UCLA's Mindfulness Meditation (MARC)

UCLA MARC marcinfo@ucla.edu via gmail.mcsv.net

Fri, Dec 2, 6:00 PM

MARC is delighted to announce the upcoming release of the second edition of Fully Present: The Science, Art, and Practice of Mindfulness. Now considered a classic in the field, Fully Present offers practical guidance on how to meditate and bring mindfulness into daily life, along with the scientific evidence behind mindfulness, such as its effect on the brain and body.    Co-written by the founder of MARC, Sue Smalley, and Mindfulness Education Director, Diana Winston, the second edition keeps the original book intact, and includes a new Afterword overviewing the changes in the science and in the mindfulness field in the last decade since publication.   Available now for pre-order. Makes a great holiday gift! Pre-Order Today It's not too late to join: IntraConnected: Integrating Identity and Broadening Belonging as "MWe" with Dan Siegel, M.D. In this presentation, we’ll examine the notion of “connection” and its correlation with mental health.  When we feel disconnected from our inner life, we suffer; when we are disconnected relationally—from people and nature—we can become anxious, depressed, despondent. What is this powerful “connection” actually made of, what is it, and how can we take the science of connection and inform the practice of psychotherapy? In many ways, the experience of a separate, solo-self may underlay the many challenges we face, from racism and social injustice to environmental destruction.   The field of mental health can play a pivotal role in how we help our human family move toward a new way of living on Earth by addressing the modern cultural excessive focus on individuality in the separate sense of self.  These questions and their personal, professional, and public implications will focus our discussion on the nature of both interconnection—the links between parts of a system—and intraconnection—the wholeness of the system.  All experience levels are welcome Date: Sat Dec 3 Time: 10:00 AM- 1:00 PM, PT Cost: $0-$50 For More Information & to Register 2023 Offerings Pre-recorded Intro & Advanced Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) classes: Jan 9: MAPs II: Mindful Self-Care with Gloria Kamler Jan 12: MAPs III: The Buddhist Roots of Mindfulness with Diana Winston Jan 15: Day of Mindfulness: Setting Conscious Intentions For Our Lives And World In 2023 with Deborah Eden Tull Jan 21: Day of Mindfulness: Energize Your Practice with Gloria Kamler Jan 29: MAPs Applications: Paying Attention Mindfully — The Key to Well-Being in 2023 with Mitra Manesh Holiday Office Closures Live-Online and Pre- Recorded MAPs Classes MAPs I- For Daily Living MAPs II: Next Steps - Improve Your Meditation MAPs II: Cultivating Positive Emotions   MAPs II: Working with Difficult Emotions MAPs II: Mindful Self-Care MAPs II: Turning Obstacles into Allies MAPs III: The Buddhist Roots of Mindfulness MAPs App: Paying Attention Mindfully Cultivating Forgiveness MAPs II: Mindful Self-Care Part 2 with Gloria Kamler This class is for students who have taken MAPs I and MAPs II classes and wish to deepen their mindfulness practice. Open to anyone who is interested in Self-Care as we focus on qualities of the heart. You do not need to have taken Part 1 to benefit. We will cultivate mindful attention through sitting, walking and stretching meditations to enhance practice on the cushion and in daily life. This class will also include lecture and discussion. In addition to the traditional ways we do mindfulness practice, we will also incorporate specific movement practices that foster self-care and the cultivation of altruistic qualities of the heart. Dates: Tues, Jan 10-Feb 14 Time: 4:00 PM- 6:00 PM, PT Cost: $0-$200 For More Information & to Register MAPs III: The Buddhist Roots of Mindfulness with Diana Winston This class will explore the core Buddhist teachings that are implicit in mindfulness practice. In particular, we will look at the Four Noble Truths, which in classical Buddhism are said to incorporate the whole of the Buddhist teachings. We will investigate these Noble Truths personally, how they are understood in Buddhist philosophy, and how they can deepen and enhance our meditation practice. Dates: Thurs, Jan 12-Feb 16 (No class Jan 26) Time: 10:00AM- 12 Noon, PT Cost: $0-$200 For More Information & to Register Day of Mindfulness: Setting Conscious Intentions For Our Lives And World In 2023 with Deborah Eden Tull Recognizing the importance of setting clear and supportive intentions for our lives and our world, this day-long retreat offers mindfulness practices for renewal and transformation,  In celebration of the new year, you will be invited to listen deeply, reflect, restore, and create anew. You will be invited on an embodied journey bridging personal and collective awakening. Rather than setting New Year's resolutions based on the myth of self-improvement, we will set intentions from the heart of our being, supporting each other in moving beyond limiting beliefs and the illusion of separate self. Grounded in mindfulness and acknowledging the gravity of the times we face, we will seek to cultivate compassion, clear-seeing, and possibility through meditation and mindful inquiry, reflective writing, and somatic practices. All are welcome to join. Date: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 Time: 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM, PT Cost: $0-$75 For More Information & to Register Day of Mindfulness: Energize Your Practice with Gloria Kamler This all-day retreat is dedicated to deepening your mindfulness practice. Sometimes in meditation we find our bodies are uncomfortable or tense. Since ease and relaxation serve our meditation practice, this retreat will devote significant time to mindful movement, also known as "Easy Stretching Postures." These postures can be useful for cultivating relaxed awareness, ease in the body and an open heart. We will use various activities to cultivate mindful attention including sitting, walking, stretching and eating. The day will also include lecture and discussion. This retreat is suitable for new or experienced practitioners. Date: Sat, Jan 21, 2023 Time: 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM, PT Cost: $0-$75 For More Information & to Register MAPs Applications: Paying Attention Mindfully — The Key to Well-Being in 2023 with Mitra Manesh Do you know where your attention is right now? Often, most of us don’t know the answer to this question! We do know life has changed. Our old norms are gone, we’re bound to re-create new ways of living and working… and hence we come to realize there is an even stronger call for us to learn to command our attention more intentionally and more mindfully. In this virtual live 4-week class, we will identify the value and nature of our attention, explore ways to mindfully discern what we want to pay attention to, and learn methods and tools to direct our attention along those lines. There will be lectures, practices, dyads, journaling, and Q&A. This is a participatory class that requires your full attention!   Dates: Sun, Jan 29 - Feb 19 Time: 10:00AM- 12 Noon, PT Cost: $0-$165 For More Information & to Register Holiday Office Closure The MARC offices will be closed for: Winter Break- December 16, 2022 - January 2, 2023

Fun right wing conspiracy theories (Savage)

(Politics1001BG) Right wing conservative Jewish radio talk show host Michael Savage monologue on the bankrupting US wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, Oliver Stone dares to say the U.S. made (funded) the Monster Hitler (the way Dr. Frankenstein made Frankenstein's monster), and anti-Mexican vitriol.... The American right is much better at "hate radio" than the nominal left. This is just Part 1. Savage keeps going on The Savage Nation. This was from July 26, 2010.

• Trump tries to clarify call for 'termination' of parts of Constitution amid backlash by conservative Republicans who want to "conserve" it
• JimmyDoreComedy.com

Ayahuasca, polyamory, relationships?

Medicinal Plants Workshop w/ Dr. Adams

Dhr. Seven, Xochitl, Ananda (DBM), Parker Davis (hardycalifornians.com), Wisdom Quarterly

(mtnviewsnews.com)

SPECIAL EVENT: On Saturday, Dec. 3, Hardy Californians (a new local-plant nursery, stemming from the Arroyo Seco Nursery in Hahamongna headed by Parker Davis), is hosting a special workshop with Dr. James Adams.

He is the co-author -- along with Native American Medicine Woman Cecilia Garcia -- of Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West.

Dr. Adams will share details of how the Chumash Indians of Malibu and Ventura used native plants for medicine, and he will teach some traditional methods to combat pain. Dr. James will be traveling down from San Francisco to lead this medicinal plant workshop. 

• To sign up, contact Parker Davis: (626) 674-4504
• Email: parker@hardycalifornians.com.
• Or sign up for the event at the Hardy Californians Nursery:
• 238 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre (next to Pasadena)
• Cost: $70, starts at 1:00 pm with time Q&A and demo
• mtnviewsnews.com

What happened?

Dr. Adams spent 25 years teaching at USC.

Home gardeners, botany students, environmental activists, and would-be shamans gathered at Hardy Californians Nursery -- the result of Parker Davis and Porsche -- in the foothills of Sierra Madre to learn the real cause of pain in the body, even anxiety, headaches, and trauma. It's chemokines in the skin.

Yes, no matter what we've been taught -- about aspirin, acetaminophen, NSAIDS, opioids, and other standard painkilling treatments. They're not true. Do not ingest something for pain. Treat the skin. It was demonstrated over and over. It even helps arthritic pain, but the best way to deal with that is dieting, losing weight, and walking. Walk every day. We crossed the street and met our plant allies for the day, California sagebrush (not a true sage), white sage (Salvia apiana), and Cleveland sage, a plant very close to purple sage and black sage.

Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West

After learning a great deal about plants, the cause of pain from the world's leading expert, USC's Dr. James Adams, Ph.D., and how to approach our natural environment, which is full of wonders in the state with more unique flora and fauna than all the other states put together, we got to know the plants then proceeded to make a simple tincture that takes six weeks to be ready to use: Stuff a mason jar full of fresh California sage, a diced avocado seed, one white sage leaf, and fill with isopropyl alcohol (70%). Let sit in the dark for six weeks. Then drain and place the liquid in a dark spray bottle, preferably glass. It's ready to use on any bodily pain.

To treat chronic pain, take two handfuls of Cleveland sage (or purple or black), place in a glass container with filtered water (or sea water). Let sit in the sun until the water changes color, becoming purple in sea water and discolored in tap water. Use filtered water rather than tap, as it is cleaner. After it becomes a sun tea, break it up with the hands and pour on the sufferer's feet. Allow to soak for 20 to 30 minutes a day for seven days. There goes the chronic pain.

If needed wait a week and repeat for seven days. The same soak may be used repeatedly -- for one and only one person -- up to seven times. Do not use someone else's soak, as it has become bound to that person. At the welcoming for the event, Dr. Adams' assistants and trainees Michelle Wong and Enrique Villasenor explained many things and offered us a three medicinal foods -- dark chocolate (85%), which is good for the heart, nopal (prickly pear cactus pads with needles removed) made into a health smoothie (1.5 cups of cut fresh nopal pads, 1 green apple, 1 orange with skin removed, and two cups of water, mixed in a blender), which is good for blood sugar levels and provides a lot of fiber.

The third item was a gelatinous cube of acorn flour (available at most Korean and Chinese markets), which was made by boiling a cup of acorn flour brought to a roil and kept on the fire for 7 minutes, sweetened slightly with raw agave or coconut crystals (a kind of unprocessed brown sugar). It is a complete protein with tremendous health benefits, particularly for vegetarians. Go vegetarian. It's the best thing to do for the body, the environment, the animals, and the climate.

Afghanistan is home to weed.

During the Q&A the ditzy blond woman, who kept falling over the friendly Cocker spaniel wanting everyone to pet it, asked about CANNABIS, and the Black woman with the pain in her lower regions shouted that maybe THC/CBD could be added to the liniment we were about to concoct. Dr. Adams became livid.

We've all been lied to about "marijuana." We've been told it's a Spanish word from Mexicans in North America (Mexico itself being in Mesoamerica, not South America) that means "Mary Jane." It's a lie, a purposeful piece of propaganda by the US government.

A fluent speaker of Chinese married to a Chinese woman for 42 years, Dr. Adams shows that marijuana is a Chinese term for cannabis: Má is "hemp," there's a middle part for "leaf" (ri or li?), and hua or huáng, which means "flower." The Chinese had been using cannabis for 12,000 years (as had India) or had historical records extending back that far for its medicinal and industrial use.

• Similarly, jasmine flower in Chinese is Mo Li Hua

Largest hemp field in Europe

In fact, Dr. Adams further recounted, California did not have real cannabis until the Beatles brought it back from India, having been exposed to the "real thing" by the musician Ravi Shankar. Up until then what California had was hemp, or very low THC/moderate CBD flower.

Where is cannabis from? Formerly Buddhist Afghanistan mostly, but the entire range between India and China, such as Kashmir and those Himalayan and Hindu Kush (technically an extension of the Himalayas mentioned in Buddhist accounts of the Buddha's hometown, Kapilavastu), its valleys and foothills (as is mentioned in Oliver Stone's movie Savages).

The Buddha's blue eyes (study)

Alex Kasprak (Snopes, 12/2/22); Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pat Mac (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha had blue eyes as he was Aryan/Gandharan/Iranian from Central Asia (Dr. RP).

• CLAIM: All blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor. blue eyes.

Do all blue-eyed humans share a single, common ancestor?

Physical characteristics of the Buddha, Item #29, deep blue eyes (Wiki)

• RATING: TRUE
• CONTEXT: All blue-eyed individuals living today are necessarily descended from one individual. Such a framing must be weighed against the fact that every single human alive today is likely descended from that same individual, as well.

I'm related to the Buddha? He was an Aryan?

(Snopes) In January 2008, a team of researchers from University of Copenhagen made waves by identifying the specific genetic mutations responsible for blue eyes.

Professor Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, an author on the study, explained the nature of the team's discovery:

"Originally, we all had brown eyes," he said in a news release, "but a genetic mutation…resulted in the creation of a 'switch' which literally 'turned off' the ability to produce brown eyes."

Media coverage focused on a specific aspect of this blue-eye-causing mutation — that it necessarily originated in a single individual, alive 6,000-10,000 years ago, who is responsible for all cases of blue eyes.

In 2017, Business Insider reported that "new research shows that all blue-eyed people share a common ancestor."

Blue eyes on a ginger European (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images © Provided by Snopes)

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In 2020, Unilad reported that "scientists revealed that the genetic mutation [for blue eyes] came from a singular human being all those years ago."

In October 2022, The UK Metro ran a story reporting that "every blue-eyed person on Earth can trace their ancestry back to a single individual who lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago."

Each of these articles is based on the same 2008 news release.

Explanation

And while these reports are "factual," their framing plays into misconceptions about genealogical lineages.

That misconception, as Scott Hershberger wrote in Scientific American, is that "humans are all more closely related than we commonly think." In an October 2020 story, Hershberger wrote:

• "Imagine counting all your ancestors as you trace your family tree back in time. In the nth generation before the present, your family tree has 2n slots: two for parents, four for grandparents, eight for great-grandparents, and so on. The number of slots grows exponentially. By the 33rd generation — about 800 to 1,000 years ago — you have more than eight billion of them. That is more than the number of people alive today, and it is certainly a much larger figure than the world population a millennium ago."

This, geneticist Adam Rutherford explained, is because "branches of your family tree don't consistently diverge [but instead] begin to loop back into each other." As a result, "your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother might have also been your great-great-great-great-aunt." More

Proof of reincarnation in Egypt (video)

The Why Files, premiered Dec. 2, 2022; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Proof of reincarnation | Dorothy Eady: Ancient Egyptian priestess reborn

Three-year old Dorothy Eady was playing, then accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. She hit her head and was knocked unconscious.

When her parents found her, she wasn't breathing. They called a doctor who rushed over immediately. Dorothy's mother broke down when the doctor said there was nothing he could do. Her little girl was dead.

The doctor left and returned an hour later with Dorothy's death certificate and gently discussed arrangements for the little girl's body.

Graham Hancock is obsessed with Egypt.

But during this conversation, shuffling was heard coming from Dorothy's room. They ran upstairs and there she was, playing in her room like nothing happened.

The doctor examined her again. There was no sign of injury. He had no explanation. He said it appeared as if Dorothy Eady had come back from the dead. He didn't realize how right he was.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Gino Gentile, Jennifer Gentile, AJ Gentile. #reincarnation #ancientegypt #pastlife

SOURCES & LINKS

• wikiwand.com/en/Dorothy_Eady
• wikiwand.com/en/Seti_I
• wikiwand.com/en/Abydos,_E...

Patreon members:  THANKS, MODS: Daniel_Van_Auken, jengen13, pratty50, VictoriaY, Jschoop, Zanythos

• VIDEO: Evidence found that modern humans were not the first being to master fire; it was Africa's Homo naledi (msn.com)

UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center

Diane Winston heads up the MARC at the University of California at Los Angeles

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The month of November is when we can turn our attention to gratitude.

Research shows that those who practice gratitude -- whether through reflection, writing, or in everyday life -- report higher levels of positive emotions and a stronger sense of connection. They also have stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, and experience fewer feelings of loneliness.

Our mindfulness practice fosters a sense of gratitude and appreciation as we inhabit the present moment more fully and stop “missing our lives.”

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When we are feeling grateful, it's difficult to have the opposite emotion. Try being anxious and grateful at the same time. It just doesn't work!

Despite living in challenging times, we can still find things to be grateful for, even if they feel small or insignificant. Consider practicing gratitude at the end of the year.

Write a gratitude list before bed. Include five things to be grateful for. Or reflect on what there is to grateful for at the beginning or end of a daily meditation session. Explore how cultivating more gratitude can impact life.

At UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) we are grateful for all of the people, institutions, and communities that we have collaborated with and who have supported MARC this year.

Please consider donating to MARC (marc.ucla.edu) to sustain the work of making mindfulness widely accessible.

• Meditate free with MARC (UCLA) during the week

Trusting Big Pharma (TJDS)

The Awakened Former Nun (Guru Viking)

Guru Viking, Ep. 161: Beth Upton (sanditthika.org), 8/5/22; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

You, Viking, are a guru. - And you, Fair Lady, are an illumined teacher of the Dharma.

Natural Meditation with Beth Upton (2)

(Guru Viking) In this interview Guru Viking is once again joined by Beth Upton, meditation teacher, former Theravada Buddhist nun, and successful student of the renowned Burmese meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw.

Upton shares her emphasis on meditation with the natural rhythms of the body and reveals how she deals with students who experience low motivation, psychological challenges, and even psychosis as a result of meditation practice.

She also discusses her own relationship difficulties after disrobing as a nun, why she embarked on special communication trainings to address them, and explains why erotic feelings diminish as one becomes more enlightened.

Canada meditation retreat and a break

(Nov. 7, 2022) We are 20 days into our 30-day retreat in Canada, at the beautiful Camp du Lac Vert, home to some of the most stunning autumn scenes I have ever seen.

It is a rare treat for me to be practicing with the same group of people for the whole month, with no coming and going -- all of us taking a month-long deep dive into the Dharma together.

Huge thanks to Louis-Michel and his family for making this retreat happen, and to all of the retreatants for the sincerity and dedication of their practice.

Retreats like this fuel my enthusiasm for teaching. Having now led eight retreats this year, as well as met hundreds over Zoom, and spent the summer working hard on our Sanditthika Cave Meditation Community in Spain, I have decided to end the year with some weeks out for my own personal retreat.

Thanks to very generous dana from a friend, I will be spending some time in late November and early December visiting Enlightenment Grove (Bodh Gaya) and the other sacred Buddhist sites in India and Nepal.

It has been a long-term dream of mine to visit the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

I will then spend the rest of December in personal retreat, taking some time out to be with friends and family over Christmas and New Year's Eve. I'll be back on Zoom again in early January.

Out today is my latest YouTube video. Today's video is about the four strong supports that the Buddha suggested we keep in place to help our meditation progress smoothly. Take a look and, as always, be in touch if you have any suggestions for topics that you would like for me to cover in future videos.

Group interview online sessions offer us the chance not only to ask questions about our own meditation, but also to listen and learn from the questions of others. These group sessions are open to everyone and are also a good option if you are having difficulty booking a one-on-one Zoom appointment with me.

Book a place in the group interviews up to a month in advance. There are also full moon gatherings (uposatha) to join in on. These gatherings are a great opportunity to come together to deepen our connections to the Dharma and to each other. The latest gathering was on the topic of nature: how interaction with our natural environment impacts our Dharma practice, and how our Dharma practice can impact our natural environment. Everyone is welcome to these! Book a place at a gathering.

I made plenty of time for Zoom appointments over the coming month in anticipation of being offline through most of December. Book regular one-on-one Zoom appointments with me up to two weeks in advance.

If interested in joining a retreat with me next year then take a look at my upcoming retreats. As ever, all of my work is given on a donation basis. For information about some ways in which you can support my work, take a look at bethupton.com. With much metta and gratitude, Beth Upton

Why Americans are leaving their churches

Religion News Service via (msn.com)• 12/1/22; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

I'm spiritual but not religious about it. - Me, too

(RNS) — As many as a third (33%) of Americans now claim no religious affiliation, and British sociologist Stephen Bullivant has some ideas about why.

In his new book, Nonverts: The Making of Ex-Christian America, due out this week from Oxford University Press, Bullivant reflects in often highly entertaining fashion about the trend lines.

Although it’s full of statistics, Nonverts remains a lively read for ordinary people — a rare feat in a sea of dry data-driven books.

As a researcher, Bullivant wanted to know why Americans, once considered the exception to the secularization that has happened in Europe and elsewhere, are suddenly losing their religion. And it is sudden, he notes.

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“This kind of religious change in a society doesn’t normally happen in the space of 20 or 30 years,” he told Religion News Service in a Zoom interview. “It’s been within the space of one or perhaps two generations that we’ve seen a sudden surge.”

In the 1990s, nonreligion began climbing from its baseline of around 7% of the population to what is between three and five times that figure now, depending on the survey. (All national surveys show the same rising trendline, but they differ as to the degree.) More

• Comments | 311

4 Strong Supports for Meditation (Beth Upton)

Four strong supports for successful meditation

(Beth Upton) Nov. 7, 2022. One awakened student of the great Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw specifies four things that can strongly support our meditation.

These videos are only possible by the generous donations of supporters. Please consider supporting Beth Upton's work: bethupton.com/support-my-work, patreon.com/bethupton. More about this work: bethupton.com

Video shot by Alexis P.N. @GuavaFunk: m.youtube.com/user/LaffCotchTV Contact: alexispn777@gmail.com.

Mexican wonders, pyramids, archeology

El Castillo, Chichen Itza, Mexico: During restoration work in the 1930s, archeologists dug into El Castillo's south side and came across the remains of an older pyramid hidden within. They followed the staircase upwards thinking they'd reach the older temple's peak, but instead came across a chamber in which they found a well-preserved chac mool (pictured), a Mayan sacrificial stone sculpture.

• Astonishing Americas: ancient treasures and mysteries (msn.com)

Rescuing farm animals: The sad Ram saved

Lonely ram had no friends for 10 years. This woman gave him a family.

(GeoBeats Animals) Nov. 15, 2022. Lonely ram had no friends for 10 years. This woman gave him a family. Check out Huxley's story: instagram.com/uncleneilsh... #bekind #animals

How to avoid RAPE in prison (Marshall Project)

(The Marshall Project) How to avoid rape in prison - Men's The Marshall Project, Feb. 20, 2015. What do David Cross and Bob Odenkirk have to say about cops, criminals, and interrogations.

Taylor Swift ruined by private equity (video)

How Private Equity Robbed Taylor Swift, Toys R Us, & J Crew | The Class Room ft. Adam Conover

(More Perfect Union) March. 7, 2022 Ever wondered why so many major retail chains have filed for bankruptcy or closed locations recently? Toys r Us, Baskin Robbins, J Crew, Hertz, 24 Hour Fitness, Dunkin Donuts...it’s pretty much an entire mall. It’s not just because of the pandemic:

Why do they call me "Nazi Barbie"?

There’s a shadowy mafia that has been ripping off the entire US economy while making themselves rich, really rich. This group is responsible for bankrupting hospitals, favorite retail chains, and even ripping off Taylor "Nazi Barbie" Swift. They’re called Private Equity. And any company might be next. Let's take a deep dive into the shocking strategies that the Private Equity Mafia uses. Hope is not all lost though. There are things we can do to fix these problems.

Barbie's fake "Girl Squad"

Transparency, for one: Enter the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, the federal agency charged with stopping bad actors from manipulating the markets. The SEC, led by Biden appointee Gary Gensler, has proposed changing their rules so that private equity firms would have to, y'know, tell the truth about their returns of their funds and disclose transparent information about all the fees that they charge. Obviously, the lobbying groups representing private equity firms are up in arms about the idea that they might have to disclose even some basic information to their investors.

Meanwhile in Congress, the federal Stop Wall Street Looting act, introduced in 2021, would limit the amount of debt used in buyouts, increase transparency, and close tax loopholes. What can we do ourselves? Well, unionize. A unionized workforce is better protected against a leveraged buyout. Without those changes, the private equity mafia is going to keep getting away with their schemes to line their pockets with OUR money.

ABOUT: More Perfect Union is a new nonprofit media org with a mission to empower working people. Learn more here: perfectunion.us, twitter.com/MorePerfectUS, instagram.com/perfectunion, facebook.com/MorePerfUnion.