A hyena will scavenge graves for food. It is an animal that shows no respect for the dead. Instead, it merely regards the misfortune of once-living carcasses as an opportunity.

In east Nigeria they have a belief that there are people who are capable of turning themselves into hyenas at will. Rush Limbaugh gave credence to that Nigerian superstition last week when he used the tragedy of 100,000 Haitian men, women, and children to promote himself as America’s number one radio thug without a conscience.

The pseudo-manly, rational thinker without a heart radio bit is nothing new for Rush. He has built his career by giving his listeners reasons to hate, fear, judge, and attack the easiest targets among our fellow man. Recently that target was dead, dying, starving, terrified Haitians who ranged in age from newborn to 90. Rush picks his targets well. While the world was seeing pictures of the bodies of Haitian children being dug up from earthquake rubble, Rush was once again reasserting himself as the “dispassionate”, “clear thinking”, wannabe tough guy who masters concepts that are beyond the grasp of less insightful observers. That is the Rush shtick. He projects this idea that as America’s conservative brain trust he is one of the few insightful thinkers capable of rising above those lesser human emotions like compassion, empathy, and decency. His 12 years in school no doubt equipped him for that. Rush is always selling himself as a character you might find in the cult books of Nietzsche or Ayn Rand. His listeners seem to eat up the idea of him being wholly unsympathetic but thoroughly narcissistic and all-knowing when everyone else around him is weighted down with those weak-minded beliefs that the well-being of our fellow man actually matters.

Limbaugh is much like that Nigerian mythical creature who evolved to the point that he is more hyena than human. When he suggested last week that there was no need for Americans to provide for Haitians because we have already paid income tax, he knew that statement would improve his radio ratings. A real “ditto head” would embrace that idea, and he knew it. After that, he used his mic time to politicize the tragedy by suggesting that, in keeping with Obama’s new healthcare reform “death panel” policies, Americans would be giving pills to Haitians to end their lives and their suffering. That was great radio entertainment in Rush’s world and I’m certain that as he spoke those words he was focused on how his clever snarkiness could extract bigger Nielsen ratings from the dead bodies of Haitian earthquake victims.

Haitians are easy targets for hate talkers like Rush. After all, they are black. And as we have heard from every neocon nut with a microphone, they pose an illegal immigration problem in America. They live in self-imposed and self-perpetuated poverty on a useless island. Worse yet, if you believe the TV evangelist Pat Robertson, they are Satan worshippers, capable of black magic and sorcery. As I watch this story unfold, I am hopeful that a surviving Haitian will use sorcery to change Rush’s bloated figure from a hyena back into a human being.

A current article in the LA Times noted that students who participated in abstinence only sex-ed programs had significantly more unwanted pregnancies and were more likely to catch sexually transmitted diseases. It’s another example of the triumph of ideology over facts, the old “Who are ya gonna believe, me or your own two eyes?” The Religious Right’s agenda of Christianizing America may no longer be a reality but, through school boards, city, state, and federal legislators, it still impacts our country. Abstinence only is just one example of how dangerous fundamentalism can be to our religious freedoms and our health.

Prayer in school – and any official religious activity in school or school sponsored events– have been unconstitutional since 1962 when the Supreme Court in Engle v Vitale ruled that school sponsored prayer in classrooms violated the first amendment--although individual student prayer outside of class is quite legal.

Undaunted by court rulings, the Religious Right has mounted a continuous assault on the separation of church and state.
Here are a few current examples:
At the start of football games in Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School in Georgia, cheerleaders held a large banner for players to run through. The banner had Christian messages such as: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize of which God has called me in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14”. When challenged, school and town officials, (according to Americans United’s Rob Boston, “made it clear they had no problem with the cheerleaders promoting religion—as long as it was the ‘right’ religion.”

Down in Texas, the legislature passed a bill that mandated the teaching of the bible as literature. However, the law provided no funds for teacher training or curriculum development, leaving implementation up to local districts. As a result, the course ended up teaching the beliefs of the instructor. The Texas Freedom Network reports, “Some courses promoted a 6,000 year-old earth, that dinosaurs roamed the Earth with Adam and Eve, and that God ordained an inferior role for women.”

To slip creationism into Louisiana public schools, a law allowed public schools to use “supplemental” materials in science. And if this material is challenged, the Louisiana school board, that according to the Louisiana Coalition for science says “Is under the thumb of creationists,” would review the case, not the schools.

Teachers and staff in a Florida school have actively proselytized students by praying with students and inviting students to lead prayers during school activities. It includes reading from the bible and “discussed church attendance with students” (Church & State magazine) encouraging them to attend religious clubs and incorporate religion into their school work.

And a punk rock band in Minnesota misled public schools by claiming they offered an anti-drug program that turned out to be a group of Evangelical Christians, who used the venue to proselytize student audiences. Apparently many evangelical ministries use this tactic – offering a show on subjects like the dangers of drugs or suicide prevention but end up promoting their brand of Christianity and/or promoting a local revival meeting.
All of these violations have been stopped, usually through litigation, but like crabgrass more pop up every day.
For more on religion in schools, visit the Americans United at www.au.org.

Imagine feeling like an alien or freak everywhere you go. Crowds are a nightmare; you can see and or feel other peoples' emotions or energy. You realize the world we live in is one big joke that nobody else gets, and you are forced to play along. You feel like nobody understands or really gets you. It is not easy being an Indigo child. How do I know? Well, I am one.

There are so many names or labels for us that I have lost count: Indigo, old soul, star kid, crystal, rainbow, transitional, highly sensitive, psychic children, new children, children of the now, just to name a few. Many of the young children are Crystal Children, but this article will mainly focus on the Indigos. The medical community loves to put labels on us, as well. Not all ADD, Autistic or Special Needs children are Indigos, but many are.
Indigo children, generation X, and Y, were born in the 70s to 90s; they are now in their thirties, twenties and teens. Indigos can be highly sensitive children; wise beyond their years. Some seem to be dialed into a higher frequency than the rest of the general public. Others are intuitive and have psychic abilities; some do not. Most are gifted in some area of their life, are high-energy creative beings, and have a sense of who they are and why they are here--a grand sense of purpose.

Indigos are the truth seekers, spiritual warriors and Paradigm shifters. Knowing the old ways and needing to give way to the new, they get angry when they witness lies and injustices in systems and people. Integrity in all is a must. They are the ones who are coming into their own right now; they are shining their light on the old systems that do not serve the highest good of the whole. These systems are starting to crumble. Have you watched the news lately? Organizations for finance, health, food, politics, education, and the environment are all changing. Like a phoenix rising, Indigos feel a karmic duty to rebuild these old, archaic models that feed greed, ego, and fear, into ones that work for the greater good of society with the energy of love, compassion, empathy and service.

How do you know if you are an Indigo, or if your child is one? If you have felt like you do not relate to your family or peers for most of your life, and really only connect with like-minded new-thought folk, you may be an Indigo. If your child acts like a little adult or Buddha trapped inside a six year-old body, you may have an Indigo. If you or your child are sensitive to everything, and I mean EVERYTHING i.e. energy, people, places, light, sounds, smells, foods, chemicals, and medication, you may be an Indigo.

Additionally, Indigos need education that is progressive and autonomy in all that they choose to learn. Other helpful things for Indigos include: a balance between Eastern and Western holistic life styles, meditation and yoga, creative movement and expression/physical outlet, room to play and explore, a quiet place to just be, solitude time to just download the day and decompress. Music and art, as well as companionship with other Indigos, serve as medicine.

We always find each other and have a deep understanding of what we have gone through. A special spark happens when we make eye contact, thus, we find each other “again”. It is like coming home. We understand that we are the ones we have been waiting for.

Indiglow Healing is a series of meditations, classes and support groups that help teach these New Kids how to ground, shield, and re-connect to their natural healing abilities. If you have any questions or comments about being an Indigo, or would like to set up an Indiglow Healing appointment contact me at 805-440-3582 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the Amethyst Healing Center website www.amethysthealingcenter.com. We are available 7 days a week at 704 Main Street in Cambria or by phone 805-927-1700. Walk ins are always welcome! Indigo Blessings!

Civil War historians have a difficult time explaining how America’s Southern aristocracy convinced poor sharecroppers to fight a war on their behalf. The majority of Confederate soldiers who charged the cannonballs and bullets of the Union Army were rarely the monied aristocrats who started that war. They weren’t the ones who owned plantations and slaves. But they were willing to fight a war so aristocrats could keep their slaves. We should be honest with ourselves about a war that killed 600,000 Americans. It was not a war about high ground principals like “states’ rights,” or “economic equality.”  Respected Civil War scholars have written mountains of books explaining that the driving force for that war was that an aristocracy wanted to perpetuate its slavery money machine. But it was different for the typical confederate soldier. Their war of “Northern Aggression” was ginned up more from a fear that their social status might fall to the point that there would be no class distinction between themselves and emancipated slaves.

The aristocratic plantation owners are back, and in 2009, they have a new batch of people willing to fight their unprincipaled war. These new aristocrats don’t grow cotton. They are industrialists who don’t want their billions taxed or regulated. They are modern mammoth health insurance companies that own huge portions of America’s wealth. They are the petroleum and coal giants who will lose money with a sane American energy policy. And the thing they have in common with the old South slave owners is that they are still willing to divide America by ginning up hate, fear and racism to get what they want.

The Southern Civil War aristocrats orchestrated a virtual suicide mission for rebel “believers” in a way that disguised the aristocracy’s selfish interests. To the soldiers, it was in part about impeding the progress of the black man. But to the aristocrat, it was simply about money. When Jimmy Carter made his claim that racism is the driving force behind most of the Obama detractors, he only stated half the problem.

The signs being flashed around at teabagger-type rallies these days depicting Obama as part monkey and part man are being carried by committed racists who originate on the low rungs of our intellectual food chain. But the rest of the story is that America’s new plantation owners are helping to energize and finance the crowd that carries those signs.

The 21st Century version of plantation owners were thrilled to see South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson rally their frenzied rank and file. The small irony is that Wilson has the credentials to lead. After all, he was once a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. More importantly, just like the Limbaugh and Beck types, he has always been a voice for racism.

The racism alive in the crowd of unhinged crazies is angrier than it was 144 years ago, because for this bunch, it’s clear that they have lost in the war to stifle progress for black America. After all, they are the ones standing outside the gate of a White House where an emancipated black man sits as the most powerful, respected, and influential leader in the world.

Mike Papantonio “Pap” is one of the most prominent trial attorneys in the country. He is also the cohost of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Locally Ring of Fire airs on KYNS 1340AM in San Luis Obispo County. Hear this segment and more Pap Attacks or the entire show at www.ringoffireradio.com. For the latest in what’s really taking place on the political scene in DC and around the world visit
 www.Goleft.tv.

In recent weeks, Democrats have made progress with their leadership management skills. Here is what they have figured out:  When your opposition is burning down, don’t get involved. Sit back and allow it to happen. For example, when the GOP floats the story that Obama is building concentration camps to house conservative critics, just hush, sit quietly and let them tell that story. When Glenn Beck goes on the air to tell us about those new Obama concentration camps, don’t interrupt him even when it’s clear that those buildings he’s afraid of are probably mental health facilities. Or when their party leader Sarah Palin suggests that Obama’s health care reform plan includes a death panel that will condemn elderly Americans to die if they require too much medical care, remember; sit quietly and let the lunatics loose on themselves. In fact, be jubilant when other GOP party leadership stands beside Palin and endorses her as she rambles incoherently about this imaginary ghoulish new death panel. The Democrats have recently figured out that the art of sitting silently when the opposition is so vulnerable requires incredible discipline. When gun-toting healthcare teabaggers are showing up at town hall meetings to shout, scream, and appear unbalanced, Democrats should make sure they schedule as many town hall meetings as possible. Allow it to unfold on the nightly news with regularity.
In politics, sometimes silence really is golden. So when opposition leaders like GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann tells the media that Obama has youth “re-education” programs in place to brainwash children into becoming liberals, make sure Democratic leadership does not disagree, comment, laugh, or shout… just be silent.
If Democratic leadership ever begins to doubt the value of sitting silently as the lunatics define the image of the GOP, they should go online and google these words, “Orly Taitz implodes on MSNBC.” What they will see in that video will tell the backstory about how difficult it has become for Republicans to contain the loon factor within their party.
Democratic leadership will easily conclude that Taitz who identifies herself as “a birther spokesperson,” a realtor, and a dentist is helping to seal the fate of a GOP that is developing the image of a deep south regional party destined to wander farther and farther into the wilderness. As Democratic leadership watches wack-a-doodle Taitz implode on behalf of all conservatives, the key will be to ensure that Democratic silence is deafening.
The Taitz spectacle is no less of a gift to Democrats than the videos flooding the net that show a black woman being attacked at a teabagger town hall meeting for holding up a Rosa Parks poster. Or the video that shows immigration protesters shouting that illegals should be bused back to Mexico “after we put a bullet in their head.” Public approval ratings of the new GOP are falling to levels that compete with those of Dick Cheney and Ann Coulter. The saying, “Never look a gift horse in the mouth,” is a peculiar one. It simply means to hush, don’t say a word and graciously accept a gift when it comes your way. These days those gifts are too many to count.

About an hour’s drive from where I live, a miserable 60-year old man by the name of Donnie Baker murdered two Chilean college students and wounded five others. Baker has one of those simpleton minds that is easily influenced by media fear mongers. He murdered those kids because he visualized himself as a hero protecting America from the evil immigrant hordes crossing our border. Those are the same evil hordes vilified every day by right wing “conservative” media.

Baker’s story was similar to Joshua Cartwright’s who murdered two sheriff’s deputies because, according to his wife, Cartwright was distraught that Barack Obama had been elected president. Cartwright lived in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, down the highway from Mr. Baker.
It’s a place where right wing media flourishes.

These days, hate crime stories are so similar and so many in number that we begin to tune them out the same way we might tune out the car sales commercials that scream over our radio and TV airways everyday. But the Donnie Bakers and Joshua Cartwrights of the world are intently listening to the screaming airways. Not the screaming that sells automobiles but the screaming that encourages dull-witted, troubled personalities to commit murder.

There is a new book on the market titled, The Eliminationists:  How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right. It is a book that helps us understand the connections between conservative media messaging and hate crime. Xenophobe, homophobe, demophobe, Obama-phobe, tax-phobe, choice-phobe:  name the fear and you can match it to some right wing TV or radio “talent” pandering to the most terrified, simpleton and impressionable minds in his audience. The author of The Eliminationists, David Neiwert, says that there is a formula that promotes the terminally unsophisticated and disturbed parts of America’s right wing talk audience to do more than just listen to hate messaging. The basic principle behind the formula is to appeal to the most fearful and intellectually challenged portions of a listening audience. Once you get that crowd’s attention, the next step is to demonize, dehumanize, and in a sense objectify the hate talker targets. That then allows the hate talker to more easily characterize the Latino, the liberal, the Muslim, the abortion doctor, and even the President of the United States as a traitor, a criminal and an opponent to everything that is righteous and decent. The process is called eliminationism. It is a process that encourages the contempt talkers audience to ridicule, suppress, and ignore opinions that are different from those of the audience. I interviewed Neiwert last week. He had an interesting way of describing eliminationism. He told me that it is the equivalent of allowing a village lunatic to wander through the town square poking everyone he dislikes in the eye with a sharp stick. His book points out that some villagers have enough courage and intellect to stop the lunatic, but others don’t have sense enough to realize that the lunatic has recruited them and has actually handed them their own sharp stick.

So, in the end, a pathetic, impressionable right wing media convert murders an abortion doctor, and we see that the process of eliminationism was successful once again.
Mike Papantonio “Pap” is one of the most prominent trial attorneys in the country. He is also the cohost of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio, along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Locally Ring of Fire airs on KYNS 1340AM in San Luis Obispo County. Hear this segment and more Pap Attacks or the entire show at www.ringoffireradio.com. For the latest in what’s really taking place on the political scene in DC and around the world visit
 www.Goleft.tv.

A national health care plan of any meaningful kind is doomed. There are many reasons why it doesn’t have a chance. Democrats, even with their overwhelming majority in Congress, show us once more that they don’t have the courage to lead. It is as if they have already forgotten about their years of irrelevance that were brought on by their own terminal timidity. They really are such an easy target for Republicans because even as creepy as Republicans look today, they at least stand for something. Americans respect that. It’s not only cowardice that will doom national health care. Seventy-two percent of Americans want meaningful healthcare reform. The bad news is that organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the pharmaceutical industry, and the insurance industry, want to maintain business as usual because for them, our dysfunctional system is a cash cow.

Drug companies showed a profit of 80 billion dollars last year while the health care industry collected 13 billion in profits. Life is good, and they are spreading all those billions around to the Democrats – the same way they did for the Republicans. For every one member of congress, there are four health care lobbyists. Where money and politics is involved, a donkey looks exactly like an elephant.

Max Baucus is the head donkey with his hand out this time around. He is a Democrat senator from Montana who is supposed to help lead the reform legislation. It would be difficult to find a senator in Washington who is more beholding to drug companies, and insurance companies. Those groups adore Baucus to the tune of almost 4 million dollars in campaign contributions. So here’s how Baucus repays the favor:  He works to derail real healthcare reform, the kind that three quarters of Americans want. He helps negotiate a “deal” with the drug companies where those companies promise to lower drug costs so older Americans can afford the medicines that keep them alive. The trade-off is that government is not permitted to limit costs like they could under a national health care system. In other words, there will be no cost oversight … business as usual. But the Baucus scam doesn’t end there. Baucus wants to protect the profits of the people who own him by passing on reform costs to families that receive health insurance benefits from their employers. The value of health benefit plans that cover hospitalization, drugs, vision and dental care would be taxed. Baucus is no doubt certain that his plan would be difficult to sell. But that’s the point. The people who paid him 4 million dollars don’t want reform of any kind. To them, it’s better to kill reform completely.

So here’s the fallout:  The United States remains the only industrialized country in the world without a universal health care system.
- 46 million Americans remain uninsured;
- 20 thousand people continue to die each year because they are uninsured;
- Elderly Americans continue to make the choice of whether they should eat or buy medicine;
- Health care costs continue to bankrupt American families.
But there will be some justice. Democrats will lose in midterm elections because voters will remember that they are nothing more than Bill-Clinton-gutless moderates.