The historic election of Barak Obama seemed to raise the Spirit of the nation. Fatigued by eight years of aggression-driven policies, the nation seemed to dance with joy for the possibilities of a new dawn. A few days after my euphoria subsided, I found myself working to contain my expectations of what one man can accomplish in 8 years with a dysfunctional system of governance.The word barak means to kneel in Arabic (as in prayer) and it is derived from the root word barakah meaning blessing. Could it be that this blessing of Barak is a natural response to the ebbing of the life force we experienced under the Bush presidency? By electing Mr. Obama have we entered a period of expansion of consciousness after the Bush/Cheney years of contraction?

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 (Note: I am indebted to Jane Mayer’s groundbreaking work The Dark Side for contributions to the ideas I wrote about in the following blog.) Bush Administration Response to 9/11 Rooted in Shame and Humiliation The tragic mistakes made by the Bush administration provide lessons for those of us who yearn to see a happier world.  Now that the Bush team’s decision making process is coming to light, it is critical that we understand what happened here. The Bush-Cheney response to 9/11 was rooted in shame and humiliation. They were caught, one might say, with their pants down. They had been repeatedly warned that Al-Qaeda operatives were in the U.S. and chose to ignore that information.  When the planes hit the Twin Towers Bush was the Commander-in-Chief.  Three thousand lives were lost on his watch.  Somewhere inside themselves Bush and Cheney knew they were responsible. The Lust for Revenge These two men are not self-reflective people.

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 Book Review: The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals.  Jane Mayer. Doubleday: New York, 2008. Prepare to be shattered. This is a difficult book to read. Mysteries of Bush Administration Response Post 9/11 Revealed Jane Mayer’s meticulous dissection of the actions of the Bush administration post 9/11 is an extraordinary service to Americans and to the world. Many of us have been trying to understand how this presidency went so wrong.

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