First, there is a Mountain, then there is no Mountain, then there is

The impact Ted Kennedy had in this country and Massachusetts is poignantly expressed in the opening lyric of the song by Donovan, the great English rock poet/singer of the sixties. Teddy Kennedy, the last Kennedy brother has died and I, like thousands of others, feel like I lost a family member. He carried the mantle of idealism that Jack and Bobby established in the turbulent sixties. The family had an effect on the history of America like no other family in our history. Even the average man or woman today feels like he has suffered an irreplaceable loss. The hole has fallen out of the center of gravity. At times like this, people feel leaderless, like children looking for answers or guidance. They look for the leadership that Ted Kennedy provided as the champion of education, civil rights, disability rights, immigration, and health care. He fought for a better world for everyone, especially the downtrodden. That's where he took up Jack and Bobby's cause. That's why people feel empty now. They look around and wonder who will do it for me now? And the answer is no one. People have to do it for themselves. Fight for what you believe in and don't be dissuaded or influenced by political labels. Idealism does not have to die. If nothing else, that is what the Kennedy legacy can teach us.

Do you want a Shot of Consciousness with that?

A shot of consciousness, a wake-up call, an awakening. If only we could bottle and sell it, whatever "it" is, we might end the madness and suffering in the world. A woman rips a baby from a mother's womb. Another woman cannibalizes her own baby. Genocide goes on unabated in Darfur. Heinous acts happen every day somewhere, and less overtly heinous acts. I read one job is lost every 1.4 minutes in this country alone. One company wants to lay off 8,ooo people by the end of the year. Eight-thousand people, that's a small town. That's mothers, fathers, churchgoers, homeowners, renters, coaches, PTA members, part time waiters, students, instructors, volunteers. That's people whose income support basic town services, not to mention local businesses that keep a town afloat. Eight thousand people without jobs so one company can increase their share price value for their investors, and just possibly beat the market. YAY! Oh, and this company is spending millions of dollars for the naming rights of a stadium in Oakland, CA, where the Raiders play. Awesome! One CEO got it right when he said when he dies, God isn't going to be interested in what his company's share price was, but if he did good works.