A Hundred Times

I'm glad that week is over with. I always come back from that kind of bout with the flu and fever about as gracefully as a grizzly coming out of hibernation. Though I hear there are places they don't bother hibernating anymore -- the weather is getting warm enough for them to find food year-round. I'm testy and grouchy and growly and not fit to be around others of my kind yet, and then I notice sitting down to do this post that this is my hundredth one. I knew it was coming up, and had thought to mark it somehow as a rite of passage or something, but did it have to be now? Then I realized that hey, what's the big deal? So it's a hundred. All that means is that I have a certain in-bred stubborness, or foolishness, or whatever it is that makes me sit here and grind out a hundred of these damn things. It's no great feat. Countless others have done far more than I have. Far more than I even can for that matter. Let's see what the next hundred brings. Maybe then I'll feel like crowing about it. Maybe I'll just feel like shutting up.

There's only a couple of things on my mind I want to mention today. First of all, and I'm not going to go on much about it, is that with all the talk already about the 2008 presidential contenders, there isn't a damn one that amounts to much as far as I'm concerned. At a time when this country should be demanding a true lion-hearted leader who is willing to stand up and address the real issues we are all facing regardless of who he or she pisses off, all we've got are a bunch of chipmunks lining up and grinning for the cameras. It looks like the primaries are going to be another series of unfortunate events. Unless maybe Al Gore steps in. Then I might get interested. Until then I have little to say about 2008, so I'm not going any farther into it, except to say that it's a grim reminder of why I no longer consider myself a Democrat.

The other thing crossing my mind is this whole blogging thing. I've been at it now since last summer, have piled up a hundred posts here, and I don't know how many over at Montana Netroots, and have been in contact with some mighty fine folks from all parts of the political spectrum. Many strong voices, voices of good people, speaking out on issues of great concern -- I raise my fist in salute to all of you. At times it feels like one part opinionating mixed with two parts pissin' in the wind, but I'm happy to be a part of the whole crazy stew. Long live the free, unfettered voices of the people. To that handful of you who check in here regularly, thank you. Both for stopping here now and then, and for the work you do at your own home sites. I've never actually met most of you, but you truly have come to feel like friends. For all the rest of you? Well. Stick around I guess. I'm going to go heal up, re-load, and get started on the next hundred. Here's to ya...

A Post-Oil World

Stand back. Don't get too close to that screen. I've spent the last several days in bed steamrolled by one powerful flu bug. I'm not at all sure that this one won't travel right through your computer screen and get you. I wouldn't wish this on anybody. I'm able to be upright for a few minutes at a time, but I'm far from being lucid and coherent (don't say it. I can imagine what some of you are thinking but just don't even say it).

I've posted quite a bit lately, both here and at Montana Netroots, about the serious problems we face due to our total dependence on fossil fuels. While it's great fun to bark at the President and Congress and big oil, that really doesn't give any idea of what truly needs to be done. Simply put, we need to radically re-structure our societies to lay the groundwork for a sustainable future. I recently came across an article by James Howard Kunstler, much of which points to the principles of bioregionalism, in which he lists ten things we need to do. It's a formidable task, one that we're not even close to being prepared to take on, but it's something we're going to have to start dealing with rather than spend any more time bickering and arguing about whether there is even a problem. There is, and we'd better bite the bullet now. The direction we choose now and implement over the next couple of generations will have major consequences for life on this planet. We'd better make wise choices, not just easy or convenient ones.

Here's Kunstler's article. Read it or ignore it. It's your call. On that note I'm going back to bed for a couple of days.

Can't Wait

Here's one to warm the heart of a cranky old warrior like me. After years of false starts, Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang, the classic story about the antics of four environmental activists in the desert Southwest, is slated to be made into a movie. I don't usually get too cranked up about movies, but I can't wait to see this one.

Bumper Stickers And Stuff

You know, it's getting on to mid-February now, and a guy starts to get a little shack-happy what with the days starting to get noticeably longer and all. The last week or so it's been kind of warm here in Missoula, but it's been rainy and foggy. I'm getting a little restless. Maybe you are too. My daughter went to a friends house for an overnight birthday party, and I've got the place to myself for the first time in weeks. So what do I do? Decide to go out and do something fun and different while I have the chance? Nooooo... I decide to sit here and peck out another damn post. Jeezus. I need a life. So here we are -- just me and the old cat. At least one of us is smart enough to curl up on the couch and take a nap. Obviously it isn't me.

Many of my regular trips around town are done on my bike or on foot. I don't bike so much in the winter, but I still walk a lot. One thing I do, and always have done, is check out bumper stickers. Most of us probably do. You see all kinds. McDonalds is not food, George Bush -- like a rock, only dumber -- those two are always good for a nod and a chuckle. I still see a lot of Bush/Cheney stickers too. I'm not a great fan of James Carville, but I always did like his response to those. When he'd see one on a car he'd pull up alongside and motion for the people inside to roll down their window. He'd say sorry to bother you but I thought you might like to know. Someone stuck a Bush/Cheney sticker on the back of your car. Then he'd drive off cackling away to himself. That one's too old to work anymore, but when I see one of these stickers I just want to say for God's sake how about a little common decency here. Put some duct tape or something over that thing. I'm too cowardly to do it of course, but it keeps me amused.

There are a couple that I see now and then around town that bring a growl to my throat. Earth First -- we'll log the other planets later is one of them. Are you an environmentalist, or do you work for a living? is another. I always mutter and curse the idiocy of that one, but I always end up wandering off on my merry way laughing. It's hard to stay mad at idiots.

It got me thinking though. We've all got our favorites, and I'd love to hear yours. Send 'em on in, whether you be left or right or green or whatever. If I get enough I'll do a post of your favorites. If I get too many I'll do it in a couple of parts. And if I don't get any, well, so be it. At least this kept me from falling asleep on the couch tonight.

Almost Criminal?

It's really nothing new, but I think it's worth repeating and keeping an eye on. The Senate Commerce Committee held hearings recently about allegations that Bush/Cheney censored scientific studies on the effects of global warming. A survey of scientists was conducted, and nearly half of those questioned reported that they had their work censored or edited, or weren't allowed to go public with their findings. Not only has this administration been denying global warming, they have been actively suppressing the science and dealing a serious blow to our ability to effectively deal with the policy changes needed to cut our carbon emissions. John Kerry had this to say about it:

Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, told colleagues the Bush administration's actions were "almost criminal."

"They take the science and tailor it to reflect their political goals," he said. "The interference is stunning � it is George Orwell at its best. It has to stop."

OK. That's close Senator. Pretty damn close. But I would say that there is no almost about it.

To The Maldives -- Part II

I did a short post last night about sending the AEI, George Bush, and others to the Maldives to ponder the very real consequences of global warming. The responses I got were surprising. Two comments have come in on it, one from someone who says they are Maldivian, and another from one who truly is. The first was posted anonymously and states that the Maldivians don't want these warlords in their country. Whether it's for real I don't really know. It may be a tongue-in-cheek response to a semi-tongue-in-cheek post. I'll say to this person that I don't blame you one bit for that attitude. The second one, from the Maldivian, said that their country is indeed going to be wiped from the face of the earth and nobody really cares. To that I say you are wrong. Many of us care. We may not know what the solution is, if there is one at this point, but many of us care deeply. The post wasn't intended to belittle the plight of the Maldives, but to call attention to it, and to the fact that if presidents and oil company executives and their like had to personally face the consequences of their actions in that dramatic and final a fashion, then maybe they would see fit to deal with it. To face the disappearance of your country must be a terrifying prospect and it's not one I would intentionally treat lightly. My apologies if it came across that way.

Several populated islands from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands are expected to disappear under rising ocean waters over the next century, along with coastal areas world-wide. Shortly before this past Christmas the first known inhabited island, Lochachara off the coast of India, did disappear. Others in that area are likely to go in a very short time. That's why I see these attempts to continue to stifle the scientific findings by these oil companies and their mouthpieces as being obscenely and unconscionably criminal. So yes, the Maldives are facing enough problems. They don't need these guys around. Let's give them an uninhabited island somewhere that they can call their very own for as long as it stays above water.

Move Them To The Maldives

All of us in Montana have heard by now, as has the rest of the world, about the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stating that global warming is human caused and the picture looks grim for the future if we don't make some drastic changes, and make them soon. It ain't pretty.

The IPCC findings are what, a couple of days old now, and already Exxon/Mobil and their think tank, the American Enterprise Institute are pulling stuff like this. They are offering scientists from around the world $10,000, sometimes more, to write papers disputing the findings of the IPCC, for the sole purpose of casting doubt on the latest scientific consensus. It's a telling note that more than 20 AEI staffers have worked as consultants to Bush/Cheney Inc. The greed and the total disregard for any future except that of their potential earnings should be seen as no less than crimes against humanity. Indeed, against all life as we know it.

Maybe you've heard of the Maldives. It's a small island nation in the Indian Ocean that is slowly but inexorably disappearing beneath a rising ocean. All of these guys -- the staff of AEI, the heads of Exxon/Mobil, the House of Bush -- all of them should be permanently exiled to the Maldives, with the understanding that they can continue to live and work there for as long as the islands stay above water. After that they're SOL. Think they'd change their tune?

Rush Limbaugh, Nobel Laureate?

Imagine my surprise when a friend at work handed me this little gem today. Rush Limbaugh, world famous hot-air balloon, has been nominated by the Landmark Legal Foundation for the Nobel Peace prize! Who would have thought. Our very own Rush!

There are many illustrious names who have won it in recent decades. Albert Schweitzer, Elie Wiesel, Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa to name a few. Even more recently Jimmy Carter and Kofi Annan have won the prize. But seriously folks -- can you even picture the name Rush Limbaugh as part of that list? Needless to say the whole idea shot hell out of my being able to get any more work done today. I've been laughing so hard I can barely stand up. Who knows? It may even bring a grin to the faces of a normally dour bunch like the Nobel committee. Hell, they may even laugh out loud.

It makes me wonder what other nominations may be on the horizon. Bill O'Reilly, Nobel in literature? Will Ann Coulter be nominated for a Pulitzer for her fine work in journalism? I don't know. What else might we see?