Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece

Speaking to a fellow Cuban Democrat today he stopped and said I can’t talk about politics, my family is Republican and its useless and they get very angry. I wondered to myself since when do Democrats have a gag-order placed upon their mouths? Since when did intelligent debate become a bad thing?

Our country was founded upon democratic principles from ancient Greece where the beauty of debate at the Agora was a revered expression of intelligence and catalyst for progress. To debate calmly and intelligently using facts, only served to progress a society. False assumptions can be dispelled, incorrect facts can be clarified as lies. When we stop debating we cage our ideas however right or wrong, inside our minds and Democracy is as a result, degraded. When we don’t speak up they win, when we don’t call them out on their lies they win in rewriting reality to fit their version of it. So the next time a Republican starts to huff and puff and spew their lies forcing you to roll your eyes into acquiescence, stand up to their rants, debate intelligently (www.factcheck.org is a good place to start) and calmly no matter how loud they scream out their fabrications. The fact of the matter is, they and their policies have never been so wrong in our country’s history. Their party irresponsibly dug us into this huge deficit, trickle-down economics don’t work and never have, deregulation of Wall Street and getting us into two expensive wars we should’ve never gotten into caused this great recession, they are NOT fiscally conservative especially when it comes to military spending, our country was founded by separation of Church and State, gay rights are human rights, banning abortion doesn’t stop abortions any more than prohibition stopped alcohol use, ignoring the need for universal health care only adds to our deficit by requiring coverage of uninsured through Medicare and bankrupts our citizens, we cannot continue to ignore the 12 million undocumented workers living in this country, nor can we deport them all.

Our president elect has been incredibly effective, more effective than any other president in my adult life. He stopped us from falling into a “depression” that by all accounts we were inevitably crashing into. Our recovery is happening and however shaky, things are better, even though the obstructionists have tried their hardest for him to fail. If you don’t believe it, look at Europe which is still reeling from and falling back into a recession.

It should never be just about Democrat or Republican, it should be about who has the best ideas and most intelligent vision of moving our country forward and right now, it happens to be a Democrat. When our country wins, we all win. If we are not united in that goal we all fail. So the next time a Republican tries to bully you into silence, stand up and say "You really don't have a leg to stand on, you voted for George Bush twice!"

It’s no longer about two different ways of dealing with our country’s issues, it’s about whether or not we move forward or go back to the same old ways that weren’t working and were definitely unsustainable.

And for the Cubans in Miami still loyal to the Republican party because of the Bay Of Pigs fracas, please move on..it was a long time ago and it was never America’s responsibility to free Cuba! The Republican led embargo has done absolutely nothing to foment change for over 50 years and it’s high time for a “change” on how we look at Cuba. The “change” we need in this country is not going to come from any one leader as much as the “change” in how active we are with the state of our affairs.

In the words of President Obama- "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

 ...silence does nothing

Saving Myself

I am shattered...These last several years of a recession have stripped me of all the things I thought I needed to be safe. A secure job, health insurance, income properties, 401K retirement fund, a loving partner- all gone in an instant. The dust has settled and I'm bare as the day I was born. I say goodbye to the world I thought I lived in, finally ready to shapeshift into a better, newer version of me. The next battle will be fought with my wits about me and in a battleground of my choice...no longer a banal corporate drone, I will pick a career not for a big paycheck or benefits but for a cause -something, anything that means more than just pushing-papers. My credit may be destroyed but like the honey badger I don't give a shit. The Credit Rating system is just another mechanism to control the masses and maintain debt slavery. I will do like the Germans and save and buy when I have the money on hand, if I don't have it, I won't. 

I'm at a crossroads but don't know which road to take to begin my "second act". I chose a secure job for the good salary and to feel secure, never able to be daring enough to be a starving artist, giving up all materialistic comforts to reach my true dream. I'm now ready to deal with that fear of not knowing where my next paycheck will come from and replacing it with knowing that I will create my own sense of security and "inner wealth".

On this Doomsday year, I stand ready and waiting to welcome the new world -for whatever it will be will be more true to me than the last one. A paradigm shift is happening before our eyes. The old ways are crumbling from the weight of their own unsustainability.

 The American Dream has AIDS and it's in urgent need of a blood transfusion, new ideas to revive its potential again. 

Adversity forces analysis of how one conducts their life and how one can do more with less. Necessity is the mother of invention- I will learn to do more with less. Living on a salary that is now 1/3 of my previous one means more eating in. My bicycle, pool and running outdoors = my new gym. Who needs health insurance when I can manage my own health. Meditation is free and more of it = no need for antidepressants. My talents brought to fruit will be my retirement fund. I will harbor no fear of being poor or not achieving the American Dream, for I already had it and I still wasn't happy. It was never enough. The new American Dream will be "My American Dream", custom fit to fill my needs, my definition of success. Who needs the Wizard of Oz, I will find my own yellow brick road to happiness. I will be own savior, my own wing-man. 

The Hopi indians believed you should not chase after happiness and success but to have the awareness that you are already happy and successful. To them it’s a state of mind, not a balance in a checking account. The Hopi saw the world alive and full of purpose. 

Instead of dwelling on my limitations or imperfections I will focus on the powers at my disposition to make a better world around me. My success will be measured by the number of smiles I can bring to others, and the happiness I share with my loved ones. I will channel my inner Buddha and guide myself on how true I stay to my inner "right or wrong" while staying true to my mission. I will be my own best friend first and second to my closest family and friends. My legacy will be how others remember me. What I will have are the good memories instilled in others which will live on with their spirit- for eternity. It's time to start asking ourselves what will our "after-life" be like? Fuck retirement  -I'm planning out which planets and undiscovered galaxies I will travel to in my afterlife. Like Prince sang, it's time to go a little crazy because "there's something else, the afterworld". 

Each one of us can be a revolution...we can all be revolutionaries to shape our world in a better form. When we give up, we relinquish that power.

Like the gay men fighting in an American mall earlier this year after being called faggot, echoing the day the gays at the Stonewall finally had enough of the police abuse and fought back. The masses are awake and fighting back...no longer resigned for a savior that never came and probably never will, the "second coming of Christ" is, I believe the Christ or God consciousness inside each of us, the awareness that we have the same power to fix things as a God, demigod or whatever you choose to call it.

"Come to the edge, He said. They said, We are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them...and they flew." Apollinaire

We are being pushed to our edges globally in every nation and we are not going to keep quiet anymore..."the hungry will only stay hungry for so long". Occupy movement, Anonymous hacktivists, Susan Komen uproar over cutting Planned Parenthood, self immolations in Tibet, mass unprecedented protests in Russia, the Arab Spring; the examples are popping up everywhere like mushrooms after a rainstorm. Activism and communication of injustice is at an all-time high with many times, quick resolutions as fast as the internet can carry them- ending the injustice, once revealed. 

I choose now to be savior of myself, to mirror God's potential as much as I can dare to believe. I will be my own personal hero, turning myself whatever I want to be. I am swimming in the infinite ocean of possibility, lighter now, having shed my tattered carcass of humility. I serve no one by lowering my head to others. I am proud, I am strong, this is my revelation.

The universe is a democracy a cooperative commonwealth. What we are now witnessing and living is a "pornocracy". Our leaders have sold themselves to the highest bidder to hold on to their warped, greedy version of the American Dream. Greed is no longer good. 

I am one of millions who have finally been freed of most of the trappings of capitalism that were wearing down our very essence. Stressing every day to maintain it all was barring the masses from being in the moment. Sure, we had the best toys and coulf afford vacations with healthy doses of socializing amongst friends but our minds were always cheating on our true selves, the secret, closeted heroic version of yourself that you keep in a vault in your mind. That guy that would one day come out and kick life's ass, and wear it's balls around his neck as a trophy! For too long, we've been racking our minds, balancing money and bills on a see-saw in our heads, feeding a false sense of getting close to the ever fleeting golden fleece of success. Stripped of all of these capitalistic accessories, we are now forced to re-evaluate the concept of "success" and how a person values himself in America of today. I believe the old American Dream is being incinerated before our eyes. Glowing-red, wispy embers from a forest fire falling softly to the ground. The embers of the old America fertilizing a completely new, reconstructed, sustainable American Dream, where humanity is paramount and finances are not.

Unemployment, not paying your bills, collectors blowing up your phone, whatever it is your feeling that is keeping you down, feeling innadequate, unloved, undervalued or underappreciated...just "shake it out" and believe you are worth more than a paycheck, or whatever assault to your self esteem from outside forces..shake it out...let it roll off your shoulder, believe the revelations will come and you WILL find a new way to live. You will find a new way to get "unstuck"...eventually. Savor the process.

"Break your heart no longer. Each time you judge yourself, you break your own heart. You stop feeding on the love, which is the wellspring of your vitality. The time has come. Your time. To live. To celebrate, and to see the goodness that you are. Do not fight the dark. Just turn on the light. Let go, and breathe." -Swami Kripalu

IF
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling 

If you need help walking this new path alone-here's a great post to read. 

To the Dreamers that Keep the Dreams Alive

Below is a repost from over 3 years ago when Where the Wild Things Are was about to be released in theaters and while it turned out to be a lot more melancholic and sad than I remembered in my childhood, the story still had that "magic", that eternal magic that never gets old and slices through generations. It's that same alchemy of words that all writers only dream of manifesting and harnessing at their whim in order to infuse it into their stories for a hopefully, strange kind of immortality. To be remembered for your stories, for your mind's fancies to delight generations of children for decades after you pass. Being a writer myself, that is the greatest reward, greater than any book commission or literary award. For the joy and wonder you create to be held so dear that you or your stories are not forgotten.

Upon the recent death of Maurice Sendak, I discovered many more intimate details about the man and spinner of tales that I ever knew. It made my love for him and his work increase on more profound levels as an adult than the love I had for him in my childhood. He and his family were holocaust survivors, the "hairy yet sad monsters" in Where the Wild Things Are, were imaginations based on his aunt and uncle whom loved him dearly but whom he, as a child only saw as larger than life and always wanting to smother him with kisses. He illustrated all his stories, which were always so endearing to me. The biggest surprise of all was that he was gay and lived with his partner for over 50 years. Being a child of a Polish-Jewish family made it hard for him to come out. Although, being a hugely successful writer, he too suffered from thinking he was never good enough.

So I tip my hat to you Sir Maurice, for improving the world in some tangible way. This author of children's literature born on the same day as Mickey Mouse has done just that. His magic-weaving has left me an improved person, even now as a 42 year old man with a child's heart that still remembers how his stories helped me to avoid despair and survive a difficult childhood. As he drew inspiration from other writer's and Disney's Fantasia, I have also drawn inspiration from his vision of a world not so far away.

G'bye Maurice- May your stories haunt and add wonder to our lives for years after your death.

Recent NPR interview with Maurice Sendak

Great PBS video interview with the author 

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Original Post from 10-19-2009



Take a deep breath, expand your belly with oxygen until it's full, close your eyes and think back for a moment when you were a child and how you would believe any fantastical story your siblings or friends would tell you. It was a moment of pure freedom -leaving you gasping for more. You would envision the stories in your mind and take them to your bed at night and dream the dreams that were planted in your head. I couldn't wait to get to bed to begin my new journey each night. At a young age, I was blessed to have 3 very creative siblings and a very large backyard with horses, roosters, chickens and many, many fruit trees, complete with our very own tree house. A virtual Garden of Eden for kids to roam free. In that playground, our minds were blown open to wander and wonder on anything that came to our heads. One day, we would hear stories of my eldest sister Lisa taking a ride in Wonder Woman's invisible airplane and swing on Spiderman's web over skyscrapers and the next, we would all be possessed tree-zombies on a mission to take our youngest sister, Maggie down to the depths of tree-zombie-landia. Every week was a new mission and story to play out. My favorite time was my time alone in the farthest corner of my yard that abutted a large vacant lot...the wildest, most desolate space I could access at my limited age.



There in my created reality, I would talk to God and stand on a stump, trying to bribe God with good deeds to enable me to fly. I wanted it so badly I would eagerly help my bewildered mom with all the chores and even cease bothering my younger sister for a week to see if that would finally get me my golden ticket to the sky and worlds beyond my home. I would run and jump and feel very light for seconds but never was able to fly in the same way I did in my dreams. Nothing matched the grandeur and lightness of being as in my dream-flights.

My body was dreadfully earthbound but I never stopped dreaming and now 30 years later I finally feel that magic spark inside again stronger than ever. I feel we are entering a time where the masses are beginning to leave fear and negativity behind and start to think about wondrous things beyond what we know, beyond the mundane limits of the prison of "logical thinking". I dream for a time where we can be a little illogical and loose and a little more connected to the "wild" and "where the wild things are". To rebuild our connection to Mother Earth who has been neglected for so long. To think less about mortgages, life insurance, job security and more about bugs, salamanders, M&M's, doodling and tree forts.

If there is any one thing that I believe most in this life is of the endless possibilites for wondrous and wonderful things out there and regardless if you call them myths, parnormal events, illusions, hallucinations, figments of our imagination or whatever; the names you give them do not diminish or destroy them. It only limits who are the ones that get to see and enjoy their soul-enriching beauty leaving us in awe at how small our dogmas, political, religious and economic systems are in the grander scheme of the universe and unknown number of dimensions.

I dedicate this blog to the Dreamers, the Believers, the one's that keep the possibilities of other worlds alive, enriching ours all the more. The Maurice Sendak's, Walt Disney's, J.M. Barrie's, Lewis Carrol's, Guillermo Del Toro's, Pixar Studios, Dreamworks', my personal muse -Grettel, would all leave our world bland and tasteless were it not for their eccentric musings and vision. They've given us permission to dream and to take a ride back to our youth when we were more closely aligned to the spirit world and the endless possibilities of the dreams we dare to dream, enabling us to forget how taboo it is to believe in things not yet proven.

Square away some time to take a camping trip to your nearest forest, build a fire (carefully), make up stories to tell your family and allow yourself to think when you look into the darkness that fantabulously-fun creatures ARE out there just waiting to play.

In the words of the great Maurice Sendak; "Inside all of us is ADVENTURE."

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Dreamers creating a dream in the streets of Chile:

End the broken Cuban Embargo Now- Never Worked-Never Will

If this "Great Recession" has taught us anything, it is that these crises occur from the need for us to stop what we are doing wrong and bring about a time of self analysis to eventually and hopefully let go of the systems or structures that are no longer sustainable or working for us.

As is evidenced in the recent Susan G Komen VP's resignation, the million signature petition to oust Scott Walker and the firing of right wing extremist Pat Buchanan from MSNBC, the voices of the moderate, liberal Americans have finally gotten louder than the small group of right wing extremists in this country. A majority of Americans are calling for a more progressive, future-minded America with less waste, debt slavery, and more sustainability, less reliance on fossil fuels or foreign oil and foreign policies that do not bully other countries into doing what we tell them to do.

As Iraq and Afghanistan has shown us, we can no longer afford to be the policemen of the world. We need to turn our focus towards our own country; it's strapped educational system, our citizens' access to affordable health care, preventing the disappearance of the middle class, relying less on foreign oil and the elephant in the room, decreasing our looming deficit. 

We have a long way to go to complete this "house-cleaning" process and in the end we will be on the path to a truly progressive, contemporary and evolved society that is sustainable for generations to come.

The U.S. embargo on Cuba is a gas guzzling, 1959 Studebaker and yet another cantankerous, nonfunctioning system that must be shed in order to progress towards a brighter future for all. Agression begets aggression, fear begets fear and an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. We must break this template of suffering and agression that our history has been pockmarked with and progress towards a more harmonious and cooperative future. This failed foreign policy has done nothing but kill jobs, insulate the country, giving the regime an excuse for all it's malaise, and only serves to please the small group of Republican Cubans in Miami that support the embargo for their own emotionally-laden and illogical reasons. Like a child that has his toy taken away, they object to anyone else playing with their toy if they can't. Democratic Cubans want to end the embargo but they have never raised their voice in Miami for fear of societal reprisals or being accused of being gasp, "Communist". Since the Cubans that are the most powerful in Miami are the one's carrying the biggest sticks, the others don't speak up, quietly rolling their eyes, waiting for their obsession with Fidel and their tired family feud to end.

The world has changed much since it's inception in 1960 over 50 years ago. As far back as 1975, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy urged the U.S. government to lift the embargo and normalize relations with Cuba. "I believe the idea of isolating Cuba was a mistake," says Kennedy. "It has been ineffective. Whatever the reasons and justifications may have been at the time, now they are invalid." Now 37 years after Kennedy proclaimed it a dead policy, I, a Cuban-American, son of Cuban immigrants call for this sczherade of a policy to end.

This policy has not only been completely ineffective at removing the regime, it has in fact been the main factor in keeping it in power, allowing the regime to use it as a blanket excuse for all it's malaise much in the same way conservatives in this country blame it's troubles on the gay or immigrant communities. It's as if the few supporters left of this embargo were hired as double agents to do the regime's bidding. The only thing the policy has been effective at has been to discredit the United States and give evidence to our detractors that we are practicing, card-carrying imperialists. This embargo has fertilized the egg that gave birth to other radical anti-American leaders in Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia as well as Iran. 

I want not only other Cuban-Americans to experience the island, but other Americans to experience my country and realize what it means to be hispanic or latino living in the U.S. and missing home. They will finally see why we cling to our culture, why we still sing the songs from our past and all the dated stereotypes of what a latino is will melt away in one visit. These Americans would see a mirror in this country that has fallen from grace, while our own country is still recovering from it's own fall from grace. 

The problem with debating this is similar to the debates raging in this country, the ones debating are not informed enough to fight the status quo or the ones that are screaming the loudest. I urge you to research the topic from both sides; for even the flattest pancake has two sides. Become informed so you can come up with your own conclusions. Compare this policy with others worldwide. Has there ever been an embargo lasting this long on any country? Has this policy done any good? Is it hurting more than helping? Is it time for all parties to sit down and come to a new kind of policy or intelligent debate? 

I imagine a day when this inane embargo would be gone and two vibrant sister cities of Miami and Havana working in synchronicity for each other's growth and vibrance. Miami is a modern day Havana, missing it's elegant mother from which she mirrored her spirit and sex appeal after. Miami's mother has been secreted and locked away in a bitter, dark and cold corner where no one else can enjoy her beauty. 

The older generation of Cubans have wrapped her in a didactic burka of poor judgement, envy and non-democratic foreign policy.

I want to open this discourse from private meetings of U.S. President's with Miami's Cuban elite to all citizens to make a decision on what is right for Florida's closest neighbor. This "Cuban issue" has been used as a pawn to gain votes by so many political hopefuls seeking to win Florida. The ones that have suffered are the Cubans in Cuba stuck with a regime that is isolated without any hope of revolt or access to any kind of weapons to do so. The Cubans living in the U.S. also suffer by being required to send constant remittances to support their families and keep them away from malnourishment or illness. They yearn to be able to visit their homeland without limits and share their heritage with their children. 

Americans and Cubans on the island are held hostage while this eternally long chess game is played out and a nation of over 11 million people across the Florida Straits are left with nothing but isolation from us. If it isn't a child's fault they were born in a communist country like Cuba, is it right for our policies to play a part in that child's suffering? A free and democratic country's right on whether or not it's citizens can do business, generate jobs, or simply travel to that beautiful island cannot and should never have been up to a small group of powerful individuals who claim to own that land. That land as with any land, is for ALL to enjoy.

We do not live in Wonderland where the Red Queen can dictate to her kingdom where her subjects can or cannot travel.

This is a democracy and as such, we Americans should be able to begin business, trade and tourism with Cuba at a time when jobs are so desperately needed. Sister cities nourishing and strengthening each other's economy's, creating thousands of much-needed jobs. If you believe this is a democratic right as strongly as I do, please sign this petition to end this failed foreign policy of more than 50 years by clicking the red button at the end of this blog.


The United Nations voted unanimously yet again in October of 2011, to denounce the Cuban embargo and it's old-Cold War policy of intervention. The votes were 186-2. The two countries that said no were of no surprise; U.S. and Israel. This same vote to end the embargo by the United Nations' General Assembly has occurred consecutively and unbelievably for the last 20 years! This siege is not right, it never was and now it is blatantly obvious and only serves to cause animosity between the two countries instead of mutual cooperation. The supporters of the embargo would say, "you cannot do business with that government.". To that I reply, we already are. America has special trade agreements already in place that create large profits for our country to the tune of up to 711 million dollars since 1992 and that's just for medicine and some agricultural trade. Imagine the potential for commerce if the trade restrictions were completely lifted. It would far surpass the billions.

As recent as January of 2011, Obama reversed Bush's ineffective tightening of the Embargo and reinstated the rights of Americans to send remittances to struggling families and opened up travel restrictions, to certain special groups of Americans. He cut short from eliminating the crusty old mess of a policy due to the objections of one Republican; Ileana Ros Lehtinen whom has consistently been a biased puppet for the select few power-Cubans in Miami. Her lack of vision and creativity for a new strategy has been a blockade since 1989 to any progress for removing this failed policy. It is a comedy of errors that she is also a strong supporter of the Church of Scientology and chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Do we really want someone that gives validity to Scientology as the chairman of our Committee on Foreign Affairs? Cuba has recently made a large, sweeping gesture to the United States to normalize relations by releasing over 2500 political prisoners late last year. However, like Israel and the Palestinians, it never seems to be enough for the Embargo supporters to release their iron grip on the past, ever fearing any future where they cannot punish their enemies instead of trying to find a middle ground and finally making an agreement.

One surprisingly realistic declaration from within her ranks came in 2008, when Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) spelled out a proper policy regarding Cuba: "The United States should allow its citizens to travel and trade with whomever they want. Not only would that be the right thing to do for Americans, it would do far more to bring freedom to Cubans."

I want to take my nieces and nephews on a cathartic field trip to discover what their heritage is without fear of being arrested or fined by U.S. customs agents. I want them to know what it feels like to ride a horse to the top of the Pinar Del Rio's low mountains and view the foggy, green valley below and on the way down feel the spirit cleansing waterfalls of Soroa on their skin. I want them to know the tenderness of the Cuban people and how they taught me to appreciate all the opportunities in America through their positivity and sense of humor; in spite of all their extreme limitations. How a mother and daughter eating rice and beans under a bare light bulb taught me what true generosity was by inviting me in their home to share the little they had to eat with me. We are all missing out on so many wonderful and life-changing experiences that this enchanting island has to offer and the Cubans are missing out on all the wonders of America and it's dynamic and modern culture.

The world has changed and just because we can't get our way doesn't mean the rest of us have to agree with your mentality or go to jail. Americans are free to go to China where human rights abuses are violated daily. Tibetan priests are burning themselves alive to liberate themselves from China's unjust rule of their country but yet Cuba who is only 90 miles away is forbidden for us to visit.

Yes, Cuba has violated human rights and there is room for improvement but so has our government. All governments are a work in progress. Aren't our citizen's rights violated when they are pepper sprayed in the face and arrested for peacefully protesting in a peaceful Occupy demonstration? Aren't they political prisoners as well with their only crime being in protesting the way our government and economy is victimizing them? Aren't our LGBT youth committing suicide by the hundreds as a result of the dehumanizing attacks of the religious right in this country? The United Nations recently sent a harshly worded communication to our government over the apparent human rights abuses of our Occupy Protesters. Should Europe and China put economic embargoes on our country for these human rights abuses? Our policies on either side can only be improved through discourse and exchange of ideas, not from isolation. Isolation equals polarization. The more we exchange ideas the more we can realize our greatest fears are exaggerated illusions of the truth. 

"We live in a sphere where nothing really gets out. The masses now understand that nothing less than global cooperation and shared consciousness of our interconnectedness, will bring solutions to our society's multitude of ills. This and only this will eventually give birth to peace and a sustainable balance with our Earth's finite resources" 

Responsible Charity

Do you think Cuba would be more apt to violate human rights with more tourists and foreigners visiting, living and doing business within her borders? Do you think her isolation could be controlled with the flood of technology flooding her land and finally giving it's citizens free access to the internet. Her isolation is her greatest ally, allowing the country to get away with holding back the spread of modern technology and thus, the interchange of ideas. Just like Fox news tries to steer Americans by tweaking the truth, "if you control the information, you control the people". Only difference is, we have a choice of where we can get our information, the Cuban people don't. The greatest thing we can export to Cuba after the embargo ends would be our way of life, our technology, our latest toys. Communism would take an instant back seat to the latest Iphone or Playstation.

This petition is also for our president-elect, Obama to finally end this remnant of the Cold War by not approving the extension of the U.S. Embargo in September of this year.

Will you simply adopt and carry someone elses point of view on the matter or take the time to educate yourself on the matter and make up your own mind?

Help make history by signing this petition and finally free two countries from this tragic, 50 year old dance that has separated and hurt so many families. 

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Recent Stern article calling for lifting of the embargo.


Another article written by a Cuban supporting the end of the US Embargo.

Havana's Biennial of Contemporary Art this year hosts a bevvy of American art and highlights a cultural reason for increased interchange between our countries.

U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton calls for an end to the embargo.


A historical time line of the do-nothing, job-killing, dictator-sheltering, Cuban embargo.

2012- The Year of the Flood

My brother sends me a text at 3 AM that he is driving himself to the hospital and that he was having a heart attack. They restarted his heart 3 times. He survived and was now scheduled for surgery to repair his defective ticker.

My mom, giving me her best Puss in Boots face and Cuban guilt-trip to coax me into flying to dreaded Atlanta (cue screechy horror music) to support my brother in his time of need. Although it boasts one of the largest gay populations in America, it is still a backward, bible-belt, Republican-landia where people actually still celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday with a cake, candles and all (wish I was kidding). For obvious reasons, I like to visit there about as much as a Jew likes visiting Iran. I have no hesitation when it comes to visiting my other sibling in gloriously liberal and uber-democratic Boston. The vibe is so much more pleasant when you are among people that don't hate you.



Republicans don't seem to understand why we liberals abhor them. The reasons are countless and increasing every day in this very Un-Civil war being waged in this country. Their party has maligned us, spread lie after lie about who we are or how we love, compared us to rapists and child molesters, labeled us more dangerous that the global warming they deny exists. They have electroshocked our bodies and forced hormone therapies to try to cure us of our gayness, they have spent millions of dollars nationwide obstructing our quest for full and equal rights and the right to marry. They have fought to keep laws as draconian as sodomy laws on the books just to prove a point that our sex displeases them. They avoid discussing rampant gay suicides of youths in states that they control policy in and do nothing to enforce anti-bullying behavior. And last but not least, they divide our families and our government, stalling every one's progress by obstructing job bills or even offering up any real solutions to help the struggling middle class or our stalled economy. All this just so they can cause their arch-nemesis, Obama to fail and them to regain totalitarian control of this country. The Republican party has not only become an enemy of the LGBT community, they have become an enemy to America.

While this laundry list is in it's rinse cycle in my mind, I come back to listen to my mother's pleadings to fly to Atlanta and be there for my Republican brother and his Republican wife in bible-thumping Atlanta. Her final plea of "What if he dies in surgery?", was the lynchpin to winning this argument. She is right, what if he dies? Republican or not, he is still my brother. I am forced to take the high road and be the supportive, loving brother a family member is expected to be to his sibling. It isn't easy, for my brother is a character to say the least. The list of his offensive behavior is quite long. At the top of the list is he is an extreme Republican. This is not only offensive because of the bigotry he espouses such as telling me, his gay brother that gay marriage is equivalent to pedophilia or bestiality. I let that one slide, knowing full well he is just regurgitating rubbish he hears among his peers in the good ol' ATL. Secondly, he treats his wife as a house maid, expecting love to be given upon his demand just because he brings home the bacon. He is a conversation hog and can never admit he's wrong in life or in any intelligent debate you engage with him. His voice is so loud when speaking that it feels like a pot banging, drum session and is a constant embarrassment to be in public with. He is a habitual liar and after googling Histrionic personality disorder, I can now add that to the list as well. He is in essence, the epitome of everything I dread becoming.

Upon arrival to the backwards, hillbilly underworld, I hear an obnoxious, booming noise of an engine revving for no apparent reason. I turn to realize it's my brother picking me up in an fixed-up 1968 Camaro. Basically a loud, gas guzzling, shiny piece of shit on wheels. I visualize the boatman of Hades and check my pockets for gold coins for safe passage. I guess he thought that buying a car that adds exponentially to global warming and annoys everyone as he drives by, is impressive and cool in his book. As I get in, he asks me if they make the sweater I'm wearing for men and laughs, amusing himself and forcing me to give him a caddy retort, "You're an idiot and why did you spend money on this shitty car, when your broke?". He guffaws replying, "You don't know anything, It's for my son, when he grows up." I counter again, "When your kid grows up, gas is going to be about $20.00 a gallon and why the hell would he want to drive a car that doesn't even have air conditioning?" He replies with a grumble. The banter ends and the awkward silence reigns. I quietly empathize for my doomed nephew and how horrible it must be to be my brother's son.

The gloom of the day is brightened by finally getting to see my two beautiful nephews. I have hope that they will grow up and not repeat the mistakes of their parents. I have faith that these two bright lights will follow Darwin's path and improve on the design. After reading to them, laughing and joking until they fell asleep, I went to my room, trying my hardest not to concoct paranoic visions of lynch mobs with torches pounding at my brother's door to hang my gay ass on the nearest peach tree. I remind myself why I am here and rest easy knowing that someway, somehow this labor of love will be appreciated.

The following day in the waiting room, I get to bond with my brother's wife while surgeons try to fix my brother's faulty heart. She confesses the problems with their marriage and then goes on to admit that she has softened her staunch Republican stance imbued upon her by her father for years. She admits that she doesn't agree with a lot of things the Republican party stands for and that when it comes to social issues, she is more of a Democrat. No surprise there, the Republican party doesn't fight for any social issues, all they focus on is greed and power, for themselves and corporations, "for the good of the people" is dead last on their bucket list. She finally, tells me that after years of being afraid of the gay agenda and opposed to gay marriage, she now believes that we should have the right to marry. Her sentiment, is now being echoed by a majority of Americans as recent polls support. After hours of waiting and meeting at the middle with my brother's wife, the nurse comes to take us to see my brother. The doctor proudly advises us that his congenital heart defect has been cured, well at least he claims he was 95% sure it was cured for liability reasons. We leave the room so he can rest and his wife breaks down in my arms, hugging me and confessing that she still loves him but can't stand to live with him anymore and that their marriage is dead. I was completely moved and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for her. How do you live for years with someone that never apologizes, doesn't listen to you or even allow you to have a different opinion? I reaffirm to her that no matter what happens she is family and we will never turn our back to her.

After all, one doesn't ask if a choking victim is Republican or not before giving him the heimlich maneuver to save his or her life. You just do what you have to do to help a family member. She may be a little bigoted but everyone has limitations and her views have progressed and she is alas, family. Whether your family is repub or dem, it's the relationships within that realm that matter and how one family gets along with another family. The family unit is the primary circle that later converges with all other circles on this planet. if we don't get the first circle right and find a harmonious balance, all our other circles will be off-kilter and out of balance. Our country is so polarized and out of balance that we seem to be on the brink of new Civil War or at the very least, the start of a revolution.

This blog was written not to bash my brother whom although clearly has his faults, I still love very much and want nothing but the best for. It was written to serve as a metaphor for a larger issue of broken politics in America and how it is dividing our country and our families. I have my faults as do Democrats but at least I am open to change, I push myself to be better every day and always leave room for doubt that maybe I can do better with this or that. The day I think that my ideas are perfect and the only way, is the day I stop evolving. Republicans have not only stopped evolving they are riding full throttle in their gas guzzling hummers, in reverse.


Anti-Republican Crusaders
Tom C. :
"I am sick and tired of those supporting the right-wing including friends and family!!! People say play nice, I say FU! I sacrificed 30 years of my life for this country yet I've been told by members of family that my way of thinking is a cancer to America because I support the left. Right-wing zombies whose whole life has been about themselves. They have based their life on self serving agendas and what they have. No education, no technical skills, protected by those who serve. What they have they have gained by others sacrifice and freedom they never defended. Republicans cant face the fact their no longer the Grand old Party and the free ride most have had is over. It's sickening to see these people defending the right-wing and take lightly the candidates of their choice for President of the United States, while showing nothing but contempt for President Obama who exemplifies all the values once respected in America. So if you lean right and don't like being told where to go, Stand Down!"

Now that the wizard has gifted my Republican brother with a new heart, I can only hope he will take a moment to pause and analyze what he is doing wrong and maybe change course and find a better path. Just like our economy stalled, a heart stalling or any other "health" issue should be a time of self-reflection and modifying the factors that caused the breakdown in the first place. Hopefully, both of them can soften their stance and realize we are all in this together. One big, modern, dysfunctionally functional family that must love each other, bigotry and all.

Fast forward to Mount Sinai hospital, Miami Beach. As one family falls apart for one brother, a new family is born for another sibling. My sister's baby is born, two days before Christmas.

It's these times when your standing at a delivery window looking at your new niece for the first time that all these quarrels melt into oblivion. You're reminded what matters most is human life and the protection of it. Now if we can only agree on how to manage that "protection" of life for all and not just a few, chosen ones and to find a sustainable balance for life without straining our earth's resources...that's the gazillion dollar challenge that would win us a ranking as a higher civilization of this galaxy and we would walk forward on the road towards how "man-kind" should be....kind to each other. For if governments would do their job right, there would be no need for charitable organizations or charity.

Whether you believe in the apocalypse, rapture or our world getting kentucky fried in 2012, it's gonna be a bumpy ride this coming election year. One of the most volatile and stressful years of our lifetimes. A flood of energy with two worlds are colliding; one of compassion, sustainability and inclusiveness and the other of greed, self preservation and manipulation of the masses, no matter the cost to our collective world. Use your inner bullshit filter, occupy your heart and decide which path is the correct road to Nirvana on this earth.

One thing is certain; complacency is no longer acceptable. 

Burying your head in the sand is no longer possible.

The masses are a-awakenin'- and a'realizing we've been getting the short end of the stick for far too long. We are finally becoming conscious that we have been coralled into pens of ideological, political, religious control. The one percent controlling everything is nothing new, it's sadly as old as history. America was the game-changing country that made it seem like more than one percent had a chance at reaching a dream of success. That dream has been broken and shattered all over the kitchen floor and the puppeteers in the shadows don't want us to notice. They want to keep us blind to the injustices we have allowed, that we have given permission to. All the moneys spent for wars we didn’t agree on, military expenses we didn’t feel were necessary, corporate tax breaks we never wanted to give, most offensive of all, tax breaks to the very ones controlling our puppet strings and having us bear the majority of the burden while they sit atop Mt. Olympus as demigods that never were gods at all.

After all, if they did not have OUR taxes, they would have nothing. WE are the ones with the power. WE are the ones that can take it back. WE must remain awake and vigilant. The masses one by one, are unplugging themselves from the Matrix.

We are starting to occupy our own minds, occupy our consciousness, occupy this world we live in instead of floating through it like zombies chained to a maniacal ever turning wheel doing what is expected of us, never questioning authority.

Psychological article on why people defend unjust and corrupt systems that enslave them?

Time magazine named "The Protester" as Person of the Year- 2011.

What happens to a country when the difference between reality and illusion is blurred.

What the Mayan elders are saying about the coming "flood" in 2012.

Why do They Occupy Themselves with Occupying?

I have a Facebook message battle with a huffy, entitled queen from New England. He sarcastically posts on his wall- "Where do the Occupy Protesters summer- Burning Man?" to which I quickly reply, jumping at the opportunity to make him fully reveal his bias, "They summer where you do, the Occupy Protesters are you and I". Immediately I get a troll, private reply in my message inbox-

• Joshua

  • I didn't ask who they are... Perhaps you are still high from the altitude poisoning we all suffered last ski season together in Aspen. I said "where". PS. If you hadn't noticed by the private jet we took, Ritz we stayed at, or the meals my trust paid for. We are not them.
• Eric A. Vasallo

  • Joshua, if you want to go there i come from a good family myself...but i would never consider myself to be above anyone -especially people that are suffering without jobs due to the 1% of this country that snub their noses at the protests of other americans. you are a gay idiot. i am sad for the hypocrisy in which you live. oh and by the way the glaring red initials on ur jacket make u look like a pompous ass.

Ok so I admit, I should've left out the gay idiot and pompous ass insults. I would expect this kind of rhetoric from an obstinate Republican but not from a fellow homo. He's as big a hypocrite as Herman Cain or Clarence Thomas to his own people. Apparently, ignorance comes in all colors and people, no matter who they are, choose their morality based on their need for survival (I learned this in Anthropology). His being a trust fund baby means he is of the very few that are insulated by those that don't have to worry about a recession. In every movement there are always at least two sides, it's how the universe works; cause and effect, the yin and the yang. We saw it in Libya with the Gadhafi supporters in the streets supporting the insane despot, we see it in Cuba as well. The well off that are connected to the Government or a constant flow of good income and benefits are loyal to it's source. From the outside, you think how could these folks be loyal to such a corrupt and one-sided system? How can anyone defend Gadhafi or Fidel Castro? The answer is easy, "morality is based on one's need for survival". A retired economist in Cuba once told me, "If your people want to win this cold war against Cuba, end the embargo and start sending ship loads of medicine, food stuffs, appliances and clothing and you will see how quickly the people abandon Communism.". I never forgot that statement, the majority of people are loyal to whatever benefits them, no matter how badly it screws the rest of the population. Absolute power breeds absolute corruption and the root of this whole "class warfare" is just that. Corporations and big money have completely taken over this country's democracy. We are at a tipping point and while our country is not as impoverished as Egypt the inbalance of power is eerily similar. The proof is everywhere, from the countless graphs charting how much the middle class' income has been reduced since Bush's reign began to the Supreme Court ruling that corporations can be considered a "person" and kept corporate donations at their democracy threatening levels. This class warfare was not started by Obama or the Middle Class, it was started by Bush's "temporary" tax cuts benefitting the rich and will inevitably be finished by the masses taking back their democracy.

Enter - Occupy Wall Street Movement - not just a movement but an idea who's time has come, not created by one person but by the masses waking up and finally smelling that the bull shit in this country has reached an unbearable level. No manner of spinning or truth-twisting by the right can cover up the stench of the situation, at least not for the well informed. The other side swears the smell is coming from us evil liberals trying to defend equal pay and equal opportunity. Damn those evil liberals trying to take away their cake!

Don't believe in this conspiracy theory, then ask yourself or even Google when was the last time that journalists were arrested in this country for reporting on public events? 10 reporters were arrested in Zuccotti park in New York just this week. It's happening now, in this country, totalitarianism isn't just for the Middle East anymore. The Occupy movement is growing and will continue to grow as long as the inequality isn't remediated. The more people out of work the more will take to the streets, it's common logic and has happened again and again throughout history. America, as great as it is, is not immune to revolution.

The Occupy movement is global now, winter will not stop these protests, it will simply evolve into different types of protests and effect more change come voting season, just as the Tea Party did. Mass, organized voter registration drives would be an effective avenue to focus their energies on next.

If you want to continue to sit on your couch and pretend that everything is okay, go ahead, you can afford to, for now. If you don't then check out what Occupy is all about. It is not a bunch of hippies or "terrorists", they are fellow Americans, just like you and I. They are US and we are THEM.

When you gather with friends and family to dinner to give thanks this season, think of those protesting in the streets, working for us to have better lives and for the American Dream to be more equally accessible to all. Send them your warm wishes that things will get better, for they are a different type of soldier fighting to protect our democracy and this is a different kind of war, a class war. They started it and we will finish it.

Amazing graffitti artist-Shepard Fairey, whom echoes the Global Occupy Movement struggle for justice-

Why can't millionaires aspire to be like spiritual billionaire- John Templeton aka "god's sugar daddy" or like Bill & Melinda Gates?

United Nations envoy communication to United States on why Occupy Protesters human rights are not being defended.

Connect with the Global Occupy Movement here.