallen into the belief that if one has made a lot of money, it must be by taking other people’s share of a fixed supply of wealth,” says Bruce Lawrence, 62, a macro strategist at Infinium Capital Management in Chicago. “I believe and hope Romney believes the supply of wealth in the world is not fixed and can be grown.”

Millionaires Negative

Within the U.S., millionaires have a more negative view of Obama than investors with a lower personal net worth. Seventy- four percent of U.S. millionaires have an unfavorable view of Obama versus 60 percent of less wealthy U.S. investors.

Romney is viewed favorably by 68 percent of U.S. millionaires versus 55 percent of less wealthy U.S. investors

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been exhorting European leaders to take stronger action on the region’s debt crisis, has gained popularity among poll respondents. Fifty-one percent view him positively against 38 percent negatively; a year ago, they divided almost evenly.

Members of Congress from both political parties are held in low esteem. Just 31 percent of global respondents give the Democrats a favorable rating, compared with 55 percent who view them negatively. Republicans do even worse: 26 percent view them favorably, compared with 60 percent who have a negative view.

U.S. and European respondents believe the financial system remains vulnerable in a crisis. Asked if systemic risk in the banking system has been sufficiently addressed by requlators in their own country, 53 percent of U.S. respondents said it hasn’t, as did the same portion of Europeans. Only 41 percent of Asia respondents said their regulators haven’t addressed systemic risk.

The Bloomberg Global Poll was conducted by Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa-based firm. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net

Greater Purpose in Life May Protect Against Harmful Changes in the Brain Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease ~Science Daily reprinted by The TruthSeeker

By wmw_admin on May 9, 2012
Science Daily – May 7, 2012

Greater purpose in life may help stave off the harmful effects of plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.

The study is published in the May issue of theArchives of General Psychiatry. 

“Our study showed that people who reported greater purpose in life exhibited better cognition than those with less purpose in life even as plaques and tangles accumulated in their brains,” said Patricia A. Boyle, PhD.

“These findings suggest that purpose in life protects against the harmful effects of plaques and tangles on memory and other thinking abilities. This is encouraging and suggests that engaging in meaningful and purposeful activities promotes cognitive health in old age.”

Boyle and her colleagues from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center studied 246 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project who did not have dementia and who subsequently died and underwent brain autopsy. Participants received an annual clinical evaluation for up to approximately 10 years, which included detailed cognitive testing and neurological exams.

Participants also answered questions about purpose in life, the degree to which one derives meaning from life’s experiences and is focused and intentional. Brain plaques and tangles were quantified after death. The authors then examined whether purpose in life slowed the rate of cognitive decline even as older persons accumulated plaques and tangles.

While plaques and tangles are very common among persons who develop Alzheimer’s dementia (characterized by prominent memory loss and changes in other thinking abilities), recent data suggest that plaques and tangles accumulate in most older persons, even those without dementia. Plaques and tangles disrupt memory and other cognitive functions.

Boyle and colleagues note that much of the Alzheimer’s research that is ongoing seeks to identify ways to prevent or limit the accumulation of plaques and tangles in the brain, a task that has proven quite difficult. Studies such as the current one are needed because, until effective preventive therapies are discovered, strategies that minimize the impact of plaques and tangles on cognition are urgently needed.

“These studies are challenging because many factors influence cognition and research studies often lack the brain specimen data needed to quantify Alzheimer’s changes in the brain,” Boyle said. “Identifying factors that promote cognitive health even as plaques and tangles accumulate will help combat the already large and rapidly increasing public health challenge posed by Alzheimer’s disease.”

The Rush Memory and Aging Project, which began in 1997, is a longitudinal clinical-pathological study of common chronic conditions of aging. Participants are older persons recruited from about 40 continuous care retirement communities and senior subsidized housing facilities in and around the Chicago Metropolitan area. More than 1,500 older persons are currently enrolled in the study.

This study was funded by the National Institutes on Aging. The authors thank the NIA for supporting this work and are indebted to the participants and staff of the Rush Memory and Aging Project and Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center for their invaluable contributions.

Take the blinders off regarding: HAARP: Is It Weather or Government Terror?

http://www.onlinejournal.org/Commentary/102205Mazza/102205mazza.html

October 22, 2005—Government manipulation of weather for terror and destruction is one pattern your local weatherman is surely not pointing out. So let me help with the forecast, past, present and long-range.

CONTINUE READING: HAARP: Is It Weather or Government Terror?

Ask Your Doctor if This Big Pharma Scam Is Right for You: The Dangers of a Drugged Up America | Personal Health | AlterNet

"Butterflies waft across a beautiful field of spring flowers. A delightful young family bicycles joyously down a country lane. A couple on a park bench leans sensually into each other. A 40-something woman's face radiates with both perfect beauty and internal happiness. "All's right with the world," is the message... as long as you've taken your dosages of Lunesta, Celebrex, Cialis, and Botox............"


CONTINUE READING: Ask Your Doctor if This Big Pharma Scam Is Right for You: The Dangers of a Drugged Up America | Personal Health | AlterNet

Jeff Brown: "The Awakening Man"

APRIL 28

A former criminal lawyer and psychotherapist, Jeff Brown is the author of “Soulshaping: A Journey of Self-Creation,” recently published by North Atlantic Books. Endorsed by authors Elizabeth Lesser and Ram Dass, “Soulshaping” is Brown’s autobiography – an inner travelogue of his journey from archetypal male warrior to a more surrendered path. He is also the author of “Apologies to the Divine Feminine (from a warrior in transition). You can connect with his work at www.soulshaping.com. 

SOURCE: Jeff Brown | http://soulshaping.com/?tag=awakened-man

The Awakening Man: A Portrait of Possibility For Humankind

By Jeff Brown

Originally posted June 30, 2011

http://soulshaping.com/?tag=awakened-man

The awakening man is conscious, heartfully defined.

Through his eyes, being conscious is not a cerebral construct, nor an intellectual exercise bereft of feeling.

It is a felt experience, an ever-expanding awareness that moves from the heart outward.

It is feeling God, not thinking God.

The new man is always in process, awakening through a deepening interface with the world of feeling.

He continues to strive for a more heartfelt and inclusive awareness. The awakening man has shifted his focus from a localized and ethnocentric perspective to a world-centric framework of perception.

His community is humanity. Rooted in the relational, his sense of responsibility extends well beyond his localized self and community. Where possible, his choice-making is fuelled by an expansive vision of possibility for all of humankind.

Not every man for himself, but every man for humanity.

The awakening man has reverence for the divine feminine, in all her forms. He celebrates the wonder that is woman. He is respectful, honouring and gracious. He is saddened by the horrors perpetuated against women by the malevolent masculine. He holds his brothers accountable.

He makes amends for his own misdeeds. He co-creates a world where all women will feel safe to move about freely, to find their voice, to actualize their inherent magnificence. He welcomes a world where women and men stand as equal partners. Humankind.

The awakening man is not externally derived. He is authentically sourced. He does not compare himself to others. He does not adapt his personality to the dictates of the crowd. He stands in his own centre, respectful of others but not defined by them. He works diligently to liberate his consciousness from the egoic ties that bind. He has become his own benchmark, valuing authenticity over image. He is the sculptor of his own reality.

The awakening man courageously works on his emotional processes. He clears his emotional debris and sheds his armour. He faces his issues and unconscious patterns heart on. He calls himself on his self-avoidant tendencies and honours the wisdom at the heart of his pain. He communicates his feelings in a way that is respectful to others.

He learns and speaks the language of the heart.

The awakening man leads a purpose-full existence. He has heard the call to a deeper life. Not satisfied with survival alone, his ambitions are rooted in higher considerations- the excavation and actualization of his sacred purpose. He is energized by his purpose, not by the machinations of the unhealthy ego. He is coated in an authenticity of purpose that sees through the veils to what really matters. His purpose is his path.

The awakening man is accountable for his actions and their effects. He does not deflect responsibility. He does not sidestep or blame. He is self-admitting and emotionally honest. He admits his errors, and makes amends. He works diligently in the deep within, crafting a more clarified awareness with every lesson.

The awakening man moves from the inside out. More interested in inner expansion than outer achievement, he cultivates and honours his intuition. He explores and develops his inner geography. He adventures deep within, integrating the treasures he excavates into his way of being. He seeks congruity between his inner life and his outer manifestation.

The awakening man seeks wholeness. He is not satisfied with a fragmented way of being. He has no attachment to archaic, linear notions of masculinity. He seeks a sacred balance between the healthy masculine and the healthy feminine. He seeks an inclusive way of being, one that reflects all of his archetypal aspects. He is role flexible, comfortable moving through life in many different ways.

The awakening man embodies the highest standard of integrity in his words and deeds. He makes a sustained effort to work through anything that is not integrity within him. His framework of integrity is never convenient or self-serving. He honours his word, even at his own expense. He moves from a value system that is unwaveringly incorruptible. He recognizes that success without integrity is karmically unsound and meaningless.

The awakening man prioritizes conscious relationship. He values authentic co-creation. He honours relationship as spiritual practice. He seeks physical intimacy that is deeply vulnerable and heartfully connective. He is attuned, engaged and healthily boundaried. When relational challenges arise, he courageously works through any obstructions to intimacy.

He stands in the heartfire.

The awakening man is a warrior of the heart. He has taken his clarifying sword inward, cutting away everything that is not compassionate. After too many lifetimes with weapon in hand, a benevolent warrior is being birthed at the core of his being. He honours the warrior capacity for assertiveness, but he is not arbitrarily aggressive. He moves from love and compassion.

The awakening man endeavours to live in a state of perpetual gratitude. He is grateful for the gift of life. He is grateful for those ancestors who built the foundation that his expansion relies upon. He is grateful for those who encouraged him before he could encourage himself. He is grateful for those who stand beside him in this lifetime. He knows that he does not stand alone.

The awakening man is comfortable in his vulnerability. He participates in his own revealing. He is not afraid to surrender- to reality, to love, to truth. This is not a weakened form of surrender, but one that is emblazoned with courage. It takes more courage to surrender than to numb. He openly explores his capacities for receptivity and tenderness. He does not identify these capacities as distinctly feminine, but as whole human. He is strong enough at the core to live in a vast array of emotions.

The awakening man moves through the marketplace responsibly, with a vigilant eye to the ways of the unhealthy ego. He is not opportunistic in a vacuum. He does not compete for competition’s sake. He does not accumulate for the sake of accumulation. In charting his course, he is mindful of his impact on humanity. He is empowered but he does not exploit power. He derives his power from his connection to source, not from power over others. Where possible, he shares the abundance, gifting back to humanity. He works hard to bridge the world as it is with a world of divine possibility.

The awakening man has reverence for Mother Earth. He has reverence for animals. He never imagines himself superior or distinct from the natural world. He understands the interconnected and interdependent nature of reality. He knows that if he does damage to the environment, he does damage to himself. He walks carefully, with awareness, consciousness and appreciation.

The awakening man has no claims on God. His spirituality is tolerant, inclusive, respectful. He honours all paths to God, so long they are respectful of others. He accepts those who believe, and those who don’t. He condemns any path that uses religious differences as a justification for destruction.

The awakening man brings forward many of the qualities of the healthy masculine of old. He is noble. He is responsible. He is productive. He is kind-hearted. He is protective. He is unswervingly honourable. He is down to earth. He is sturdy. He is flexible. He is realistic. He is hopeful. He is sensitive, not fragile. He is healthily egoic, not self-centred. He is both practical and heightened at the same time. He ascends with both feet on the ground.

He is really here.

America’s idiot rich / Salon

Some unknown but alarming number of ultra-rich Americans are now basically totally delusional and completely divorced from reality. This is now an inescapable fact, confirmed by multiple media accounts of billionaire thought and an entire special issue of the New York Times Magazine.

Here’s a brief list of insane things that are apparently common knowledge among the billionaire class:

CONTINUE READING: America’s idiot rich

The Polar Opposite of Self-Awareness: Image Management

For anyone aspiring to the insights and hard-core lessons of a spiritual path ... this is indeed a provocative article.  It surely stares down deep into our psyches and shadow, and brings light to the darkness.  For those courageous enough, continue reading:   

CLICK HERE: The Polar Opposite of Self-Awareness: Image Management

A Closer Look At The Secret Service « Speak Easy/Alternet

Now the government is saying that the Cartagena hijinks were an aberration. Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano assured the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that the Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility had received zero complaints of agent misconduct in the last two and a half years. That means total good behavior in roughly 900 foreign and 13,000 domestic trips.

But here’s the problem: it’s the Secret Service assuring us that the Secret Service is squeaky clean.......

CONTINUE READING: A Closer Look At The Secret Service « SpeakEasy