Ryvr Scrawl

For new stuff, be at the new blog

2010-06-21T23:01:00.005-04:00

Everything newer than 2007 is at the new blog: Ryvr Blog.

Updates on The Fitness Train application community website, plus news, opinion, and analysis. How hot will it get? Stay up-to-date with the climate at Ryvr Blog.

Peace in Public

2007-03-03T02:45:00.000-05:00

An Alternet headline asks, "Why Can't We Talk about Peace in Public?"

I mean not to nit-pick grammar, as some would have called a misplaced modifier, but instead to pun off of Alternet's twist of grammar.

Peace in public. Peace in ourselves, with our lives, is the road to world peace. Whorled peas?

"There is no way to peace, peace is the way." --A. J. Muste

Do you ask why we are fighting in Iraq, and perhaps about to fight in Iran? Ask why you are fighting in yourself for the answer. I take no holier-than-thou here. I am as guilty as you.

And It's ONE, TWO, THREE

2007-02-08T01:45:00.000-05:00

WHAT are we fightin' for??
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
Next stop is Iraq(Iran??)-(nam?)
And it's FIVE, SIX, SEVEN
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee we're ALL gonna DIE!

-- Country Joe and the Fish, Woodstock, NY, 1969

Technorati tags: SDS, peace, anti-war, protest,iraq, iran

Huge Step, Capitol Steps

2007-01-30T11:21:00.000-05:00

And here's the video of SDS at the Capitol Steps. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised? But maybe it'll be on YouTube:

Technorati tags: SDS, video, peace, anti-war, march, protest, Washington DC

SDS Is Back

2007-01-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) bears the greatest credit for transforming what otherwise might have been a well-attended march this past Saturday into an action of street theater, resistance, and civil disobedience that has the potential to launch the movement that will end this war.

The re-launch of SDS has been supported and joined by the group's first President, Al Haber, along with Tom Good and Paul Buhle, also SDS originals from the sixties.

The SDS is talking about a parallel group to be called MDS, Movement for a Democratic Society, that would provide non-student or "older radicals" with a vehicle to work with students and participate in a strong, multi-generation movement.

Technorati tags: SDS, peace, anti-war, march, protest, Washington DC, Iraq

Birth of a True Movement

2007-01-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

I've just returned to Asheville from the wildly successful anti-war march in Washington D.C. My deep thanks go to our local Veterans for Peace Chapter for the wonderful travel and lodging they coordinated for us.

I rate this effectiveness of this march extremely high based on several important measures. United for Peace and Justice, who organized the rally, estimate the number of attendees at 400,000, which the NYT cites without question. Consensus suggests this is a quite accurate number. There were also many local rallies around the Nation, and so the numbers were fantastic.

There were also at least two very valuable civil disobedience actions, the first of which was the storming of the Capitol Building's steps by SDS. That's right! SDS IS BACK!

The other was a massively energetic street-blocking sit-in on the parade route with chants of "SIT DOWN! Surround the Capitol!" Lots of folks sat, several danced, and the chanting was loud and cohesive. This peaceful but illegal and confrontational demonstration with about 60 people participating (SDS'ers joining after the Capitol Steps "Surge") escalated into a major stand-off with Capitol Police. The police responded with about 12 each of motorcycle units and horseback units, a helicopter, about 10 police cars, and rooftop surveillance. The number of protesters probably delayed their attempts to make arrests, and as they eventually moved in to make arrests and rammed forward through the crowd with the motorcycles, the chant changed to "ARREST GEORGE BUSH!" right into the faces of the befuddled police.

I'll write more about Saturday's march and the now highly energized 2007 Peace Movement tomorrow. Gotta get some shut-eye now.

war, peace, anti-war, march, protest, Washington DC, Iraq, Iran

We're Still in Hot Water

2007-01-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

Sure is chilly here, but global warming remains an urgent problem. Scientists will release a report that Human-caused global warming is currently evident through undeniable smoking guns all around us.

The water temperature at Key West, FL of 78.3 F is at the April average temperature for that location, far above the 69 F typical of January.

CO2 has hit a new record in atmospheric concentrations of 383.04 PPM, and we have a new record year-over-year increase every month.

If you haven't seen Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth,' you must.

Technorati tags: global warming, climate change, environment

28%

2007-01-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

"Bush Poll Ratings Before Speech Fall to Nixon's Level" observes *Bloomberg*, reporting:

Bush reached an all-time low 28 percent approval rating in a CBS poll released today. Sixty-six percent of those surveyed in the CBS poll said they opposed Bush's sending 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, and 75 percent said the war there is going badly. Fifty percent said Congress shouldn't provide money for the 20,000 additional troops.

The country came out and voted for the Democrats last November. They must now come through for us and bring the troops HOME.

Technorati tags: bush, war, peace

Rule, Britannia!

2006-07-03T22:58:00.000-04:00

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

I guess we should have just stuck with old England. We have none of these rights ... at least they have some.

Downhill From Here

2006-07-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Stuart Staniford at The Oil Drum updated his moving-average graph of world oil production which is an excellent visualization of the cliff off of which our drunken civilization is driving:

Irreversible, significant, and compounding decreases in oil production are imminent. Price will rise dramatically, and recession and "The Greater Depression" will be harbingers of the end of this civilization. But don't worry - the next one will be much better. We'll laugh about those things we used to call "cars" around the campfire next year.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Independence from Empire

2006-06-30T21:20:00.000-04:00

As we celebrate the "holiday" weekend, I wanted to note that the revolt we are commemorating was a battle of the people for liberty and freedom from an empire which had lost touch.

Today, there is a new Empire which dominates our people and has lost touch. We must battle this one with peace and love, always non-violent; the last revolution failed in part because it was bloody one. Ours will succeed if we make Love, not war, and Turn on, Tune in, and Drop out. Remember: Don't Feed the Capitalists!

I hope that this weekend, you will salute not the flag of the Empire, but instead one like this:

Hurricane Severity Due to Climate Change

2006-06-29T16:36:00.000-04:00

Livescience.com reports: "Global warming, and not natural variations in ocean temperature, provided most of the fuel for last year's unusually strong hurricane season, scientists said this week."

It is likely to get worse rapidly. We seem to be entering a period of accelerating heating due to feedback cycles that may not be stoppable even if we were able to radically reduce CO2 emissions today. Even if we cannot stop disastrous consequences any longer, the severity of the problem is still in play. Any further delays in this issue gaining major traction as a global emergency will have dire repercussions that are beyond our ability to imagine.

Technorati tags: collapse, global warming, climate change, environment, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Global Warming Emergency NOW

2006-06-28T18:07:00.000-04:00

The Sydney Morning Herald, among many news sources, reports:

The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least four centuries and perhaps in thousands of years.

The US National Academy of Sciences reached that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by the US Congress.

In a report released on Friday it found the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia."

And you can rely on me to keep you posted on the Pensacola, FL water temperature; the current temp in the GOM at Pensacola is 89.4 F. The average June temp is 84 F, and the warmest average month is August at 86 F. Let me repeat: It is now 89.4 F. Warmer water makes bigger, more dangerous hurricanes.

Global warming is not someday. It is now. We are in an unprecedented disaster.

Technorati tags: collapse, global warming, climate change, environment, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Bare Feet Safer

2006-06-28T16:54:00.000-04:00

I noticed a search engine query hit to the blog on "Is going barefoot dangerous?"

I wanted to pass along personal experience that I have been going barefoot as often as possible for a couple of years now without any injury or problem, just more comfort and freedom. It is safe and healthy. I have had injuries from shoes, but never from going barefoot.

Also, the Society for Barefoot Living has some great info for questions like that here.

Here are some other recent queries and keywords related to going barefoot:

barefeet in public
convenience store barefoot
Society for Barefoot Living
walmart barefeet [But don't BUY from Walmart!]
barefoot day

barefoot (12), barefeet (6), barefooters (3), bare (2), feet (2), barefooting (1), shoes (1)

Technorati tags: barefoot, barefooters, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Gaza Update

2006-06-27T19:09:00.000-04:00

Update 16:35 EST - cnn.com: "Syria says it chased Israeli warplanes out of its airspace Wednesday after what it called a "hostile and provocative act," Syrian state television reported Wednesday."

news.bbc.co.uk: "Israel's PM warns of "extreme action" to free a captured soldier as troops enter Gaza and air strikes are launched."

^
| (WEDNESDAY 6/28)

Update 19:36 EST - Vital Perspective: "Fox News reports... troops on the southern border of Gaza... are now moving north into the area under the cover of night with the electricity having been knocked out and transportation infrastructes destroyed."

Update 19:18 EST - Israel Matzav: "Some 2,500 Egyptian border guards were deployed in the Rafah area on Monday... to prevent 'Palestinians' running away... into Egypt."

Update 19:02 EST - Vital Perspective: "AP reports that the Palestinian Authority says the IAF hit power stations in Gaza City, knocking out electricity." (Multiple confirmations).

Update 18:28 EST - BBC News: "Israel's military has attacked three bridges in Gaza amid heightened tension over the capture of an Israeli soldier."
Three bridges.

18:10 EST - breitbart.com is reporting: "Israeli planes attacked a bridge in central Gaza late Tuesday, Israel Radio reported, and Israeli tanks were said to be on the move, possibly signaling the start of a military operation."

Technorati tags: Gaza, war, peace, Israel, Palestine

BlogAsheville Awards

2006-06-27T18:43:00.000-04:00

Ryvr Scrawl had been nominated in two categories in "The First Annual BlogAsheville Awards."

- Least Likely to Make Money by Blogging
- Least Likely to Care About Traffic

Modern Peasant ultimately took the winning spot in both those categories!

War is Not the Solution

2006-06-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

The cnn.com headline reads: Israeli troops mass on Gaza border
'Strike will come,' Cabinet minister warns.

This appears to be a dangerous situation that may result in unacceptable bloodshed and pain for both sides. Deep breathing and caution are what is needed. Peace is every step.

*** More soon. Depending on the direction this goes, I may try to blog it somewhat continuously for a while. ***

Technorati tags: peace, war, Gaza

Be Disruptive on Monday

2006-04-28T16:32:00.000-04:00

Hats off to pro-immigrant activists who are organizing a massive strike for Monday, May 1, 2006.

We all have an obligation in these times to participate however we can. Keep it nonviolent, but do not support destructive capitalist activity. Do not buy gas. Try not to spend anything and boycott as much economic activity as possible. If you don't feel well, please don't go to work to spread the germs around!

My Way News conveys a great forecast:

Organizers have timed the action for May Day, a date when workers around the world often march for improved conditions, and have strong support from big labor and the Roman Catholic church. They vow that America's major cities will grind to a halt and its economy will stagger as Latinos walk off their jobs and skip school.

How will you contribute to sending a message that we don't have the society we want?

Technorati tags: Immigration, Revolution, May Day, May 1

Oil Crisis Emerging

2006-04-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

The mainstream media appear to be deliberately downplaying the acute skyrocketing of oil prices which threaten significant harm to the economy overall and certainly much pain to consumers both at the gas pump and in other cost of living impacts.

Crude oil for June delivery is now trading at $71.90 per barrel.

The Himalayan Times says:

"As one risk factor for the global economy is crude prices, which remain at high levels, I will closely watch how each G7 country discusses the issue," Japanese finance minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said...

In London, Brent crude futures have broken through $70 dollars a barrel for the first time, owing to tight supplies and to tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions...

The higher the deficit goes, the greater the risk of the dollar crashing, "which would push US interest rates up sharply and possibly lead to a recession," ...[the IMF] warned.

It is very possible that oil prices have entered territory which is economically destructive, and they will not ease much without a recession or depression which could cause demand to plummet. Barring capitalists having some clever or lucky cards up their sleeves, we may be just now entering a strange new era with much pain and some glimmers of hope for a future which is based on cooperation and sharing rather than competition and private ownership.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

We're In Hot Water

2006-04-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

The current water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico at Pensacola, FL is 80.2 F. This is close to the average temperature (84) for June. April's normal is 71.

June is when hurricane season normally starts, but it would seem unsurprising if we see a very early start and fierce season this year since these storms obtain their energy from ocean heat. Global warming is now.

*** Update 4/17/2006 15:45 EST - Pensacola water temp is now 81.5F!

Technorati tags: global warming, environment, collapse

OM, Drums, Barefoot Dancing

2006-04-14T16:20:00.000-04:00

Alan Ginsberg chanting OM may have helped end the Vietnam War.

I hope that maybe the drummers and we who dance barefoot at the Asheville drum circles at Pritchard Park on Friday evenings may also be rebalancing world Karma to help us all to our soft landing in the paradise of the noncapitalist future.

Peace and Love always, Brothers and Sisters.

Technorati tags: Asheville, peace, tribalism, barefoot, barefooters

On Blissful Liberation

2006-04-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Eula and Ran Prieur have been discussing some hazards of the terminology that we use to identify likely future trends. At issue is that "crash," "collapse," and "die-off" are perhaps poor branding choices compared to "involuntary powerdown," "Utopia," or how about "Blissful Liberation from the Capitalists."

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

LATOC #1 For "Oil" on Google

2006-04-12T16:22:00.000-04:00

The most straightforward and lucid explanation of peak oil and its consequences I have yet seen is found at the site Peak Oil: Life After the Oil Crash. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the facts and logic presented at this site.

They have now become the #1 result returned by a Google search on the term "oil." That's some huge writing on the virtual wall.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

DEA Agent in Video Shoots Self in Foot

2006-04-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

And is apparently now suing for humiliation that has "crippled" his "career."

You can also see the video of the "agent" shooting himself in his foot here.

He should lose the case, because if his career is lost at the DEA, he now has a better opportunity to find an honest line of work doing some kind of good instead of harassing and destroying people for the morally legitimate use of spiritually helpful and medicinal plants, fungi, and chemicals.

Asheville Items

2006-04-11T15:08:00.000-04:00

Since it remains unclear how long the system will limp along before crashing from oil starvation, it is good that communities like Asheville are engaging in positive action with results. It is also great practice for a community that will evolve a healthy tribal network post-capitalism.

Blog Asheville tells us that local activists have stopped a new Walmart infection:

Just as the forces were gathering to battle it out at Ashvegas City Council tonight, Wal-Mart has announced that it's not going to pursue siting a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Smoky Park Highway next to the Lowes' there.

Also from BA, we have a link to freep a poll on support for the Dem. (Schuller) candidate working to unseat the Republican (Taylor) incumbent in the local Congressional race. Scroll down this page and vote!

Technorati tags: Asheville, Walmart, politics

Oil's Well That Ends Well

2006-04-10T15:14:00.000-04:00

The Globe and Mail is reporting on the continuing rise of oil prices:

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose $1.36 to $68.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. If the gains stick, it would be the highest closing price since Sept. 1, when Nymex futures settled at $69.47.

My recent analysis of global production numbers leads me to believe that the Hubbert Peak of oil production was in June 2005. It is probably only massive efforts by producers that is delaying significant production decreases for perhaps a couple more months.

Given the fact that demand for oil will soon be running off ahead of supply, the oil price is a huge capitalist bargain. However, the pain of $2.79/Gal. and rising gas at the pumps is real and must get worse.

We must all learn to live without oil. And remember that when we say oil, we mean gasoline, plastic, fertilizers that allow large-scale agriculture, and many of the other building blocks of this civilization.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, civilization, anarcho-primitivism

Pentagon Nuke Plans: Iran

2006-04-09T22:57:00.000-04:00

Seymour M. Hersh reveals vile plans by the Pentagon to attack Iran:

One of the military's initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites.

Steve at BIO cites *political* risks for the self-styled Emperor Bush:

I think Bush has gone to the terror well too often. I think playing the only card in the deck for short term political gain, to bump the polls in advance of the mid-term elections, will backfire on him, for precisely the same reason Iraq backfired on him.

The moral implications of using nuclear weapons in conflict for the first time since 1945 are mind-bogglingly horrific. We each have a profound obligation to do everything (non-violent) that we can to stop such an attack by the U.S.

Technorati tags: peace, Iran

Wikipedia Offline

2006-04-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

Wikipedia has been offline for some time today, and I am hoping to be able to report more info soon as to why or when it will be back up. I'll keep trying to find out. It is intersting to think about all the students with research papers due Monday morning among millions of other information seekers who must be in a huge jam right now. (21:00 EST).

Updates to come as I find out more information.

Update 21:06 EST - The front page is now showing, but searches still do not work.

Update 21:15 EST - Searches appear to be working and the site appears to be up and functioning. Apparently it was down for about 4 hours.

Update 21:27 EST - While some areas of the site are still having problems, Wikipedia is up and running. According to the Server Admin Log there were apparently problems associated with a mySQL install, and servers not booting or registering DNS properly.

Technorati tags: wikipedia

A Poster Showing Healthy Living

2006-04-08T18:20:00.000-04:00

I am unspeakably flattered to find out from my new stats tracker that this blog is the #6 result in MSN Search on the terms "a poster showing healthy living."

Keep reading me brothers and sisters! It's great for your health!

And studies show that 2 out of 3 hippies say that posting comments at ryvr scrawl could reduce your risk of contracting Bird Flu, H5N1.

Technorati tag: meta

TEOTWAWKI: And I Feel Fine

2006-04-08T17:28:00.000-04:00

(It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine).

Jason Godesky has a good analysis of the flaws of an article by Toby Hemenway:

Hemenway makes an argument about demand, and points out the basic economic fact that price is not only set by supply, but also by demand. This is the common Cornucopian reply to the question of Peak Oil: as supply contracts, prices will rise, which will simply extinguish demand. This entails a distinct lack of imagination, in my opinion, as to what "extinguishing demand" might entail. With a human population far beyond its carrying capacity already that can only be fed with petroleum-fueled, industrial agrictulre, a rise in the price of oil must be carried over into a rise in the price of food. That will increase the percentage of the population that cannot afford food, and that increases the desperation of a society very quickly.

I think the other point that cornucopians miss is that this will be a permanent and widening decrease in the amount of energy available to civilization. Capitalism is predicated on growth. Sustainability (at some level) will be possible, but not endless growth. This means that capitalism will fail completely.

Now, where I am more "optimistic" than many doomers is that I like to focus on the fact that many of the most spirited of tribes can look forward to a future that will be much better than the anti-human civilization in which we live. Many of us will be able to grow food, eat well, and see a new renaissance of art and music instead of Walmart and American Idol.

And don't forget Karma: stay non-violent and lead your tribe in peace, love, and happiness always.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out

2006-04-07T17:38:00.001-04:00

tom campbell writes:

[M]y grand scheme to 'save the world' is simply to walk away from participation in those institutions that diminish diversity and learn about or create a new way of living that increases diversity[.]

You don't hear too many people advising us to "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" these days. However, it appears beyond doubt that the "system" is even more broken beyond possibility of being fixed from within than it was in the 60's.

Many of us want a better world but continue to crank the engines that are driving it off a cliff. Compassion and love, shared with our communities can accomplish true good, and we are at the point where we must build our better world through ourselves without expecting justice to come from the top.

Tom is right. As many of us as possible do need to find a new way of living that brings peace, love, and happiness to our tribes.

Technorati tags: revolution, 60's, peace and love

Theological Treatise (En bref)

2006-03-25T03:28:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna tell a BIG secret. I can't tell you why I'm tellin' it, but I'm tellin' it. And know truthfully that there's a Holy Rosary wrapped around my hand right now as I write this. But Lo, it is still and surely your left-wing wacko ** Ryvr ** who loves all the other people far faster than the people who say, "Ha, I have many jewels!"

The Secret ***IS***: Look around you; look at you. This all has meaning. And VERY, Very Good meaning. Wanna disagree with me? O.k. Go Ahead. But as for me, I would rather live a beautiful lie, than die an ugly death.

So immediately, this moment! Embrace yourself, embrace the person next to you, and (deep breath) EMBRACE GOD. Now that you're shocked ... realize that a supremely meaniful quest offered to you is to find a place for the idea "God" that you feel at one with. "At One"-Ment = Atonement.

For many liberals and intellectuals, "God" the word is dead or never existed. But God=Love, God=Truth,God="This means something and Right will win" are what "liberals" are all about.

So the secret is: Be as good as you can be (and keep trying better), Good Will Win, and YOU are a Child of God.

Music Matters: Update I

2006-03-24T00:55:00.000-05:00

We have nominations updates for our list of musicians and bands that are helping to make a better world. See the original post for the idea behind this list.

We need more nominations! Please use comments to submit yours (up to 3, currently performing or recording).

Nominations as of March 24, 2006 (alphabetical):

Dark Star Orchestra

Rick Frost

Warren Haynes

Gandolf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams

Max Creek

Rusted Root

Technorati tags: Music, Revolution, Peace, Peace and Love

A New Atlantis

2006-03-24T00:25:00.000-05:00

On AlterNet, Don Hazen correctly proclaims:

It is time to resurrect the good '60s and help many people understand much of what has been hidden. It was an era when millions of people were clear about their values -- especially nonmaterial aspirations, and sharing, and ways of living simply that have long since been steamrollered by the nonstop tsunami of global consumer culture.

We can make a better world and recapture our human spirit, but to do so we must kill the "60's was a failure" myth. They did more good than can usually be expected of a generation, and we have just dropped the ball so far on the unfinished business.

You:
- Participate in nonviolent direct action
- Find a style that is you and your tribe's
- Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
- Make Peace and Love
- Bare Feet Not Arms

Technorati tags: hippies, 60's, revolution

Equinox: Economy Egg Standing Upright?

2006-03-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

Uh, yeah, the week of March 20... The AP is reporting:

Treasury officials, briefing congressional aides last week, said that the government will run out of maneuvering room to keep from exceeding the current limit sometime during the week of March 20...

[T]hey had used the $15 billion in the Exchange Stabilization Fund, a reserve that the Treasury secretary has that is normally used to smooth out volatile movements in the value of the dollar in currency markets.

Heck, who needs stabilization funds in times like these?

"Hippie Chimps" Endangered

2006-03-05T23:07:00.000-05:00

On the heels of a great chimps/bonobos post at Anthropik by Jason Godesky, cnn.com is reporting:

Scientists are struggling to save the fast-disappearing bonobo, the gentle "hippie chimp" known for resolving squabbles through sex rather than violence...

"Bonobos are an icon for peace and love, the world's 'hippie chimps,"' said Sally Coxe of the Washington-based Bonobo Conservation Initiative. "To let them die off would be a catastrophe."

Praise The Lord, We're Free At Last

2006-03-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

Of the near-future failure of industrial civilization, Jason Godesky says:

We should not hear "Stone Age" and think of a life that is "nasty, brutish and short"; rather, we should understand that living in the Stone Age means being free for the first time in our lives.

I think many of us will be clever and hard-working enough to live very well and happily post-capitalism. The most stressful thing is gonna be getting things organized initially since so few people are willing to accept the obvious conclusions to draw right now about where things are going and how soon. If it doesn't happen before the weather gets cold again, some advance preparation is going to be necessary. At this point though, I am not overly concerned about catching some fish and picking some edible plants the day the grocery store is no longer open.

Note about "how soon": The week of March 20, 2006 is going to be a big one to watch with the opening of the Iran Oil Bourse, the Fed-funny-money-thing, and the 3 year anniversary of the Iraq war. If on 3/24/06 things look similar to how they did on 2/24, the fat lady may have a few more stanzas to sing.

Technorati tags: collapse, peak oil, tribalism, anarcho-primitivism

Calling Peak - About Now

2006-03-04T00:46:00.000-05:00

Stuart Staniford sums up the evidence, agreeing with many other intelligent observers that the peak of oil production is upon us:

Whether May 2005 will stand as the highest ever month of production or some month in 2006 or even 2007 rises a little higher is certainly hard to call.

Note that he suggests that some month could rise "a little higher" than May 2005 production. This is inconsequential as it represents some random fluctuation - just noise - in the peak production period which will soon transition to a decline.

It is not logical to think that capitalism can survive this. Capitalism is predicated on future increasing of return-on-investment which will not be forthcoming. Alternatives to replace oil will be wonderful for a post-capitalist civilization that will emerge in the coming years, however, the massive infrastructure transformation cost required to preserve the current economy will not be possible during this period of rapidly increasing energy costs.

I do not view these conclusions as at all pessimistic. I believe that we will view the late 20th century and the first six years of the 21st as the "bad old days" when we are gathering around the tribal campfire in the coming years.

Humans will once again be human.

Technorati tag: peak oil

Election 2004 Stolen

2006-03-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman explain clearly some of the rock hard evidence that the 2004 Presidential Election was stolen:

Exit polls flashed worldwide on CNN at 12:20 am Wednesday morning, Nov. 3, showed John Kerry winning Ohio by 4.2 percent of the popular vote, probably about 250,000 votes. We believe this is an accurate reflection of what really happened here...

Therefore, to put it simply: at least 308,000 voters, most of them likely Democrats, were eliminated from the registration rolls prior to an election allegedly won by less than 119,000 votes, where more than 106,000 votes still remain uncounted, and where the GOP secretary of state continues to successfully fight off a meaningful recount.

What's terminal is that it seems that not many Americans care that the last two Presidential inaugurations witnessed the swearing-in of the man who LOST the election.

I must emphasize again that we must make progress for the well-being and happiness of the people, and it becomes increasingly clearer that this progress will not happen just through the traditional political process. We must build communities of peace and love. We must stop being mindless consumers.

*** Don't Feed the Capitalists ***

Technorati tags: impeach bush, bush, stolen election

And It's 1, 2, 3 What Are We Fightin' For?

2006-03-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

The unelected self-styled emperor bush's Iraq misadventure is in a state of utter meltdown:

With fears of full-blown civil war gripping Iraq, the capital was sealed off, cars were prohibited from entering, and all but the most official vehicles banned from traveling between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

,reports cnn.com.

After 2,300 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead, this has led to complete instability teetering on civil war. There is no "good" solution at this point, but first we must hold bush and the Americans who supporting him morally accountable for their disaster which has only made the world a considerably worse place.

Technorati tags: impeach bush, Bush, Iraq, anti-war, peace

Liberal Views harassed in CO School

2006-03-03T01:43:00.000-05:00

9news in Colorado reports:

A 16-year-old boy at Overland High School doesn't want to hear what he calls his teacher's left-wing political rants...

A spokesperson for the Cherry Creek School District [in Colorado] said they have placed [the teacher] Bennish on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

I pass this along as more "sign of the times" evidence of this nation's continuing slide into fascism. The rest of us must continue to speak truth and love, loudly and clearly. What they are doing is both a grave and wrong injury to this teacher and a severe threat to moving our society forward through dialog, education, and free expression.

Music Matters: Nominations

2006-03-02T22:27:00.000-05:00

Though I have given up on the Democrats, I can never give up on working together to build a better nation and world.

Please join me in this participatory post series, "Music Matters," in which we will try to find musicians and groups who make good sounds that lead us together to dream for better things.

In earlier decades, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and many others joined us together in song and dance into a vision that almost succeeded in transforming the world. We've slipped back, but now is the time to go forward.

Let's start with open nominations by readers (please use the Blogger comments) of up to 3 artists/groups per reader, of currently performing or recording musicians who contribute to our movement to make a better world. Please provide URL's if you have them, and feel free to plug your reasons for nominating them.

On March 20, the anti-war concert Bring 'Em Home Now! will make music in New York featuring R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and Rufus Wainwright.

Nominations as of March 2, 2006 (alphabetical):

Dark Star Orchestra

Max Creek

Rusted Root

Technorati tags: Music, Revolution, Dark Star Orchestra, Max Creek, Rusted Root, Peace, Peace and Love

Formal Unendorsement

2006-03-02T20:42:00.000-05:00

At this time, I am choosing to formally unendorse and distance my support from the national Democratic Party.

While I have forgiven their capitulation repeatedly, including making no discernible efforts to stop the recent radical right-wing takeover of the supreme court, today's Senate vote where a greater than threefold majority of Democrats voted for a noxious, liberty-killing "Patriot Act" pushed by an unelected "president" with a current approval rating of 34%, I am flat out of excuses for them.

I believe now that even a Democrat presidency with a Democrat-majority congress is unlikely to bring significant improvement against the rapid slide of our nation deeper into the cesspool.

I urge all people of good-will in this nation to come together to explore all peaceful and non-violent means outside of the political system to bring a better life to our people. The solutions will not be found through either the republican or democratic party to any extent at all in the foreseeable future.

34: Does He Need More?

2006-03-02T16:46:00.000-05:00

"Bush is done for ... You don't recover from 34%." asserts Cenk Uygur at AlterNet, conveying a seemingly self-evident truth.

Meanwhile, "Patriot Act compromise passes Senate, awaits House vote... The 89-10 vote marked a bright spot in President Bush's troubled second term as his approval ratings dipped over the war in Iraq and his administration's response to Hurricane Katrina," reports cnn.com.

So, I wonder, if Bush's approval dropped to 10%, would he get only the support of 65 or so senators for his most obnoxious, liberty-trashing legislation?

Clearly, although Bush is horrendous, the *** 89 *** senators voting to continue stripping us of any semblance of Constitutional rights are not doing this to stand with a popular president.

We must face the fact that we have at least 89 complete fascist senators, at least 35 of whom are democrats. "Broken" is a profound understatement of the condition of this former democracy.

I Ain't Marchin' Anymore

2006-01-20T00:41:00.000-05:00

The Asheville Global Report says:

General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's pro-US military ruler, is facing nationwide anger towards the United States after at least 22 villagers including five children were killed by missiles fired by a remote controlled, CIA-operated drone on Jan. 13. Some residents put the death toll at more than 30.

Bulldog Manifesto tells it right, "we have become the terrorist."

When I saw the cities burnin', I knew that I was learning that I ain't a-marchin' anymore...

Call it Peace, or call it treason, call it Love, or call it reason, but I ain't a-marchin' anymore. -- Phil Ochs

Technorati tags: impeach bush pakistan

My Comic Relief: Boyfriend and Iran

2006-01-19T23:55:00.000-05:00

OK, so my boyfriend changed his online profile to say, status="it's complicated" and he's looking for "dating men."

He claims that it was to test me, or to develop peaceful nuclear energy, or something like that.

I told him to change that immediately, and he did not.

I have now told him that I will refer him to the UN Security Council, and Israel will bomb him. That should work.

My President Too

2006-01-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

The lawful former President of the United States of America, legal winner of the 2000 election, Al Gore, has identified George W. Bush as a grave threat to the U.S. constitution, and identified the self-styled emperor's warrentless domestic wiretapping as massively illegal:

As we begin this new year, the Executive Branch of our government has been caught eavesdropping on huge numbers of American citizens and has brazenly declared that it has the unilateral right to continue without regard to the established law enacted by Congress to prevent such abuses...

It is this same disrespect for America's Constitution which has now brought our republic to the brink of a dangerous breach in the fabric of the Constitution. And the disrespect embodied in these apparent mass violations of the law is part of a larger pattern of seeming indifference to the Constitution that is deeply troubling to millions of Americans in both political parties...

I call upon Democratic and Republican members of Congress today to uphold your oath of office and defend the Constitution. Stop going along to get along. Start acting like the independent and co-equal branch of government you're supposed to be.

If Al Gore can continue this strength of speaking truth clearly and loudly, he positions himself for my support in any campaign or leadership role to which he might aspire. Al Gore 2008?

The Impeach Bush Coalition has added Al Gore to the long list of impeachement supports.

***Full text of Al Gore's MLK Jr. Day Speach

*** Update 3/3/06
Al Gore may remain a candidate I could support in 2008, while John Kerry and Hillary Clinton have absolutely disqualified themselves with their failure to oppose the renewal of the *un*patriot act. My support going to Gore becomes more difficult also though by my decision to remove the weight of my support from the democratic party.
***

Technorati tags: impeach bush al gore bush wiretapping

Post-Capitalism

2006-01-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

It looks very possible that we will truly witness the final unraveling of the capitalist system within the next two years. The brightest minds with the most facts are trying to figure out whether we have already passed peak oil or whether perhaps at the latest it could be this year.

Stephen Corley hits the point in an article in ITPBusiness.net:

Alas, the second half now dawns, and will be marked by the decline of oil and all that depends on it, including financial capital.

Capitalism cannot survive without the *growth* of capital, and the outpacing of demand for oil above oil production will immediately cause their system to fail completely.

We are unforgiveably late in discussing how we will transition to a better world. I foresee the possibility of very rewarding tribal living, absent automobiles, telephones, televisions, electricity, etc. But we will need to know how to organize ourselves, govern ourselves, and cooperate effectively.

Wean yourself off worship of the green papers now. They will be torn from you soon.

Technorati tag: peak oil

Bush Makes Me Smoke Too

2006-01-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

Drudge has noted that PDA is reporting on a forum in which Sean Penn mentions Bush's bad influence on quitting smoking:

Actor Sean Penn added to the enthusiasm of the day by stressing that all of the nation's anti-war activism was taking hold and was starting to work--while admitting that the stress of living under the current administration was making it tough for him to quit smoking. Stating that he "was not a pacifist on the inside", he was moved to be one on the outside for the sake of his children and grandchildren's future. He said we have to fight for everything we have.

I say we find a lawyer for launching a class action against Bush for ruining our health. *Cough*

Slippery slope?

2006-01-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

I glanced at this headline [in a groggy fuzz] on a newspaper that I didn't buy this morning, and I am grateful that BlogAsheville is reporting (passing along a letter from the couple who are possible victims of discrimination):

Virginia and I recently got legally married in Provincetown, Mass. Upon our return to Asheville, we decided to submit our wedding announcement to the Asheville Citizen-Times...

...the owner(s) of Wolf Laurel Slopes, where we had been doing ski and snowboard photography for the past two seasons, did not want us there any longer once they heard about the publication of our announcement.

Yep, you can travel and get married, come back and have *no rights at all* from it, but suffer discrimination no less.

Please do contact Wolf Laurel Slopes as urged by the couple, and I for one do believe that boycott is likely in order, absent the emergence of new information otherwise.

Wolf Laurel Slopes
P.O. Box 969
Mars Hill, NC 28754

For the following address, include Rick Bussey's name on the envelope:

Mr. Rick Bussey
c/o Scenic Wolf Ridge Resort
104 North Main Street
Weaverville, NC 28787

If you prefer to use email, please send to: marketing@skiwolflaurel.com

Technorati tags: discrimination, gay, LGBT

Ache Five, End One

2006-01-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

H5N1 (Bird Flu) is looking significantly more scary in Turkey than it has before elsewhere.

Revere of Effect Measure reports:

The three Ankara cases (a 60 year old man and two children, aged 2 and 5) as still being reported as "positive" for H5N1 by Turkish authorities. Their father gathered dead birds to turn them in to authorities and the children are said to have handled his gloves. If this is true, this seems like rather casual exposure, lending further weight to the concern that the disease is being transmitted more easily.

We must be vigilant against the negative effect of a possible climate of fear, e.g. additional power grabbing by the war-criminal, self-styled emperor Bush. Nonetheless, there is devastating danger in this virus, and we should all take steps to protect ourselves, our families, and our community.

Technorati tags: h5n1, bird flu, pandemic

Bring It On

2006-01-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

I'll be adding a link, and you should check out the new site Bring It On. Definite up-and-comer.

Make sure to watch The Bastard's (good guy) excellent presentation "Victory".

I was recently thinking how even more egregious Bush's "bring it on" idiocy was now that this war has lingered with so much pain and sorrow.

Stand up, be counted, end this dirty oil war NOW!

Technorati tags: Anti-War, Iraq, peace

Hiatus No More

2006-01-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

The unannounced hiatus I took from blogging is over. I have relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, and have just now settled in enough to begin regular blogging again.

I enthusiastically solicit comments on all posts because I want to hear your opinion just as much as I want to give mine.

One Flu East, One Flu West

2005-09-21T15:53:00.000-04:00

The Flu Wiki has announced Pandemic Flu Awareness Week for October 3-9.

A major question on my mind, which I will attempt to answer and pass the answer along to you, dear reader, is how many doses of Tamiflu per week could we purchase and provide to save the lives of potentially millions of Americans if we immediately ended the illegal and immoral war against Iraq.

Avian Flew

2005-09-21T15:13:00.000-04:00

Let's hope that the H5N1 virus is not ready to explode into the human population killing many millions including healthy young adults.

The Avian Flu blog joins the many concerned about recent information out of Jakarta:

The number of infected people has gone up steadily and, according to Henry Niman, people got the infection following a pattern that may suggest human to human transmission. Stay tuned.

If this is true, it could be an early sign of the worst pandemic that the world has seen since 1918. Stay informed, wash your hands, stay healthy.

Technorati tags: h5n1, avian flu, pandemic

One Senator at a Time

2005-09-20T14:18:00.000-04:00

Neohippie has posted an excellent resource for contacting Senators about the urgent need to Impeach Bush. He has a sample email and web forms and addresses to contact every Senator. Go and use it!

Technorati tag: Impeach Bush

The Message is the Medium

2005-09-20T13:58:00.000-04:00

Zander at Jack Myers Media Village discusses Dan Rather's Monday comments about the rightward, cowardly changes in the corporate media:

it's all about the conglomerates and their stranglehold on news divisions. Right now, there just isn't any support for investigative, hard-hitting journalism -- it's a change in basic philosophy. [T]he media... isn't working for the public... [N]ews divisions can't serve two masters, no matter how cheerfully they spin corporate synergy.

This issue is getting far too little attention.

When Clinton lied, nobody died; impeachment frenzy was whipped up by a corporate media who would benefit from exemption from all taxation under an extremist right-wing successor to Clinton. Now they have that man in office who watches their profits ahead of taking care of the people of this country. This news media is loathe to report the High Crimes and Misdemeanors of their Bush who has lied to the American people and Congress to take us into an illegal war.

While it may be possible to influence the corporate media by "voting with our wallets," the blogosphere provides an excellent alternative to disseminate truth and information.

Please take some time to visit some of the wonderful blogs listed at the Impeach Bush Coalition. They are all working hard to bring you the facts that you will not be likely to obtain from your TV, radio, or newspapers.

Bare Feet, Freedom, and Peace

2005-09-14T15:38:00.000-04:00

There is not much of an awareness in our society right now to address the serious infringement on freedom created by our culture that dictates that going barefoot in many places borders on scandelous.

A Technorati search on "barefooters.org" leads me to find a pronouncent by Dan at Click:

There's a place for everyone online -- even for this friendly group of shoe-shunners.

His Technorati tags for this post are "weird sites," "funny sites," "weird," "funny."

Well, there were times and cultures that felt it necessary for proper people to wear gloves in most public places; I wonder if those who view the shoes-rules as a trivial or correct matter would be comfortable bringing back other traditions of parts of the body we ought to cover for no good reason.

The Society for Barefoot Living explains the significant health benefits and improved comfort that go along with a barefoot lifestyle.

I would add that what makes that an issue that should be treated especially seriously right now is that those who go barefoot will most often connect with the Earth and free their minds in ways that would likely increase support for Peace, Justice, and Equality, and just plain help us with our currently quite difficult task of making the world better.

Technorati tags: barefoot, barefooters, peace

This is the Dawning of the...

2005-09-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, I can't not blog about this...

For some reason, no one told me about a profoundly groundbreaking movie that seems to present ideas which are similar to what some of us have identified as the basis for the growth into the new Age of Aquarius, and they use good science, logic, and spiritual ideas that make excellent sense, and are quite inspiring.

The movie is What the Bleep Do We Know?

Basically what they are saying is (and forgive me that I cannot be ultra-concise) that similar to how we once discarded ideas that the Earth was the center of the Universe, we now have enough scientific and experiential/spiritual ideas to rediscover the role of self or consciousness in the world in a way that can bring each of us and our whole civilization to a great new freedom and happiness. It is clear that reality is not a simple, solid external thing that we must suffer or enjoy as the case may be, but rather reality is something that we create both through our perception and our actions. Ironically, it is a movie which powerfully delivers the message that we need to stop living life like we are watching a movie, but instead use our ability to actively create our world for the better from moment to moment. Ultimately, they make a powerful case that the vast majority of people in our civilization are stuck in a mostly sub-conscious state of servitude to a mythical idea of an external world separate from ourselves, but that we all have the power to free ourselves to a more rewarding and true reality where we are in control of much that we thought we weren't.

These things may sound either obvious or useless, or you may reject them for fear that optimism is dangerous. But the movie itself makes the case so effectively that you absolutely have to see it before you could possibly reject these critical thoughts as wrong or of little consequence.

Impeach Bush Updates

2005-09-10T17:13:00.000-04:00

Visit the new blog for the Impeach Bush Coalition:

President [sic] Bush has totally and utterly failed the American people. Almost every day we are presented with further proof why he should not be our president. From 9/11, to WMDs, to Iraq, to Katrina-- the reasons are many and obvious. We need to impeach him NOW.

Search term "Impeach Bush" ( <-- click there to keep up) is still #2 on Technorati.

Bring It On has a good perspective:

If a former president can be impeached for a blowjob this should be a walk in the park!

Zaphod's Heads says:

It doesn't matter whether the House of Representatives consists of a Republican majority, we cannot wait around until 2006 for that to change. We can no longer afford to wait. Impeachment begins NOW, with all of us!

Also, click on the comments for my post, "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" to view some very disturbing information from kappasappa:

There are some very troubling developments regarding the collecting of bodies in NOLA. The company hired to do the collection is Kenyon International. Kenyon International is owned by SCI, a major Bush contributor... thousands of bodies were improperly and fraudulently disposed of in mass graves of in violation of numerous State and Federal laws on numreous occasions.

Technorati tag: Impeach Bush

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

2005-09-09T13:11:00.000-04:00

The blog search term "Impeach Bush" - and if you click that, it will help keep the link high - is now the top search term at Technorati!

It is time to make this case; I am formally and publicly adding my voice to the spreading call to impeach and remove from office George W. Bush. High crimes include deliberate lying to the American people to justify an immoral and illegal war, huge electoral fraud in both 2000 and 2004, and criminal negligence in slow and poor Federal response to the hurricane Katrina disaster.

I will follow up with more specific information on the charges we will use to remove George W. Bush from the office of President of the United States under the legal powers granted to Congress by the Constitution.

In the meanwhile, please also review what these insightful bloggers and sites have to say:

The Martian Anthropologist notes:

Wow. 42% of Americans. More than 4 in 10! But here's the really interesting part:

"By comparison, in October 1998, as the House moved to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal, a Zogby poll found that 39 percent of voters supported the House action, while 56 percent opposed it."

So more Americans now support impeaching President Bush than ever supported impeaching President Clinton. Interesting, eh?

And the Bulldog Manifesto says:

President Bush has totally and utterly failed the American people. Almost every day we are presented with further proof why he should not be our president. From 9/11, to WMDs, to Iraq, to Katrina-- the reasons are many and obvious. We need to impeach him NOW.

Technorati tag: Impeach Bush

Equal Marriage Urgent Action Alert

2005-09-09T11:41:00.000-04:00

The sponsors of the California Marriage Equality bill have delayed delivery to the governator to give us all a chance to help him change his mind about the veto. Let's all take this chance! Remember that opponents of equality across the country are raising money, phoning, faxing, and emailing, so we must also:

Equality California
http://www.eqca.org/
TAKE ACTION! HOW YOU CAN CONTACT THE GOVERNOR!
9-9-2005

We need your help! Please take two minutes to call, fax and email the Governor's office and urge that he sign the marriage equality bill. Also, don't forget to sign our petition to the governor.

It doesn't MATTER if you're in California or not; the whole country is watching and waiting to see what happens. To find out how, go to:

http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=1389749

Here are some of the things Equality California is asking you to do.

1) By going to the link above, sign an online petition to the governor.

2) Call the governor's office at 916-445-2841, at any hour. Go through the automated messages to express your view on legislation, then choose the option to express support for the "Gender-Neutral Marriage Bill." The number was busy when I called -- be prepared to redial. (Numbers for regional offices are also listed on the site if you have trouble getting through to the main number.)

3) Fax a message to the governor: 916-445-4633

4) E-mail the governor at http://www.govmail.ca.gov

Love and Marriage

2005-09-08T16:41:00.000-04:00

While (dirty swine) Schwarzenegger has now promised to veto the breakthough equal marriage legislation in California, two Massachusetts activists have a great idea:

Two gay activists are promising to post on the Internet the names and addresses of anyone who signs a petition that could lead to a statewide ban on gay marriage.

The move by Thomas Lang and Alexander Westerhoff, one of the first gay couples married in the state, came after state Attorney General Thomas Reilly on Wednesday certified a ballot question that bans gay marriage and civil unions.

The site is at http://knowthyneighbor.org/ .

People who are deliberately trying to take away other people's civil rights should have no entitlement to hide in anonymity.

I will post this link permanently, as I think all bloggers should, and I think it is a fine idea for us to contact people on this list and, with civility, educate them as to the harm and pain they are inflicting on the lives of their neighbors.

CA Legislature Votes Equality

2005-09-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

The LA Times Reports:

By the slimmest of margins, the California Legislature on Tuesday became the first in the nation to approve gay marriage. Lawmakers will now send the measure legalizing same-sex unions to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has hinted that he will veto it.

It is a wonderful thing that both chambers of the California legislature have voted for equality. It is disturbing that one man could "terminate" this important civil rights progress.

I hope there will be massive activism from equality proponents to let Governor Schwarzenegger know that history will be harshly unforgiving to a vetoing of equality. Perhaps we can also hold some hope that he has some Hollywood friends who will lean on him to sign this important legislation.

Contact Info for Gov. Schwarzenegger here.

How Many Deaths Will it Take?

2005-09-06T19:24:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine committed suicide today. I cannot begin to understand it; perhaps I cannot make sense of it, but can only mourn.

I can speak for myself that this is a very difficult time, country, and world to live in.

The dream of Peace, Love, and Happiness for all seems so far away sometimes. But I guess that one of the main things that keeps me going and not ending up like my lost friend J. is the belief that we can work together to fix things, and we need not despair and let our society keep descending into an increasingly worse nightmare.

We must continue to speak out about the evil effects of the uncaring and incompetent actions of the unelected George Bush. And perhaps more importantly, we all must speak more and speak louder about changing things for the better today... and we need change to come faster. How many more need to die in an illegal and immoral war, or neglected in the floodwaters of a great city because our nation has no resources or caring for them, or from suicide from living in these times of lost dreams and lost hope. Let's change it now.

To other bloggers and myself, I quote Bob Dylan:

Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen,
And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again,
And don't speak too soon for the wheel's still in spin,
And there's no telling’ who that it's namin';
For the loser now will be later to win.

Yes, the times, they're STILL a'changin!

We've had a bad detour; let's get back on the road:

PEACE NOW! FREEDOM NOW!

Bush: Let Them Eat Gumbo Cake

2005-09-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

I don't think decent people want to politicize a horrific natural disaster, but how can we not observe how inept Bush's Katrina response has been and continues to be, prolonging and exacerbating the death and suffering.

Irish Trojan (from what I can tell, an absolute hard-core political moderate) gives a fair evaluation:

the aftermath of Katrina is quickly becoming an abject political disaster for the Bush Administration ... if the feds don't get this turned around very, very soon -- like, today -- I think the political ramifications may be staggering and far-reaching. The public does not easily forgive a government's perceived failure in a crisis, nor should they (assuming the perception is accurate). Like graffiti carved into the wet concrete of a newly paved sidewalk, the perception that the government failed the victims of Katrina will be almost impossible to alter once it has hardened, and I sense that it is hardening very fast.

And Boing Boing is reporting that:

FEMA points Katrina aid $ to Pat "kill Hugo Chavez!" Robertson

The only way Bush's people do anything "right" is not in the sense of correct, but only a political "right" (wing) which to them is all about anti-poor, anti-gay, anti-freedom, anti-peace...

Horror There, Changes Everywhere

2005-09-02T00:53:00.000-04:00

While the unfathomable humanitarian disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi continues to reveal new horror upon new horror, the rest of the nation may need to begin to brace for a devastating impact to our way of life.

I have received a personal report from Asheville, North Carolina that it is mostly impossible to obtain gasoline there: gas stations are not supplied with gas at all, and the word is that it is likely to be at least nine days until they have any at all.

Here's a separate reference to this occurrence from the Ashvegas blog:

anchor Larry Blunt... read some news about the local gas shortage. ... pimping the WLOS web site ... as the place to go to find out what gas stations still have fuel in Buncombe County.

Here in the Northeast, I just paid $3.09 per gallon to fill my gas tank, but I am hearing rumors that gas may no longer be supplied up here soon either.

Our 2005 "Walmart Economy" is vastly different from the 1970's economy that experienced what may end up being a far more minor gas shortage. I believe that we may need to start considering the possibility of near complete economic and social meltdown if gas stops flowing to many parts of the nation for more than a very short time.

American Fascism Advancing Fast

2005-09-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

My email to the American Civil Liberties Union:

You are betraying the people by complying with the unconstitutional gag order under the Patriot Act. Who is your library records client in ACLU v Gonzales? Please tell us immediately or change your name to Union to Protect the Fascists (UPF).

http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18956&c=262

The government is seizing library records of individuals who oppose the unelected president [sic] George Bush or his illegal war. The Department of Homeland Security has pulled own my credit report, and I hear beeps on my telephone line that sounds like tapping.

If the ACLU is no longer protecting our liberties, we citizens had better be getting on the ball; I'm not sure how we can dig, pursue, and find out the truth here, but if we do not, those of us who do not wish to live in a radical fascist country will need to move and find another nation of residence.

Too Much Destruction - END THIS WAR NOW

2005-08-31T20:21:00.000-04:00

While we continue to mourn over the hurricane, kos at Daily Kos reports on a brutal month of August in Iraq:

U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war rose in August to the highest monthly total since January, and American officials predict escalating insurgent violence... At least 84 U.S. troops were killed in August, according to a count of deaths announced by the military. Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, there have been 1,879 American military deaths in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, with another 14,265 troops wounded.

Perhaps I give humans too much credit sometimes, but I wish that the tragedy unfolding in Louisiana and Mississippi will bring us to think about what is important in life, and make this petty oil-greed war stand out like the ugly stain upon our nation that it is, and that we end the unjust, dirty, illegal war NOW.

Technorati tags: anti-war, peace, Iraq

Rainbow World Fund

2005-08-31T12:45:00.000-04:00

I have given to the Red Cross to support relief efforts and I vehemently urge everyone else to do the same.

Additionally, because of some of the discrimination problems with the Red Cross, I am now also strongly suggesting giving to Rainbow World Fund, an LGBT organized charity through which you can donate and specify Katrina.

See additional charity options HERE at Instapundit!!!

Technorati Tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina, gay

Horror in New Orleans

2005-08-31T01:30:00.000-04:00

Left In Lowell puts into words what I am struggling to get out:

Dear. Lord. The water is still rising... ****ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 9 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK. WITHIN THE NEXT 12-15 HOURS****

No matter how many people expected this, the devastation is too much to comprehend.

This is an unfathomable horror upon a wonderful, beautiful city with the most amazing people and just incredible food.

GIVE WHAT YOU CAN NOW:
https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

They need all of us.

Balanced = Fiction

2005-08-30T13:13:00.000-04:00

Reporting on an anti-gay, Christian [sic] fundamentalist "conversion" conference, massmarrier brings attention to the critical issue of the often misunderstood job of journalists:

...The Seattle Times' let's-make-nice version... looks like a rookie reporter trying to be balanced and afraid to call a schmuck a schmuck.

Besen is by far the better writer and the intellectual of the two. He notes that LWO conferences are desperate affairs. As he put it:

"...Nicolosi claims that a distant father is responsible for creating a gay son. There is absolutely no evidence to back up this theory. Sure, some fathers may create distance when their sons express more interest in ice skating than ice hockey. But it ignores the incontrovertible fact that countless gay children are close to both parents, while many heterosexuals have estranged paternal relationships.

At Love Won Out, one will also hear that homosexuality is learned, but no evidence of this is offered."

Journalists and the media serve the public well when they communicate organized facts in their reporting. Simply to portray everything as two sides that disagree, dutifully quoting each side, with no reference back to the thing called "reality" is simply a form of fiction based on things actually heard. Novelists write conversations; journalists need to tell us about real things.

I'll leave you with a (slightly) parodied report from the corporate-owned evening news:

Controversy entangled Washington today following President Bush's news conference in which he declared, "We must remember that two plus two always equals seven."

Democrats quickly fired back that they believe that the number is probably closer to four.

Aides to the President responded that these attacks were purely political and the President would have no further discussions, and simply base the national budget on the correct sum, seven.

Oh, how the "balanced" media enlighten us.

Donate Today, Educate Them Tomorrow

2005-08-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

TODAY, it is time to donate whatever you can to the Red Cross:

https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

After the waters have receded and lives begin to rebuild, it will be time to seriously and vigorously address the issues of anti-gay discrimination from the Red Cross. There is no better way to help people hurting very badly from the storm than giving through them, but it is unacceptable that I have to agonize over giving to an organization that will not take my healthy blood or that of my friends and loved ones just because we are gay.

August Books

2005-08-29T23:09:00.000-04:00

I recently finished reading 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlanski, which I highly recommend to everyone. His writing style is engaging and highly readable in a way that drew my interest powerfully from one country to another, touring the world of the year 1968, with fascinating insight:

People born during and and directly after World War II grew up in a world transformed by horror, and this made them see the world in a completely different way. The great lesson of Nazi genocide for the postwar generation was that everyone has an obligation to speak up in the face of wrong and that any excuse for silence will, in the merciless hindsight of history, appear as pathetic and culpable as the Germans in the war crimes trials, pleasing that they were obeying orders (Kulansky, 100).

I found that particular observation stunningly probable as one of the reasons that the previous generation rose up to make a better world with far more energy than mine is inclined to so far.

Next up on my reading list is Jack Kerouac's On the Road ... which I probably should have read years ago, but may be more topical to my life right now.

My Heart is With New Orleans

2005-08-29T15:08:00.000-04:00

I am so saddened by the devastation and the heartache in the beautiful and wonderful city of New Orleans.

I am heartened by the the fact that despite some of more dire predictions, there will now still be a Big Easy, right where we left her, needing some extra love to mend the tears.

I am in debt to Brendan Loy, the Irish Trojan, who kept me informed and frightened out of my wits all through yesterday, last night, and today.

SETI and Socialism

2005-08-04T18:11:00.000-04:00

Strong weight of scientific evidence should have led us to expect to have detected, certainly by 2005, radio evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. That we apparently have not could have any number of possible explanations, but there is one that is deeply troubling because it is particularly plausible and frightening.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI

It is highly likely that there have been up to millions of civilizations in our galaxy that have developed technology at least as advanced as our own. That we have not detected them raises the distinct possibility that very few of these civilizations survive long past the point of such technology; perhaps when a species develop the ability to destroy itself with instruments like the nuclear bomb, or even
more devastating possibilities, it may be only a matter of a few decades before they do so.

I doubt that I am one of the only people who feels that it is of the most profound importance that our species survive and grow into a civilization of greater kindness and love. But we are almost completely lacking any broad impulse to discussion of
action that could lead to our survival and true progress of the spirit. And it is too dangerous a time to have a dark age; but a dark age we have.

Stalin may be one of the largest to blame. The 19th and 20th centuries flourished with vision and idealism, but men obsessed with their own power, who later twisted and perverted some of the best ideas our species has ever had, have given ammunition to those who believe we cannot do better than a cold, heartless capitalism.

Arise comrades! We have little time to establish Socialism, Peace, and Democracy across the globe lest we all join the large, cold graveyard of the galaxy.

Karl Rove: Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, Valerie Plame

2005-07-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

Karl Rove should indeed be fired for his role in "outing" Valerie Plame in an act of political retribution designed to silence all Bush critics.

I've also dug up a good article by William Hare which includes discussion of Rove's role in massive vote fraud which has led to Republicans incorrectly being declared victors in the last three national elections:

http://www.politicalstrategy.org/archives/000869.php

Too little has been written thus far about what had to be a major element of Karl Rove's current [2004 presidential election] theft, not allowing a repeat of 2000, when, through the Supreme Court stopping the Florida vote recount, Bush "won" in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote to Al Gore. Rove set the stage for the vote theft by announcing his target of four million new voters from the Christian evangelical ranks...

The fact that Bush not only swept the south, but did so in such devastating fashion, is contrary to many poll findings, including normally reliable state polling organizations. Adding votes to the Bush total from his strongest region, where such figures were not as likely to be challenged as in other regions, would be a way of padding the Republican candidate's total...

What is needed is a comprehensive national recount and analysis. Greg Palast has committed himself to such an effort. So has Bev Harris of the Black Box Voting site. The Green and Libertarian parties are to be commended for their efforts in seeking an Ohio recount, as is Nader for supporting such an effort in New Hampshire.

For barring the elected Presidents Al Gore and John Kerry from entering the White House, Rove must be prosecuted and jailed.

But for now, the centrist moveon.org is just petitioning his removal from office... sign their petition here.

Concert Civil Liberties and Bare Feet

2005-07-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

An indoor concert venue/nightclub I went to last Friday, whose name I won't promote here, is conducting itself unacceptably.

Security removed people from the crowd for dancing barefoot. They also digitally photograph both your face and your driver's license (to pass along to the FBI?) when you enter. Staff also confiscated a beach ball and badmouthed the band.

We need to find and promote venues where bare feet are ok and civil liberties are respected. If you know any, drop a comment.

I'll start the GOOD list with a place that seemed comfortable last time I was there and people were barefoot:

Iron Horse Music Hall North Hampton, MA

Technorati tags: barefooters, barefoot

A Ray of Hope: Civilization to the North

2005-06-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/29/international/americas/29canada.html?

Legislation fully legalizing equal marriage rights across Canada has passed the House of Commons and faces no other significant hurdles, effectively making it law.

Merci pour les bons mots, Real Menard:

"It's about the right to love," Real Menard, a Bloc Quebecois lawmaker who is gay, said after the vote. "When you are in love, things are different, and everyone is entitled to that."

So who's next? Washington state? California? New York? I say we're due for some better progress than Civil Onions... let's get another marriage state. Let's do the work.

Yes, Prime Minister: The Downing Street Memo

2005-06-28T12:44:00.000-04:00

The "Downing Street Memo" is correctly portrayed as a smoking gun from the British Government of Tony Blair showing that Bush took us into an ILLEGAL war based on intentionally distorted intelligence:

"Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy... It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran... The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action."

The media, which is now uniformly conservative in the U.S., is refusing to air the facts of the D.S.M. which show that Bush's ongoing war crimes are criminal under international law in addition to being morally reprehensible.

Once upon a time the media was more unbiased. The right-wing wackos screamed that they were liberal which had the chilling effect of shutting down the truth. You can use this link to find info to contact media outlets to demand that they report the Downing Street Memo:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2520

We Don't Want His Dirty War

2005-06-28T10:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/28/bush.iraq.ap/index.html

"President Bush is using the first anniversary of Iraq's sovereignty [sic] to try to ease Americans' doubts about the mission and outline a winning strategy for a violent conflict that has cost the lives of more than 1,740 U.S. troops and has no end in sight."

We MUST clearly and loudly call for an end to this war NOW. I am even sickened by the idea of ending Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell. Equal rights? To get sent to die in a pointless war?? Better to get married.

American boys and Iraqi women and children are dying by the scores for no reason.

Please take a moment to look at your hands. I am looking at mine. We may not see the blood, but it is there because we have failed to speak up effectively to stop this madness. Please join me in making a commitment right now to do something every day to restore Peace; let's write our representatives, march, rally, talk to our families and friends, and believe in ourselves that we are truly beautiful people who are capable of opposing this dirty war just like they did for Vietnam.

Posting Delinquency

2005-06-28T10:38:00.000-04:00

I do watch for site traffic and comments... Post comments and visit more, and I will write more!

Oil Optimism

2005-05-23T17:44:00.000-04:00

Uncle has a different reaction from mine to the lifeaftertheoilcrash.net site:

"Speculations and hypotheses, however high they be piled, are not the same as evidence verified by repeated (sometimes hostile) experiment. This latest Doomsday scenario is speculative. More, it relies upon a near-total ignorance of the history of science and technology, as well as an innate pessimism that gives even me pause."

It is hard for me to see the followers of the peak-oil theory as pessimists. We have a huge, ugly machine of misguided greedy civilization flattening humans and humanity like a steamroller. When the gears of this machine stop for lack of oil, we will have a chance to move toward a clean, rewarding, and happy future. This, to me, is not pessimistic.

Points have been made by Uncle and others that it seems silly not to expect new technologies to provide power after oil. While I agree with that, it is important to note that one of the fundamental flaws in capitalism is that the system is built like a pyramid-scheme which depends on growth of profits (also remember that profits are just unpaid wages) quarter-over-quarter, at least as an average in the long run. Take away oil, and the replacement energies will not result in a net-energy growth over many decades, and ever-increasing truck, airplane, and steamliner shipments to Walmart will not be possible. Yes, we will be able to cook, travel some, and continue our development as a people. We will just not be able to sustain the self-canibalizing economies of capitalism. We will become people, not labor machines for wall street profits.

Skating Barefoot

2005-05-23T17:33:00.000-04:00

The upcoming skater movie "Lords of Dogtown" is getting press in the NYT.

I noticed the promo image (below) because barefooters.org has noted that in the earlier days when skating was cooler than it is now, most skaters did it barefoot. Now, not being so much a daredevil myself, I would probably worry about ripping all the skin off of my feet... but what a contrast with those who seem to think we are going to hurt ourselves going into the convenience store barefoot!

Technorati tags: barefooters, barefoot

Bush Supports Terrorism

2005-05-23T11:48:00.000-04:00

From BBC News:

"The president last week described Mr Posada Carriles as "a self-confessed terrorist"...

The US says it will not deport Mr Posada Carriles to any country that would hand him over to Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba."

Carriles is guilty of terrorism against Cuba including an attack on a Cuban airliner.

Bush wants to harbor this terrorist because the success of the revolution in Cuba which now has happy, healthy, and free citizens is a profound demonstration that Capitalism is a failed experiment.

The Eugenics Begin in the American Reich

2005-05-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

CNN is reporting that the extremist right-wing administration of George W. Bush has begun a new eugenics program in the United States aimed at genetic cleansing of undesirable homosexuals:

"To the dismay of gay-rights activists, the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/05/05/gay.donor.ap/index.html

I don't know what the source of the unfortunate use of the word "dismay" is-- this is Terror and Outrage. I could rant until the cows come home. I will try to be concise: We are headed down a horrific road towards the worst of humanity under the "leadership" of GWB. Evil has always been present in the world; what is sorely missing now is good people of conscience standing up to be counted.

Unable to Endorse Orman

2005-05-05T11:42:00.000-04:00

As I promised, I contacted candidate Dr. John Orman who is running to defeat the noxious incumbent Joe Lieberman for U.S. Senate from Connecticut.

I asked about whether he supports equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. I am more than a little perplexed at how he seemed to wonder if I was proposing to him. This indicates to me that he has an unfortunate discomfort with this issue of equal rights.

Suggestions of leaving the issue to individual states present some complication. I find myself wondering (and plan to ask) if Dr. Orman would support allowing individual states to decide whether or not to ban interracial marriage. I would not necessarily oppose a candidate if he were to make a tactical decision that equal rights would most quickly be achieved by leaving jurisdiction to the states.

I am disappointed, however, that Dr. Orman did not endorse equal rights. Civil onions and DP's are discriminatory constructs, and in 2006, I am ready to actively oppose any candidate who believes that creating a new, unfair program is a good thing.

So who else is going to run?

Emails below:

Subject: RE: Position questions/Senate Run
Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 10:51:48 -0400
From: "Orman, John"
To:

If I was elected to the U.S. Senate and President Bush's proposed
constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages came to the floor, I
would vote against the ban. If a bill came to the floor to make civil unions
and domestic partnerships the law of the land, I would vote for that
idea. If you are asking if I personally want to have a gay marriage, no
I do not. I am already married. I would leave the issue of same sex
marriages up to each individual state. I no longer have an exploratory
committee. I have filed formal papers with the Federal Elections
Committee and I am the only officially announced candidate for U.S.
Senate from either party. My committee is "Orman: the DEMOCRAT for
Senate" Committee. Thank you for your concern. My website with my
positions should be up soon. Dr. John Orman

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:ael777@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 9:04 AM
To: Orman, John
Subject: Position questions/Senate Run

Dr. Orman,

Thank you for forming an exploratory committee to run
against DINO Joe.

I wanted to ask you specifically if you support equal
marriage rights for same-sex couples, and also where I
can find more information on your positions on other
issues too.

I will look forward to hearing back from you!

Thanks!

Towards a Barefoot Day

2005-05-05T08:47:00.000-04:00

This Sunday, May 8, in addition to being Mother's Day, is also No Socks Day.

This is fun, perhaps, but without much clear purpose. It is also copyrighted!?

When I found this "holiday," it got me thinking that what we really needed was a barefoot/bare feet/No Shoes Day. In many places, it is difficult to be the only one going barefoot, but if we could get a bunch of people on board even for a day, we could break some barriers with this phobia in our society.

I will drop a line to the Society for Barefoot Living, and others, to see where they are on this idea. In the meanwhile, the more days that we lose the shoes and socks, the more our freedom and connection with the Earth will grow.

Technorati tags: barefooters, barefoot

And the Truth Shall Set You ...?

2005-04-27T11:56:00.000-04:00

From an MSN story:

"Maggie Gyllenhaal has waded into sensitive political waters by ... [saying] that the United States "is responsible in some way" for the [September 2001 terrorist] attacks.

A fan Web site devoted to Gyllenhaal was overwhelmed with criticism, forcing the site's editor to remove the ability to post messages "because it's gotten too outta hand."...

She also expressed her grief for "everyone who suffered and everyone who died in the catastrophe." "

YES!, it is true that we have angered the Arab world with unjust globalization policies and unrestrained capitalism, and Reagan and Bush I gave weapons and support to bring both Osama bin Laden and Sadam Hussein to power. Yep, that is certainly "responsible in some way."

It is also good to have the empathy to feel profound grief for the victims. The only thing that needs to be added to paint a full picture of the truth is to make clear that hateful fundamentalist religions, including the middle eastern islamists, and the US fundamentalist christian bigots, are wrong, dangerous, and at fault in the destruction they create.

Warts and All

2005-04-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

Um, it just seems kind of compulsory to pass along the exploding toads:

http://www.local6.com/news/4410396/detail.html

Fill it, Buster!

2005-04-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Now, it's not that I want the Dems to lose the right to protect us from obnoxious and hate-filled judicial nominees through filibuster... but part of me certainly says, if this nation wants to vote Republican, let them have their Repuke government and judges.

The young and talented people of this country will eventually leave. You see, there are civilized people elsewhere on the planet that we can join.

At first, they'll yell, "Yeeeee haw, they're gone! No more Evil-ution! Now we can stay dumn bigots forever and never eeeevolve into human be-ins."

But soon... "Awww shucks, I kinda miss them folks that was tryin to help us make our lifes better."

They'll beg us back... and not only will they let us marry the person we love... they'll even offer to let us marry the goat.

Then I can say, "No thanks! See I really WASN'T lying when I said I DON'T want to marry the GOAT!"

Great for Apes?

2005-04-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

"The bonobos will be able to cook in their own kitchen, tap vending machines for snacks, go for walks in the woods and communicate with researchers through computer touchscreens. The decor in their 18-room home includes an indoor waterfall and climbing areas 30 feet high.

...the bonobos can see visitors who ring the doorbell -- and will be able to choose through a computer touchscreen who will be permitted into a secured viewing area.

"Only if they want to open the door can you enter," Savage-Rumbaugh said."

link

While giving them rights, respect, and autonomy, this project is aimed at seeing to what extent these apes will choose to live and communicate like humans, given this kind of setting.

My boyfriend perhaps opposes this kind of thing because we are taking the apes out of their natural jungle habitat. My response to him was that I saw his point, but since no one is even considering trying to get us humans back into the jungle, I don't see why the apes should be so lucky to live in such natural paradise that we ourselves are denied.

Speaking of the vending machines and our whole way a life, Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh gives a wonderful quote, "Those are things that we have created, and create anew and build upon from one generation to the next ..." she said. "Then we have the power to change it and make it any other way. We could have an ideal world, if we but learn how to do it."

But if we really started discussing working towards an ideal world, the Capitalists in their suits and ties would not preserve their profit-driven Oligarch system for long. So they try to stop us. Let's keep thinking and dreaming and talking.

Just Do It Barefoot

2005-04-20T14:49:00.000-04:00

So Nike spends millions to develop a shoe that simulates being barefoot?

http://www.american-trackandfield.com/features/nikefreereview04.html

Going barefoot is healthy, safe, comfortable, and attractive. If more of us do it more, the stupid cultural phenomenon of wearing shoes in public will die the death it deserves.

Technorati tag: barefooters barefoot

Habemus Odiosam Papam

2005-04-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

Ratzinger is not by far the first Evil man to become Pope.

We must repeat these two questions to "Benedict" over and over as we spend his papacy ducking the ratz he will keep zinging at us:

How can we believe you have had any true change of heart from your days serving under Hitler in the Nazi army when you are still actively and vigously persecuting homosexuals?

and

What do you know about the 1978 probable murder of Pope John Paul I?

Mike for Pope

2005-04-18T07:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday!

Michael Moore is running for Pope. I support this:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2005-04-16

The Japanse have "tension and concerns" over the U.S. economy...

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ft/20050418/bs_ft/ecd70f16afb311d9bb3300000e2511c8

Should be a good week.

Joe Must Go

2005-04-15T12:12:00.000-04:00

houndcat reports from DailyKos:

"Time continues to slip away for fantasy candidates like Attorney General Blumenthal or whoever else progressives want to see come riding to the rescue. John Orman remains the ONLY Democrat with the courage to take on Joe Lieberman. He deserves our support."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/15/114220/432

I'm completely unfamiliar with Dr. Orman, but Joe MUST Go.

John Orman has formed an exploratory committee to replace DINO (Democrat in Name Only) Joe in the 2006 Connecticut U.S. Senate race.

I'm going to email this candidate to ask about whether he supports equal marriage rights and where I can get more info. I'll report back.

Oh, and I don't want Blumenthal riding to my rescue. He's not pro-equality, and I really don't think he would come off so well as a candidate in a big race anyway.

Marriages Invalidated in Oregon: She Crashes With Her Own Wings

2005-04-14T12:57:00.000-04:00

"The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday invalidated the marriages of 3,000 same-sex couples and refused to decide whether gays and lesbians should have the same rights and benefits as married couples...

The ruling also removes any pressure from the 2005 Legislature to act."

link

I cannot write about this without expressing my profound sorrow for the human beings who were just told that the state to which they pay their taxes has legally voided their most intimate relationship in the world. It's deeply hurtful and impossible to understand. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Unfortunately, we can't win everywhere. We can win in Connecticut. Let's not allow a DOMA to go through, as looks very likely unless there is widespread spontaneous spine-growth in the state.

Defeat SB 963 as amended - Keep CT Free!

Bitter pyrrhic Victory in CT

2005-04-14T11:07:00.000-04:00

soe writes, "

I have to say I really didnt expect Connecticut representatives would roll over and play dead, adding a DOMA to the bill. Now I have to hope the bill is defeated."

http://www.spritewrites.net/?p=38

Indeed, I didn't expect it either. We have fought hard and successfully for several years to keep Connecticut one of the few in the bastion of states without a DOMA. Civil Unions are NOT worth a DOMA.

There is a theme that runs through the right-wing successes of the past few years and also the liberal failures. It is this: the right-wingers wage their campaigns on *principles*, even if they are misguided ones. We must have principles both in order to win and also to be able to sleep at night.

These are my principles with regard to equal marriage rights and civil unions:

- Same-sex couples fully and urgently deserve equal marriage rights.

- Civil unions may give some of the rights of marriage, but this separate-and-not-equal institution is overall an insult and should not be welcomed.

- DOMA's (Defense of Marriage Act) are unconstitutional and wrong. They cannot be accepted under any circumstances, certainly not as a compromise with civil unions.

Love Makes a Family may have made a huge mistake if we end up with civil unions and a DOMA. I trusted them earlier this session to fight for marriage, and if we could not win that, perhaps accept civil unions without a DOMA. But if we end up with a DOMA, the whole thing absolutely should have been stopped in its tracks weeks ago. Can we stop it now? I hope so.

Bare Feet Not Arms

2005-04-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

As Springtime comes into full bloom, you should consider going barefoot more. Unfortunately, our society tends to discourage adults from freeing themselves from shoes. Barefeet are healthy, feel good, and are attractive.

Check out

http://www.barefooters.org/

for more info, and test out some public establishments in your area so you can contribute entries to their list of barefoot-friendly locations at:

http://www.barefooters.ca/bfok/public/

Peace and happy barefooting!

Trying out Technorati tags: barefooters, barefoot

Represent!

2005-04-12T09:51:00.000-04:00

We are grateful for our outstanding State Representative Evelyn Mantilla, 4th Assembly District, Hartford, who is also our Deputy Majority Leader in Connecticut.

http://www.cga.ct.gov/hdo/HDO004.asp

Here's Rep. Mantilla's response to me about voting against attaching a DOMA to the pending Civil Unions legislation in CT (S.B. 963):

"Thanks for contacting me on this important issue. As a strong supporter of marriage equality, and an openly-gay legislator myself, you can count on me to fight against any and all DOMA language in our state. Marriage equality is the only true equality. Thanks again - Rep. Evelyn Mantilla"

We need many more principled legislators like this.

I also heard reported on NPR this morning that former State Senate Majority Leader George Jepson has formed an exploratory committee to pursue the office of Attorney General in CT. I'll get onto trying to find out where he is now on marriage equality. I am very uncomfortable with the glee I perceive from our current Atty. Gen. (Dick) Blumenthal as he fights against marriage equality in the courts of CT.