Planet Ponzi

I don’t know about you, but I sure enjoyed Bernie Madoff’s ponz-o-matic perp-walk for the cameras yesterday. Who doesn’t love a billionaire on the red carpet in cuffs? Fascinating! How does a greedy geezer get away with such a colossal swindle for so long? But I’m not talking about government’s lack of oversight here (that’s a whole other mess), I mean the quiet checks and balances within a man’s own soul. This is why we stare at pictures of criminals, isn’t it? We hope to find answers written somewhere in the face. We need to sigh with relief that they’re not us… But not so fast. It turns out we do in fact share something in common with Madoff, and his scam offers us a valuable opportunity to understand ourselves in fresh terms. That is: the human race has been running a vast con job on mother earth herself… and the gig is nearly up. Welcome to Planet Ponzi.

A Ponzi scheme is basically when you pay off early investors with money from newer investors. It’s also called a pyramid scheme because it grows in the shape of a triangle – each new tier of victims must be bigger to cover payments to all previous tiers. This is sustainable only so long as you can keep more and more fresh money flowing in. But once that dries up, even a little, the whole thing collapses. They always do, and usually quite quickly. What’s astonishing about Madoff is that it went on for so long and got so big.

But Bernie’s mischief is a sideshow to the main stage. Are you sitting down? The global economy actually works in a similar way, and we’re watching the whole house of cards teeter as voodoo economics collides hard with planet earth.

Capitalism is all about growth. It thrives on the creation of more and more wealth. Follow the money back to its roots and you’ll always find natural resources. Our desire to exploit natural resources is certainly nothing new. But for thousands of years we, like all living things, were part of a food chain that was limited by each year’s sunlight. We understood the circle of life because we lived in it. But through the millennia our pesky penchant for science, mixed with some God-given dominion, slowly pulled us away from the garden. Our dislocation took an abrupt turn off track with the discovery of oil. Suddenly, a million years worth of stored sunlight was available in a moment. The industrial revolution kicked into high gear. Enormous amounts of energy were applied exploiting other resources, which in turn were used to exploit yet more resources, on and on in a vicious cycle of production, consumption and waste that grows like… you guessed it, a Ponzi scheme. Today we have a complex industrial food system that’s 30 times more energy-dependent than just a century ago. Not to mention all that stupid shit they sell on infomercials late night.

Capitalism is a cool party train so long as the oil wells are pumping and there’s somewhere to dump the waste. But over the past decade or so, we’ve been shaken with the realization that Mama Earth has her limits. She’s slamming on the brakes and the boxcars of the Economy Express are piling up in a spectacular derailment. As the dust settles, we’re beginning to think hard about a new way of doing business where the earth gets to vote again.

I’ll never forget my first lesson in ecology: a Native Alaskan ceremonial mask I saw in a museum when I was a kid. A crazy-assed spirit face, and on the sides it had hands with big holes in the palms. I learned the holes represented a guiding rule: for every salmon you catch, you have to let one slip through. When’s the last time you saw them do that on Deadliest Catch? The next big lesson came from the compost pile: in nature, there is no waste. The thing is, there’s nothing romantic or remarkable about this view of life. It IS life. Nature is self-sustaining, ponzi schemes are not. Native people acted on behalf of their unborn’s unborn, corporations act on behalf of the next quarterly report. The earth is round, yet we’ve been jamming it into a pyramid-shaped box.

In court yesterday, Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty. The fallen billionaire will probably die in prison. He hung his head and expressed deep regret for the pain he caused. He explained that when it started, he thought it would end quickly. It just grew out of control. He said, “As the years went by I realized this day, and my arrest, would inevitably come.” Call him the greedy sociopath he certainly is – don’t forget the swine specifically targeted charities! (he also screwed amazing activists like John Robbins of Diet for a New America fame). But let’s also stop and think about the Madoff in all of us. The part of us that knows we must stop, knows our day in court will come, but we lack the courage to do the right thing. Old Bernie’s cooked. But for us there’s still time – although not much. Big Mama’s negotiating for a limited time only.

Our ticket back home is renewable energy. Sun, wind, and waves are forever so they can’t be boxed into a ponzi scheme. Amidst this crisis there’s enormous opportunity and great hope. The days of denial are over. We have a new leader of the free world who embraces science and progressive, holistic, long-view solutions. These first 50 days of Obama’s term have been dizzying in the scope of change. So much legislation and money is being directed to these issues that I can’t keep track. Huge sums for renewable energy. Please share links and details that you may have!

We all have to do our part to fan these winds of change. As my wife Kris says, it’s time to “turn shit into champagne.” Of course, that’s a sustainable, local, organic shit vineyard. 2009 will be a great vintage.

Peace,
Brian

Can I eat a mostly raw, somewhat organic, vegan diet on the cheap?

Queen Turnip,

Lately I’ve been really driven to try a bunch of new alternative therapies.  Why?  Because I’m a health junkie and a writer.  I want first-hand experience, not recycled articles with agendas.  This past month I had a little downtime so I decided to give  oxygen treatments a whirl.  I had been reading about their benefits for years, saved some money from my speaking gigs, and dove head first into goodness and madness.

Recently, several comments regarding the cost of a healthy lifestyle have stuck in my mind.  Forget my out-of-the-box treatments; the main problem is the raw, vegan, organic diet, and all the goodie-boosters that go with it.  It’s expensive!  Some folks get really miffed at me for promoting this way of living – if they can’t afford it then I shouldn’t write about it.  Now that’s not fair or constructive.  My point is to address problems and find solutions.  But clearly I have more work to do.

Our system is broken and it makes me angry.  I promise to do my part in a more constructive, inclusive way – or at least to try.  In these times we all need to dig as deep as we possibly can to find and share cost effective ways to improve health, spiritual wealth and happiness.  Will I always succeed?  Will you?  NO WAY.  Bottom line:  It’s cheap to get sick and expensive to be healthy.  Integrative medicine should be covered by insurance.  Insurance should be affordable.  Advertisers should be more responsible.  Your doctor should know more about nutrition – and so should you/me/us.  I want to “eat my veggies and shake my ass” but I don’t want it to break my bank.  Since my diagnoses I have spent most of my money on chow.  How about a vacation?  Or better yet, some home repair and my credit card debt!

Listen up Mr. Obama (who I love and crush on), if you really want to bring the troops home in the war on cancer (and other dis-eases), don’t just focus on new drugs.  Get uber serious about how you’re gonna’ spend the money allocated for “prevention”.  Seek advise the RIGHT people.  If one more nutritionist tells me to boil my skinless chicken I’m gonna’ snap!  We’re wasting tons of cash chasing our tails.  Bring me on board, Mr. Prez, I’d be happy to sit down over a green drink and give you some pointers.  :)

But I digress…

A vegan, mostly raw, organic lifestyle costs more than McDonalds – or so we think.  It’s pricey because it’s not subsidized!  The costs of a fast-food, nutrient-deficient diet are hidden. That burger may be 99 cents today, but its cost to your health and the health of the planet down the road are huge. Kids are fat and loaded with diabetes in our country.  Cancer is a shit pickle that you don’t want to find yourself in and yet it’s cheaper to follow a lifestyle that promotes it.  The poorest countries in the world struggle with infection – we come a long – westernize their diets – BAM – stroke.  Heart disease is virtually non-existent where indigenous diets of rice and beans are king.

Good foods, on the other hand, may cost more now, but in the big picture, they’re actually a bargain… But of course that doesn’t solve the elitist problem right now for someone trying to get through a busy day.  Add superfoods, supplements, potions, powders, raw snacks and forget it.

So I’m gonna challenge myself to be thrifty.  This morning I downloaded McDonald’s menu but there were no prices so I called the location of the nearest drive-through feeding trough.  Here’s a sample of what I thought an average day would look like if I ate this way:

Breakfast:

* Egg McMuffin – $2.40  * Medium OJ – $1.70   * Large Coffee – $1.50

Lunch:

* Big Mac – $3.80 *Medium Fries – $1.55  *Medium Ice tea – $1.40

Dinner:

* Premium Salad with chicken – $4.95  *Oatmeal raisin cookies – $1  * Medium Coke – $1.40

Total: $19.70

I can certainly eat healthy for $19.70 per day but not if I don’t make it myself!  How about $10?  $5?  Not if I jam the juice.

Join me.  Save your receipts, blog about your experience.  Be honest and be healthy.  Ramen noodles and ketchup don’t cut it.  I know that I can slice my food bill by buying a combo of organic (for the 12 most sprayed) and conventional fruits/veggies, bulk grains etc.  I’ve written about this stuff many times but have I ever REALLY tried to limit myself?  What about the staples I’ve stocked?  You know the oils, Braggs, hemp seeds, dulse, spices, nut butters, etc.  Do I start from scratch or can I average that stuff in?  Hmmm.  As many of you know, the big $$$ gets laid out in the beginning.  Once we stock the basics it’s easier to save do re mi.

How do you cut costs and live this lifestyle on the cheap?

PLEASE share.  Let this blog be a solution and not a bitch fest.

Peace & coupons,

Kris

YES WE DID!

Tomatoes!

We did it! Not only did the rainbow of race, age, and creed storm the voting booths in record numbers to elect our very first African American healer-poet, philosopher, peacekeeper, maker of change, but thanks to the extraordinary efforts of animal advocates around the country, 20 million farm animals’ lives will improve. Prop 2 was also passed!

Is it just me or do you feel empowered again? I woke up whole. I opened my green eyes ready to start a new chapter in my own life. If Obama can do it, what can I do? How far can I go? Where is the ceiling of personal potential or is there one?

Peace and tenacity. Love and righteousness. There is no better job than the job that allows us to serve humanity.

Right?

Wow!

How do you feel today friends? Surreal? Cracked wide open, oozing sunshine and honey? Perhaps hung over? I am! Brian and I waited 2 years to drink an amazing bottle of champagne given to us by our Executive Producer at TLC. The card that came with the spirits read “to the start of the revolution”.

You’d think we would have drank it the night “Crazy Sexy Cancer” aired on national television – a feat that few thought we’d accomplish. “Cancer? On TV? Funny? No one wants to see that, ratings will tank”.

Yes we can! Yes we did! But still, we did not drink the nectar. Even though it took 5 long years to make and a whole heck of a lot of blood sweat and tears, we knew something bigger was coming.

That champagne tasted really sweet, really right and really HEALTHY last night.

Peace and pride,
Kris
xo

How and where to vote 101

Good Monday!

I’ve got two words for you… One Day! That’s all we’ve got, one day. So here’s a concept: let’s vote… then volunteer. Contact your local organizers and see how you can help. Drive someone to the polling place who’s in need, knock on doors, hand out fliers. And if you live in a swing state like Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, and Pennsylvania – hustle baby hustle! Here are some voting basics:

1. Find your polling place by clicking here or calling 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

2. Voter ID laws vary by state, but always bring your ID!

3. Not on the list? Make sure you’re at the right polling place, then demand a provisional ballot.

4. If voting by machine with paper record, verify the record is accurate.

5. Know your rights when you go to vote: http://truth.voteforchange.com/

6. Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

7. Your cell phone camera is a valuable tool for democracy. Record video of any problems and upload to watchdog sites. One of them is Video The Vote. You can also interview other voters who had problems outside the polling place – as long as you stay the legal distance.

Even Oprah had a hard time at the polls, gang. If you see something fishy, say something. Double, triple check that your vote was counted and that your choice was correct. Let’s avoid the Gore debacle at all costs.

Good Luck Obama! I’m on Crazy Sexy Pins & Needles!

Peace and anxiety,

Kris

VOTE!

Greetings Gorgeous Citizens,

The part equals the whole. Regular readers know this is a big theme for us here, over at the forum, and more and more on the road with my public appearances. It’s been one of the most exciting and important awakenings for me to uncover the connections between our bodies and our planet – the health of one is inseparable from the health of the other. Yet there’s another essential dimension to this: politics.

Many of us glaze over when the topic comes up. What’s it got to do with me? There was a time when I believed this. Politics was abstract, wasn’t something I could hold in my hands. But then I got “sick” (major dot-connecting, wake-up call) AND married a progressive politics junkie! For the first time in my life I started to take another look around me – there’s nothing that hasn’t been molded by the invisible hand of politics. My body (farm, drug, healthcare policy, just for starters), how about the sleeves on my arm? (cotton? Wool? Eco chic bamboo? Trade, labor, and again, farm policy). My computer (how about Defense spending long ago that led to the internet?), even the thoughts I believe are my own (who gets to lease airwaves? what is “decent”? Janet’s boob: no. Bloodbaths: yes? This is all FCC policy). You get the idea.

We’re just a week away from one doozy of an election. Every few years we hear, “this is the most important election!” But right now, everyone I know has a gut-wrenching feeling that it’s really true this time. In one cool discussion over at the forum, people were recounting how they voted early with tears of hope and pride in their eyes. There’s something in the air this year, and it’s a beautiful thing.

I’ve been swept up in the drama of it all, following the tit for tat soap opera as the kindergarten candidates throw playdoh at each other. Brian and I obsessively check wonky websites with up-to-minute swing state tracking polls displayed in pretty pie charts. Palin’s expensive clothes! Snap! Zogby polls paint Ohio light blue this morning! Snap! It’s exhausting and boy am I ready for a techno-detox.

Next Tuesday morning Brian and I will walk a mile down the road to the firehouse and vote. It’s not only a privilege and an honor to vote, it’s our duty to vote smart. We owe it to each other to do our homework. I cringe and get depressed when I see people make these decisions on a “feeling,” or on rumors, gossip or sound bites. I see some uninformed ignoramous on TV and think, “who the hell let him open his yap and how on earth can that jackass’ vote be worth the same as mine?” (maybe even more, since he lives in Florida). This election is expected to see the highest voter participation in generations. This is amazing and yet I am on edge. We’re in a shit pickle no doubt.

The two most important issues to me personally are healthcare and the environment.

Healthcare, obviously, because of the little box I check next to the words “pre-existing condition.” My COBRA is running out. I won’t bother describing the state of our healthcare system in the US other than to say it’s a despicable, immoral, shameful mess. I believe a decent level of healthcare in a wealthy country is a “basic right.” But Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness just ain’t possible when your premiums and co-pays are going up twenty times faster than your income, and hatchet men in cubicles overpower your doctor and use loopholes to deny care when you need it most. On this issue, Barack Obama gets our vote. His underlying philosophy jives with mine, and his way of going about it makes sense. He sees prevention as a key part of keeping us healthy and coverage affordable. McCain, on the other hand, says he’s all for freedom of choice, but after 30 years of deregulation, we know exactly what that really means: we’re screwed. His little 5K gift (which is only for families, not individuals, and isn’t tax-free) ain’t gonna get me very far. My COBRA is nearly $700 per month! His plan would leave tens of millions uninsured as the responsibility shifts from employers to workers. It’s based on faith that the market will eventually do the right thing… A concept that’s been discredited in a big way on Wall Street recently.

The Environment. This issue is so huge because it is inextricably linked to all others. Beneath the surface of any problem we face, we’ll find environmental causes and solutions. Dealing with global warming seems like a paralyzing challenge because we aren’t often asked to think so big and so far into the future. Politicians, especially, see the world through short-view lenses. During the 2008 Presidential campaign we’ve heard disappointingly little about the environment. But if you look hard enough, you’ll find the rhetoric. On the environment, Obama gets our votes. Both have plans to cut carbon emissions, but Obama’s gets us there quicker. And frankly, overall, the Democratic party has a long history of respecting the environment while Republicans have taken it for granted – even to this day denying a problem at all. Whether we’re talking global warming, endangered species, land use, pollution, I trust Obama has the intelligence, skill, and hopefully the will to lead our world towards an essential paradigm shift. It’s time for us to rely on clean energy to create jobs that both empower our people and respect our precious planet. It’s also time that we make the connection between energy independence and national security.

Here’s my environmental policy: Vote with your fork. I think Obama is more likely to help me raise that fork. I think he shares my table manners.

Of course, there are many other gravely important issues to worry about. Remember that Iraq War thing? Yep, still going on, to the tune of $10 Billion a month. And speaking of money, there’s the pesky economic armageddon. The damage hit home for me when I checked my account yesterday– one fifth of my life’s savings went up in smoke in just one day last week! Thanks, Deregulation! There’s also the Supreme Court’s affect on Women’s Rights. But hey, what’s politics got to do with me?

Meanwhile, Brian’s all bent out of shape about balance of power among the branches of government, wiretapping, Geneva conventions, nuclear proliferation. He explained it on our big dry erase board over tea the other morning. I get it.

Brian at his personal mecca, Jefferson’s Monticello

We won’t give you a bunch of links here. Thanks to Google, it’s never been so easy to be informed. And don’t forget to research your local races, too. Local politics have a huge impact on your day-to-day life.

Think about what matters to you, then think about your vision for the planet, your health and the future. And whether you agree with me or not (I still love ya) join us on Tuesday and vote.

In Peace,
Kris and Brian