Sorry. I know it has been a while. I have been very busy.

You hear the word "deficit" on the news a lot when "journalists" talk about spending. The deficit is the amount we are in the red, per year. It has increased a great deal in the recent past, so we should talk about it. However, what's even more important is the overall federal debt. This is the total amount we owe. Take a look online for the federal debt. The numbers are shocking. Keep in mind that the government is probably using Enron-style accounting, as well.

These statistics alone indicate that any recovery from this "recession" will be temporary. It may get much worse at any moment. How did it get to this point? Is this a result of the worst planning of all time, or purposeful treason?

What happens when a republic's government falls? Take a look at Rome or Germany and you will have the answer. It is ugly - rampant debt leads to the collapse of the nation's money. All your savings would be made worth nothing overnight. Remember the images of people carting around wheelbarrows full of cash to pay for milk? Worse, tyranny takes hold. As the elegant, persuasive government fails, force becomes all that people will listen to.

This debt issue trumps all other serious political issues. If we don't stand together and make Congress do something, this nation and our Constitution that our forefathers fought so hard for may soon be lost. Do what you can before it's too late.





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Comedy

I just watched Brian Regan: The Epitome of Hyperbole. If you haven't seen this guy's stand-up, you need to check out this DVD. When you're done, check out the hundreds of clips on the web, or get a CD. He's hilarious!





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Though Hollywood continues to churn out formulaic bull$#!*, there are still some great films being made. I generally dig through older films and documentaries for gems that show a spark of originality. Recently I saw a newer film, Encounters At the End of the World, by Werner Herzog. Herzog is incredible. Like most movie talents that are worth noticing, he's relatively unknown in the United States. The film's description makes you think it's just another nature documentary (don't get me wrong - I love Wild Discovery and Planet Earth), but I knew that Herzog would take it somewhere else. It is a film that needs to be experienced. Herzog explores the Antarctic's strange life and character, but he also takes a look at the people that live there. The elements of the film combine to create an eerie awareness of the majesty of nature, as well as the human spirit. The movie doesn't answer all our questions, like most nature documentaries seem to. It widens the horizon. It gets us to ask the questions necessary to awaken the mind, to jumpstart our imagination.

I need something that makes me think, that engages my mind. Film is an artform like any other media, but it takes more than a slick plot and attractive actors to make art. It takes an adventurous soul, seeking to crack open something that people are only dimly aware of, and showing people something that they need to know. Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 accomplishes this task, as do all his works that I've seen. It is as faithful an adaptation of a book as I've seen, and it is yet more. The world of Montag comes to life, and we get to know the emotional toll of a repressive society. The color red is repeated amidst bland greys and blacks, taunting us. Where will be the next fire?

Pay close attention to the movies you watch. See if they are really engaging your intellect, or if they are merely regurgitating a group of likable forms in a semi-new arrangement. Be more than a passive observer, feebly accepting whatever is thrown at you. Go beyond the new releases section at the local video store - just like everything in life, there is so much more to be found for those that will seek it out.

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Paul's HR 1207

Ron Paul's Bill to Audit the Fed has 179 co-sponsors! http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/audit-the-federal-reserve-hr-1207/

Please call your Congressmen and especially your Senators, as there are NO co-sponsors in the Senate (!).

Alternate reality

We live in the information age, and where you get your information will determine your beliefs and actions.

Those who pay attention to mainstream news will believe exactly what the handful of men who own all media want them to believe. The television's version of events is designed to completely distract people from the truth. If they aren't outright lying, then they are omitting the most important information.

This goes hand-in-hand with what we are taught at the beginning, in "social studies." Teachers will happily ram the same banal details down children's throats while skipping over portions of history that are ugly, or "irrelevant."

Just today, my daughter was saying that the French helped out the 13 colonies during the Revolutionary War. I asked her who else helped us. She said the Spanish did, but only a little bit. I asked her if her teacher said anything about Russia helping. She said no. Why would her teacher omit that piece of history? Probably because Russia is generally considered an enemy nowadays, even two decades after the Cold War ended. School history, then, changes according to current events. And news changes according to the owner of the news, and the whims of the establishment.

The more you stay away from the media's version of events, the more your mind will begin to see through the far-fetched "reality" they peddle. If you really care about the truth, you had better start paying attention to other, usually underground, sources of information.

For example, take a look at this website, which has some strange data: http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data

Apparently, as the housing bubble burst, and people were in dire need of money, the money supply began to contract! This, of course, repeated the terrible (but purposeful) action that caused the Great Depression (which the Federal Reserve has admitted). Thus, rather than alleviating stress on the market, the Federal Reserve exacerbated the problem.

Now we are in a recession. Or is that a DEPRESSION? What is the unemployment figure right now, anyway? According to another graph on that same page, the government places unemployment between 9% and 16%. But the reality is more like TWENTY PERCENT. One in five citizens are unemployed.

The accuracy of these graphs on this site are open to debate. But don't let anyone TELL you the truth. You must discover it for yourself.

I have learned not to trust anything the government says. They lie about everything! In recent history, the reasons for almost every war and "military action" are lies. Two perfect examples are Vietnam (Gulf of Tonkin) and Iraq (weapons of mass destruction). The list is lengthy for interventions, such as assassinations (President Allende) and coups (Iran in 1953). The documentary "Why We Fight" has a fairly comprehensive (as far as we know) list for those who are curious. The point is that the government is secretive and, at best, misleads the people.

As I wrap this up, I want you to recall, once more, the national debt. It's over 11 TRILLION dollars, with spending at around 50,000 dollars/second! These are the numbers we are presented by government sources, the masters of spin, the lying machine. Even if we aren't looking at Enron-style figures, this country is in big trouble.

Rule

Unwittingly Trained to doublethink
The patterns of cold ideologies -
Dual-faced political mindscape.

The structure of the system
Keeps its agents pressing
The people's ceiling
Down... down...

While God's Holy clarity
Forms undying in Life's
Dreams & activities,
Bursting outward,
Yet ignored.

Despite all the knowledge that has been destroyed and suppressed throughout history, some people still think they know it all. Even if someone had full access, and unlimited time, to sort through all the data and ideas of all of history, much of this universe would still be a mystery. The book of the universe can not be comprehended by individuals, even geniuses with stimoceivers set to concentrate.

Most of the time, people can't even understand why they feel a certain way, or why they take a certain action. There is part of a truth in every lie, part of beauty in everything ugly. The things we are witness to are far more complicated than we know or can calculate. We are not meant to.

What we should be concentrating on is helping each other and improving ourselves - with the goal of behaving intelligently, patiently, with respect and love toward others.

We should be reducing our ego, and minimizing our focus on money. The ego always wants more, and you can never have "enough" money. Our mental appetite should crave knowledge rather than the new episode of our favorite television show. We should crave affection rather than a new pair of sneakers.

Consumerism drives more consumerism. People become addicted to buying, just to buy, even as the poor people who produce these items for less pay every year (considering the impact of inflation). What do people really need besides a basic amount of food, water, and shelter? Do you need to have 50 dress shirts? What will happen to your family if $*** hits the fan? Your money will have been spent on worthless trinkets and useless electronics. You will not be able to feed them.

In the end, the only beneficiary of the hyper-consumer culture is this empire we live in, which is sprinting on its last legs. But is it really even benefitting? We had a good run, but this marathon called life has no end, and we can't keep spending trillions each year. What we are doing is delaying the inevitable, and increasing the pain for those who will be hurt by the inevitable collapse. The housing bubble was bad? How about the debt bubble? Who will pay for this 12+ trillion dollar debt? We the people have already spent all our money. "Who do we owe this money to?" is an even more important question. Ask yourself that.

Whatever you have been reading in the newspapers and hearing on the tube is all just a constant distraction from reality, which is hard to face. Instead of turning on the TV tonight (just one night!), try something else. Anything else. Read a book, go for a long walk. Perhaps a little bit of God's clarity will fall upon you. Perhaps you will feel a tingly sensation as your body and mind find the spirit that has lain dormant so long.

Spirituality is not religion. Religion is law, which is a rigid structure made by man. God is creative and transcendent. He does not need man to interpret His truth to you. Bypass the filters of the pulpit and the media, and figure it out for yourself. Make your mind work again. Those that refuse to exercise their mind will find it atrophying, like unused muscles. Use your independent mind to awaken the natural energy of your soul.

Train yourselves to accept your failings and work on what can be fixed. It will take time and effort. That is what we must do - work. "Whatsoever thy hand [or mind] findeth to do, do it with thy might."

Most of all, don't just take my advice blindly! Think for yourself - I am not correct, because I (like everyone else) don't comprehend even a large fraction of reality. Surrender to your conscience, and do what your spirit tells you is right. Seek the calm of your mind's center, and right the wrongs of your life.

Behavior

Many times in people's lives, they feel anger, frustration, or other negative feelings, and they feel the need to vent those feelings. Maybe someone cut them off in traffic or someone said something rude. We need to get it off our chests. The cure to repression is expression.

But we must express ourselves responsibly. Many people, when fed up, take it out on their loved ones. They are comfortable with those with whom they are familiar. They can say things they wouldn't to strangers, and so they do. Thus they alienate those they care most about, because they are hurting. Sometimes this goes to the extreme: husbands beat their wives, children are abused. A negative experience can breed more negative experiences.

Find ways to transform your negative experiences into positive ones. Examine your feelings, and use the energy of your anger or fear - channel it into something creative or exciting. Don't take it out on your loved ones, or some poor store clerk.

If you can't find a way to change that negative energy into something better, then use that negative energy where it's needed. Vent on your Congressmen! Vent on someone that deserves it. Write an angry letter to the newspaper. Use your rage, before it ruins you or someone you love.

My work

You can see some of my artwork at: http://www.chadbelote.4t.com/

Please check it out when you have time.

Ron Paul's HR 1207

Ron Paul has a bill brewing with 110 co-sponsors in the House: HR 1207

Read about it and call your congressmen, to help support this important legislation.

If you need more information about the "federal" reserve, and why Congress gave away their Constitutional right to print money (instead of buying it at interest [!]), let me know. I will post another entry about it.

Here is a copy of Paul's latest message:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977670556

Here's another site that is interesting, and definitely related:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Arise

In today's society, there is a frenzy of activity. It is difficult to find anything original amidst the noise of the pop culture. Television drowns out most people's awareness completely.

Everyone should seek creative ventures beyond what is presented to them, or more aptly, forced on them. Look behind the louder, more advertised, more popular music, movies, and fiction. There is a huge, wide-open world of groundbreaking thought, research, and development. Find something new and share it.

Today is Easter, the day Jesus rose from death. You may find yourself in a rut, passing the days in a bland stupor. But as Jesus was resurrected, so can our spirit find renewal. Search for something interesting. Open your eyes and find something greater than yourself - something to inspire you.

Try something new. Look at things from a different angle. Let yourself be free.