Think you're up on the news? If you're like me, you wonder where to find the other news ... the real news & opinions that the major news outlets have no interest in disseminating. I mean besides the Daily Show / Colbert Report
Alternet is my current favorite

http://www.alternet.org

As example, here are a few of the headlines posted on their website today. (And if you like, you can have Alternet delivered to your email box.)

"Conservatives Cost a Lot of Money"

"Building an Embassy Fit for an Empire" The United States is building a massive embassy complex in the heart of Baghdad that is already becoming a symbol of America's imperial ambitions in the Middle East. ...

"What Lessons Can Progressives Learn from Evangelicals?"

"Family Values Begin at Home, but Who's Home?"

"Bush's Shadow Army"

"Think the Nation's Debt Doesn't Affect You? Think Again"

"Neocons in Cheney's Office Fund al Qaeda-Tied Groups ... and No One Cares?"

"According to U.S. Military Theory, We Can't Win in Iraq" War on Iraq: Bush's new top commander in Iraq says he thinks the war in Iraq is winnable, but his recent manual on counterinsurgency suggests otherwise.

http://www.alternet.org

So you've seen An Inconvenient Truth (or not) and you're wondering what can one do about it ....
Well there's lots of course, but the point of this posting is just to point out a cool organization, Trees for The Future that plants millions of trees worldwide.

Check them out at
www.plant-trees.org

We'll all feel better if you pass this on (our kids will too) ...

What's the deal with illegal immigrants? Why is there suddenly all this fuss?

I won't say that there's no problem, but I'm very suspicious that our Politicians-in-charge have decided to make a lot of noise about it to switch our focus away from the important things. And why is it, that Mr. Chief Politician still thinks he can solve all our problems by throwing troops at them?

Okay, so they're playing their usual games. Why is the media once again playing into it.

From where I'm sitting, absolutely nothing happened to suddenly create all this noise. The administration decided it was tired of taking the heat for it's bad policies in Iraq, it's incompetence in response to Katrina, the runaway oil prices, the environmental consequences of the free market, and worst of all its drooping poll numbers. Oh, and did I mention that the senior citizen voting block is none too happy with all the confusion around the new Medicare plan.

But don't you worry. We'll drop the taxes of the richest so that this mess gets even more expensive for the succeeding generations. I've got news for you. When the time comes for you young 'uns who will have to carry the burden, you WILL wish that the illegal aliens had been allowed to settle and become legal.

One last thought - to each preceding generation, the new immigrants are the unwanted ones. With few exceptions, the odds are good that your ancestors were resented for landing on these shores.

When toons can kill ...

All this murder and mayhem over some tasteless cartoons.

Who am I to tell muslims what constitutes a visual image, but it seems to me that no one has actually made an image of the prophet Muhammad, because no one knows what he looks like. Further writing his name constitutes an icon as much as hanging his name on a badly drawn tasteless sketch.

But then what do I know of these things. Only that people all around the world are strange. And only a few of us recognize it in ourselves and are able to laugh at it.

The Painted Logs of Manassus & Bagdad

I'm currently reading "Lincoln & The Radicals" about a group of senators who worked to influence Lincoln and the outcome of the Civil War. They were for emancipation of the slaves but they often used unsavory means to achieve their cause.

I'm finding some interesting parallels to politics and war today and will post a few thoughts as I proceed in my reading.

At the beginning of the war, the Union troops were unprepared for battle and General McLellan who was in charge of the Union Army was conservative in action (& possibly in politics too). He was reluctant to sacrifice his troops to what he believed to be a large confederate Army fortified across the Potomac from Washington DC. He delayed an offensive for over a year and when he finally started to move, the rebel forces evacuated their positions. It turned out that the information that he used was quite faulty.

When he took ove their fortifications they had created a number of ruses to make it seem like they were a large force. In fact the guns and cannons that were aimed toward Washington were nothing more than logs painted black. This embarassment cost McLellan his position as general over the entire Union forces.

Now jump ahead to today's quagmire in Iraq. Due to faulty information, the US took the unusual step of unilaterally attacking the government of Saddam Hussein. As we know today there were no weapons of Mass Destruction. My theory on why Saddam never came clean and allowed thorough inspections is that considering him to be paranoid, and probably depressed after losing the first US led invasion, he didn't want his enemies to know how vulnerable he really was. And I don't believe he considered the US his primary enemy. That would more likely be Iran and other neighboring forces. So was Saddam painting logs to appear stronger than he really was? I wonder

Don't Argue with Your Vegetables

A year ago we were in a heated debate trying to point out that no matter how bad, the dem. candidate was, he couldn't possibly be as bad as the current guy. But the voters did not agree. Now as we see the polls, people have obviously changed their minds.

WHAT TO DO IN THE MEANTIME

Keep reading. Don't trust the tv news. It covers such a small aspect of what really affects us all. Sometimes I get emails from someone who thinks that democrats are tree huggers and would bring us back to cave days. Actually environmentalism crosses all political boundaries. It's not a social movement. It's a scientific one.

There has not been a scientific debate on global warming for over 6 years. Politicians whose pockets get padded by wealthy industrials who benefit from the current wasteful practices try to build a smoke screen and call for more studies. But the studies can only show how quickly the environment has changed, not how long it will take to recover. Consider that studying tree rings can show the weather patterns for the past 5,000 years, guess which have been the warmest? Studying the types of snow & air trapped in the ice in the arctic regions also gives data.

But like those emails we get, don't forget you're arguing with a vegetable.

For more info on what you can do check out these websites:

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/
http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/

Energy Independence By 2020

Forwarding the following letter from Harry Reid. Yes, it may be democrat propaganda, but it's important info nonetheless. I'd love nothing better than that the republicans get with the picture here. I know there are republicans who understand the problems here, but they're letting this administration AND their people in congress get away with a policy that is just plain bad. Anyway, here's harry's letter

Dear Friend,

It seems as though every time I flip on the television some pundit is talking about how Democrats have no agenda. Well just because a myth is repeated a few thousand times doesn't make it true. The other day I heard one say "Democrats have no energy agenda." Actually it's Republicans whose only energy agenda seems to be giving tax breaks to their friends at oil companies.

Anyone who is serious about national and economic security, knows we must be serious about moving our country toward energy independence. While the Republican energy bill did nothing to lower gas prices or make us more energy independent, Democrats have a 2020 Energy Independence plan that will reduce our reliance on foreign oil over the next 15 years. Our plan will create innovative new jobs and build a cleaner, greener, and stronger America. You can read the details of our 2020 Energy Plan below.

Why does the myth get spread? The White House public relations machine has an annual budget of millions of dollars a year, plus Republicans have thousands of flacks spinning their message at every government agency. Not to mention the millions Republican cronies in Big Oil spend to prevent change that will free our great nation from our malignant overdependence on Mid-Eastern oil. I need your help to get our message out.

So today I am asking you to visit GiveEmHellHarry.com and use our simple tool to write a letter to the editor talking about Democrats' plan. Letters to the editor are one of the most read sections of any paper, so you can really help get the word out by visiting:

http://giveemhellharry.com/page/speakout/2020energy

Democrats believe reducing dependence on foreign oil is crucial to our nation's future. Republicans, on the other hand, believe high gas prices and our dependence on Middle Eastern oil are tolerable. And now they are using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to push through environmental rollbacks and more oil industry handouts. This is simply unacceptable.

The Democrats' 2020 Energy Independence plan will spur new jobs and build a cleaner, greener and stronger America. Help me get the word out and write a letter to the editor today by visiting:

http://giveemhellharry.com/page/speakout/2020energy

Thank you,

Harry Reid

P.S. I also wanted to let you know that more than 20,000 people have used GiveEmHellHarry.com to write letters to oil companies asking them about their record profits while American consumers are being gauged at the pump. We are going to keep the pressure on these companies, so ask your friends to send letters as well by visiting:

http://giveemhellharry.com/page/petition/gas

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE 2020
FOR A CLEANER, GREENER, AND STRONGER AMERICA

Democrats believe the Federal government can and must do a better job of protecting consumers, businesses, and farmers burdened by today's skyrocketing energy prices. We must break our country's dangerous reliance on foreign energy. We believe our leadership and vision can help ensure low cost supplies of sustainable energy to improve American competitiveness and the security of our nation. That's why Democrats have a strategy to make America energy independent by the year 2020. We plan to:

Launch an Apollo Project for Energy
- Create a massive commitment to support research and development necessary to develop alternative energy sources to free us from foreign oil by 2020.

Diversify and Expand Our Energy Supplies
- Increase dramatically the production of domestically grown biofuels - Institute a national renewable portfolio standard
- Enhance incentives for energy production from solar, wind, and geothermal
- Utilize existing domestic oil and gas leases' for environmentally compatible extraction
- Encourage construction of the Alaskan natural gas pipeline
- Support the development of a hydrogen economy
- Increase the deployment of advanced clean coal technology like integrated gasification and coal-to-liquids, in conjunction with carbon capture and storage approaches

Protect Consumers and the Environment
- Prevent oil company price gouging, market manipulation, and disaster profiteering
- Increase energy market transparency and consumer choice at the pump
- Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to cover increased household energy costs
- Provide car buyers with accurate fuel economy information
- Protect pristine public lands from short-sighted oil and gas exploitation
- Enhance funding for weatherization and low-income energy assistance needs in all climates

Improve Energy Security and Prevent Price Volatility
- Create geographically diverse strategic gasoline and jet fuel reserves
- Streamline fuel specifications while maintaining state clean air protections
- Encourage the development of a smarter and more distributed electricity system
- Leverage trade relationships to maintain competitiveness of energy-intensive U.S. manufacturers

Reduce Demand for Oil and Natural Gas
- Lower petroleum use in the federal fleet and improve government conservation efforts
- Provide consumers with more fuel efficient vehicle choices
- Develop renewable substitutes to replace natural gas use in the petrochemical industry
- Improve infrastructure and electricity options for hybrids and plug-in hybrids
- Increase mass transit use and incentivize transit-oriented development
- Advance air traffic management to shorten flight times
- Reduce tractor trailer fuel needs by improving aerodynamics, logistics, and idling

Invest in Energy Efficiency and American Jobs
- Update efficiency standards for appliances and small engines
- Invest in math and science education for the next generation of energy engineers
- Ensure access to worker training and retraining in advanced energy technologies

Light Bulb

I'd been thinking about how mad I am that people, especially politicians can never admit they're wrong. Maybe I'll get around to writing that rant some day.
In the meantime, the following is from an email that's been going around the web. I have no idea where it originated. But it illustrates the problem of just plain wrongheadedness in the current administration, and it's probably better than having to read my rant anyway.


How many members of the Bush Administration does it take to change a
light bulb?

Ten

1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed
2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the lightbulb needs
to be changed
3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb
4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either for
changing the light bulb or for eternal darkness
5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton for the
new light bulb
6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing
on a step ladder under the banner "Mission Accomplished"
7. One administration insider to resign and in detail reveal how Bush
was literally "in the dark" the whole time
8. One to viciously smear no. 7
9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has
had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along
10. Finally, one to confuse Americans about the difference between
screwing a light bulb and screwing the country

New Orleans

RELIEF FUND

I'm sure you've given to organizations such as the American Red Cross, but keep in mind there are many animals in dire straits too. Here is an update from the Best Friends Animal group - (which is a group worth knowing about - they have a great animal sanctuary):
"HURRICANE KATRINA: Best Friends Director of Operations Paul Berry is currently in New Orleans to help in rescue efforts in the wake of the hurricane. Paul, a native of New Orleans and one of the founders of the Southern Animal Foundation. As communications permit, Paul is keeping us up to date on what's happening for animals in the disaster. We are posting special reports from him on the Best Friends website .

Best Friends has also launched a RELIEF FUND. All donations will be used in local relief efforts for the animals through local rescue groups. Your support will be much appreciated. Use the special button on the donations page at:

And please keep animals on the Gulf Coast in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
Celeste Crimi,
Best Friends Animal Society"

How TagYerit is doing it's small part to help the Hurricane victims

I know it's not much, but Tagyerit is currently turning over 100% of our proceeds from the sale of our
CD Tubeman to help out. If you've been waiting for an excuse to buy Tubeman, I can think of no better.

Molly Ivins concerning Hurricane Katrina

Check out Molly Ivins' Sept. 1 commentary. She discusses how politics has had ramifications on exacerbating this disaster. Her focus is "This is not "just politics" or blaming for political advantage. This is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do about their responsibilities. And about who winds up paying the price for those policies. " They'll keep this article posted for about a week (also look in the archive list).

news on the lighter side this time

Which Came First - Life or Art?

August 19, 2005

When Marc Ecko made plans for a NYC block party for Wed. Aug. 24, 2005 he got his permit for 20 graffiti artists to recreated their art on mockups of subway cars. These artists had gotten their start by tagging and spraying NYC subway cars more than 20 years ago. This party would acknowledge their place in the pantheon of art in the hip-hop culture - clearly a case of art imitating life. One of Ecko's ulterior motives was to promote the new game, "Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure."  So when NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Peter Vallone had the permit revoked, they were doing their bit to imitate art. After all, the game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure is  a story that has artists use their graffiti to fight the corrupt government of the city of New Radius.

I don't know about you, but it strikes me as pretty funny. Now I don't mean to imply that either Bloomberg or Vallone are corrupt  (I wouldn't know), but they are doing their part to suppress free speech. Keep in mind that there is no vandalism involved in this planned event.

Here are some of their quotes.

Marc Ecko (event planner, graffiti artist, fashion designer, game developer)

• "Graffiti is without question the most powerful art movement in recent history and has been a driving inspiration throughout my career,"
  
  
• "I am well aware that drawing graffiti in public places is a crime, and I do not condone or encourage it. At the same time, however, graffiti is a legitimate and historical part of the great art history of our city."
  
  
• "I have retained legal counsel who will vigorously and zealously represent my First Amendment interests, and those of my fellow artists and the community at large."
  
  
• Ecko spokesman Clint Caldwell, "(this event is) an art exhibition celebrating the history of Hip-Hop and in particular street art."
  
  
• Caldwell told the New York Sun. "We're trying to showcase these 20 graffiti artists who are established artists now." (some have pieces in museums or work for major corporations (Time Incorporated and Pepsi)
  

Meanwhile the following statements have been coming out of the mayor's office:

• "The city isn't obligated to permit an event on a public street that encourages the vandalism of subway cars in the name of selling T-shirts and video games," mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler.
  
  
• Mayor Michael Bloomberg "Graffiti is just one of those things that destroys our quality of life, and why anybody thinks that it's funny or cute to encourage kids to go do that, I don't know. We have talked to them and asked them to not have a subway car motif to write graffiti. This is not really art or expression. This is - let's be honest about what it is - it's trying to encourage people to do something that's not in anybody's interest."
  
  
• Bloomberg offered, "Look, there is a fine line here between freedom of expression and going out and encouraging people to hurt this city. Defacing subway cars is hardly a joke."
  

So let's look at this from the short historical perspective. Back in the 1970s & '80s. when graffiti artists did something no one had done before, they took the public surfaces in their own hands and inspired people like Marc Ecko to become good public citizens and make gazillions of dollars. If we look no further than this one example, we can see that Bloomberg's argument is all wet, when he says "something that's not in anybody's interest.". If Bloomberg wants us to believe that their objection is to the commercialism, then he should refrain from comments about what constitutes art. Further he should keep his comments about this being a promotion of vandalism, when he knows that Ecko is spending $100,000 plus to provide simulated subway cars for these artists to paint, not to mention the security forces he's paying to keep things legit. And finally to imply that commercialism cannot coexist with art, we'd have to spin the wayback machine to life prior to Andy Warhol. He let that genie out of the bottle over 40 years ago. And finally, if you ask me, I thought those painted subway cars were pretty cool! Made life and the commute much more interesting. God knows the daily grind is not half so much fun. If that's not art, then I'm out of here.

August 22
On Monday, Aug. 22, Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan federal court ruled that the city must allow the exhibition, calling the city's action as a "flagrant violation" of First Amendment's free-speech rights. He stated that by the city's argument, ""Such heavy-handed censorship would, moreover, fall particularly hard on artists, who frequently revel in breaking conventions or tweaking the powers that be. ... A street performance of `Hamlet' would be tantamount to encouraging revenge murder." The city can still appeal.

August 24th
We went. They painted. It was fun. Everyone was polite. So is it art? You be the judge. Click this link to find a slide show of the event.