September 22, 2006

  • Do you support the war?

    When I see someone drive an car to a protest regarding American actions
    in the middle east, I have to wonder where exactly we’re going to get
    the gas to fuel that thing from if we start behaving in a responsible
    and civilized manner? Perhaps bunnies and puppies and kittens will romp
    in endless sunny fields and piddle gasoline for our consumption, but I
    doubt it. Every time you fill up, it is a vote to go to war. And no,
    your greener-than-thou car isn’t any better than that Escalade. And
    yes, I am a hypocrite.

    Speaking of “green” cars and all their ilk, a tidbit from Cleverchimp via Dandalism:

    “Every
    single hour that >$20K greener-than-thou car operates, it expends
    about the amount of energy necessary to ride a bicycle from Los Angeles
    to New York. (37.5kWh = 2,500mi @ 15Wh/mi, 50% metabolic efficiency).”

    Speaking of bicycles heres a quote that says more than it may seem to at first glance:

    “Participatory
    democracy demands low-energy technology, and free people must travel
    the road to productive social relations at the speed of a bicycle.” –
    Ivan Illich
    http://reactor-core.org/energy-and-equity.html#chapter3

    So
    yeah. I really should get rid of my motorcycle. I just don’t wanna. I
    was going to go to Tasche Station to pick up some power converters!

    But I am going to get a long bike.

September 21, 2006

  • so mote it be.

    President Hugo Chavez’s Speech to the United Nations – well worth reading for a different point of view regarding geopolitical reality.

    Also, check this link from Dandalism to a speech on the religion of enviornmentalism given by Michael Crichton in 2003.
    If you are ever likely to discuss environmental issues with me, please
    take the time to read and understand this speech. Don’t read more into
    it than there is, just understand what he is saying – environmentalism
    as it is practiced by many people in modern culture is a religion. Not
    only is it a religion, it is a near mapping of the traditional
    Judeo-Christian story of an Eden, the loss of grace, and the coming
    doomsday. Along with the story comes the inability to shake the beliefs
    by pointing at inconvenient facts or the failing of prophecies.

    He
    says a lot – don’t necessarily take it as a statement of reality, but
    certainly take the opportunity to question your own point of view and
    beliefs. Understand why you think the things you think.

    He
    asserts several things which are contrary to common understandings of
    enviornmental realities. Please be aware that whether or not he’s right
    about these things doesn’t validate or invalidate his broader argument.

    That said, I’m very curious if he is right on any of these or
    where he gets them from. If you have any information on the support for
    his following statements, please post them (comments in italics are mine):

    I can tell you that DDT is not a carcinogen and did not cause birds to die and should never have been banned. (Anyone know where this one comes from?)
    I can tell you that second hand smoke is not a health hazard to anyone and never was, and the EPA has always known it. (I’ve got to think that concentration is a major factor)
    I can tell you that the evidence for global warming is far weaker than its proponents would ever admit. (This is a pretty vague statement.)
    I can tell you the percentage the US land area that is taken by urbanization, including cities and roads, is 5%. (As
    far as I know, this one is true, however, the land taken to support
    urbanization – such as farms and power production is somewhat higher).
    I can tell you that the Sahara desert is shrinking, and the total ice of Antarctica is increasing. (Anyone know about these?)
    I
    can tell you that a blue-ribbon panel in Science magazine concluded
    that there is no known technology that will enable us to halt the rise
    of carbon dioxide in the 21st century. Not wind, not solar, not even
    nuclear. (d’uh. not with our population)
    The panel concluded
    a totally new technology-like nuclear fusion-was necessary, otherwise
    nothing could be done and in the meantime all efforts would be a waste
    of time. (without a corresponding reduction in population and power usage)

    So,
    I’m not sure about any of these claims, but I do agree with his
    statement that man was pretty much never in a state of “grace” – with
    each other or with nature. There were just few enough of us that our
    destructiveness could be absorbed/balanced. You can say the same about
    almost any organism to some extent, and you can argue that the right
    amount destructive elements are necessary for a balanced system.

    I
    do agree that nature is not kind, forgiving, or loving. You don’t
    bargain with nature. You adapt to what it demands or you die.

    I
    do agree that environmentalism as a religion can weaken
    enviornmentalism as a method to ensure our continued survival on this
    planet by removing people’s need to think.

    In many ways, I am a
    follower of the religion of enviornmentalism. I think that the
    enviornment we live in is the most immediate of our gods. If we adapt
    to its demands, we survive. If we do not, we will not. It will punish
    us for our transgressions, and reward us with plenty when we do what we
    should. Many of the things I do, I do not because they’ll make any
    significant difference, but because they bring me to what I believe is
    a closer understanding of those demands.

    All religions have the
    big rules and the little rules. Reduce-reuse-recycle. Eat natural. Fair
    Trade. Garden. No unnecessary chemicals. These are all little rules.
    Good ideas. Suggestions. If I toss a bottle in the trash, I will not be
    struck down (unless the wrong eco-vigilante sees me).

    But there
    is one big rule. On the order of “Thou shall not murder” to me. It is
    not something I can truly debate or argue. It is fundamentally
    arbitrary, but it is what the religion dictates. I may philosophically
    question it, but when I break it (and I do), it is tantamount to
    apostasy – it is a cardinal sin. This rule is this:

    Thou shalt not leave this world a poorer place than you found it.

    When
    we enter this world it has riches. These riches are pools of resources,
    biodiversity, natural beauty. Open spaces. Skys, forests, fields and
    water which teem with life. What’s more, they replenish themselves. You
    can take a tree and, given time, another will grow. You can harvest
    fruits and nuts. You can take an animal to eat – another will be born.
    An incredible gift to us when we are born. The responsibility given by
    this religion is not to take more than can be replaced. To ensure that
    future generations will receive as good as a gift as we did.

    The
    rule of seven generations. The idea that the choices we make should be
    made should be made with the thought of how it will impact the world
    our great-grandchildren’s great granchildren’s children will inherit.

    If
    we leave them something that they can’t survive in, we have broken the
    cardinal rule. If we leave them something that doesn’t have the same
    opportunities for living a healthy enjoyable life, we have stolen from
    them – perhaps even murdered them.

    However, to truly respect
    this rule, I must be careful not to be blinded by my religion. It seems
    to be a natural pitfall and one that catches many of us unaware. I see
    many followers of classic religions who miss the fundamental teachings
    of their religions to follow the “little rules”. I should try and be
    conscious enough to do my best to avoid the same mistake.

    And,
    of course, if I choose to accept the state of apostasy and ignore the
    rule all together, it won’t make a lick of difference. Except, of
    course, it will.

September 20, 2006

  • jihad.

    ARRGH!

    (Reuters story)

    The House Judiciary Committee has (albiet very narrowly) voted to
    endorse the President’s plans for the “tough interrogations” (read
    torture) of foreign terrorism suspects.

    Go read the Bill of Rights.

    These are the principles our nation is founded on. If there be any, these are the finest gifts we have to give the world.

    These
    rights, to have meaning, must be extended to the worst among us. To the
    most vile, reprehensible animals in a human body and perhaps even
    beyond. Without that, they mean nothing. When you permit torture of
    one, you permit torture of all. When you deny due process to one, you
    deny due process to all.

    Our nation and the principles it is founded upon are in grave, grave danger of being destroyed in the ways that matter most.

    What are we going to do about it? What am I going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?

    We are currently engaged in the struggle that will define our lives.

  • jihad.

    Sometimes I accidentally just let an email fly without toning it down.

    The latest has been in regards to Republican campaigns and pundits trying to scare voters away from voting for any
    DFL candidates by raising terrorism and other anti-American spectres
    because district 5 is supporting Keith Ellision, a Muslim and a man who
    has been a black activist.

    This is part of my initial response to the subject on the city issues list:

    The
    DFL needs to educate its potential voters that Muslim is NOT the >
    same as terrorist. If they are unwilling or unable to do that, then
    they get what they get on November 7th.

    The response I got was this:

    This
    statement presupposes that everyone is educable. However, religionism
    plays a big part in why people do not want to be educated on this
    issue. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a speech to a university
    in Germany. The Pope claimed that jihad is intrinsically violent and,
    by quoting from a 14th-century Roman Catholic on the “truth” of
    Christianity vs. Islam, said: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that
    was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as
    his command to spread the sword by the faith he preached….

    The
    pope is not alone in that belief among Christians. Asking the DFL to
    overcome centuries of propaganda before November, particularly when it
    was repeated as recently as last week, seems a teensy bit unfair.

    And that just lit something in my belly. My response, typos and all:

    No, I really don’t think it is.

    I
    think that we’re currently in the midst of a crisis such as the world
    hasn’t seen in half a century, a crisis that could destroy – is
    destroying – everything good that the founders of this country tried to
    create with their bold experiment. Simple beliefs like “all people are
    equal in inherent worth”, “everyone should have the freedom to follow
    their own religion”, and “all people have the right to life, liberty,
    and the pursuit of happiness”.

    I think our generations are in
    the fight of our lives – not a physical fight, not a fight against
    terror, but a fight for ethics and ideals. A fight that the future will
    look back on in the same way it looks back at the rise of the Nazis in
    Germany, the myriad crimes of slavery, and the crimes of the
    Inquisition in spain.

    Anyone not willing to commit themselves
    fully to what I consider to be the side of decency and ethics in the
    struggle we are faced with is simply not worth my vote.

    To make
    matters worse, I believe that we are facing this ethical crisis at the
    same time that we are being rapidly approached by the climax of a
    terrible enviornmental crisis that has been years in the making. If we
    are unable to resolve this conflict soon, if “Islam” becomes synonomous
    with “enemy”, if the “poor” continue to be seen as tantamount to
    “criminal”, the crimes our society will commit to survive what is
    coming will be unconscionable. We have so much power and so little
    control … it is breathtaking to contemplate.

    Every day I look
    around and I see people walking around in a world that seems so
    different than the one I see. To an extent, I walk in it to. I go to
    work every day, sometimes I go for a ride on my motorcycle. I turn on
    my gas stove and get my gas furnace checked for winter. I have faith
    that tomorrow, these appliances will still work. That I will have food
    and heat through this winter and winters to come.

    But when I think deeply, I see that these are very optimistic beliefs and are not truly grounded in reality.

    I don’t think these struggles are lost causes, but unless people see them and rally to them, they soon will be.

    I
    think statements like these are good for rallying those who believe
    what you’re saying but accomplish little to convince anyone of
    anything. They may actually do the cause harm. But yet, sometimes, you
    gotta say what you feel without toning it down to pablum, don’t you?

    The thread can be read here:
    http://forums.e-democracy.org/minneapolis/contacts/groups/mpls/messages/view_email?id=102350&show_thread=1

  • Are we cool with torture?

    So, it boggles my mind to consider that everyone already doesn’t know about this, but just in case, the Senate is currently under pressure from the White House to basically legalize torture.

    There are many groups organizing email/letter campaigns on this.  If you’re not OK with obtaining evidence through torture, you may wish to send your congress people your opinion.

    Here’s one place to do so:
    http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=21387

    On the plus side, a fair number of Republicans are standing against the POTUS on this one.

September 19, 2006

  • Random Memes

    Hard at work today so no time to write something useful. Here’s a
    couple things I’d prepped to post before the primaries but didn’t get
    to because I wanted to focus on getting out the vote. A couple web log
    memes that have been going around…

    1. Delve into your blog archive
    2. Find your 23rd post.
    3. Find the fifth sentence.
    4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

    livejournal (March 15th, 2006)
    I like the way some of them sound.

    xanga (Friday, April 04, 2003)
    I tried to open it and bent the key badly.

    What I found interesting is both of them were about motorcycles.

    and

    Dionysus

    0% Extroversion, 13% Intuition, 72% Emotiveness, 76% Perceptiveness

    Although deeply emotional, you are extremely lacking in
    self-knowledge. You are somewhat needy, and when bored, may become very
    hedonistic. Your life is a quest for meaning, above all else. You are
    most like Dionysus. You are primarily interested in serving others, but
    your efforts are almost always unappreciated. You aren’t
    confrontational, you’re often out of tune with your own needs and
    unaware of the consequences of your own actions.

    You
    are, at heart, a good person. You are very affectionate, and you are
    very loyal to your friends and family. You are very reluctant to burden
    others with your own problems, to the point that this in itself can
    become a problem for the people who care about you. This is a
    particular of a more general problem. Dionysus sends wave of ruin
    throughout his personal life. He is the photographer who seduces his
    subjects. He is the teacher who seduces a student. He is the art
    student who paints nonrepresentational splashes of color, he is the
    poet who rejects meter and content. You seek sexual partners more than
    anything else (this is to exploit the nurturing side of others to help
    fill your own void). If not sexual partners, this desire to become the
    object of sympathy with other people can manifest itself in other
    destructive ways. Stinkfist by Tool explains your condition pretty
    well. It’s very likely that you haven’t had many experienced mentors.
    You don’t want them either, because you’re the sort of person who
    rejects criticism and boundaries, but they’re also your only hope for
    reaching any kind of emotional maturity.

    Famous People Like You: John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner

    I’d
    tell you to stay clear of Hermes, Icarus and Apollo, but you could
    probably learn something from them. You’re least likely to hurt The
    Oracle, Atlas, Prometheus, and Daedalus, but Atlas and Daedalus won’t
    like you very much.
    Seek out: The Oracle, Prometheus

    My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
    		You scored higher than 0% on Extroversion
    		You scored higher than 4% on Intuition
    		You scored higher than 65% on Emotiveness
    		You scored higher than 57% on Perceptiveness

    Link: The Greek Mythology Personality Test written by Aleph_Nine on OkCupid

    (ouch)

September 18, 2006

  • Lawful Behavior…

    Please take a moment to send an email:

    This week,
    the Senate is planning to quietly hold a vote that would pardon
    President Bush for breaking the law by illegally wiretapping innocent
    Americans.

    The bill would let the administration off the hook
    for breaking the law and make it legal to wiretap Americans, in secret,
    without any oversight whenever they want to.

    Democrats and some
    Republicans are holding strong against it, and if enough of us speak up
    we can stop it. Can you sign the petition opposing the Republican move
    to pardon President Bush for breaking the law?

    http://pol.moveon.org/dontpardon/

    I’m
    wishy washy on moveon – they’re a bit too “Democrat” for me, but I’m
    with them on this one. Its a slippery slope. If we let the government
    get away with this, the next thing we know, they’ll be getting away
    with torture. And who knows, maybe someday they’ll even get away with
    blow jobs! Heavens protect us.

September 14, 2006

  • DO SOMETHING

    Wow. Keith Ellison is national news. He is a big deal.

    If
    elected, he will be the first Muslim ever to be elected to congress. If
    elected, he will be the first black Minnesota has ever sent to
    Washington. The nation is watching. The Republicans and conservative
    Democrats are raising spectres of the Nation of Islam to scare voters.
    The progressives are making comparisons with Paul Wellstone.

    The
    man is more than just a wide eyed progressive. He’s proven himself. He
    served in a Republican congress and proved that he could get
    legislation passed anyway. He can form coalitions across divides that
    others would see as uncrossable.

    But, sending him to Washington
    and hoping for the best is going to accomplish squat. This was well
    explained on a city issues list posting by Jordan Kushner:

    > And then finally, I agree that a new coalition has emerged.
    > How will it shape local political life and for how long?

    JSK
    - That is up to us. We need to find ways to keep this coalition
    together and get it to work for other candidates and more importantly,
    causes. The biggest trap of having a successful progressive electoral
    campaign is to assume that electing the candidate is all that is
    needed. Obviously, no one candidate can make or sustain a movement. The
    most frustrating aspect of Wellstone’s candidacy (his 1990 election was
    the last time I actually hit the streets for a DFL candidate) was
    treatment of his election as the final progressive accomplishment.
    There was no understanding that one Congressperson/Senator could never
    make meaningful change by himself. Keith Ellison will make a valiant
    effort, but his efforts will not be any more than symbolism unless he
    is backed (and held accountable) by ongoing movements working on
    serious demands for change

    I said the nation is watching.
    It isn’t just the nation. It is the world. How American treats this
    election cycle will determine much about how the next few years are
    going to go and how the world is going to regard us. NOW is the time
    for those who care about human dignity and environmental responsibility
    to make a difference. NOW is the time to point at the wreckage that we
    are standing in and say it is time to be a difference. NOW is when
    there is actually a chance to start turning the tide. NOW is the time
    to break through our nation’s pathological civic apathy.

    DO
    something. I don’t really care what. Pick one thing that matters to you
    that can be worked on this election cycle and do something.

    Me?
    I’m planning on trying to get the IRV initiative passed in Minneapolis.
    I’m giving money here and there on other things and will be doing a
    thing or two, but IRV is going to be my focus.

    What’s yours?
    Equal treatment for people based on race, gender, religion or sexual
    orientation? Environmentalism? Energy independence? Education reform?
    Bringing the troops home? Opposing the drug war? There are groups
    working on all of these, candidates to help, people to call, letters to
    write, emails to send, facts to learn and inform people on (do not
    underestimate the importance of this last point).

    Heck, some of
    you might want to support war with Iran, legislate that everyone needs
    to drive an SUV at least 30 miles a day, lock up all drug users, and
    brand gays and non-christians. If you really think that will make the
    world better, then do something. I’ll disagree with you and actively
    oppose you, but it is better than being part of the civic apathy that
    defines our society. It is better to have the discussions and arguments
    than it is to simply allow the elite few to direct everything.

    It
    is so easy to get overwhelmed. So don’t. Just pick one thing. Just give
    a few hours a month to it. You might find yourself doing more, but
    don’t feel guilty if you don’t. Just do something – it is so much
    better than nothing.

    It might not be ballot or election related.
    That’s cool. Hell, that’s more than cool, that’s really important. So
    many people figure “I voted, I did my part”. Voting is such a small
    part of what is needed. Without massive public support (and a show of
    that support), elected officials trying to change things will get NO
    traction.

    If you don’t think we live in the best of all possible worlds, do something to help us get there from here.

    And now, for something completely different:

    Robotic Frisbees of Death
    http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002723.html

September 13, 2006

  • Results

    Well, for the 16% of voters who cared enough to make it to the polls,
    the primaries are over. The secretary of state calculates percentage as
    the percentage of voters who were registered on election day, so the
    percentage of those who could vote that did vote is actually more like
    13%.

    Gee,
    does it surprise you that the elected officials don’t seem to be very
    good representatives of the population as a whole? The population as a
    whole doesn’t bother to vote.

    Anyway, In November, here’s what we’re looking at in Minneapolis ward 3-6.

    US Senator
    Ben Powers (Constitution)
    Amy Klobuchar (DFL)
    Michael James Cavlan (Green)
    Robert Fitzgerald (Independence)
    Mark Kennedy (Republican)

    United States Representative, District 5
    Keith Ellison (DFL)
    Jay Pond (Green)
    Tammy Lee (Indepenedence)
    Alan Fine (Republican)

    Governor/Lt. Governor
    Leslie Davis/Gregory Soderberg (American)
    Mike Hatch/Judy Dutcher (DFL)
    Ken Pentel/Danene Provencher (Green)
    Peter Hutchinson/Maureen Reed (Indepenedence)
    Tim Pawlenty/Carol Molnau (Republican) (incumbent)
    Walt Brown/Wesley Nelson (Quit Raising Taxes)

    Secretary of State
    Mark Ritchie (DFL)
    Bruce Kennedy (For Independent Voters)
    Joel Spoonheim (Independence)
    Mary Kiffmeyer (Republican) (incumbent)

    Attorney General
    Lori Swanson (DFL)
    John (Papa) Kolstad (Green)
    John James (Indepenedence)
    Jeff Johnson (Republican)

    State Auditor
    Rebecca Otto (DFL)
    Dave Berger (Green)
    Lucy Gerold (Independence)
    Patricia Anderson (Republican) (incumbent)

    Minnesota Senate District 59
    Larry Pogemiller (DFL) (incumbent)
    Rahn Workcuff (Independence)
    Sandra Burt (Republican)

    Minnesota House District 59A
    Diane Loeffler (DFL) (incumbent)
    Barry Hickethier (Republican)

    Judicial
    Court of Appeals 11
    Christopher Dietzen (incumbent)
    Dan Griffith

    4th District Court – Seat 44
    Patricia Kerr Karasov (incumbent)
    Dee Rowe

    4th District Court – Seat 48
    Kevin Kolosky
    John McShane (incumbent)

    Hennepin County Sheriff
    Juan Lopez
    Rich Stanek

    Hennepin County Commissioner District 2
    Gregory Gray
    Mark Stenglein (incumbent)

    Three Rivers Park Commissioner District 1
    Richard Theisen
    Sara Wyatt

    County Attorney – 4 year term
    Mike Freeman
    Andrew (Andy) Luger

    Soil and Water Supervisor District 2
    Dan Flo (incumbent)
    Ernest K. Lehmann
    Phil Willkie

    Soil and Water Supervisor District 4
    John Crampton
    Stephen Jenkins
    Ryan C. Wilson

    School Board – 4 seats
    Christopher Clark
    Pam Costain
    Tom Madden
    Doug Mann
    Chris Stewart
    T. Williams

    OK!

    If you’ve made it through all that, here’s a bit of sexist humor to finish it off, stolen from the 81 percenter.

    One
    day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his sweatshirt.
    Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, “What
    setting do I use on the washing machine?”
    “It depends,” I replied. “What does it say on your shirt?”
    He yelled back, “University of Oklahoma.”

    –

    A
    couple is lying in bed. The man says, “I am going to make you the
    happiest woman in the world.” The woman replies, “I’ll miss you…”

    –

    “It’s
    just too hot to wear clothes today,” Jack says as he stepped out of the
    shower, “honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I mowed
    the lawn like this?”
    “Probably that I married you for your money,” she replied.

    –

    He
    said – Shall we try swapping positions tonight? She said – That’s a
    good idea… you stand by the ironing board while I sit on the sofa and
    fart.

    –

    Q: What do you call an intelligent, good looking, sensitive man?
    A: A rumor

    –

    A
    man and his wife, now in their 60′s, were celebrating their 40th
    wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and
    said that because they had been so good that each one of them could
    have one wish. The wife wished for a trip around the world with her
    husband.

    Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands.
    The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger… Whoosh…immediately he turned ninety!!!

    –

    Q: Why do little boys whine?
    A: They are practicing to be men.

    –

    Q: What do you call a handcuffed man?
    A: Trustworthy.

    –

    Q: Why do female black widow spiders kill their males after mating?
    A: To stop the snoring before it starts.

    –

    Q: What is the difference between men and women?
    A: A woman wants one man to satisfy her every need. A man wants every woman to satisfy his one need.

September 12, 2006