past, present and beyond

i watched a program about beans yesterday. the whole program was about beans and how to grow them and prepare them. yeah, so? there was a segment on seed saving and the nice gentleman was explaining how he saves seeds for posterity. not terribly remarkable, or is it? the practice of seed saving went the way of backyard gardens- and this nice man in maine wants to bring both back to this generation. he believes that there is a disconnect between us and our food and so, he developed a program by which he educates kids and teens on gardening and seed saving. what struck me was when he was talking about some of the heirloom seeds- and they have some from the cherokee’s trail of tears. he explained that the native folks were allowed to go inside and take what they could carry— and many of them took their seeds.

mom and i were talking about it- and we wondered what folks today would take if they could only take what they could carry- pictures? bank book? whatever it would be- i doubt it would be seeds. we just assume that we will always be fed. what a presence of mind to take seeds to plant wherever you end up- a connection to where your food came from. many folks don’t know that corn is indigenous to this hemisphere. it is a grass that native populations brought with them as they migrated from south america to north america. many folks don’t realize that the lovely yellow ears we grab at the supermarket— or even farmer’s markets- are not the native varieties but hybrids invented within the last hundred years or so.

so, for this nice gentleman to have seeds saved from the original native populations is pretty important. it’s a connection to our food and our roots as people and as a nation. backyard gardening is catching on again- and i hope that our ‘heirloom’ seeds do to.

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Wonderfully personal tweets from a few of my Faves

Howdy to all y’all at Sirens — I haven’t been posting here in a while, nor too much elsewhere either.  Besides being a little burned out, I have been catching up around the house for Thanksgiving company coming.  And I am a bit enthralled with Twitter, which can temporarily ruin one for regular writing.  Today I am posting a few tweets collected in the past few weeks as examples of the fun reading available on this amazing application.  I use the web version of Twitter as well as TweetDeck.

Enjoy!

chrislhayes – Uncostumed as usual. I feel little less guilty about never having a costume with each passing year. #gettingold (10/31/09).

“About to dig into Cheney stuff. Bad flashback,” is from Matt Cooper (10/30/09).

jdickerson Under son’s pillow: “Dear miss tooth fairy. I woud like a dog or a bunny becuse my frend got a turtle. Don’t give me money give me a bunny” (10/29/09).

johndickerson On CBS Evening News tonight wearing my John Dickerson costume talking about Iraq bombing (10/25/09).

libbyspencer I keep my follow list small b/c I’m so OCD I read my entire stream every day-incl the links (10/25/09).

Hegemommy: (1)”OH FUN! One of my students is convinced the Obama election = end of days! And she’s writing on it!” (2)”Okay, I am totally partnering up the rapture student with the student writing about getting Wiccan symbols on headstones for soldiers.”

SCClemons Leaving Amman for Damascus to interview Khaled Mashal. Half the meeting is on the record and half is off. Going alone and a bit nervous (10/16/09).

libbyspencer For the record I think it would be great to #BeatCancer and big props to all the ppl out there who are battling it (10/16/09).

jeffjarvis This story is careening toward tragedy with the whole world watching. I am turning off the TV. It’s unseemly. [regards "balloon boy"] (10/15/09).

“markknoller Notice Macy’s has full-page ads in both the NY Times and Wash Post today of Cindy Crawford in her underwear. God bless the 1st Amendment. (10/14/09)

jdickerson Is there more or less kindness in the world than there appears to be? (10/7/09).

chrislhayes had an email forwarded to me just *shredding* the points I made in that video. Should be able to shrug it off, but can’t quite. (10/6/09).

jdickerson Son wants a dog. He’s up reading a dog care book learning to care for one. I’d make a bad president. If Iran did that I’d let ‘em have nukes (10/6/09).

AlexGoodall RT @PierrePaperon: Goethe: A useless life is an early death. (10/5/09).

libbyspencer It’s important to remember that every day about 295 million Americans get up and fail to tune in to Rush Limbaugh. ~Garry Trudeau (10/4/09).

“jdickerson I know the people at Seventh Generation want me to start a compost pile but making kitchen garbage bags that decompose on use is sneaky,” (10/4/09).

pourmecoffee COOL: The oldest living things in the world (Photo Gallery, Map): http://bit.ly/JUJGh (10/4/09).

libbyspencer RT @WillendorfVenus Thinking abt callus on right middle finger. Used 2 B lot larger. Almost never write w/pen now.||Was thinking abt that 2 (10/3/09).

chrislhayes If I didn’t have 600 pps of Ralph Nader’s new book to get through, today would be a perfect Saturday. (10/3/09).

TheFix Henry the penguin on “Oswald” reminds me a lot of myself. Neurotic, hypochondriac, news addict (by Chris Cillizza, 9/30/09).

jdickerson “Shouldn’t we be able to spell insouciant any way we please?,” (9/30/09).

jdickerson These paragraphs seem to shoot from my fingers as if propelled by a benevolent and magic force. By noon I will delete them. (9/30/09).

SCClemons Is at the United Nations watching the sun rise over the East River. Excited to see Obama Security Council session this morning. (9/24/09).

chrislhayes Sometimes I think it’d be more transparent to just give major banks permnt seats on the relevant legislative committees: http://is.gd/3BAks. (9/23/09).

libbyspencer If only we had carried more commie/fascist signs + screamed abt crazy conspiracies, MSM would’ve *respected* us anti-war protesters too. (9/14/09).

chrislhayes Remember how in the days after 9/11 the whole country was united in wanting less government? Yeah, neither do I. (9/12/09).

libbyspencer RT @HoneyBearKelly RT @UtneReader: How Sept11 should be remembered http://bit.ly/10YM8g ||Great piece could only have been written by a NYer (9/11/09).

ChuckGrassley Great Buy Danish Aebleskiver Dinner tonite at Fredsville Luthern at Dike. 5$ I went. (3/1/09).

I will return occasionally. Peace to all.

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David Baldacci, at it again -

This post is one of my “classics” from South by Southwest. I say that because it is one to which people have returned over the years. It was first posted November 9, 2007. Baldacci is still a very popular author.

Best selling novelist, David Baldacci’s new book Stone Cold came out this week, and I was privileged to read an advance copy. What fun it was to discover this new (to me, at least) author. He writes about one of my blog’s favorite fascinations, the federal government. ” Spooks, Spies – Eyes and Ears in the Skies,” is one example. I cannot imagine where I have been all this time.

During the past ten years, 13 of Baldacci’s books have been bestsellers. They should have been familiar to me, because my blogs are often written about what is behind the door of chilling government power — spying, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, illegal domestic surveillance and threats to civil liberties, all subjects woven through the scenes in this author’s books.

This novel’s fascinating main characters will be familiar to dedicated Baldacci fans because Stone Cold is the third in his popular Camel Club series. Traits found in lead characters were carefully woven in moral shades of gray in several previous novels; two of the best sellers were “The Collectors” and “Simple Genius.” And the new book does not disappoint; we meet people who span the warp and woof of good and bad, flawed and heroic. Baldacci uses an interesting technique; he lets his readers in on his character’s thoughts via italics. For example – a CIA man trying to find his targets reflects on his experience:

. . . Gray’s men had checked. Still, with Carter Gray’s resources no one should be able to simply vanish. No wonder these terrorist sleeper cells were proving nearly impossible to uncover. America was too damn big and too damn free. In some ways the Soviets had had it right: Spy on everybody because you never know when a friend might turn into an enemy.

Baldacci’s fiction tapestry is that of government. His is not the government you and I would know from mainstream media accounts. Baldacci’s is a very recognizable shadowy universe that hides spooks, spies and assassins, the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, the Secret Service, and even the Chair of the Senate Intel committee. He introduces a new character in this book, nemesis “Harry Finn.” Psychologically astute, Baldacci often lets you know what his characters think. Here is a wonderful example:

. . . And when Gray had left the government, he had also left most of his protection behind. . . but Finn was confident he would eventually get to the man.

When Finn looked at the life he had now as part of a family of five in a quite ordinary Virginia suburb complete with a lovable dog, music lessons, soccer matches, baseball games and swim meets, and compared it to the life he has as a child, the juxtaposition was close to apocalyptic in its effect on him. That’s why he rarely thought of these things close together. That’s why he was Harry Finn, King of Compartmentalization. He could build walls in his mind nothing could pierce.

With this novel I walked into what seem to be very complex and realistic scenes from the high powered world of governance. I now know what I have been missing — a dynamite read, at times almost literally. Because his characters have the latest nifty gadgets and like to blow things up, a computer becomes the weapon in one of the author’s intricately interwoven plot lines. To quote from the book:

Finn had been able to get his device past security because it didn’t have any explosive materials in it. Instead, the device had been designed to ignite a chemical reaction inside the components in the CPU. It was a reaction that would make the otherwise harmless CPU a bomb, a possibility no one in the computer industry would want you to know.

Meet Baldacci’s well known hero, “Oliver Stone.” Asked in a Publishers Weekly interview why he named the lead character after a famous film director, Baldacci said, “Stone the film director has a reputation for taking on controversial subjects. Naming my character after him was an act of homage to a man who isn’t afraid to take unpopular positions.” To quote the author from another interview:

Oliver Stone first entered my imagination when I was a young lawyer. I walked past Lafayette Park in the mid-1980s and saw the protesters there. Fast-forward nearly twenty years and the sign, “I want the truth,” is flying proudly in that same park, at least fictionally. Gray characters are the most interesting. They have flaws, divided loyalties, moral complexity, and internal debates about what to do. Do the ends always justify the means? We’ve seen it recently with the Bush administration where you had former Attorney General Ashcroft and his top lieutenants ready to hand in their resignations over the warrantless surveillance matter.

To quote from Stone Cold’s subsequent park scene from above, Oliver Stone approaches the White House:

He would never be allowed to enter the front gates and lacked even the right to stand on that coveted side of Pennsylvania Avenue. What he could do was wait in Lafayette park across the street. He used to have a tent there until the Secret Service made him take it down. Yet freedom of speech was still alive and well in America and thus his banner had remained. Unfurled between two pieces of rebar stuck in the ground, it read, “I want the truth.” So did a few other people in this town, it was rumored. To date, Stone had never heard of anyone actually finding it within the confines of the world capital of spin and deceit.

This skilled writer will introduce you to fast-paced and easy to follow threads of intrigue, mystery, complex twists and turns guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. In Washington D.C. for book signings on Wednesday, David Baldacci is scheduled to be in Richmond, VA on Saturday, Nov. 17. He plans to be at the Barnes and Noble store on Brook Road at 2:00 p.m., if you live in the area.

In conclusion – and because I am also a reading advocate — I learned that Baldacci and his wife are passionate about keeping families reading. In 1999 they founded the “Wish You Well Foundation.” The organization’s mission is to support family literacy in the U.S. by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs.

Partnering against the cold of hunger — His foundation has recently partnered with America’s Second Harvest: The Nation’s Food Bank Network, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the U.S. to donate books to families in need. The joint initiative is called “Feeding Body and Mind.” Donations are coming in from all around the world, and they are now seeking corporate sponsorship to continue broadening their efforts.
My “creativity and dreaming” post today at Making Good Mondays is about motives affecting behavior.

Technorati tags: [domestic surveillance writing government Baldacci review

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Five hundred words about The World Wide Web

Intro – Haiku by “betmo” –

family circles
grow forming communities-
sharing mother earth.

Why is it that so many of us reading and writing online stay “plugged in” to the news, to our blog friends and to current events?  And why do others get discouraged and drop out? We know there must be payoffs or else the behavior would not continue.  Only masochists continue to do things that produce merely negative reinforcement.  Therefore I am assuming that I have too much of an apparently optimistic style to attract any masochists.  So what are the payoffs for those of us who do this on a regular basis for a long time, despite frustration?

What is it we want? Nancy Perry Graham, in AARP The Magazine piece summed it up well:  “Good health, financial security, family and community, giving back, having fun.”  Because we are self-interested we use the Internet as a resource by which we find out vital information about our well-being.  And we are willing to take advice from those whose opinions we respect.  Over time we learn who is trustworthy and who is not — who will tell the truth and who will shade it, or outright lie.  This applies to the regular obscure bloggers we read as well as the authorities with larger audiences.  In the process we also learn who is “up” and who is “down, politically” or as celebrities, depending on our interests.

With whom do we associate? We like to know about, or to actually be where the action is; we are activists.  Being associated with a bunch of like-minded people adds  to our sense of belonging.  I suspect that we also enjoy “associating” with powerful or famous people. And many of us want to try to make a difference in a troubled larger world.  Whether we are faith-based or nonbelievers with a strong sense of morality, it is human nature to want to make things better.

Where we  hang out depends on individual preferences.  Over time we develop a list of favorites we read, the most trustworthy news sites, people in whom we are interested, communities to whom we belong and references upon which we regularly call.  And of course we are habituated to routines and tools that help us stay ahead of information overload.  Tasks such as catching up on the news, deleting outdated saved material, answering e-mails, editing our web pages, sorting favorites and providing regular posts keep us busy at best, and overwhelmed at worst.

When we surf the Internet is also a very individual choice, often dictated by circumstance.  I am lucky because I am retired.  Work and family requirements must be worked out.  Writing at the times when we are most alert serves our readers well. Doing a variety of things serves our moods well, and taking regular breaks serves our minds and bodies well.  I read bloggers who post while on vacation, when they are sick, after surgery, when they are sad or when they want to celebrate.

Celebrating us!

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what i did on my summer vacation

i never understood the meaning of vacation.  we never really took them when i was growing up- we took trips to visit people once in awhile but that was family and whatnot.  when family came to visit, we had picnics or went to a them park but my family never ‘vacationed.’  probably why i don’t do it well.  don’t get me wrong, i like to take trips to see things- museums, art galleries, etc, but i am not a big resort or cruise kinda gal.  and i won’t get started on how much i hate all things airport/airplane related.

i guess i wonder what it is people take a vacation from.  if you work a lot, i would think that staying at home for a few days would be a welcomed respite.  if you have a crap house and a crap job, odds are- you don’t get vacation time anyway.  my husband’s company generously rewards employees who qualify- with all expenses paid 4 days at a four or five star resort- usually in florida on the beach- but this year it was in puerto rico.  apparently, they tried mexico one year and folks got sick- so that’s not an option.  which- is fine by me.  did i mention i don’t like to fly?

what strikes me about resorts- the folks on vacation behave a certain way- like landed gentry.  the folks who work at the resort cease to be people and suddenly become indentured servants.  one of my husband’s co-workers was staying on a floor where security was called for domestic violence and the things i witnessed first hand- well, let’s hope that these folks don’t end up on youtube or girls gone wild!  another thing that strikes me- in the resorts we go to- and this may be because they cater to businesses i don’t really know- these sprawling, resource sucking palaces- the color ratio falls along these lines- white folks… vacationers; non white folks… workers.  it bothers me.  not that i begrudge these folks their jobs because odds are they wouldn’t have one without the resort, but especially in puerto rico- i got a colonial vibe.

it’s just my thought that instead of planning vacations around pretending to be rich and famous, maybe folks should concentrate on visiting family instead.  instead of taking a cruise to the bahamas- perhaps a road trip to see the newest edition to the family?  one thing i know for sure- i am not going to the convention next year.  it’s not my scene.

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wish lists

i know that there was a movie out recently- ‘the bucket list’ or something to that effect- but i didn’t see it. i don’t make wish lists anymore. when i was packing to move, i ran across an old list i had made when i needed something to look forward to and i realized that i had everything on that list. and of course, i started thinking about all that i had and the so very many people who don’t have even a fraction of what i have- and it made me grateful that i do have what i have. i used the vacation as a time to start through the summer reading list- lord knows i didn’t take any real political books (naomi klein stayed home ) i didn’t want to really be put on a list somewhere- i mean i have to be on somebody’s list somewhere- but not on the no fly list (for my husband’s sake). anyhoo, i took some of the buddhist themed books and it really seemed to click in my mind. the idea that we are all inherently bound together on this planet- like it or not- and that we need to reconnect with each other in a loving and compassionate way- because violence only begets violence. and we need to reconnect with the planet on a basic level and restore a harmony and a balance. and we don’t.

the biggest theme i have been taking from a cross section of books- we have to start the process from within first or it won’t work. working towards peace won’t work if we are anti-war. my big hurdle is overcoming my distaste and disgust for the right wing neo cons- let’s face it, the sean hannitys and the michael savages of the world are not easy to like- let alone feel any sort of basic respect for. but i have to work on that- on a basic human level. we can’t pick and choose who we feel love and compassion for and expect there to be peace on the planet. as long as there’s the ‘us versus them’ mentality or the ‘our way is best’ mindset- there will always be war and greed and power struggles. not easy. i can see why folks turn to one of the three big religions- hey, just abdicate all power to an unseen entity and then pray for forgiveness. no responsibility or accountability- in the name of god. far easier than actually changing the way you approach the world.

engaged buddhism is actually practicing what you learn- connecting with the planet and the people in order that all may share happiness and peace. not through proselytizing- but by just projecting the peace and happiness from within us to the world. sharing it with others and realizing that they are all searching for the same goals we are. and as i said- i struggle. i am a real newbie when it comes to walking on the eightfold path. yep. i have a feeling it is going to be an uphill struggle for me not to isolate myself away from the stupidity and greed and selfishness that our culture promotes. i want to set up a meditation place for myself in my new home because i have a feeling i am going to need it. the backyard bunnies feel like better companions for me than human beings at this point- but i am going to walk. i am not going to try- i am just going to step out onto a new path on life’s journey.

mindful politics: a buddhist guide to making the world a better place

the tao of eating: feeding your soul through everyday experiences

creating true peace: ending violence in yourself, your family, your community, and the world

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another one out of the ballpark

thinking people make me smile.  stupids- not so much.  which is why i don’t like malkin or hasslebitch or the rest of the ‘talking but not really saying anything of value’ crowd.  which is why i enjoy reading larisa so much.  she just hits the issues right out of the ballpark again and again.  and she nailed the reverend wright flap to the f**king wall.

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i am tired of people

no- really.  i think that the best thing that could happen for this planet is if human beings extinct themselves.  seriously.  there is no humor in my words.  why is it that you can’t get food made to order that is made correctly?  no mayo- means no mayo.  or why does there have to be fair trade coffee?  why can’t people be ethical towards their workers?  why are people so greedy that they want to make water a commodity instead of a right?  why is it that my 65 year old neighbor charged my 85 year old neighbor to move a small table from her front porch to the back?  why do you think i want to hear your craptastic music blaring from your fucking suv while you blow smoke out the window at a light?

why do we put up with it?  it is a mystery to me why behaving badly is so well received.  my 85 year old neighbor won’t stop buying coffee- although she doesn’t drink it- and the neighbors go and drink it by the potful without ever buying her a can or offering money once in awhile- and she doesn’t say a peep.  we think nothing of bitching a blue streak about condiments scraped off the bun after we order with no mayo- but how many take the time to say something?  is it the corporatization of the world that has left us so unfeeling and unmindful of others?  or do we not say anything because we put ourselves in the other’s position and realize that we would probably do the same thing?  i used to wonder if it was just american culture that is so lousy- but i fear it is an epidemic with globalization and westernization.  it is a shame.  when being polite and professional is the exception rather than the norm- i would say that’ s a problem.

i am going to go and have some rainforest alliance tea.

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‘when in the course of human events…’

if there is one thing i have gotten out of the last 8 years or so of well- whatever this has been- it is a healthy appreciation for the written word. ha! that isn’t what you expected me to say i am a reader. i love words- and i love well written words. when it comes to the written word- no one has anything over the founding fathers. ‘we, the people, in order to form a more perfect union…’;

‘when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.’

and here we are full circle. we dissolved the union between us and the mother country in order to form a more perfect version- and here we are now- dissolving into a nation separated from itself and the rest of the world. the only one i have heard speaking of uniting anything- barack obama. everywhere in this nation- we are walling people out physically through actual walls; through laws; through cliques and discrimination. it doesn’t matter who they are- if they aren’t exactly like us- we want them separate. and yet, we say we love america. we love our country. all of the shredding of our precious constitution and declaration of independence- has been done in the name of ‘insuring domestic tranquility and providing for the common defense.’ i guess it isn’t as important to ’secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.’

dusterella and i email back and forth occasionally (someone has to keep this blog functional- and it’s her and we have some good asides. this last exchange i told her why it was i was scaling back on blogging and giving a shit about what happens here. i tend to be longwinded- so i will paraphrase

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Teaching, Learning, People, Cultures, Human Nature

As soon as I arrived in San Francisco and went to the first event about The Longest Walk I started to meet people and I started to learn new things. In such a venue, it’s easy to meet up with folks. After all, we’re all there for the event and there is a lot to break the ice with. “Where are you from?”, “Why are you here?”, “How did you find out about it?”, “What’s your name?”

The room that first night at the pot luck kick off dinner was buzzing to be sure. As human nature and the dynamics of such a potentially history making event would have it, people got involved in many types of conversations from the petty mindless talk to serious global problems and events.

I met many people that first night and saw them the next days at the concerts and fund raisers. Then we met again on the ferry boat to Alcatraz Island for the early morning sunrise spiritual ceremony. To see the people you don’t really know awake in the evening is one thing, but to see them early in the morning with the sleep barely washed out of their eyes is something else.

As time went on and the Walk started, we’d all get to see each other often in this early morning unwashed state. We’d even have to be exposed to each others morning breath at times, that’s how close we became while on the Walk.

The usual day would begin at 5:00 a.m. or so. Finding a bathroom was first and foremost, then break down the tents and stow the gear in the backpacks. Breakfast from the converted school bus turned kitchen and the organizational “circle” before the actual walking started for the day. All before 7:00 a.m. The walkers would depart following the Eagle feathered staff and the drumbeat.

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morning cuppa

the cats let me sleep a bit this morning- which was nice of them since they are hungry pigs in reality. the sun is shining today- and i plan on going for a walk today when the temperature gets above freezing. i am having my morning cuppa and not really thinking about too much. other than relationships. it is a thought that i was actually thinking about last night. i don’t really like people as a whole. lumping everyone together- patterns usually emerge with the group think and folks behave stupidly. that’s how stereotypes are born as most know. but i like a few folks on an individual level- so i guess i am not yet completely antisocial as you can probably tell, there isn’t any pattern to this narrative- but on we go… thoughts travel quicker than i can write so you’ll have to bear with. or not.

i actually started thinking about people this week because i had to interact with the public at large more. i took sister and her cat to the vet’s office- and since i drive the invisible car (although it’s candy apple red) it’s taking one’s life- in this case 3 lives- into your own hands. getting cut off; people on cell phones; not stopping at stop signs- par for the course. i sigh and flip people off under the dashboard. they don’t know it but i feel better. i don’t want to come off as a snob- because honestly- i try to find common ground with folks but there are some where you could be living in a yurt with one pot and pan- and you would still be richer than the crass folks in our culture. i expect to have folks strike up conversations in waiting places- grocery lines, laundromats, waiting rooms- but what i do not expect when talking to a complete stranger is that he will sit and scratch and play- with himself. who are these people who think that’s ok?  it must be an ignorant guy thing- because i have yet to have a conversation with a woman scratching herself.  and the spitting on the sidewalk….  i won’t even get started.

i have spoken about the neighbors before- how i don’t go to block parties anymore because i won’t be a party to their gossiping and bigoted views- so that is really the culmination of me thinking about people in general, american culture, and running away to live in a yurt in the woods.  and then i thought of all of the decent folks i have gotten to know over the past 2+ years i have been online- and a bit of my hope was renewed.  there are people out there with whom you can have a decent conversation; share ideas; debate with and so on- and if they are scratching- i don’t have to know about it.  you can seek these folks out and even though you know that there is the flip side out there- at least it’s a temporary restoration of faith in humankind.  so to all of my blog buddies and email pals- a hearty thank the stars for you!!!!  hope the sun shines for you today too.

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take a moment and read the article

from larry johnson’s ‘no quarter’

our nation’s “lonely eyes” seek a savior

“What’s behind the astonishing successes of Mike Huckabee’s and Barack Obama’s campaigns last night in Iowa? BBC correspondent Katty Kay knows. People are “fed up,” she said tonight on BBCAmerica’s exceptional hour-long news program, BBC World News America. Ms. Kay continued:

It’s the wonderful age-old mantra of “I can fix it for you by being an outsider. I am on your side.”

We are “fed up” alright. We, the people of this nation, are so desperate to get past the Bush administration that we’ve been obsessing since last year about the race for a president who won’t take office until late January 2009. In the last of his series of columns for The Guardian – which The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg says is “an unparalleled running history of the ideological and moral squalor of the George W. Bush Administration” – Sidney Blumenthal summed up how far America has fallen:

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The Warrior

round circle archives- originally posted april 19, 2007

This is a repost of something I wrote some time ago. In my mind, it deserves repeating, for the message comes from my heart and tells a great deal about what happens to many who are called to war.
Please bear with me and allow me this time and space.

The Warrior

Veterans are Warriors, men and women who are trained to kill, for society. Men and women who have taken the life of another human being. Even those Veterans that did not see action in the form of combat signed up or were drafted and followed orders. They would have given their life if asked. They would kill if they thought, at any brief moment in the throes of war, that they had to. All soldiers, no matter what their military occupation is, are taught how to go to combat before learning any other skill or specialty. In basic training, these killing skills are taught to every soldier. Killing is the soldier warrior’s job. The warrior is somehow stripped of the belief that life is too sacred to erase; then they are taught the details of exactly how to kill people. With a weapon, with their hands. They are forced to practice it over and over and over and over until it is automatic, regardless of how scared they may be. Even if their hearts are pounding or if they are scared senseless, these warriors can still load, fire, and erase the life of the human being identified as the enemy. They kill, if not for themselves, for the soldier next to them who is a trained killer like them. A Brother or Sister, and for the society that has required their services as a killer.

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happy new year!

i got all of the happies this year happy cmas, happy solstice, happy new year!!!! i don’t do resolutions anymore. i never really look forward to january anyway because it is the longest month of the year. no more lots of food or good cheer. it seems like the year starts off fresh and clean and we have a whole year to do those things we always promise ourselves we are going to do. but… somehow instantly, we get right back to our daily grind. more so because we have frittered much of the month of december off reveling. so- my thought for the upcoming year is this- live each day as if it were your last- or your loved one’s last- and realize that life is transient at best. cherish life and loved ones and try to live a life that does no harm to others or the environment. and… happy new year!
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happy christmas

i don’t say merry too much because of my upstate new york accent- apparently, according to my husband, it comes out sounding like ‘mary’- so rather than get picked on- i circumvent i gave up the belief that this is a celebration of a divine baby years ago- but i know that many out there believe it wholeheartedly- so i am declaring a moratorium today (for myself) on negative christian references. this time of year has changed so much for me over my lifetime that it’s hard to imagine sometimes- but this year has been one of reflection for me- and many others it seems- so it seems right somehow to reminisce. i think that part of the whole magic of the season for me- was santa claus. not just for the gifts- i mean what kid doesn’t fantasize about having any gift they ask for?- but the whole story. a great big elf man in a red suit who is magic. when i lived in florida, he came by helicoptor and when we moved back north with snow- it was a sleigh and reindeer. neat. and- hey- he knew if i had hit my sister in the head again or if she had bitten me on the arm and left marks- but he also knew that we had pulled it together in time for cmas- and been good for what seemed like foreeeevver!!!

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