Monday, November 29, 2004

disgraceful


image found with this article....


Someone please tell me why????? Why is someone who behaves like an over-aged, intellectually challenged fratboy who just turned in a dismal record with his first term, the chosen leader of the free world and representative of the American people??? How is this possible???
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---------------oOo---------------

Thursday, November 25, 2004

my favourite!!!

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

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---------------oOo--------------- Thanksgiving Prayer and Meditation

from Susan Kramer at bella online can be found here.

I wish you all a peaceful Thanksgiving, full of love and joy. May your hearts always be full and may you keep beautiful memories of this day with you always!

Namaste!



image of conucopia courtesty of green mountain inn
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---------------oOo--------------- loss, empathy and courage

The Power of Empathy in Unspeakable Grief by Sean Gonsalves, Alternet.

"Some things don't have to be about you for there to be something in it for you."-SG

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---------------oOo--------------- a liberal's Thanksgiving

commentary by Ellen Ratner can be found here.

"Listening to my conservative friends, I sometimes get the feeling that they believe Thanksgiving is a holiday owned by them. That somehow, liberals' political or social dissent is synonymous with ingratitude, while conservatives' dissent is an attempt to restore the Garden of Eden, and the rest of us ought to be thankful for it - and them - on Thanksgiving. I don't think so." ~~~ER

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---------------oOo--------------- Plimoth Plantation: living breathing history

Explore Plymouth Massachusetts for a little bit of history and information surrounding the first Thanksgiving. A really nice little site!


image of Plymouth Rock from the Massachusetts site.
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---------------oOo---------------

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

this was a higher percentage than I expected

You are 67% Capricorn

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---------------oOo--------------- and now..... this!

also found via the lovely and talented Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy, this story at TomPaine.com, reported by Greg Palast.

Confirming what my ulcerous gut has been telling me for two weeks now.

In my head right now, is the sound of Robert Plant wailing, "How many more times????" The only small solace is the sound of Jimmy Page's roaring guitar painting the colour of my outraged soul right now...
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---------------oOo--------------- the inevitable fallout

I've intentionally refrained from addressing this incident, till I found a link via Easy Bake Coven to the reporting source, Kevin Sites.

Something that has been running through my head though, that won't leave me alone so that I'm just gonna burst until I say it. Maybe this is stating the obvious, maybe this will just outrage those people on the left who want to condemn this soldier outright, and those people on the right who want to go into automatic defensive mode and threaten anyone who has the "audacity" to respond to this tragic incident with outrage and shock... but the bottom line is this:

Horrible, horrible things happen in war. And that is just small consolation to those poor frightened wounded old men in that mosque, and small consolation to the soldier who also obviously reacted in defensive fear to what he perceived was an ultimate threat. This is not an attempt to make any viable justification for what happened nor is it an intention of trying to minimize the complexity of situations and circumstances that surround the nightmare that is Iraq.

But... horrible, horrible things happen in wars. And the ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY for anything and everything that happens, particularly during one as questionable as this one, belongs squarely with the man who declared it.

That anyone can blame anyone else, really, is just - it just flat out feels wrong. War is Hell. Our soldiers have been thrown in, unprepared and overtaxed, and the strain is no doubt going to begin surfacing everywhere. Meanwhile, this administration has, through this war effort, created thousands of enemies and insurgents in an unstable Iraq and while these insurgents begin their infiltrations, thousands of innocent civilians, the ones that this administration insists they are "liberating" are caught in the middle.

This is not Kevin Sites fault; it is not the fault of those poor old men in the mosque and it's not the fault of our soldiers. The fault lies with this administration. If anyone wants to lay blame, lay it there. Because that is just exactly where it belongs.
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---------------oOo--------------- Bob Fitrakis explains....

"How the Ohio election was rigged for Bush". Column found at the Free Press via the wonderfully informative Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.

"The Alliance for Democracy-Ohio is preparing a lawsuit challenging the outcome of Ohio's election results due to the massive voting irregularities that have emerged in sworn testimony and affidavits."

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---------------oOo---------------

Monday, November 22, 2004

sea goat/piscean girl

Very reflective of my Capricorn Sun/Pisces Rising sea-longings....


The Scottish selkie was a being who appeared to be
a seal, but had the ability to shed their skin
and roam the land in human form. If a human
were to happen upon the discarded seal skin, he
or she could hide it and force the selkie to
marry him or her. However, if the selkie were
to ever find the skin, he or she would
immediately reassume seal form and return to
the sea from whence they came, leaving their
spouse and offspring on land to forever mourn
their loss.

As a selkie, you are a very withdrawn, secretive
and somewhat sad person, and those around you
find you alluring and mystifying. People who
come into your life find it difficult to find
the inner you. You are also curious, but you
enjoy the comforts of home most of all.


Who is your inner Shapeshifter?
brought to you by Quizilla

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---------------oOo---------------

Sunday, November 21, 2004

I think I've gotta go see this!!!!

Just found out about the movie, What the Bleep Do We Know? and watched the trailer.

And now I'm totally curious. I hope we can go see it this week some time if we can find a theatre close to home.


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---------------oOo--------------- i'm addicted to this goofy little game

no harm or offense intended by posting it here... just can't help it... it really is a cute game. Somebody posted it on the AAR Al Franken Blog last week and I haven't been able to resist indulging in it coz it is kind of a stressbuster. Find it here!

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---------------oOo--------------- thanks for nothin...

well, it looks like the idiotic we're not sorry is now a (cough)spoof(cough) called you're welcome... yeah, because nothing's funnier than the celebration of millions of unenlightened voters happily handing the keys of democracy over to a man who has blatantly with willful arrogance ridden roughshod over it in the guise of freedom on the march.

Meanwhile, the sane world has responded to we're sorry everybody with apologies accepted.

And not sorry not everybody has evidently been set up to follow the proceedings and fallout of the sorry/not sorry camps.

There is one thing I can honestly say I'm not sorry about and that is in this fine country of ours, we can still speak out one way or the other. Now about the dubious integrity of our voting process...
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---------------oOo---------------

Saturday, November 20, 2004

astronaut shares view from space

American Astronaut Jay Apt shares his experiences and beautiful views of the earth from the space shuttle; story by Karen Dandurant, found at seacoast online.com.

"We get a different perspective of our Earth, how beautiful it is," said Apt, referring to his fellow astronauts. "The images help us to be good managers of the planet by understanding the forces that shape it, the changes visible from space over the years."

Galapagos from Space, courtesy NASA, via Global Coordinate.com



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---------------oOo--------------- hearings on ohio voting put 2004 election in doubt

Just one of the many stories surrounding the election problems in Ohio, this one from the Free Press, can be found here.

"Most importantly, the testimony has revealed a widespread and concerted effort on the part of Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell to deny primarily African-American and young voters the right to cast their ballots within a reasonable time. By depriving precincts of adequate numbers of functioning voting machines, Blackwell created waits of three to eleven hours, driving tens of thousands of likely Democratic voters away from the polls and very likely affecting the outcome of the Ohio vote count, which in turn decided the national election."

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---------------oOo---------------

Monday, November 15, 2004

but you should be

Ladies and gentleman, I give you we are not sorry. Take it, please ~ and give it all the consideration it deserves....

Meanwhile, may we all enjoy our individual and collective right to freedom of speech (no matter how morally repugnant it may be ~ ain't that America?)... while we still can.
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---------------oOo---------------

Sunday, November 14, 2004

books for soldiers

I've been trying to figure out a way to help our soldiers in Iraq in any small way that I can, as well as to make some kind of donation for the Iraqi civilians. I'd really like to give something that will help with those very important survival issues so I'd be much interested in hearing of any organizations that are making planned contributions, if anyone knows of any.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep looking, but today I just found out about Books for Soldiers and while it isn't for some of the more pressing needs that our soldiers no doubt have, it does give the opportunity to provide them with "care packages" for the mind. So its a start and I made a donation today and will try to see if I can find some books and dvds to send over!

I found the link at Quixotical and I'm really glad that there is something out there like this. I've been feeling so helpless about the situation in Iraq. This is something that gives me an opportunity to try and bring something positive to an utterly horrible situation.
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---------------oOo--------------- ummm...... moly?


YOU ARE MOLY


What herb are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I hadn't seen this quiz before till I bumped into it via Transformation Happens. She ended up with the same result and found out that is is reported to be... a magickal herb of mythological proportions. Yeah... I guess I can live with that result. :-)
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---------------oOo--------------- northern lights in nebraska

Just received a link from one of my newsgroups of a gorgeous set of pictures taken of an aurora sighting in Nebraska, November 8, 2004. I believe Northern Lights are fairly unusual at that latitude, though probably not nearly so rare as they are where I live.

Images found at Extreme Instability and there lots and lots of beautiful images at the site to look at and enjoy as well!
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---------------oOo--------------- alley cat


Alley Cat! You're a wheelin' & dealin' kind of cat
who not only has the unique ability to take
things in stride, but let it be known you're
smarter than you look.


What kind of cat are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Found this quiz courtesy of Queen of Cups!

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---------------oOo--------------- too funny

Found this linkie at Writegrrrl's blog today and it was too cute not to pass along!

Awww, I love Don Knotts and this was really funny! Dubya: The Movie - building bridges with laughter.... Dubya: The Movie - coz dubya's a uniter not a divider....
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---------------oOo---------------

Saturday, November 13, 2004

built to fail: the flaws in the no child left behind act

I came across this story again recently, and I can't see where I posted the link before so I'm posting it now.

Questions are raised about the true nature of the No Child Left Behind Act and the problems it is creating for one of the finest public school systems in the nation:

"Minnesota is a prime example of the carnage NCLB is likely to create. For decades, the state's education system has earned a sterling reputation by producing some of the nation's highest test scores and lowest drop-out rates. Yet in its evaluation of NCLB, the scrupulously thorough and nonpartisan Office of the Legislative Auditor estimates that, even if Minnesota students showed a modest improvement in test scores and educational proficiency, 99 percent of the state's elementary schools would fail to make AYP 10 years from now, and 65 percent of the elementary schools receiving Title I funding would have to be "restructured." Under its most optimistic scenario for student improvement--which assumes, among other things, that the state's percentage of special education and immigrant students won't continue to grow, and that brand-new immigrants can boost their test scores just as rapidly as native-born Minnesotans--the auditor's office estimates an 82 percent failure rate on AYP for elementary schools in 2014, and the restructuring of 35 percent of the schools funded by Title I."

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---------------oOo--------------- beautiful baby

Received this in my emailbox, forwarded to me from my mom, a couple of weeks ago and just wanted to post it, coz its such a beautiful little baby:



Here's the little story that came with the image:

A family in Bend, Oregon found this fawn on their front steps a few weeks ago and took this photo. The white spots on the steps are apple blossom petals.

As you may know, deer hide their fawns and go away for awhile. The fawns have no odor yet, and naturally stay absolutely still.


Isn't this an amazing photograph? A great job of natural camouflage! The fawn stayed there all morning, and the mama came to get it after 4-5 hours.

Kudos to the people for leaving the fawn alone, knowing Mom would be back.
THE MOM "HID" HER BABY ON THE BROWN STEPS WITH WHITE SPOTS.

Thanks to my mom for forwarding the lovely image and story!
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---------------oOo--------------- "evangelical christianity has been hijacked"

says controversial evangelical leader Tony Campolo in this fascinating beliefnet interview with Laura Sheahen, an editorial found at Truthout.

"I don't know how far the grace of God does expand and I'm sure that what the 25th chapter of Matthew says is correct -- that there will be a lot of surprises on Judgment Day as to who receives eternal life and who doesn't. But in the book I try to make the case that we have to stop our exclusivistic, judgmental mentality. Let us preach Christ, let us be faithful to proclaiming the Gospel, but let's leave judgment in the hands of God."

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---------------oOo--------------- what mandate? what the numbers really point to...

Joe Conason's well thought-out analysis of Bush's election numbers and what it might mean for the future of the Democratic Party, Echoing Bush's Line Won't Help Democrats can be found at Working For Change.

"The President won about 3.5 million more votes than his challenger, and as his supporters point out, set a new record for the most votes won by any Presidential candidate. He deserves congratulations, but then so does Senator John Kerry, who now holds second place on that same scale. As Joshua Micah Marshall notes, Mr. Bush's impressive numbers represent an artifact of population growth and turnout, not an expression of overwhelming public approval. More Americans voted against Mr. Bush than any other Presidential candidate in the nation's history, and his margin of victory was the smallest for any winner since Jimmy Carter in 1976." ~~~JC, 11-11-2004

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---------------oOo--------------- for what it's worth

steal your election asks that question that nags at the back of many shellshocked lib voters' minds: "Was the 2004 election stolen?" Maybe not... or if it was, maybe it will never be fully proven.

But until the questions surrounding several strange poll-related election day occurances are fully investigated and answered, that nagging fear will never go away - and those questions deserve an answer, just as every American deserves a system that can be entrusted to protect and preserve our precious right to have each eligible vote fairly counted. Only with thorough investigation and follow up and resolution to any problems, oversights and possible acts of outright fraud, will we be able to rebuild confidence in our voting process and begin to put into place real and tangible state by state election reform.
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---------------oOo---------------

Friday, November 12, 2004

this kinda says it all :-)


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---------------oOo---------------

Thursday, November 11, 2004

where do we go from here

It seems to me that in the last several month, especially, I have personally been spiritually wandering off track. In the midst of what feels very much to me as, not only an American crossroads, but in all likelihood an American crisis, I am stunned to find that even as I feel as though I have hit some sort of an emotional, physical and mental bottom, a light has been quietly lit within.

I find myself open, once more, to the quiet yearnings that I let get buried in the last several months. Right on time, right when I needed it, a door has opened up, if only a crack, and some desperately needed light and air has trickled in.

As if by magic or by some beautiful gift of grace, I have received so many, right-on-time messages in my email box in the last couple of days. Right now, I find myself opening up to hope and I am gratified at how that openness seems to create the opportunity for so many hopeful messages to come through.

This is one that particularly moved me and I felt the need to share it. Just because it might find its way to someone else in need of and open to the message.

"We take another breath and ask, 'now what?' What are we willing and able to do, right now, to create the country and the world we want to live in? This election has galvanized millions of Americans into the political process and surfaced the ideological and theological splits of a continent. Many of us don't know where to go right now. What if the practice of democracy means holding space for uncertainty? What if we step directly into the split and create a refuge - not an answer, but a resting place for seeing each other and our dilemma as fully as we can? The Sufi poet, Rumi, states: 'Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing there is a field... I will meet you there.' "
~~~Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea, PEERSPIRIT CIRCLE TALE, NOVEMBER 2004

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---------------oOo--------------- prayers and thanks to all veterans

some appropriate words from Renaissance Unity

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."
~~~ Jose Narosky

Today's Affirmation

We honor and remember those who serve the cause of freedom.

Today's Meditation

Dear God,

Today, we remember the women and men who have served in the armed forces.
Their bravery, sacrifice, courage and willingness to serve the nation is forever appreciated.

In their memory and for the sale of our children, we recommit ourselves to the path and cause of peace.

With Your help, we shall learn to live in peace with each other. By the power of Your spirit and in the name of love, we shall eliminate war from our world.

Amen

To all our brave soldiers and every brave veteran throughout our nation's history, bless you and thank you for your courage, your sacrifice, for giving us your very all so every citizen can be free. We are forever in your debt and in our hearts you will always remain. May we always honour your great sacrifice by preserving and protecting our rights and freedoms and by keeping ourselves and our country accountable and strong.

May we never become lazy and take for granted the precious right and responsibilities we have for maintaining a proud and free America. To do anything less, is to do a great disservice to the great sacrifices you have made for us and for our nation.
Posted by etherealfire :: 10:08 PM :: 0 Comments:

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---------------oOo--------------- heh....my favourite Republican

and the only Republican I probably would ever have voted for. LOL!
ummmm, he was a bit before my time. But wait, according to this quiz, I was him.
And that was the last time I ever was a Republican, I'm pretty sure of that! LOL!


You were Lincoln!

You came a long way from your humble
birth in a log cabin in the Kentucky frontier
in 1809. Your family moved to Illinois when
you were 21, and at age 22 you become a
surveyer, shopkeeper, and postmaster in
Springfield. In 1834 you got elected to the
Illinois state legislature, where you first
denouced slavery publicly. In 1836 you got
your law license. At the age of 33 you married
Mary Todd, and had four children.
Unfortunately, one died at age 4 and another at
age 12. After losing the election to Senate,
you became nominated as the new Republican
party's candidate for president. You won the
election, just as southern states began
seceding from the Union. You became the
president that saw the nation through its
bloodiest war to date. During your second term
in office, the same year that Robert E. Lee
surrenders and ends the Civil War, you were
shot in the Ford Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
Later that year, the Thirteenth Amemdment to
the Constitution abolished slavery.


Which Leader Were You in a Past Life?
brought to you by Quizilla

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---------------oOo--------------- cat stevens awarded peace prize in rome

story here.

" Yusuf Islam was awarded the "Man for Peace" prize in Rome at the opening of a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. He last made headlines in September, when he turned up on Washington's no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists — a claim he has strongly denied."

I loved Cat Stevens, loved his beautiful lyrics and his beautiful music, back in the 70s, back when I was a teen. Among his many beautiful songs was Peace Train and this bit of lyric is stuck in my head tonight:

"Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again"

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---------------oOo--------------- can't wait to see this one

Yay!!! It's finally coming to a theatre near me!!!

I'm a sucker for this yummy, fluffy stuff!!!


Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

I love Colin Firth! I love Renee Zellweger! I love Hugh Grant! I love Bridget Jones!!! Something to look forward to and be excited about!!! Life is good!!!!
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---------------oOo--------------- enchanted: missing New Mexico

Another inevitibility exacerbated by my insomnia - getting homesick for New Mexico. I'm particularly vulnerable to that sort of overwhelming nostalgia when I'm overtired and feeling reflective.

Especially at this time of year, when the holiday season is looming just ahead.
Christmas in New Mexico has always been just a little bit extra-special, at least that is the way it always felt for me.




Luminarias, Old Town Albuquerque, NM
Photgraph ©1996 by Randall K. Roberts

Found at Enchanted in New Mexico

And enchanting is just exactly what New Mexico has always been for me, especially during the holiday season.

While looking around for recipes, I found this:



Christmas in New Mexico: Recipes, Traditions & Folklore for the Holiday Season
by Lynne Nusom

And I think maybe I'm going to have to order this as an early Christmas present for myself!
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---------------oOo--------------- crunchy caramel apple pie

I can't sleep and I've been on a mission to find an apple pie recipe that I got out of a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine back in the late '80s. I've looked through all of my recipe books and the big box of handwritten and torn from magazine recipes that I keep promising myself I will organize someday (and maybe I should do that next since I can't sleep anyway) but I can't find it anywhere.

It was a really delicious recipe and my favourite version of apple pie, ever! And I really want to make that pie for Thanksgiving in addition to the traditional pumpkin pie that we always have. We are going to have a full house for Thanksgiving again this year and the pie always goes pretty darn fast. But after searching and searching, I just can't find the recipe so I did an internet search and while I didn't find the recipe I was looking for, I found one that I'm really anxious to try! This one might be even better than the original recipe:


photo of crunchy caramel apple pie from All Recipes
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---------------oOo---------------

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

I like this map the best though!

Check it out:



from Confessions of Knitting Heretic.
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---------------oOo--------------- update on those tanks...

I was trying to get more info on the tank story via google/yahoo but to no avail; however, when reading the Daily Kos, I noticed a little blurb on the sidebar and followed it to this update courtesy of Politics in the Zeros.

Apparently the two tanks were on their way to the Army Reserve Center up the street from Camp Pendleton, but it took them right smack dab into the middle of ... the antiwar demonstration in front of the Federal Building. You gotta feel for those poor fellas because they apparently were lost and went around the block twice, in hopes of getting directions. What are the odds? Talk about an unfortunate case of bad timing....

Leading to the photo op/video making the rounds ~ as well as leading to me just about wetting my pants at the sight of it all...

Well, as good ole GWB likes to say: "Fool me once.... shame on you.... Fool me twice... mmmm, we won't get fooled again." Er, something like that... heh... yeah...
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---------------oOo--------------- a telling map comparison making the rounds

This particular entry that includes the map comparison is from one of my fav reads, Daffodil Lane.

Sobering and telling...
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---------------oOo--------------- little echoes of Tiananmen Square...

My little sis pointed me in the direction of this chilling bit of news, which she found a little while ago perusing one of her regular favourite blog stops. Yeah, I know that no one was hurt but the image of the tanks evoke a very chilling reminder of Tiananmen Square.



Article blurb is from LA Indymedia.org and as far as I know, it hasn't been reported anywhere else. Why, I wonder, would that be?

Sound quality not so good, but the video that was captured can be found here.

Everyone enjoy that freedom of speech while we've still got it... and if you believe in the power of prayer or positive visualization of some kind but haven't been engaging in it much lately, may I suggest that right now just might be a real good time to start engaging in it... Heaven help us all....
Posted by etherealfire :: 6:10 PM :: 0 Comments:

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---------------oOo---------------

Monday, November 08, 2004

autumn in vermont

This is the time of year that I start daydreaming about a road trip to Vermont. But the best I can do this year, once again, is conjure it up in my head or make my visit virtually.

I found Foliage Vermont while wishful surfing today and it is going to have to serve as a virtual fix till a real opportunity comes along. But it is a pretty fun site to poke around, lots of nice links and info.

Still, can't help wishing I was here:


Foliage Vermont's Picture of the day: Goodbye to Fall
~ picture by Matthew Steinberg

Or here: Check out the oh so beautiful 360 degree foliage panorama.

Someday.... sigh.... someday......



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---------------oOo--------------- sorry everybody

Found courtesy of one of my fav reads, All American Queer, 49% of America sends its visual regrets to the world.


Just one of the many poignant heartfelt visual messages found at Sorry Everybody.
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---------------oOo---------------

Friday, November 05, 2004

we are stardust

And now for something I haven't indulged in much lately; focusing on the wonders of the Universe. Here's a very cool link:

The stuff of the cosmos just discovered in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean points to a possible evolutionary effect on the earth's inhabitants say the German Scientists who found it.
Posted by etherealfire :: 11:27 AM :: 0 Comments:

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---------------oOo--------------- morality and the red zone

Thank you Maureen Dowd.

This little kernal pretty much sums up my dismay over the assertion and reasoning for GWB's NARROW victory:

"Mr. Bush, whose administration drummed up fake evidence to trick us into war with Iraq, sticking our troops in an immoral position with no exit strategy, won on 'moral issues'."

Is honesty and integrity somehow not equated as a moral issue???? Go figure... Just one more mysterious and utterly disturbing factor in this national nightmare we have been enduring the past 3 years and 10 months and will be asked to endure an additional 4... more... sickening... years....

The ultimate potential loser: the principle of democracy and our basic civil rights including Freedom of Speech.

As Dowd so bluntly and correctly asserts:

"The president got re-elected by dividing the country along fault lines of fear, intolerance, ignorance and religious rule. He doesn't want to heal rifts; he wants to bring any riffraff who disagree to heel."

Here's one prediction I feel reasonably safe in making, though. The opposition will NOT go silently into the night. I suspect that this is going to be the most loudly contested mandate for a President in the history of the United States. There are simply too many righteously outraged Progressives to let this administration continue along the same deluded path without questioning every questionable move it attempts to make. The President claims to be humbled and determined to represent this entire nation. Be assured that we wait to see if this time he can be taken at his word.
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---------------oOo---------------

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Kerry's Concession Speech

The speech appears at the Kerry-Edwards official site. But I wanted to post it here in full, if only for my memory. This has been a heartbreaking day for me, and whether most Americans realize it or not, I believe it is a disastrous day for this country. I pray that George W. Bush proves me wrong. But there is absolutely nothing in his first term that gives me any hope that he will be any better for our country or for this world in the next four years. We now have one party in control of all three branches of our government. Is it really possible that the majority of voters intended this outcome? I find that hard (and horrifying) to believe. Because if that is the case, they have just voted to do away with any true spirit of democracy. Heaven Help our Nation - Heaven Help our World....

Address to Supporters at Fanueil Hall

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. You just have no idea how warming and how generous that welcome is, your love is, your affection, and I'm gratified by it. I'm sorry that we got here a little bit late and a bit short.

Earlier today, I spoke to President Bush, and I offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need – the desperate need – for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing. In America it is vital that every vote count, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process.

I would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there won't be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win Ohio. And therefore, we can not win this election.

My friends, it was here that we began our campaign for the presidency. And all we had was hope and a vision for a better America. It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this country, coming to know so many of you. I wish that I could just wrap you in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Audience member: We still got your back!

Thank you, man. And I assure you – you watch – I'll still have yours.

I will always be particularly grateful to the colleague that you just heard from who became my partner, my very close friend, an extraordinary leader, John Edwards. And I thank him for everything he did. John and I would be the first to tell you that we owe so much to our families. They're here with us today. They were with us every single step of the way. They sustained us. They went out on their own and they multiplied our campaign, all across this country.

No one did this more with grace and with courage and candor. For that, I love than my wife, Teresa. And I thank her. Thank you. And our children were there every single step of the way. It was unbelievable. Vanessa, Alex, Chris, Andre and John, from my family, and Elizabeth Edwards who is so remarkable and so strong and so smart. And Johnny and Cate who went out there on her own just like my daughters did. And also Emma Claire and Jack who were up beyond their bedtime last night, like a lot of us.

I want to thank my crewmates and my friends from 35 years ago. That great ‘band of brothers’ who crisscrossed this country on my behalf through 2004. Thank you. They had the courage to speak the truth back then, and they spoke it again this year, and for that, I will forever be grateful.

And thanks also as I look around here to friends and family of a lifetime. Some from college, friends made all across the years, and then all across the miles of this campaign. You are so special. You brought the gift of your passion for our country and the possibilities of change, and that will stay with us, and with this country forever.

Thanks to Democrats and Republicans and independents who stood with us, and everyone who voted no matter who their candidate was.

And thanks to my absolutely unbelievable, dedicated staff, led by a wonderful campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill, who did an extraordinary job. There's so much written about campaigns, and there's so much that Americans never get to see. I wish they could all spend a day on a campaign and see how hard these folks work to make America better. It is its own unbelievable contribution to our democracy, and it's a gift to everybody. But especially to me. And I'm grateful to each and every one of you, and I thank your families, and I thank you for the sacrifices you've made.

And to all the volunteers, all across this country who gave so much of themselves. You know, thanks to William Field, a six-year-old who collected $680, a quarter and a dollar at a time selling bracelets during the summer to help change America. Thanks to Michael Benson from Florida who I spied in a rope line holding a container of money, and turned out he raided his piggy bank and wanted to contribute. And thanks to Alana Wexler who is 11 years old and started kids for Kerry all across our country. I think of the brigades of students and people, young and old, who took time to travel, time off from work, their own vacation time to work in states far and wide. They braved the hot days of summer and the cold days of the fall and the winter to knock on doors because they were determined to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans. They worked their hearts out, and I wish… you don't know how much they, could have brought this race home for you for them, and I say to them now, don't lose faith.

What you did made a difference, and building on itself -- building on itself, we go on to make a difference another day. I promise you, that time will come. The time will come, the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it's worth fighting for.

I want to especially say to the American people in this journey, you have given me honor and the gift of listening and learning from you. I have visited your homes. I have visited your churches. I've visited your union halls. I've heard your stories, I know your struggles, I know your hopes. They're part of me now, and I will never forget you, and I'll never stop fighting for you.

You may not understand completely in what ways, but it is true when I say to you that you have taught me and you've tested me and you've lifted me up, and you made me stronger, I did my best to express my vision and my hopes for America. We worked hard, and we fought hard, and I wish that things had turned out a little differently.

But in an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans. And that -- that is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on earth.

With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion.

I hope President Bush will advance those values in the coming years. I pledge to do my part to try to bridge the partisan divide. I know this is a difficult time for my supporters, but I ask them, all of you, to join me in doing that.

Now, more than ever, with our soldiers in harm's way, we must stand together and succeed in Iraq and win the war on terror. I will also do everything in my power to ensure that my party, a proud Democratic Party, stands true to our best hopes and ideals.

I believe that what we started in this campaign will not end here. And I know our fight goes on to put America back to work and make our economy a great engine of job growth. Our fight goes on to make affordable health care an accessible right for all Americans, not a privilege. Our fight goes on to protect the environment, to achieve equality, to push the frontiers of science and discovery, and to restore America's reputation in the world. I believe that all of this will happen -- and sooner than we may think -- because we're America. And America always moves forward.

I've been honored to represent the citizens of this commonwealth in the United States Senate now for 20 years. And I pledge to them that in the years ahead, I'm going to fight on for the people and for the principles that I've learned and lived with here in Massachusetts.

I'm proud of what we stood for in this campaign, and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this a close race. But we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families. And we defined that choice to America.

I'll never forget the wonderful people who came to our rallies, who stood in our rope lines, who put their hopes in our hands, who invested in each and every one of us. I saw in them the truth that America is not only great, but it is good.

So here -- so with a grateful heart -- I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that I've come to know our vast country so much better. Thanks to all of you and what a privilege it has been. And that prayer is very simple: God bless America. Thank you."

~~~ John Forbes Kerry,11-03-2004

Posted by etherealfire :: 1:13 PM :: 0 Comments:

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Tuesday, November 02, 2004

voting family style!

Hubby, daughter and I just got back from voting!!! Hubby headed into work right after and all of us were pleased at how easy and positive an experience it was to cast our vote this year! I wish that it could be this easy all over the country today; I consider us to be very lucky and I feel a really deep sense of gratitude toward the wonderful poll workers who introduced us to the new method of casting votes (on a machine with a dial - gotta say it was easy to use and very clear to see the votes casted before hitting the send button) and made us feel very comfortable to ask any questions we needed. It was a totally positive experience and I'm so very proud of those wonderful volunteers for making our voting experience such a wonderful one!

This was an especially momentous year for our family, because our 18 year old daughter participated in her first election!!! Mom and Dad, needless to say, are very very proud!!! And our daughter, like many in her generation, duly dubbed Generation E (for Empowered - how cool is that????), by Joe Trippi, are energized and utterly motivated to take on the responsibility of deciding their future, by casting votes this year.

There is a palpable electricity, a real magic in the air today! No matter what happens, I truly believe that the citizes of the USA are taking those very importants steps to national adulthood. I really think that this is the beginning of some long-term, grassroots activism and that we are all going to start taking seriously our right and our responsibility to preserve true democracy in this country.

This is only the beginning!!! YAY!!!
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