Wow! After all this time, the CDP has officially recognized our Progressive Caucus at this weekend's E-Board meeting in Sacramento. It's been a long haul and we are grateful that the Rules Committee saw fit to realize that we represent a large and growing group of Democrats who want to see our Party flourish while moving in a more progressive direction.
Go to this site for more info:
http://www.progressivecaucusCDP.org
Dotty
Monday, August 01, 2005
Friday, July 29, 2005
CONDALEEZZA RICE EXORCISES THE NEWS HOUR
On Jim Lehrer last night Condaleezza Rice got a chance to weave her spell. Got to hand it to the lady. She looks him right in the eye and doesn't twitch or blink excessively when she accuses people of "making excuses" for terrorism.
Here's an exact transcript of the segment followed by how I wish the rest of the interview had gone:
TRANSCRIPT:
JIM LEHRER: What about the additional element here that, increasingly, terrorism experts and Muslim experts are saying that the combination of Iraq and other foreign policy decisions by the United States are actually creating more terrorists every day than they are eliminating them.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: When we are going to stop making excuses for the terrorists? The terrorists on Sept. 11 attacked the United States. We weren't in Iraq. We weren't even in Afghanistan on Sept. 11.
They have attacked in places that had no forces in either place. They've attacked all over the world. They've attacked in Morocco and in Bali and in Egypt and in London and in Madrid.
When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill. And they want to kill in the name of a perverted ideology that really is not Islam, but they somehow want to claim that mantle to say that this is about some kind of grievance. This isn't about some kind of grievance. This is an effort to destroy, rather than to build.
And until everybody in the world calls it by name -- the evil that it is -- stops making excuses for them, then I think we're going to have a problem. And I hope that after the bombings of innocent people in London, innocent people at Sharm el-Sheikh, innocent children in Iraq, that people will call this by name and stop making excuses for these people.
No one is making them do it. They're doing it because they want to create chaos and to undermine our way to life.
END REAL TRANSCRIPT, START FANTASY TRANSCRIPT:
Lehrer: Wow, you said it four times in one monologue. People are making excuses for the terrorists. Care to elaborate?
Condi: I said what I said. People make excuses. It's the liberal media, wanting to give them therapy and understanding. They don't need therapy; they need exorcism.
Lehrer: That's a tall order. Exorcism. Does that mean you think they have the Devil inside?
Condi: They're terrorists. Nobody made them do it. They're evil.
Lehrer: Wait a minute, if they're evil and need exorcism, didn't the Devil make them do it; isn't that what you're saying?
Condi: Stop twisting my words. They're evil and they like to kill. Stop making excuses.
Lehrer: Who's making excuses. Did the Devil make them do it or not?
Condi: That's not for me to say.
Lehrer: But how do they get to be evil? Are they born that way, or is it a lifestyle choice?
Condi: It's a choice, it's the way they are; it's not for me to say. Stop putting words in my mouth!
Lehrer: Is it like being gay?
Condi: That's a lifestyle choice and I'm here to talk about evil, and people who want to kill Americans and undermine our way of life.
Lehrer: Because they're evil?
Condi: And they want to create chaos. It's just how they are. They hate Americans and our way of life, and I wish people would stop trying to make excuses.
Lehrer: But why do they hate our way of life?
Condi: I keep telling you, they're evil; they're perverted and evil and they hate us and they like to kill. Got it? Hate us. Like to kill.
Lehrer: And we hate them and looks like we like to kill them too. Or torture them; what about Abu Graib?
Condi: What about it? Those people are evil.
Lehere: The detainees or the ones torturing them?
Condi: We don't torture people. And anyway, I told you, they're evil. Kill the evil. Kill the Devil. Anyway, it's exorcism. Cleansing. You liberals ought to like that.
Lehrer: So is this a Christian thing? A Catholic thing?
Condi: Let me be perfectly clear. We are not advocating one religion over the other. Most Muslims are good people. It’s the perverted ones, the evil ones, don’t you get it?
Lehrer: I guess not. So do you think our killing them is helping? I mean, are we getting rid of the Devil if we kill them?
Condi: Exorcising them. Exorcising the Devil. Stop making excuses.
Lehrer: OK, let’s move on. About John Bolton
Condi: Man of peace. Whip that evil UN into line. I mean exorcise it. Look at all the evil countries on the Security Council. There's a lot of work to do there, let me tell you.
Here's an exact transcript of the segment followed by how I wish the rest of the interview had gone:
TRANSCRIPT:
JIM LEHRER: What about the additional element here that, increasingly, terrorism experts and Muslim experts are saying that the combination of Iraq and other foreign policy decisions by the United States are actually creating more terrorists every day than they are eliminating them.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: When we are going to stop making excuses for the terrorists? The terrorists on Sept. 11 attacked the United States. We weren't in Iraq. We weren't even in Afghanistan on Sept. 11.
They have attacked in places that had no forces in either place. They've attacked all over the world. They've attacked in Morocco and in Bali and in Egypt and in London and in Madrid.
When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill. And they want to kill in the name of a perverted ideology that really is not Islam, but they somehow want to claim that mantle to say that this is about some kind of grievance. This isn't about some kind of grievance. This is an effort to destroy, rather than to build.
And until everybody in the world calls it by name -- the evil that it is -- stops making excuses for them, then I think we're going to have a problem. And I hope that after the bombings of innocent people in London, innocent people at Sharm el-Sheikh, innocent children in Iraq, that people will call this by name and stop making excuses for these people.
No one is making them do it. They're doing it because they want to create chaos and to undermine our way to life.
END REAL TRANSCRIPT, START FANTASY TRANSCRIPT:
Lehrer: Wow, you said it four times in one monologue. People are making excuses for the terrorists. Care to elaborate?
Condi: I said what I said. People make excuses. It's the liberal media, wanting to give them therapy and understanding. They don't need therapy; they need exorcism.
Lehrer: That's a tall order. Exorcism. Does that mean you think they have the Devil inside?
Condi: They're terrorists. Nobody made them do it. They're evil.
Lehrer: Wait a minute, if they're evil and need exorcism, didn't the Devil make them do it; isn't that what you're saying?
Condi: Stop twisting my words. They're evil and they like to kill. Stop making excuses.
Lehrer: Who's making excuses. Did the Devil make them do it or not?
Condi: That's not for me to say.
Lehrer: But how do they get to be evil? Are they born that way, or is it a lifestyle choice?
Condi: It's a choice, it's the way they are; it's not for me to say. Stop putting words in my mouth!
Lehrer: Is it like being gay?
Condi: That's a lifestyle choice and I'm here to talk about evil, and people who want to kill Americans and undermine our way of life.
Lehrer: Because they're evil?
Condi: And they want to create chaos. It's just how they are. They hate Americans and our way of life, and I wish people would stop trying to make excuses.
Lehrer: But why do they hate our way of life?
Condi: I keep telling you, they're evil; they're perverted and evil and they hate us and they like to kill. Got it? Hate us. Like to kill.
Lehrer: And we hate them and looks like we like to kill them too. Or torture them; what about Abu Graib?
Condi: What about it? Those people are evil.
Lehere: The detainees or the ones torturing them?
Condi: We don't torture people. And anyway, I told you, they're evil. Kill the evil. Kill the Devil. Anyway, it's exorcism. Cleansing. You liberals ought to like that.
Lehrer: So is this a Christian thing? A Catholic thing?
Condi: Let me be perfectly clear. We are not advocating one religion over the other. Most Muslims are good people. It’s the perverted ones, the evil ones, don’t you get it?
Lehrer: I guess not. So do you think our killing them is helping? I mean, are we getting rid of the Devil if we kill them?
Condi: Exorcising them. Exorcising the Devil. Stop making excuses.
Lehrer: OK, let’s move on. About John Bolton
Condi: Man of peace. Whip that evil UN into line. I mean exorcise it. Look at all the evil countries on the Security Council. There's a lot of work to do there, let me tell you.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
NEW CLASS IN PRACTICAL POLITICS SEPTEMBER 17
Another Activist Training Class in PRACTICAL POLITICS is coming up September 17, at the College of Marin.
Here's an example of some of the things we will be discussing this time.
Save the date. More to come.
Any questions, email me at del@greendogcampaigns.com
Our last class filled up, so register early!
Dotty
Friday, July 22, 2005
Pay for NO Services
I see in today's San Francisco Chronicle that Wells Fargo Bank is willing to let you not have your identify stolen if you pay them $12.99 a month.
In the same edition, an outfit called Direct Marketing Association will put your name on the Do Not Call list for a mere $1. There's only one catch. You have to be dead.
Otherwise, your family will be bombarded with telemarketers trying to sell their deceased loved ones goods and services, cemetery plots and wreaths I presume.
We already learned that magazines are the gift that keeps on giving unless you take affirmative steps to cancel instead of using that old fashioned method of letting the subscription lapse.
What's next? Will the IRS stop sending you tax bills after you lose your job for a mere $5.00 per month?
Will magazine and newspapers subscriptions returned marked "deceased" on them, be discontinued only if accompanied by a $20 bill?
Will your credit card company promise not to broadcast your secret pin number on the internet if you cough up $5.99 with each purchase.
It's enough to make you want to join the economic underground. In my youth, cash was king and most of my friends kept their "savings" in a jewelry box or cookie jar, but that was only because as starving students, our savings amounted to a few dollars, and lasted only a few days.
We didn't need banks or credit cards, and we didn't have the internet to purchase items on, so identity theft was kept to a minimum: younger siblings "borrowing" our driver's license for a night on the town; pizzas being ordered by rival fraternity houses.
Property theft was kept in check too. Not too many burglars coveted the ancient black and white TV inherited from parents, or the 8 track tape player. Mortgages were unheard of.
This new fervor for charging you NOT to be ripped off is really nothing new. Anyone familiar with gangster movies, most of them starring Robert Di Niro, knows the ploy. Pay up or get your kneecaps whacked.
Who'd a thunk the Mob would take over all the financial institutions of this country? But then, who'd a thunk Alfred E. Newman would be in the White House?
In the same edition, an outfit called Direct Marketing Association will put your name on the Do Not Call list for a mere $1. There's only one catch. You have to be dead.
Otherwise, your family will be bombarded with telemarketers trying to sell their deceased loved ones goods and services, cemetery plots and wreaths I presume.
We already learned that magazines are the gift that keeps on giving unless you take affirmative steps to cancel instead of using that old fashioned method of letting the subscription lapse.
What's next? Will the IRS stop sending you tax bills after you lose your job for a mere $5.00 per month?
Will magazine and newspapers subscriptions returned marked "deceased" on them, be discontinued only if accompanied by a $20 bill?
Will your credit card company promise not to broadcast your secret pin number on the internet if you cough up $5.99 with each purchase.
It's enough to make you want to join the economic underground. In my youth, cash was king and most of my friends kept their "savings" in a jewelry box or cookie jar, but that was only because as starving students, our savings amounted to a few dollars, and lasted only a few days.
We didn't need banks or credit cards, and we didn't have the internet to purchase items on, so identity theft was kept to a minimum: younger siblings "borrowing" our driver's license for a night on the town; pizzas being ordered by rival fraternity houses.
Property theft was kept in check too. Not too many burglars coveted the ancient black and white TV inherited from parents, or the 8 track tape player. Mortgages were unheard of.
This new fervor for charging you NOT to be ripped off is really nothing new. Anyone familiar with gangster movies, most of them starring Robert Di Niro, knows the ploy. Pay up or get your kneecaps whacked.
Who'd a thunk the Mob would take over all the financial institutions of this country? But then, who'd a thunk Alfred E. Newman would be in the White House?
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Kudos for Lynn Woolsey
Here are some comments by that erudite scholar, Thomas Gangale, author of the innovative approach to Presidential primary campaigns originally known as the "California Plan."
Tom will comment more on this after this post, so go to the comment section and check in.
Let the Green Dog know what you think.
Dotty
Here's Tom's post on our very own Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey:
Woolsey's Sound Bites for Peace
Copyright 2005 by Thomas Gangale
In reading Chris Coursey's "Opposing War in Five-Minute Increments," which
appeared in the "Santa Rosa Press Democrat" on March 28, 2005, I gained an
increased admiration for Rep. Lynn Woolsey. Her lonely evening vigil in the
nearly-deserted House chamber, where she bears witness to the folly and
evil of war, may seem quixotic on the surface. On the contrary, her
campaign against the Iraq War is exactly the sort that one should wage
against an opponent of superior force: small, incremental victories that
wear down that opponent over time. It is the strategy of Fabius over
Hannibal, Washington over Cornwallis, Giap over Abrams.
Nearly 2200 years ago, Marcus Porcius Cato the Censor invented the sound
bite by ending every speech in the Roman Senate, regardless of its subject,
with the words "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" -- "In
conclusion, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed." One can imagine
that Cato's colleagues thought him quixotic, and some may have laughed at
him in secret when he brandished a branch of figs, allegedly of
Carthaginian origin, as "proof" of Carthage's resurgence as a Mediterranean
power and a mortal threat to Rome. Yet armed with this flimsy evidence,
much as Colin Powell played tape recordings to the UN Security Council two
years ago, Cato eventually won the day. Carthage was destroyed.
But Cato could not have foreseen the consequences of victory. Whereas many
of his contemporaries were only too glad to believe that Rome's pre-emptive
war against Carthage was an act of self-defense, history has judged
otherwise. Rome paid dearly for its hubris; in the course of the next
century its republic was battered down by its own imperialism. Rome was
destroyed.
Quo vadis, America?
It is a historical fact that the persistent drumbeat of oratory can drive a
great nation down the road to war. Perhaps our generation can answer this
question: can the patient vigil of one person of conscience move a great
nation down the road to peace?
In conclusion, I believe that Lynn Woolsey must be reelected.
-----
Thomas Gangale is an aerospace engineer and a former Air Force officer. He
is currently the executive director at OPS-Alaska, a think tank based in
Petaluma, California, and an international relations scholar at San
Francisco State University. He is the author of the California Plan to
reform the presidential nomination process.
Tom will comment more on this after this post, so go to the comment section and check in.
Let the Green Dog know what you think.
Dotty
Here's Tom's post on our very own Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey:
Woolsey's Sound Bites for Peace
Copyright 2005 by Thomas Gangale
In reading Chris Coursey's "Opposing War in Five-Minute Increments," which
appeared in the "Santa Rosa Press Democrat" on March 28, 2005, I gained an
increased admiration for Rep. Lynn Woolsey. Her lonely evening vigil in the
nearly-deserted House chamber, where she bears witness to the folly and
evil of war, may seem quixotic on the surface. On the contrary, her
campaign against the Iraq War is exactly the sort that one should wage
against an opponent of superior force: small, incremental victories that
wear down that opponent over time. It is the strategy of Fabius over
Hannibal, Washington over Cornwallis, Giap over Abrams.
Nearly 2200 years ago, Marcus Porcius Cato the Censor invented the sound
bite by ending every speech in the Roman Senate, regardless of its subject,
with the words "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" -- "In
conclusion, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed." One can imagine
that Cato's colleagues thought him quixotic, and some may have laughed at
him in secret when he brandished a branch of figs, allegedly of
Carthaginian origin, as "proof" of Carthage's resurgence as a Mediterranean
power and a mortal threat to Rome. Yet armed with this flimsy evidence,
much as Colin Powell played tape recordings to the UN Security Council two
years ago, Cato eventually won the day. Carthage was destroyed.
But Cato could not have foreseen the consequences of victory. Whereas many
of his contemporaries were only too glad to believe that Rome's pre-emptive
war against Carthage was an act of self-defense, history has judged
otherwise. Rome paid dearly for its hubris; in the course of the next
century its republic was battered down by its own imperialism. Rome was
destroyed.
Quo vadis, America?
It is a historical fact that the persistent drumbeat of oratory can drive a
great nation down the road to war. Perhaps our generation can answer this
question: can the patient vigil of one person of conscience move a great
nation down the road to peace?
In conclusion, I believe that Lynn Woolsey must be reelected.
-----
Thomas Gangale is an aerospace engineer and a former Air Force officer. He
is currently the executive director at OPS-Alaska, a think tank based in
Petaluma, California, and an international relations scholar at San
Francisco State University. He is the author of the California Plan to
reform the presidential nomination process.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER
We must be official! We now have a website and newsletter for the California Democratic Progressive Caucus. This is YOUR home if you are a progressive Democrat and want to meet like minded individuals and help advance progressive values.
The website is http://progressivecaucuscdp.org Go there and sign up for the newsletter or to work on a committee or support progressive legislation.
Here are some excerpts from the first newsletter:
IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS!
Submitted to the Resolutions Committee of the CDP this past week, the impeachment resolution is the talk of the town!
special thanks to Joye Swan for the crafting of this critical resolution!
"WHEREAS, the Downing Street Meeting Minutes show that President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld began planning and executing the illegal war against and occupation of Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;
WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, there is further mounting evidence that the Administration lied to or misled the American people and the world about IraqÂ’s weapons capacity and plotted to commence war proceedings prior to seeking UN or Congressional approval as revealed by the following statements contained in the 2002 Downing Street Meeting Minutes, "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action! , justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Progressive Caucus asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.
You are encouraged to take these resolutions and get them passed, or endorsed by any other clubs or groups you are additionally affiliated with, and contact the Progressive Caucus about sponsorship;
progressivecaucusCDPinfo@hotmail.com
Now is the time.
This is the place.
Progressives unite.
Green Dog Democrats Bite the Right!
The website is http://progressivecaucuscdp.org Go there and sign up for the newsletter or to work on a committee or support progressive legislation.
Here are some excerpts from the first newsletter:
IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS!
Submitted to the Resolutions Committee of the CDP this past week, the impeachment resolution is the talk of the town!
special thanks to Joye Swan for the crafting of this critical resolution!
"WHEREAS, the Downing Street Meeting Minutes show that President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld began planning and executing the illegal war against and occupation of Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;
WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, there is further mounting evidence that the Administration lied to or misled the American people and the world about IraqÂ’s weapons capacity and plotted to commence war proceedings prior to seeking UN or Congressional approval as revealed by the following statements contained in the 2002 Downing Street Meeting Minutes, "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action! , justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Progressive Caucus asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.
You are encouraged to take these resolutions and get them passed, or endorsed by any other clubs or groups you are additionally affiliated with, and contact the Progressive Caucus about sponsorship;
progressivecaucusCDPinfo@hotmail.com
Now is the time.
This is the place.
Progressives unite.
Green Dog Democrats Bite the Right!
Monday, June 20, 2005
FIFTY OVER FIFTY
The first few nominations are coming in for Fifty Over Fifty. We Boomers and older folk need to celebrate our acheivements. I can think of several. But I want to hear from you. Who has done something wonderful, artistic, innovative, amazing, etc. after the age of fity?
Here are two to get the ball rolling!
I nominate Lynne Twist..
A global activist, author, and fundraiser who has raised more than $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes, has dedicated years of her life to the eradication of hunger on the planet and plays an active role in The Pachamama Alliance support indigenous people She demonstrates the human qualities of deep compassion for humanity, vision for a workable future, understanding of complex global problems and a desire to make a difference one person at a time! Thanks Judy
Wendi Kallins
In 1999, Wendi Kallins, then 47, began research into a program that would
encourage children to explore transportation alternatives, while using the
"Walkability Audit", a citizen's process for creating more walkable
communities, specifically for schools. She found the Safe Routes to Schools
program in England and Canada, which was exactly this combination.
Working with friend, Deb Hubsmith, they put together a number of grants, including being designated a "national model" program by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. With cash in hand she launched the Marin County Safe
Routes to Schools program. In two years they had succeeded in increasing
the number of kids walking and biking in their pilot schools from 21% to
38%. The County of Marin Congestion Management Agency adopted the program
and it soon grew to over 40 schools.
Last year they were able to reduce traffic congestion by 13% in participating schools. the program promotes a healthy lifestyle, reduced congestion and pollution and helps to create more livable communities. Now, at age 53, Wendi is recognized as one of the national leaders in the Safe Routes to Schools movement and travels the country speaking at conferences, conducting trainings and consulting with
other SR2S programs. Marin County passed a 1/2 cent sales tax which includes 11% funding for Safe Routes to Schools including money for the program, crossing guards and infrastructure.
Wendi
Wendi Kallins
Program Director
Safe Routes to Schools
More to come. Send in your own now. Don't be shy. Nominate yourself!
And more have come in:
Interesting to note, so far they are all women!
Cool. Here they are:
Hi Dotty,
I'd like to nominate Barbara George from Women's Energy Matters who
works away defending us from Utility corruption and 'impostors' like
CPUC commissioner Susan Kennedy, with humor and flare at the CPUC -
all basically under the radar. Her website is
www.womensenergymatters.org. She has been living in Fairfax for the
last 6 months.
Thanks ,
Rebekah Collins
I would like to nominate Joyce Seigel. Joyce has been a tireless worker for Gun Control in Marin County. She is responsible for an ordinance which banned in-home gun dealers in San Rafael, she worked to rid the county of Saturday Night specials, and she was instumental in getting the ordinance passed that banned firarms and ammunition on County property. (Because of this ordinance, Marin no longer hosts a gun show on Thanksgivig weekend.) She volunteers weekly for Legal Community Against Violence, LCAV. Joyce is a housewife and is little bit over 50, but is dedicated to making the county safer.
Barbara Matas
Dotty, Katherine Graham popped in my mind first thing. Here is what is said about her on the web site (which I found by googling). It was obviously written before her death. She became president of the Washington Post Company at 46 and publisher at 52. Does that qualify? From http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/sci_biz/graham.html:
Mike
From attending movies with Henry Kissinger to helping expose the Watergate scandal, Katherine Graham has been always been in the spotlight.
Her remarkable ability to assume the publishership of a major national newspaper, The Washington Post, and control of a Fortune 500 company, the Washington Post Co., was an incredible accomplishment for anyone, particularly a woman in the 1960s.
In her Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirs, "Personal History," Graham shared the story of her rise to success. Hers is a tale filled with characters such as Warren Buffet, Robert McNamara and George Schultz.
Graham's father was a multimillionaire who in 1933 decided to leave private business and restore the down-and-out Washington Post.
After much success, he died in 1946. He left the newspaper to Graham's husband.
"My father said to me, and I certainly went along with it, that 'No man should work for his wife,'" she recounted in her memoir.
Her husband, who suffered from manic depression, committed suicide in 1963. Graham became president of the company following his death.
"I had very little idea of what I was supposed to be doing, so I set out to learn," she said. "What I essentially did was to put one foot in front of the other, shut my eyes, and step off the edge."
In 1969, Graham was named publisher of The Washington Post, a title she held for a decade. In addition, she's served as the Washington Post Co.'s chief executive officer and chairman of the board.
Dotty
Here are two to get the ball rolling!
I nominate Lynne Twist..
A global activist, author, and fundraiser who has raised more than $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes, has dedicated years of her life to the eradication of hunger on the planet and plays an active role in The Pachamama Alliance support indigenous people She demonstrates the human qualities of deep compassion for humanity, vision for a workable future, understanding of complex global problems and a desire to make a difference one person at a time! Thanks Judy
Wendi Kallins
In 1999, Wendi Kallins, then 47, began research into a program that would
encourage children to explore transportation alternatives, while using the
"Walkability Audit", a citizen's process for creating more walkable
communities, specifically for schools. She found the Safe Routes to Schools
program in England and Canada, which was exactly this combination.
Working with friend, Deb Hubsmith, they put together a number of grants, including being designated a "national model" program by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. With cash in hand she launched the Marin County Safe
Routes to Schools program. In two years they had succeeded in increasing
the number of kids walking and biking in their pilot schools from 21% to
38%. The County of Marin Congestion Management Agency adopted the program
and it soon grew to over 40 schools.
Last year they were able to reduce traffic congestion by 13% in participating schools. the program promotes a healthy lifestyle, reduced congestion and pollution and helps to create more livable communities. Now, at age 53, Wendi is recognized as one of the national leaders in the Safe Routes to Schools movement and travels the country speaking at conferences, conducting trainings and consulting with
other SR2S programs. Marin County passed a 1/2 cent sales tax which includes 11% funding for Safe Routes to Schools including money for the program, crossing guards and infrastructure.
Wendi
Wendi Kallins
Program Director
Safe Routes to Schools
More to come. Send in your own now. Don't be shy. Nominate yourself!
And more have come in:
Interesting to note, so far they are all women!
Cool. Here they are:
Hi Dotty,
I'd like to nominate Barbara George from Women's Energy Matters who
works away defending us from Utility corruption and 'impostors' like
CPUC commissioner Susan Kennedy, with humor and flare at the CPUC -
all basically under the radar. Her website is
www.womensenergymatters.org. She has been living in Fairfax for the
last 6 months.
Thanks ,
Rebekah Collins
I would like to nominate Joyce Seigel. Joyce has been a tireless worker for Gun Control in Marin County. She is responsible for an ordinance which banned in-home gun dealers in San Rafael, she worked to rid the county of Saturday Night specials, and she was instumental in getting the ordinance passed that banned firarms and ammunition on County property. (Because of this ordinance, Marin no longer hosts a gun show on Thanksgivig weekend.) She volunteers weekly for Legal Community Against Violence, LCAV. Joyce is a housewife and is little bit over 50, but is dedicated to making the county safer.
Barbara Matas
Dotty, Katherine Graham popped in my mind first thing. Here is what is said about her on the web site (which I found by googling). It was obviously written before her death. She became president of the Washington Post Company at 46 and publisher at 52. Does that qualify? From http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/sci_biz/graham.html:
Mike
From attending movies with Henry Kissinger to helping expose the Watergate scandal, Katherine Graham has been always been in the spotlight.
Her remarkable ability to assume the publishership of a major national newspaper, The Washington Post, and control of a Fortune 500 company, the Washington Post Co., was an incredible accomplishment for anyone, particularly a woman in the 1960s.
In her Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirs, "Personal History," Graham shared the story of her rise to success. Hers is a tale filled with characters such as Warren Buffet, Robert McNamara and George Schultz.
Graham's father was a multimillionaire who in 1933 decided to leave private business and restore the down-and-out Washington Post.
After much success, he died in 1946. He left the newspaper to Graham's husband.
"My father said to me, and I certainly went along with it, that 'No man should work for his wife,'" she recounted in her memoir.
Her husband, who suffered from manic depression, committed suicide in 1963. Graham became president of the company following his death.
"I had very little idea of what I was supposed to be doing, so I set out to learn," she said. "What I essentially did was to put one foot in front of the other, shut my eyes, and step off the edge."
In 1969, Graham was named publisher of The Washington Post, a title she held for a decade. In addition, she's served as the Washington Post Co.'s chief executive officer and chairman of the board.
Dotty
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Democrats Behaving Stupidly
I know I'll get flack for this because we are supposed to be pulling together for the good of the Party. But I'm here to tell you, from all outward appearances, there's no one minding the store.
Feeling in a feisty mood, I turned my TV to Hardball last night. Who would be skewered tonight? Oh goodie, I thought, he's got a Democratic and Republican strategist squaring off against each other on the Bolton and upcoming Court nominations. I settled in for a good debate.
The Republican was a chipmunk faced fellow with pasted on plastic hair. The Democratic side was represented by a perky 30 something. Her hair was tastefully frosted. She looked spirited.
What happened next was pathetic. Ok, I know Chris Matthews' job is to lob zingers across the plate so fast you can't catch your breath, but don't they prepare people for this show?
Mr. Plastic Hair was cool calm and collected. The Reps, besides providing a pre-program intensive with Carl Rove or the like, probably have the foresight to slip their guy some valium.
Besides snorting in derision and making faces at Mr. Plastic Hair's comments, "our" girl (and I say that in all deliberateness) took spirited to new heights, twitching and bouncing in her seat as she managed to completely blow questions on the line of "when did you stop beating your wife?"
Here's a virtual transcript of the exchange. Chris Matthews: "Are the Democrats opposed to John Bolton?"
Dem. Strategist: "Well, Yah!" Snort, twitch.
CM: "Oh, so this request for more information really IS a stalling tactic!"
Ms. DS: "Is not!"
Mr. PH: "Well, Chris, as the Republicans have pointed out time and again, if it wasn't a stalling tactic, the Dems would go for the up or down vote."
Ms. DS: "Well, of course, they don't listen to MY advice!"
CM: "Oh, you would advise them to go for the up or down vote?"
Ms. DS: "No."
Mr. PH: "I rest my case."
Ms. DS: Sputter, twitch, snort.
CM: "OK, how about the Supreme Court nominations. What if Bush nominated Antonin Scalia for Chief Justice. Would the Dems filibuster that?"
Ms. DS: "They can if they want to, so there!"
OK, I exaggerate a little. But not much. (Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8058417/ for the actual transcript.) A 14 year old debate team member could have done a better job. A middle school teacher wouldn't let her charges loose without some advance knowledge of the format.
Or is this the best the Dems can do?
I KNOW we have progressive minds who can keep their heads even in these trying situations. Or is it a Republican plot? Was this kid a ringer masquerading as a Democratic strategist?
Who's in charge here anyway? First the Dems go all Republican lite; then they send in the Valley Girls. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to act serious, even when faced with the ludicrous. Not to say we should go all dull and pedantic. But if this girl was a Democratic Strategist, I'm James Carville.
Speaking of which, where IS the Ragin' Cajun these days? Ragin' is one thing. Twitching and blathering quite something else.
I hope someone is noticing the difference. Dr. Dean, are you paying attention?
Feeling in a feisty mood, I turned my TV to Hardball last night. Who would be skewered tonight? Oh goodie, I thought, he's got a Democratic and Republican strategist squaring off against each other on the Bolton and upcoming Court nominations. I settled in for a good debate.
The Republican was a chipmunk faced fellow with pasted on plastic hair. The Democratic side was represented by a perky 30 something. Her hair was tastefully frosted. She looked spirited.
What happened next was pathetic. Ok, I know Chris Matthews' job is to lob zingers across the plate so fast you can't catch your breath, but don't they prepare people for this show?
Mr. Plastic Hair was cool calm and collected. The Reps, besides providing a pre-program intensive with Carl Rove or the like, probably have the foresight to slip their guy some valium.
Besides snorting in derision and making faces at Mr. Plastic Hair's comments, "our" girl (and I say that in all deliberateness) took spirited to new heights, twitching and bouncing in her seat as she managed to completely blow questions on the line of "when did you stop beating your wife?"
Here's a virtual transcript of the exchange. Chris Matthews: "Are the Democrats opposed to John Bolton?"
Dem. Strategist: "Well, Yah!" Snort, twitch.
CM: "Oh, so this request for more information really IS a stalling tactic!"
Ms. DS: "Is not!"
Mr. PH: "Well, Chris, as the Republicans have pointed out time and again, if it wasn't a stalling tactic, the Dems would go for the up or down vote."
Ms. DS: "Well, of course, they don't listen to MY advice!"
CM: "Oh, you would advise them to go for the up or down vote?"
Ms. DS: "No."
Mr. PH: "I rest my case."
Ms. DS: Sputter, twitch, snort.
CM: "OK, how about the Supreme Court nominations. What if Bush nominated Antonin Scalia for Chief Justice. Would the Dems filibuster that?"
Ms. DS: "They can if they want to, so there!"
OK, I exaggerate a little. But not much. (Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8058417/ for the actual transcript.) A 14 year old debate team member could have done a better job. A middle school teacher wouldn't let her charges loose without some advance knowledge of the format.
Or is this the best the Dems can do?
I KNOW we have progressive minds who can keep their heads even in these trying situations. Or is it a Republican plot? Was this kid a ringer masquerading as a Democratic strategist?
Who's in charge here anyway? First the Dems go all Republican lite; then they send in the Valley Girls. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to act serious, even when faced with the ludicrous. Not to say we should go all dull and pedantic. But if this girl was a Democratic Strategist, I'm James Carville.
Speaking of which, where IS the Ragin' Cajun these days? Ragin' is one thing. Twitching and blathering quite something else.
I hope someone is noticing the difference. Dr. Dean, are you paying attention?
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Activist Training successes
Green Dogs and Friends,
I have been pleased to have participated in some activist trainings lately, most recently my class at the College of Marin, with 36 active and eager students, ready to jump into the political fray.
Last weekend I went to beautiful Mendocino for a training of local Democrats on the art of running for office.
The photo below shows Rachel Binah, Democratic activist and member of the DNC, giving her "Rachel's Rules" for fundraising.
We had past and present members of the Board of Supervisors, City Council members, potential candidates for judge, Council and Supervisor. All in all, a successful day!
I look forward to many more, as we go forward toward 2006. Will YOU be a candidate?
Dotty the Green Dog Democrat
I have been pleased to have participated in some activist trainings lately, most recently my class at the College of Marin, with 36 active and eager students, ready to jump into the political fray.
Last weekend I went to beautiful Mendocino for a training of local Democrats on the art of running for office.
The photo below shows Rachel Binah, Democratic activist and member of the DNC, giving her "Rachel's Rules" for fundraising.
We had past and present members of the Board of Supervisors, City Council members, potential candidates for judge, Council and Supervisor. All in all, a successful day!
I look forward to many more, as we go forward toward 2006. Will YOU be a candidate?
Dotty the Green Dog Democrat
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
NEWSWEEK OR NEWSPEAK?
Everyone in the Administration is all atwitter over Newsweek Magazine's printing of an uncorroborated story of a Quoran being flushed down the toilet at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.
It really isn't the content of the story that has them concerned; these stories have existed for awhile; But now says White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, "The image of the United States abroad has been damaged" by such an action that has the righteous Righties up in arms.
The damage done to the "image" of the United States? The image they are trying to portray as spreading democracy and freedom around the world by invading countries and occupying them and killing thousands of civilians into the process?
The good image of America rooting out terrorism by detaining uncharged Muslims and holding them for months or sending them to countries where they can be tortured or worse? Or maybe it's our unblemished image as a caretaker of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq?
Which image of America has been so tarnished? Oh, it must be the one of America as installers of puppet regimes in Afghanistan or maybe stealers of oil or desecration of Mosques or shooting of Italian journalists, or....
America specializes in symbolic desecration of the Quoran every day. That's probably one reason it was not surprising to hear about an actual physical desecration.
Who should be apologizing to the Muslim world, to the whole world, for conduct unbecoming a Democratic Superpower?
It really isn't the content of the story that has them concerned; these stories have existed for awhile; But now says White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, "The image of the United States abroad has been damaged" by such an action that has the righteous Righties up in arms.
The damage done to the "image" of the United States? The image they are trying to portray as spreading democracy and freedom around the world by invading countries and occupying them and killing thousands of civilians into the process?
The good image of America rooting out terrorism by detaining uncharged Muslims and holding them for months or sending them to countries where they can be tortured or worse? Or maybe it's our unblemished image as a caretaker of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq?
Which image of America has been so tarnished? Oh, it must be the one of America as installers of puppet regimes in Afghanistan or maybe stealers of oil or desecration of Mosques or shooting of Italian journalists, or....
America specializes in symbolic desecration of the Quoran every day. That's probably one reason it was not surprising to hear about an actual physical desecration.
Who should be apologizing to the Muslim world, to the whole world, for conduct unbecoming a Democratic Superpower?
Thursday, May 12, 2005
CULTURE OF DEATH
THE CULTURE OF DEATH:
WHO OWNS IT?
The Culture of Death does not belong to Islamic fundamentalists. Who worships a dead guy on a cross? Who sends its young into warfare ill equipped and unprepared? Who rains down bombs on people who have done them no harm?
While Islamic fundamentalists with nothing to lose may look forward to an afterlife with plentiful nooky, Christian fundamentalists are trying to bring about Armageddon, that time when death and destruction will overwhelm the earth and the "saved" will ascend to Heaven to sit on the right hand of God. Sounds boring compared to 72 virgins, but it's a Culture of Death nonetheless.
When I heard Air America's Randi Rhodes talking about the "culture of Death" as being practiced by the Muslim terrorists (in a somewhat twisted explanation on how we can’t hope to win in Iraq, because those who are resisting us practice a culture of death, meaning they never give up, same as the Japanese in WWII, that's why we had to bomb them into smithereens), I figured the term had originated with some right wing-nut to describe Moslem extremism.
Thomas Friedman says it’s taught in Saudi Schools. Right wingers says Muslims hate life and revere death; so what do you expect? They hate us because we want to be alive, and they just want to hurry up and die already. Couldn't it be that they want to live their lives too, and if we let them do so without US troops and bases, and sanctions and bombs, they’d do it.
So I Googled Culture of Death. And I found that this is a catch phrase used to describe all manner of people-who-don't-think-like-we-do. Abortion is a Culture of Death, Assisted Suicide in Oregon is a Culture of Death, Marxism is a Culture of Death, of course, the Holocaust may have been the best known example of the Culture of Death, then there's Columbine, and the War in Iraq represents the Bush Administration’s Culture of Death.
Look it up yourself, Google Culture of Death, you'll be amazed.
So I got to thinking it over, and whoa Nelly, the Muslims have nothing on the Christians in the Culture of Death Department. What do the Christians worship? A dead guy on a cross and bunch of martyred saints.
Also, the fundamentalists have this thing about "rapture" which seems to involve the death of the whole world. Armageddon will destroy the earth, and let the "saved" ascend into Heaven, where they get to sit at the right hand of the Lord. I envision quite bit of jockeying for position, unless God multiplies his right hand so there’s one for everyone. Or maybe one or two will actually get the go.
The rest of us will damned to eternal hellfire, or worse, aeons of pestilence, plague, boils, locust and all manner of environmental destruction. These guys are so serious about this that they are actively trying to hurry it up through promoting turmoil in the Middle East.
James Watt, remember him? former Secretary of the Interior, said "When the last tree falls, the rapture will come" or words to that effect.
Death of the earth, death of the soldiers, the Iraqis, the poor people and ascension to the right hand of God for the "good" people.
Who has a Culture of Death?
WHO OWNS IT?
The Culture of Death does not belong to Islamic fundamentalists. Who worships a dead guy on a cross? Who sends its young into warfare ill equipped and unprepared? Who rains down bombs on people who have done them no harm?
While Islamic fundamentalists with nothing to lose may look forward to an afterlife with plentiful nooky, Christian fundamentalists are trying to bring about Armageddon, that time when death and destruction will overwhelm the earth and the "saved" will ascend to Heaven to sit on the right hand of God. Sounds boring compared to 72 virgins, but it's a Culture of Death nonetheless.
When I heard Air America's Randi Rhodes talking about the "culture of Death" as being practiced by the Muslim terrorists (in a somewhat twisted explanation on how we can’t hope to win in Iraq, because those who are resisting us practice a culture of death, meaning they never give up, same as the Japanese in WWII, that's why we had to bomb them into smithereens), I figured the term had originated with some right wing-nut to describe Moslem extremism.
Thomas Friedman says it’s taught in Saudi Schools. Right wingers says Muslims hate life and revere death; so what do you expect? They hate us because we want to be alive, and they just want to hurry up and die already. Couldn't it be that they want to live their lives too, and if we let them do so without US troops and bases, and sanctions and bombs, they’d do it.
So I Googled Culture of Death. And I found that this is a catch phrase used to describe all manner of people-who-don't-think-like-we-do. Abortion is a Culture of Death, Assisted Suicide in Oregon is a Culture of Death, Marxism is a Culture of Death, of course, the Holocaust may have been the best known example of the Culture of Death, then there's Columbine, and the War in Iraq represents the Bush Administration’s Culture of Death.
Look it up yourself, Google Culture of Death, you'll be amazed.
So I got to thinking it over, and whoa Nelly, the Muslims have nothing on the Christians in the Culture of Death Department. What do the Christians worship? A dead guy on a cross and bunch of martyred saints.
Also, the fundamentalists have this thing about "rapture" which seems to involve the death of the whole world. Armageddon will destroy the earth, and let the "saved" ascend into Heaven, where they get to sit at the right hand of the Lord. I envision quite bit of jockeying for position, unless God multiplies his right hand so there’s one for everyone. Or maybe one or two will actually get the go.
The rest of us will damned to eternal hellfire, or worse, aeons of pestilence, plague, boils, locust and all manner of environmental destruction. These guys are so serious about this that they are actively trying to hurry it up through promoting turmoil in the Middle East.
James Watt, remember him? former Secretary of the Interior, said "When the last tree falls, the rapture will come" or words to that effect.
Death of the earth, death of the soldiers, the Iraqis, the poor people and ascension to the right hand of God for the "good" people.
Who has a Culture of Death?
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
FIFTY OVER FIFTY
We've all seen them, those cute stories entitled "Forty under Forty" or even "Thirty under Thirty" about young people accomplishing big things.
Well, it's time for us oldsters to have our day, us late blooming boomers. I want to write a story called "Fifty over Fifty" about fifty remarkable men and women who have come into prominence later in life.
Maybe they were homemakers, schoolteacher or insurance salespeople who launched a new career. Maybe they struggled their whole life at writing or painting or philosophizing and are finally getting the recognition they deserve.
Maybe they just came up with some brilliant idea or program that has made a difference in their community.
Whatever, as the kids say, if you know someone who could fit this description, send in their story to del@greendogcampaigns.com and I'll post the fifty winners here on the Blog. (Heck, I'll post them all, and YOU vote on the winners!)
Go ahead and nominate yourself.
Tell your friends and colleagues. This could be fun.
Dotty the Green Dog "over fifty" Democrat
Well, it's time for us oldsters to have our day, us late blooming boomers. I want to write a story called "Fifty over Fifty" about fifty remarkable men and women who have come into prominence later in life.
Maybe they were homemakers, schoolteacher or insurance salespeople who launched a new career. Maybe they struggled their whole life at writing or painting or philosophizing and are finally getting the recognition they deserve.
Maybe they just came up with some brilliant idea or program that has made a difference in their community.
Whatever, as the kids say, if you know someone who could fit this description, send in their story to del@greendogcampaigns.com and I'll post the fifty winners here on the Blog. (Heck, I'll post them all, and YOU vote on the winners!)
Go ahead and nominate yourself.
Tell your friends and colleagues. This could be fun.
Dotty the Green Dog "over fifty" Democrat
Monday, April 18, 2005
California's Progressive Caucus
Convention news. Our new California Progressive Caucus is off and running! We exceeded our expectations on Friday, April 15th with a standing room only and not enough of that at our first meeting of the California Progressive Caucus, still called Progressive Issues coalition by the powers-that-be. More than 350 people showed up, signed in and joined the Caucus. We elected officers and passed a set of by-laws.
The officers, interim until the next meeting, when we hopefully will be ratified by the State Party, will be listed here when I get all the correct names and spellings.
It was a lively and energetic crowd, ready for an opportunity to put our progressive values to work. It was a gratifying experience for those of us who have worked these many months to bring this vision to fruition. We were visited by a host of elected officials and candidates, all amazed at our numbers, all realizing that the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" is alive and well! Our own State Treasurer and gubernatorial Candidate Phil Angelides joined our Caucus on the spot! Go Phil! Watch out Ahnold!
Yay for us!
And we know we are needed when a resolution supporting single payer universal health care failed to pass on the Convention floor on Sunday morning. Despite widespread support.
We are proud that several other resolutions authored by some of our members did pass, one opposing the war in Iraq and another commending our great Senator Barbara Boxer for her courageous stands on voting rights, against Condaleezza Rice's appointment as Secretary of State and many other progressive stands. Go Barbara!
Now we send our materials on to the Rules Committee, where decisions are made. We have the numbers; we have the determination; we will work to see our Caucus recognized.
Photos from our great caucus are posted in the Blog.
Dotty the Green Dog Democrat
The officers, interim until the next meeting, when we hopefully will be ratified by the State Party, will be listed here when I get all the correct names and spellings.
It was a lively and energetic crowd, ready for an opportunity to put our progressive values to work. It was a gratifying experience for those of us who have worked these many months to bring this vision to fruition. We were visited by a host of elected officials and candidates, all amazed at our numbers, all realizing that the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" is alive and well! Our own State Treasurer and gubernatorial Candidate Phil Angelides joined our Caucus on the spot! Go Phil! Watch out Ahnold!
Yay for us!
And we know we are needed when a resolution supporting single payer universal health care failed to pass on the Convention floor on Sunday morning. Despite widespread support.
We are proud that several other resolutions authored by some of our members did pass, one opposing the war in Iraq and another commending our great Senator Barbara Boxer for her courageous stands on voting rights, against Condaleezza Rice's appointment as Secretary of State and many other progressive stands. Go Barbara!
Now we send our materials on to the Rules Committee, where decisions are made. We have the numbers; we have the determination; we will work to see our Caucus recognized.
Photos from our great caucus are posted in the Blog.
Dotty the Green Dog Democrat
Thursday, April 14, 2005
OFF TO THE CONVENTION!
Well, the time has come. The California State Democratic Convention starts tomorrow.
Our Progressive Caucus is on the agenda. Well, they're calling it the Progressive Issues coalition, but hey, that's a start! We will meet at 5 PM and elect interim officers and approve Bylaws.
We will be visited by the usual candidates and elected officials. We will be semi-official.
I will update this post with breaking news, if accessing my Blog from the convention is possible.
Question: Why don't hotels come equipped with computers for their guests? Shlepping a laptop is a pain. And I can never get mine to work from another location.
Call me techno dummy, but wouldn't that make good financial and pr sense?
Dotty
Our Progressive Caucus is on the agenda. Well, they're calling it the Progressive Issues coalition, but hey, that's a start! We will meet at 5 PM and elect interim officers and approve Bylaws.
We will be visited by the usual candidates and elected officials. We will be semi-official.
I will update this post with breaking news, if accessing my Blog from the convention is possible.
Question: Why don't hotels come equipped with computers for their guests? Shlepping a laptop is a pain. And I can never get mine to work from another location.
Call me techno dummy, but wouldn't that make good financial and pr sense?
Dotty
Friday, April 01, 2005
April No Fooling Day
MORE FROM MYSTERY BUSINESS WOMAN TRAVELING IN THE FAR EAST
March 30th The Air
I want to punch a hole through the sky in China so the people can breath. The air is thick with muck. We visit the safety supervisor of one of the many new power plants. He says it’s cheaper to pay fines for excessive sulfur release than invest in technology to reduce it.
China cannot keep up with the demands for power as industry surges and the west rushes to expand manufacturing there. But the people are living in darkness and without heat. Drive through residential areas at night, you’ll see. In the cities too, the apartments are black, save for the cool flicker of the occasional TV.
Singapore, by contrast, has a sizable middle class housed in neat, well-appointed candy-colored apartments. Designed to promote a clean, wholesome society, strict prohibitions enforced by significant fines govern all aspects of life. But Singapore cannot evade the fires raging around it. The smoky air burns the lungs and scalds the eyes. “There’s an air quality alert,” warns my taxi driver as we drive along the tiny city-state’s beautifully landscaped roads. Westerners walk and jog, chests high, arms pumping. Locals know better. The pit fires burn in neighboring Malaysia, snaking underground, uncontrollable, unpredictable, and impervious to fines.
March 30th The Air
I want to punch a hole through the sky in China so the people can breath. The air is thick with muck. We visit the safety supervisor of one of the many new power plants. He says it’s cheaper to pay fines for excessive sulfur release than invest in technology to reduce it.
China cannot keep up with the demands for power as industry surges and the west rushes to expand manufacturing there. But the people are living in darkness and without heat. Drive through residential areas at night, you’ll see. In the cities too, the apartments are black, save for the cool flicker of the occasional TV.
Singapore, by contrast, has a sizable middle class housed in neat, well-appointed candy-colored apartments. Designed to promote a clean, wholesome society, strict prohibitions enforced by significant fines govern all aspects of life. But Singapore cannot evade the fires raging around it. The smoky air burns the lungs and scalds the eyes. “There’s an air quality alert,” warns my taxi driver as we drive along the tiny city-state’s beautifully landscaped roads. Westerners walk and jog, chests high, arms pumping. Locals know better. The pit fires burn in neighboring Malaysia, snaking underground, uncontrollable, unpredictable, and impervious to fines.
Friday, March 25, 2005
A SERIOUS TRUE STORY AND A SMALL BIT OF POLITICAL SATIRE
Serious True Story -
Amid all this talk of Terri Schiavo and “culture of life” I remember the time, in 1979, my friend Diana and I blundered into the midst of a young woman’s decision whether to “pull the plug” on her dying father. We were all trying to be writers in a small town on the coast of California and we had agreed on this afternoon of wine and literature weeks earlier.
Her father, a well known artist, had been ill for some time. Of course, we had no idea of the seriousness of the situation before we knocked on her modest cabin door.
While we were trying to decide whether it was ruder to stay or abruptly leave her alone with her decision, being discussed over the long distance telephone to the hospital in another state, she motioned us to sit down, while keeping the phone glued to her ear, punctuated by “uh huhs” and “oks” to the person at the other end.
It was her younger brother, the one who would actually say yay or nay to the doctors in charge on the other end of the phone.
We stayed the afternoon; we had come to talk poetry; we talked about end of life decisions, the cruelty of fatal diseases, the kindness of hospice, the frustrations of long distance.
We drank cheap white wine and ate stale chips. We hugged, and laughed and by the time we left, the sun was setting, the decision had been made, we were all exhausted, and we hoped we had helped a little bit.
When my own mother died twenty years later, she had the graciousness to do it all at once, sparing my sister and me such hard decisions.
Small Bit of Satire –
Headlines we’d like to see: “Bush to Clone Terry Schiavo.” “’Done with Death on My Watch,’ Says Bush.” “Bush Considers Unearthing Christian Corpses for Cloning.”
Explaining his new stance in favor of cloning certain individuals, Bush explained, “I know I used to be against it, but now I think we need to use all measures in our culture of life. If we let sick people die; if we let dead people stay dead, we have failed.”
“Except for murderers and adulterers, of course,” he quickly amended. “And Democrats” one reporter thought he heard him mumble under his breath as he left the podium.
Amid all this talk of Terri Schiavo and “culture of life” I remember the time, in 1979, my friend Diana and I blundered into the midst of a young woman’s decision whether to “pull the plug” on her dying father. We were all trying to be writers in a small town on the coast of California and we had agreed on this afternoon of wine and literature weeks earlier.
Her father, a well known artist, had been ill for some time. Of course, we had no idea of the seriousness of the situation before we knocked on her modest cabin door.
While we were trying to decide whether it was ruder to stay or abruptly leave her alone with her decision, being discussed over the long distance telephone to the hospital in another state, she motioned us to sit down, while keeping the phone glued to her ear, punctuated by “uh huhs” and “oks” to the person at the other end.
It was her younger brother, the one who would actually say yay or nay to the doctors in charge on the other end of the phone.
We stayed the afternoon; we had come to talk poetry; we talked about end of life decisions, the cruelty of fatal diseases, the kindness of hospice, the frustrations of long distance.
We drank cheap white wine and ate stale chips. We hugged, and laughed and by the time we left, the sun was setting, the decision had been made, we were all exhausted, and we hoped we had helped a little bit.
When my own mother died twenty years later, she had the graciousness to do it all at once, sparing my sister and me such hard decisions.
Small Bit of Satire –
Headlines we’d like to see: “Bush to Clone Terry Schiavo.” “’Done with Death on My Watch,’ Says Bush.” “Bush Considers Unearthing Christian Corpses for Cloning.”
Explaining his new stance in favor of cloning certain individuals, Bush explained, “I know I used to be against it, but now I think we need to use all measures in our culture of life. If we let sick people die; if we let dead people stay dead, we have failed.”
“Except for murderers and adulterers, of course,” he quickly amended. “And Democrats” one reporter thought he heard him mumble under his breath as he left the podium.
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