4.19.2003
It seems funny to not post tonight; since today I was telling a friend that "popular education" for "social justice" is my passion. Big words meaning I want to help break the stranglehold corporate media has on Democracy. That this is the best I can do to help nudge my fellow Americans awake to reclaim the promise of the land of their birth. That the beauty I see alll around me, in people at the market, mothers with kids, old folks talking; are just snapshots of "everyday life" which serve to remind me that we deserve so much better, that there is so much to work for and toward. That the values of honesty decency and dignity, the everyday values that America is based on are not passe`.
I'm tired.
So tired I can't even string together simple sentences...
Dreams can be a place to nurture hopes, where unfettered by rationality,reason and what in waking we call "reality" our ideals can unfurl uninhibited, unconditioned; illimitable as our spirit, expansive as our being, charting our path to brighter days.
"What you can concieve you can achieve"
Thank you for stopping by.
4/19/2003
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I don't know why my comment system has disappeared; a favorite feature of the site for me. I'll work on finding out...
4/19/2003
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People are people. Life is a gift we share.
Give this a listen,(realaudio) Rachel Corrie's folks and family. It begins about Tom Hurndall...
4/19/2003
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4.18.2003
I have been re-reading Jerry Mander's "In the Absence of the Sacred" for a piece I'd like to post here sometime in the near future. I came across this segment from the book that deals with corporations right here on the internet and I thought I would share it.
Generally I think people consider corporations relatively neutral. We tend to forget though that a corporation has one purpose and one purpose only: to make money, turn a profit- make a return to investors to make further investment inviting. And guess what- "externalizing costs", that is, not making them show up on the balance sheet, equals profit. It costs money to dispose of toxic waste properly; but if you just run it down the drain you spend less, making the bottom line better. Now the "externalization" comes in when folks get sick from the water the toxic wastes run into- they rather than the corporation pay the end "cost" of the corporations toxic by-product.
Give "Eleven Inherent Rules of Corporate Behavior" by Jerry Mander a read. It will really make you think. I can guarantee that you'll look at Corporate Commercials with a more critical eye.
If that got your mind warmed and your dander up I offer you this awesome resource for comprehending and combating corporate governance. If you access all the links offered there I won't be seeing your smile here for a while. Just be sure to share all you learn. And come on back...
You sure need a critical eye and ear to make your way through all the poop our current White House resident and his advisors are spewing. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sex: will Mr Bush ever be called to task for the lies he tells the American people? ( heres a bunch, documented, don't be afraid to do some scrolling and linking)
This article " All the Presidents Lies" is very specific about instances of Mr Bush lying to "We the People", you'll notice the truth is never as nice as what he says; he knows the average American is a good person and would disagree with his actions if honestly stated. Why do you think the media(that we are told is left-wing or at least Liberal) doesn't do its' unbiased best to inform us? Hmmm....
This Australian TV News segment on the FOX network is really worth watching. It is streaming video and the dialup option worked really well on my computer...
4/18/2003
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4.17.2003
Saw this link at ReachM High Cowboy Network Noose about a way to cut our dependence on foreign oil. It made me think of the film "Soylent Green", and that was before I saw this: 175-pound man fell into one end, he would come out the other end as 38 pounds of oil, 7 pounds of gas, and 7 pounds of minerals, as well as 123 pounds of sterilized water.
Seriously though, thermal depolymerization sounds like it posseses amazing possibilities:Just converting all the U.S. agricultural waste into oil and gas would yield the energy equivalent of 4 billion barrels of oil annually. In 2001 the United States imported 4.2 billion barrels of oil.
Give the article a read. Pretty interesting stuff, even though we are in up to our necks with the results of putting tons of carbon into the air, a trend accelerated by SUV land barges...
4/17/2003
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War may be a Republican Party mechanism, camoflauge for social control and to bamboozle the way through an atrocious presidency that has had Mr Bush termed "The Most Dangerous President Ever", wrapped in the flag while burying the needs of a majority of his constituents as Paul Krugman points out.
It seems obvious those that are called on to sacrifice in time of war are the majority of us, the "regular" people; we are what make up the majority of the armed forces and the population at large. Mr Bush and the GOP ask our service people to be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, while they draw the line on supporting the troops at lipservice:
The Department of Veterans Affairs is being targeted for billions in cuts. Evidently, President Bush's support for the troops doesn't include their health care.
Please read the above link
Did you know that a US Marine of the rank of Private or Corporal , ranks that make up a majority of the Corp, brings home less than 10,000 dollars a year? I knew our service people are not getting rich but this is shameful. If a Marine Corporal is married, or married with kids his pay would have his family ranked as 'poor' by US Census Bureau standards.
Now here is a sickening contrast. While our young people are toughing it out prosecuting an illegal war in Iraq and putting their lives on the line as the US becomes an occupying force there , four-star generals are flying around in "the Rolls Royces of the flight world":
At mealtime, each general or admiral tells the attendant what he would like to eat. Some commanders are gourmands who thumb through Bon Appetit magazine for hints.
And further into the article: The attendants often have to find fruits, vegetables and other fresh items in other parts of the world, which can be a challenge. A general once asked for hot wings on an upcoming flight -- so the attendant had to scour stores near the base for chicken wings and sauce.
While our young soldiers eat MRE's...
Generals need rest, accomodations that are comparable to airlines "First Class" maybe, in fairness... "Palatial" seems wrong and a waste. {added in final draft}
Some people are looking out for our troops, Sen.Tom Harkin, D-Iowa for one, is sponsoring a bill that will exempt college students on active military duty from having to repay federal grants and that will freeze interest on all student loans. I never thought about how difficult it can be for military folks and their dependents to navigate the arcane rules of residency so that they can get enrolled in higher education.
You don't need to a college education to see the obvious; I'd like to hear one of these people that don't agree with an Americans right to dissent call this Marine un-Patriotic:Political dissent at the marines' mission persisted in Baghdad as evening fell yesterday. "Bush is a rich bully. The US has no legal right to be here. Probably Saddam would have sold chemical weapons to somebody someday and then the US would have been right to invade, but now this is the first free democratic country ever to occupy another without good reason," said a heavily armed man standing by the roadside. He was a lance-corporal in the US marines.
Think about that Virtual March on Washington,on May 1st...
Scroll down through this site to get to Conservative Idiot number 6, Fred Phelps. This sad excuse for a human says Mr Rogers is in hell. You know how those fundamentalists get with people who promote kindness, love and respect for oneself and others, you know-decency, justice... Look what they did to Jesus...
4/17/2003
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4.16.2003
Too tired to post.
Link over to The Watch; the chickenhawk party is trying to stuff our troops and dependents financially, we should support our troops by doing another Virtual March on Washington. Pass it on! May 1st...
Over at Mouse Musings you are given a host of links that remind us that those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Read and shake your head friends. Popular Education is the answer; we owe it to posterity. Like Devo said " Duty Now for the Future"
Going to Orcinus will remind you why we need to be loud and proud- and share what we know. America seems to be having a crisis of spirit- and intelligence.
Speaking of crisis of Spirit, A Four Horsemen of the Apcalypse video game? Darn, Jo, it gives me the creeps...
Try Kurt Nimmo, the archive number is messed up looking, if it doesn't work he's on my sidebar.
Best to you. I'll be "back on it" tomarrow.
4/16/2003
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4.15.2003
Confident Hope
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
taken from William Butler Yeats' poem, "The Second Coming"
If you expose yourself to corporate media odds are you are not hearing a balanced story, my experiance shows "objective news" does not exist in our nation, much to the detriment of the democratic process. A question comes to mind: If proponents of peace and diplomacy are so loopy, why not show them. Surely they can't be anymore ridiculous than "evidence" presented to the UN Security Council plagerized from a twelve year old doctoral term paper; or as morally bereft as a world leader insinuating an Iraq 9/11 connection over and over in speeches while denying the connection when asked outright. People should be allowed the facts and to reason for themselves; this is a Democracy, remember? The media gives a few talking heads a forum for an either misinformed or just plain dishonest "passionate intensity". A slap in the face of our troops who are fighting, killing and dying for the patriotic ideals that make America great. Sadly hate and onesidedness are acceptable to the people that present the media...
Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one-- A.J. Liebling, in The Wayward Pressman
Well, looks like I do, in the 21st century version. And you stopped by. Lets us, you and I ask some simple questions the press doesn't. And not the substantive ones you usually see addressed here dealng with misreported "facts" etc; let's explore questions that are substantial in a different way...
What is America to you? Yeah, yeah, I know contiguous 48 , Alaska and Hawaii. But I mean what is it? What is your vision for our sweet land? What does our flag say to you? What does it represent? How do you think we, as Americans can best help our nation reach her promise? Drop me a line.
You know, I really like getting your mail, and not just the good URL suggestions. When you disagree it makes me think. Because, damn, who has time to articulate a decent fact filled letter now- a- days? So I know that you are sincere. And this is America, so let 'er rip. A conversation will better us both.
Life seems to me to be about and enriched by people not one alone but an us , our coming together in joy or pain, for work or fun, to accomplish great things or to leisurely appreciate the greatness of it all; LIFE writ large and sweet and illimitable. One can exist in isolation but what is being added to the whole? What is the point really?
You'll note I'm full of questions today. I've been in situations lately that have me marveling at the diversity of thought, perspective and manner of folks, seeing a group s-l-o-w-l-y being born a, cohesiveness that won't be denied; interacting with people from all walks of life, all ages, seeing a full spectrum of approaches and attitudes, in daily life as well as here in blogtopia (thanx skippy), . If you don't see what a marvel life is, you are wasting a bunch of breathing, friend.
What gives me hope? Experiancing that while we are all so different, each a complex mix of experiences that mark and mold us, we are colored by a sense of decency and openess, honesty and tolerance- the very stuff of America- and we will pull together to see this 'burp' in history through. Our forefathers gave us a Constitution and Bill of Rights to keep us on course; and the one thing I've learned in all my travels: "People are people" . When you get down to it we care about our parents and kids and neighbors, about our air and food and water. We want a better future. To be able to exercise the freedoms that set our country apart, that we talk about facilitating in other lands. Democracy starts at home; it's me and you sister. Every time we hear someone Saddamizing what it is to be American, denying our freedom to think or express dissent we need to call them to task. This, is America; to be free to think and to be. No cookie-cutter lock step.
Somehow that makes me think of a Katherine Hepburn anecdote I read once. It seems Ms Hepburn was introduced to Queen Elizabeth. She said something along the line of "Nice to meet you, Mrs Mountebatten" "Don't you know that is the Queen you are addressing?" "I thought we figured that out a couple hundred years ago", Ms Hepburn was said to reply.
The American Spirit. Straight forward decency, innovation, irreverence when need be and mutual respect. Not to be dictated to. FREE.
America . God (however you want to call the Ultimate Reality) shed your grace thee. And crown thy good with Brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
It is an amazing and wonderful thing to be alive now , though the times seem tumultuous and uncertain. If you kick back, watch tv, let other folks worry about our state of affairs you are letting your country down, and our collective future. We are called to live by our ideals, to be active in the way a true Democracy demands; the way we manifest our beliefs in America, the way we live them will effect generations yet to come. We need to stay abreast of the news and let our legislators know that we stand by our Constitution; travesties of justice like The Patriot Act will affect the very fabric of being American. One needs to actively listen, ask questions and think. We need to be scathingly honest and require the same of others. We need to share what we learn and attempt dialogue with folks who disagree with us. Cultivating conversation is just plain good, not only good for our country. That's one of the things people did before tv, it's a great way to see the humanity of others. And just as important, to recognize your own. People who experiance the world openly, firsthand, tend not to see in black and white.
Rising to the challenge our Democracy requires of us now calls us to break out of insular existence, to network with others and to find common ground. To find times in our busy lives to work for the common good. If you haven't worked cooperatively with others in a bit it can be an eye opener too; but what wonderful experience to build consensus. You'll appreciate what a marvel our Constitution is, just how glorious an achievement is our Bill of Rights! There is nothing pedestrian about getting folks to a point where they realize that their differing angles, their individual voices on reaching a common good form a symphony, that when aligned selflessly all their differences are complimentary in the end. Sure there are bumps and bangs, the reconciling of them is part of the wonder. And joy. Because you can feel it. Democracy is not an abstract 'thing' anymore when you have sweated and worked to see it through. It is living and breathing and larger than it's parts.
We have the passion, we have the intensity, we have the facts on our side.
We are America. See you there.
O.K, I didn't link to anything... Sorry about the soapbox, but I care. Deeply.
4/15/2003
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4.14.2003
Thanks to Hammerdown I caught a couple references to FOX news, I'll give you some quotations from the LA Times article because I know not everyone takes the time to register.
Fox News has solidified its lead over all-news competitors CNN and MSNBC, racking up the largest audiences in its six-year history. And on a day when history was made in Baghdad, a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse showed why the channel that some media critics have dismissed as a right-wing mouthpiece has become such a success.
Patriotic Fervor
On one level, Fox News executives reacted the same way those at other networks did Wednesday morning as Baghdad fell. They scrambled to get reporters in place, rushed experts onto the set and assembled TV feeds from around the world to fill up a 24-hour news day.
Yet Fox's formula -- which sets it apart -- also was on full display.
Anchors made no bones about their patriotic fervor and some ridiculed war critics; field reporters gushed that "liberty" was sweeping through Baghdad; flashy graphics underscored the images and a steady drumbeat of martial music linked the news segments. The overall presentation was provocative and livelier than a more button-down television news broadcast. It was, above all, entertaining.
The entertainment is often political. In a recent dispatch, retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, now a Fox News correspondent, said he was moved by the sight of Iraqi children handing flowers to Marines, and then noted: "Notwithstanding all the prognosticators of gloom and doom back there at the New York Times and some of those other places, we're not seeing that over here."
The on-air commentary also can be unexpectedly bold. After noting President Bush's statement that Hussein's fingers were loosening around the throat of Iraq, bit by bit, anchor Shepard Smith suddenly asked: "Is that propaganda or truth? We'll analyze that, coming up."
All of these factors may help explain why Fox News has built its ratings lead. During the first 19 days of the war, for example, the network averaged 3.3 million viewers; CNN attracted 2.7 million viewers and MSNBC drew an average of 1.4 million, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings.
Some observers say that Fox News Channel, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owes much of its success to a conservative audience that prefers the channel's coverage and commentary. Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, said Fox News "has the most visibly ideological and politicized coverage that you'll find on cable TV news."
Fox News founder and Chief Executive Roger Ailes acknowledges that there are differences between his channel and competitors. Yet he dismisses the charge that his claims of "fair and balanced" journalism are simply code words for conservative bias.
"This is not about conservative or liberal, it's about the presumption of innocence," he said in an interview.
"In this country, we say that a person is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty, and I think our nation deserves the same courtesy. That's what Fox News is all about; it's what we try to do every day."
I just don't understand the "presumption of innocence" thing he is talking about... Sounds one sided, don't you think? Our government couldn't prove Saddam Hussein guilty, going to the great length of making up evidence and misleading the US citizenry. But you know that.
Rupert Murdoch, owner of FOX , has a cozy arrangement that keeps the news "inline" as in "party line" with China- to gain access and influence why wouldn't he do that here. Seems hard to believe he would gain sudden integrirty when it comes to dealing with the US public.
‘Kowtow’ is a Chinese word derived from the Mandarin ‘kou’ – to knock – and ‘tou’ – the head. Rupert Murdoch learned to Chinese kowtow when President Jiang Zemin received him for an audience in December 1998. Jiang expressed his ‘appreciation for the efforts made by Mr Murdoch’s media empire to present China objectively and to co-operate with the Chinese press’, while Mr Murdoch voiced his admiration for ‘China’s tremendous achievements in every respect over the last two decades’.
A few paragraphs later:
In 1993 he had sowed fear in Zhongnanhai – the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party – when he prophesied that satellite TV was ‘an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere’. In retrospect, he had underestimated the importance of fostering guanxi (connections) with Beijing. Surprising, given Murdoch’s foxy dealings with British Tories and US Republicans. It did not take him long, however, to get his fox-trotting in tune with the Beijing band. After all, as Murdoch has since pointed out: ‘The truth is that authoritarian countries can work.’
A bit further down:
The biggest challenge will be how to balance between appealing to the general public without offending government authorities.’
Which is not so much of a challenge for Rupert Murdoch, who summed up his simple formula in a speech at the Entertainment and Media in Asia Conference in Los Angeles. This time he did not speculate on the wonder of global communications leading to the overthrow of authoritarian rule. He told a packed house in his Fox Studios, the venue of the conference: ‘If a TV program covers forbidden ground, we will have no choice but to delete it from our broadcast.’
For entire article go to New Internationalist and Search "Rupert Murdoch" the article is called "the Dragon and Phoenix", April 2001.
Now read this article that really sheds some light on FOX News lack of subjectivity. Like you hadn't noticed.
Disclaimer: I watch no TV.
But I used to like the Simpsons. Go figure, eh? So what's this I read about Tony Blair being on a segment. The Simpsons are on FOX tv. I guess at least it's not Donald Rumsfeld...
4/14/2003
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I found out that another person I hold as a hero has died. Baba Olatunji died April 6 at 7:30 in the morning.
A man of beauty and light, a sort of ambassador of the Orisha's and the Drum to the west, pulling folks together with rhythm born of Love.
Ashe Ashe
4/14/2003
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4.13.2003
Go here to sign a petition that will attempt to stop a J-Lo Ben Affleck remake of Casablanca
Strike a blow for good taste and common decency.
4/13/2003
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So you were thinking "Gee whiz, in a society where money supplants votes, withdrawal of my dollars just might be seen as withdrawal of my consent", weren't you? Stop by For Mother Earth and find a really comprehensive cache of boycott information. In the upper right hand corner of the site you'll see a dropdown box; From there you can go to G.W BUSH: WANTED and scroll down through the list of the many treaties that have gone unhonored and many unratified treaties the US stands in sole defiance of. Some samples :
2. 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention ratified by 144 nations including the United States. In July 2001 the US walked out of a London conference to discuss a 1994 protocol designed to strengthen the Convention by providing for on-site inspections. At Geneva in November 2001, US Undersecretary of State John Bolton stated that "the protocol is dead," at the same time accusing Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Sudan, and Syria of violating the Convention but offering no specific allegations or supporting evidence.
6. Land Mine Treaty, banning land mines; signed in Ottawa in December 1997 by 122 nations. The United States refused to sign, along with Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Egypt, and Turkey. President Clinton rejected the Treaty, claiming that mines were needed to protect South Korea against North Korea's "overwhelming military advantage." He stated that the US would "eventually" comply, in 2006; this was disavowed by President Bush in August 2001.
9. Refused to participate in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-sponsored talks in Paris, May 2001, on ways to crack down on off-shore and other tax and money-laundering havens.
19. The US has signed but not ratified the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which protects the economic and social rights of children. The only other country not to ratify is Somalia, which has no functioning government.
I just grabbed a few to give you a sense of why perhaps America is not seen in the planetary community as "The shining light on a hill" that we here are schooled to blindly believe that it is; and it could and should be.
Mr. Bush is sworn to uphold the Constitution:
United States Constitution
Adopted September 17, 1787
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
-- Article VI Clause II
Food for thought.
4/13/2003
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Just being at a lack for words, and disgusted I have taken some time to post about Tom Hurndall, the 21 year old peace activist that was shot in the head by an Israeli Defence Force sniper situated in a watchtower. Hurndall was concerned about some playing child who's heads the soldiers was initially firing over. Even in his reflective orange vest, and unarmed he became a target. Two links offered there, please take a moment and read them both, they are short and very revealing.
I wish the IDF would stop killing innocent people.
4/13/2003
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