Living Life Abundantly

I received this awesome email from my friend Dan:

Hey Marenda!

Thanks for the email with the great photos. I was there with my father. Monday night we went into town and on our way back to the Metro station we actually had Barack (and his motorcade) pass directly in front of us (like 20-30 feet) at an intersection. We were beside ourselves to have seen him the night before!! My dad: “That was HIM! We saw him!”

On Tuesday we were on the Mall basically on the opposite side of the field from the original (old) Smithsonian building. I honestly believe I saw the best of Americans and the best of HUMANS in what I witnessed on the Mall that awesome day! I can’t overstate the amazing feeling I had throughout the day. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was warm, gracious, pleasant, etc. I witnessed so many things I wanted more people to see. I know you must have felt and seen it too. I remember feeling an overwhelming good sensation.

My soul was singing…especially when I looked over and saw my dad, an old 60′s liberal and devout pastor, whom I admire and owe so much, smiling with tears in his eyes at what he saw during the swearing-in. He certainly wasn’t alone! It meant so much to share it with him (and the 2 million others from around the globe).

It was a life-changer for me.

I’m so glad you were able to attend too. I look forward to our next chance to talk, share, fellowship and party!…all over again.

Here’s to a peaceful and more blessed ’09!

Thanks! My best to you and yours!

Dan

PS-Congrats on top 10K! Thankfully, not EVERYTHING changes…the cream always rises!

My friends thought I was nuts last year when I shared my enthusiasm for outspoken Dennis Kucinich. I think his Wake Up America speech shows exactly why I have so much love for him and hopefully woke some folks up.

Dennis Kucinich’s Speech at the Democratic National Convention:

It’s Election Day 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake-up call. Wake up, America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy and have added 4 trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil and twice what we paid for health care.

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the president’s oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq’s oil.

Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia, while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.

If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four-year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children’s inheritance and hollow out our economy.

We can’t afford another Republican administration. Wake up, America. The insurance companies took over health care. Wake up, America. The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing.

Wake up, America. The speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up, America. They want to take your Social Security. Wake up, America. Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost.

Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline. The oil administration wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost 5 to 10 trillion dollars.

This administration can tap our phones. They can’t tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can’t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-9/11 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Every day we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green.

Wake up, America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade. Up with creating millions of good paying jobs, rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with peace. Up with prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party. Up with Obama-Biden.

Wake up, America. Wake up, America. Wake up, America.

“Lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States. Although America leads the world in spending on health care, it is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have coverage.” —Institute of Medicine

I find it absolutely mind-boggling that America spends the most money on health care yet ranks #37 out of 191 countries. How does a country spend more money than any other country on health care but its citizens have a lower life expectancy than countries that spend less? Where is all the money going?

Instead of Americans being healthier we are seeing increases in:

• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Cancer

How is it that citizens in countries with free health care systems (France, Canada, and UK) have longer life expectancy rates than Americans? I told my husband last week we should consider moving to France. He looked at me like I was crazy. But France has the best health care in the world and its free!

I know a middle class family of 5 (husband, wife, & 3 kids) paying $900/month for health insurance! Hello…. $900 for health insurance is alot when you also have to pay mortgage, utilities, car insurance, put gas in the car, food on the table, clothes on backs, plus other living expenses and incidentals! This is why so many Americans do not have health care insurance. Barack Obama is right, “people want health care but can’t afford it.” Hillary Clinton is right, “everybody has got to be covered.” John McCain is right, “we need to reduce health care costs.”

We Americans are often quick to turn our noses up at at other countries. We often think we are better and have all of the answers. Perhaps its part of our conditioning or mis-education. We are spoon fed lies that we actually believe about the evils of free health care for every American. Our American wisdom tells us that free health care for all Americans is too much like socialism and socialized health care is the enemy… If so called socialized programs are destructive then how do we explain our current systems for police, fireman, schools, and libraries?

With our infinite wisdom, wealth, and resources our health care system is ranked #37!

As our people grow sicker and deeper in debt with medical bills or die from inadequate medical care; health insurance and health service providers like Humana are literally raking in Six BILLION Dollars! What is wrong with this picture? Read the full story

“Americans are stupid people by and large. We pretty much believe whatever we are told.” —The Wire

After waiting a year for the final season of the best show on television, HBO delivered the goods last night with the premiere of season five: Read Between the Lines.

The Wire is known for authentically depicting all aspects of urban life. Every episode peels back layers of hidden truths that are often startling, uncomfortable, and unforgettable. The season premiere packed a major punch that should serve as a serious wake up call to us all:

The Bigger The Lie, The More They Believe!

Would you say that this is a true statement? Most of us would like to believe that we are highly intelligent…too smart to be hoodwinked or bamboozled. Perhaps some of us are…However, its the majority of us that counts. Considering this is an election year, this assertion is worth examining because Read the full story