HUGO CHAVEZ DEAD

3/5/2013
We'll as of today we have one less dictator in this world who ravaged his
country and put people in poverty, I guess God will call Fidel Castro... next
and ask him why he destroyed his country, starve his people and execute
the oposition.....One less devil in the world..

Cheers..Joe...

Hugo Chavez may be noted for much bad, but he is also noted for much good for his people and that includes healthcare for everyone.

We speak of tyrants. We form opinions based on media reports. How often do we question the reports?
If our government is against someone or some country, it is natural to assume the prejudice being promoted. How do the people in the country feel about their so-called tyrant? A dictator is considered evil in the west just because he is a dictator. Often the dictator is loved by the people he rules. We try to influence the people of a country that they should not love their leader since democracy is better. Better than what? If they are content, why do we feel the need to interfere? People will change when they feel a need to change. Forcing change is not good and often resented.

I believe that the type of government that is effective is dependent on the stage of development of the population.

There was a time when the world was ruled only by kings, emperors, religious leaders and tribal chieftains. Some were of good character, cared about their people and ruled well. Others were corrupt and ruled for their own advantage.

Democracy is a very new concept. Democracy requires a somewhat educated populace and a way to communicate information. I think democracy is difficult to implement and that the immediate needs in many nations require a different form of government to get things done quickly.

Our democracy at the moment is stalled. If it wasn't for the bureaucrats who really do the work of the nation and the local politics, I would say we had little government progress at all. Seems we are not the ones to export our form of government at at the moment or throw stones where the needs of the population are being met.

Let God be his judge.

News is reporting the outpouring of praise for Chavez by the people in Veneuzuela. They claim that he narrowed the gab between rich and poor and provided them with many benefits. He was beloved by his people.
Strange that this is reported after he is dead. It is not what we were led to believe from the media.

I agree it is very strange. For some reason the media does not like good news.
I experienced this at work one day.
Seattle bus driver were to get a raise in pay.
The media was interviewing people as to whether they agreed or disagreed. They turned their cameras to me and quickly turned away when I spoke in favor of the drivers. That obviously was not what they wanted to present.

I am proud to say that I work for a local newspaper, swspotlight.com that specializes in good news, information and community spirit.

As we have often discussed, today's news media is profit hungry and ratings are everything. The news is not important, it is the ratings. People are drawn to the angry, ugly, dissonant side of things. Therefore, that's what is reported. Unfortunately, people get sucked into it and believe the whole world is bad. There is good and bad in the world and it depends on one's perspective and point of view what is believed.

I wonder how many followers Limbaugh would have if people had to watch him as he spoke?

3/8/2013
Evidentl people forget how evil.. this man was, just
like Hitler, Stalin, Mao. His people are in poverty,
that's what Communisim does, look at Cuba...N. Korea,
then again God deals with these people....

Cheers..Joe...

Any connection between reality and the "news" reported by today's media is purely coincidental, or worse, a manipulation designed to keep us confused and powerlessly dependent.

Searching out the agendas of the reporters is a first step in discerning any underlying truth, and is the responsibility of all who hope for and work toward a solution to our current dilemma.

Follow the money. Al Gore summed it up quite well on NPR today. Our democracy has been hacked by the power of money, and we don't have the people in Washington that can unwind the system of lobbyists and favors that has been created. Our democracy is an ideal; our reality is money talks and no one has the power to stop the corporate giants that rule our political representatives.

Has anyone been listening to who has gained during this recession and who has lost?

Joe, it is easy to give labels to people based on news reports. The reality as Ann and DK mentioned is different. What I experienced and saw with my own eyes was quite different from what the news reported. Reporters often have an agenda. Then there are times when the reporter writes what he/she witnessed and it is edited out. Even with so-called evil people, there is some good in them. We tend to dwell on the bad since that is what we're sold. Good news doesn't sell. Why is it that we are so ready to believe the bad and not the good? Are we programmed that way?

I think there is something to that programmed idea, Abe. If we are born in "original sin" and spend a lifetime trying to overcome that sentence to hell then it is likely we will be oriented to see the sin in others as we interpret it. At least those who are noticeably heinous are worse than we are so it is fascinating to observe their negative behaviors.

This is just a thought - I don't know that I see it that way since I don't believe in original sin. I believe we are born as human beings of possibility. If there is such thing as "God's Grace" it is freely given.