Other people's words.

I'm still reacclimating to being back at work after a week off. I don't really have brilliant, insightful, inspiring, or thought-provoking things to say today. Luckily, other people do:

Hillary Clinton's opening remarks during the hearings confirming her as the next Secretary of State:

Too often, we see the ills that plague us more clearly than the possibilities in front of us, but it is the real possibility of progress, of that better life free from fear and want and discord, that offers our most compelling message to the rest of the world.

Lesley at Fatshionista writes about lines and stuff, which is way more brilliant than my crap description makes it seem:

I was hurt by fatphobia. I was injured by dieting. It’s taken me years - and I am still working on it - to begin to recover; to begin to have a healthy concept of food and eating; to begin to love my body for being mine no matter its size; to learn to see myself reflected in a mirror, or a shop window, or in a photograph, and not cringe; to survive in a culture that stereotypes me as lazy, stupid, disgusting, immoral, out of control, and so forth. I was bent by all this, and am very fortunate I never broke. If I draw lines, it’s because I don’t want anyone else - my friends, my family, even total fucking strangers - to have to go through that shit, to hate themselves for it. I don’t want to get sucked back down into that vortex myself.

Blackspot / ReThinking Capitalism talks about reframing music labels:

Basically, the business aspect needs to be put much lower on the priority list in the music business.  If all labels followed this theory, there wouldn’t be a need to emphasize the money-making aspect - it would come naturally out of the talent they have nurtured and promoted instead of the One-Hit-Wonders they have used and abused.

Ryan Adams (an artist I dig on several levels) muses about stepping away from music:

that is not love. love is being accepted for who you are. love is taking care of yourself and caring for others and dreaming out loud when it matters. not chasing rainbows. not hoping for some eventual collective sigh of approval which will never come. how did i ever think in those terms? i always knew better. thank goodness i know now how to be honest with myself.

Lemme sum up.

A few thoughts about the recent financial shenanigans:

• We live in a finite world with finite resources. Did people really think that "profits" could be an endless line upward on the graph?


• Doesn't anybody else find it just the slightest bit suspect that our financial system seems to be based on something other than actual value?


• This is what happens when money is made to "work" (i.e., "Make your money work for you! Give it to someone else to invest, and she'll cut you in on the profit!"). The very idea seems inherently dodgy to me. Money doesn't make itself, no matter what magic financial firms might be selling. I remain unsurprised that it's not working sans safeguards. (Plus I'm young enough that it's likely my 401k and pension will be sorted out before it becomes an issue.)

This is why I am anti-capitalist. Greed begets greed. Unfettered, unregulated, unhinged greed leads to horrors on a global scale, with no consideration for the earth or her peoples. Really not okay.

And even more not okay to be taking it out of my tax dollars. Fuck Paulsen, and Bernanke, and Bush. And, hell, Reagan, too, while we're at it. Supply side MY ASS.

More depressing shit from MN.

I can't bring myself to read or watch re-caps from the "official" events that went down last night at the RNC. I'm still reeling and trying to stay on top of the aftermath of the unconscionable police brutality and suppression of Constitutional rights that seems to have been the seedy underbelly of what I assume was an otherwise candy-coated political spectacle. Quite frankly, I don't care what Sarah fucking Palin or the (chuh) "Maverick" had to say (since I doubt I agreed with any of it, anyway)...unless they dressed down the agencies whose members were attacking peaceful protesters. Which is about as likely as a snowball fight between Mother Teresa and Mahatma Ghandi in Satan's backyard.

More information about what's gone and is going down in the Twin Cities:

• "Logical Consequences", a nice summation by Bob Keohler.


• Another re-cap, complete with protestations that pre-emptive arrests made for less violence once the protests actually started.


• Astonishing! Apparently the city of St. Paul made the GOP cover the professional liability insurance needed to cover police forces' potential for excessive use of force during the RNC. If (hahaha) any brutalized protesters file suit, the damages wouldn't come out of taxpayers' pockets. Smart on St. Paul's part...not so much on the GOP's part. (Although - because it's what I do for a living and all - I'm wondering if $10 million plus expenses is a high enough limit.)


• The ACLU renews their call for an investigation.


• "RNC 8" charged under the (so-called) Patriot Act.Because Food Not Bombs organizers are totally the same fucking thing as terrorists.


• HuffPo talks about how the media (and St. Paul's mayor Chris Coleman) isn't talking about the trampling of the free press.


• Accounts from the arrested Democracy Now! journalists.


• Get the latest from Twin Cities Indy Media. Demonstrations, legal efforts, and crazy crackdowns continue today.

The world is filled with violence and political oppression, I know this. I know that this sort of thing is a regular occurrence in so many parts of the world, and the illusion that America is somehow exempted from this fact is one that could certainly be dispersed to the benefit of people everywhere. I know that police beating the shit out of a man for no reason other than he was in front of them can't even begin to compare to the genocides going on around the globe every single day with just as much broad governmental support.

What makes this so bitter for me is the fact that it flies in the face not only of the high-falutin' patriotic rhetoric of an election season, but also of the actual values and ideals that underlie that rhetoric. If the "American Dream" ever had a single drop of truth, if this really ever was the "land of the free," why is this situation so fucking unremarkable that it's not being shouted from the rooftops? Is the power structure and the free press that's supposed to be the people's watchdog....is it all so bought-and-paid-for that come corporate or political puppeteer is pulling the strings and keeping the focus on the courageous cops who keep defending the Fair Citizens of St. Paul from Those Crazy Anarchists?!

Is the Bill of Rights a joke? I feel like this bullshit is a punchline, but I'm not laughing.

FUCK YOU doesn't seem to cover it today.

My thoughts today are with my comrades in the Twin Cities, who have bravely chosen to protest the RNC. They have been met with interference at every step, including "Homeland Security" and other resources purported to fight "terrorism." This video is horribly disturbing on its own merits, but is even more unsettling because the man being attacked so brutally is someone I know and have worked with.

Where the fuck is justice in this?

Where the fuck is freedom in this?

Where the fuck is there anything to be proud of?

How can anyone purport to call herself a "patriot" and think this is okay?

Where the fuck is the outrage from the RNC itself? They have the power to make this end, to stand up for true American values, to halt violence used against AMERICANS right here on our own soil...not by faceless scary brown people whose countries are sitting on top of resources we covet and whose cultures we don't really understand...but by "fellow Americans" in riot gear and using chemical weapons.

Who the fuck is the terrorist in this scenario?

Hey, John McCain (or your new puppetmaster, Karl Rove): stop this. Or FUCK YOU more than usual.

UPDATE: The ACLU is calling for an investigation into RNC shenanigans. Also, brownfemipower has an awesome entry about why this stuff matters.

UPDATE 2: Found this post through Twin Cities Indy Media, and it is awesome; it talks about the point of what's happening at the RNC, and some ideas about civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action in general.

UPDATE 3: This listing from Common Dreams outlines some of the violence and targetting of activists and journalists. CREDO Action has an action going to call out the major news networks for not screaming about this threat to a free press.

Rolling on a river.

The Mississippi River is a thread connecting two major pieces of serious Work in the Universe today: New Orleans, crouching in preparation for Gustav to roll onshore, and the Twin Cities, where RNC protesters and the GOP faithful who seem determined to undermine any action that might mar the convention are battling it out in the streets and soon in the courts.

No matter what happens, my spidey sense tells me Something is Afoot, and It Will Be Big. I'm sending good juju to both ends of the big river today, but especially those whose lives and livelihoods have already suffered Katrina's devastation, and now may face another round of horrors at the hands of Gustav and the Bush administration's ineptitude.

I'm sending protection, support, strength, and hope to the people who most need it (and also as much cash as I can spare). If you are able and inclined, please do the same.

I am composed primarily of spleen.

So, my suck fatigue is ongoing, and my attempted media fast and bullshit vacation....well, it's harder to bury my head in sand than I expected it to be. Apparently my radar just doesn't like to go down without a fight. I keep stumbling into new things to get pissed about - like this "shocking" finding that - gasp! - body size isn't necessarily a good indicator of health, or this bullshit from the George W. "I Hate Animals and the Environment" Bush and his cronies, or this nonsense about corporations not paying taxes (Chuh. Big surprise there.), or this ridiculous jackholery where the Olympics told a seven year old girl she was too fat and ugly to be seen performing in their opening ceremony....and don't even get me started on the John Edwards affair thing.

Yeah, not really unplugged the way I want to be. I tried working my ass off (bathroom: painted! kitchen table: arrangements made! apartment: totally cleaned!), hacking my hair off, distracting myself with musical pursuits and good books, and letting myself get a little obsessive over a dude (which may or may not have been or indeed *be* productive)....yeah, none of that worked either. Le sigh.

This is all aggravated for me by various life circumstances that have inserted themselves into my head and reminded me that no matter how much work I do on myself, my history never leaves me. Shitty life circumstances can be ameliorated to some degree, but even the very best tools can only shift things so much. Sure, I can make choices that help, I can try to stop reactive behaviors, I can breathe and recognize the line dividing what I can and cannot change and have compassion for myself and the people around me....but that's cold comfort sometimes. I want my issues to come with an off switch, dammit.

Anyway, since I'm not having much luck keeping my head down, I've decided to shift from a Media Fast into a Bliss Blitz, a la Rob Brezsny:

In response to our culture's ever-rising levels of noise and frenzy, rites
of purification have become more popular. Many people now recognize
the value of taking periodic retreats. Withdrawing from their usual
compulsions, they go on fasts, avoid mass media, practice celibacy, or
even abstain from speaking. While we applaud cleansing ceremonies like
this, we recommend balancing them with periodic outbreaks of an equal
and opposite custom: the Bliss Blitz.

During this celebration, you tune out the numbing banality of the daily
grind. But instead of shrinking into asceticism, you indulge in uninhibited
explorations of joy, release, and expansion. Turning away from the mildly
stimulating distractions you seek out when you're bored or worried, you
become inexhaustibly resourceful as you search for unsurpassable sources
of cathartic pleasure. Try it for a day or a week: the Bliss Blitz.

This weekend, I am headed home to see the family, drink some beers, eat some pig, and spend some quality time (hopefully) in a hammock under an apple tree (please, weather gods, let the sun shine on me, and tell the bugs to go to hell, yeah?). When I get back, I plan to embrace indulgence in as many ways as possible: a trip to Lush, a mani-pedi excursion, a massage, a picnic dinner on a blanket to the tune of Holst's The Planets, maybe a trip to The Art Institute to see that Benin exhibit I've seen ads for, maybe I'll coat myself in DEET and brave the insect-filled insanity of the backyard (and potential rude assholes) and treat myself to a couple nights of playing music to the plants....we'll see. All I know is, if I can't turn off my awareness of the world's sucktasticness, then maybe I can turn up my awareness of the world's delightfulness.

Here's hoping.

Briefly...

*Apparently, some people don't know how awesome sex is. I can't think of any other reason for taking action that endangers ready access to contraception. (Well, I guess there's that old chesnut about keeping women barefoot-and-pregnant...) Big yays, however, to my favorite former presidential candidate, for not fucking around and letting this go by without calling out the Bush administration and their obvious fucking agenda (click that link to sign the petition!).

* Speaking of turning back the clock on social progress...apparently a state-recognized legally binding marriage isn't good enough for the Census Bureau. Hey, anybody want to go in with me on getting them some calendars dated more recently than 1950?

* Government fucks people over, gets away with it as usual. Myanmar's junta is apparently going to get a pass on holding up aid, an act that probably directly resulted in death and suffering (we'll never know, because the questions aren't being acknowledged by those in a position to press for answers). Good thing the junta has now promised to uphold human rights and democracy and stuff.

* Brain food: a 1986 speechification on feminism from author Ursula LeGuin (h/t to Chelidon); a transcript of Al Gore's appearance on Meet the Press yesterday (the one week I don't watch; GAH!); a really interesting piece on the evolution of our culture from the industrial to...whatever comes after that.

A different perspective.

Every now and then, I like to pick up a news weekly. I used to subscribe to TIME Magazine, but dropped it because I was feeling guilty over the mass amounts of non-recycled glossy paper stacking up in my house. It was like I could hear the trees screaming.

I do like magazines, though, for more in-depth looks at current events than I usually pick up from the wires or the average internet crawl. So, yeah, sometimes I pick up TIME or Newsweek or USNews. Sometimes I like to get The Economist for a more global, less America-centric perspective (The Economist is based in the UK). This week, that's exactly what I did. I hadn't flipped through an issue in probably a year, and so I thought I'd broaden my view a bit.

I'm not through it yet, but already a couple of stories have hit my buttons. First, let's talk about models:

IT'S not often that fashion models are paired with IT workers, except in the lurid fantasies of computer geeks. But because of a decision made back in 1990 they must compete for the same over-subscribed H-1B, a temporary work visa for specialised occupations. Until 2004, when the government lowered the cap on the number of H-1Bs it issued, it didn't matter so much. But now demand has far outstripped the limited number of visas available, and many foreign models are being denied the chance to sashay down America's catwalks.

Oh, the poor, poor models! You can't see this, but right now I'm playing "My Heart Bleeds For You" on the world's smallest violin.

Anthony Weiner, a New York congressman, wants to fix this tragic glitch. He has proposed a bill amending the rules so that the models will be reclassified into their own special immigration category.

...

Steve King, an Iowa congressman, thinks the bill should be called the “Ugly American Act” because it implies there are not enough beautiful people in the United States.

Well, shit, we all know that's true. If there were enough beautiful people in the U.S., our media wouldn't be saturated with ads for expensive crap to make us all prettier. And wow, in a world fraught with natural disasters and systemic oppression and economic disparities on a shocking scale, is the lack of foreign models allowed in the country really something we classify as a tragedy? Is objectification of women a noble enough pursuit that it merits a special category for issuing visas?

My favorite part:

Luckily though, supermodels like Gisele Bündchen are in the clear. They are eligible for O-1 visas, given to those with “extraordinary ability,” like Nobel laureates.

Yes, because supermodels are *just* like Nobel laureates. UGH.

And now, on to genes and clutter:

Are humans, then, hardwired to cling on to their possessions? If so, this primordial instinct joins a lengthening list of maladaptations to modern life. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have suited a nomad, because the itch to wander off led to serendipitous discoveries of food and mates. The ability to store food as fat was handy if food was sometimes scarce.

Wow, is this an international publication tacitly admitting that fatness is genetic? And not controlled by "calories in - calories out"? Really? That's sort of interesting...

The fat, the impulsive and the untidy are genetically normal, but they are equipped for yesteryear. The thin, the focused and the neat are freaks—but they are cut out for success. For modern life disapproves of clutter, almost as much as it scorns obesity and fidgeting.

So, wait...normal people with normal genes are fat, impulsive, untidy, and destined for failure? What the fuck? Who the fuck decided that this is what "modern life" is, and is not? Doesn't sound like anything I'm interested in.

If you want to keep up with fashion, in handbags and iPhones, it is constantly in with the new. Modern life demands that the old should go out at the same time.

Oh, right, I see now. Is this the same "modern life" that's, oh, killing the planet?!

Yet where nature creates a problem, the market provides a solution. What Ritalin is to ADHD, and liposuction is to obesity, the personal-organisation industry can be to clutter. These professionals offer not just order, but also sympathy. America's National Association for Professional Organisers speaks of “Chronic Disorganisation”; hoarders everywhere will take comfort from those capital letters.

Wow. I love that the fucking Container Store is being compared to liposuction. One will sell you a rack to hold all your shoes, the other is a medical procedure that could, I dunno, kill you and stuff. Totally the same kinda thing.

Plus, since when is being a clutterbug a mental disorder (which is how I read a label like "Chronic Disorganization")? Obviously, there are extremes that aren't exactly healthy...but there's a big difference between being untidy, and being a hoarder.

So...The Economist - while providing interesting political insights and information about a much broader range of topics and geographies than many American sources (for example, I found this piece about the challenges faced by Europe's Roma populations really interesting and educational)....seems to miss the boat (for me) outside politics and economics. A perspective that equates a closet organizer with lipo, and a supermodel with a Nobel laureate, isn't really all that different from the mainstream American media.

FUotD: Barack Obama

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...hey, Barack Obama: FUCK YOU!

Here's the e-mail I just sent through Obama's Senate website:

Dear Senator Obama:

It is with sadness and confusion that I write to you today. I was shocked to read today's headlines indicating your support and planned expansion of George W. Bush's Faith Based Charity policy, as well as your position that some hiring and firing based on religion was allowable.

I understand the fine line you walk as a politician, needing to compromise with many differing viewpoints in order to move the country forward. Although I disagree with the positions, I get why you supported the FISA compromise, why you have developed more nuanced positions on Israel and diplomacy and complicated issues. I don't fault you for trying to find a way to appropriately represent all Americans, and to make decisive choices in complex situations.

I cannot for the life of me, though, understand why a liberal (let alone a progressive) would support a program that has eroded the separation of Church and State, without improving social services or the overall well being of Americans one whit, and would pile on additional exemptions that amount to discrimination on the base of religious beliefs. As a non-Christian, this is near and dear to my heart, and any allowance for religious discrimination feels like the first step on a slippery slope leading to further discrimination that has the potential to impact my life in tangible ways.

I believe that faith based social services are wonderful things...but they should absolutely be funded privately by people who support the faith itself, and not using my tax dollars. I believe these programs do vital work, and help lots of people...but I also have no doubts that the helping hands come with the price tag of evangelism, and that's not something I'm interested in funding.

I also believe that there are social service programs that provide equal or better assistance without the added burden of religious coercion - and to reduce or divert funds from these truly equal opportunity organizations seems almost criminal to me. Since I don't have the ability to directly determine what my tax dollars are paying for, I rely on you to speak for me...and in this matter, that's just not happening.

I have been so happy to have you representing me in Congress these past few years. I was thrilled to see you enter the Presidential race. I believe that you have the potential to reverse much of the damage of the Bush administration...but adding fuel to the already volatile fire of religious conflict in this country is not part of the healing I believe this country needs. Please reconsider this position.

Best regards,
Tari Follett

I'd get back in the saddle.....if I could find the saddle....

Even though I'm feeling much better, I haven't been posting much these days. Mostly because all my brain can think up is "I'm feeling better, but still fucking exhausted and not quite back to full speed." Which, you know, is like talking about breakfast cereal on the excitement scale. Yawn.

I do seem to have, this afternoon, some spare brain space for thinking. It's not in-depth, or anything, but I've got some random thoughts to share....kind of a lightning round of what-the-fuck's-going-on-these-days. Enjoy!

* Tim Russert: Fucking shame. Hey, meainstream media wanks who purport to be his heartbroken and respectful colleagues: quit fucking talking about how he struggled with his weight and it eventually killed him; he worked out daily and ate reasonably well (or at least that's what his close friends keep saying) - what the fuck else is a normal human with a fucking life supposed to do? How about a little respect for the passing of a really amazing human being, a damn good journalist, and one of those lucky sons-of-bitches that finds his purpose in life? As usual, mainstream media, you can FUCK OFF.

* George Carlin: Another fucking shame. We shared the same birthday. We shared some political views and social criticisms. I loved the moment at the end of "Jersey Girl" where he says he doesn't want to die alone; it was some of the most poignant acting I've ever seen, even in such a relatively unimpressive movie. His books make me laugh every time I pick them up and re-read them. The world is less cool without him.

* Obama & FISA & public funding: I like Obama, and I think he's a great Senator, and will be a great President. But, like I've been saying to everyone I know who's got their starry-eyed idealistic blinders on, hoping he's a "change they can believe in," the man is a politician. He's not some naive tyro outsider - he's a Chicago pol who makes shrewd decisions based on walking the fine line between his beliefs, what's best for the country, and what's best for his own career. I think he's a damn sight better than a lot of the Dems out there carrying the party banner (ahem, Ms. Pelosi...), but I never forget that he's a politician. He's going to make a lot of compromises I don't like. This isn't a surprise.

* I recently subscribed to Yes! Magazine. I had stumbled on a few of their online articles, and really enjoyed them, and sent for a trial issue....and lo and behold, it's fabulous. There's a sense of activism and community and respect and this spirit of openness that I really like, and - with the exception of the one article on investments and banking bullshit (green your investments! put your money in a local credit union! pay yourself first!) - I really have enjoyed every article I've read. I was reading it at lunch the other day, when all of a sudden something really intense that I hadn't even noticed dawned on me: there were no ads. Not one advertisement. Not a single one! No product placement, no glossy photography, no objectification of human beings, no shilling for ANYTHING! I suddenly felt even better about paying my $20 for four issues a year - not only because it's writing untainted by advertiser interference, but also because it's printed on post-consumer recycled paper, with creative commons copyright licensing.

* Words I am thoroughly tired of hearing: "staycation" and the suffix "-bits." Please, media, we all fucking know gas prices suck; STOP talking about how everyone's taking a staycation to save money, as if you're so damn clever. Seriously, precocious smart-mouthed fifteen year olds, Stephen Colbert, and Joss Whedon make up witty new words...it's less cute when journalists pick it up as if they're equally trendy and cool. Not so much. Also, let's quit it with the bits! Girlybits, thinkybits, squickybits, bloggybits, snarkybits, snootybits, squishybits.....I am just fucking tired of all the little pieces of things! I want something in its unadulterated entirety, not bite size pieces. I'm a grown woman. I can handle it. Seriously.

* Musica: New albums I have picked up lately include Jason Mraz's new one (We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. This one doesn't wow me as much as the older acoustic stuff, but there are a couple tracks I cannot stop playing; and "Details in the Fabric" makes me tear up *every* time.), Alanis Morissette's new one (Flavors of Entanglement. Some of the tracks are a bit dance-ier than I'd like, and some are more maudlin than I'd like....but there are a couple priceless ones in there, too. I particularly dig "Incomplete," which features the line "I'll know God, and I'll be constantly one with Her night, dusk, and day."), and Alexi Murdoch's Time Without Consequences (an older album I had never heard of, but am loooooooooving....I could listen to "Orange Sky" on repeat forever!). I'm also enjoying some random tracks from Crooked Still, a "newgrass" group that brings really cool percussive strings (originally a contemporary of my fave fiddler - Casey Driessen - and now some other players doing similarly awesome stuff), banjo, and the gorgeous vocals of lead singer Aoife O'Donovan...it's tasty stuff I highly recommend if you dig folk music, bluegrass, or pretty voices. Also on my playlists lately: Duffy, Amos Lee, and (as always) Green Day, Dan Bern, and John Mayer.

* Miscellanea: In my continuing shift from cute shoes to sensible shoes (and possibly from young-and-hip to old-and-crotchety), I heart my Birkenstocks. I also heart summertime.....but not so much the crazy raining and humidity. My hair, in particular, could do without the humidity. The permaculture gardens in the backyard....well, let's just say that they're having some trouble with bugs; our backyard is like an insect smorgasbord - it's so bad, I actually can't go out there for more than a few minutes, even with bug spray. Yikes! I managed - though still not up to full energy - to assemble two cat playground thingies....the cats seem to be enjoying them, which bodes well. Next cat-related excitement: the cat genie, which costs a bundle, but basically means no litter and (most importantly) no scooping cat shit anymore! Woo hoo!

The Month of Tari: Almost Over Update!

First things first: America the Beautiful is still playing at Chicago's Landmark Century Centre Theater. If you haven't gone to see it yet, what are you waiting for? It's SO worth taking the time to watch, and the more people who watch, the more likely it will get a broader release...which is bad for the "beauty" industry, but good for, you know, PEOPLE.

Next: dye job notwithstanding, I'm still having hair ennui. I think I may need to get out the scissors. Hmmm...

More exciting: despite the inconsistent springtime weather Chicago has been enjoying, the month has been productive in the garden. We have ass-kicking sproutlets of basil and peas and carrots and chamomile and tomatoes and greens and marigolds and beets (which are actually beet colored!!). Soon, they'll be ready for transplanting, and our new back yard will become a wild, green paradise! Assuming we can convince the abundant wildlife to lay off...

Thumbs up: Nepal ends Hindu monarchy! Gay marriage legal in Cali starting June 17!

Thumbs down: the xenophobic, incredibly racist, un-funny, hackneyed, ripped-off, horribly written-acted-directed Indy IV!

Also...

This is awesome!

I'm not sure what it means for paper currency....but what a really awesome step to make the world more fair for blind people.

Katrina, times 50.

I'm heartsick at the news from Myanmar today...possibly 100,000 lives lost, millions homeless, entire cities flattened, a food-producing region devastated in such a way as will likely have widespread and long-lasting impact on future crops. Adding insult to injury, apparently the military junta that calls the shots in Burma is dragging its collective heels in getting humanitarian aid from outside the region over the borders so help reaches those who need it - not to mention prioritizing a "democratic" referendum of a proposed constitution (that just so happens to solidify the junta's power) over basic disaster relief.

It was bad enough that the junta cut internet service in Myanmar, destroyed media access, and took action against protesting monks....but now they're not easing restrictions so as to rush emergency assistance, in the face of the worst natural disaster since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami? What the hell?

ETA: Here are some ways you can help. Also, there's this resource from the American Red Cross. More when I find them.

The UCS weighs in on CAFOs.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, "the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world" (according to their website blurb), published this report on Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) (via Common Dreams), which are a staple of the meat industry - with horriffic consequences to the local and global environment (anybody remember Al Franken's awesome riff on shit lagoons? brilliant!), not to mention shockingly inhumane treatment for the animals (debeaking, antibiotics and hormones, not to mention the never-seeing-sunshine-ever part).

CAFOs are bad. Learn more here. And, if you must eat meat, look for free range, grass fed animals raised by small scale farmers.

Fuck You of the Day: John McCain

Hey, John McCain: FUCK YOU!

Ye gods, a whole article on metabolism - and no O-word?!

It's a whole article about metabolism, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, diet, and exercise....and not a single mention of the "obesity epidemic." They even went so far as to call Britain the 51st State...and still no o-word.

There was a mention of genetics, too - basically saying that high blood pressure had less to do with genetics, and more to do with diet and exercise and "gut bacteria" (mm, tasty!). Still nothing about fat. Eating meat was tied to high blood pressure....still nada on fat.

So, basically (if I'm reading this right), high blood pressure is impacted by diet and exercise, and is neither genetic nor tied to fat. So, eating well and exercising is good for health, and weight has jack-all to do with it.

Wow. I can't wait to see this spun. Or totally ignored. Whichev.

Fine points.

I like Hillary. The fact that she's a woman weighs in her favor, but even stronger motivation to vote for her comes from her policies. Don't get me wrong, I like Obama's, too, and would be happy to cast my vote for him...but when you're talking really nuanced differences, it's sometimes hard to find a path through the minefield of gender and racial stereotypes, and all the high drama that's accompanied this year's primary process. However, minute as they may be, there ARE differences, and they're differences I find important.

I like Hillary better. I think she's the better candidate. I think she's laying out a better plan to bring prosperity and peace back to the shores of this country, and her policies jive with what I want for the people who live here. I hope people will take the time to learn the differences in platform and policy....and not just get sucked into the cult of personality or the superficial differences. Although I know there's no escaping it, a presidential race shouldn't be a fucking popularity contest.

Enough.

Five years. Almost four thousand dead troops. Another nearly thirty thousand wounded. Something like a million Iraqi civilian casualties (it's somehwere in the ballpark of the number of civilians Saddam killed over his thirty five years in power).

It's senseless. It's immoral. It's smokescreen for a host of other atrocities. It's part of what's destroying not only this country, but countries around the globe. It's killing too many people, maiming too many people (both physically and emotionally), and leaving people at home and abroad destitute and devastated.

It's time it was over.

Activism: one clothespin at a time.

I stumbled upon this article, talking about the concept of eco-terrorism, in relation to last week's firebombing of some schmancy McMansions in Washington state. Now, setting aside my own distaste for gigantic houses with as much character as the soulless blue-shadowed plastic eyes of Malibu Barbie...I was intrigued by the central idea of the article. Are people who go out of their way to avoid hurting living beings (including, but not limited to, people) while inflicting physical damage to people's property....are they really terrorists?

Especially considering that applying that label comes with specific consequences (thanks to our awesome government and its lovely habits of detaining "terrorists" and suspending things like, oh, habaeus corpus and the Geneva Convention...), I think it's a really big deal that people who explicitly outline their intentions to avoid hurting people or other animals are being called terrorists and treated accordingly. (Also, I am a little tired of every damn thing being called "the greatest threat to homeland security since Islamic terrorism" - seriously, that phrase and its variants have been used to paint everything from war protesters to fat people to the recession to port security to health care costs....it's getting a little old; attention: lapdog media.) I think this trend is a slippery slope, especially for edgy folk who speak their minds right in the face of those who benefit from the current slant of American culture (and Western culture in general). Not to be all conspiracy theorist, but it's not *that* far a leap from people who torch greenwashed eco-unfriendly mini-palaces, to people who block traffic in protests or chant outside GMO conventions or blockade G8 meeting sites. What about guerrilla gardeners, who encroach on property rights by filling open space with plants? Or creative graffiti artists, "defacing" public or private property to send a message?

This issue also brings up an idea I've often encountered - that the word "activism" only applies to marching in the streets or picketing or throwing red paint on people who wear fur. Activism, for me, encompasses all that stuff....but also things like talking to people around you about the everyday steps you're taking to green your lifestyle, or picking up litter when you see it, or writing letters to your governmental representatives about legislation you like or don't, or encouraging the people around you to vote. I think the "extreme" kinds of activism (the kind that involve not only breaking the law, but also costing someone else time or money - like graffiti or arson or theft) are sometimes needed. I think other kinds of activism are just as vital, though, and a lot of folks avoid taking any action because they think only "big" action matters. Big stuff is great, but it's the little everyday stuff that I believe has a stronger cumulative effect. Which, in the case of climate change, is what's really necessary to, you know, save the planet.

Take, for example, this story about some New Englanders fighting for their right to air dry their laundry. Seems kinda silly on the face of it (legislation protecting clothesline rights? what?), but a huge slam against homeowners/condo associations and their need for cookie-cutter faux neighborhoods, at the cost of potentially huge energy savings. What's more important: not looking poor (next thing you know, someone will make a tour!), or, I dunno, saving the planet?

I guess my point is that activism doesn't mean you need to get yourself a pee can for your platform in a Redwood or stash bail money with your defense lawyer; there are some really simple ways you can change your perspective and your life and the world without tossing a Molotov cocktail at a McMansion. (Also, that link totally makes me want to live in the Twin Cities!!)

Though if that's your thing, I can't say I don't respect that on some level, too. And I surely don't consider it terrorism.

Quick locavore news roundup.

First, Jack Hedin (a Minnesota organic farmer) talks about the federal government's roadblocks to building local food systems - in the NY Times, of all places! (via Common Dreams) My takeaway from this article: commercial fruit and veggie growers in Cali, Florida, and Tejas and their lobbyists need to be punched. All the more reason to learn about canning and other natural (and old-fashioned!) preservative methods, so I can stop giving those bastards my produce money in the off seasons.

I really enjoyed this piece from the Boston Globe, looking at the connections between spirituality and environmentalism. My personal tradition was born from the intersection of religion and politics (see here if you're curious about specifics), and so I'm always intrigued by the way activism and faith connect - especially as in this context, the faith in question is Christian in nature, with the token exception of a few lines from the Harvard UU Minister. (I do find this line hilarious: "Early environmentalists evoked a spirituality about the earth, but some religious people interpreted this spirituality as pagan, one that viewed the earth itself as a deity." Since my personal tradition came from those early environmentalists, and is in fact pagan in nature....uh, yeah. I guess those "religious people" would be right, then.)

I also found this article from the Baltimore Sun, talking about some of the reasons local agriculture is so important, and some of the obstacles to joining the locavore movement in a region with little agriculture and even less sustainable local food infrastructure. Some of this is specific to Baltimore itself, but the general principles I think can be applied to any urban environment, especially economically disadvantaged ones. (With, of course, the exception of the too-often-hyped "obesity epidemic" argument for the locavore movement...which it DOES NOT NEED. UGH.)