Up From Zen, part 1 of 4: Roshi Phil Jackson Torpedoes the Presidents +_

[Disbasing Zen Stories]

Up From Zen: Roshi Phil Jackson undermining the Presidency ...

Part one of four:

____ Background for Toxic Zen Stories _____________________

https://groups.google.com/group/alt.zen/msg/b4ad0ce368728934?hl=en

____ Introduction ________________________________________

Nichiren Daishonin quotes from T'ien-T'ai of China in his description of
the effect of the very first famous Zen man and what happened to the
admiring crowds.

From "The Opening of the Eyes", Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 276
...

http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=276

... The seventh volume of Great Concentration and Insight
... states: "In the past, the Zen master of Yeh and Lo [Note
... 200] became renowned throughout the length and breadth
... of China. When he arrived, people gathered around him
... from all directions like clouds, and when he left for
... another place, they formed a great crowd along the
... roads. But what profit did they derive from all this
... bustle and excitement? All of them regretted what they
... had done when they were on their deathbed."
...
... [Note 200: Later commentators identify the "Zen master
... of Yeh and Lo" with Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen in
... China. T'ien-t'ai, however, does not mention him or any
... other contemporary figure by name.]

What follows is the history of Zen Roshi Jackson's toxic effect on the
office of the Presidency. That effect grows over time as the Zen man's
stature looms over his peers (other NBA coaches past and present). And
as he leaves ever greater chaos and disaster in the world following in
his wake ...

Zen Roshi Phil Jackson has recently taken up the cause of Detroit, after
which they went into bankruptcy and now all their treasures are up for
sale. When will they learn? How much devastation is necessary to finally
stop extending the welcome to this disaster?

Then Gracie Gold touted his book as her guiding light: Phil Jackson as
mentor in her search for Olympic Gold in the Women's Figure Skating
Event. No Gold, no Silver, no Bronze, just a missed opportunity.

Now the New York Knicks, highest value franchise in the NBA have fallen
into Phil Jackson Hell.

From Wikipedia: On March 18, the Knicks and Phil Jackson announced that
he had been named President of the organization with Steve Mills
remaining General Manager. Both Jackson and Mills will report directly
to MSG chairman James Dolan. On April 21, 2014, over one week after the
conclusion of the Knicks' season, Mike Woodson and his entire staff were
fired. The Knicks finished the season with a disappointing 37-45 record
and finished 9th in the Eastern Conference standings.

.
.
.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____
____ The Knee-capping of George H.W. Bush (41st)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Lee Atwater was Bush-41's strategic hole card in any election. He found
his start in Senator Strom Thurmond and other South Carolina campaigns
and was an expert on the Southern Strategy, speaking racism in code
(cutting taxes and other methods that work to the disadvantage of the
programs helping African Americans) and wedge issues. The Willie Horton
commercial that crushed Michael Dukakis in the 1988 general election was
an example of Lee Atwater's best work.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Atwater>

As Michael Jordan became the phenomenon undergirding his Zen master's
rise to prominence, and the Bulls finally started to dominate their
division in the 1989-1990 season, Bush-41 was clearly a fan. The
President's public statements talked about Jordan's ability and Zen
master Phil's management technique and superior organizational style,
which was a model for how to compete in business. In the Spring of 1990
the Bulls were headed towards the playoffs with a chance to make the
finals for the first time in Chicago Bulls history.

On March 5, 1990, Lee Atwater collapsed at a fundraiser for Senator Phil
Gramm and it turned out to be astrocytoma, an aggressive brain cancer.
(Wikipedia)

On May 1990, the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Eastern Conference Finals
(4-3) knocking the Chicago Bulls out of the playoffs.
______________________________________________________________________

Friday, Nov 2nd, 1990: Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls kick
off their 1990-1991 season, Phil's 1st Championship season against the
Philadelphia 76ers.
______________________________________________________________________

On the 5th of November 1990, Bush-41 got the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990, which "balanced the budget at the expense of
his "No New Taxes" pledge." (Wikipedia) This angered the Republicans,
and his poll numbers briefly dipped near 50%, but then continued to
climb to the heights.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_I_approval_rating.png>

By the end of his second year (December, 1990) in office, Bush-41 "was
told by his economic advisors to stop dealing with the economy, as they
believed that he had done everything necessary to ensure his
reelection." (Wikipedia)

At this same time a 6 month recession started. A month later (January,
1991) the Gulf War I began, which was brief and spectacularly
successful.

On March 29, 1991, Lee Atwater died, and after his loss to Bill Clinton
in the 1992 election, Bush-41 always said the same thing, that he would
have crushed Bill Clinton in that election if Lee Atwater had not died.
(Frontline)

On the day that Atwater died, Bush-41 was at his peak of his approval
rating numbers at almost 90%. This would start to rapidly and steadily
drop like a rock, down to 30% on election day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_I_approval_rating.png>

The Bulls and their Zen Master were roaring that Spring, and their
dominance would not be denied. Bush-41 repeated his public admiration of
their virtues and Phil Jackson's brilliance.

As The Zen Bulls soared, the Bush-41 White House plummeted. When the
Bulls won the finals achieving the Zen man's first championship ring,
Bush-41 had dropped 17% in the polls and was down to 71%.
______________________________________________________________________

Victory call by Bush-41 to Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Bulls, June
13, 1991.
______________________________________________________________________

3 days later, "former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger was indicted
on five felony counts of obstruction of justice, perjury and making
false statements, for the Iran-Contra scandal." (Wikipedia) At the end
of his administration, Weinberger's pardon would be the most infamous,
because that pardon capped off any chance by the prosecutors of reaching
higher in the leadership chain.

On "July 8, 1991, Bush-41 nominates Clarence Thomas as Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court."
<http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/timeline.php?id=41>

On July 31, 1991, in Moscow, Bush-41 "and Mikhail Gorbachev sign the
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), reducing, for the first time,
the strategic nuclear forces of the two superpowers." (Wikipedia) This
is what Zen is trying to prevent by its "Jackson victory call" attack on
June 13, 1991.
______________________________________________________________________

Bush-41 White House victory visit by Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the
Bulls, October 5, 1991.
______________________________________________________________________

On October 30, 1991, Bush-41 "opens the Middle East Peace Conference in
Madrid, Spain." (Wikipedia) This is what Zen is trying to prevent by its
"Jackson victory visit" attack on October 5, 1991.
______________________________________________________________________

Friday, Nov 1st, 1991: Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls kick
off their 1991-1992 season, Phil's 2nd Championship season against the
Philadelphia 76ers.
______________________________________________________________________

"By 1992, interest and inflation rates were the lowest in years, but by
midyear the unemployment rate reached 7.8 percent, the highest since
1984." (Wikipedia)

On February 20, 1992, H. Ross Perot enters the Presidential race as an
independent. In June 1992, Perot led the polls with 39% (versus 31% for
Bush and 25% for Clinton). (Wikipedia)
______________________________________________________________________

Victory call by Bush-41 to Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Bulls, June
15, 1992.
______________________________________________________________________

On July 16, "Perot unexpectedly dropped out. Perot eventually stated the
reason was that he received threats that digitally altered photos would
be released by the Bush campaign to sabotage his daughter's wedding. His
supporters went to Clinton's campaign in large numbers." (Wikipedia)

[Scott Barnes, the private investigator who made this story "revealed in
1997 that he had deceived Perot about the existence of the photos, and
that he had created the hoax with others who weren't involved with any
political campaign. Barnes was a Perot supporter, and believed if it
were revealed that Republicans were involved in dirty tricks, it would
harm Bush's candidacy." (Wikipedia)]

In September 1992, the "Census Bureau reported that 14.2 percent of all
Americans lived in poverty. At a press conference in 1990, Bush-41 told
reporters that he found foreign policy more enjoyable." (Wikipedia)

Just before election day, November 3, 1992, Bush-41 has his lowest
approval rating of 29%. Consequently, Bush-41 loses his bid for a second
presidential term.
______________________________________________________________________

Friday, Nov 6th, 1992: Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls kick
off their 1992-1993 season, Phil's 3rd Championship season against the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
______________________________________________________________________

On December 24, 1992, Bush-41 "grants pardons to Caspar Weinberger,
former assistant secretary of State Elliott Abrams, Clarridge, Fiers,
George and McFarlane." (Wikipedia) Now there is no one for the Iran-
Contra prosecutors to to plea-bargain and turn against the higher-ups.
______________________________________________________________________

Victory visit to the Houston (Rockets game) by Bush-41 to Zen Roshi Phil
Jackson and the Bulls, January 29, 2003 (delayed due to election in
Fall).
______________________________________________________________________

To summarize:

George H.W. Bush's man-crush for the Zen Man Phil Jackson and his Zen
men of the Chicago Bulls knee-capped his Presidency. His stunning
accomplishments during a single term:

1. The toppling of the Berlin Wall, the Warsaw Pact combined armies and
nuclear forces, and the Soviet Union without firing a single shot.

2. The total rout and humiliating containment of Saddam Hussein's forces
in the Gulf War, and the incredible brilliance (in hindsight) of his
strategy of containment and continued nuclear inspection of Iraq,
instead of the invasion of Iraq. His son has dutifully and thoroughly
silenced all critics of the absolute correctness of Bush-41's handling
of Saddam Hussein.

3. The creation of the Internet, signing Senator Gore's legislation that
brought the Arpanet to the American people and the world.

All of these accomplishments were undermined by his man-crush on the Zen
Man, Roshi Phil Jackson. After his defeat in the 1992 election, Bush
left office in 1993 with a 56% job approval rating, his numbers shooting
up just as he walked out the door. That was his final humiliation.

.
.
.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____
____ The Double Evisceration of Bill Clinton (42nd)
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

.
. Round One (1992-1993)
.

Bill Clinton came to office with such potential, having made huge
promises to solve the healthcare crisis, and with a large Democratic
majority in both houses of Congress. Remind you of anyone?
______________________________________________________________________

Friday, Nov 6th, 1992: Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls kick
off their 1992-1993 season, Phil's 3rd Championship season against the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
______________________________________________________________________

Bill Clinton also had a decided man-crush on Michael Jordan, disciple of
Roshi Phil Jackson and his Zen Chicago Bulls, who were in the Spring of
1993 on the brink of their "three-peat", the third consecutive NBA
crown. Bill just couldn't keep his mouth shut about these guys. Later,
his enemies would be similarly unsparing of comment, or efforts
regarding his Presidency.

January 20, 1993: "Clinton takes the oath of office, becoming the first
president born after World War II." (presidentialtimeline.org)

January 22, 1993: "[Clinton} Signs orders overturning Reagan- and Bush-
era restrictions on abortions." (ABC News)

January 25, 1993: "Clinton announces the formation of The President's
Task Force on National Health Reform. The job of the task force, he
says, is to 'prepare health care reform legislation to be submitted to
Congress within one hundred days of our taking office.' He also
announces that his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, will head the task
force and that Ira Magaziner will be named its day-to-day operating
head. A blanket of secrecy is imposed on task force operations.
Magaziner objects but is overruled by George Stephanopoulos and others
on the White House communications team. ------ The appointment of the
First Lady sends a clear signal to all in the administration and players
in both parties on Capitol Hill that Clinton places great importance on
Health Care. It also serves instantly to limit how far cabinet
secretaries and White House aides can go in pressing their views. One
person watching from close range will later tell Johnson and Broder:
'They went about this exactly in the right way, with one exception. The
person who's in charge shouldn't sleep with the President, because if
you sleep with the President, nobody is going to tell you the truth.'
Key economic advisers who have grave reservations about the direction of
Clinton's reform plans from the very start are forced to ask themselves,
'Do I want to take on the President's wife?' ------ In order to meet
their hundred-day deadline and win swift congressional passage the
Clintons intend to fit the health care proposal into the presidential
budget and pass it all in one gigantic package. An advantage to this
strategy is that under Senate rules the reconciliation bill can be
debated for only twenty-four hours before it comes to an up-or-down
vote." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

February, 1993: "Distant Clinton cousin writes memo suggesting she and a
colleague take over the running of the White House travel office." (CBS
News)

February 5, 1993: "[Clinton] Signs his first law, the Family and Medical
Leave Act, which allows workers at large companies to take up to 12
weeks of unpaid leave to attend to family concerns." (ABC News)

February 17, 1993: "Bill Clinton delivers his first address to a joint
session of Congress. While his focus is on the economy, the budget and
taxes, he uses the speech to make the policy link between health care
reform and deficit reduction. The initial positive response breeds false
optimism within the White House. Stephanopoulos and other advisers with
Capitol Hill experience argue for a one-two punch: First, win a great
budget victory in April or May; then follow up immediately with the
introduction of the health care plan." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

February 22, 1993: "A White House aide alerts Hillary Clinton to danger
signals emanating from Capitol Hill over rumors that the White House is
considering a two-bill strategy. The consensus among Democratic
congressional leaders is that there's nowhere near sufficient support
for going to the well twice for difficult votes on health care and
budget cuts." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

February 26, 1993: "A tower of the World Trade Center in New York is
damaged by a terrorist bomb." (presidentialtimeline.org)

Early March 1993: "Sen. Robert C. Byrd, chairman of the powerful Senate
Appropriations Committee, and a recognized guardian of Senate procedure,
blocks the Clinton reconciliation bill strategy. He is convinced the
strategy amounts to a 'prostitution of the process' by pushing through
'a very complex, very expensive, very little understood piece of
legislation.'" (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

March 20, 1993: "Hugh Rodham, Hillary's father, suffers a stroke. The
First Lady leaves immediately to be by his side at a hospital in Little
Rock and spends most of her time there until he dies on April 7. Her
absence presents a serious problem. Magaziner has come to depend on her
to run interference for him with cabinet departments. At the same time
President Clinton -- and most of his staff -- is preoccupied with the
budget battle on Capitol Hill. Without Hillary's presence, few decisions
can be made." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

April 13, 1993: "Leaks to the press become a problem. Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala tells USA Today's editorial board that
a value-added tax is one of the ideas under consideration. Her slip
sparks a wave of controversy." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

April 19, 1993: "The Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas, is
destroyed by fire following a 51-day standoff between federal
authorities and followers of religious cult leader David Koresh."
(presidentialtimeline.org)
"Attorney General Janet Reno authorizes a federal raid to end a standoff
at the compound of a Waco, Texas, cult, resulting in a fire and dozens
of deaths." (ABC News) This would be quoted by the terrorists who
destroyed the Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995, as the reason for
that attack.

April 30, 1993: "Hillary Clinton meets behind closed doors with
Republican and Democratic senators. She implores them to tell her what
she is doing wrong and tells them she is having trouble meeting with
Republicans. It is common knowledge among many of those present that the
staff of Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole has told Republicans they are
not to meet with the First Lady." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

May 3, 1993: "A chart that has been leaked to the New York Times
detailing possible methods of implementing reform and highlighting their
impact on national spending, appears in the paper. Not only has the
chart been leaked, but its appearance has been altered to make it seem
as if Clinton is calling for $150 billion in new taxes." (PBS Healthcare
Timeline)

May 19, 1993: "All seven workers in the White House travel office are
fired after questions of financial impropriety are raised." (CBS News)

May 20, 1993: "The first of four scheduled internal health-policy
debates takes place at the White House. Clinton asks everyone present to
keep the meeting private but the very next weekend accounts of the
session appear in the Washington Post and the New York Times. The next
three debates are indefinitely postponed. This incident, and others,
make the Clintons and Magaziner feel they are being subjected to
intentional acts of disloyalty." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

May 28, 1993: "Bill Gradison, the head of the Health Insurance
Association of America (HIAA), writes a letter to the First Lady
restating his support for universal coverage but complaining of three
recent occasions in which Hillary has attacked the health insurance
industry for 'price-gouging, cost-shifting and unconscionable
profiteering.' Gradison is actually playing a double game. He wants to
diminish public support for a Clinton plan that can adversely affect the
industry but he also is eager to appear accommodating so that he will be
able to make adjustments in the reform bill he believes will ultimately
pass." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

May 31, 1993: "The Clinton Health Care Task Force is officially
disbanded." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Spring 1993 - The HIAA begins a three-and-a-half-million-dollar
advertising campaign promoting its own approach to reform. HIAA
pollsters also conduct foc groups to find certain phrases that resonate
well with the public. Two of the mos likely are: 'They choose, you
lose' and 'There's got to be a better way.'

At the same time the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
starts mobilizing its forces to kill a key element of the Clinton plan
-- the 'employer mandate' that would require all businesses to provide
health insurance for their employees. From its Washington headquarters
the NFIB dispatches a constant stream of 'Fax Alerts' and 'Action
Alerts' to tens of thousands of small-business owners who are also
members. More than two million pieces of mail are sent. They also
conduct seminars in states that will be critical when the time comes for
Congress to vote. In Montana, they launch an unrelenting campaign
against a Democratic Senator whose initial public comments have been
favorable to the Clinton plan. They force the Senator to send a letter
to Montana small-business owners pledging to vote against any bill that
he feels hurts small business. When the employer mandate comes up the
Senate Finance Committee, the Senator is one of five Democrats who join
nine Republicans in killing it. The NFIB applies the same tactics in
Louisiana, Washington, Georgia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, and
elsewhere." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Early June 1993: "Worried that they have no effective political support
team, the Clinton administration sets up a 'War Room' -- a replica of
the Little Rock nerve center of the Clinton presidential campaign -- to
monitor media, orchestrate responses to attacks on the Clinton plan, and
schedule administration and congressional visits to forums being held
around the country." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

June 15, 1993: "House Democrat Jim Cooper -- who introduced a bill in
1992 based on the principle of managed competition -- meets with Hillary
Clinton to explore their differences over health care. He has serious
problems with employer mandates and universal coverage that are part of
Clinton's plan and expresses his concern that the administration is
being pushed to the left by liberals in the House. Cooper says he will
not be able to support the Clinton plan unless changes are made." (PBS
Healthcare Timeline)
______________________________________________________________________

Victory call by Clinton to Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the Bulls, June
20, 1993.
______________________________________________________________________

June 1993: "Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster files three years
of delinquent Whitewater corporate tax returns." (washingtonpost.com)

June 25, 1993: "Clinton's budget measure squeaks through the Senate with
Vice President Gore casting the tie-breaking vote. Clinton is holding on
to his agenda by his fingertips, and health care reform is shunted off
until another day. Attempts by Magaziner to schedule meetings with key
members of the administration's economic team are consistently
rebuffed." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Early Summer 1993: "Bill Clinton tells the DNC to gear up a grassroots
effort to support the reform plan. The DNC first tries to set up a tax-
exempt 'educational' foundation, separate from but allied to the DNC.
When word of the plan leaks, critics say it will allow power brokers
with their own agenda to curry favor with Clinton by secretly financing
his pet project. The DNC backs off and offers to run the program itself
-- and disclose the names of all donors -- but they lack a budget for
any serious grassroots effort. Clinton's political consultants,
including Mandy Grunwald, Paul Begala, and James Carville, argue that
the grassroots effort should be junked in favor of a media campaign."
(PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Mid-July 1993: "David Gergen urges that the health care plan be delayed
until 1994, but Hillary Clinton and Magaziner are convinced this would
amount to a death sentence for health care reform. Among White House
political strategists, the belief is that the legislation has to be
introduced in September to have any chance of winning passage before the
1994 midterm congressional elections." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

July 19, 1993: "After disputes over whether to allow homosexuals to
serve in the military, Clinton proposes a 'don't ask, don't tell'
compromise with military leaders. The policy allows homosexuals to serve
in the military if they do not reveal their homosexuality and refrain
from homosexual conduct." (ABC News)

July 20, 1993: "White House attorney Vince Foster is found dead." (ABC
News) "Foster is found dead in a Washington area park. Police rule the
death a suicide. Federal investigators are not allowed access to
Foster's office immediately after the discovery, but White House aides
enter Foster's office shortly after his death, giving rise to
speculation that files were removed from his office."
(washingtonpost.com)

August 6, 1993: "Clinton's budget is approved with Vice President Gore
casting the tie-breaking fifty-first vote. Clinton's presidency is
saved, but by the slimmest possible margin of victory. It is a clear and
dramatic warning about the growing difficulty of passing anything in a
bitterly divided Congress." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

August 7, 1993: "Magaziner begins rounding up the Cabinet and economic
team to discuss health care. Now that the budget battle is over he hopes
high-level decisions can be reached before the Clintons begin their
vacation. Acrimony reigns in meetings of senior advisers over the next
few days, and discussions on how best to improve coverage while
containing costs are tense." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Aug. 10, 1993: "Clinton signs first federal budget -- which calls for
reducing spending and increasing taxes to reduce the deficit -- after it
narrowly gained Congressional approval. (ABC News)
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg sworn in to replace Justice Byron White, becoming
the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court." (ABC News)

August 11, 1993: "Unhappy that his advisers are in disagreement, Clinton
decides not to make any decisions until after his vacation. Magaziner is
devastated. When Congress returns after Labor Day he will still have no
plan to give them." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

August 16, 1993: "Despite the fact that major questions remain
unsettled, Bill Clinton gives an outline of his health care reform plan
to the National Governors' Association. Before hearing from Clinton,
John Motley -- vice president and top Washington lobbyist of the
National Federation of Independent Business -- addresses the group.
Motley attacks the 'untried, untested' approach Clinton is preparing and
charges that thousands of small businesses will go bankrupt, threatening
a national recession. Taken aback by the bold, bare-knuckles assault
even before the administration plan has been formally introduced,
Clinton -- listening nearby in a small 'holding room' -- huddles with
the First Lady and other advisers and hurriedly rewrites his speech to
respond to Motley's attack." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Late August 1993: "In a memo about Bill Clinton's upcoming health care
speech, Ira Magaziner advocates a moderate, centrist approach stressing
political flexibility, openness to new ideas, and a true bipartisan
spirit. Magaziner also suggests emphasizing that this is not merely a
'Clinton plan,' but the work of many Republicans and Democrats over the
years. Ironically, while Clinton planners privately stress a
conciliatory, middle-ground approach for reform, the public and many on
Capitol Hill are beginning to form an impression -- painted in part by
opponents and in part by the Clinton team's own actions -- that the
administration's plan is a liberal, secretly concocted, Big-Government
scheme that will dictate how people get their health insurance and
medical treatment." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

Early September 1993: "Magaziner and his staff complete a rough draft of
the plan embodying Clinton's final decisions on alliances, proposed
price ceilings on insurance premiums, and the extent of Medicare cuts.
He and Hillary go to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress and their
staffs. Pete Stark, of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, throws a
tantrum and demands a copy of the draft plan. Soon after Stark receives
it, the supposedly secret plan is leaked to the press and to anti-
Clinton lobbying groups.

The HIAA begins running its powerful 'Harry and Louise' television ads
featuring the focus group phrase 'They choose, we lose.' It quickly
becomes an American advertising classic. By moving early, aggressively,
and publicly, HIAA has become a major player in the debate." (PBS
Healthcare Timeline)

September 2, 1993: "Clinton's political and policy advisers agree on an
explicit congressional strategy. Rather than start from the center,
writing a bill that will appeal to conservative Democrats and moderate
Republicans (while telling the liberals this is the best deal they can
get), Clinton decides to follow a strategy of starting from the left and
moving as far to the center as is needed to reach a majority. The
advisers do not know that Newt Gingrich is determined there be no
Republican support for any Clinton-designed reform and that the whole
effort be derailed." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

September 11, 1993: "The New York Times and the Washington Post run
stories describing and analyzing Clinton's secret draft plan." (PBS
Healthcare Timeline)

Mid September 1993: "Relentless pressure continues as Clinton's staff
struggles to prepare his upcoming speech to launch health care reform.
Political strategy meetings on how best to employ appearances by the
President and the First Lady after the speech also produce conflict.
Decisions are made, revised, and remade again about what TV shows
cabinet members and Democratic members of Congress will appear on. The
result, according to one of those involved, is 'piss poor planning and
disastrous conflicts.'" (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

September 13, 1993: "Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat sign accords providing for initial steps toward
Palestinian self-rule at a White House ceremony hosted by Clinton."
(presidentialtimeline.org) This is the focus of the October 1993 Zen
attack.

September 19, 1993: "Pat Moynihan, speaking on Meet the Press, dismisses
the economic calculations in the Clinton plan -- which has not even been
formally launched -- as 'fantasy numbers.' He also joins with Republican
critics and strikes at the very heart of reform by saying there is 'no
health care crisis.'" (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

September 21, 1993: "Clinton signs the bill creating the National
Service Program, which provides $1.5 billion over 3 years to enable
students to repay federal educational aid through community service."
(presidentialtimeline.org)

September 22, 1993: "Bill Clinton, delivers his health care speech to a
joint session of Congress. Despite an initial snafu with the wrong text
being loaded onto the TelePrompTer, the speech is a smash. The
President's delivery is superb, powerful, and compelling. Response is
overwhelmingly favorable. During TV interviews immediately afterward,
House and Senate Republicans criticize Clinton for failing to provide
specific details. HIAA and NFIB lobbyists, as well as lobbyists for
other organizations, condemn the President's remarks and repeatedly
charge that the Clinton plan will lead to a 'tremendous dislocation of
employees' and prevent American families from keeping the health care
they already have." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

September 28, 1993: "Hillary Clinton begins several days of testimony on
health care before five congressional committees. Her appearance is both
dramatic and triumphant. Its very success, however, triggers new and
intense activity among opponents who see in her a foe whose defeat will
require their most determined efforts." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

October 3, 1993: "The President and First Lady -- who have been
appearing around the country to drum up public support for health care
reform -- depart for California in what they hope will be a final push
before delivering their plan, in legislative form, to Congress." (PBS
Healthcare Timeline)
"Clinton orders military reinforcements to Somalia after an attack on
United Nations peace-keeping forces leaves 18 U.S. servicemen dead. U.S.
forces are withdrawn from Somalia over the next 6 months."
(presidentialtimeline.org)
______________________________________________________________________

Clinton White House victory visit by Zen Roshi Phil Jackson and the
Bulls, early October 1993.
______________________________________________________________________

October 6, 1993: "Jim Cooper and Fred Grandy introduce the updated
version of Cooper's health care bill. Privately Cooper is convinced the
White House will have to bend and accept his position." (PBS Healthcare
Timeline)

October - November 1993 - Ira Magaziner is besieged by interest group
representatives and members of Congress, all demanding last-minute
adjustments to the Clinton plan. Heavy pressure comes from inside the
government -- particularly from career bureaucrats who are worried about
parts of the bill that will ease government regulations. At the same
time, Magaziner is under pressure from the people who are writing the
actual legislation to stop the changes and let them finish their work."
(PBS Healthcare Timeline)

October 27, 1993: "Clinton, in an attempt to recapture public support,
formally presents his plan to Congress in a staged media event in the
old chamber of the House. Press commentators quickly point out that the
ceremony is taking place under false pretenses. Though it is billed as
the moment when the Clintons will deliver their revamped Health Security
Act into the hands of Congress, the legislation remains to be drafted.
House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois stuns observers with a
forceful, bold, and unsparing attack on the very premise of the Clinton
plan. Even those who have not closely followed the debate immediately
understand what this laying down of the gauntlet by a moderate like
Michel means: It is a clear signal of all-out Republican opposition."
(PBS Healthcare Timeline)

November 1, 1993: "Hillary Clinton launches a scathing attack against
the insurance industry to counter the highly damaging 'Harry and
Louise' ads. She accuses the industry of greed and deliberately lying
about the reform plan in order to protect its profits. She specifically
denounces the ads' claim that the Clinton plan 'limits choice.' Rarely,
if ever, has a First Lady publicly attacked any American industry or
industry group -- and certainly never in such strong language and in
such a furious manner. Her assault makes front-page newspaper stories,
network TV news shows, and calls more attention to HIAA's role and
message.

The success of HIAA ads give an immense boost to the organization's
fund-raising. In the space of a few weeks, the budget for the campaign
expands fivefold from $4 million to $20 million. In the end, HIAA raises
and spends about $30 million more than its normal annual operating
budget of $20 million -- a grand total of almost $50 million to the
lobbying effort. The money HIAA accumulates for the fight pays not only
for the Harry and Louise ads but also for a grassroots campaign that
dwarfs anything the interest group has ever done. The effort produces
more than four hundred fifty thousand contacts with Congress -- phone
calls, visits, or letters -almost a thousand to every member of the
House and Senate." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)" (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

November 20, 1993: "The Health Care bill is finally presented to
Congress. It is the last day of the 1993 session. The legislation comes
under immediate criticism from opponents -- including many Democrats --
who see in its length and language proof that their claims are correct:
This is government-run health care." (PBS Healthcare Timeline)

November 30, 1993: "Clinton signs into law the Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act, named for James Brady, President Reagan's former press
secretary who was critically wounded in an assassination attempt on
Reagan in 1981." (presidentialtimeline.org)
"Clinton signs the Brady Bill, imposing a waiting period and background
checks for purchasing handguns." (ABC News)


December 8, 1993: "Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), lowering tariffs and other trade restrictions between the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico over 15 years." (presidentialtimeline.org)

After this point, the Clinton first term never really recovered.
Healthcare slowly failed to pass and hope for it continued to drag down
the Democrats into political desolation.

Healthcare became Travelgate, Troopergate, and Whitewater. Healthcare
became the Special Prosecutor. Republicans early on exercised perfect
unity (wagoso, unity following the priest) in never breaking ranks,
never compromising in even the tiniest way. Their goal was to take back
Congress and in 1994 they did. Then their goal was to destroy the
President, and they nearly did, this time with the help of (once again)
Zen Roshi Phil Jackson.

Michael Jordan had abandoned his Zen Master until his return to the team
in the summer of 1995. His return sparked a resurgence of the Zen Bulls
in the Fall 1995-Spring 1996 season and continued the rise of his Zen
Master to prominence. This would bring on the last and nearly fatal
round of attacks upon the Clinton administration by Zen.

End of part one of four ...

LS Chap. 16 ....

At that time the Buddha said to the multitude of great bodhisattvas:
"Good men, now I will state this to you clearly. Suppose all these
worlds, whether they received a particle of dust or not, are once more
reduced to dust. Let one particle represent one kalpa. The time that has
passed since I attained Buddhahood surpasses this by a hundred, a
thousand, ten thousand, a million nayuta asamkhya kalpas.

"Ever since then I have been constantly in this saha world, preaching
the Law, teaching and converting, and elsewhere I have led and benefited
living beings in hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas
and asamkhyas of lands.

"Good men, during that time I have spoken about the Buddha Burning Torch
and others, and described how they entered nirvana. All this I employed
as an expedient means to make distinctions.

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