My rant on the real problem - read this link first

Here I was thinking that I would like to do some writing and then along comes this article and "Sha-bam" - I have a lot to say. :)

Do you realize the incredible connection between the coming retirement fund crisis in North America and the Occupy movement?

Do you realize that there is a strategy to "change the story" as the public relations professionals would call it?

Many of you have no concern with the quietly on-going, but raging battle between Bay Street, Government and Workers regarding retirement savings and pensions.

You wouldn't be aware that just a couple of years ago a court decision allowed pension plan managers to shift from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution pensions. You probably don't even know what that means...

Heck most of you who read my blog are so young you think retirement thinking is nutty.

But let me speak to your needs?

snicker... snicker... Am I creating power?

In about 20 years, there will be over 6 million new retirees in Canada (20% of our population) who will be living off the public purse in the form of Old Age Security - maybe $600 per month, Canada Pensions Plan - maybe $1000 per month and then whatever savings they have.

There is not enough money in the government's savings account to cover all this cost and the government doesn't want to increase taxes to get the money in the account because to increase taxes would get them ousted from power. Heck, it could cause a revolution.

Anyway, it shouldn't come from taxes. It should come from those who benefited from the work of those retired Canadians. But I am getting ahead of my self...

What it means is that you young people will have increased taxes as well as a legal obligation to support your parents when they don't have enough money to live on each month.

You and I both know that living on $2,000 a month is a bitch. Rent payment, car and insurance payment and then what's left? Enough for the minimum payment on your constantly growing VISA card balance and some Kraft dinner. This of course is the fast track to bankruptcy. You see this coming, but rather than worry that you don't know what to do, you buy a new pair of shoes - go out for a drink - watch a little NFL/NHL/MLB/MMA and do your best to ignore it.

Then along comes the Occupy folks who say that the economic system, as it is being managed by a greedy few and an enabling government, is not working and it is pointed at collapse. The folks in the tents are unclear about how to fix it because the system is so complex.
Our system has so many layers and twists that the average person cannot easily understand exactly how the subprime mortgage crisis raped a trillion dollars from tax payers because Wall Street managers were greedy and stupid ( I emphasize stupid cause that's what they are ) But they were smart enough to have government in their pockets and as such got the money that they lost back by taking it from taxpayers with the false threat that if they didn't get that money everyone would be broke, not just them.

Disassembling our system will be hard and people will scream nasty names like communist and socialist. The name callers are like the idiots who would shout "fire" in a theatre. They want to distract you from the truth.

There is nothing socialist in demanding that those who take risks seeking high rewards bear the burden of the losses from the risks. They sure want you to let them exclusively enjoy the benefits. To share the benefits is communist. Same goes for losses. There has been nothing more communist in our society than making the taxpayers pay for the last round of Wall Street losses.

So in the true capitalist spirit, let those capitalists bear the risks and losses as well.

But my point is that they want you to change the story.

People are not sure where they stand on the Occupy folks.

Long haired, dope smoking, anti establishment, whiney, I don't fit in, cry babies.

On the other hand, gutsy, fair minded, compassionate, human-oriented, future seers who are doing their best to say that we don't have solutions, but you gotta be asleep at the wheel to not know we are pointed at a wall. All of this with a true desire to see everyone happy - not just a few.

But mayors are getting pressure from businesses and banks to get the tents down and the people moving along. Why?

Because the press have now asked them - "What do you want?" And many of us are interested in their answer.

By listening we have found out that some of them are intelligent and articulate and have something very important and meaningful to say.

So quick change the story.


And if at all possible turn these people on each other.

So now we are discussing pension plans and the lack of retirement savings and the crisis that comes upon us starting this year when the first Baby Boomers (8 million Canadians) turn 65.

Now, the question is, How can we blame that on those people themselves?

Well, we could say that people have failed to save enough for their retirement.

Oops - that won't work. They did save enough.

But the bankers were too busy trying to maximize their own accounts and they drove us into the worst recession in history and an enormous 30% loss of all retirement savings accounts being managed by them on behalf of all those people who did save enough money.

In fact, they screwed it up so bad that we just gave the corporations a bank bail out, a car industry bailout, constant subsidies to the oil businesses to create the oil sands project, just to name a few. Then, to top it off, we spent our wad going abroad to seize the oil reserves of other countries on behalf of oil companies. All of this is paid for by - tax payers. Who gets the profits from such mind boggling expenditures?

Business Corporations – because, after all, this sham of a communist state calls it self capitalism.

Wait we are not done - Now that we have spent trillions of tax dollars to help senior managers of corporations get rich, what about the little they might pay back in taxes? Nope. We gave corporations a tax reduction!

Then we do the unthinkable - we let the 38% of Canadians who are covered by a defined benefit pension plan get screwed.

So let's explain that one...

A defined benefit pension is an investment program created through the bargaining between employers and employees. They agree that part of their pay will be by putting a few hundred dollars each paycheck in an account that will be invested for their future. The employer and the employee each put in the same amount of money.

But it is all part of the compensation the employees bargained for. They knew they didn't have the resources or wherewithal to create a plan to ensure they have money for all of their life - including the time they can no longer work. So they planned ahead and got the employer onside.

That was back in the day when employers acknowledged that the workers best interests coincided with their own.

For example I work at the college with a DB Pension plan. Every paycheck they take over $400 out of my pay. They also take $400 of college money and contribute the total to the pension plan. In exchange I have a contract that says when I hit 65 I am entitled to be paid a fixed sum of money every month for the rest of my life. That sum is determined by how many years I worked and contributed to the plan and how much I was getting paid during the last five years I worked.

The plan is managed and when it is done right - as in the case of school teachers and college professors- there is lots of money to cover it and there will be lots of money as long as there is a public school or college system.

This is genius in my opinion. And we did live in the greatest country in the world because almost 40% of our population had access to such a plan.

But then greed kicked in.

Economic times go up and down. So some years the businesses make lots of money and making their pension contributions is easy. Some years they don't and so making those contributions is an expense they want to dodge.

So they go to court and argue that there is lots of money in the plan. Maybe this year we shouldn't have to honor our contractual obligations to our employees. May be we can short change their paychecks for a while. After all it’s for their own good - keep the company alive and all that. So they get "contribution holidays." And since courts and government represent only the corporate class in society they agree to this.

How can I be so bold in my words and so hard on courts and government?

Because fairness means you could reverse the roles in the facts and still come to the same result. Would the courts have allowed the workers to say - Look, the company is making lots of money and right now our children need more of our time so we can raise them right. So let us take 3 hours a week off, get paid the same amount of money, and let the employers take care of them selves for a little while.

Not in this universe.

But it gets better. Since the courts bought the whole contribution holiday thing, corporations went back and said. Guess what? The pension plans have so much money in them and the stock market is doing so well, that when we calculate the projected demands on the pension fund, we have discovered there is a surplus. There is more money there than we will need when the time comes to pay pensions. So rather than be sensible and expect that the markets go down as easy as they go up, or remember that it isn't the corporation's money it is the workers' money and they should decide what to do with it (pay bigger pensions maybe?) The Courts said “Ya sure, you corporations can take some of the money back out again.”

Then it's 1990 the market tanks never to come back, the pension funds are underfunded and everyone who has eyes focused on the future is freaked out. But we still have 20 years to fix this before the all the pensions have to be paid.

We can fix this. So how do we fix it? Do we put the money back in? Do we create more DB plans so everyone can have a safe retirement and keep the economy rolling?

No.

We decide that defined benefit pensions are ill conceived. We should have Defined Contribution pensions. That is, we agree how much money goes in but we make no promise as to how much should come out. And back to the courts we go because we know they are on our side

And the court agrees to let them change half of those defined benefit plans into defined contribution plans. Now workers, some who have worked under a contract for decades that provided them a DB plan have had the DB plan taken and then replaced with an inadequate program because their business partner, a corporation that employed them, didn’t pay their share, mismanaged their share, mismanaged the business, took big bonuses for managers who quite obviously didn’t earn them, took some of the money back to try to fix those mistakes and now can’t keep its original promise ( although that employee honored his or her promise every day for 30 years.)

But we will let them off the hook. After all we are capitalists. I mean communists. No wait which is which again?

But who goes on the hook then? Taxpayers – because the workers aren’t going to die. But they can’t work and they have to be taken care of.

Feeling scared and lost we turn to government. They are there for the people right?

Not so much.

This brings us to this most idiotic article in which a writer suggests that the problem is that government has allowed some people to have a great retirement (DB Pension Plan people) and not helped the others who can’t have a good retirement (people who simply saved for retirement) and so let’s blame the government’s errors and make the poor retirees blame the just-barely-surviving retirees rather than focus the blame where it belongs - on a dysfunctional corporate-run, non-capitalist non-democracy.

I love capitalism and I love democracy. I hate liars and greedy cheats. And I hate stupid people in the press who manipulate the truth so that some big fat hateful mayor (make no mistake this man hates half of the people he claims to serve) can clear a park that mostly street people use.

The obvious answer to the problem this writer says he is concerned with, is to have more DB plans. Not fewer. Or limits on them.

Cause anyone who knows anything about economics knows that the best future we can all have is to have as much disposable income as possible in the hands of consumers so they can spend it and create demand and jobs and surpluses.

Come on, are you daft? Having a retirement fund limit is crazy. Why would you want to create a market where people can’t have a lot of money to spend?

Whether you call it a pension plan, pension savings or a managed estate, it is all wealth and I thought we believed in capitalism because it was supposed to give every one the chance to be wealthy.

But no – let’s suggest that the problem is that some people have it too good. But not the people with all the money – the famous 1% - no, lets focus on the part of the 99% who have more than the others. After all our obligation is be poor like everyone else.

The problem cannot be in the history and corruption in government and corporations since the inception of this brilliant idea of a DB Pension Plan. The problem must be that everyone didn’t roll over and let their retirement savings get stripped away from them by a stupid, greedy, shortsighted and narrow minded elitist corpretocracy.

We all thought the government would take care of us.

Well good morning in the real world.

The Occupy people might not know why they matter. They might not know what they want. But at least they know the system is screwed and something has to be done. Stop kicking at them and start kicking at the system that created this mess over the past 40 years.

Keep the tents. Maybe they will remind us that the system is for the people and by the people and not for an elite who want to use the people.

And maybe the poor retired people can live in them when they are broke.

whooo- that was a long one - what do you think?

Do you want an experience of power?

Woke up this morning, turned on my facebook.
Radz gave me a link - and I took a look.
The information there caused me to pause.
My thinking stopped and my soul was raised up.
I realized true power lies in changing thought.
It's in seeing a choice that we are free.
Then all we need to do is make that choice.
If you want to have real power today,
Ask someone a question that leads them to
Choice.

And then watch out :)

Thanks Radz

Check it out

Power dynamics in our Air Canada Occupied World

Check it out.

We have chosen to create a free market economy as the base for our social system.

There are lots of other choices we could have made. This is not a bad one. I like the promotion of freedom that is an inherent part of our system. It is the ability for people to choose their own priorities that I love. People can decide if they are more interested in money or in meaning. Family or work. Art or functionality. Materially rich or spiritually rich.

You are free to pursue either one.

If people are supported by this system so that we are properly educated, physically healthy, well fed, protected from the elements and given opportunities to pursue happiness, then the system works and is as good as any other.

I see how the incentive of wealth can be a useful motivator for the development of a social life. I see how the freedom to offer products and services to a market that is free to choose the ones that improve their life, can work to create a package of activites and belongings that helps us to be happy.

But there is the rub. The system only works when there is choice.

The system does not work when some people are more free than others.

The flight attendants are free to say, "We withdraw our work from your business Air Canada because you are making changes to our compensation and future opportunities that we do not like. We want a specific salary. We want all our people to make good wages. We want discount airlines to pay their people what we consider to be a fair rate. We are free to withhold our work as our only mechanism of power. We have nothing else that you want, so this is our only ability to force you to bargain. We are free to do this."

The Airlines can say, "This is a lousy business to be in. This is an industry without "good" profits. We need to cut costs everywhere if we are to have profits. The largest costs are fuel and people. We need to save money on people. We are going to make changes you will not like but it is so we can make better profits."

Then the two oposing forces can see who needs the other more. They can allow the power dynamic to play itself out. We will see a solution in time because the both the Airline and the Flight Attendants need each other.

But the system gets all wonky when the one aspect of our system - the government - takes sides.

It gets even wonky-er when that government has decided that when labour and management disagree they will always take the side of the management.

It gets down right stupid when we realize that government owns part of the Airline. If this power dynamic does not end the way we want the government could be expected to pay for the losses when the business is not profitable.

The system becomes corrupt when those people in government, to whom we have given the authority to make decisions for our mutual benefit, decide to tell lies (calling a flight attendant an essential service and therefore they should have no free right to bargain by withdrawing their work) so that the government (that has already made its allegiances clear) supports only the interests of management and government.

When a third party steps into a power dynamic and takes away one of the player's power mechanisms the power dynamic changes.

I can live with our system when it is played fair.

So I chose to be a third party involved in this dynamic as well. I hereby refuse to fly with Air Canada (which has always been my carrier of choice) until they bargain fairly and freely.

This is what the occupy movement is really about - fighting against the way the system is operating. Today, all around the world, government alligns with business and their pursuit of record profits rather than the people.

They have forgotten that this system was a choice we made because we thought it was a path to freedom and the road to prosperity for all.

It has been hijacked by greedy people.

Society is about people not business. Free market business is a system we chose because - when played fairly and freely - it is a good social system.

I choose to occupy my world because I want the people to thrive.

And - to be honest - because I hate greedy bullies.

What do you think?

Occupy your world and express your needs

Check it out.



People.
People being people.

We have needs. Our needs are not being met. So we are acting to make changes.

Power is the result of needs and abilities.

We all have the need to be in a world where each of us have the chance to thrive and fulfill our dreams.

We need education, medicine, food, water, shelter and protection to thrive.

In an attempt to get rich and have power, our leaders in the government, banks and corporations have made all these things you need available only if you pay for them by working for them at rates that allow them to have record profits. If you won't, then they will take that work to places and people who will.

Your other choice is to borrow. Borrow a lot. Borrow as much as your income will allow you to pay each month. Debt lasts seemingly forever and interest makes a small number of those leaders richer and more powerful.

People have had enough of this.

People have had enough of the people - incompetent and arrogant mismanagers - who would take such a large share of the profit that the banks and corporations need to be bailed out by your tax dollars.

People have had enough of people in government that have neither the courage, nor the integrity, to see this is wrong - to see the ridiculously obvious flaw in this system and to whom the money is going.

People are aware that government is not doing the job it was intended for. Government is there to lead our society. To guide people toward that thriving life. To protect the people from corruption and exploitation.

Government is not there for the purpose of squeezing more tax dollars from them to feed a selfish, narrow-minded, greedy and misguided elite.

But banks, corporations and governments are made up of people who believe in power. They believe it is possible for one person to be more important - more worthy - than another. They are flawed people. They do not understand the inherent error in their thinking.

The truth?
People are one.
People are to be loved in the truest sense.
People are not here to be used by other people to try to have more.

This system could work. If we accepted the truth about our oneness.

It is not the system that has flaws. It is the people in the system that are flawed.

In the end the banks, corporations and governments are people.
And people have needs.
And needs are the source of power.

The people of the banks, corporations and governments need people to shut up, do what they are told and remain powerless.

Today people said we are not powerless.
Today people said we will give you what you need when you give us back what we need.

Today we have a power dynamic.

A beautifully balanced power dynamic that could take us back to living in a land of equality, freedom, peace and the pursuit of happiness.

Unfortunately, people would rather have power.

God bless us all.

Lies as power mechanisms

Power is about choice.


We control, influence or seduce a choice by creating an emotion in the subject. They are emotions of anger, excitement or – most effective of all – fear.

Choices are made with information.

If the information creates fear, the choices are obvious.

However, information can be manipulated or even fabricated. It can be selectively shared or withheld.

We usually call any manipulation of the truth a lie, partial truth or deception.

People who get other people to help them tell a lie fit the classic definition of conspiracy.
It is funny however, that we attack those who attack systematic deceptions as conspiracy theorists.

Whatever I say, I encourage you to examine the ideas for yourself. Don't accept my words. Do your homework and formulate your opinion.

Some people call me a nut.
However those people are so busy trying to protect their fears that they don't take the time to conduct their own research to find the truth. They are incapable of critical thinking and so I don't really have any respect for the opinions of those people. Their insults don't hurt.

Mostly I feel sorry for them. We are all people walking the path. Trying to find our way through this human experience. Trying to find happiness. Trying to make our way back to oneness.

We suffer and we do whatever we can to avoid the suffering.
So from time to time, when the suffering is too great, we will believe a lie.

It`s easier. It`s safer. It`s simpler.

Lies are a mechanism of power. They work because they fulfill a need - just like any mechanism of power.
The source of all power is the need of the subject.
When it comes to the lies about 9-11 we believe them because we want to. Because we need to think our government, and the people in it, are honest and care about us. We need to think that we will be ok and that no one would really manipulate everyone so badly just to get what they want - just to make money.
Unfortunately, the only thing necessary for a lie to work is that people want to believe it.
I have read through the 9-11 Report. I have seen the news reporting. I have watched the videos produced by many people who want truth and who are trying to create the truth. I have read many books.
Here is what I know.

Private companies and their owners make a lot of money when a country is in a state of war. They make the money by building weaponry.

From the 1950’s to the 1990’s we lived in a constant state of fear. Fear of the Soviet Union’s world domination agenda. Our governments had no trouble getting us to spend vast amounts of money on military build up and nuclear weapons. These were built by private profit oriented corporations – not government personnel. Those private firms made a lot of money.

By 1990 the Soviet Union had fallen. So we created the threat of Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction. That kept our fear going. It kept the weaponry business employed.

But the UN searched and searched Iraq and found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

Then in the early summer of 2001 the US Congress did the unthinkable. They told us we did not need to be afraid anymore. They told the manufacturers of weapons that we did not need a Missile Shield system and the shut down the production of a hundred billion dollar contract.

Then terrorist planes hit the WTC and other “targets.”

We are afraid again.

Now we have two wars – one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.

And now ten years later, after trillions spent on defense, the US government is in so much debt, no one thinks it will ever get out of it.

Other things I know:

The Al Qaida and the Taliban are extensions and successors of the Mojahedin. They were a guerrilla organization started in Iran and Afghanistan to fight against the Soviets after they invaded Afghanistan in 1979. They were armed by the US by sneaking weapons in through Iran. They were trained by US military in camps around the world. This is common knowledge.

George Bush Sr. was the subject of an assassination attempt by Iraqi personnel when he was visiting the “newly freed” Kuwait after the first Gulf War. This is common knowledge.

The Bush’s and the Bin Laden’s are long connected. This is common knowledge.

There were three buildings that collapsed on 9-11. World Trade Centre buildings 1 and 2 which everyone saw fall. Also WTC 7 collapsed . Of course it is said that it fell due to the spreading of the fire from 1 and 2. However that fire spread very curiously because it went right over WTC 6 which only experienced partial collapse and damage. These are pictures from FOX news. They are common knowledge.

Thousands of architects and engineers agree that the collapse of the three buildings could not have been caused by the planes. Moreover, the collapses look exactly like planned demolitions. This organization has been around a long time and their science is common knowledge.

Many people have alleged that President Bush knew of this event before it happened. No formal investigation has been conducted and the family members of the deceased have asked many times. This is common knowledge.

Richard Clarke, who was the White House Counter Terrorism advisor under four different presidents, has stated clearly in his book, that Bush was warned, that Bush was told that there was no connection between Al Qaida and Iraq and that Bush told him to make a connection somehow so he could justify a war with Iraq. This book was a best seller.

Outside the Pentagon there was no wreckage of a 757. No bodies. Not even a reliable piece of the supposed plane. Many people of the press have said that the hole is too small to be a plane of any size. Look at the photographs your self.

There is a lot more information and allegation out there. But I offer only information that is well known and is proven fact.My answer to the cynics who call us conspiracy theorists - I dare you to try to prove to me that your version of the story is true. Use facts and pictures and prove you are right.


Every year I am upset by the continuing lie of 9-11 and the willingness of the public to believe the lies.
Planes crashed into buildings and people died. For this we need to grieve.

How and why it happened has not been established yet. For this we should grieve as well.

The western world economies are in chaos because of the enormous borrowed spending on wars and defence. For our lost future we should also grieve.

Lies are mechanisms of power. Lies can control, influence or seduce the choices we make. Lies exploit our needs to our detriment and pain.

Lies should never be tolerated.

A Little Misdirection...

Power isn't magic. But we use a little misdirection to keep people thinking it is.

If we really want to understand the dynamics of power – the way we get others to choose to do, say or think what we want them to do, say or think – we need to shift our attention from the Actor to the Subject.


There is a common myth about power that keeps many of us living as Subjects.

People are powerful.

This isn’t so. It is myth. I call it myth because it is an ancient belief that we use to explain what we do not understand.

The real problem with this myth is that it leads us to misunderstand the whole process of control, influence or seduction. It points us in the wrong direction. It causes us to focus on the Actor thinking that there is something about them that is inherently powerful.

People do not have power. It is not something you can have. It is something that you use.

People use power. Some people are good at using it. Some people understand it and use it on a regular basis. But when they use it, their focus is not on themselves. Their focus is on the Subject. The Actor recognizes something in the Subject.

So…we ask …What do they recognize?

Need.

They recognize that the Subject has a requirement, a desire or an attachment.

It is true that people who use power have something. But it is not power per se. It is an ability to use something to help or hinder that need that they recognize in the Subject.

That ability might be the ability to use money, or authority, or physical strength.

But it does not matter what the Actor has the ability to use, unless the Subject has a need that can be helped or hindered by that ability.

The Actor has no power unless needs are recognized in the Subject and the Actor has an ability to address that need.

The source of power is not money, authority or brute strength. The Source of power is need.

You can’t bribe a rich man.

The power does not reside in the Actor. It resides in the need of the Subject.

We would miss this if we were to always focus on the Actor as a “powerful person.”

Ignore the myth and shift your focus.

Shift your focus and see through the misdirection. You will discover the source of all power: the need in the Subject.

Needs

The source of power is need.

The requirements, desires and attachments we all feel everyday.

The number of needs we have as people livivng in this physical world is enormous.

The limitless ways these needs get expressed and satisfied makes almost anything a potential mechanism of power.

I think belonging and self esteem needs are some of the most confusing and effective needs to create influence and control. The opportunity to fit in can be very seductive.

We defend ourselves to gain approval and acceptance. We fight and resist each other to be allowed to be "ourself" - whatever that means...

But our need to fit in is an easy target for those who would have power.

Can it be overcome?

Check out this article...

Let me know what you think.

I was having breakfast with Al yesterday morning.
As always, we talked about "big things" in our attempt to understand and then fix the world.  :)

We talked about how the internet is a necessary part of any business. How your life is being lived in a very exposed way. How every aspect of your life is available to the public and how that lack of anonymity can be both good and bad.

We discussed the way the frivolous use of social media is making government and conservatives want to limit and regulate the web. How the glib use of insult and spreading of uncorroborrated information can ruin someone in a flash. And...how the quick exposure of talent or ideas can make someone big just as fast.

Government has been wanting to get their hands on the massive data base google has about people behaviours on the web and their search habits - what they are looking for and what kind of human characteristics/demographics allign with certain search interests.

I noticed recently how facebook changed its functionality so that you can no longer communicate with all your friends in one note. Now you can only access 10 friends at a time. With an average of 500 friends, it takes a long time to get to all of them.

What if the message is important?

Why would they do this?

Maybe this is good - because it makes people responsible for their words.

Or maybe it is bad because limiting communication encourages the status quo.

It depends on what you want to accomplish-
It depends on the choices you want people to make.
How can anyone make any choice without information?
Information is the most insidious of the power mechanisms.

I spent my morning today preparing to speak to the Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes Builders Association on Thursday night. My topic - 30 Questions in 30 Minutes about Marketing and Social Media. It should be fun.

I have been consuming as much info as possible about social media and its impact.

When I saw this article I thought it should be shared.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

TFTD

It is way too easy to make a difference.
Even in an election.

You would think that an old cynical guy lke myself would be more "realistic" about the value of a vote.

I know how our multi-party riding system works. I know how thousands of votes get lost in our elections. I know how minority points of view end up holding majority power in our parliament. I know how the ability to spend significant sums in media gives a candiate an advantage. I know where that money comes from. I know how the corporate interests work to lobby and support so the politicians are beholding to the CEOs and shareholders after they get into office.
 
I also know that there are better electoral systems being used around the world.

I know how the "old boys" want you to stay disinterested and out of the way. They want you to think you can't make a difference.


But I also know it is way too easy to make a difference. It may not be the deciding difference but it is a difference. Really, who can make a deciding difference in an election?

Tell me, which person's vote counts more than once?
Which person's vote gets counted if it is not cast?

The truth is, the value of a vote is just ONE. And nobody's vote counts for more than one (not in Canada anyway). And it is only counted when it is cast. The only reason we have the same old shit in government is because the people who want the same old shit vote and the people who do not want the same old shit don't vote.

It is that simple. It is not more complex than that.

And the people who want the same old shit are happy that you don't vote. That was the plan. Get you so disinterested that you won't vote.

Maybe if they dishearten you enough you might be tricked into thinking your vote won't count.

But that's irrational. Illogical. Incorrect.

Every vote counts. It can't not count. Impossible.

You say their vote cancels out yours. I say your vote cancels out theirs. But if you don't vote, they win.

What I know is that life is lived choice by choice. When you don't make a choice, someone else does it for you.

Power is about the control, influence or seduction of a choice.
If you feel angry, afraid or excited, there is power at play.
Do you feel angry about this election? Maybe a little scared?
If you feel like you can't vote because you are angry or afraid, well then someone is using power on you.

And if you don't vote, then their power dynamic succeeded.

True power is being able to make a choice regardless of the power against you.

This Thought For The Day was sent to me at Xmas time by a couple of power students.
It talks about the ability to make a difference.


TFTD


Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"

Clearing the air...

I haven’t blogged in a few days. Not sure why I haven’t. I guess I am reconsidering why I am doing this. Examining my goal. It’s fun and all that. I like writing. But I want this blog to be my gift to you and I want it to mean something.

My goal, you see, is not to promote power but to expose it. To reveal, to anyone with a desire to know what it really is, how it works. I think the world will change when we all start to see through it.

I know these ideas are not always well received. Some of you are resentful. You don’t like the premise that power is a crappy way of interacting with people. I am painting your dream in grey and black. I am suggesting that to seek power is to seek the ability to use peoples’ needs against them.

It’s like my CSR class on chocolate and how it is picked by little kids in West Africa who have been abandoned by their parents because they cannot afford to raise them. So the plantation owners buy the little kids and use them for labour.

Sure they feed them and at least they have someplace to sleep, but knowing this, your chocolate never tastes sweet again.

Power is the emotional manipulation of people by using their needs against them. Without need, there is no power. It may be successful. But it is a bitter kind of success.

I am not trying to help anyone lose or gain power. If you want it, have it. In the end you only need to experience it once - use it once - to know the truth of it.

It is a rush. A temporary feeling of superiority. If you are lucky it lasts a few days. For most of us however, it lasts about five minutes. Sometimes, after you use it, people start to look at you differently. That’s when the truth sets in.

I am not innocent. I know how to use it. I have used it well. That’s where my knowledge comes from. I still use it sometimes. Sometimes I can’t stop myself.

Because of my experience and my post-dynamic self-examination, I know where it leads and how empty it is in the end. We want it so bad and we hate it when others have it.

When others use it on us – especially those we love – we lose our ability to trust.

But the only reason exposing power is unpleasant, is because you have been convinced that it is the only way for you to have what you want and be happy. You think without power you will never get what you want or be who you want. You will never be happy.

The problem with my exposee is that I kill off your dream and leave you without a sexy alternative.

That’s because the alternative will not leave you feeling like you are better than others. You won’t feel like your life is better. Like you are smarter and more capable. Like you are superior.

The alternative will leave you feeling good - just not better than others.

I want to expose power but I also want to remind you of something you may have forgotten. I want to give you that reminder.

You are a child of the universe. A gifted, talented, capable and resilient being. You are god incarnate.

We are all a little bit lost. A little confused. But you are a creative, infinite well of love.

The beauty of the whole experience is figuring out how to have what we want while we help everyone else get what they want too. Figuring out what you want is not simple. But if we want that great symbiotic experience of compassion, we need to be clearer about what we want and how we should get it.

We have spent thousands of years seeking and using power. And if we look we can see how it works and what it gets us. It’s not pretty. If we don’t recognize that it is not pretty, we will just keep using it. We will continue to delude ourselves into thinking that world is better because the right people have and use power.

But it is not. You don’t have to look long or hard to see it ain’t working.

So I will keep pointing out the obvious and sounding like a broken record - going on about choice, needs, abilities and the experience of control, influence and seduction.

I won’t do it to wreck your dreams. I will do it so that the accomplishment of your dreams can be fulfilling in the truest sense. I will do it because deep in me, I have the hope – the sure belief – that we all want something more than just getting a little power.

We want light. We want joy. We want redemption. We want creation. We want to find our way to the greatest experience this life can offer – happiness.

I hope that, in the end, this blog helps.

Vote Mob

Where did the week go?
Monday I had fifteen ideas for blogs but I only got one in...
Too much marking and too little thinking.

So Lets' Think.

Let's start the week off with a little motivation.

Vote Mobs. Yup, Vote Mobs.

What the hell is that?

Check it out by clicking the title of the blog today. Or click here. I like that one.

Or check out a new website that came up this week.

It's called shitharperdid.ca
Yup, that's what it's called.

Power to the people.

Define the topic and you define the discussion

Did you know that the major cable/telco's want to change your internet billing from flat rate to usage based so the more you use the internet the more you pay?

What will happen to your phone bill / internet bill? Going to College/Uni demands that you have lots o' access and use of the internet - you can't get an education without it now.

But it's not just school - everything is going online.

Will you avoid websites like youtube because it costs too much to use?
What will happen to your facebook time?
What will happen to the design of web pages? Will they become lean and without color and animated content?
How often will you check your email?

Or will it be like gas and you get forced to pay more just because the cronies can get away with charging you on the basis of a lie.

Oil companies buy their oil years in advance.
And the infrastructure that makes internet possible was installed decades ago.

Now I am not saying to vote for anyone in particular. I don't care how you vote. I just want you to understand power and know how it is being used on you.

But I am saying that you can define the issues if you try.

Go to facebook and visit the Harper,  Iggy,  Layton pages and post the questions you have about this. If someone already asked the question then Like the question or add a comment.

Ya know, the majority of voters (over the age of 40) don't care because they don't live on the their phone and laptop. But you do. You should be defining the issues. Let them know you want an answer.

In today's world of internet communications you can define the issues. It is way too easy to make a difference.

BTW I get emails from many political parties - it may be spam, but it keeps me aware.
Here is the email I got from the Green Party today.

The Green Party is the first political party to support a bold new OpenMedia.ca public engagement initiative. OpenMedia is inviting Canadians to bring political attention to the online communications crisis in Canada that has been largely ignored during the election campaign. The organization is asking political candidates to pledge their support for the Internet.

"The Greens are proud to be the first party to announce support for OpenMedia's proposition," said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. "The internet is critical for modern day citizen engagement and an integral part of our economic competitiveness. The Greens pledge to adhere to OpenMedia's Stop the Meter campaign on Internet access. We are committed to enhancing broadband access, competition, transparency and choice."

A decade of neglecting the Internet regulatory issue is stifling Canada's economy, global competitiveness, free expression and Canadians' personal budgets.

"A vote for the Greens is also a vote in support of open and democratic Internet access in Canada" said Emma Jane Hogbin, the Green Party Science and Technology critic. "Vote Green – vote for the internet."

Visit http://openmedia.ca/ to learn more about the initiative.

I don't know if their's is the best idea. I haven't really checked. I will later.

I just know you want to know. You should know. And if you don't, you should ask.

So ask. Knowledge is the most important power mechanism.

Choice Between

Check out Rick's Rant...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=225Mx6ya7SQ

Now this might get a little confusing, but stick with me. I promise you will get it in the end.


Choice Between is not choice. Not really. Not in any meaningful way.

Power is about Choice. Or more precisely, Choice is the target of all power dynamics.

Remember our power fundamentals? Based on how it works, Power should be defined as:

The control, influence or seduction of a Choice by an Actor through the application of an ability to help or hinder a need (requirement, desire or attachment) in the Subject, creating a motivating emotional experience in the mind.

That’s where Choice takes place – in the mind. So that must be where Power takes place. Looking at the external conditions and the objects used for power is a distraction from the real process. If we want to change our response to power we have to stay focused.

Power is about Choice.

To have power is to have the ability to impact the Choices of others. To overcome power is to make that Choice without regard to the power dynamic being experienced.

When power is simple, the Actor stands before the Subject and somehow communicates to the Subject that they must choose X. They cannot choose Y.

The Subject wants to choose Y. The Actor wants the Subject to choose X. So using their ability to impact the Subject’s needs, they create an experience of control, influence or seduction in the Subject and in this way the Subject experiences power.

Choice did not go away. It may appear to have gone away because the Subject’s needs are very compelling. But the Choice is still there.

More importantly - the Subject is very aware that the Actor just used Power. When you know it is happening it seems a little fairer.

Some people call this Power Over. Steven Lukes calls it the first dimension of power. It is the ability to determine the answer to a question: Do you choose X or Y?

But there is more going on here. If we look harder we can see two levels of power are going on. Two levels of Choice.

The Choice between X and Y is not real Choice. It is Choice Between.

A talented Actor will know that there are more choices than X and Y. In fact, Choices range from A to Z. But if we exercise power over the potential options for selection within the question there is another level of power. The difference is that you may not be aware that a second level of power was in play.

No fair.

You didn’t realize that you could have considered A to Z. But the Actor got you to think the only options were X and Y. You know what else you didn't know? That in the end, both options are acceptable to the Actor. They just had a preference.

Hmmmmm…very effective power.

If there is another level of Choice being hidden or assumed, there is another level of Power going on.

Lukes might call it the second dimension of power.

Good power players always make sure that you only have Choice Between - never Real Choice. This is where it gets both insidious as well as ridiculous.

If you don’t realize there is another level of Choice that the Actor has hidden from you, then you certainly won’t recognize the power dynamic when it is before you. You may not understand why you are feeling increasingly angry or afraid. But somewhere in your psyche you know power is at work. When an Actor can limit what you perceive as your list of possible Choices, they are showing a real aptitude for Power.

Power is bad enough when you see it going on. It’s just plain twisted (insidious) when you can’t even spot it.

Of course the levels can go deeper.

If neither the Actor nor the Subject realize that options A to Z are not the only options. In fact, there may be multiple sets of options like 1 to 10, and red to violet, as well as A to Z. Now both the Actor and the Subject are the victims of some deeper level of power put in play by other Actors.

Now we are into the third dimension of power.

But the dimensions can go on and on.

If you can see that unlimited options are being narrowed question by question, layer by layer, level by level, choice by choice, you will see how power in our society works.

Choice Between.

So your parents wanted you to go to business school not art school. So they told you that you were going to choose between Business College X and Business College Y. They preferred Business College X so they told you that they would pay for it if you went to College X but won’t pay for it if you go to College Y.

Simple one dimensional power? Nope - layers and layers.

You see the power but accept it because you think you have Choice - you get to pick the college.

That’s illusion. It’s Choice Between.

Notice how there was never a question about whether or not you would choose between Biz College or Art College. Nor is there a choice between College and University.

That’s the second dimension. Choice between Choice Between.

But wait. There’s more.

You never even realized that all of this assumed that you were going to spend the next few years in post secondary. Ever wonder if you should get more education at all?

Yup – Choice between, choice between, Choice Between.

Geeze, what if you wanted to become a hermit and live in the wilderness of the Yukon?

Not even a question to be discussed.

Every time the question that supports the previous question is hidden behind another question so it can't be perceived, let alone considered, you have another level of power. Every time the list of options is reduced, there is another level of power in play. Everytime Choice is converted to Choice Between.

Good News? With each level of question you perceive, you get closer to Real Choice – not Choice Between. So ask Why? Why this? Why now? Why here? Why?

Confusing? Not really. Well maybe a bit.:)

It's just like when you think you could only choose between the political parties that are attending a debate. Choice Between.

But the truth is, there is more to that Choice. The levels go deeper when you recognize that even if we include the parties that are not in the debate, those are not your only choices. Choice Between Choice Between.

Nobody told you, (and you never considered) you had real Choice. Anything is possible. Hec, if you wanted you could change the election completely. You could change elections forever.

You could form a political party for people under the age of 30.

Call it the Bloc Youth.

You could run candidates in every riding. Cause young people are everywhere ya know.

You could raise millions of dollars by asking for only $5 each from the nearly 5 million Canadian voters under the age of 30. You don’t realize that you know how to reach them quickly and effectively. You could communicate with every one of them because they are on facebook like you. And with 25 million bucks you post a lot of video on youtube and facebook.

And you don’t realize they would listen to you. They are just as disengaged as you because they are frigging sick and tired of the bullshit Choice Between that they get offered every election by people who have been manipulating them with Choice Between for over two decades.

And all those politicians look the same to them anyway.

Layers and layers of Choice Between has effectively tricked you into thinking that a choice between Harper and Iggy is some kind of real Choice.

But you think, Who cares? There are no meaningful choices for me. So why bother?

And so you don’t even make a Choice Between let alone create a Real Choice by asking Why? or even better, Why Not?

They win.

Bastards.




What are you going to do about it?

Roll over and take it again?

Information

As a mechanism of power, information is everything.

How can you ever make any kind of choice whatsoever without having all of the relevant information? We need information like we need air and water.

We are a beast that tries to think. We want to be logical in our decisions. We believe we are smart and rational. But the basis for that rationality comes from information.

We need information to be an active positive participate in the social world.

Some people go out of their way to share information. That is what I try to do with this blog and with my teaching. I want to show you what power really is so you can regain Choice.

Some people, like Bradley Manning. think the world can change when the truth is shared.

Steven Lukes calls it the three dimensions of power. You should check out what he says in his book - Power: A Radical View.

I call the illusion of choice, Choice Between.

It is not Choice in the real sense. It is only Choice Between the options allowed.

More later...

When is love real Love, and when is love all about power?

We had a quite a class tonight. Most of the students think I am nuts. Maybe I am. I just wanted to talk – real talk - about Love. Love as a mechanism of power and Love as Source of Being.


I feel like we didn’t finish the conversation so I am going to rant. Forgive me.

When is love just Love, and when is love all about power?

It is hard to find a time when we do not use love to get something else that we want. And that is using love for power.

Love Because. That’s what I call it. I love you because you are sexy. I love you because you make me laugh. I love you because I can trust you. I love you because you make me feel secure. I love you because you make me happy.

I love you because.

That is Love Because. And although many of us are content with Love Because, you can’t deny that is love being given to control, influence or seduce the choices being made by the other.

That is power. Textbook.

You get my love till you no longer think I’m sexy, make me laugh, are trustworthy, make me feel secure or are fun. When the “because” is no longer present, well then, the love will no longer be present.

That ain’t love. It’s power.

That’s when love is not about an ineffable feeling of complete connection and deep appreciation. That’s when Love is about getting what I want - Gifts. Sex. Security. Praise. – that’s power.

That means – you have to admit it now - Love Because is what we do most of the time.

Now you may want to start calling me all kinds of names like negative minded, cold hearted, pessimistic, cup-half-empty kind of guy. But the truth is, you couldn’t be more wrong.

I cannot claim to be the world’s great love giver. I know I am not the world’s great love receiver. I have spent a great deal of my life – wasted a great deal of my life – on Love Because. I have given Love Because. I have accepted Love Because.

And I apologize to all those to whom I have said “I love you” but really meant – I love you because you give me what I want right now.

I know I have missed out on love because I was fixated on getting some Love Because.

Love Because is good because it satisfies Needs. (Requirements – Desires - and Attachments) Love Because is accepted because we are short sighted, filled with fear and trapped in the illusion part of our lives.

No, please do not call me Negative Nelly. The truth is you will never meet a bigger romantic. I want real love more than anything. Anything. More than money. More than security. More than fame, fortune and baseball.

And I know it is possible.

But first I have to shed my power based view of the world. I have to see through my needs. I have to forgive my self.

I have to…

Stop asking for this in exchange for that.

Stop trying to make someone love me.

Stop thinking that I am only loveable because…

I have to put real love in my life and draw more of it to me.

I have to Love.

Oh yes my friends, love is real. More real than anything else. In fact nothing else would exist but for the truest form of love - the real-thing kind of love.

But I am also a guy who has been cursed with a clear view of power. It’s how we live. Churning power in everything all the time. Constantly trying to get others to fulfill our needs.

To be nice I would say I am a realist. To others I am just a pain in the ass.
I know that I am as much to blame – if we have to talk about blame – as anyone else for my lack of love. I blame no one but myself. That is where the blame belongs - on ourselves. You can’t blame someone else for that one.

Sorry.

I want real deep connected love. Nothing short of that will satisfy me. I have had tastes. Little samples of what is possible. I cannot give up that hope. That kind of love is our birthright.

I see life not for what I want it to be. Nor do I try to see the bright side. Shit is shit. Some people have grown to like shit. In fact some of the great positive minds have convinced themselves that shit is good. So be it. I understand. Love Because is safer. It's easier. It's simpler.

But they can have it.

I, on the other hand, am seeking the deepest of connections. The Oneness that is possible and will be my experience someday.

Care to join me?

Fundamentals

Power is about the control, influence or seduction of a choice.


Thanks for your help. Traffic here at the blog has been growing steadily for a few weeks now.
I hope I am giving you meaningful ideas that are helping your lfe.

Understanding power, when every interaction in our lives is power-based, is a very useful thing.

I have been responding to questions - please send me more!
Either here, or on facebook.
I hope you have found the questions and the answers interesting.
You do me a big favor by indicating what you think of the posts at the bottom.
It is my dream that you come back again and again and each time you come here you find something that helps you live your life.

That would make my life worthwhile:)
Now you know my need, feel free to use it for power.

I want to thank Stu for challenging some of the thoughts. It is in dialogue that we find the truth.

I have been concerned that some people who are not connected to the college or the course are interested in the topic but are unclear about the lexicon we use here. So I have decided to re-run some posts from the early days of the blog. They explain the concepts and insights.

Click the link below or the title of this blog and it will send you back in time to past posts. Please ask the questions that they stimulate - I only want to help:)

Over the next few days I will cover the fundamentals - let me know if you enjoy it.

http://onhavingpower.blogspot.com/2005/09/control-is-illusion.html

After you read that post come back here and let me know if it was worthwhile.
Talk soon...

Unthinkable

Speaking of movies...

I just watched a movie recommended to me by one of the power students - Shaun.

Unthinkable

It is upsetting and disturbing and all too real for comfort...
and exactly like any real power dynamic.

I will leave it for you to watch the movie but I will place a little suggestion in your mind before you watch it. That way you will see the two lessons in the movie.

There are always two sides to every power dynamic - always. It is the bi-polar nature of power. Every actor is a subject and every subject can be an actor if they are willing.

And...

The power dynamic will always go to the one who feels their need the least.

In other words the real determinate of a power dynamic is the perception of how bad you require, desire or are attached to, the need in play.

That's why we see needs as weaknesses and we are unwilling to share our deep desires or fears. That way the other person won't know how much power they really have.

Good movie - thanks Shaun:)

Wag the Dog

We are celebrating Charlie's birthday tonight - he is 13 and that is one incredibly powerful age:).

Although I am compelled to blog about all of the infuriating and humourous dynamics popping up in our election - Green Party status in the debates, Harper's promise to save you tax money only after he gets his majority and four years to reduce the deficit, the eventual ganging up of all the leaders against the others - I have to admit that I am just as compelled to go watch tv with Charlie and tell him how happy it makes me that he was born and that I am proud of the person he is becoming.

So I know you will forgive me if I offer you a great movie all about the way politicians try to control the story the press carries - and how willing the press is to pass on canned information rather than investigate and report.

Instead of reading my blog tonight - though I thank you for your interest and hope you come by tomorrow - why don't you watch Wag the Dog and have a laugh at our crazy society obsessed with the games of power.

While you watch it, sit beside someone you love and scratch their back a little. Do it not for some future reward but just because you love them.

Needs and abilities don't always have to add up to power. When you use your abilities out of love rather than with the intention to satisfy your personal needs you will discover the opposite of power.

Compassion.

Have a good night:)

.

Yee Ha! Let the power dynamics begin…

I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. And every aunt, uncle, grandparent and distant third cousin has brought a gift just for me. Presents are stacked so high I can’t see the Christmas tree!
God Bless us every one!

And just a few days ago I was wondering what to blog about. Ha! Silly me.

Now I don’t know where to start.

The mechanisms of power are everywhere in an election. I thought I might explain the idea of authority and power by consent. But I could also go to town on the idea of information as a mechanism and its insidious nature when it comes to elections. Then I thought I might just tear the issues apart and show where the truth lies.

And of course the subtlety of Harper wearing a tie while Iggy goes with the open collar is begging to be dissected as a power dynamic. After all, there is a lot of money at stake here. Every detail is planned and calculated. I don’t want you to miss a thing.

Then came the epiphany…

I was sprawled on my couch in my post earth hour bliss considering the merits of my pillow when the always trustworthy Sandy Rinaldo popped her face on my TV and told me that she was about to fill me in on the first campaign day’s activities.

Oh Sandy you seductress…I thought I would at least hear her out.

Then she hooked me.

She told me that she was going to tell me all about the first day of the election campaign. But then she told me that I would hear about the Conservative, Liberal and NDP parties’ first day of pounding the pavement.

Whoa.

Last time I checked there are two other parties involved. One may be Quebec focused, but the other is a national party with over 1.5 million supporters.

Hmmm. Steven Lukes might call that the second and third dimensions of power.

The first dimension is simple “power over.” It is the ability to determine the choice being made. In this case – who you vote for. The politicians will do their best to influence your choice on election day.

However there is a second and third dimension that determine who should be considered when you make that choice and what the questions should be that determine how you make your choice. By actively excluding the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois the CTV is telling you they are not an option. They are also making sure that you do not get to hear what those leaders are saying about issues.

Make no mistake; what we discuss as we try to make our choice will determine what choice we will make.

Mr. Harper has made it clear that he wants to talk about coalitions and politicians ignoring the will of the people. He is suggesting that this is the most important issue to consider and that you may want to cast a ballot to ensure such a coalition does not occur.

Mr. Ignatieff wants to talk about a Prime Minister in contempt of Parliament and how he is not trustworthy. You should cast your ballot to ensure that such a Prime Minister does not get to railroad Parliament.

Mr. Layton suggests that both Harper and Iggy are untrustworthy and that there is an alternative that will ensure that the aging population of Canada can retire in safety and security. He says reject those two and vote for me.

However, if you let Elizabeth May or Gilles Duceppe into the discussion, the discussion will change.

The Bloc and the Green Party are seen as vote splitters. They steal votes from the Conservatives, Liberals and the NDP.

If the Greens get into the discussion then the nearly one million votes they garnered in the last election could grow. And the Liberals and NDP might suffer.

If the Bloc gets a chance to join the discussion, the 1.3 million votes it received last time may grow. Liberals and Conservatives might see a shift. An unpredictable shift at that.

But if the Green are ignored and the Bloc are only discussed in Quebec, it is possible that the Liberals would form their own minority government.

If Harper wins his majority then we can expect his pro-American politic will facilitate a number of new things.

That is not good for CTV.

Make no mistake. Media is a business. That business of media has an agenda.

Recently Mr. Harper lobbied the CRTC to allow a FOX subsidiary news channel to enter the Canadian news market. Further he tried unsucessfully to have the cable companies mandated to carry it on their bands.

FOX is not known for its unbiased reporting. It has a pro right-wing editorial perspective.

Media in the USA have already gone to court to establish that it is not illegal to tell falsehoods on the news. It is why the American news media is seen as less credible around the world. And FOX was the named defendant in the case that established that telling a lie in the news is not illegal.

This is meaningful because news is not about truth. It is about viewers and advertising revenues.

In Canada the leader is CTV. But if FOX news came to town the people might be swayed. That would be good for Harper, but not for CTV.

Now don’t go painting me with the Mr. Conspiracy Theory label. That is just an attempt to malign my ideas without dealing with them – like the CTV is doing to the Green Party.

Why else does the major news media in Canada choose to ignore a party that one million Canadians voted for? (7% of the voters)

Why does an organization that has the potential to define the election issues with its reporting ignore real issues and focuses on entertaining people with name calling and finger pointing?

If it isn’t some exercise of their ability to decide what information gets out there so they can influence the choices people make on election day, then what is it?

Information is power, right? With power comes responsibility, right?

Why wouldn’t CTV want to see Canadians make choices based on the most pressing of practical issues? Why wouldn't they want to play a meaningful role?

Why wouldn’t they want to honour the words of Alexis de Tocqueville when he said that democracy cannot exist without a working free press?

Just asking…maybe you have a better answer...

In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.

Alexis de Tocqueville

The Adjustment Bureau

All we have are the choices we make.

Every Monday night the Power Course has bonus movie night. I play a movie after class and everyone who stays to watch it gets a bonus mark. Sometimes we talk about it. Sometimes we just go home.

Once each semester we go out for a movie rather than stay at the college. Last night was Movie Out Night and we chose to see the Adjustment Bureau.

It was good choice because it is a movie that is all about choice.

Free will.
vs.
Destiny.

Fate.
vs.
Choice.

Are these opposites?
Or is Choice how we fulfill our destiny?
Have we chosen our fate using our free will?

We think of Life as being lived in minutes and hours and days and years.
But I think it is helpful to consider that Life is lived in increments of Choice.

It is not as easy to measure as time, but I think it is more meaningful.

Choice by choice. Decision by decision.
Even when we let habit make our choices,
or when we let other people make our choices,
even when we make no choice in a situation,
they are still Choices.

Just because we don't make them does not mean they aren't choices.
They are still the increments of our lives.


Many of our choices are made by others using power.

Others try to create an experience of control, influence or seduction.
They do that to control, influence or seduce a choice we are about to make.

The target of power is always a Choice.
The purpose of power is to impact Choice.
It is what power is for - to control, influence or seduce our choice to say, think or do something.

Power is about choice.

Overcoming power is to make a choice inspite of the experience of power. It is about making a choice that you have decided is best for you regardless of the efforts of others to change that choice.

Making choices deliberately and actively - every day - with passion and conviction - is how life is lived and power is defeated.

Choice is all we have.

All I have are the choices I make.

So today, after you read this, don't let habit or power make your choice.
Make a real choice.
And live.

Overcoming Powerless

When I feel low in positive energy it is usually because of some power dynamic in which I am feeling powerless.

Powerless sucks.

Powerless is like not being fully equipped to live life. It is like feeling not strong enough. It is like feeling not smart enough.

It feels like I am not loved.

I think that’s what we all want. We just want to feel loved.

Everything else adds up to that.
We all have needs. In this physical world we are all just walking pools of need. When the needs aren’t being met and we are not able to have others fill those needs, we get that powerless trip.

At those times I try to remember that it is all an illusion – an experience – an illusory reality manifested by the creative ability of our minds.
There is no such thing as powerless.

In those moments I take a trip.

I put on the head phones. I find some old music. I mean old. I mean from when I was twelve and I used to put vinyl on my dad’s stereo.

And then I go to our old home. Lying on the cool hardwood floor of the living room. It is mid July and the sun has just set. It is the evening. The air is warm but the shift to the cool soothing night breeze has begun. My parents are just outside the front door, sitting in the lawn chairs. I can hear them talking over the music on the stereo. I can’t hear what they are saying but they are happy to be talking. I hear dad laugh. It is always calming to hear dad laugh.

The occasional car hums by.

I can see through the sheer curtains the lights on in the ballpark across the street. If I listen close I can hear the occasional ting of an aluminum bat and roar of the men playing ball.

The humid smell of summer flowers and grass in the air comforts me.

My eyes close. My body rocks with the music.

I am safe and loved and truly content.

Then God gives me the gift of a train whistle off in the distance.

And I dream of what might be.

I dream of far off places where I am a baseball player. Or a rock star.
Or a dad.

I in that moment of rich possibilities I feel powerful.

We all have needs.
But we all have abilities.

Today has been good. And tomorrow will come…soon.

Poor Charlie Sheen

Poor Charlie Sheen.


Playing out a power dynamic without first considering how badly you are needed usually works out badly.

Power is about needs and abilities. Charlie’s abilities are, unfortunately, replaceable.

Chuck Lorre has a list of successes. Each of his shows have been very profitable to the people who make the ultimate decisions and who really only care about profitability.

Moreover Lorre is not publicly attacking the people who write his paychecks.

The question is who needs who? The power dynamic will always go the one who feels his need the least. Chuck Lorre has some pretty solid things to keep him busy - Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly. His resume is solid. He has proven his worth to those who make the decisions.

Chuck Lorre has a multitude of people who want to work for him.

Charlie Sheen has a fun resume. The last few years on television have been good to him. His popularity, though sometimes dubious, is proven as well. Charlie is important to TV.

He is important to Jimmy, Jay and Dave - but not for the reasons he hopes.

Charlie Sheen seems to have one show about to end and some illusory promises for movies. I hope they come through for him.

He does not seem to be valuable to his children who he has lost.
He is valuable to his ex wives who are using his embarrassing moments to secure their control over the children.

However, he is playing the power game as well as he might in the circumstance. If fact I offer him a certain amount of praise. He is present on news shows everyday. He is playing to those who love his lecherous and besotted characters. He is making his points and fans are listening. Charlie has a connection to the audience. He is personable and lovable. He is recognizable and real to the people. He may even be sympathetic to some of us.

Most of us wouldn’t recognize Chuck Lorre if he bit us on the proverbial.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Charlie is as important to us as he thinks.
I am afraid that fans of Two and a Half Men will simply change channels.
Maybe to Big Bang Theory.

I do not think Chuck Lorre needs him as bad as he needs Chuck Lorre. And so the power game will go to the producer not the star.

In fact we may see the nastiest proof of that power yet.

Next season will begin with Charlie Harper dying in a car crash.
We can fill two shows with characters reminiscing.
Charlie could get some royalty money :)

Hundreds of beautiful women will turn up to for his funeral only to spit on his grave. Cut to all those face slaps, insults and Charlie’s loveable but sinister smile.

Among that crowd of well wishers, idolizers and revenge seekers will emerge a new wholly despicable, yet lovable, womanizer (the as of yet, unknown, bastard son of Evelyn from a crazy night at Woodstock with a rock star) who will break Alan’s heart because Charlie’s house and money was left to the bastard in Charlie’s will. Of course the will stipulates that Alan can live there for the rest of his life and the battle of brothers will continue.

You won’t even need to change the name of the show. We can reuse some of the old jokes. He could try to bed Judith. Maybe another baby from a Harper brother...

Sounds kind of interesting doesn’t it?
Maybe I should call Chuck.
Hey Chuck maybe you need me…
Maybe I have some power after all.

What do you think?

A visit with Jess

I was visiting Jess yesterday and she told me about an experience with someone trying to recruit her into a multi level marketing regime.


Let’s focus on the power…as always that means examining the needs and abilities in play.

The persuasion process started with flattery. We all need to feel good about ourselves. Anyone who can make us feel better about ourselves has power.

She got recruited because she is a dynamic personality who is very persuasive with people when she wants to be. Her high energy and passionate approach to making every day “the best day ever” is engaging and contagious. That kind of positive emotional approach makes people want to be around her and makes people want to be like her. She represents what most people want – an incredibly happy everyday life.

So, when a new friend suggested that because she is such a dynamo that she must meet someone that has an incredible new business idea/opportunity, she was both flattered and enticed. It played into her need to be seen as a wonderfully positive person and her natural desire to turn her energy into success.

As I keep saying, Power is always bi polar - two sided.

Jess was invited because she had what the recruiter wanted - otherwise the recruiter would not be interested in her. A person like Jess who makes people feel that life is beautiful and dreams come true, is the kind of maven that can sell you anything if she believes in it. Everyone who knows Jess knows that she can find ways to make the impossible happen. If she tells you that you have to try a new product, or that you need to get involved in a new business, you are compelled to listen to her.

They wanted her ability to use power. She has the infectious charisma that influences us all – we all want to be as happy as she is.

She would be a multi-layer marketing dream if she believed in the idea.

So seduced by flattery and the possibility of success she attended the first meeting.

The person she met, let’s call him Mr. Business, had his credibility endorsed by a mutual friend who appeared to be facilitating Jess’s happiness. She was open and engaged.

Mr. Business started the conversation with the big hook – How much money would like to have? What would you do with it? What would your life look like if you had all that money?

Because of his credibility Jess played along and gave him what he wanted – an understanding of her needs and desires.

Yes she likes money, but it is not everything to her. Happiness and the ability to help others are just as important to her. So he pressed her until she told him this. He made her say it out loud. She had no reason to think he was going to use power. This person had been introduced by a friend – a friend that was sitting there and encouraging her to follow Mr. Business down his road.

Then what would you do with the money? Help charities? Alleviate poverty? Save the world?

Yes all those things! Jess would love to save the world and make everyone happy. She dreams, deep in her heart, that she will make a significant difference to the world. That is the place all her beauty comes from.

So this is when the power started. Mr. Business understood her needs and desires. As such he tried to show her how his idea would lead to her triumph.

You know, this is why we hate power. Because it is the process of using people to accomplish our desires by exploiting their needs. It’s why we all keep our dreams hidden. It is why we only tell our closest friends about your deepest desires. It is why we don’t even like to think about our wishes.

Our intuitive knowledge of Power makes us think that our dreams are somehow our weaknesses.

We know instinctively that when someone else knows what we want, they will use it to get what they want.

Jess was feeling a little skeptical and off balance at this point. (These are the emotions that tell our intuition that power is at work) She knew she was exposed but she wanted her dream to come true, so she hung in there. And the persuasion began…he used everything he learned about her to get her to choose to get involved.

Power is all about choice.

He showed her how easy it would be for her to sell the product. How easy it would be for her to succeed. How easy it would be for such a vibrant person to sell a product that makes people healthy and happy.

“Can you give someone a CD and ask them to listen to it? Just tell them it will change their life if they just give it a try. Just listen to the CD…here just try it? Try it on me…”

She played along…she asked, “This will change your life. Would you listen to this CD?”

Then he tried to set the hook.

“See, you are a natural. It’s so easy isn’t it?”

But Jess knows power when she sees it. And all the alarm bells started ringing. She realized this was a MLM scheme pitch and that he was using her honest openness against her.

She turned it around. She exposed him. He dodged and avoided but she had him figured. To save what was left of her trusting heart and get out of the rest of the meeting she did the “I’ll think about it.”

He wouldn’t give up. He called her later and tried to hook her on the phone. He used everything he knew about her to try to get her back. And that’s when it happened.

He lost her friendship forever.

And the friend that recommended them to each other? Well his friendship is now in question too.

Power destroys trust.

Every time we use power to try to control, influence or seduce the choice someone is about to make, we wreck the relationship we have with them. If someone is willing to use your needs to get what they want, then they see you not as a person, but as a means to an end.



Thanks Jess. You taught us a little more about power today.