Giuliani is getting it from all directions. He was never a viable candidate for president anyway, his "stature" being based solely on the fact that he was the mayor of the city that suffered the worst attack in "American" history.

More interesting is the viability of the Catholic Church. It evolved from a small cult in Rome to become the "Holy Roman Empire," and then got too big for itself, condemning people and burning them alive, among other tortures. The "consistent ethic of life" is not exactly the enduring feature of Catholic history.

Pope John Paul himself was not so consistently a proponent of the ethic of life, enabling the purge of the "liberation theology" priests in Latin America, aligning himself with the dictatorships they opposed. His most famous display of his support of the dictatorshipia was his public reprimand in 1983 of Ernesto Cardenal, the culture minister of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, and a Catholic priest (read here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernesto_Cardenal).

The recent and ongoing worldwide scandal of child molestation among priests is further evidence not only of the Church's inconsistent reverence for life, but of the Church hierarchy's authoritarian and arrogant nature. This is not a religion that is compatible with either democracy or respect for life. Its time has passed, though not so quickly as that of Rudolph Giuliani.

I've been to see Ammachi twice (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7882/640/1600/Ammachi750.jpg). She's great. Similar to the Dalai Lama, she does not have a blast of energy for devotees. What they both have are pure spirits. They can be trusted, a very important thing in pursuing spirituality of any kind.

I think it's also worth saying that the effect of meeting Ma Amritanandamayi can be very gradual. I didn't actually get to meet the Dalai Lama, but the effect of being in his presence also may be very gradual. I at least got to meet his close friend and former teacher Geshe Sopa, who established a monastery near where I live. I consider him a living Buddha. The great Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn is also a worthy presence, a pure embodiment of his teachings.

With all the incredibly bad news and dread of the future we are faced with, it is important to have some spiritual balance in our lives. It is especially important to not be damaged by fake or fallen teachers, of which there are many. I suspect that we are on the verge of a true spiritual renaissance, with a major aspect being the exposure of phony preachers, priests, and other alleged "holy" persons. The spiritual masters mentioned above are for real.

It may not matter much. A lot will be taking place between now and the 2008 election. The meltdown of the Bush criminal regime will likely be complete in one way or another. The "Iraq" "war" will likely have reached its dénouement. The economy will likely be in a severe recession, if not worse. The various environmental warnings - forest fires, floods, hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, drought - will likely be more serious. Many officials of the Bush regime will likely have been indicted, convicted, or imprisoned. Dick Cheney will likely be dead, his evil heart finally turning to stone. Bush will likely have had a complete mental breakdown, the continuing pressure on his drug and alcohol-addicted countenance finally becoming too much.

The synergy of all these factors will weigh heavily against politics as usual, especially candidates sponsored or influenced by the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). Hillary Clinton, the DLC candidate, may win the election, but it will be a hollow victory. Real problem-solving leadership is called for, and if she can't deliver, then her presidency will be one of extreme pain, humiliation, and failure.

What should be kept in mind, is that none of these candidates matter, except for what should be their real reason for running: to do everything they possibly can to make the country and the world more civilized, more distributive, more harmonious with the ecosystem, and more peaceful. Obama at least has the thunder. It remains to be seen whether he has the lightning. Maybe no one does. If reports of Bush's planned martial law are correct, we may have another eight years of his illustrious tenure.

Actually, if Bush does declare martial law, it will be short-lived. Even toadying generals have to see the futility of joining ranks with this omnicriminal. It will be a test of how low we as a people have sunk. Any Bush regime depends for its existence on a support network of military, law enforcement, judiciary, business, media, religious, and non-profit infrastructure. Bush is bad for the country. He has been around for a while, and people know his worth. It's not like Hitler in the 1930s, when he was fresh, generating mass hysteria with his new plan.

The times, they are a-strange-in'.