May 18, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Nate Silver Debunks Peggy Noonan’s Claim IRS Also Went After Individuals Opposing Obama

Mediaite

2012 electoral polling star, the New York Times’s Nate Silver, who was lauded for being right on all things 2012 election, is back crunching the numbers, this time on the IRS political targeting scandal, specifically firing back at WSJ columnist Peggy Noonan’s claim that the Obama IRS went after wealthy Republican individuals in addition to Tea Party groups i…

Walking on the Path of Peace

Let the creativity flow

There have been many spiritual teachers who have advocated the path of peace. In this path people walk without regard to race, religion or ethnicity.I believe that these people are very enlightened souls who carry the responsibility of lighting the path of peace for others to follow. It takes a special heart and an open, accepting soul to do all that is required for peace.

Let your light shine on the path of peace

It is not how much we do that is important; it is the love that enables us to walk on the path of peace. Peace is part of our journey if we accept it. It is one of the choices we make on our journey through this world. The smallest action done with love takes us further down the path of peace.

The beginning of the path of peace is within ourselves, in contemplation and prayer. Silent prayer within your own home where no one is watching you is the most sincere. Then what you are performing is not for the people to witness, but for yourself and God/Goddess. Many spiritual people recommend beginning and ending the day with prayer. Whereever your journey takes you, the desire for peace comes from the Divinity within.

Fear is an emotion which can destroy peace or prevent it from taking root in people. Fear of being humiliated, of being despised, of being rebuked, of being forgotten or wronged and the fear of being ridiculed can destroy a person as they walk upon their journey. There are curves and turns in the road, and not being able to see around the next bend can cause fear. We are all capable of good and evil. No one is all good or all evil .Divinity is always stronger than the evil in the world.

Look into a baby’s eyes if you want to see Divinity. It is all that they know. They learn to hate and hurt and to destroy only as they grow. So your heart being filled with Divinity and daily choosing paths that will allow you to walk in peace is the way to begin this journey. Once you have begun, life will carry you along until you are a shining light for others.

Be the light, be the inspiration, be the reason someone is living in a state of well-being.

Sunset over water. Photograph taken and copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

May 17, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Balance

A photo of some of my irises, which are my favorite flower.Photograph copyrighted 2013

When life gets hard or you hear or read something disturbing, then balance with what is beautiful to you. Whether you work in a non-profit or an office, you need to create beauty around you to keep your heart and soul from being weighed down by the under side of life.

It is possible to not look away, to even reach out a helping hand by creating a beauty that touches your heart and fills it with love for others. It is easy to love our friends and family, but to walk among the homeless, the hungry, those who have lived through tradgedies takes forming a balanced life.

My garden photograph copyrighted 2013

I have my ways to create balance, you will need to experiment and find what touches you and heals you. Because we must constantly heal ourselves if we are to change our world for the better. Music is another wonderful way to find balance. Meditation and breathing are also good ways to heal your heart and soul.

I have found affirmations to be invaluable. I recommend Louise Hay’s books. I love to listen to them as I go through my day when life has been difficult. And reading poetry aloud is, for me soothing. We each can find our own ways.

“The call of the griefless is from a frozen heart, the call of the grieving one is from rapture.”
” He ( God ) is the merciful and bountiful Lord; both existence and non-existence are in love with Him.” –Rumi

I found these quotes in a book a friend brought back after being in Turkey. It is hard to love those who suffer. People don’t want to get too close yet the close proximity is the only way to make a difference in someone’s life. Why are we here? Perhaps because our strength and love and creativity enables us to make the world a better place.

Forsithia blooming. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

The forsythia blooming. Photograph copyrighted by Barbara Mattio 2013

May 16, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Why I Care About Slavery

Here in Cleveland, three women who have been missing for 10 years and presumed dead have been found alive. A man kidnapped them a decade ago and has held them prisoner for all of these years. Shackled, tortured, raped, impregnated and forced to assist the man to give abortions to the unlucky one who was pregnant. They were all pregnant more than once. One young woman has a daughter that he did not abort and who now six years old. What were that little girl’s first six years of life like? We won’t know, however she will have to live with the nightmares for the rest of her life. The three young women, now in their 20′s, have to restart their lives. iPads, Facebook, MySpace, texting and a million other common place activities which we all use in 2013 must be learned. Relationships with families must be renewed. Trust in the people around them must be attempted. I think this will be a huge issue. This is what has pushed me into studying about trafficking and slavery.

We can’t just look away because it is unpleasant. We have to see it, grasp the meaning of this evil and balance it with beauty so we can face the fact that we might know some who is currently or had once been part of the culture of slavery.

We can save lives by looking around us and questioning what is happening.

Things that pull people into slavery are varied. Globally women are second class citizens. Many girls and women are not able to receive the education that is needed to obtain a good paying job. We all realize that flipping burgers at McDonald’s is just not a job that will enable people to have a living wage.

Globally, men, boys, girls,and women who exist in slavery are from all socioeconomic backgrounds. They come from every race, country and religion. They are all lost to us and to the world unless we can stop the buying and selling of human beings in this world.

Besides kids being sold as soldiers, they are also sold into the sex trade. The demand makes a huge supply necessary. Sweatshops around the world use women and children to increase the profit margin on the clothes they make. Cheap labor is needed around the world in agricultural regions. The thing about some of these areas is that paying a living wage increases the price people pay in the markets.

How to stop traffeting

Don’t look away, care, and help

Global unrest and abject poverty lead to refugees who have to leave their homes and possessions. They have no roof or food or medication. They do have desperation and hopelessness. People are often deceived about what they will have if they leave and go to another country. They are often offered education and jobs which never happen. You can help. If someone complains about Force, Fraud, or Coersion, call 911. If a person is 18 or younger, they need only ask for assistance under the Trafficking Victims Protection laws because they are completely protected by law. (For more information, visit the Department of State’s website on trafficking laws at http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/).

Slavery did not end with President Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. It is happening in 2013 also.

May 15, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Slavery in 2013

Yes, there is slavery in America as well as in most other countries in the world. Why would people buy and sell other human beings? Greed, profit, gender discrimination, cheap labor force are some of the reasons.

In some parts of our country and other countries, a girl is more likely to be raped than to learn how to read. Every year, 60 million girls are sexually assaulted at or on their way to school. There is an estimated 800,000 people trafficked across national borders annually. Eighty per cent are girls and women.

Here in America, on any day in any month, someone may be sold into slavery. 100,000 to 300,000 people are trafficked annually. 83 % are being sold for sexual work. It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.

Public Broadcasting Stats

Worldwide, most trafficked persons are Asians. Up to 800,000 people, men, women, boys and girls are Trafficked across international borders. They account for up to 32 billion dollars in revenue. Most trafficking has to do with labor, including sexual labor, and children being sold to armies as soldiers. Can you imagine knowing that every day for the rest of your life, you will work for someone who oppresses human beings? You will never see a penny of the fruits of your labor, and they can do with you whatever they wish, including raping you or sending you to kill or die in a battle you will never live long enough to understand.

Help stop trafficking — learn more at www.enditmovement.com

Slavery is still real

May 14, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

If Guns were as Regulated as Cars. An Enlighting Infographic

Reblogged from Gun Control Now USA:

This is the least we all should expect of responsible gun owners. Right?

Earlier today, I posted a brilliant Colbert video on my facebook page that addressed gun violence. A gun owner commented:

Most gun owners (including myself) that I know support the assault rifle ban. They don’t want to have to defend themselves with a pistol when the other guy has armor piercing rounds firing at over 20 rounds per second… I think that’s just logical.

"Geography of hate" looks at use of racist terms against Latinos, blacks on Twitter

Reblogged from NBC Latino:

It's no secret that internet users have always been able to get away with saying things online that they probably wouldn't say in person, and a new map by Floating Sheep, a group of geography academics, takes the idea a step further by analyzing the use of racist and homophobic terms on Twitter across the United States.

The group looked at geotagged Tweets from June 2012 to April 2013 and students at Humboldt State University manually read and identified the sentiment of each tweet to determine if a specific word was used in a positive, negative or neutral way.