Got music?

Its been awhile since I shared some old music with yall.

This first one was on the soundtrack to the movie "Car Wash" (1976)--which I once reviewed for the (very) long-defunct Focus Rock Entertainment, back in the day. I wrongly predicted it would be a hit; instead, the theme song "Car Wash" was the big hit. (sigh) But it did become a funk classic and was popular in the discos, as the B-side of the hit ballad from the film, "I wanna get next to you."

Produced and written by the late, great Motown-powerhouse, Norman Whitfield, this song features the legendary funk bass of Lequeint 'Duke' Jobe--an amazing groove. All punctuated with beautiful big brass noise, which defines 70s funk for me.

To this day, now and forever, when someone says "put your money where your mouth is"... I mentally finish the sentence: "or you ain't said a damn thing"...

Yep.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - Rose Royce



~*~

I know I have played this here before, probably more than once. Its one of my favorite pieces of instrumental music, ever.
(PS: Link for those who missed the old instrumentals post! I never did get around to posting part 2, so consider THIS part 2.)

Although I love the original studio version (and most live renditions), the Allman Brothers video clips currently on Youtube have some fuzzy audio and are not as good as simply listening to (Allman Brothers guitarist) Dickey Betts play it as an 8-minute guitar lesson (with his son Duane) for Guitar World magazine... elegant, spare, and oh so lovely.

They have to slow down at around the 3:45 mark (the "second theme"), where it gets somewhat complicated and psychedelic. Other than that, this version is almost good enough to stand on its own.

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed - Dickey Betts



Aside: I didn't know Betts had named his son Duane, which gets me rather choked up.

~*~

Time for working class proletarian bluegrass. You can blame the election. Class consciousness uber alles!

This is an old union song I grew up with. The Blue Diamond mines in Kentucky are still going strong, in case you didn't know. The union? Not as strong.

You old black gold you've taken my soul
And your dust has darkened my home
And now that we’re old you're turning your back
But where else can an old miner go

It’s Big Leatherwood and it’s Algoma Block
And now it’s Blue Diamond too
The pits they are closing - get another job
But what work can an old miner do

John L. had a dream but it’s broken it seems
And the union is letting us down
Last night they took away my hospital card
Saying why don’t you leave this old town.

The union didn't let you down, the Rockefellers did. Now they have decided they were wrong; they are divesting and fast-dissociating themselves from fossil fuels. And how many miners died to make them rich?

A day late and a dollar short. Not our dollar, though.

Blue Diamond Mines - Jean Ritchie

Who is the American Chemistry Council?

.... and why are they trying to interfere in South Carolina elections?


The American Chemistry Council has sponsored a snazzy campaign commercial for Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, assuring us that they are CONSERVATIVE LEADERS who will CUT GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

True enough, but what does this have to do with chemistry?

Who are these busybodies?

Curious, I investigated. Which ain't easy. (They don't really want us to know who they are, do they?) The American Chemistry Council web page does not inform us of WHAT they are about, or who they are funded by. They claim to be committed to "sustainability"--which begs the question, why are they endorsing climate-change-deniers like Scott? (Obviously, the word "sustainability" will eventually be as abused as those all-purpose words green and low-fat.)

Okay, so who are the members? Corporations, not people. (Even though Mitt Romney properly schooled us that corporations ARE people, I never believed him.) Hmm, a big-ass alphabetical list. I decided, in light of the sustainability-claim, to look under E, for EXXON.

And bingo, there they are. As is BP, the outfit that blew a hole in the ocean the size of Madagascar.

So. The oil companies, disguised as the pleasantly-neutral sounding AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL want us to vote Republican, presumably since the GOP will keep the oil wars going and vote against all (authentically) green initiatives. I think it is also quite fascinating that a good number of these companies are NOT American.

And it isn't just Big Oil, but Big Plastic.

From Our Oregon, I found the agenda of the American Chemistry Council:

Banning plastic grocery sacks has been on the Oregon Legislature’s docket for several years. Since 2009, proponents have made their case across the state – locally and in the legislature. The issue had its first hearing for this year’s legislative session on Tuesday. [this article was first published January 2011]

Enter the Washington, DC-based American Chemistry Council, which isn’t, we were bummed to discover, an association of high school science teachers, but is, in fact, a lobbying group for the plastics industry.

The American Chemistry Council has spent more than $85,000 on lobbying against the plastic bag ban since 2009 (not including the current session), and as reported by Willamette Week donated $1,000 each to 15 key lawmakers from both parties before last year’s election.

Last month, according to the Oregonian, a “mystery poll” was conducted among Oregon residents, seemingly as an attempt to test negative opinions on the ban. Pollsters asked participants questions clearly slanted against the ban, including whether participants would rather the Legislature protect the economy, build jobs or ban plastic bags. Misconceptions such as the “bag police pursuing Oregonians” and the idea that there are harmful contaminates in reusable bags, were also used.

As Benjamin Braddock was famously told on his graduation day: "PLASTICS!"

Big Oil and Big Plastic, cozily disguised as the friendly-named AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL, are brazenly interfering in our elections.

Now that elections are up for sale, they aren't wasting any time.

~*~

The entire noxious commercial is below.

Nuclear reactor shut down at Oconee

EMERGENCY! We warned you Duke Energy had their heads up their asses.

From WSPA:

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. -
A radioactive leak at an Upstate nuclear power plant has forced the shutdown of one of its reactors.

Emergency officials say the leak was detected Sunday night at the Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca. The leak occurred in a containment building at a rate of 1/10 of a gallon per minute.

According to Scott Kern with the Oconee County Emergency Management Agency, the incident was small and under control. He also says there are no immediate threats and that the public is not in any danger.

The reactor will remain offline as crews work to fix the leak. One reactor was already shut down for repairs. This leaves one functioning reactor at the plant.

Duke Energy will continue to monitor the situation. They say they don't anticipate any delays in meeting the needs of customers as a result of the shutdown.

And that's it. That's all. That's the news. Duke Energy officials cozily proclaim: Everything is gonna be FINE FINE FINE.

Let us hope.

Stay tuned, everyone.

Latest in Nuke News

Last week, we interviewed Mary Olsen (of Nuclear Information and Resource Service) on Occupy the Microphone. (For the best in recent nuke news, check out NIRS.org)



Some of the news Mary shared with us:

[] In March, the NRC denied a third reactor to Calvert Cliffs nuke in Maryland:

The five-member commission [that oversees the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission] upheld an earlier Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruling on the Calvert Cliffs 3 new nuclear reactor application, which had denied UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC’s application because of its failure to meet NRC foreign ownership requirements for US power reactors.

On Aug. 31, the three-judge ASLB denied a license for the proposed Calvert Cliffs unit 3 project because UniStar was bought out by Electricite de France in November 2010, resulting in 100-percent French ownership of UniStar.

[] In April, the Crystal River nuke in Florida was permanently shut down due to cracks in the containment dome and other problems; it has been offline since 2009 and has been a long-term headache for Duke Energy ever since:

The Crystal River plant in Citrus County, Florida, is operated by Progress Energy Florida. A failed repair to its thick reactor containment building led to repeated problems with cracking concrete in the structure.

Duke cited differences with merger partner Progress Energy last year over Crystal River’s condition. Progress CEO Bill Johnson, who was fired as chief executive of the combined companies, had favored repairing the 36-year-old plant.

But a Duke-commissioned engineering report late last year concluded that, while repairs were feasible, they could cost up to $3.4 billion in a worst-case scenario.

[] In May, the Kewaunee nuke in Wisconsin was permanently shut down:

The Kewaunee plant, which opened in 1974, was sold in 2005 to Dominion, based in Richmond, Va., by its owners, the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and Wisconsin Power and Light. In the past, the lengthy decommissioning process that nuclear power requires was in the hands of local companies, which have had the option to go to a public service commission and ask for a rate increase to pay for the job if it proved unexpectedly difficult.

But Kewaunee was a “merchant” plant, a sort of free agent on the grid, selling its electricity on contract, at a price set by the market, not by the government.

...

Earlier this year, [Rep. Edward Markey] pointed out, the owners of the Crystal River 3 plant in Florida decided to retire it rather than repair its containment structure, because of unfavorable economics. Industry experts say that several reactors are operating at a loss while their owners wait for the glut of natural gas to disappear. How long that will be, and how many will last, is not clear.

“Once these old nuclear reactors shut down — as we’re seeing now — it will take 60 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to decontaminate them,” Mr. Markey said in a statement. “Taxpayers should have assurances that these nuclear relics don’t outlive their corporate owners and their ability to fund nuclear cleanup costs, leaving ordinary Americans to foot the bill.”

[] The NRC denied a license to Nuclear Innovation North America LLC for their proposed South Texas 3 & 4 Project (a joint venture between NRG Energy and Toshiba) because Toshiba owns a controlling interest in the nuclear reactors, in violation of US law:

The federal regulator denied the application of Nuclear Innovation North America LLC for a license to build the reactors, noting that Toshiba’s ownership stake in and “overwhelming financial contributions” to the project afford it a degree of control over the nuclear power plant that exceeds the limits of the Atomic Energy Act.

“The staff has determined that Toshiba, a Japanese corporation, through Toshiba American Nuclear Energy Corp. … its American subsidiary, is the sole source of financing for NINA,” the commission said in a letter denying the license.

[] Nuclear plant San Onofre 2 & 3 in California, has been shut down permanently, due to one disaster after another:

[The] nuke plant’s two operating reactors had already been shut down since January 2012. Southern California Edison’s decision to give up the ghost can be traced to its pattern of extreme mismanagement of plant operations, consequent huge financial losses, and the tenacious opposition that rallied local communities to take action to keep the unsafe plant shut down.

San Onofre is the largest nuclear power plant to be shut down in the US. One reactor was retired in 1992. The other two, just cut loose, formerly generated 2200 Megawatts of electricity to 1.5 million households. Located between San Diego and Los Angeles, the plant supplied power to 1.5 million households. 8.7 million people live within 50 miles of it. The two reactors at San Onofre had been scheduled to operate until 2022.

...

Long before Fukushima, San Onofre had already been having its own problems.
Reactor Unit 1, started up in 1968, had to be shut down in 1992 after problems with equipment that came back to haunt Edison with a vengeance in recent years at its other reactors.

In 2006 workers found radioactive water under Unit 1 that was 16 times more radioactive than EPA permitted levels for its presence in drinking water. And this was 14 years after that reactor had been shut down.
In August 2008 the Los Angeles Times reported “Injury rates at San Onofre put it dead last among US nuclear plants when it comes to industrial safety.” Later that year it emerged that a battery system, key to providing backup power to pump water to flood Unit 2’s reactor in case of a potential meltdown “was inoperable between 2004 and 2008 because of loose electrical connection,” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported.

And also in 2008, the Radiation and Public Health Project reported, in the European Journal of Cancer Care, that the counties nearest San Onofre, had the highest child leukemia mortality rates, of counties near nuclear power plants studied for the years 1974-2004.

...

All this led to 2009 and 2010, when Edison found it necessary to replace the four massive steam generators in San Onofre’s units 2 and 3. The original steam generators lasted over a quarter century, though they were supposed to last for the life of the reactors, 40 years. Steam generators facilitate the creation of steam to turn turbines to generate electricity in the type of nuclear plants most common in the US. Water pipes run through reactors and are heated by nuclear fuel. But this water also picks up lots of radioactivity. The steam generators have tubes that pass on the heat to another set up pipes that make the steam, while not passing on the radioactivity, which otherwise would escape into the environment and contaminate it. Thus the steam generators are key to keeping these nuclear plants running safely. Edison reportedly spent $680 million on the replacement steam generators. Since the plant was not originally designed to need replacements, the utility had to cut huge holes in buildings to get them inside.

And then they turned to junk in just a few years.

In a March 2012 report , Arne Grundersen, of Vermont’s Fairewind’s Associates, a former nuclear industry engineer, described the decisive moments when San Onofre’s shut down began in January 2012: “Unit 3 was operating at full power and experienced a complete perforation of one [steam generator] tube that allowed highly radioactive water from inside the reactor to mix with non-radioactive water that was turning the turbine. As a consequence, an uncontrolled release of radiation ensued, and San Onofre was forced to shut down due to steam generator failure.”

[] And finally, Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy has shelved all plans for a nuclear reactor in Iowa, opting for wind turbines instead:

MidAmerican Energy has scrapped plans for Iowa’s second nuclear plant and will refund $8.8 million ratepayers paid for a now-finished feasibility study, utility officials said Monday.

The utility has decided against building any major power plant: “We opted for what was in the best interest of our customers,” MidAmerican vice president for regulatory affairs Dean Crist told The Des Moines Register.

Mid­American will focus on its plan to build up to 656 wind turbines in a $1.9 billion project across Iowa, which also will trim power bills by saving fuel costs.

Thanks to Mary for coming on our show; she will be revisiting us soon.

Upcoming local events

For those listening to us on WOLI radio in Greenville, here is a listing of the events we have been announcing recently.


[] PUBLIC HEARING: Thursday, April 4, 2013 (Speak up for the Broad River!)

The proposed WS LEE Nuclear Power Plant in Gaffney, SC needs an NPDES wastewater discharge permit to dump chemicals and heated water into the Broad River at 99 Island Reservoir. Folks concerned about the health and social impacts of this plant will attend the hearing to make public comments and request denial of this permit to protect downstream communities. JOIN US!

Restoration Church
1905 N. Limestone Street
Gaffney, SC 29340

6pm: A presentation by Dept of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) with questions & answers
7pm: public speaking begins
View the draft permit (PDF)
General information on Clean Water Act permits from the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

For ride-sharing and more information, check out Clean Water for North Carolina..


[] Greenville Tech Earth Day Event: Thursday, April 11, 2013 - 10am - 2pm

Greenville Technical College
Student Center Courtyard
506 S Pleasantburg Drive
Greenville, SC 29607

Free event designed for students, faculty, alumni, staff and community... learn to be environmentally responsible!

For more information 864-250-8767


[] SpringSkunk Music Festival: April 12 - 13, 2013 - all day long!

Bands featured: Col. Bruce Hampton, Brushfire Stankgrass, Locust Honey, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Nu-Blu Bluegrass, Sol Driven Train, River Whyless, and many more.

Albino Skunk Music Festival - The Skunk Farm
4063 Jordan Road
Greer, SC 29651

For more information - info@albinoskunk.com.

NOTE: I am hoping to make it there to read the Tarot, so be there or be square... look for our Occupy the Microphone radio booth! (And my previous account of Skunkin is HERE.)


[] Ninth Annual Greer Earth Day Run and Fitness Festival: Saturday, April 20, 2013 - 7:30am

Choose from three different events this year, Half Marathon, 5K and 10K, including a free Earth Kids Run at 9:30am. Advance registration necessary, brought to you by the Greenville Track Club. There will also be a variety of exhibitors at the Fitness Festival.

Greer City Hall/Park
301 E Poinsett Street
Greer, SC 29651

For more information, check out GreerEarthDayRun.com.


[] Furman Earth Day Festival: Saturday, April 20, 2013 - 1pm- 6pm

Furman University (Amphitheater)
3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville, SC 29613

Earth Day celebration will include music, local food, cool people, sustainability-related student initiatives, community organizations and more.

For more information, contact the Shi Center at 864-294-3655


[] DIY show at the Garaj Mahal: Saturday, April 20, 2013 - 7:30 - until

Bands featured: They Eat Their Own God, Rubrics (includes members of Occupy Greenville!), Dables, M.E.H., Jake Xingu (greatest ever!), Satan in Bondage.

Garaj Mahal
22 Apopka Ave
Greenville, SC 29609

Bring cash for merchandise and to support the artists! Please friend Garaj Mahal on Facebook and check out the DIY Greenville website. (PS: Daisy's other excellent Garaj Mahal photos are HERE!)

Left: The Greenville County Recycling Center at Stone Avenue.


[] City of Greenville Earth Day: Monday, April 22, 2013 - 10am - 2pm

North Greenville Recycling and Education Center
514 Rutherford Road
Greenville, SC 29609

Phone Book Drive, bring those old phone books and other recyclable detritus in to the county's newest recycling center. This event will include refreshments, giveaways and information about other upcoming environmentally-friendly events.

For more information, call 864-467-8300.


[] Authors and Artisans Fair: Sunday, April 28, 2013 - 12:30 - 4pm

Local artists, authors, photographers, musicians and fans will be at this event, making connections. Free demonstrations, workshops, performances. A percentage of all sales (CDs, books, artwork, etc) will go to support the GUUF.

Greenville Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship
1135 State Park Road
Greenville, SC 29609

For more information, 864-271-4883.


[] Volunteer Fair: Sunday, May 5, 2013 - 12:30 - 1:30pm

If you are interested in volunteering in the Greenville community, stop by and meet the volunteer coordinators. Volunteer for the GUUF choir, for marriage equality or to help the homeless. Free lunch and great fellowship!

Greenville Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship
1135 State Park Road
Greenville, SC 29609

For more information, 864-271-4883 or contact volunteers@greenvilleuu.org.


[] Renaissance Faire: May 31 to June 1, 2013 - all day long!

Games, costumes, music, cool people, jousting, sword-fighting and fairies. Yall come!

Greenville Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship
1135 State Park Road
Greenville, SC 29609

For more information, 864-271-4883.


[] Medicines from the Earth: May 31st to June 3, 2013

Blue Ridge Assembly
84 Blue Ridge Assembly Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711

Medicines from the Earth (pdf) is the best herbal conference in the USA. (PS: Daisy's old post about her conference experience is HERE.) Symposiums, nature walks, workshops, demonstrations and panel discussions... accompanied by a tour of the Gaia Herb Farm.

For more information, 541-482-3016.

~*~

Our show yesterday was a lot of fun! Give us a listen, folks.

Odds and Sods - Watch out for those rats edition

Although I realize the rest of the country is covered up in wetness of one kind or another, the weather here has been great, and I've been spending virtually all of my free time outside. Apologies for ongoing blogular negligence.

Below--graffiti on my beloved Swamp Rabbit Trail. (as always, you can click to enlarge all photos)



I also realize its been awhile since I did an Odds and Sods post, so here we go.

[] Starting off with an in-depth "first principles" (Right vs Left) political discussion I am having on another blog, which you all may find interesting. We're SO polite!

[] More apologies: I keep forgetting to post a follow-up to The History Project. I promise to rectify this sorry state of affairs before the end of the month! In the meantime, check out my first History Project post. (What kinds of 'progressive history' would people like to see, in particular?)

[] Tuesday evening, I attended an information session up at Furman University, featuring David Lochbaum, director of the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Nuclear Safety Project. Mr Lochbaum discussed the uncomfortable, but inescapable, facts that the Oconee nuke is more at risk from earthquake and fire damage than the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan was.



Lochbaum believes that nukes would be generally safe if, you know, greedy corporations did not try to cut corners (and employees) and the regulating agencies actually did some regulating. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is funded by the nuclear industry, which means they are financially beholden to the industry they are supposed to be regulating. Good work if you can get it!



And today, we learn from the New York Times that a RAT was partially responsible for the nuclear accident at Fukushima, following the earthquake.

I guess nukes are safe if you can make sure no stray rats get in!

[] ANNOUNCEMENT of PUBLIC HEARING: April 4, 2013 (Speak up for the Broad River!)

The proposed WS LEE Nuclear Power Plant in Gaffney, SC needs an NPDES wastewater discharge permit to dump chemicals and heated water into the Broad River at 99 Island Reservoir. Folks concerned about the health and social impacts of this plant will attend the hearing to make public comments and request denial of this permit to protect downstream communities. JOIN US!

Restoration Church
1905 N. Limestone Street
Gaffney, SC 29340

6pm: A presentation by Dept of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) with questions & answers
7pm: public speaking begins
View the draft permit (PDF)
General information on Clean Water Act permits from the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

**Stay tuned for information on ride sharing from North Carolina communities.**

[] I fussed about Tumblr on New Years' Eve, and got my ass fried in short order by some youngsters who hate grandma (and what did I expect?)... so I haven't said much else or picked a fight with the Tumblrites. But I have since done some snooping, and I ain't the only one who thinks the place is a swamp.

I discovered the highly-amusing Tumblr blog "The Best of Social Justice"--and its a stone gas, as the late Don Cornelius would have said. (Note: Don't forget to read the FAQs, which contains a handy-dandy, useful glossary of social justice blogging-lingo. I've been waiting SO LONG for this! Thank you, whoever you are!)

I guess I should be embarrassed that these Tumblrites are (supposedly) social justice folks, but instead, I am simply relieved someone is subjecting their dopey excesses to ridicule. At this point, they are doing much more harm than good; thus I am far more embarrassed by the spectacle of their wallowing-in-oppression ('oppression') and their constant meddling/policing the language of the Left (which inhibits involvement by newbies and/or uneducated people who don't know the intricate insider-lingo), than I am embarrassed by exposing them in the first place. If anything, I think more such blogs are in order. They are laughable, so let's laugh at them.

Also, let me make it clear, I think lots of them are total fakes. Others are gifted exaggerators, obviously addicted to melodrama.

Which brings me to---

[] Back in July (yes, I only came across it relatively recently, she admitted), Shae McDonovan finally wrote what we have all been thinking: Pretending You’re Oppressed: The New Internet Fad. This is a must-read for progressives who hang out on social justice blogs, tumblrs, LJs, forums and other opinion-oriented websites:

Personally, I think they all suffer from plain old “being boring” oppression. You know, the kind where you’re dull and you watch too much TV and you feel a desperate need to be cool, different, part of a group. One could almost say that “interesting” people are oppressive, flaunting their interestingness in your face, telling stories of suffering and pain, while you know you live in a comfortable 2-bedroom apartment your mom and dad paid for, drive in a car that you’ve never had to personally get fixed, and the most harassment you ever received in your life was being told you were weird that one time you wore neon orange lipstick and spandex to your junior prom in high school.

But besides being all very ridiculous, it does have a clear-cut, damaging effect to legitimate oppression, those where people are actually dying, becoming homeless, being forced into prostitution, and living in dire poverty, unable to get a hand up. When you take the words of those who truly suffer, not because they feel emotions while sitting in their middle-class home behind their thousand dollar computer, but because they spent 15 years in jail on a trumped up charge they didn’t even commit, and are now unable to get a job due to stigmatization that doesn’t apply across the board, those people now receive less of the sympathy and help they need to survive. For every person that complains that a disagreement on the internet about their catbunnyanimusparklegirl status triggers them (despite them continuing the argument until the wee hours of the morning), someone who is so triggered they can barely breathe, curled up, reliving trauma, is invalidated, ignored, and not provided what they need.

[] I talked about our new Pope Francis on the radio, and therefore did not blog about him. The whole show is HERE, in which I also talk about the history of the Jesuits at some length.

Another good show, concerns Governor Nikki Haley refusing federal Medicaid money, thereby forfeiting $4.1 billion (in our taxes!) to other states. I DID blog about that one, and yeah, I am still pissed off about it.

~*~

Tomorrow our show will feature 2012 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, so we hope you will tune in. Local phone is 864-751-1033, so feel free to call and comment.

Thursday links

Got copious links for your perusal.

~*~

Did Nikki Haley Kill Climate Study?:

The article in The State [Columbia, SC newspaper] also reported that [John] Frampton [head of South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources] retired in 2012 after conflicts with Caroline Rhodes, then the Chairperson of the Board that oversaw the Department of Resources. Rhodes had been appointed to her position by Republican Governor Nikki Haley. The DNR climate change study pre-dated the Haley administration. Although current DNR officials are claiming that the refusal to release the study is not politically motivated, it's hard to accept their denials at face value. The report was on track to be released until Haley, a Tea Party favorite, was elected as South Carolina's governor and appointed her own people to the DNR Board after assuming office in 2011.

The only logical conclusion is that her administration quashed the climate change report prepared by the state's own scientists based on political considerations.

~*~

Kirk Smalley Found A Mission After the Suicide of His Son:

Smalley’s life has become a mission to stop bullying, and youth suicide. Kirk now spends his days telling his son’s story at schools around the world. He has told Ty’s story at more than 500 hundred schools and has talked to hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and school administrators since Ty’s suicide nearly three years ago. He said,

We do it because we don’t want another family to live our nightmare. Laura doesn’t ever want another mama to find her baby the way she found ours. We don’t want another kid to ever feel the way Ty felt, that that was the only option. We’re not doing it for Ty. We’re doing it for all the other kids out there. The main part of our message is not to stand silent and watch it happen and that’s addressing the bystanders. If we can empower those kids to be willing to stand up and say ‘you know what – this isn’t right. It’s not funny,’ then we’ll greatly outnumber the bullies. One kid, one voice can make a difference.

~*~

One of my favorite bloggers has called it a day: Renegade Evolution, whom I have written about on this blog before.

Good luck to you, my friend. May the wind always be at your back.

~*~

TOO ADORABLE FOR WORDS! SQUEEEE! AIYEEEE! The San Diego Zoo's panda cub, Xiao Liwu, playing with his little ball during his medical exam.

If you die from cuteness, not my fault, you were warned.

~*~

Obama to urge court to overturn same-sex marriage ban in California:

Government sources say the Justice Department will by day's end articulate a legal position in the so-called Proposition 8 case, a ban by California voters over same-sex marriage that is now being challenged in the Supreme Court. At the very least, the administration will express general support for gay and lesbian couples in that state alone to wed.

That case and another appeal over the federal Defense of Marriage Act will produce blockbuster rulings from the justices in coming months.

Gay rights groups have privately urged Obama and his top aides to go beyond his previous personal rhetoric in support of the right and come down "on the side of history" in this legal fight. Those sources tell CNN that Obama has made the final decision over whether to file a brief and what to say.

As of earlier this week, there was still internal debate among White House and Justice Department staff about whether the president should take the big step and say there is a constitutional right of gay and lesbian couples to wed. The administration was also considering a compromise position -- affirming previous support for same-sex marriage, at least in California, while conceding other states may have the option to ban it.

~*~

Wikileaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning pleads guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him:

After two months in military jail in Kuwait, Manning was moved to the US Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, on July 29, 2010. He was held there in maximum security confinement for nearly a year, where he sat alone in a cell for 23 hours per day and was denied a pillow and sheets. An online petition at Avaaz.org received more than 500,000 signatures calling for President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to "end the torture, isolation, and public humiliation of Bradley Manning." And in February of this year a UN report from Juan Mendez, the special rapporteur on torture, concluded after receiving information from the US government about Manning's treatment that "imposing seriously punitive conditions of detention on someone who has not been found guilty of any crime is a violation of his right to physical and psychological integrity…"

~*~

I heard Toubab Krewe last night, on the namesake of this blog, the indispensable UNCLE DAVE'S DEAD AIR. Loved em! Sharing their musical genius here... apparently, they play frequently at the Orange Peel in Asheville (their hometown), and I am fervently hoping to get up there to see them in the future.

This is an acoustic set recorded live at The Festy Experience, October 2011. Their electric sets are just as impressive.

Acoustic Sessions at The Festy : Toubab Krewe



If you know the names of any of these exotic instruments, please let me know!

No to the Keystone XL Pipeline

I totally forgot to post photos of our anti-Keystone XL Pipeline demonstration, here in Greenville on Saturday. This might be because it actually started to snow (a big crisis in South Carolina!) and I quickly hightailed it home after we ate lunch.



Our small but hardy troupe included Green Party members, 350.org and Occupy Greenville. This was staged in front of the downtown TD Bank, which is funding the Keystone XL Pipeline. Local actions were on Saturday, while the larger, national demonstration in Washington (on the National Mall) was scheduled for Sunday.

I helped pass out leaflets to curious onlookers, which outlined some of the following points (this particular excerpt is from Friends of the Earth):

The Canadian oil and gas company TransCanada hopes to begin building a new oil pipeline that would trek close to 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. If constructed, the pipeline, known as the Keystone XL, will carry one of the world’s dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil. Along its route from Alberta to Texas, this pipeline could devastate ecosystems and pollute water sources, and would jeopardize public health.

Giant oil corporations invested in Canada's tar sands are counting on the Keystone XL pipeline to make the expansion of oil extraction operations profitable: The pipeline would double imports of dirty tar sands oil into the United States and transport it to refineries on the Gulf Coast and ports for international export.

Before TransCanada can begin construction, however, the company needs a presidential permit from the Obama administration

...

Environmental concerns

Pollution from tar sands oil greatly eclipses that of conventional oil. During tar sands oil production alone, levels of carbon dioxide emissions are three times higher than those of conventional oil, due to more energy-intensive extraction and refining processes. The Keystone XL pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of dirty tar sands oil into the United States daily, doubling our country's reliance on it and resulting in climate-damaging emissions equal to adding more than six million new cars to U.S. roads.

During the tar sands oil extraction process, vast amounts of water are needed to separate the extracted product, bitumen, from sand, silt, and clay. It takes three barrels of water to extract each single barrel of oil. At this rate, tar sands operations use roughly 400 million gallons of water a day. Ninety percent of this polluted water is dumped into large human-made pools, known as tailing ponds, after it’s used. These ponds are home to toxic sludge, full of harmful substances like cyanide and ammonia, which has worked its way into neighboring clean water supplies.

Northern Alberta, the region where tar sands oil is extracted, is home to many indigenous populations. Important parts of their cultural traditions and livelihood are coming under attack because of tar sands operations. Communities living downstream from tailing ponds have seen spikes in rates of rare cancers, renal failure, lupus, and hyperthyroidism. In the lakeside village of Fort Chipewyan, for example, 100 of the town’s 1,200 residents have died from cancer.

It also appears that there will be minimal (if any) increases in American employment for the Pipeline, despite copious Republican propaganda that it will provide more jobs.

Notice that their "more jobs!" claims are always very nonspecific and vague. There's a reason for that.



~*~

Sunday's action in Washington featured a whopping 40,000 demonstrators. 350.org reports:

The speakers up on stage today represented the full diversity of our movement, from indigenous leaders across the United States and Canada, to clean energy investors like Tom Steyer, to environmental leaders like Mike Brune and Bill McKibben, to civil and voting rights activists like Rosario Dawson and Rev. Lennox Yearwood.

The march today looked like the movement that elected President Obama. Now, it’s time for him to join us in standing up to Big Oil and saying no to Keystone XL. Because this movement isn’t going anywhere. We’re, to borrow a phrase, fired up and ready to go. And we’re not stopping until the President takes action.

Here is the NPR report on the demonstration.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see the New York Times cave to Big Oil on this one. (not linking)

I strongly urge people to investigate and study the issue on their own, because the mainstream media seems determined NOT to provide the whole story.

Green Party Livestream show during President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address

The Green Party will be live-blogging the State of the Union address tonight. Included will be my esteemed radio co-host, GORGEOUS GREGG!
Speaking of which, here is the podcast of today's OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE show, on WOLT FM. Our special guest was the amazing Art Goodtimes.



PRESS RELEASE:

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold a special online GP-TV broadcast during President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 12.

The show, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and 6 p.m. Pacific Time, will be aired on the Green Party's Livestream Channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).

Viewers will be able to participate in a simultaneous chat about the address on the Livestream page and can also call in with comments and questions after the end of President Obama's speech. Craig Seeman and Starlene Rankin will produce and host the show.

Jill Stein, the Green Party's 2012 nominee for President (http://www.jillstein.org), will be a guest on the show via Skype after the President's speech.

Greens and friends will discuss the State of the Union, expectations for the second term of the Obama Administration, and the Green Party's own plans for the coming year. Issues like climate change, which President Obama discussed in his inaugural speech, will get special attention: is the President serious about curbing global warming, or will he approve the Keystone XL pipeline and continue to promote fossil fuel production?

See also:

Facebook page for the Livestream show: http://www.facebook.com/events/250333045092419

"Green Party urges national protest against the proposed Keystone XL and Trailbreaker pipelines"
Green Party press release, January 31, 2013
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=583

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

NRC denies Oconee fire protection delay

More on the unsafe Oconee Nuclear Station, as originally reported here back in late September of last year.



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a public meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Oconee Nuclear Station’s World of Energy. Duke Energy officials will discuss major projects at the plant, including the fire-protection efforts.





From Sunday's Greenville News:

NRC denies Oconee fire protection delay
Agency says plant is safe, but wants protection system
by Eric Connor, staff writer

For years now, the Oconee Nuclear Station’s colossal three reactors have operated on the shores of Lake Keowee under fire-protection methods that the government says were only meant to be temporary.

However, federal regulators have now taken an unexpected stand – denying the most recent of voluminous deadline extensions Duke Energy has requested through the years as the company works to put its fire-protection practices at the forefront of the nuclear industry.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission – in recently citing a higher-than-acceptable safety risk under temporary fire-protection measures while at the same time insisting those temporary measures have been sufficient so far — is straddling a line with contradiction on either side.

If the risk of fire is great enough for regulators to stand ground opposite a powerful energy giant, then why are Oconee’s reactors still operating?

Or, if the plant can safely operate under interim measures as it has for years, why should a nuclear provider so integral to life in the Upstate be denied a pass in an industry known for the deadlines both it and the government itself frequently don’t meet?

The NRC insists that the plant is safe from fire, though the agency says the degree of safety could be as much as 40 times less than if Duke had kept to its deadlines.

Duke insists that it is working diligently and that the project is more complex than either it or the government had foreseen.

The answer, nuclear watchdogs say, lies in reading between the lines of a denial that they say borders on the unprecedented — and one that, if held to, could be an indication of a willingness for the NRC to take a stronger stance against criticism that it has become too cozy with the industry it regulates.

Our 2010 Green Party Senatorial Candidate, Tom Clements, is quoted in the article:

“This is almost unprecedented to me that the NRC would deny a request presented by a licensee,” said Tom Clements, director of the Columbia-based Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. “This is highly unusual, and it signifies how serious the NRC is taking this issue.”

Duke has a 30-day window to appeal the NRC’s denial.

The outcome — for instance a potential plant shutdown — could set a tone for the industry as dozens of reactors must make the transition, said Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Oversight Project for the Maryland-based Beyond Nuclear watchdog organization.

“This is sort of a push-comes-to-shove moment for fire protection in the nuclear industry,” Gunter said. “We really need to see if the NRC will back up its enforcement policy. This plant shouldn’t be operating if it can’t meet fire-protection qualifications.”

The denial is even more astounding given that the NRC recently granted a one-year extension for Brown’s Ferry in Alabama, the genesis for the industry’s original fire standards following a fire at the plant in 1975, Lochbaum said.

“What about all the other plants that haven’t begun the transition?” Lochbaum said. “If two more years is unacceptable for Oconee, how is it OK for the four dozen other reactors? I guess Oconee spun the wheel of misfortune and it came up ‘no’ this time.”

The NRC determined that the “core damage frequency” rate is at least four times and as much as 40 times greater than if Duke had the pilot measures completed.

More here.

I probably will not be able to make it to Wednesday's Duke Energy meeting, but we are hoping we can hear from folks who will be? If you will be attending the meeting, please consider contributing your account to Occupy the Microphone, which airs on Tuesdays on WOLT-FM, 1-2pm, here in upstate SC. (OccupyTheMicrophone@Yahoo.com). We would like to have South Carolina Greens in attendance. Unfortunately, the meeting wasn't announced very far in advance, to allow people to travel from all over the state (especially from the more liberal coast).

And of course, we are hoping some of those rich folks around Lake Keowee make their feelings known.

~*~

EDIT: Mary Olson of NIRS (Nuclear Information and Research Service) will be calling into the show tomorrow to talk about this issue in more depth, so tune in!

~*~

EDIT 2/1/13: The January 29th Occupy the Microphone show in its entirety is HERE. My apologies for tardiness in posting it.

Oconee Nuclear Station unsafe

At left: The Oconee Nuclear Station is right around the proverbial corner from me, so now I am damn nervous.

There is also the fact Duke Energy is run by money-grubbing liars and it is therefore impossible to trust anything they say. (This has been true since... well, when HASN'T it been true?)

In a report on Huffington Post, the vulnerability and instability of the Oconee plant has been outlined, thanks to a letter from whistleblower Richard Perkins, an engineer. Perkins was one of the authors of a report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, detailing the problems at Oconee and similar plants.

Oconee was singled out as particularly vulnerable.

According to the above-linked Huffington Post piece:

[The] vulnerability at one plant in particular -- the three-reactor Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca, S.C. -- put it at risk of a flood and subsequent systems failure, should an upstream dam completely fail, that would be similar to the tsunami that hobbled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in Japan last year. That event caused multiple reactor meltdowns.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Huffington Post, Richard H. Perkins, a reliability and risk engineer with the agency's division of risk analysis, alleged that NRC officials falsely invoked security concerns in redacting large portions of a report detailing the agency's preliminary investigation into the potential for dangerous and damaging flooding at U.S. nuclear power plants due to upstream dam failure.

Perkins, along with at least one other employee inside NRC, also an engineer, suggested that the real motive for redacting certain information was to prevent the public from learning the full extent of these vulnerabilities, and to obscure just how much the NRC has known about the problem, and for how long.

"What I've seen," Perkins said in a phone call, "is that the NRC is really struggling to come up with logic that allows this information to be withheld."

Perkins was the lead author of the report, which was completed in July of 2011 -- roughly four months after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami flooded the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, cut off electric power to the facility and disabled all of its backup power systems, eliminating the ability to keep the reactors cool and leading to a meltdown.

In addition to the Oconee facility, the report examined similar vulnerabilities at the Ft. Calhoun station in Nebraska, the Prairie Island facility in Minnesota and the Watts Bar plant in Tennessee, among others.

According to the report, dam-failure occurring upstream from these plants "may result in flood levels at a site that render essential safety systems inoperable." All power sources (including backup batteries, generators and grid power) could be compromised by high floodwaters.

In response to the report, the NRC launched an expanded investigation, which is ongoing. It also folded the dam failure issue into the slate of post-Fukushima improvements recommended by a special task force formed in the aftermath of that disaster. But in a press release dated March 6 of this year, the agency said the report "did not identify any immediate safety concerns."

The NRC made a heavily redacted copy of the report publicly available on the NRC website the same day.

"Nuclear power plant designs include protection against serious but very rare flooding events, including flooding from dam failure scenarios," the agency release noted.

Very rare events! Nothing to worry about!

And where have we heard THAT before?

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff may be motivated to prevent the disclosure of this safety information to the public because it will embarrass the agency," Perkins wrote in his letter. "The redacted information includes discussion of, and excerpts from, NRC official agency records that show the NRC has been in possession of relevant, notable, and derogatory safety information for an extended period but failed to properly act on it. Concurrently, the NRC concealed the information from the public."

In a conversation with The Huffington Post, Perkins elaborated on the redacted material. "My estimation is that if people saw the information that we have, and if they knew for how long we've had it, some might be disappointed at how long it's taken to act, and some might be disappointed that, to date, we haven't really acted at all."

What is darkly humorous is how many rich people live up on Lake Keowee. Maybe THAT will force them to act? They are right in the line of this possible future-disaster.

At the least, their property values have just plummeted.

Will their GREED railroad the NRC into action, if nothing else? Will property-owners and real-estate developers succeed where other mere humans (and concerned engineers) have failed?

Meanwhile, [Perkins] is among several nuclear experts who remain particularly concerned about the Oconee plant in South Carolina, which sits on Lake Keowee, 11 miles downstream from the Jocassee Reservoir. Among the redacted findings in the July 2011 report -- and what has been known at the NRC for years, the engineer said -- is that the Oconee facility, which is operated by Duke Energy, would suffer almost certain core damage if the Jocassee dam were to fail. And the odds of it failing sometime over the next 20 years, the engineer said, are far greater than the odds of a freak tsunami taking out the defenses of a nuclear plant in Japan.

"The probability of Jocassee Dam catastrophically failing is hundreds of times greater than a 51 foot wall of water hitting Fukushima Daiichi," the engineer said. "And, like the tsunami in Japan, the man‐made 'tsunami' resulting from the failure of the Jocassee Dam will –- with absolute certainty –- result in the failure of three reactor plants along with their containment structures.

"Although it is not a given that Jocassee Dam will fail in the next 20 years," the engineer added, "it is a given that if it does fail, the three reactor plants will melt down and release their radionuclides into the environment."

David Lochbaum, a nuclear expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said a key concern was that the NRC has failed to appreciate and tackle this risk for so long. "NRC can, or may, resolve the flooding issues," Lochbaum said. "But if it doesn't step back and review when those problems could have been exposed sooner, it won't make the programmatic fixes needed to become a more effective regulator.

I've been sleeping well lately, but tonight? Don't know if I will.

Wednesday Linkage

At left: Artisphere mural, more photos here.


Once again, the celebrity golfers have invaded the neighborhood, as they do every year. I have complained about this before (notably here and here) and so I will spare you any extended howling.

But damn, I wish they'd set up their Golf Network tents somewheres else.






Got links! Lots of interesting and timely reading around the intertubes:


[] The main reason capital punishment is wrong is human error. We now know that Texas executed the wrong man, Carlos DeLuna in 1989. Whoops! Sorry about that, DeLuna family!

Carlos, my heart bleeds for you.

[] Special needs teenager in NC, placed in box for punishment.

This made me think of the movie Papillon, in which Steve McQueen is placed in a box... but that film was set in a penal colony in French Guiana in the 30s. Not North Carolina in 2012. (cries)

[] Anti-environmental activist Cal Beisner Warns the 'Depraved' Environmental Movement Models itself after Satan. Trying to save the earth is evil, doncha know, but destroying the atmosphere is Godly. Just for the record.

[] Free the Weed Department: Pro-marijuana policy bloc swings Oregon attorney general primary election: Ellen Rosenblum (champion of marijuana policy reform) is now Democratic nominee for attorney general of the State of Oregon.

Since there is no Republican challenger, Rosenblum’s victory means she will be Oregon's next AG.

[] Special link for those who claim there is no GOP War on Women. Really? How about this: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Depicted In Dog Collar On GOP Candidate's Website.

And the hits just keep on comin, kids.

[] For fans of Bravo network's Inside the Actors Studio, here is James Lipton on Mitt Romney. The piece is tellingly titled: How to Act Human, which I think is a pretty tall order for Mitt.

Money quote:

Perhaps it starts with his laugh, a device he employs at odd moments and in a most peculiar way. (The public thinks that crying is the acid test of the actor, but in fact “laughing” is much harder — and Mr. Romney hasn’t mastered it.)

Listen to his laugh. It resembles the flat “Ha! Ha! Ha!” that appears in comic-strip dialogue balloons. But worse – far worse – it is mirthless. Mr. Romney expects us to be amused, although he himself is not amused. Freeze the frame, cover the bottom of his face with your hand, and study his eyes. There’s no pleasure there, no amusement.

[] Dubya kinda sorta endorses Mitt, as elevator closes. Funny!

[] And again speaking of Mitt, it is time to face the music on Bain: Is Mitt Romney ready for Bain battle?

As the Obama campaign this week began a concerted attack on the presumptive GOP nominee for his tenure at the private equity firm he managed, strategists in both parties say the Republican has yet to give a confident, detailed explanation of his Bain Capital tenure that silences questions about his biography as a businessman.

You don't mean he FIBBED, do you? I am shocked, shocked I tell you!

And I hope your Wednesday is good.

Tales from the Vinyl Vault

At left, Andy the Doorbum (center) at the Bohemian Cafe in Greenville today, part of RECORD STORE DAY at Horizon Records.

One CD he has recorded is titled "Art is Shit"--and who could argue?

~*~

It appears that the late Andrew Breitbart did NOT have cocaine in his system when he died. The coroner has declared his cause-of-death was a garden-variety heart attack. I STAND CORRECTED! (See, when I am wrong, I promptly admit it... more or less.) I am still skeptical that hard-partying Breitbart was living the drug-free life, of course, and duly remind my readers that coke exits the body without a trace in only about three days. (Breitbart had already admitted youthful drug abuse). I still believe he was all jacked up in this video. And if not, it might be more alarming than if he WAS. I mean, he appears utterly psychotic.

In any event, such a tantrum (check out how red-faced he is, as the cop attempts to guide him in the opposite direction) could not have been any good for his heart. Anger is not good for us, I try to remind myself.

I've always wondered if the cautions against anger in all the world's holy books, are also health guidelines, like the dietary laws turned out to be. The Type A personality is real (and we can all name one we know), but whether it actually leads to heart disease is debatable. But Type A can go either way, it can lead to fulfilling personal ambitions and providing needed leadership, or it can create a whacked-out spectacle like Breitbart screaming incomprehensibly at protesters.

~*~

At left: The Vinyl Vault at Horizon Records. I am grateful I didn't get rid of all my vinyl--I still have several hundred vinyl LPs that I hope to leave to my descendants.

Unless of course, there is a sudden "Cash for Vinyl!" movement and I am bribed with huge sums on loud, late-night TV commercials ... in which case, all bets are off.

~*~

Just watched a panel from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, titled "Nonfiction: Narrating Disaster" which highlighted three fascinating books that are now on my list--

The Great American Stickup: How Reagan Republicans and Clinton Democrats Enriched Wall Street While Mugging Main Street by Robert Scheer.

The Rainy Season: Haiti - Then and Now by Amy Wilentz

A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher by Joel Achenbach

I am currently devouring Joe McGinniss' NEVER ENOUGH, about the murder of the mega-successful, filthy-rich Kissel brothers. Other books I have read recently include VIRTUE AND REALITY by Lama Zopa Rinpoche (which you can read online too, at the link) and HOMECOMINGS by Risa Bear, the intense and honest biography of a trans woman who transitioned later in life (and who also happens to be my friend). Both books are great spiritual tutorials.

In particular, I can't recommend Risa's book enough. I just loved it.

Living lives true to ourselves, without constant, neurotic worry over what other people are saying and thinking about us, is something that can unexpectedly happen to women as we enter our 50s. Those things we have always wanted to do and say, we finally do and say, without apology. We have always put everyone else first, and now... it is time to put ourselves first. Risa writes from the perspective of one who is in this space, who has decided to be herself at long last.

Her joy at finally being/becoming herself supersedes and eclipses the opinions of others.

I hope at some point, to get to this point myself.

Thursday Links and general notice

Being unemployed means having time to watch my beloved Elizabeth in old movies like "Rhapsody" (1954) with Vittorio Gassman.




Emergency unemployment benefits are running out for South Carolina, however, since as of last month our unemployment rate is lower than the national average. Not exactly sure how that works.

I had some car trouble last week, but I now have a rebuilt transmission and I am ready to rock and roll.

~*~

Timely Linkage:

Corporations Wrote a Law Requiring Climate Denial be Taught in School. Tennessee Just Passed It. (Treehugger)

One Author Tackles Trayvon Martin and the Deadly Legacy of Vigilantism (Colorlines)

You Sank My Battleship: Etch-A-Sketch Gaffe Buries Romney’s Momentum (Politicus USA)

To the meat eaters: PLEASE be careful eating Gulf Coast shrimp! (Southern Beale)

Paul Ryan’s Budget Includes $3 Trillion Giveaway To Corporations, The Rich (Think Progress)

And most worrisome: Supreme Court's Health Care Ruling Could Go Many Different Ways (Huffington Post)

~*~

At left: Amusing and totally true cartoon by David Horsey.

As we see, the Republicans and the Tea Party continue their open war on the people, without interruption. And they aren't even sorry for attempting to destroy the world.

I dunno about yall, but I can't wait for the War Crimes Tribunal.

~*~

And that reminds me... we have a BRAND NEW POLICY here at DEAD AIR: Whenever rude Tea Party idiots show up here and try to defend the evil, selfish, immoral Rich Criminal Pigs currently attempting to ROB THE PEOPLE? I print a new Tea Party cartoon. Obviously, they need one.

I once tried to politely explain that blogs are the equivalent of one's HOUSE and LIVING ROOM and therefore, you should not be rude and insulting to your hosts. I have finally realized that THIS IS how they act in their friends' living rooms! They are thoroughly rude and probably fart, burp, pee on the rug and insult people. NOW I get it.

Why did I ever expect them to understand an analogy intended for civilized people? My mistake!

Wordless Wednesday assortment

Some assorted photos for this busy Wednesday. Hope you enjoy these!

First photo: This was taken in the MORNING... good Lord, is it really that hot already?

Second photo: a section of my beloved Swamp Rabbit Trail, which restoreth my soul.

The next three photos are from Linky Stone park, downtown under the bridge: two of the children's garden and one of the stone pig. Not surprisingly, the pig is probably more popular than the garden!

Brick Street Cafe, good local place for a snack; backs right up to Reedy River Park and Swamp Rabbit Trail.

The final two photos are from Bele Chere, including the window of the Yarn Emporium (I loved the yarn mermaid) and a sign from KentuckyFriedForests.com. Take action!

As always, you can click to enlarge. Have a great day!

This is the way the world ends

At left: Street preacher at Bele Chere unequivocally informs us we are destined to hell, as the fellow at right advertises "Sexy Man Dance $2"... and do I have to tell you what kind of huge wad of bills he had by the end of the day? Priceless entertainment, my friends. (More of my Bele Chere photos HERE.)



Yes, I have numerous excellent excuses for why it has taken me two weeks to update. ((hangs head in shame))

But damn, I am not sure why I should feel guilty for not updating a blog that it appears no one reads any more (according to Sitemeter, et. al.) Lately, whenever I go to the library, I make sure to give my own blog a hit, that's how pathetic the situation is. Beyond that, I have been thoroughly confused regarding which writing goes where.

For example: I have been chastised many times here on DEAD AIR that ____ (whatever it is I wrote) does not belong on this blog, but on a (pick one) 1) Livejournal 2) Tumblr 3) Dreamwidth 4) Facebook, Twitter or MySpace (etc etc etc). It does? And who decided that? I am afraid I simply do not understand the protocol, as usual.

Roughly speaking, the guidelines are that "personal" stuff is not supposed to be on a blog, unless you have a "personal blog"... but then they get upset with personal bloggers when they blog about politics or religion. If you have a "political blog"--then you are not supposed to write about "personal" issues. Further, if you have a quarrel with someone within Blogdonia, you are supposed to go to Tumblr or one of those, to air your differences. (Got all that?)

As I said, I am unaware of who wrote all these nosy-parker rules, and when. But they have left me confused, wondering if I am doing it wrong (again) and so forth. Even after four years of blogging, I become hesitant, but of course (as you see!), not for long. But I absolutely hate the fact that all of these dumbass, informal "rules" have wormed their way into my head. Bah.

And so, the personal and impersonal will continue to be all mished-mashed together on DEAD AIR. Sorry about that, rule-keepers and protocol-enforcers of Blogdonia!

~*~

I devoured Margaret Atwood's "The Year of the Flood" (2009) in one sitting. I did not realize this novel was contemporaneous with the totally-fabulous "Oryx and Crake" (2003)--I had mistakenly believed it was a sequel. And I refuse to read sequels to end-of-the-world tales... either it's the end or it isn't. I have always found "Oryx and Crake" to be the most believable and realistic version of the End of Days--and I have read a parcel of em.

Yes, this is the way the world ends.

I loved "The Year of the Flood"--the apocalypse as told from another group within the same time-frame and using the same motifs (and some of the same characters) as "Oryx and Crake." The religious cult in the novel, God's Gardeners, is the best fictional religious cult I've ever come across; I would most assuredly be joining if I was there. The sermons and hymns in the book are fantastic. Atwood's idea that in the future, rather than the Litany of the Saints, we will have litanies of extinct species, is one that will stay with me forever.

Margaret Atwood is a genius, straight up. If she wrote a bunch of these books, I would read them all; she needs to set up shop and do a whole series, like Narnia or something. It would turn a lot of us into junkies, and she would get very rich.

Okay, but what, you sensibly ask, does this have to do with not updating your blog?

Well, because as with JG Ballard, I started thinking seriously about the end of the world and how it would happen. And then, the Tea Party began (continued?) their major economic fuckery, and it was suddenly as if the book was being acted out right in front of me, or at least the earliest stages. Are we going to end up privatizing the police forces and prisons? How can we pay for government if these "budget cuts" keep continuing? Will a huge multinational corporation, Manchurian Global or one of those, run the world at last? Will we put the worst criminals into something called "Painball" (possibly a nod to ROLLERBALL), organizing them into gangs and providing them with laser-like weapons and then broadcasting their deaths on TV? (And WHY shouldn't capital punishment be profitable also?)

In short, the President has surrendered on the Debt Ceiling issue, putting all of our futures at risk... this is crucial not just to us oldsters who are rapidly approaching decrepitude, but to the future of our environment as well. Nero fiddles, as The Tea Party continues to mouth their well-calculated fibs. My favorite article-title in this debacle, hands down, quoted Missouri's Democratic congressman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver: The Debt Ceiling Deal: 'A Sugar-Coated Satan Sandwich'

You just can't get any more to the point than that, now can you?

I dunno about yall, but I am thinking of starting a God's Gardeners parish, or cell, or whatever they are going to be called.