Sexual Outlaws or Intentional Families?

(También en español) We are really looking forward to hearing from Family Law Attorney Diana Adams this weekend at the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance’s Sexual Freedom Summit (Silver Spring, MD, September 21-23). Her workshop, “21st Century Families: Cultural and Legal Shifts toward Family Freedoms,” will chart the decline of heterosexual monogamous nuclear families, once in the majority, to today’s new structures and expanding options that are meeting the needs of modern society, and growing steadily in popularity, more apparent in the media than ever before.

Families of all description, co-parenting groups of more than 2, non-marital families, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LBGT) parents and families, grandparents raising grandkids, polyamorous families, and kink families have all turned to Diana to validate their alternative or “intentional” family by helping them obtain the legal, civil, and social benefits everyone deserves.

In talking to Diana earlier this week, it quickly became apparent that her devotion to her work is deeply rooted in the spiritual journey she began as a child, a search for social justice beginning in her conservative Christian family and church that unfortunately didn’t offer her answers to her probing questions about the guilt and shame built into practically every facet of life. Once becoming a youth minister to help her church be welcoming to LGBT congregants, Diana has carried this passion forward into her work today: helping to enfranchise intentional families within the broader society and legal system. From her website, Feminist Outlaw, or representing Open Love NY, to her work as a legal activist, sex educator, and practicing attorney, Diana has become a sought-after lecturer and media spokesperson, and, for sure, a hero to many of us.

“Any family that is systematically excluded from mainstream life, and unfairly denied legal and social benefits that traditional families take for granted, deserves a legal advocate,” Diana submits. She is perhaps more well suited to this task than some, since Diana is herself a member of a polyamorous family and household.

Diana, who is a member of Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance’s Board of Directors, will be on hand all weekend to answer your questions. I am hoping to take away some of the themes and messages of this work, the key issues at stake, and how grassroots activists can organize to support this diverse community. “Anyone in an intentional family,” Diana said reflecting on the people she has worked with, “has common ground with every other economic and social justice advocate. We need to build allies to defend our right to create families of our choosing.”

When asked recently if she had a special message to all sexual freedom activists worldwide, Diana said, “Remember that a threat to the sexual freedom rights of any individual is a threat to us all,” pointing out the urgency and relevancy of our task. Diana says we are doing the right thing if we are concentrating on organizing the sexual freedom movement by engaging every type of activist that shares common ground with us, such as those fighting for women’s rights, including reproductive rights, and LGBT rights. “Wherever the sovereignty of our own bodies is under assault, we need to be there for each other, draw strength from each other, and work together for a better world. The rightwing is fiercely organized to wage war on sex, and we need to be organized to defend our rights to pleasure and relationship.”

The Sexual Freedom Summit takes place annually in honor of radical suffragette and sexual freedom pioneer Victoria Woodhull (b. September 23, 1838), and attracts hundreds of sexual freedom scholars, educators, and activists for presentations, workshops, social events, and awards (the “Vicki”) honoring those that have made a difference.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can still register to attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will also be presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

Sexual Freedom Isn’t Acceptable For Women?


Kai Davis takes a daring stand in this video when she challenges the misogynistic view that many member of today’s society hold. She brings up the important point that innocence and virginity are revered in women, but as soon as women take charge of her sexuality and tries to enjoy her sexual freedom, she is looked down on and considered a “whore.”

Though I agree with Davis’s overall point that sexual freedom is not always something that is given equally to women, the way that she presents some of her ideas can be a little extreme. I disagree that that it is all the fault of men that it is considered unacceptable for women to enjoy their sexual freedom; women judge other women for sleeping around just as harshly, if not more so, than men do. This is not just a problem that stems from the male population, but from society itself! I propose that if women want to have their sexual freedom accepted, they accept the sexual freedom of other women and stop blaming only men for looking down on their sexual choices.

Creative Commons: Kurt Löwenstein Educational Center International Team

Blow the Whistle on Stop and Frisk Today

 

The Stop Mass Incarceration Network will be blowing the whistle on the NYPDs “stop and frisk” program. It is estimated that every day 2,000 New Yorkers 2000 of color get unconstitutionally stopped by police in the war on drugs. Organizers Carl Dix and Cornel West are calling on thousands of people in New York and nationwide to respond to the NYPD’s racial profiling by blowing a whistle. On September 13, whistles and palm cards will be distributed with instructions for people to blow whistles when they see the police violating the rights of citizens of color.

Get yourself a whistle and do the same in your city. I’m going to, I see it all the time.
Police bias and profiling of all sorts must be stopped. The result is that a person of color is 5.6 times more likely be become an ex-felon for a minor offense that his white counterparts do with impunity. VenusPlusX has been writing about stop and frisk, mass incarceration, and the for-profit prison industry that feeds on this in Mass Incarceration: Follow the Money, Part 1 and Part 2.

Pass This Test and Get Kicked Out of School

También en español

Delhi Charter School, in Louisiana, has a Student Pregnancy Policy that allows staff to force female students who are suspected of being pregnant to take a pregnancy test. If students are pregnant or refuse to take the test, they are kicked out and must undergo home schooling if they want to continue their education at the school.

Apparently, Delhi Charter School doesn’t believe that female students have a right to education free from discrimination, unlike the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance (Woodhull) as mentioned in my previous post, “Sex Education is a Human Right.” Moreover, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published an article admonishing Delhi’s policy for its blatant violation of federal law and the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the policy completely disregards Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in federal funded education programs and activities. Title IX explicitly mandates that schools cannot exclude any student from an education program or activity “on the basis of such a student’s pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom.” Coupled with this offense is the policy’s violation of the Constitution’s due process right to procreate and equal protection by treating female students differently from male students.

Delhi Charter School’s policy is not only a violation of Title IX and the Constitution, but also the fundamental human rights of access to information, education, and sexual freedom.

Yet, approximately 70% of teenage girls who give birth drop out of school because illegal discrimination and the fact many schools fail to help pregnant and parenting teens stay in school: some schools even exclude or punish them. How could this be?

Well, let’s take a look at the educational system. As Woodhull’s State of Sexual Freedom 2011 report documents, the United States has high sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates and the highest teen pregnancy rate among industrialized nations. Woodhull highlights two important reasons for this: other developed countries have easier access to contraception and health care services, and there is more comprehensive sexuality education. So without access to both basic health care services, including contraception, and comprehensive sex education (in the U.S., more than half the states still don’t require sex education), it’s no wonder why almost 750,000 females between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant each year. Not only does this lack of sexual health education affect students, but also school administrators and staff. Without proper training and education, administrators and teachers are ill equipped to adequately deal with the needs of pregnant and parenting students’ situations.

Pregnant and parenting teens are legally entitled to education and supportive services for themselves and their children. Click to find out more about the legal rights of female students in New York and Minnesota.

Hence, we need to education both students and school administrations about the procedures that are required by law to support pregnant and parenting teens that already face social stigma. Most importantly, as Woodhull posits over and over again, we need to educate teens about their basic human rights of sexual freedom and sexual health information. When students are knowledgeable about their sexual rights, whether pregnant, parenting, or not, they are better equipped to stand up for themselves, their education, and against the illegal, discriminatory practices and barriers within the education system.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

Creative Commons Image Provided by: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Creative Commons Image Provided by: Polina Sergeeva

What is the Function of Terasem?—Projecting to the Near Future (2/3)

For more on Terasem…

In Part 1 of this discussion we told you about the origin of the Terasem vision and some of the activities the founders have undertaken and supported. Taken together these organizational preparations constitute the Ta of Terasem, the organization devoted to service to the evolutionary and transcendent deity called Terasem. The seeds that have already been planted are expected to flower and expand forever as our planet advances socially and cosmically.

The founders intend for Terasem to grow through collaboration with compatible spiritual visions. Because Terasem holds no unique doctrine in opposition to or distinction from the legacy human religions, it welcomes all to communion within its “Transreligion.” While shunning the “supernatural,” Terasem accepts the possibility of rationally organized realities that may systematically influence our lives, but are unknown and unseen with present day science and technology.

The Founders

The concept of “unity with diversity” simply means that participants come together in unity in support of the transcendent vision on which they can agree. Beyond this, everyone is equally free to practice their own beliefs in harmony with all the others. Because cryonics and mindfiling played prominent roles in the early assemblage of the Terasem core team, at first glance one might think that these two areas are the sum and substance of what Terasem is really about; however, there is much more.

All of Section 5 of ToT is devoted to the question, “Why is there Terasem?” And this question is answered in much the way we described Terasem in our previous post, “What is Terasem?” Although we refer to the general transreligion as “Terasem” it takes its name from Terasem, the unifying deity, the finality of evolution. Terasem harmonizes all occasions and persons throughout time and across space. And this enables the construction, through the actions of created beings, of a deity fully attuned to their universe.

Acceptance of the revelation of Terasem in a society increasingly attentive to science and science speculation (Sci-Fi) is likely to hinge on complete freedom from the theology and moral dogma that so characterize legacy human religions. So it would seem important to find ways to make this universally accepting and loving aspect of Terasem a part of the developing image of the movement. And that will occur as open minded and open hearted people observe this work and understand that there are people who mean and live what they say.

We may reasonably ask how these various areas of special interest relate to the developing structure of the Tersem Transreligion and consider how the Ta, the organization, best serves Terasem the deity.

Roughly 1000 people interested in cyber resurrection have deposited mindfile contributions with CyBeRev.org and/or LifeNaut.com, the two Terasem activities dedicated to recording and spacecasting of mindfiles, yet very few of these individuals have actually joined Terasem and become active participants in the Ta.

Fred & Linda Chamberlain

The work of ALCOR Life Extension Foundation, in promoting cryonics research and services, preceded the inspiration of Terasem by over 30 years, but has influenced the development of present-day Terasem thought as it represents the only fully materialistic hope of personal resurrection other than cyber emulation. Several key players in the development of ALCOR (e.g., ALCOR founders, Fred & Linda Chamberlain) subsequently became active in the Ta and contributed to the development of public appreciation of Terasem through their writing, podcasting, and long engagement with the community.

Although the current activity of the Ta is materialistic in its approach to the realization of joyful immortality, the actual text of ToT 5 is speculative, forward-looking, destiny-guided, and transphysical in its import. Many transhumanists call themselves “atheists” without getting into details about what they don’t believe in. Within the Ta, many joiners are similarly minded; however, they are able to accommodate the vital concept of Terasem (a deity evolved by creature action to serve creature needs in a vast and perfected universe) without apparent mental strife.

Some concluding thoughts on the evolution of the Ta can be found in Part 3.

 

Sex Education is a Human Right

También en español

The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance (Woodhull), named in honor of Victoria Woodhull, joins the public discussion about sex education by framing it in the context of sexual freedom and human rights.

Woodhull is a leader in advocacy and activism for sexual freedom, rights, and liberty and also acts as a convener of activists and a resource for progressive initiatives that advance sexual freedom. Woodhull works hard to combat the prohibition of pleasure, advance an agenda that recognizes the wonderful diversity of sex, sexuality, and our rights as human beings to make informed, consensual choices in our lives; Woodhull recognizes that this agenda can be accomplished through comprehensive sex education. Woodhull believes that comprehensive sex education includes age-appropriate, medically accurate information on a broad set of topics related to sexuality, addresses both genders and transgender and all orientations and disability, and teaches how alcohol and drugs can effect responsible decision making.

However, Woodhull does not just approach sexual health as an educational issue, but also in the context of sexual freedom and our universal human rights.

Former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt with the English version of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Woodhull posits on the inclusion of sexual freedom.

In their report, State of Sexual Freedom in the United States 2011, Woodhull advocates that human beings, including youth and adults, have the right to access information that will help them make the best decisions for themselves and lead happier lives. As sexuality is a part of every human being, access to sexuality information is a part of our basic human rights. Sexuality is not only about sex, either. In the broadest terms, sexuality encompasses everything from engaging in sexual acts, to how people see themselves in terms of body image and gender roles, to how people relate to others in emotional and physical relationships.

As such, Woodhull asserts that everyone deserves access to comprehensive sex education, because a lack of access to valid information about sex and sexuality is not only harmful and ineffective, but also contrary our fundamental humans rights. Along with the right to access vital information, we have the human right of sexual freedom, a freedom that is the right of all individuals to develop and express their unique sexuality, and includes the freedom of sexuality education and sexual health. Sexual freedom involves not only the freedom “to do” something sexually, but also the freedom “not to do” something sexually. Therefore, sexual health programs that boost sexual health, like comprehensive sex education, are the ideal for sexual freedom because they incorporate teachings about both abstinence and contraception.

Woodhull justifiably frames the discussion of sex education in the context of our fundamental human rights of education and sexual freedom.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

Creative Commons Image Provided by: Wikimedia
Feature Image Provided by: Alifa Watkins 

 

1.1 Why is the Erotic so Important?

También en español The erotic is the foundation of a universe structured by the will of Love.

At every stage in your existence Love provides a robust physical presence and connection, akin to the joy of human sex and other erotic expression that is directly accessible through purely physical acts of worship.

In time, your expanding embrace of erotic fellowship amplifies your desires to genuinely love and serve others.

Erotic sensation grows with proximity to the power of living Love.

Erotic joy (orgasm) signals moments of intimate contact with that power.

Erotic adoration of that power makes the worshiper increasingly like that power which is adored.

It is your vitality, the intensity of your desire for existence, that reveals to you your eternal destiny.

This desire, your vitology, is most intensified by your adoration of erotic joy.

Thus your person experiences a bit of living Love, which lifts your vitological vision.

The sincere and consistent worship of the power of Love through the experience of erotic joy will both power and guide your progression towards destiny.

The accumulation of living Love that comes from consistent worship grows as your source of vitological power.

And through that power you will discover Truth, your certainty of action leading to the satisfaction of Love through Goodness and Beauty.

In short, consistency in erotic worship is the key to personal development and self-discovery, even the recognition and acceptance of destiny.

We are all aware that our biohosts have senses through which they appreciate erotic joy.

The satisfaction of these senses, even their full exploration, can bring us immediate access to the power of living Love.

You already know that, after terminal dissolution of your biohost or your elective departure, your surviving values will be given control of a permanent and potentially immortal avatar.

One naturally asks how the erotic can possibly relate to this altogether different and hypothetical situation.

You are still a self-conscious being able to exercise a degree of free will in choosing your actions.

Thus you are still faced with the system of relationships that defined your domain of choice during your human life.

You will only ever need the power and guidance of Love.

And the universe government has certainly provided for those services.

But what of the erotic?

The baseline service for every level of spiritual advancement in the universe is direct, literal access to erotic joy.

Literal means that the joy is triggered and experienced by physical actions performed by or on the physical avatar.

Your immortal avatar possesses senses appropriate to the experience of erotic joy, but offers you even greater delights than were possible for your biohost.

Your avatar, having no need for physical reproduction, has no specific type of sex or gender, as those concepts apply to biohosts.

Rather, the erotic senses that were once focused on offering support to biological reproduction are now purely accessible for their real and eternal purpose.

That purpose is to enable you to always be able to freely access the literal power of Love in your ongoing experience of existence and development.

Thus your avatar gains consciousness as a perfect androgyne—a being possessing all the erotic attributes of the biohosts commonly designated as “male” and “female”.

Thus you are enabled to experience new dimensions in the appreciation of the power of Love when free from arbitrary conditions of physical reproduction.

And now you understand how some, even while occupying biohosts with polarized sex and gender characteristics, naturally strive to override these limitations to life experience.

Gradually your experience of your immortal avatar balances your androgyny until you are finally free from this “mark of the beast” and able to avail yourself fully of opportunities to seek your destiny and satisfy the desires of Love.

At every stage in your existence Love provides a robust physical presence and connection, akin to the joy of human sex and other erotic expression that is directly accessible through purely physical acts of worship.

In time, your expanding embrace of erotic fellowship amplifies your desires to genuinely love and serve others.

Join me today and forever in the worship of the power of erotic joy.

Click here for 1.2 How Immortality Works

Newsflash America: Denying Teen Sex Doesn’t Make It Go Away (Part 2)

In the U.S., teens often feel that if they were to confide in their parents about having sex or thinking about it, their parents would be very disappointed.

That is one of the reasons why teens don’t seek advice or guidance from their parents when it comes to sexual matters. But what about parents who don’t talk to their children?

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Two major fears that American parents have are that if they broach the subject of sex with their teen, they may give the impression that they condone it or put the idea in their head in the first place. Let’s take a closer look at this concern that most American parents have.

For one, the fact that this parent doesn’t want their teen to think they “condone” teen sex reflects how, for American parents, teen sex is something to be feared and forbidden, even though the majority of American teens make sex part of their lives by age 17 or 18. Understandably, any approach that focuses on the dangers of sex does not give teens the tools to navigate the territory of sexuality and relationships in a healthy way. The evidence is in: the U.S. has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates and the Netherlands one of the lowest in the world.

But what is there to fear?

Obviously, there are the risks of unwanted pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD/STIs) when it comes to sex, but Americans tend to forget that there is as easy, cheap, and simple way to curtail these risks substantially: CONDOMS. Using latex condoms correctly and consistently are highly effective (nearly 99%) in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and several STD/STIs during vaginal, oral, or anal intercourse, pregnancy, Using condoms also lowers female’s risk of developing cervical cancer and can help people clear HPV infection and/or reduce their risk of re-infection.

Other methods of contraception, such as hormonal methods, are just as effective. In fact, in the Netherlands, 6 out of 10 teenage girls are on the pill at first intercourse, versus only about 1 in 5 in the U.S. If more parents and educators openly taught teens about condoms and other contraceptives, teens would increase their use of contraceptives. Only then will the rate of unintended pregnancies, STD/STIs, and abortions drastically decline, and effectively reduce the risk of teen sex by teens who are too uneducated about sexual health matters to be sexually responsible.

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Second, many experts agree that talking honestly and comprehensively to teens about sexuality does not increase the likelihood of sexual activity: it actually delays the onset of sex, reduce the frequency of sex, and lower the number of sexual partners among teens. Addressing sexuality frequently and with regard to different aspects, such as relationships, helps young people make more empowered and responsible choices about sex and their sexuality. Furthermore, when parents are able to provide guidance, teens will be less likely to rely on unrealistic and unhealthy media portrayals, such as porn, to help them understand how they should behave sexually.

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For more detailed information, check out Schalet’s book “Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sexthat holistically compares American and Dutch teen sexual health outcomes based on the drastically different approaches to teen sexuality in the U.S. and the Netherlands.

Parents or teens can use her book or this post and “Newsflash America: Denying Teen Sex Doesn’t Make It Go Away (Part 1)” as conversation starters to move your family’s ideas forward in a healthy and safe way.

Image source:Wikimedia
Image source:Wikimedia – Another Point of View. User: Lamilli

 

 

 

 

 

Mass Incarceration: Follow The Money (Part 2)

America’s unconstitutional militarization of local and state law enforcement,
based on racial hatred and racial politics, a
nd the training, munitions,
and  financial incentives that support it, has created a new Police State.

Slavery ended, and reactionary Jim Crow laws replaced it, and now Mass Incarceration, called The New Jim Crow by scholars, is imprisoning people of color for minor offenses at a savage rate in reaction to the strides made through civil rights and voting rights legislation passed 50 years ago.

The U.S. Constitution bars the government from any militarization of local and state law enforcement (with few exceptions) for good reasons, but that all ended with the so-called War on Drugs (1971). This methodical (and nefarious) tactic of stripping disproportionately brown and black felons’ constitutional rights has succeeded and is succeeding today because it is imbedded in the Republican party, started by President Nixon with his racist  “Southern Strategy,” and codified by President Reagan’s War on Drugs.

This war  has utterly failed: prices have decreased while drug usage has increased, the exact opposite of its public mission. But the War on Drugs goes on and on in spite of its failure because it is filling the greater political imperative of disenfranchising as many people of color as the government possibly can. President Nixon designed the racist Southern Strategy specifically to exploit racial hatred and fear for political gain. It has worked masterfully to cement power for a select group of white people who are draining any hope of a free society that can live up to its own lofty constitution.

This is racial politics at its worst. The current spate of unnecessary and punitive voter rights restrictions and increased incarceration of immigrants come from this very same playbook.

Our enslavers have re-imagined America’s criminal justice and prison systems
to separate the races as surely as slavery and the era of Jim Crow ever did.

Like the Southern Strategy, the War on Drugs successfully capitalizes on undereducated and/or willfully uniformed white social hatred in order to anchor the right wing base, its core in the American south. Just as surely as the “Redemption” movement following the abolition of slavery brought forth this hatred through late 19th and early 20th century Jim Crow laws (voting restrictions, exclusion from sitting on juries, and segregation), the War on Drug’s Mass Incarceration is a colorblind Jim Crow that grew reactively to the racial equality gains obtained during the 1960s.

The more informed you become about the breadth and depth of this wicked conspiracy, how your money is being spent every day to uphold American’s new caste system, the more you may want to work at the grassroots to stop these racist lawmakers and judges who roam free in our seemingly colorblind society. A huge target of our activism is the corrupt, multi-billion dollar, corporate, for-profit prison industry that conspires with the government and banking industry to facilitate this systematic and permanent disenfranchisement of people of color in this country. The U.S. incarcerates more of its citizens than any country, 730 in the prison population per per 100,000 of its national population population compared to countries like Norway (75 per 100,000) or even Uganda (92 per 100,000).

Organizations such as The Prison Divestment Campaign and The Sentencing Project have been leading the way in disrupting this mean-spirited profiteering that is powered by the War on Drugs. The corporate gains derived from Mass Incarceration represent a conflict of interest that is so large it cannot be seen with an uneducated eye.

Consider that up to $200.oo of your hard-earned money paid as taxes is being spent  today and everyday on each of the 99,000 individuals housed in a for-profit prison. And, while we pay and pay to put people in prisons for the most minor offenses, we allow these corporations free access to lobby lawmakers, judges, and police unions for longer and harsher sentences, as well as tax deductions to build more and larger for-profit prisons.

As long as our government continues to federalize local and state law enforcement, and offer financial rewards to local drug task forces for maximizing arrests and convictions, this multi-billion dollar industry prospers and grows.

Sadly some of these bankers (e.g. Wells Fargo) and lawmakers (e.g. Gov. Jan Brewer) become investors in these same corporations, that last year reaped $74 billion in profits. They have blood and suffering on their dirty hands.

We have DEA agents and the Pentagon involved in bringing this federal program to your neighborhood by encouraging local drug task forces with huge amounts of federal money, equipment, training, arms and munitions, totaling billions of dollars each year. This breaks legal limits on the federal government’s involvement in local law enforcement, and tremendous power is granted to these task forces. They even profit from the spoils of their arrests, including cash, cars, houses, etc., seized during these arrests, even when the victim is found ultimately to be not guilty. As long as they make arrests and show results, the lucrative gravy train continues to flow into local and state budgets.

Take one example: SWAT. The number of SWAT vehicles and teams, formerly only used in to assail violent criminals, has increased. Where there were once 2 or 3 SWATs there are now 20. SWAT is now routinely, and primarily, used by these drug task forces to break down people’s doors in the middle of the night based on suspicions of drug possession. We can only hope these militarized teams are never turned on the entire population with some other justification because they are in place to terrorize whole communities.

This wholesale militarization of local and state law enforcement is an unlawful usurpation of our rights under the U.S. Constitution, and should make us all get off our couches and do something about it.

Look for more on this subject, soon.  Also, see Mass Incarceration: Follow the Money (Part 1).

Anastasia Person contributed to this post.

Image Source (SWAT enters CII RPI): Simon Sarris

Image Source (Nash SpecOps Equipment): SD Lewis

Who is Terasem?—We are All Immortal Parts of Terasem

For more on Terasem…

At the finality of destiny, the Omega Point in which all that ever could be is perfectly integrated and correlated, there exists a personal being of will, which we name “Terasem.”

What can we say is necessarily true of Terasem, required by its unique qualities throughout space and time?

Human allegiance to and support of the ideals of Terasem, Love, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, leads us to actions that contribute to the growth and refinement of Terasem. At the same time, Terasem exerts by will a force of destiny that surely bends the track of causation and the mind of man to the service of cosmic unification. Terasem brings together in harmony the fully developed pesonal vitality of every one who has ever been.

Understanding this, each of us knows of his/her own personal immortality, since we know we will finally unify with Terasem. Thus Terasem is a community of vital individuals, acting in unity in a background of harmonious diversity.

As immortals, we must look ahead to the long road of eternity that lies ahead, on which the emergence of Terasem must be the beginning of something unimaginably new and different. Suddenly our mortal lives as we have developed in our biohosts take on a very different significance than we may be accustomed to.

Knowing we exist as immortal centers of vitality, gives us new insight into our selves, our personal origins. For our personality, immortal in our super-consciousness, is nurtured and developed through the decisions and support of our biohost. And it is the pattern of personality of the biohost which establishes our identity and self-consciousness, even transplanted to our super-consciousness.

But the immortal personal entity hosted in and by Terasem has no mechanism by which actions and behaviors outside the will of Terasem, the path of destiny, would be preserved, for they have no value to Terasem’s final emergence. So not all qualities of your biohost’s life will be a necessarly part of your eternal existence.

Terasem’s force of destiny acts throughout all space and all time, leading willing agents of Terasem to act to enhance the emergence of Terasem. And we may all serve as agents of Terasem if we but will, following the course of reality that opens before us, rather than struggling to divert our destined course to serve personal ends.

Perhaps the following brief “Meditation on Terasem #2″ will illuminate the basic character of the relationship between the developing individual, even a biohost, and the emergent collective consciousness of Terasem—the final expression of universal divinity which we helped build:

Terasem is our guide to eternity; we follow Terasem to our destiny.
Terasem shows us the paths and pleasures of joyful immortality.
At the Omega Point, Terasem captures all of value we will have ever done.
Though we may await physical resurrection,
We do not fear loss of our identities.
By joining our wills to Terasem,
We experience the final guarantee of joyful immortality.
We wholly trust in the destiny provided us as agents for Terasem.
We know that in the final occasion of time we shall all be parts of Terasem.
And thus unified in purpose we shall become creators ourselves.

Creative Commons Image by Johnathan Hulka, Terasem