Proud of my Activist Son

Number one son wrote a letter to his school, protesting the banning of red shoelaces. Apparently there's a white supremacist group in the town, and red shoelaces have become their symbol.

He pointed out that banning the symbol will not ban the racist thinking, and that freedom of expression is an important right in our country. He did not, of course, effect a change in their policy; but I am so proud of him for feeling strongly enough to stand up for what he believes. He researched the subject and laid out his argument concisely and coherently. He understood that red shoelaces in and of themselves are not important, but that curtailing our constitutional liberties should not be allowed to happen unchallenged.

I am so proud of him. I am very lucky to have him in my life.

Poor Exxon

From AOL's Business News:

To put Exxon 's performance into perspective, its third quarter revenue was greater than the annual gross domestic product of some of the largest oil producing nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The world's largest publicly traded oil company also set a profit record for U.S. companies by posting net income of almost $10 billion, according to Standard & Poor's equity market analyst Howard Silverblatt.

For the QUARTER?

I don't even know how to comment on that. It's so patently obscene. I'm thinking about the poor sick and elderly who won't get any help with their heating bills this winter. I'm thinking about the people trying to stay off welfare who might not be able to afford gas to get back and forth to work. I'm thinking about our Vice President (stress on the VICE) who has his pockets lined by this obscenity. I'm thinking about Jimmy Carter, who warned and pleaded and was called weak and denegrated for caring about the environment. And I'm mad as hell.

Tidbits

I found these statistics tables, which break things down by red state and blue state. Why is it that there's less divorce and less teen pregnancy in those blue states? Food for thought.

Shakespeare's Sister has a rant on Walmart which echos something I've been working out in my own life lately. I'm trying to spend my conscience. It's hard, sometimes. But BuyBlue.Org is a good resource for finding companies that share your values. Yay... Costco is a "blue" company!

Busy today, so not much here, sorry. Will try later.

Truth In Advertising

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else"

- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

I am so tired of being lied to. It was bad enough when it was mostly the advertising industry that lied to us, but once armed with the knowledge that it did, one could take appropriate measures. Do your own research, use your dollar carefully. In the arena of politics, however, that isn't possible. As Dr. House says, "Everyone Lies." The media, who should be our first line defense, are now first in line to screw us. Even the actual FACTS are spun beyond recognition. No wonder I have a headach. Blech.

Stuff

Pissed Off Patricia over at BlondeSense has a great post today on the war "No Crime, Criminal or Crony Left Behind. Why did we go to war with Iraq, again? Oh, yeah.

I've recently taken up a new hobby, much to the Beloved's dismay; henna tattoos. I discovered they're easier than I thought, and bring me back to high school, when we would write in ink all over our skin and jeans. Now I just have to find someone to help me with the areas I can't reach myself. A good resource is found at Earth Henna.

I also unpacked another box from our move, which contained much beloved and much missed audio CD's. Heaven! All my folk music, hurrah! Clannad, and Stan Rogers, Bill Morrissey, Vance Gilbert, Maura McConnell and Christine Lavin, on and on. Christine is the focus today; I'm currently listening to Buy Me, Bring Me, Take Me: Don't Mess My Hair (Life according to Four Bitchin' Babes and Christine Lavin Presents: Laugh Tracks Vol. 1. Aside from being a great performer, as even the extremely critical Beloved will attest, she's done a great service to folk music by doing so many wonderful compilation albums to get artist's music out there. Her sense of humor is fantastic.

On the political side, I'm starting to feel like asking "Is it still considered paranoia if they ARE out to get you?" The government is now tracking laser color printers by embedding yellow dots into the print. It's designed to track counterfeiters, but with the lies and abuses of this administration one can imagine the potential for it to be used in all kinds malicious ways. So far, it's only color laser printers, which aren't really so much of a household item; but who knows if it's really limited to that, or will STAY limited to that. Thank you, Patriot Act.

Best wishes to those in New England currently under deluge; and best of luck to Florida with Wilma approaching. Our thoughts are with you.

Why is the Religious Right so afraid?

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views

beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing

God's service when it is violating all his laws.

--John Adams

Hat tip to my beloved for sharing this quote.

I was just wondering to myself how the Christian Fundies currently in charge of our country rationalize things to themselves. We've obviously moved into an Orwellian mode here, where "No Child Left Behind" translates through Doublespeak into "We'll teach every child we deem worthy just what we want them to know, provided it doesn't actually teach them to think."

The entire Intelligent Design crowd wants to turn their back on science and force one viewpoint of the world on everyone. The problem with this, in my mind, is that if they really truly believed God was in control, they wouldn't be so afraid of other viewpoints. Me, I believe there's Something out there. Whether it's a bearded old man on a throne in heaven, or an amorphous energy, or a thousand other variations on the theme - well, it's not for me to know, right? The basis for FAITH is believing in something you don't know. So I have no problem with the Bible story of Creation. I see facts as we can percieve them from science, and they make sense, and I can believe them. I don't see the two (or rather three, as there are two versions of Creation in the Bible) as mutually exclusive. I don't know, I won't know in this lifetime, so I ponder and pray and read and think.

God made it very clear that FREE WILL was an integral element in the creation of Man. He wanted us to think and pray and feel and CHOOSE who we are and what we believe. If He hadn't, there would have been no Tree of Knowledge in the Garden. Those who want to shove religion down our throats want to remove that option. This is behavior fundamentally against God's design as outlined in the Bible.

If they really believe that God makes Himself known to those who search for Him, then they should encourage seeking. They should welcome discussion and argument and thought, if what they really want is their children to find God. But they don't.

They have so little faith in God that they must control the ship for Him. They have so little faith in their children that they doubt their children will find God without them. I believe they also have so little faith in themselves and their ability to do right that they must constantly harp on others to redirect attention from the sin in their own lives.

There is nothing wrong with teaching your child your own particular brand of God. The people I love and respect most in this world are those who have taught their children about God by example. These are people with a strong faith, who live that faith in their every breath, giving without receiving, always accepting others with love no matter the circumstance, never saying a bad word about anyone. That is an education. Children soak that up through their skin.

Those people that surrounded me in my teens never had to limit my exposures, or curtail my thinking; they just showed me in every action what it meant to have a relationship with a Higher Being. I learned from them what it means to love, and in true loving, I learned the rules that I live by.

I met the other type of Christian too; the Bible thumping, condemning, rule based type. The kind that went to church regularly, sometimes even daily. The ones that looked down their nose at a single mother struggling along at the poverty line. The ones that didn't appreciate my lifestyle and made it very clear. The ones that were so kind to my face, but whispered behind my back. The ones who cut corners when it came to their pocketbooks. The ones who lied. The ones who told my five year old that he would be going to Hell because he didn't go to the RIGHT church.

I've studied Catholicism, Judiasm, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Wicca. I have found pieces of Truth and bits of God in each of them. I believe our perception of God is limited at this stage in our evolution, and that this is why we have so many religions on this Earth. I encourage my children to find God in their own way, because I have faith that God will lead them to Himself eventually, in His own time. Mostly, I believe that God honors the search for Him above all (is that not why he put us here?) and that if we are sincere in our search and truly live what we believe in our hearts, that He will welcome us one day.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Note to self... Buy a UPS

Well, I wrote a nice long post yesterday, only to have the power go out while it was saving. No UPS. Joy. As I had a migraine, I decided I'd rather go home and crash than try to post it again. Was NOT the best day I've had in a while.

I gave up politics for the day, as I had rediscovered my Jim Infantino World of Particulars cd in a box number one son brought in from the stack left unopened when we moved. Yes, we moved to California a year and a half ago, what's your point? Jim Infantino is a folk artist from the Boston area who I had the pleasure of seeing in concert at the Somerville Theater a couple of years ago. He has a unique perspective on people and life that I really enjoy. His voice is raw, untrained, yet it fits his music and his message completely. He sounds like the guy next door just picked up a guitar and sang his observations. Sometimes funny, sometimes haunting, sometimes just fun, his music is like talking to a friend. He also plays with his band, Jim's Big Ego.

I also started, albeit a little late, my annual reading of Roger Zelazny's A Night In the Lonesome October. A light look into the struggle for cosmic balance, as told by Jack the Ripper's dog, Snuff. The book is written with a chapter for each day of the month of October, and I like to read it aloud to my family one chapter each night. There are a few spots that modifications have to be made for the littlest one for language or image, but it's generally fairly light in tone. Zelazny is one of my favorite authors.

As number two son may have strep, things are a tad chaotic at the old homestead, so I may not get back to post for a bit. At some point, I'd like to address Ann Coulter's performance on Bill Maher, but it probably won't be today.

Books/Music/Miscellania

I finally started, albeit a tad late, my annual reading of Roger Zelazny's "A Night In the Lonesome October." It's a short fantasy story, written from the point of view of Jack the Ripper's dog, Snuff. A wonderful lead in to Halloween, it's set up with each chapter being one day through the month of October. I read it aloud to my family, a chapter a night. While there's an occasional word or vivid description I have to modify for the little one, it's mostly a light fantasy.

I also just unpacked from the boxes we still have from our move to California (yes, we've been here for a year and a half, what's your point?) and found my Jim Infantio "The World of Particulars" cd. I have been listening to my hearts content (much to the dismay of those around me, I'm afraid!). I love Jim's voice. It's not well trained, or exceptional, or powerful, yet it's haunting and captivating. He has a great range, but mostly it just perfectly suits his style, and his lyrics, as well as the acoustic guitar. "Thirty-Five Foot Lady", sung acapella, really shows his range. His music speaks to me of that "quiet desperation," the sameness and uniqueness of the human condition. He has a different perspective and an interesting sense of humor. He originates from the Boston area, and plays with his band "Jim's Big Ego." I had the pleasure of seeing them at the Somerville Theater; it was a treat.

I'm taking a break from politics for the moment. I'll read "Crooks and Liars" but the meanness and spite that many of the posts are dripping with lately on the liberal side are making me nauseous, so I'm going to stay away from the heavy stuff.

Chaos

I've been spending my time reading a myriad of blogs, both conservative and liberal. Trying to get a grasp on what is happening to this country. I worry about my children; what will the world be like when they are grown? We need to be VERY careful over the next few years. Watch those in power to insure that our freedoms are not eroded away. Pay attention to the bills before our Congress and be very militant about making sure they REALLY represent our interests. The Patriot Act renewal MUST not take away the freedoms and rights that make our country unique.

It takes work, and it is frustrating, but we can't afford to just blindly trust anymore.

They have NOT earned it.