SOPA/PIPA Blackout

TheRiverWanders.com will proudly join in the largest Internet blackout in history to protest the bills presently before Congress - SOPA and PIPA - which will implement censorship in new, wrong, and unforeseen ways.

Read about SOPA and PIPA here.

Please join me in continuing to contact your legislators and government officials to protest this devastating legislation before it's too late.

Contact Your Government

Gifts With Meaning

I received the most wonderful link sent to me today by Reduce Footprints (on Twitter as @smallftprints) which fit my perspectives on holiday gift-giving perfectly.

The link, found at everythingetsy.com, is a special post entitled 101 Green Handmade Gifts and it fits so well within my "Keep It Small Or Not At All" philosophy I wanted to share it.

There are gifts to make for men, women, children, pets, and home and all of them are pretty accessible even for the novice do-it-yourselfer.  And not only will you have many of these items already (making these great projects for recycling/repurposing), any new items you need to complete the projects could be purchased at small, local merchants!

I've actually made #15, and I make and use a recipe very similar to #1, and as a sewist with a massive stockpile of fabric (lots of it little scraps that I can't really do too much with) I'm looking forward to #99!

So many levels of "win" here... enjoy and know it's possible to exchange gifts with very little corporate "sponsorship".

CALL TO ACTION: #OCCUPYLA

Paraphrased from the post at AllEducationMatters.com:

Why has bail been set at $5,000 for non-violent #Occupy protesters?  And why has the same exorbitant bail been set for a non-violent #Occupy observer?  

We know why; to deter the exercise of 1st Amendment rights.  It's time to hear the "official" reason why this onerous burden has been levied against non-violent protesters.

These are the councilpersons to whom that inquiry should be respectfully directed:

councilmember.reyes@lacity.org,
 councilmember.Krekorian@lacity.org,
 councilmember.zine@lacity.org,
 councilmember.Labonge@lacity.org,
 paul.koretz@lacity.org,
 councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org,
 councilmember.alarcon@lacity.org,
 councilmember.parks@lacity.org,
 Jan.Perry@lacity.org,
 councilmember.wesson@lacity.org,
 councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org,
 councilmember.englander@lacity.org,
 councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org,
 councilmember.huizar@lacity.org

See the entire post at All Education Matters for suggestions on your inquiry, and for follow-up requests.

Setting The Record Straight On Student Loan Debt

As American students try to live the American dream with hard work and higher education, they now face a $1,000,000,000,000 debt load. One TRILLION dollars.  Clearly, the system that was meant to be a pathway to success is badly broken.  

For years, predatory lending practices have plagued campuses (remember the credit card companies giving accounts to unemployed teens?) and desperate parents (recall the high-interest loans provided to keep Junior at school in the short term?).  The resulting debt load from trying to finance upward-spiraling college costs is greater than our total credit card debt.  This is a hugely disabling factor in the education-to-career trajectory.


This article by Cryn Johannsen* discusses the possible ways this burgeoning debt might be handled, and discloses some very important connections among those proposing a bureaucratic "loan forgiveness" option versus a debtors' strike (non-repayment).  An important read at Hypervocal.com, with plenty of links to track-back and learn more about the issue.

*Cryn Johannsen is the founder and executive director of All Education Matters (AEM). She is currently writing a book about the student lending crisis and how this mess can be fixed. Make sure to follow her on The Twitter @cjohanns.

#BlackFriday, Thanksgiving Thursday, & #CTWW

I want to give a warm Thanksgiving shout-out to an eco-friendly blog I've followed for years - Reduce Footprints.  Also on Twitter as @smallftprints, this site quietly works to make the world a better place with a Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) Challenge.

Each week Reduce Footprints and her green group of friends pick something designed to lighten our impact on the world.  The challenge is posted and participants try it out for a week with discussion and feedback afterward.  Everyone always learns something they can do to live a more healthy, lower-impact lifestyle - usually saving time, money, and frustration along the way.  All good!

I thought I'd share something I do once a year on Wednesday - the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  My family and I go through our belongings - clothes, toys, books, movies, etc. - and gather gently-used items that have a lot of life left and on "black" Friday we make a donation to the local Rescue Mission instead of hitting the stores.  Our small "change the world Wednesday" practice benefits others and sets a calm and thoughtful perspective for the holiday season.

This year everyone's questioning the mega-corporations' commercial pressure to buy gifts we can't afford with credit borrowed from mega-banks who prey on their "customers".  For too long these "too big to fail" institutions have wrung blood from stones.  Our nation is waking up and protesting these bad practices.  

Now, more than ever, we need to "Shop Small Or Not At All" and, when you do buy, look for American-made products whenever you can.  Here's a place to start.  I remember the old bumpersticker "Buy American: The Job You Save Might Be Your Own"... now, the job you create might be your own.

No matter how you celebrate the end-of-year, don't feel pressured to do ANYTHING that isn't right for your strength, safety, and security and that of your family if you have one.  And do check out Reduce Footprints and the #CTWW Challenge... you'll be glad you did!

New York Post Accuses The W Hotel Of Being A "Golden Tent"?

Apparently the Post thinks there's something wrong with staying at The W.

The Post breaks an "exclusive" this morning... "exclusive" about what, exactly?  News that people stay in New York City's amazing landmark hotels? News that people stay in hotels...  generally?  News that people travel from out of town and aren't... what... sleeping at the airport? In the bus station?  On the subway? Curling up in a cab?


The Post takes obvious offense that two people - who may be connected to Occupy Wall Street - paid money to stay in The W.  If this is true, as the Post's Investigative Team has so carefully ferreted out, it begs the question: So?  Perhaps I should phrase the question in official Investigative Journalism Terms so the Post can follow along more easily:

So WHAT?

Since when was the Post against The W, or New York's hospitality industry?  Or is the Post unaware that the practice of renting a room is long-standing and socially, morally, politically, and culturally accepted?  Is the Post advocating that theft-of-services is preferable to paying for lodging?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Maybe they just don't know.  If that's the case, the following list of points will indeed be helpful for the Post's keen Investigative Team.

Things The Post Should Know About Staying In Hotels

• Staying in hotels is legal.
• Staying in hotels is moral.
• Staying in hotels creates jobs for people working in hotels.
• Staying in hotels provides things like shelter and food to people who travel for business, pleasure, activism, conventions, etc.
• Staying in hotels and purchasing their food and beverage offerings is encouraged - rather strongly - by the entire hospitality industry (including restaurant and tourism groups).
• Staying in hotels is encouraged - rather strongly - by The Starwood Group, too.

Alternatively, if the Post's intended "journalistic" thrust is to infer shades of hypocrisy against the Occupy Wall Street movement, perhaps a few of my perspectives will be equally helpful to the Post's "journalistic" focus.

Things The Post Should Know About OWS

• Not all #OWS participants camp(ed) in Zuccotti Park.  
• People have different strengths and talents in this - and every - endeavor; there's more to OWS than camping.
• If I go to New York City on behalf of OWS in any capacity, I might choose to stay in The W to accomplish my goals and objectives.
• Individuals have a right to spend their money any way they see fit regardless of how they may or may not be connected to OWS.
• OWS representatives and participants neither seek nor need the approval of the Post. For anything.

I do hope I've helped clear up the Post's confusion about "staying in hotels" and "OWS";  I like clarity.  I'm all about being helpful.  And as long as I'm writing this, I have to announce...

AN EXCLUSIVE!

NOT-SO-BREAKING NEWS:  I'm not rich (similar to one of the guys in the Post's "story") but when I make travel plans, I save up and stay in some nice places once in a while.  A few years ago we vacationed in Pennsylvania and had the opportunity to stay in Loews' Philadelphia Hotel.  Wonderful experience; it's an amazing place and I recommend it in a heartbeat.  The fabulous concierge (I still have his business card) told me an interesting factlet about my room:  it was the room used to highlight the breathtaking views of the property in this image (#23) on the hotel's website!  How cool is that!

Now there's some exclusive news, Post.  And what my "exclusive" news has in common with your "exclusive" news is this... NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR "EXCLUSIVE" NEWS, EITHER.

#Occupy #OccupyWallStreet #OWS #OccupyTheVote

Don't Give Up * Don't Give In

#OccupyTheHoliday

Occupy Denver

Occupy Oakland

Occupy Wall Street

The Reason* For The Season 
(*And The Widespread Attacks On Occupy Wall Street)

There are two reasons for the violent crackdowns against the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  First, the riot-raids are proof the Movement is working - no one would pay millions of dollars for these squads of cops on overtime if the Movement was futile.  The second reason is on your calendar in black and white:

• Next Thursday is Thanksgiving
• Next Friday is BLACK FRIDAY

 
Think about the looming commercial pressure of Black Friday: how badly might cities and corporations want to make the Occupy Wall Street Movement invisible before Black Friday?
 

• Do stores want peaceful Occupiers moved so the annual holiday overspending can begin on schedule?

• Have corporations urged municipalities to clear peaceful protesters using increasingly violent tactics?

• Do big banks want to "play up the season" and "play down" the peaceful Occupy Movement message?

• Have advertisers pushed a media blackout of the violence directed at peaceful Occupations across the nation?

And was anyone else repulsed by American Express's sickly-sweet commercial to "Shop Small" on the Saturday after Black Friday?  Like they care where you shop as long as you buy too much and become a credit slave!

We Have The Power* To Change Corporate Control
(*And Support Occupy Wall Street)

• What if we ignore the high-pressure advertising machine like the media ignores the message and coverage of Occupy Wall Street?

• What if cities that direct brutal, militarized police forces against the Occupiers (who peacefully demonstrate for the rights of those same police departments to unionize, be paid fairly, and retire with a pension and Social Security!) don't get any "holiday money" spent in their big, corporate stores?

• What if we stop obeying the falsehood of aggressive commercialism that says "gifts equal love"?

• What if we declared our independence from corporations, banks, and oppressive commercial  greed in a new, peaceful, and beneficial way?

You don't need to overspend every year regardless of the way you choose to celebrate.  This year, more than ever before, the repercussions of holding onto our disposable cash (and borrowed credit) will be felt by greedy corporations and big banks everywhere.  Together we have more money than the Kochs.  If they think they can censor our free speech and rights to peaceably assemble so that we can then mingle and sing Christmas carols and buy stuff, they're WRONG.  It's time for us to occupy one more thing:

#OccupyTheHoliday:

"Keep It Small Or Not At All"

• Buy Only What You Need

• Buy Only What You Can Afford

• Buy Only From Local Merchants

• Pay Cash If You Can

And maybe, when the new year is here, we should keep doing this.  We should keep doing this until the too-big-to-fail banks have failed; until the corporations-who-are-people-too have died; and until the Koch-bought-government has been returned to the citizens.  With an apology.

 

For Sale: America

I listened to this interview with Jack Abramoff and realized, with horror, just how many "For Sale" signs have been stuck in our front yards by legislators and lobbyists.

In the biggest possible picture, legislators deal with two main sources of money.  One is legitimate and the other...not so much.  One is designed to advance the public good and the other...not so much.

The first source is public - revenue openly collected by government from citizens, typically spent to improve the common good (highly regulated and unconcealed). Money comes from the familiar sources we all complain about: taxes, fees, payments to Social Security, etc.  These monies are visible.  We can usually audit our way through the complex collection and disbursement of these public monies and figure out where they went.  This is the money that runs our country.


The second source is private - monies collected by legislators from corporate lobbyists, typically to purchase legislative favors (far less regulated and obscured by misnomers).  These monies are much less visible in terms of who gives, who receives, and what they buy. The sheer number of lobbyists and the enormous clandestine budgets they wield is staggering.  They quietly influence legislation that can damage the general public while scoring huge profits for the industries they represent.  This is the money that runs our country in secret.

The influence of these secretive monies is growing at an exponential rate as convicted criminal and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff describes more clearly than I ever could:

“I think people are under the impression that the corruption only involves somebody handing over a check and getting a favor,” Abramoff explained. “And that’s not the case. The corruption — the bribery call it, because ultimately that’s what it is — that’s what the whole system is. … The truth is there were very few members who I could even name or could think of who didn’t at some level participate in that.”

Abramoff doesn’t put much faith in the reforms that have been enacted since his own downfall. He pointed out, “You can’t take a congressman to lunch for $25 and buy him a hamburger or a steak or something like that. But you can take him to a fundraising lunch and not only buy him that steak but give him $25,000 extra and call it a fundraiser. … The system hasn’t been cleaned up at all.”

Hearing Abramoff speak was a catalyzing experience.  His demeanor was casual, relaxed, and matter-of-fact.  Not because he’s an ex-con, either.  He’s casual because bribery is commonplace and normal.  He’s relaxed because he was forced to let go of his participation in the process.  He’s matter-of-fact because he knows the system so well he can teach how it works.  The system is normalized to the perversion.

I think the fundamental impact of lobbying is this: instead of a government run by open political process in which legislators are persuasively convinced by the logic (and public benefit) of an industry's argument, corporate lobbyists pay lawmakers to overlook logic in favor of personal gain (and selective corporate benefit).  The lobbyist's role?  Bypass logic!  Don't waste time on a persuasive argument or public scrutiny...pay!  Pay vast sums of money; circumvent the conventions of public government.  Pay policymakers to changes laws and orchestrate  private government engineered for the benefit of a select few and keep those policymakers in office! 

The "select few" want to shrink public government, to “starve it of revenue” as Rachel Maddow says, to expand a private America with laws funded by private revenue for private profit.  The "select few" use lobbying to feed an invasive-as-kudzu governance they hope can’t be identified, stopped, or changed until it's too late.

The same corporations that don't have the money to hire American workers certainly have enough to buy America's government - one legislator at a time.  

If we want a government "of the people, by the people, for the people", lobbying has to end.   Has to.  Lobbyists amplify the voices of the "select few" only, and only loud and conclusive noise from the people can drown them out.  

Yank the damned “For Sale” sign from America’s front lawn.  

******************

Read and take action.  Do something, anything.  Here's a short list of a few things I put together: 

Insider Info

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

http://alecwatch.org/  


http://www.thenation.com/article/161973/koch-connection

 http://kochbrothersexposed.com/thepress/

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/oil-billionaire-koch-brothers-exposed-in-the-/blog/26259/

http://www.americansforprosperityfoundation.com/ 

Contact Your Government

Meet The One Hundredth - The War Profiteers - And Show Them Some Love

I gave quick tweets and tumbles about the War Profiteers, above, right after I tweeted and tumbled a link to OccupyTheBoardroom.org and I have an idea.

I think a mash-up of action suggests itself here; look for your favorite war profiteer on OccupyTheBoardroom.org and make him/her your special friend! Let them know your honest thoughts about war, war profiteers, war profiteering, corporate control of government... all of those issues. But don't threaten, harass, or intimidate them. No. When you do that, people stop listening and they filter their email to exclude your attempts at friendship. I'm suggesting genuine, lawful, educational, purposeful, thoughtful sharing out of cogent arguments meant to persuade where possible. Be nonviolent in your words as you are in your actions. Besides, I like to save the swearing for trolls that step to me on Twitter. :D

#TooMuchDoubt - The Case of Troy Davis

The state of Texas, headed proudly by Rick Perry (aka The #Texecutioner) is trying to circumvent due process by interfering with the Willingham investigation. If individual states are going to be so eager to execute for capital crimes, shouldn't we insist they exhaust every possible avenue to prove a person's innocence before exacting "the ultimate justice"?

The case of Georgia's Troy Davis is an urgent example. Details can be seen here on FreakOutNation.com. The clock is running - his execution is scheduled for September 21, 2011. Please contact Georgia's state representatives and executives (and drop a cc to your own state's officials?) by using this convenient link.

Arrest Tom Coburn

In a political climate where politicians DO get shot in the course of their work (Abe Lincoln, Ron Reagan, and most recently: GABRIELLE GIFFORDS), how could Tom Coburn say "It’s just a good thing I can’t pack a gun on the Senate floor”?

If someone had used the same words in a different situational context, would they be held accountable? Take out the words "Senate floor" and think about the implications of what he said. Insert "post office workroom". If Tom Coburn were a postal worker, would he be under arrest right now? Insert the words "high school cafeteria". If Tom Coburn were a high school student, would he be under arrest right now? Insert "fuselage of that there airplane". If Tom Coburn were boarding a flight and said that, would he be detained and frisked and probably arrested?

YES. Anyone else would be held accountable for making a direct threat of deadly physical force against a specified group of people. Why is Tom Coburn "above the law"?

What he said wasn't a joke or a hyperbolic euphemism for frustration. What he said was calm and deliberate and menacing and dangerous and illegal. He made a direct threat against a specified group of individuals: his coworkers. He wasn't talking about his 2nd Amendment right to own a weapon: what he said was he was sorry he couldn't take the gun he owns to his work and shoot his coworkers because he doesn't like what they're doing and rather than compromise with them he'd like to violently attack them with deadly physical force in hopes of killing them.

Nice. Niiice. Nice talk from a sitting Senator who has the ability to carry out the threat he so carefully articulated.

Coburn knows the intent, which is why he said "it's just a good thing" (emphasis mine) that he can't bring his weapon - because he'd use it. Not for self-defense, either. He'd discharge it against people who have no physical (or any other) threat to his safety solely because he doesn't agree with them. Does he wish he could do this in the waiting room of his so-called medical practice? Does he wish he could do this in a slow line at the Piggly Wiggly or the 7-11? How about traffic jams? Oh, wait, here's a good one! Would he pump a few more rounds into Gabrielle Giffords' face if she dared disagree with him in a joint session of Congress?

Coburn has publicly demonstrated his violent intent. He needs feedback - polite, factual, and direct - about the effect his actions have on the world we're CO-CREATING with him for ourselves and our children. Don't underestimate the impact of this CO-CREATION: if you do NOT respond to him, you AGREE with him. Silent acceptance of his violent threats gives him power to shape the society you live in NOW and the one that will redound to your children and grandchildren. Apathy allows Tom Coburn's vile and violent view to become the norm.

Tom Coburn has told us exactly what he would like to do - if you agree with him and his view of how government and society should operate, do nothing. If, on the other hand, you want a lawful, peaceful, safe legislative process ...

DO SOMETHING.

The contact information Tom Coburn would like you to use to reach him is copied from the Senate web page he maintains and is placed below for your convenient reference, together with the link for his contact form:

Washington D.C.:
172 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Main: 202-224-5754
Fax: 202-224-6008

Tulsa:
1800 South Baltimore
Suite 800
Tulsa, OK 74119
Main: 918-581-7651
Fax: 918-581-7195

Oklahoma City:
100 North Broadway
Suite 1820
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Main: 405-231-4941
Fax: 405-231-5051

*****

"We have a saying in Tibet that engaging in the practice of virtue is as hard as driving a donkey uphill, whereas engaging in destructive activities is as easy as rolling boulders downhill. It is also said that negative impulses arise as spontaneously as rain and gather momentum just like water following the course of gravity. What makes matters worse is our tendency to indulge negative thoughts and emotions even while agreeing that we should not. It is essential, therefore, to address directly our tendency to put things off and while away our time in meaningless activities and shrink from the challenge of transforming our habits on the grounds that it is too great a task. In particular, it is important not to allow ourselves to be put off by the magnitude of others' suffering. The misery of millions is not a cause for pity. Rather it is a cause for developing compassion.

We must also recognize that the failure to act when it is clear that action is required may itself be a negative action....inaction is attributable less to negative thoughts and emotions as to a lack of compassion. It is thus important that we are no less determined to overcome our habitual tendency to laziness than we are to exercise restraint in response to afflictive emotion."

--from Ethics for the New Millennium by the Dalai Lama, edited by Alexander Norman, translated by Dr. Thupten Jinpa

Dear Chris Christie:

You, sir, are an idiot, and here's why.

You felt no duty to repay your chopper ride until there was photo evidence that caught you in the act. The only reason you "made it right" is because you were caught "making it wrong".

I admire your dedication as a parent. No, I really do. I am sometimes caught in the parental bind of having one child at one end of the county and needing to get the other to the other end of the county...at the same time, of course. I, too, am a state employee. I live 3/4 of a mile from a state police helicopter station, interestingly. But the difference between you and me is that I never once thought of commandeering state resources to solve my personal dilemmas. Even if I had, the state police would have laughed at me for asking to use one of their choppers, as yours should have done to you. I have to wonder why the New Jersey State Police capitulated to your demands without question. Investigation, perhaps?

Being the governor of New Joisey doesn't make you king, you fat, stupid bastid. You tell everyone in New Jersey to tighten their belts - everyone but you. And please don't. If you tighten that thing any more, you'll explode. Srly.

Because Teaching is Easy, Right? #WIUNION

From An Email Just Received From A Real Live Teacher (One I Actually Work With):

Next Season on Survivor

Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show?

Three businessmen and three businesswomen will be dropped in an elementary school classroom for 1 school year. Each business person will be provided with a copy of his/her school district's curriculum, and a class of 20-25 students.

Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.

Each business person must complete lesson plans at least 3 days in advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between class changes to monitor the hallways.

In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and [Code Red] drills for shooting attacks each month.

They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, and attend curriculum development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and strive to get their 2 non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the SOLS tests. If they are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show.

Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program. They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times. If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, the teacher will be held responsible.

The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the weekends, but with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it. There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of their work day. The business people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another survival candidate can supervise their class.

If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials before, or after, school. However, they cannot surpass their monthly limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their education, at their expense, and on their own time.

The winner of this Season of Survivor will be allowed to return to their job.

Pass this to your friends who think teaching is easy, and to the ones that know it is hard.

#Word

Campaign #Silent

I expected some sort of defensive response from the professional right following the assassination-attempt-turned-massacre in Tucson last weekend but their vehement denial of blame has been so energetic, even I'm surprised. They protest too loudly, claiming to be victims when they are victims of nothing except their own avarice.

Blame Versus Reality

There is no denying the reality of the climate created by the endless wrapped-in-the-flag bravado of the GOP's latest bunch of players. They have carefully crafted an environment where violence is the new normal. The tenor and tone of their words provoke the use of gun-slinging as a solution for political disagreement, and assert that we have some Constitutionally-protected right to change our political course with bullets if ballots are insufficient to their minority cause. This is not blame; these are facts. These are their facts. This is their reality. They don't want to acknowledge their responsibility in creating it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is the reality.

Does one word, one sign, one comment, one blogged paragraph incite violence? Probably not. But I'm not talking about one careless word, one careless sign, one careless comment, one carelessly blogged paragraph. The sheer volume of hate-speech today is accessible and acceptable and toxic and seductive and probably does incite violence. The truth is this: the crazy is out there - the mentally ill who hear inappropriate sentiment as a call to action, the bitterly angry who don't care who they hurt as long as we share their pain, and the disenfranchised coteries whose groupthink becomes their way of life. To all of us, but especially to these unique populations, language matters. Words matter. Images matter. Message matters.

It Matters

It matters to us individually, to us as a nation, and most of all to #OurChildren who don't deserve to grow up in a war of words and images and real violence disguised as political process. Think about it: a child, a young man in the prime of his adult life, a man at the peak of his distinguished career, and senior citizens DIED last week. DIED. They're dead; dead and buried. For what? They died for what? FOR WHAT? For political rhetoric? For free speech? For one woman's pathological need to attract attention using the most vile, irresponsible, and controversial imagery possible?

Money Flows Where Attention Goes

We give our attention to the wrong things. In so doing, we give power to to those who do not deserve it. Controversy equals fame and fame equals money. The formula is simple: be outrageous, get famous, cash out. Doesn't matter if you're good at anything, you still make money. You get television shows, consultant retainers, book deals, and appearance fees. People who have made no contribution to the public good can still reap huge financial benefits from the public's attention. And of these skill-deficient individuals, none is as accomplished as Alaska's half-governor, failed vice-presidential candidate, and the final nail in John McCain's bid for the presidency.

McCain's Folly

You know who she is. I won't write her name and I'm done saying her name. I'm done with her. I'm done. Every time we say her name we give her power: her name is out there, people see it, and she becomes more legitimized. WE get comfortable with her, WE begin to expect her, WE begin to react to her like she's something more than what she really is: a quitter and a grifter of the lowest caliber. WE accept her reptilian grin and tortured syntax as normal. WE anticipate her telepalming gaffes with malicious glee. WE make her a part of our national dialogue. WE give her an illusion of authenticity. WE do this. And the power WE have given WE must now take away.

Campaign #Silent

Campaign #Silent, starting today, starting now. All of us. Not mentioning her name, not talking about her, nothing. Ignoring her and her antics. Turning away from her pathetic need for attention. Shutting off the flow of money she's paid for her false celebrity. People died because of her contribution to our national discourse. She needs to be removed from her standing as our disgraceful post turtle. She needs to be shunned into stunned silence and disappear into the obscurity she has earned for herself. No more attention from us: #P2 #P21 #DEMS #OFA #TLOT #TOPPROG. #Silent - the slightly shorter version of the #silence tag on twitter (h/t @rawls and @nationallampoon).

A Lifetime – Not Just A Day – Of Service

Campaign #Silent is a service we need to do for #OurChildren and they need it for far longer than one day. They need and deserve to live in security. We need to reserve the power and influence of our attention for those who truly make this society a better place. The test is simple: does this individual, this group, this concept make us healthier, safer and stronger? If not, we will not give it the power of our attention. We can do this together, and we must. Please join Campaign #Silent.

Chapter, Next.

“We watched silently with heat in our mouths,

the heat of all those words we had not spoken.”

Owl Moon

“You don't seem to have updated your blog for a while...”

“Have you grown weary of writing?”

“Don't you post at Liberaland anymore?”

I'm surprised and humbled by the number of people who noticed the hiatus. Thank you. Your encouragement is energizing. I'm grateful you spend some of your precious free time reading my snippets when an abundance of choice exists. Again, thank you.

I managed to break the hiatus at Liberaland.com but it proved to be more difficult here. See, every time I hit my own blog I cried. I hadn't been able to do more here than re-read my last entry...the one commemorating the life and death of my DeDe. I'd log in, full of wrath and fury over the latest wrath-and-fury issue and I'd be hell-bent to scream-write and speak-my-mind and give-'em-hell, and then I'd retreat: weepy and panicked and oVeRwHELmEd. I fussed about this writer's block – writer's choke – with a friend who said, “There is nothing wrong with saying, yah, I miss my dog, so my words have dried temporarily, but they shall return.”

“There is nothing constant in this world but inconsistency.”

Jonathan Swift

What happened with DeDe made me sad and scared, and worse, it surprised me. I don't like surprises. I like consistent predictability (it's not as boring as it sounds). But what happened with my Dede was not consistent or predictable or controllable; it was a blur. She was here one minute – snuffling around the kitchen, barking at leaves, yipping in her sleep – and she was gone the next. Ten days from routine exam to anguishing euthanasia. Ten days to baby and princess her. Ten days to contemplate the crushing, looming ache. Ten days. Ten days. Ten days.

Then a few weeks ago, I realized The Ten Days reminded me of The Thirty Days.

“Death never takes the wise man by surprise; he is always ready to go.”

Jean de La Fontaine

Not true, Jean, not true! My father was wise, and his death took us both by surprise. He was here one minute – shuffling around the kitchen, raking up leaves, sleeping through the news – and gone the next. Thirty days from massive heart attack to the second death. Thirty days to stand by the hospital bed and cry. Thirty days to avoid the crushing, looming terror that he might actually die.

And he did. And I had no choice but to deal with it. And I did, until The Thing That Ate 2004 arrived.

“Serendipity is the art of making an unsought finding.”

Pek van Andel

Let me just say that life has a way of handing me stuff I need to know in the most awkward ways. The most non sequitur ways. In the end, the corollary between The Ten Days and The Thirty Days let me see just how stuck I was in The Thing That Ate 2004. I was stuck in its craw – in the Blob-like, jellyfish-tentacled, sucking quagmire of OPD (Other People's Drama or Other People's Dharma – take your pick). Let it be known that I used my writer's chokehold on The Thing and it spit me from its craw and departed...bruised, sore-throated, and protectively clutching its testicles.

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter

I think there will be two significant parts to my life; halves defined not by chronology but by evidence of choice. One half driven by the needs of others, one half driven by the needs of me. The only thing connecting them will be change, because, as I've realized on this most auspicious eve, change is the only thing that stays the same. Chapter, next.

When you go owling, you don't need words or warm or anything but hope.

Owl Moon

In Memoriam: A Doggy's Tale

In Memoriam: DeDe (aka De, De?, De!, DEEEEEE!, Dude, Doodles and every other word starting with the letter "D")

February, 1999 - July 27, 2010

What started out as DeDe's routine visit to the vet suddenly became a compassionate letting-go only ten days later. At her yearly exam, the vet noticed some symptoms that were invisible to me, and an ultrasound confirmed the worst-of-the-worst a few days later: liver cancer that was both advanced and untreatable. DeDe was blissfully unaware of her condition and experienced ZERO discomfort. That is the only part of the situation that brings us any comfort.

She was such a needy girl. Twice abandoned, her attachment issues were worthy of a psychologist's office. Her needs were like weeds - I'd figure one out and three more would appear. She had a desperate love of me... she couldn't get close enough, yet, she was so scared of me that I couldn't look at her for a solid two years. The ambivalence could be as challenging as her anxiety. I chose to back down first (and fast) because DeDe just couldn't tolerate a confrontation with me. It hurt her so deeply that there was no behavior, no furniture, no expectation truly worth the damage to her security. She needed me differently than anyone else ever has and over time we discovered how to coexist. She learned that she was accepted no matter what, and I learned that our relationship was not about what she could do for us but what we could do for her.

And what we could do for her was give her safe harbor. She found dignity within the the shelter of the tiny world that she could tolerate. If her love of me was panicked, her love of my sons was lavish, luxurious and languorous. They were her ~big loves~. She mothered them. She radiated supreme serenity and satisfaction whenever they were near. She smiled when she saw them and would wait, with her chin on the windowsill, for them to return from visitation each time. My boys understood her better than I did and were able to give her the contact she craved so deeply without the perplexing ambivalence she experienced with me. They have always been wonderful with her and were so good to her in these last days; they helped her cross over with contentment and peace and fulfillment, cradled warmly by her ~big loves~. I am at once proud of them and in awe of their tenderness.

Our girl was taken from us far too soon. We will miss her deeply, and we celebrate her life with a donation to The Fenny Fund so that some cherished friend who has a chance at life will not be deprived of it by the lack of money.

Oh really?

Is the Tea Party getting some internal consensus or what? Read more here.

Glenn Beck For President?

I think the video says it all.

If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.
William Tecumseh Sherman

In Honor of Beck University

I think the opening of a great institution of higher learning should be celebrated with some sort of ceremony - a cornerstone, if you will.

In the case of Glenn Beck's new online pay-as-you-learn "opportunity", that's not going to happen.

All he gets is this: I change my avatar to the Beck Buck my friend Joost5 designed (and who put into a Cafepress storefront [ http://www.cafepress.com/joost5 ] at my insistence). He's a politically active progressive who designs fun stuff like this for fun. Yes, this sort of stuff is easy for him. #envy

That's it. No parade, no speech, no banquet...not even a buffet. Just me and my avatar. Hey, Beck's all about the bucks, right? I simply honor what #BeckU is really all about. :)

Mean And Green In Prescott, Arizona

What started out as an idea to beautify the community and call attention to green transportation alternatives in Prescott, Arizona turned into an ugly debacle fueled by racism and City Councilman Steve Blair.

Miller Valley Elementary School had an idea: involve the students in a brainstorming project to spur interest in planet-healthy modes of transportation. The results – some practical, some delightfully whimsical – were commissioned to be displayed in a huge, custom-painted “Go On Green” mural spanning two outer walls of the school. Students from Miller Valley served as models for the people who appear in the colorful painting seen here.

Something disturbing took shape as painters known as “The Mural Mice” began to sketch out and apply color to their creation, helped by children of the school. Passersby began to shout epithets: “Get that n----- off the wall!”, “Get that s--c off the wall!”, and “You're desecrating our school!”. The subject of their ire? Two figures in the mural were persons of color.

Steve Blair, who hosted a talk show on KYCA 1490 (he was fired earlier today) took the tense situation to a new level. The Daily Courier reports that Blair made the following statement on his show:

"I am not a racist individual, but I will tell you depicting a black guy in the middle of that mural, based upon who's president of the United States today and based upon the history of this community when I grew up, we had four black families - who I have been very good friends with for years - to depict the biggest picture on that building as a black person, I would have to ask the question, 'Why?'"

Blair went on to say that he dislikes the word “diversity” and that it “shouldn't be forced down people's throats”. He also doesn't “see how that mural ties into anything in the community” even though the mural was: commissioned by the school and the city of Prescott, featured drawings of actual Miller Valley Elementary students enacting ideas generated by Miller Valley Elementary students who then voted on the winning mural sketch, and painted by Miller Valley Elementary students. How could that mural possibly have pertained to anything remotely connected to Miller Valley Elementary School or the Prescott, Arizona?

As news of the mural circulated through Twitter, I received a message from @prescotttourism and entered into an exchange with Jack D. Wilson, mayor of Prescott from 2007-09. Mr. Wilson made the following comment: “Prescott has 43000 people, most do not agree with Steve Blair, former Mayor Jack Wilson”

I asked Mr. Wilson if he had other information to share on the matter. He offered that Blair has a troubled past with respect to racial diversity and tolerance in Prescott; demanding that dual-language signage be removed, and engaging in another racial dust-up (see comments) in which Blair referred to Hispanics as “taco flippers”.

In the end, Steve Blair wins in his campaign to “lighten up” Prescott; the Miller Valley Elementary School mural has been altered by the Mural Mice at the request of the school's principal. The “darker” children will now be “lightened” so that they appear to be “happier and brighter”. Growing up in a climate of overt and covert racism isn't likely to make the children of Prescott “happier and brighter”; it's likely to make them silent or leave. Either way, Blair wins.