Two Men,Two Rebel Voices

I could look back over the past half-century or so, at least as far back as I can remember, and pick out quite a few people who influenced me. Men I admire. Men I listened to or read over the years and thought to myself, holy shit! I wish I could say it like that. I'm going to mention two of them here. The death of George Carlin has gotten me thinking of that again. You see, he would be high on that list. It's not that I listened to him all that much, but I've always found myself quoting him to a surprising degree. The things he said hit home with me, and they stuck. The other man of course is Edward Abbey. Carlin died just a few days ago. Abbey has been dead for almost twenty years. But their work will live on. This isn't intended as a tribute to them. They don't need it.

They were both deeply intelligent men. They were passionate men. They were outraged at what they saw happening in their worlds. They were red-blooded American rebels. They could be outrageously funny. They could be annoying as all hell. They could make you squirm with the truth of what they were saying. Above all they wore their passion and outrage on their sleeves and had the balls to wear them publicly. And that's what I've been thinking about and pondering these past few days. Who's going to carry on? I don't mean who's going to replace them. That can't be done. Abbey once wrote something to the effect that if there was one thing he would apologize for, it would be for being too nice. Who writes words like that anymore? No one will look at us and tell us what we really are quite like George Carlin did. Will they? No, they won't be replaced, but who will follow in their footsteps and carry on in their tradition? I don't know. I keep looking but I don't know. I know they're out there, but I haven't seen them yet. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough. I hope that's it.

Sitting down and writing something that fits right in with popular opinion is easy. It's generally good for a nod of agreement and a pat on the back, and that's mighty seductive. We're all experts on the news of the day and we're comfortable in that role. We won't risk being seen as contentious or over the top. We'd much rather settle for the safety of consensus. No rocking the boat please. We've become much like the jabbering heads on the TV shows that I refuse to watch anymore. Sometimes I think this whole game is about as useful as that old saw about scratching the Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin. Impressive on the surface, but it leaves you wondering why. I of course include myself in all of that, much to my undying embarrassment. But I'm not done yet, and I'm not too old to learn. Still -- where are the voices of rebellion?

I don't know how many people read what I post here, and I don't really care. But if any of you young readers, and aspiring writers, catch this post I wish to say this to you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to air your passions and your anger and your thoughts and your beliefs. Don't worry about popularity. Who needs it? Don't worry about what others may think. Don't worry about being laughed at or hated. Someone needs to speak the truth -- it might as well be you. Speak from your guts or, unless you are getting paid to say certain things, shut up and find a different hobby. The world has enough voices chattering on in agreement with the opinion of the day. Be a rebel. Be a troublemaker, and be proud of it. If you're going to call yourself a writer don't be afraid. The timid need not apply. Do it, and do it well -- we need you.

I'll Quit Tomorrow

I'll quit tomorrow. That was the title of a book about addiction, alcoholism specifically, that was published some years back. Basically it sums up addiction like this -- I'll do nothing about my addiction today. I'll change tomorrow. Tomorrow of course never comes. Our fossil fuel addiction is much like that.

George W is busy pushing Congress to act on a proposal to lift the ban on offshore drilling in US coastal waters, as is John McCain. Never mind conservation. Never mind alternatives. The main thing is to stick the needle into every possible pocket of crude, suck it out, and inject it into the veins of our society.

It's said, and it may be true at this point, that we can't just suddenly switch to alternatives like wind and solar, but is it any surprise that we find ourselves in that predicament? We've been blithely ignoring alternatives for decades now. We've been ignoring them ever since Ronald Reagan moved into the White House, tore down the solar panels that Jimmy Carter had installed there, and said enough of this shit. We bet the farm on cheap oil and we never looked back. Now we're starting to pay the price, both literally at the pump, and in the consequences of fossil fuel abuse.

So Congress will likely be called upon to decide if years of needed environmental protections will be thrown out the window in our moment of panic. Will they do it? Will they vote to ease restrictions on drilling in sensitive areas? Of course they will. I hope they prove me wrong, but I think there's little doubt that when push comes to shove they will cave and vote in favor of drilling. Especially in this election year when oil concerns will be such a hot button issue with voters.

So BushCo and their cronies will get their way. Drill drill drill. We'll see little if any relief in fuel costs. We'll continue to use oil as if there were no tomorrow and be that much further from developing any alternatives. We'll change tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes.

It Just Ain't So

Much is being made in right-wing circles of the story that has been circulating recently about the Chinese, in cahoots with Cuba, drilling for off-shore oil within 60 miles of the Florida coast. Dick Cheney made sure that it got wide circulation in a speech yesterday before the US Chamber of Commerce:

"[O]il is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of Florida. We're not doing it. The Chinese are in cooperation with the Cuban government... Even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply. Yet Congress has said... no to drilling off Florida.''

Quite a stroke of genius. Scare the pants off of folks with the idea that the Communists and the Chinese are beating us to our own oil. It's guaranteed to inflame the drill drill drill crowd and get the righty mouthpieces sounding off in support of off-shore drilling. There's only one problem. It isn't true.

Yep folks. Dick Cheney is alive and well and still lurking out there.

Action Links

Right over there in the sidebar, right next to this brief post, you'll see a new listing of action links. These will link to online petitions for actions that are being taken on various environmental threats and pending legislation. I receive these alerts regularly, and rather than post them in individual posts I will simply list them there. It will be updated whenever there is a new alert to add.

All eyes are on the upcoming election now that the candidates have been chosen. But Bush/Cheney aren't done yet. They have seven months to push through as much of their anti-environmental, corporate-friendly agenda as they can, and will pull out all the stops. You can bet your paycheck on that. Let's all keep our eyes open.

Can I make anybody take action? No. Can I provide an easy link for those who choose to do so? You bet your ass I can, and I will. Right over there near the top of the sidebar. Do what you will, and an advance tip of the hat to all who take part.

A Blog Note

I've added a link to a new blog over in my blogrolls, Marshall Law, that I've been watching for recently. Not only does the author have exquisite taste in blog templates, it just so happens that he's my older kid.

He also has things to say. Rather than yammer on about it I'll just say head on over there and see for yourself.

Self-Inflicted Headaches

I've been posting here on this site for about two years now. When I started, blogger only had the classic template for setting up a blog. Shortly after that they added the 'new blogger' drag and drop layouts. Beta, I think they call it, and I've been resisting changing over to it ever since. I use it over at my other sites, but this one has remained on the classic template. Until today.

Drag and drop page elements are pretty damn easy to use, and are even more idiot proof than the old classic. That's a big advantage to me. In the beginning I managed to screw up the code twice, and lost buzztail both times. Had to start over from scratch, which on classic is mighty time consuming. That, for an old dinosaur like me, was one hell of a blinding headache. Even my hair hurt. Then along came beta, and being the stubborn old fart that I am I decided right then and there that, no godammit, I finally got this template thing figured out. I ain't changing now. And I didn't. For about a year-and-a-half. But now...

The classic template was getting too cumbersome, and the new one offers a lot of easy to use features, so I switched this morning. What I have on my hands now is a stripped down version of buzztail. All that's left are the posts, the archives, and the Montana blogroll. All the other page elements that I so niftily crafted into the page are tucked away on the copy of the old template that I saved. That's okay though. It's kind of a clean slate again. Like spring cleaning. I can add what I want to add, and I can leave out what I don't want anymore. Should be simple with the new layout. Now all I need to do is find the damn stuff. It's gotta be here somewhere...

The Flat-Earth Society Is Alive And Well

The Washington DC chapter of the Flat-Earth Society is apparently alive and healthy, and well represented by James Inhofe and Mitch McConnell.

These two jokers were instrumental in thwarting a climate change bill, the Lieberman-Warner bill, in the Senate this past week. Now, Lieberman-Warner wasn't all that great, and deserved to be shot down as it was originally written. It contained billions in giveaways to top polluters, and would have rolled out the red carpet for nuclear energy. A few amendments were introduced by Barbara Boxer and others though that would have tightened up the original bill considerably and given it more teeth. These were to be part of the Senate debate, but a Republican filibuster led by Inhofe and McConnell, and which included McConnell's insistence that the 492-page bill be read in it's entirety effectively stalled action. The supporters couldn't muster the votes for cloture and agreed to bag the legislation and perhaps try again next year. Let's hope they can suspend the laws of nature until then too.

Then again, maybe I'm just being unfair to Inhofe and McConnell. Maybe they don't really believe the earth is flat. Maybe they're just reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them.

A Political Memory

I don't know what recesses of one's memory bank some of this stuff bubbles up from, but I woke up this morning laughing about this one. I'll pass it along as an election night post, though it has nothing whatsoever to do with this election.

Like a few others in the 'sphere, I too am old enough to remember seeing JFK in person during the few short years that he was president. It was 1962, and President Kennedy was in the Twin Cities stumping for the Congressional races that year. The DFL held a fundraising event at the Hippodrome at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. My mother, being as active in Democratic campaigns as she was, decided that we couldn't miss this big event. I didn't want to go -- I wanted to stay home and play baseball with my friends, but there was no choice. At least I had it better than my dad. Mom made him wear a suit. He wasn't going to do it, but she pulled a suit out of the closet and said we're going to go see the President of the United States. You're wearing this. That was that. He wore the suit.

The event that night, and I swear this could only happen in Minnesota, was dubbed a 'bean feed' by the DFL. Pork and beans were cheap in those days, probably about a buck a barrel, and they had huge vats of them cooking. Everybody paid about ten bucks or so, ate a plate of beans, and then went inside the Hippodrome to listen to stump speeches for a few hours. I don't know how many people the Hippodrome could hold, but I'd guess there were a couple thousand or so there, give or take.

All in all it was a stirring event, though the DFL and the organizers failed to consider the effect of feeding a couple thousand people a plate of beans and then ushering them into a building to sit and listen to some speeches for a couple of hours. It started out great. The huge auditorium was alive with excitement and everyone was eagerly listening to candidates speak and were waiting to see the president. But after about an hour or so they were starting to noticeably fidget in their seats. Soon they were gritting their teeth and tightly gripping the armrests. By the time President Kennedy was introduced, the place smelled like a gigantic hog barn. I looked over at my dad, but he had the same pained expression on his face that he had been wearing all evening. I think the suit bothered him more than the beans did.

My memory may be leaky, but I think that was the last time the Minnesota DFL ever held a 'bean feed' as a fundraising event. Unfortunately we never got to learn what President Kennedy thought of it.

On that note, let's kick back and patiently wait for the results of today's action at the polls. Cheers, and thanks for voting.

It Does My Bloody Heart Good

You know, it may seem like a small, insignificant thing with all that is happening in our world. This watching the geese I mean. What with war and climate change and the gas situation and the housing crunch and, aw hell, all of that, a bunch of geese don't really matter much, do they? Well, yeah. I think they do. I find them fascinating. From the weeks spent watching the female fuss over the eggs on the nest, to their hatching, to watching the young start growing from the moment they hit the water, I find it very interesting. It's an ages old cycle, one that repeats year after year, and it touches something wild and free in me. I'm apparently not alone in that.

I live right across the street from the Duck Pond, and when I'm not over there I can watch the comings and goings from my front window. I can't help but notice the steady stream of people who stop to watch the ducks and geese. Especially the geese. They come in all ages, all sizes and shapes. Parents bring their young kids, and they always leave wide-eyed. Older folks are regular visitors too. Some need canes or walkers, but they are out there, bless their hearts. Of course the cameras come out too. Most pull a small compact out of a pocket and have a ball snapping pictures. A few come with professional equipment. They have a tripod slung over their shoulder and are equipped with a telephoto lens the size of a bazooka. Many come with video cameras. This must be the single most photographed gaggle of geese on the face of the earth. I certainly do my share.

It does my bloody wild heart good to see this. It tells me that as mechanized and computerized and industrialized and homogenized and pasteurized and anesthetized and pacified and domesticated and mummified as our society has become in many ways, we haven't totally lost touch with our wild side. That may be our saving grace.

Six Weeks

From this...














...to this...












...in just six weeks.