The Middle Way: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Chaos...

 


When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once.

Milarepa
“Just as it is known that an image of one's face is seen depending on a mirror but does not really exist as a face, so the conception of "I" exist dependent on mind and body, but like the image of a face the "I" does not at all exist as its own reality.

Nagarjuna


"Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible."    Nagarjuna

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Oy vey Mr. Romney...

by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Mr. Governor Romney... Neither I or most Americans really care a whole lot about how much money you have made during your career. Hell, most of us wish we had the business acumen, savvy, and drive to have accomplished the same for ourselves and our families. We really do understand that you did build your business yourself. We also understand that at times in your growth trajectory in building your business and becoming a multimillionaire that you enlisted the advice and counsel of knowledgeable people to advise you. Hell, even a small time manager like myself understands we achieved our own success through hard work and dedication. But we did have advisers and support teams that actually made sure we didn't, well, you know, F-up. As I always said, and firmly believe... I was only as good as my people. People whose performance by the way I was also responsible for. Maybe Mr. Obama, and even you Mr. Romney might be
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Alan Wallace Q&A on Dzogchen...

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  When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick: every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower. One only throws a stick at a lion once. Milarepa “Just as it is known t hat an image of one's face is seen d epending on a mirror b ut does not really exist as a face, s o the conception of "I" exist d ependent on mind and body, b ut like the image of a face t he "I" does not at all exist as its own reality. Nagarjuna "Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible."       Nagarjuna
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The Faces of Tyranny in America

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny I don't often bring back and reprint articles published previously. However, after spending a fair amount of time in what is known as progressive blogistan (or more appropriately the stated... The Pit of Confusion) I decided to visit my own archives. Mostly to refocus my attention on the task ahead. Which of course is to debunk the vile rhetorical venom the left is so full of. Before moving ahead I suppose I should explain to the more conservative and high Libertarian readers why exactly I decided to subject myself to the myriad of misrepresentations, as well as being called everything from a raaaaacist, to a anti Semite, to a bigot, to a drunk, to a child molester, and many other things the confused hate filled left has called me, with not one iota of proof to substantiate it. The "tolerant" left, as they like to called (never mind that it is an erroneous description) has the most effective attack machin
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The Face of Pure Evil, and a Appropriate Response...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Unspeakable Evil Early this morning in Colorado a sub human man committed an unspeakable evil. Injuring many, and taking the life of twelve innocent victims by gunfire in a theater, this beast of humanity once again exposed for all to see what one single deranged individual is capable of. Today's national tragedy is just another in a lengthening line of senseless acts of evil by a few individuals that have determined apparently only their life has value and all others are expendable at their whim. Somehow during their developmental stages they didn't make the connection ALL human life is to be respected and that no individual has the right to take the life of another except in the defense of their own. For the vast, and enormous majority of people respect for all human life is a given. This vast majority lives out their lives without harming so much as a single human soul, for they understand that no ma
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My, My... Will Obama Be Challenged By the Left?...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny As We Have Come To Expect Wondering if the President will be challenged by the left on these disclosures. Likely they won't even receive so much as a mention by the left. Smelling hypocrisy once again from the wind out of the left. I sincerely hope I'm wrong. Not holding my breath. The Washington Examiner - President Obama has accused Mitt Romney of raking in profits from investing in companies that ship American jobs overseas, but according to his most recent financial disclosure, he and First Lady Michelle Obama have hundreds of thousands of dollars in a mutual fund that has large holdings in corporations that outsource jobs. “(Romney) invested in companies that have been called ‘pioneers’ of outsourcing,” Obama said at a Saturday campaign event in Glen Allen, Va. “I don’t want a pioneer in outsourcing. I want some insourcing.” But Obama’s own portfolio shows a willingness to invest in American corpora
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Mayor Bloomberg Standing Against Goosestepping Insanity...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Kudos to Mayor Bloomberg. With all the political uproar over Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy's support for traditional marriage values and spending heavily to thwart gay marriage efforts, Mayor Bloomberg will not prevent the company from doing business in NYC. Unlike the Mayor's of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco who have all went on record as supporting efforts to keep the company from doing business in "their" cities. Politicker - Despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s advocacy for a healthier diet and strong support for gay marriage, he’s cold on the idea of banning Chick-fil-A within the five boroughs. As mayors around the country — including Boston’s, Chicago’s and San Francisco’s — are backing efforts to keep the fast food chain out of their cities due to the company’s president, Dan Cathy, spending millions to push back against gay marriage, Mr. Bloomberg said it’s “a bad idea and it’s not goin
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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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Opportunity In the Making...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny A new Pew Research Center poll just out provides some interesting information on the Obama Romney match up. Obama currently holds the edge in the "liked" category while Romney has the edge with voters when it comes to the "economy". Interestingly enough Romney holds the edge amongst those actively giving a lot of thought to the campaign. There certainly is volumes that can, and should be be said on the values of educating oneself on the issues of the day and voting intelligently using the faculties of ones own mind. This of course is in direct opposition to catching a few sound bites that sound good and makes you "feel good" about the false comparisons of the two major party candidates. All indications suggest that the 2012 vote will be a very close one. Barack Obama has never trailed Romney in head-to-head matchups with Romney over the past nine months. Obama currently holds a four-point
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Finnding the Right Tone, the Right Discussion, and the Right Answers... Is It Even Possible?

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Two Men Contemplating the Moon I was going to do a wrap up post on the carnage that occurred in Aurora Colorado last Friday. I was hoping to write something that might give way to maybe finding some rational and common ground for productive discussion. However, after seeing the obvious rancor and "it's our way or no way" comments from those of both views on firearms control, as well as the often groundless accusations being hurled back and forth I decided why bother. Our best hope really is to follow a Thomas Jefferson quote which says in part "Fix reason firmly in its seat...". I'm not holding out any chance this will happen and therefore I can find no reason to continue a discussion of the issue here. So I am posting a couple of links where the discussion has been on going and likely will continue for some time. My guess of course is the discussion will end in stalema
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Ayn Rand's Objectivist Ethics - Rational Self Interest...

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by: Les Carpenter Rational Nation USA Liberty -vs- Tyranny Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan to be his running mate has the left twisting themselves into knots in the early attempts to misrepresent Paul Ryan's intellect and ability. Not content to attack Ryan the lefties have determined to attack Ayn Rand as well. Rand is the author and philosopher that Ryan freely admits had a positive impact on his thinking with respect to governance and ethics. The reason the left has such obsessive fear (that borders on hatred) of Ayn Rand is she stands for individualism over collectivism, a limited and proper role for the federal government, and she vehemently denounced the very statism that the leftist power structure in America has grown to embrace and herald as proper government Just as the founding fathers of our democratic republic were classical liberals and enlightened thinkers, Ayn Rand embraced, and advocated classical liberalism. Modern liberals (liberal today means c
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