A video for you. Food for thought. It’s a different perspective on Obama’s actions in Libya than those who know me might expect me to willingly post. And definitely a different perspective on Bush and Iraq. Still, I think it’s worth pondering.
Category Archives: politics
A Better World
I have to admire Jon Stewart’s thoughts on the tragedy in Tucson.
Stewart is a fine humorist, easily one of the best satirical observers of current events we’ve ever had.
I have to admit that my own reaction was somewhat less metered. I wanted at least some of the people who have deliberately set the tone of national rhetoric at such a high-pitched squeal to be held accountable. I wanted someone to sue Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and a few others until they have to sit down and shut up. I no longer believe that would be helpful. Rightful, maybe, but not helpful.
So just watch Stewart. He’s good at this, whether he knows it or not.
censorship
The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.
– John Gilmore, software engineer and activist (b. 1957)
If you haven’t had a chance to check out Wikileaks yet, here you go.
War on the Middle Class
Senator Bernie Sanders tells the truth about the distribution of wealth and the collapse of the middle class.
Mind-boggling.
moving forward
A Senseless War
A Senseless War Begins Its 10th Year
…an address to the nation from President Barack Obama (as reported by Michael Moore) | MichaelMoore.com
much rejoicing
Well it’s been a grateful week in Carpinteria, my small home town on the California coast.
My last post was on Tuesday, June 8, election day here in California. Posted as I sat waiting for the first returns, as I recall. And if you’ve been following this blog at all, you know that I was adamantly opposed to a certain Measure J. By this, an oil company from Denver tried to bypass the City government and get the voters to permit expanded oil exploration here. I mean right here, within the city limits, near my home and close to hundreds of other homes as well.
The centerpiece of the company’s plan – known as the Paredon Project – was to be a massive drilling rig, 140 to 175 feet tall. It would be on our ocean bluffs, adjacent to a residential tract, the bluffs nature preserve, and the seal rookery. We’re talking about a federally protected wildlife sanctuary, folks.
Happily, Measure J went down in a thunderous landslide of Oh Hell No. 70% of the voters didn’t fall for it at all.
And there was much rejoicing. There was a very large exhale of relief.
It’s a long and tawdry story, most of which I would rather see you spared. Suffice to say the magnificent defeat of Measure J comes not just as a welcome result, but a rightful vindication. The vast majority of us stuck together. We remembered the natural beauty that makes Carpinteria the place where we want to live in the first place. Our little town is not for sale.
We still have a stable local government. No shots were fired. Democracy abides.
As for the folks who voted the other way … well, we still love you. Take a walk on the bluffs sometime. Remember that all who wander are not lost, and all that glitters is not gold.
our town
The following letter was printed in yesterday’s Coastal View News, here in Carpinteria. Actually, 2 words were excised by the editor, which I have emphasized below.
The future of beautiful Carpinteria should be up to us, the citizens of Carpinteria, not Venoco. A vote for Venoco’s Measure J means giving the oil company too much control of our future. We should not vote away our rights for local government and environmental protection.
Venoco’s claim that onshore drilling is better than offshore is a clever deception. Venoco already operates offshore oil rigs off Carpinteria. Their plan is to drill onshore also, not instead.
It is not true that the Paredon project would impact only the Concha Loma area. It would affect our entire community. Besides, is there any number of homes and families that we are willing to turn our backs on? No, in Carpinteria we are all neighbors and we care about each other.
I am voting NO on Measure J, and I hope that you will join me.
Kyle Kimberlin
Carpinteria
the nation opens up
One of my favorite magazines, The Nation, has totally revamped – re-launched – its web presence, and taken its website code open source. Very cool.
They’ve posted an article explaining the latter change, from which here are a couple of fair use snippets:
The specific platform we’re using for TheNation.com, Drupal, has a progressive lineage as well. Described as "Software to Power the Left" by new media thinker David Cohn, Drupal was the foundation for the groundbreaking "DeanSpace" online community in 2004, and has since been used and improved by dozens of leading progressive advocacy groups. Today Drupal powers the websites of publications like The New Republic, Mother Jones and The Economist, and provides the content management platform for a little site called WhiteHouse.gov. …
What, if anything, does this mean for TheNation.com readers? The great thing about Drupal for a news organization is the flexibility that a public, continuously evolving platform provides. If we wanted to build an interactive package to amplify a groundbreaking investigation, it used to take days. Now there are thousands of programmers who can build it fast – or have already built it. If we want to change the layout of our homepage or special section to reflect the significance of an unanticipated breaking news event, it used to take three weeks. Now it takes three clicks.
The Nation is a great magazine. It’s been around since 1865, with a firm grip and clear view. I started reading it in college in 1985. Highly recommended for all of my progressive friends.
oh the irony
“So the fishermen came to receive training in how to clean up the oil spill that was creeping up on the nearby coastline. They were hoping to be hired by BP, the company blamed for the spill and responsible for cleanup efforts.” – NT Times
A disaster of Biblical proportions is unfolding there. And we don’t need one here.
I’m going to Vote No on Measure J – on shore exploratory oil drilling in Carpinteria. And if I get a chance to vote on offshore exploratory drilling near my home, I’ll vote no again.
writing letters
So I was thinking about the impending ungodly abomination that Venoco Oil proposes to visit upon my little town, and it occurred to me that I might decide to write a letter to the editor of our local paper about it. Then I remembered Richard Ford's advice to writers. He said, in part:
6. Don't drink and write at the same time.
7. Don't write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)
8. Don't wish ill on your colleagues.
9. Try to think of others' good luck as encouragement to yourself.
10. Don't take any shit if you can possibly help it. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't write letters to the editor, or drink, or take shit for that matter. I'm sure some of you do those things and are abundantly good at it. But for me, just now, I think it's good advice. Notwithstanding I think he's right that no one cares, my powers of rational rhetoric are not at their peak lately. Maybe I'm a little too pissed off about just how stupid and destructive is the idea of a giant oil derrick on our beautiful coast. And about that whole endemic indifference thing. Besides, I know from copious experience that if I fiddle around with #7, #10 will become a challenge very soon. I also know a picture's worth a thousand words.
Citizens Against Paredon
7. Don't write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)
8. Don't wish ill on your colleagues.
9. Try to think of others' good luck as encouragement to yourself.
10. Don't take any shit if you can possibly help it. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't write letters to the editor, or drink, or take shit for that matter. I'm sure some of you do those things and are abundantly good at it. But for me, just now, I think it's good advice. Notwithstanding I think he's right that no one cares, my powers of rational rhetoric are not at their peak lately. Maybe I'm a little too pissed off about just how stupid and destructive is the idea of a giant oil derrick on our beautiful coast. And about that whole endemic indifference thing. Besides, I know from copious experience that if I fiddle around with #7, #10 will become a challenge very soon. I also know a picture's worth a thousand words.
Citizens Against Paredonwaste not
I sent the following message electronically to both of my senators and my representative today.
Dear … today I received a letter from the US Census, telling me they are going to send me a census form in a week. This is ridiculous. The paper industry is a top polluter, a top contributor to climate change, and they are laying waste and devastation to our wilderness to harvest pulp. The wastewater effluent resulting from sending this sheet of paper, in an envelope, to many millions of homes, is staggering. And of course, they are all going straight into the landfills. And this isn't even the Census, it's just needless note that the Census is on the way. A note on the importance of participation couldn't have been included with the Census itself? What a waste of resources. When we re-elect you, I hope to see a higher environmental conscience in Washington. Respectfully ….
Metaphor 