Waiting for winter

Since moving to Bloomington-Normal last year, I've had more reasons to anticipate the chill of winter. Winters here aren't that bad, at least compared to Minnesota, in terms of intensity and duration. I still don't like it when it gets very cold, which does happen occasionally, but overall I don't dread winter here like I did in Minnesota. My anticipation, though, has to do more with my allergies. Because fall is so long here, warmer, my allergies are much worse until the temp consistently dives below freezing in December. So I'm literally waiting for the chill. Plus, now that we have a house that requires yardwork, I'm anxiously waiting for when I won't have to mow the lawn. (I actually enjoy mowing with my motorless push mower, but not when the ground is saturated with water and parts of it are turning to mud!)

The demise of the Greens in Minneapolis

This analysis of the Greens demise in Minneapolis is first-rate. I agree especially with the author's assessment that the Green Party is a small-business party with an incoherent program.

100th Anniversary of the Cherry Mine Disaster

This weekend we're heading up to the village of Cherry, Illinois, where my parents currently live, to commemorate the Cherry Mine disaster. My mother's family is from Cherry, moving there from Italy a year after the disaster occurred in 1909. I'm excited to participate in this event mostly because I've always heard stories of the disaster in my childhood. The commemoration event looks extremely well organized with the full participation of organized labor, and the labor folk singer Bucky Halker will be performing at various times throughout Saturday. Here is a flyer I found. I also like this article, from the Springfield paper, because it is education-related. For a brief history of the disaster, with relevant sources, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Support single-payer, not the insurance industry bailout

Here is Kucinich's excellent summary on why the recently passed health care bill is fatally flawed and not a step in the right direction. You can find a summary at http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/11927 . Some other progressive members, like Grijalva from AZ, were considering voting against it but unfortunately did not at this time. If this were a bill that was even a small step in the right direction, I can see how people would want to support it. But, as it stands, it is a capitulation to the health care insurance industry. By including a weak public option, which only a fraction would be eligible, it is essentially a huge bailout of the insurance industry. It subsidizes with billions of taxpayer dollars the inherent waste and high cost of the current employer-based insurance system. It delivers billions of dollars to the insurance companies, strengthening their already gargantuan power. By eliminating the Kucinich Amendment, which would make possible the choice of single-payer at the state level, it codifies the power of the insurance industry in law. Kucinich argued on Democracy Now! that he could not vote in good conscience on a bill that essentially dooms forever the possibility of real health care reform, a single-payer system or some variation that eliminates the source of the problem - for-profit insurance. He also rightly points out that some of the provisions we can support - like a ban against pre-existing conditions and others - can be done in stand-alone bills and not tied to giant taxpayer-supported give-aways to the corporations.

Single-payer Now!

Double-standards of the Dems

How is moneyed politics bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama? (e.g. Sumner, Geithner, bank bailout, phony cap and trade environmental legislation, health care insurance bailout, and on and on...)

How is Iran dictatorial and its elections illegitimate, and yet Karzai's electoral corruption in Afghanistan is fine by the Administration and justified as the result of a process?

How is NCLB and merit pay bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama?

How is the imperialism bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama?

Posing for Halloween

Halloween at our front door

See the other pictures of our pumpkin carving night at http://www.flickr.com/photos/28574817@N02/sets/72157622623505458/

Yes Men hit the Chamber of Commerce

Yes Men strike again, and this time it's against the Chamber of Commerce. Of all their hoaxes this one has to be the sweetest. The CofC is one of the worst organizations in the country, opposing every possible progressive reform imaginable.

What is this plant?

My Heartland Community College class, on how to design an ecologically sustainable yard with native plants, begins tonight! Getting into the spirit, I can't wait to learn what this amazing flowering plant in our yard is called. I know that it is native to our area, since it is planted at our neighborhood elementary school's native plant garden, and I see it all over Founder's Grove. During most of the summer, the flower part of the plant is a light green, barely looking like a flower. But then in late August and September, the green turns to a beautiful red, then dark red, attracting all the bees in its vicinity.

All out for Oct. 17th!

Anti-war actions are scheduled in cities across the country this Saturday the 17th, organized by the National Assembly to End War and Occupation. Here in Bloomington-Normal, we're supporting the action in Peoria, leaving at 11 AM from the Center for the Performing Arts on East Street.

Three anti-war events tomorrow in Bloomington-Normal

At our last Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice meeting, we noticed that there are 3 conflicting anti-war event happening in town this Wednesday (10/7/09), marking the 8th anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. Wow, that's a lot of activity for a town this size! Check out the three events at the BNCPJ website. I still haven't made up my mind if I'll attend the student vigil at Wesleyan or the ACLU talk on Guantanamo.

Another good source for news

I've watched The Global Report a few times on Free Speech TV and was impressed by the breadth of news covered. By the way, Free Speech TV, and Link TV as well, are simply awesome.

One more reason to keep our cats indoors

Lately I've been feeling a little guilty keeping our cats indoors all the time. Our cats, Lefty and Gigi, frequently try to sneak out the back door, curious to explore more terrain and nooks and crannies, but we (as good cat owners) always frustrate their plans. I think what really spurred my guilt over this was having heard Bill Maher in one of his standup routines , ridiculing the indoor cat as one that lives longer but with no fun and adventure in life. Thinking of Maher's comments, I have reconsidered getting Lefty and Gigi used to the cat leash and taking them for a walk (they can't stand the lease harness), but it would be a controlled walk, with our presence, which couldn't be the cat's idea of freedom.

Well, the other day, Lefty successfully sneaked out the door in the late evening, into a lit area near the garage, and it took us a few seconds to realize that he was outside sniffing around. After grabbing him and hurrying him inside, just a few minutes later, we heard an owl hooting very close by in one of the trees surrounding our house. Strange, mysterious noise, the owl hoot. It hooted for a good half hour. Was it hooting because it got a glimpse of Lefty near the garage? The next day I did a search on the Internet and learned that Great Horned Owls do eat small-to-medium cats and dogs! Of course we dont' know if the owl was a Great Horned. But I have to say that I disagree with Bill Maher; for the cat, a little bit of outdoor freedom is definitely outweighed by a concern for safety. The cat just doesn't know what is in its interest, and would agree with me if it did. After all, they are instinctively cautious animals.

Fall is in the air

Beginning Saturday afternoon, with the onslaught of the current chilly weather, fall has definitely been in the air. Temperatures are in the 60s, for the daily high, and the leaves are just starting to change color. I've always loved the fall - the cool chilly breezes, the early darknesss of late afternoon, the scent of fireplace smoke in the crisp air. But ever since I've moved to Illinois, the beginning of fall has become bittersweet. Fall, for me in central IL, is synomous with major allergies, and just like last year, my allergies became severe as soon as the fall weather ushered in. I'm guessing that the allergy problem has everything to do with the fall corn harvest. Now, as last Fall, I can't tell if I have severe allergies, a minor cold, or some combination of both.

Guilty pleasure

With all that's wrong with the world, I feel guilty looking forward with great anticipation the TV season premiere of Dexter this evening. Maybe it's because a Showtime subscription seems so bourgeois. But is it really? Everyone spends money, just on different priorities. And what's wrong with a little pleasure in life, a little TV or whatever, as long as it doesn't replace other priorities?

ISU brings in 'Super Size Me' director

We loved his movie Super Size Me a few years back, for which reason we'll be heading to ISU in Normal this Wednesday to hear Morgan Spurlock speak on his life and career after his career-making movie.

Hope is in the streets

These great pictures of the Pittsburg G20 protests, taken by photographer Jon Pratt, uplifted my spirits. On not so positive of a note, Cindy Sheehan comments on her blog on the authoritarian police presence in Pittsburg.

For an overview, here is the New York Times coverage.

Thoughts provoked by the Iliad

I'm plowing through Homer's Iliad. Well, actually I'm only in Book 3, but it feels like I'm plowing through it. As I read it, though, I'm reminded by what Bernard Knox said in the Introduction of this volume - that the Greeks in Homer's day had no conception of the after-life being granted to mortals. Immortal deities were lucky to have everlasting existence, but mere mortals died and then retired to an eternal, black sleep. (In this context, Knox comments on the cruelty and capriciousness of the Greek gods, who in intervening in the lives of people and in many cases causing needless suffering and death, they lacked any sense of decent morality given that they did not have to die and be vanquished for all eternity.) I was wondering, however, if this view that death was the end, without afterlife, was true for the Greeks throughout their history, or if it was true only for Homer's age. It seems that I have read that the after life was commented on by later Greek philosophers.

Looking forward to seeing The Informant

Tonight we're going to see Soderbergh's The Informant with some friends of ours. A reader of my blog recently pointed out, under my June posting on the labor struggles in Decatur, that the movie take place in Decatur, Illinois, dealing with a major corporate scandal involving ADM. I can't wait to see what parts of Decatur are shown in the movie, while watching what should be an excellent film.

Honduras back in the news (except for U.S. corporate news)

Amazing. Honduras is once again making international news, with the return of President Zelaya and his holing up in the Brazilian Embassy, and I couldn't find one word of it on the cable channels. Just more proof of Noam Chomsky's thesis in Manufacturing Consent. Of course, Democracy Now! aired almost a half-hour worth of coverage.

Plague of aphids

Last Tuesday I biked to downtown Normal to meet my sig. other and friends to see the fantastic documentary Made in L.A.. On my way there, I was shocked to see the number of gnats flying around, not just swarms of them, but a curtain of gnats enveloping the city. By the time I got to Normal, gnats were stuck in my arm hair, plastered to my shirt. It was gross.

Turns out, I recently learned that what I thought were gnats are aphids. Light green aphids are coming out every day and grow in intensity until late afternoon and dusk. Especially toward late afternoon, all these aphids have made biking, and even walking, a real pain. I'll be glad to see them go!

National day of action against the Iraq and Afpak wars

Organized by the National Assembly Against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Oct. 17th is the next day of protest against what is now Obama's war. This time around, actions will be local and regional across the country. Here in Bloomington-Normal, we're going to organize a caravan to support the Peoria Oct. 17 protest, and invite other peace groups in Central IL to attend as well.

Anti-eviction movement back in Minnesota

A Minnesota friend of mine sent me this link, a video of the resistance in Minneapolis against evictions and foreclosures. For months now a movement has been developing around the foreclosure of Rosemary Williams' home. Supporters of Rosemary have resisted her eviction by staging a sit-in of sorts at the house, but on Friday, police raided the home and arrested those doing civil disobediance.

A new perspective

This might be my perspective for awhile now, sitting on my porch as I try to get some writing done on my research project. I'd rather be delving into some of my recently borrowed ancient Greek philosophy texts, reading my Paco Taibo Ignacio novel, or doing what I'm doing now - blogging! - but I need to get this damn M.A. finished. Priorities!

Back when I was free a few weeks ago

Our friends at Lisa's going away party a few weeks ago...

The real Labor Day is May 1st

I celebrate Labor Day, whether in September or May. But, I must add, the true Labor Day is May 1st, the International Workers Day, which is celebrated internationally by workers around the world (everywhere but here in the U.S, except for a small minority of us, I might add).

This point, that International Labor Day is May 1st, was driven home this year by a requirement that the Bloomington-Normal Trade and Labor Assembly has for its Labor Day parade. They stipulate that all parade vehicles must be union-made (great! I support that) and American-made. American-made? What exactly does that mean? I have a Toyota Corolla that was assembled in California, by American union workers. Does that count as made in America? Or must the company be based in America? Of course I would object if the answer was no. Why should we care about the home country of company management?

I would go even further and say that it shouldn't matter where the car is made, as long as union workers made it. True worker solidarity knows no country!

Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market

My partner and I shopped at the Farmers Market Saturday morning, buying some tomatoes (despite the tomato blight) and other vegetables. We've been to the Bloomington market throughout the summer and have returned mostly for the vegetables and the honey.

While at the market, walking around the Old Courthouse at the market, I got to thinking about why I liked this particular market. What's been amazing to me is just how many organic farms are in operation around Bloomington-Normal. By way of comparison I thought of other farmers market experiences. I went to the Madison, Wisconsin farmers market only a few times and so can't remember if the farmers selling there were mostly local. The farmers markets in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) sometimes seemed bogus. Not all the time, yet we remember visiting some markets that appeared like there were importing vegetables from California! In contrast, the market here has numerous farms within 10-25 miles of the city. That probably isn't surprising, though, since we have such rich farmland so close to the city area.

Gettin' back to The Life in Founders' Grove

In our fifth week living in our new house, I still can't get over how superb it is living in a central location within the city! We made that a major factor in choosing our house, and so far at least we have reduced our car use dramatically, which is a major quality of life issue for me. I sometimes don't use the car for a week or two. Rachel takes the bike trail or the bus daily, and I actually can walk to work. And every single major destination is within a mile or so and bikeable.

For me, the goal of divorcing myself from the car is more than just environmentalism. It's having your feet on the ground, being able to exercise in the course of your life, having a sense of community with the town folk, and enjoying the beauty of a gorgeous neighborhood.

Inspired by the Limited

I went to the mall this evening with my wife and happened to browse the Limited with her for a few minutes. I've never been in the Limited before (I wouldn't have a reason to go there alone) and so was somewhat surprised and definitely amused by their pseudo-intellectual screeds written on the walls and plaques throughout the store. One in particular inspired me to contribute to their advertising campaign. I thought a little modification would make it a little more authentic.

"The Limited?" Exactly!" He had seen her before. But where? Her style was... international. Thailand? Maybe. El Salvador? Perhaps. Honduras? Well, made in a sweatshop most certainly.

Summer is over

Well, summer isn't officially over. But for us teachers here in Bloomington-Normal, with the students arriving tomorrow, our summer of professional rejuvenation has wound to an end. I'm not really saddened by this, however. So far, all of my classroom preparation has gone well and my room looks better than last year. I couldn't be more prepared, in fact. Beginning this early in August, at least we have air-conditioning here in Illinois, unlike my work environment back in St. Paul!