What Does it Take for a Man to Set Himself on Fire? A Look at the Horrific Death of Charles R. Ingram

 
What does it take for a man to set himself on fire?

Clearly it is much easier for somebody to take a bullet to the head or swallow a bottle of pills.

But 51-year-old veteran Charles R. Ingram recently decided to set himself on fire outside a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in New Jersey. Clearly he was willing to go through an agonizing, horrific death to make a statement about his treatment (or lack of treatment) by the US Veterans Administration. The VA is supposed serve Veterans and help them receive medical treatment.

Almost 2 years ago it was revealed that a Veterans Health Administration in Phoenix was keeping a secret list that allowed people to die by creating lengthy appointment times for treatment of Veterans.

...Despite investigations pointing to widespread mismanagement, the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, the installation of his successor, Robert McDonald, and the passage of a $16-billion law that promised to expand care and make it easier to fire errant employees, little has changed for veterans still forced to wait for months for care...(source: USA News.com)

Here in the US, we give lip service to our Veterans. When they were sent off to fight in the Afghanistan and the Iraq War, most people were cheering them on and tying yellow ribbons on trees. But after years and years of wars that required endless occupation, Americans became used to war. When Veterans were brought home in caskets or as paraplegics, the media turned a blind eye to the horror. Now Americans muster a "thanks for your service" and somehow believe that helps the Veteran cope with the post traumatic stress disorder, the physical ailments, the economic hardships, the alcohol and drug addictions, and the other hardships serving in wars brought them.

So here we are today. Trillions of dollars spent on unnecessary wars that continue, deaths and injuries of Iraqis, Afghanis, Libyans, and Syrians add up to millions of people, well over one hundred thousand mental and physical injuries and deaths of our own soldiers, and civil wars that rage throughout the region, a plethora of terrorist armies in the Middle East not only attacking each other and the governments there but also hitting at the heart of Europe, and mass waves of desperate refugees being forced to leave their homelands.

All of this horror we see arose from the actions of war criminals (like Bush, Cheney, Blair, Rumsfeld, and others). Those war criminals live in wealth and ease and claim to have no regrets for their dishonor and lies. Sure there were millions of people throughout the US and Europe that tried to stop the attacks and invasions, but their protests made no difference. The Military Industrial Complex wanted the oil and the control of the Middle East. Their wants became our nightmare.

So Charles R. Ingram gave his life in a horrific fashion to call attention to the way Veterans are treated. But he gave his life long ago when he went off to service, not knowing how little care his own government had for him and those like him.

Rest in Peace Mr. Ingram. Your death has not gone unnoticed.

Grant

Choose Compassionate Eating: Farm Animals No More Deserving to be Eaten than your Pets

In some countries dogs are bred to eat. Here in America, we have this distinction between the sanctity of a dog's life as compared to other animals, like those we like to eat (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.,). But are dogs any more precious than the other animals that we choose to eat?

The answer is no.

It is just that we believe some animals are worth caring about but others are not.

Cows are beautiful animals and can and should be treated humanely. But then all animals should be treated that way, especially the human animal. Compassion is not something that should be given to some and withheld from others. Compassion heals, eases suffering, and makes life better for all the life of the planet.

We can choose to turn a blind eye to the massive suffering and extermination of farm animals because we enjoy eating them. But next time you sit down to a hamburger, think whether that animal was any more deserving of its horrific fate than your pet dog.

Compassion is not only a way of life, but also a way of eating.

Grant

Wealthy Political Donor Wants All His Money Back

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BOSTON, Mass--The news for super wealthy donors that buy elections hasn't been good.

So far, donors have funneled more than $520 million collectively into campaigns and outside groups supporting Republican presidential candidates who have now dropped out — and the primaries are far from over. Source Time.com

One political donor, Jack Swanson President and CEO of Spew Chemical, is outraged.


"I put all my money on Jeb and he turned out to be a dud. The guy couldn't get arrested. Then I put more millions into Marco and that loser turned into a comedian on the campaign trail." Swanson said in an exclusive interview yesterday.

"So now", Swanson continued,"They are telling me to throw more money at Hillary and Cruz. But I spent several millions already and all I get is a thank you."

Swanson said he had been investing a lot of money into the 2016 presidential bid since he wants to make sure his business interests are protected. He expressed a great deal of annoyance that he has blown millions on losers and that means his operations may not be protected by the next President.

"Look there may be a chance that we get a President that might actually demand meaningful regulations and  environmental protections. This would cut into our profits. We might not be able to get away with producing and dumping dangerous carcinogens into the environment. I have been paying a fortune to make sure that doesn't happen"

"But I am getting tired of losing money. I want my money back!" Swanson declared.

So now he is asking that those political action committees and campaigns that he has contributed to give him his money back.

"Look this was supposed to be a sure thing. I am not a gambler. Now with this Trump clown there are no sure things." Swanson lamented.

Political Correspondent Chino Idiota


 

Humanity's Insanity--Dark Instincts and Forces

Closeup of a human skull. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Humans are largely a violent and aggressive animal. This is largely an evolutionary adaptation where social animals needed to band together to survive brutish environments and other aggressive animals (like other humans). Still you would think with enough nukes to destroy much of the life on the planet as well as to kill every human, people would decide that it might be a good idea to slow down the military industrial killing machine. Instead, humans continue to invest obscene amounts of money into killing each other and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Around the world there are a billion hungry people. Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day and there are 22,000 children dying each day due to extreme poverty. So with most of the people of the world claiming to believe in God and belonging to some religion  that promotes peace and love, then you would think that the top priority would be helping the needy and making sure all people have enough to eat. You might think that but if you did you would be wrong because our top priority is killing people and controlling resources for the power and profit of an elite few.

So with one American B-2 Stealth bomber costing $2.4 billion, you can see where the priority is. In fact, the world's military expenditure in 2012 is estimated to be close to $1.8 trillion with those humane Americans spending about half of that amount in supporting their military industrial complex. The banking financial elite that control most of the world are making sure that their interests are protected and their power and wealth continue to grow through military might. But these are just a handful of people.

So what can we say about the rest of the world's 7 billion people?

Why would the people of the world allow this obscene expenditure on weapons that benefit nobody but the very few elite and a power structure that owns them?

People, sadly, are ignorant to the point of being insane. They allow themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries to be raped of resources and human dignity because their owners (the financial ruling elite) scare them and confuse them into supporting a massive weapons industry while many of them are hungry and impoverished. The ruling elite not only use humanity's innate violence and aggressiveness but they also use their fear and ignorance to justify an insane system of death and destruction. The weapons industry will continue to grow while the people of the world will continue to grow in their hunger and poverty.

The weapons industry is not only cheating people of the world out of any type of a decent life, it is killing them as if their lives were completely worthless. The US alone has killed an estimated 20 to 30 million people since World War II in conflicts around the world. The horror of millions upon millions of deaths brought to you by the merchants of death, the weapons industry, will continue and their is likely no end to it.

But the success of this killing machine could likely be its downfall. It may be that people will become so used to the massive worldwide human slaughter that nuclear war will seem as a necessary progression. The insanity of humanity is that we may blow each other up before we even have a chance to go extinct through a likely eco-collapse.

Haman beings could choose to feed the people of the planet and care for each other. But judging from what has been happening, that is not likely to occur any time soon. Unfortunately the odds are that humans will continue to fuel a weapons industry with their blood and what little money they have. This is an insane choice but humans are creatures often moved by dark instincts and forces.

Grant



 

Conservative Think Tank Declares Not Enough American Children are Going Hungry

 

Washington, DC--A conservative think tank, Prosperity for a Prosperous America, proclaimed yesterday
that not enough children in America are going hungry. In a press release, the think tank blamed the current lack of American global competitiveness on Americans not having to work for 3rd world wages.

Dr. Charles Chewie, President of Prosperity for a Proserous America, said in that press release that in the United States companies have to pay Americans at least a minimum wage and it is cutting at least a few cents into corporate profits.

"In the US, Corporations are already stretched thin. A few cents adds up and it can mean the difference between a CEO making 100 million or 99 million a year. This is an outrage!" Chewie said.

"Greedy American workers that want to have food for their families are a big problem. How can you have prosperity for America when American children are not as hungry as those in Bangladesh or some other really competitive nation"

"The fact that 1 in 4 children live in poverty in the US but in other competitive countries, like the Dominican Republic, a lot more children live in poverty means that the US is not as prosperous as we should be." Chewie said.

Prosperity for a Prosperous America  believes that if Americans could move past their own greed then they would accept a much higher hunger and poverty rate for children as well as adults.

"We have to educate Americans, and it starts with children, that they shouldn't expect something to eat every day. This is a crazy notion that started with greedy social reformers trying to make sure that Americans were not starving. That is a backwards notion and not in keeping with global competitiveness" Chewie was quoted as saying.

The conservative think tank declared that hunger is just a mindset and people don't need as much food as they think.

"Selfish people concerned about themselves and their families having enough to eat is killing American competitiveness and we all know that a competitive America is a prosperous America," Chewie said.

Reporter Chino Idiota

Why I Would Never Vote For Hillary Clinton

Official portrait of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sadly, it is almost certain Hillary Clinton will get the Democratic Nomination. It is likely that Trump will get the Republican Nomination. So you say, "choose the lesser of 2 evils". But that is a game in which whatever candidate you choose, you lose. So I gave up that game a long time ago.

If Hillary gets elected President she will do just as her husband did and attack the very base that helped elect her. She will, in the interest of bipartisanship, further promote privatization and corporate subsidies and protections at the expense of the American people. In short, Hillary is a Corporate NeoLib Democrat and that spells bad news for what is left of the Middle Class along with the working class, the working poor, the poor, women, blacks, Latinos, and just about anybody not a part of the ruling Elite.

Hillary will reform Social Security by extending the age requirements, privatizing much of it while reducing benefits. She will also continue with the privatization of schools, which means that children in America will get an ever worsening substandard education (as we see with Charter Schools).

The Financial Class will continue to prey on the rest of America and Hillary will be there to protect their interests. Cities will continue to crumble and America's infrastructure will collapse. Disasters like Flint, Michigan will be common. Students will continue to mortgage their future on student loans that will keep them working as credit serfs throughout their lives. Medical expenses along with insurance premiums will continue to sky rocket, meaning that an American with insurance coverage will continue to go bankrupt when they get sick. Trade deals that are only good for corporations and not for any country will continue. Endless wars will continue to be fought to keep the New World Order operating.

Hillary will offer some feel good programs, just like her husband did, that will benefit virtually nobody and they will call that progressive

But what if a Republican gets elected?

Probably it will be less worse because at least with a Republican President there will be some opposition from progressives and Democrats. But with Hillary, we will get the Democrats and Republicans working together to destroy our social safety nets and what is left of a functioning American society.

So vote the lesser of 2 evils and get evil. For me, I don't play that game.

Grant

What Happens After We Die Depends on What Happened While We Were Here

People act as if they will be here on earth forever. But in reality we are just a heart beat away from transitioning to other realms. Where we end up depends on what type of person we are in this life.



Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Lawrence

 In life, you can tell a lot about a person by looking at what he or she has around them, who they associate with, what they hold dear, and what their attitudes are towards themselves and others. In death all of these things pass away, but those things arose out of a certain consciousness that people have developed throughout many lives. This consciousness will determine where they end up when they pass from this life.

So if you want to know what life will be like when you die, just ask yourself what life is like for you now.

If you have developed a consciousness of compassion and understanding then your life is unfolding in a way that is a blessing to others and to yourself. That doesn't mean that your life is not difficult and full of challenges and suffering. But it does mean that you are living a meaningful and courageous life focused on doing the best you can for yourself and others under whatever circumstance. When such a caring and wise person passes from this life to another, they will have an experience based on their highly developed consciousness. Their next life will be in some particular realm of Love where advanced beings associate with each other and teach and encourage each other.

For those with a narrow perspective based a consciousness of selfishness, greed, and ignorance. They will pass into other realms suited for their particular development. These desire realms are seemingly endless and they are full of frustration and sometimes even intense suffering. Sometimes people are so attached to our earthly realm that they stay connected to this level of existence and it is difficult for them to transition further.

But sooner or later we all transition from one realm to another based on whatever level of consciousness we have attained over time. As long as we live as separate beings and have not recognized our true Being, or God Self, then the transitions are inevitable and the realms of individual existence are endless.

Grant