A Moment of Zen...

 



Our only job is to remain open.
Usually when we hear or read something new,
we just compare it to our own ideas.
If it is the sane, we accept it and say that it is correct.
If it is not, we say it is incorrect.
In either case, we learn nothing.

Thich Nhat Hanh





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RN USA no longer accepts comments. The information presented is for reflection, contemplation, and for those seeking greater understanding and wisdom. It is for seekers and those with an open mind and heart.

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When and How Will it End?

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace of Independent Conservatism This is America. We are an English speaking nation. We have distinct and traditional American cultural values. We have some Americans in our population who have difficulty speaking a coherent sentence. We have many who cannot construct a complete and proper sentence. Yet we find the time and the money to educate youth in Arabic and Arabic culture. Mind you this is a Federal Grant program and limited to only five select school districts. At least for now. At a cost of 1.3 millions dollars students on these select district will be required,  you heard {read} right, required as mandatory part of their curriculum to learn Arabic. This is a blatant abuse of taxpayer money, and it is indicative of the future course our nation has embarked upon under the fuzzy, misguided, and incredibly deceitful anti leade...
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Another Brutal Practice of Islamic Extremists...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth Iraq is facing a radical Isis-led insurgency, with Mosul and other cities in the north-west under militant control. The ritual cutting of girls' genitals is practised by some African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities in the belief it prepares them for adulthood or marriage. FGM poses many health risks to women, including severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of newborn deaths in childbirth. The UN General Assembly approved a resolution in December 2012 calling for all member states to ban the practice. Christians fled Earlier, Ms Badcock warned that the alleged Isis edict could affect nearly four million women and girls in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The UN's resident and humanitarian co-ordinator in Iraq said the practice "is something very new for Iraq... and does need to be addressed". She was talking to reporters via video link ...
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An Independent Conservative's View of Gay Marriage

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I am quite pleased today. I had determined some time back, when California's Prop 8 again placed the issue of same sex marriage forefront on the American stage of morality, to pen an article on the issue. The article was to be a view from an independent conservative. I decided after several hours of work to submit it to The Daily Caller. Yesterday afternoon they notified me they were publishing my op-ed article. My first.  In what I suppose is an act of self promotion I bring my article to the pages of  Rational Nation  USA .  Excerpt: California’s Proposition 8 has once again brought the issue of  gay  marriage  onto the national stage.  It is likely headed to the Supreme Court, which, to me, seems crazy. After all, why should it take the High Court to decide an issue that the government should not be concerned with in the first place? Intolerance is often on display on both sides of the ideologic...
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For Progressives and Conservatives It's Simply a One Way Proposition, Their Way Or the Highway...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny One of the things about progressives that has always intrigued me is their belief that being tethered to the ideology of state controlled and mandated programs is the way to achieve social equality and harmony. Perhaps it is just me, but somehow giving the government this level of control over ones life means giving up (your)individual control and acknowledging that others, in this case the Leviathan bureaucracy knows better what is good for you (and your family) than you do. Somehow, and for good cause (IMNHO) this has always bothered the hell out of me. Being the small 'L' libertarian and Objectivist that I've been since 9th grade it was natural to argue in opposition to this restrictive and self immolating philosophy. Some things never change. Reality often does however and often when you're least expecting it. Just the other day when having an after dinner brandy while engaged in lively politi...
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The Forbidden History of Christianity: The Council of Nicaea & The Truth They Banned...

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  When fascism came to America it  came clutching a bible and waving the flag.  On January 20, 2025. A ll worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.  Milarepa Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.   Rumi Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom.   Rumi Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future .  ...
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A Strategy is Emerging...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Purveyor of Truth As NATO meets in Wales this week to discuss the many vexing problems facing the world a strategy is developing among western powers. One that is based on a coalition looking a lot like prior engagement strategies. Sensible and ultimately the only way to fly if we wish to succeed. It will be interesting to hear and read the uber conservatives take on what is almost certainly the strategy Obama has had in mind all along. What most of us have always wanted to know is the President is taking this situation seriously and is working to arrive at a strategy with the best chance of success. It appears this is what is happening. President Obama and other world leaders are currently meeting in Wales to discuss the bevy of issues that are currently vexing the world, including the political turmoil in Afghanistan ahead of the alliance’s withdrawal this year and a newly emboldened Russia that has sent troops into neighboring Ukraine...
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The Exodus: Why Millennials and Gen Z Are Abandoning Evangelicalism...

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  When fascism came to America it  came clutching a bible and waving the flag.  On January 20, 2025. A ll worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.  Milarepa Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.   Rumi Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom.   Rumi Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future .  ...
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“I Am Nobody” – What It Really Means in Buddhism...

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  When fascism came to America it  came clutching a bible and waving the flag.  On January 20, 2025. A ll worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.  Milarepa Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.   Rumi Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom.   Rumi Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future .  ...
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Our Biggest Creditor {China} Tells Us "The good old days of borrowing are over"

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Birthplace o Independent Conservatism Liberty -vs- Tyranny As the chickens come home to roast... Unbelievable we have been this stupid. ( Reuters ) - Global leaders on Saturday arranged a round of emergency calls to discuss the twin debt crises in Europe and the United States that are causing turmoil in financial markets . After a week that saw $2.5 trillion wiped off global stock markets, they are under pressure to show political leadership and reassure markets that Western governments have both the will and ability to reduce their huge and growing public debt loads. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G7/G20 group of leading economies, conferred with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of a call planned for this weekend by G7 finance ministers and central bankers. "They discussed the euro area and the U.S. debt downgrade. Both agreed the importance of working together, monitoring the situation closely ...
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Why You Didn’t Really Choose This Life ...

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  When fascism came to America it  came clutching a bible and waving the flag.  On January 20, 2025. A ll worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death. Knowing this, one should, from the very first, renounce acquisitions and storing-up, and building, and meeting; and, faithful to the commands of an eminent Guru, set about realizing the Truth. That alone is the best of religious observances.  Milarepa Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.   Rumi Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom.   Rumi Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future .  ...
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