'After Weeks at Sea, the Children Sight Land...'

I am fascinated by the beautiful woodcuts and pastels at Diane Cutter's The Itinerant Artist. Do your eyes a favor and visit.

The Bailout

Thanks, Jon!

Frogs die while crops sprayed

Remember the frogs? When I was a kid my friends and I would rescue tadpoles from muddy puddles as they dried up and then grow them in buckets and a wading pool in my back yard. We'd have frogs hanging around all summer, catching flies and churumping in the twilight.

Where I saw ten frogs, today's children would only see three-- amphibians worldwide have declined by seventy percent and one in three amphibian species is listed as endangered.

Frogs are like canaries in coal mines, an early warning system that something's wrong. Their skin is thin and very permeable, easily affected by rising ozone levels. An infectious fungal disease deadly to frogs is spreading rapidly because of the increasing temperature of the earth.

Causes of the decline in amphibians are many and complicated, but today Scientific American reported on a study that shows a clear link between use of the pesticide Atrazine plus fertilizers with the decline of the northern leopard frog. This modest frog, the State Amphibian of Vermont and Minnesota, is being decimated by flatworm parasites that proliferate on snails that grow fiercely in waters polluted by Atrazine and fertilizers.Although this pesticide is banned in Europe, in the last fifteen years it's become the top-selling pesticide in the United States.

Syngenta, the Swiss-based company that produces Atrazine, had this to say about the University of South Florida study: "50 years of use and a vast amount of research has shown that (atrazine) can be used safely with no long-term detriment to ecosystems."

Photo from Transguyjay's photostream at Flickr

Mel Gibson at Mercy Hospital

I just came back from picking up a friend of mine and his girlfriend at the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room. He has a severe hernia and had been there since 11 a.m.; it was 6:30 p.m. when they climbed into my car.

"You'll never guess who was in the emergency room when I was," he said.

"Morgan?" I said, naming a friend who is missing in action.

"Way higher than that," he said.

"OK, who?" I said.

"Mel Gibson!"

"Really? What was he doing there?"

"Some minor accident on his movie set. Didn't really seem hurt. He had his own doctor with him. The nurses were all giggling."

"Yeah, one nurse said, "I'm all set, I touched his feet!' I don't like feet though, so that didn't do anything for me," my friend's girlfriend said.

"And how long was he actually in the emergency room?"

"He was in and out in about an hour and a half."

"Mel Gibson at Mercy," I pondered. "Oh, wait, I get it-- Mel Gibson's a Catholic."

"Yeah, and I'd gone outside to smoke a cigarette while I was waiting, and he came out, surrounded by five people, and got in the passenger seat of his stretch SUV. He looked right at me," my friend said.

"You know he's an anti-Semite"-- my friend looks at me blankly-- "someone prejudiced against Jews."

"Really?" my friend said, a bit crestfallen

"Yeah, when he was stopped for drunk driving a few years ago, he said the Jews were responsible for all the wars in the world. Called a female cop sugar-tits, too."

"Well, I certainly pick the exciting times to come to Mercy. The last time I was here, people were standing in the parking lot, looking at that window that was supposed to look like the Virgin Mary."

"Mel Gibson...the Virgin Mary....hmm."

"Man, I'm tired," my friend said. "Thanks for dropping me home."

"No problem," I said.

Child shoots self, dog dragged to death, senator takes bribe-- stupid, stupid, stupid

In recounting three incidences of incredible stupidity here in Massachusetts and Connecticut in the last three days, I do not mean to imply that the incidents are in any way equally stupid. Nothing surpasses the unnecessary death of a child.

Sunday, July 26: eight year old Christopher Bizilj is with his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo held at the Sportsman's Club in Westfield. He holds a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun in his hand. Moments ago his father has taken his picture, the last of his life. With a firearms instructor at his side, Christopher pulls the trigger of the submachine gun. As the rounds fire, the gun recoils and Christopher loses control. The gun flies upwards, shooting him in the head. where Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., died after accidentally shooting himself in the head. A few hours later he is pronounced dead.

The Expo was a wholesome, family-oriented event. Children under 16 were admitted free. Come one, come all.

Dr. Bizihj is the medical director of the emergency department at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. Has he never seen a gunshot wound? Just what does one do with an UZI submachine gun, anyway, except shoot it? And why, why, would anyone think it appropriate for an eight year old buy to fire one?

Every parent has thought about what it would be like to be responsible for the death of your child. Just thinking about it is like approaching a the edge of a steep cliff. I know two people who backed over their own children with their vehicles and killed them. They were never whole again. How can they forgive themselves? How can others? My thoughts are with this family that they can understand what has happened to them and come to some kind of peace.

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On Sunday, in Suffield, CT, thirty-five year old Brian J. Moson, smashed out his mind, ties his dog to the back of his pick-up truck. Ten minutes later, having completely forgotten about his dog (and the fact that he was drunk) and decides to drive into town and sets off down the road in his truck. Some horrified person observes what s happening and calls the police. Brian is arrested a few miles later; his dog is taken to the Boston Road Animal Hospital where he is euthanized.

I would not want to be Brian, stopped by the police and stepping out of his truck, and seeing his dog.

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Yesterday, Massachusetts Senator Diane Wilkerson, the only African-American woman in the Senate and a longtime champion of the poor and oppressed, is arrested at her home by the F.B.I. on charges she accepted more than $23,000 in bribes from undercover agents posing as businesspeople. She had helped one of them to obtain a liquor license denied once already, and helped another develop property by promoting legislation on his behalf. Today, she is free on bail and keeping a low profile.

The Boston Globe has many articles about Sen. Wilkerson's troubles recently and in the past, including a timeline of her run-ins with ethics probes, her disbarment for income tax evasion, and campaign finance problems.

I remember Sen. Wilkerson at many State House hearings. I went there with others to fight for better health care, a living wage, more affordable housing. She always appeared to be on our side.

i would not want to be Diane Wilkerson, facing the people of her district.

700 jobs versus ending animal cruelty

Question Three on the Massachusetts ballot, the Greyhound Protection Act which bans dog racing, has not received as much attention as Question One, eliminating the state income tax, and Question Two, decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. But that doesn't mean it's unimportant. I want to urge everyone to vote YES on Question Three.

Question Three doesn't actually ban all dog racing-- you and your friend can race your dogs to your heart's content-- but it would eliminate racing where wagers are taken.

Proponents of Question Three point to the fact that dogs are confined in small kennels an average of 20 hours a day. numerous injuries and sometimes deaths that greyhounds suffer when racing. More than 800 dog injuries have been documented (by the industry itself) since 2002 and a number have resulted in fatalities. ProtectDogs.org has a video clip of a collision at Raynham Park last year which led to the euthanization of Starz Voice, a two and a half year old red and white greyhound. Watch if you can.

Opponents of Question Three have their own website, Protect Dogs and Jobs, and claim that more than a 1,000 jobs will be lost if the question passes, in addition to towns losing considerable tax revenue. ProtectDogs challenge that figure, but there is no doubt that some jobs and some tax revenues will be lost.

For me, the heart of the question is, what is the ideal relationship between humans and animals? How do we eliminate suffering? How are humans spiritually enriched by their relationship with animals rather than diminished and hardened? There's no one answer, and no easy answer. Animals have provided food, labor, companionship and sport for humans for millennia. Civilizations grew more quickly where there were animals suitable for domestication. Dogs and cats proved their usefulness to humans very early.

In my own family, my granddaughter is a vegan, uses no animal products including soap, and wears no leather, my two daughters are vegetarians, and my nephews are meat-eaters who think of vegetarianism as a mental affliction. I'm a lapsed vegetarian who eats little meat and am a very big fan of Dick Francis' detective stories, all of which are set in the world of horse racing. Life is complicated. But eating meat to survive is one thing; allowing animals to suffer for our entertainment is something else again.

According to the Boston Globe, dog racing appears to be a dying industry-- something we seem to be outgrowing. A survey of Massachusetts voters shows a dead heat in public opinion, with a substantial number still undecided.

Do your own research; I believe you will agree: vote Yes on Question Three.

Heat your house with the "Heat Grabber"

Has your heat kicked in yet? My sister sent me a link to an old Mother Earth article about a Solar Heat Grabber which was sent to her by somebody else, who got it from somebody else, etc.

Cheap, easy to make and highly effective, as long as you have a south-facing window, the devise will last for years and really cut into your heating bills.

We're making two of them for our house next week.

Organic facts of the week

• If organic farming methods were practiced on all the planet's food-growing land, it would be like taking more than 1.5 billion cars off the road.

• You can increase your antioxidant intake by 30 percent by choosing organic.
• The average child in America is exposed to five pesticides daily in their food and drinking water.
• The U.S. water system is regularly contaminated above safe limits immediately following chemical fertilizer applications to farm fields.
• Farms in developing countries that use organic techniques produce an average of 79% more than farms that don't. From the Organic Consumers Association

Photo from digiyesica's photostream at Flickr - Creative Commons

Help hide the homeless: Northampton aims for anti-panhandling law

It's not too hard to pretend that poverty doesn't exist in Northampton, MA, if that's what you want to do. Street kids tend to blend in with college kids, the housing projects are tucked far away from downtown; and a scattering of tents by the railroad tracks aren't visible from the highway. Just about the only time poverty and homelessness is really in your face is when you're approached by a panhandler.

Thus the City of Northampton is getting ready to pass an anti-panhandling law which, while not banning panhandling outright, prohibits asking for money while sitting on a park bench or standing on a corner, or asking anyone while they are waiting in a line, or within fifteen feet of a public telephone, bus stop, bank or ATM. You also can't be within five feet of a building entrance or fifteen feet of a parking meter or overpass. What's left, you might ask? Not much. And if you break this restrictive law, you can be fined from $50 to $300. This makes a lot of sense-- you don't have money so you are fined-- and if you don't pay the fine, then what? More unnecessary criminalization. The Daily Collegian covered this story well earlier in the week.

Why ban panhandling? I can hear the downtown business people talking about how panhandling drives away businesses. Beyond that, many people are uncomfortable when asked for spare change. Well, then, just say no!

My own rule is, one person a day. I live too close to the margins myself to do more than that. But as tight as my own budget it, at least I have an income.

Arise member Caty Simon has formed a group in Northampton called Poverty is Not A Crime. That group, plus the Freedom Center, the ACLU and Social Change in Mind are all fighting this ordinance. If you live or shop in Northampton, call Mayor Claire Higgins at 413.587.1249 and let her know: help homeless people, don't criminalize them. Leave panhandlers alone!

Photo by Emily Grund/Collegian

Girl lied about B branding by Obama support, CNN reports

Got home from work, put away groceries, fed the cats, turned on the TV and immediately saw what I had expectedever since the story broke yesterday: 20 year old Ashley Todd has admitted that her story about being assaulted by a Barak Obama supporter who scratched a "B" on her cheek is a complete fabrication.

I'd been suspicious since I heard the story, and after I saw a picture of Ms. Todd, I was sure: the letter B carved into her cheek was backward-- the way it would be if you were looking in the mirror while you mutilated yourself.

The McCain campaign is unlikely to have had anything to do with Ms. Todd's tale. She was a volunteer for the McCain campaign, and if she's anything like several other people I've met in my life, felt like she wasn't getting enough attention, needed that attention, and would do just about anything to get it. How very sad.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects on Springfield, MA's online forum MassLive were clucking like hens. Mr.Wasp and Redneck33's monikers do tend to give away their bias against African-Americans, and fear mongering is their game. Blacks are voting for Obama just because he's black, blacks are racist, whites who support Obama should wake up, "Obama thug supporters" would just as soon kill you as as let you pass with a McCain sticker or will burn down your house..

Of course you understand that these are white people who are terrified of Blacks, who see the word "mugger" or "rapist" superimposed on every Black male under forty that they pass on the street. So to protect themselves from their fear, they have to make out that they, the white people, are the real victims. How very sad.

A few folks on the forum had doubts from the beginning also, and called out Mr. Wasp and Redneck33's paranoia. A lot of other decent folks just wouldn't even dignify the discussion with a comment. Those are the people who give me hope. My fear is that those who think like Mr. Wasp and Redneck33 but say nothing are numerous enough to sway the election.

Photo from CNN.

Springfield Republican endorses decrim of marijuana

I was pleased yesterday morning to see that the Springfield Republican has endorsed Question Two. Here's the editorial:

Marijuana reform right for Bay State by The Republican Newsroom, Wed., Oct. 22, 2008

You have friends and family members and co-workers who have smoked marijuana. You may have even indulged a bit yourself back in the day.

Few people today would argue that someone who had been caught with a small amount of marijuana for his or her own personal use should be denied, say, a job. Or a student loan. Or an apartment. Or a professional license.

But that's exactly what could happen under current laws that are in place in Massachusetts. Question 2 on the November ballot seeks to right that wrong by making possession of an ounce or less - for personal use - a civil rather than a criminal offense.

Opponents of Question 2 - most notably district attorneys - argue that first-time offenders are directed to programs outside the criminal-justice system and thus leave no record of their transgression. But that's because the district attorneys currently in office choose to handle it that way. A successor could opt for a completely different tack, marking each offender for life.

Question 2 takes that possibility off the table.

Someone caught with a bit of pot would have the marijuana confiscated, would be assessed a $100 fine - and that would be that. There would be no criminal proceedings, no record to be accessed.

Question 2 is sound and sensible public policy.

It does not make marijuana legal. It does not make it OK to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana. It does not change a single law on the books regarding the sale or distribution of marijuana.

And it deals with youthful offenders in the most rational way: by getting the family involved. Juveniles caught with marijuana would have the citation delivered to a parent or guardian, and would have to complete a drug awareness program and perform community service.

Across the nation, there are 11 states that have passed laws similar to Question 2. Some have been in place for decades, and there is no evidence whatsoever that the change has led to increased marijuana use or a decrease in general order.

This reform is right for Massachusetts. We urge voters on Nov. 4 to support Question 2.

In the Comments section following the editorial, one woman worried that if Question Two passes, her mother's nurse, the school nurse and the school bus driver will all be able to smoke pot without consequences. This attitude always astounds me-- that people think that others would start smoking pot if it were decriminalized. If they wouldn't start smoking, why would others? In any case, the eleven other states that have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana have not seen any increase in marijuana use. So why should it happen here?

Arise and a few other organizations were going to have a press conference in support of Question Two next week but we were dissuaded from doing so by decisionmakers at the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy. Somehow the half dozen messages we've left at their office since this summer, saying we wanted to be involved in the campaign, didn't get through until just this week. Their position is, why give the district attorneys and other opponents a platform from which to respond? Instead, CSMJ is focusing on paid political ads. Check out their website for some great examples. You may have already seen the ads on TV or hreard them on the radio. Let's hope that hearing law enforcement officials say that it's time for reform will change enough minds.

FISH LICE: If this doesn't turn you off farmed salmon

then you'd probably eat anything. Check out this video by Watershed Watch Salmon Society on the dangers of fish lice in farmed salmon and how they threated wild salmon and parts of our ecosystem. Farmed and Dangerous, another pro-salmon activist organization, also has a good video on the reality of salmon farms.

Candy cigarettes

I often stop at the Racing Mart on State and Berkshire on my way to and from work-- it's convenient for milk and a candy bar, and they usually have the cheapest gas in town. All the employees seem to be part of the same family.

Months ago I noticed candy cigarettes in the candy rack. At the time I mentioned to one of the clerks that I wished they wouldn't sell them-- sent a bad message to kids; there;s lots of other candy they can make money on, etc. He said he wasn't the store owner and didn't seem able or willing to point me to the person who was really in charge.

Several more times in the past six months I've tried my anti-candy cigarette monologue but the candy remains on the shelves.

Monday I tried once more.

"Who really owns this store?" I asked. "Who makes the decisions."

"The manager is here in the mornings," I was told.

So yesterday morning I stopped at the store early and caught up with the manager, who did not seem unaware of my issue.

"OK," he said, "when this box is gone, I won't order anymore."

"Thanks!" I said, and stuck out my hand. He took it, and we shook.

. When I get paid this week I'll buy a bunch myself, but there are a bit too many for me to take this project on by myself. So help me get rid of the store's current supply. Drop in, buy a box, and tell 'em Michaelann sent you. (Don't want them to think the items are a bigger seller than they are!) Then eat them, crush them, perform whatever exorcism you like.

Down with candy cigarettes!

Flaw in Blogger: where are comments?

Bloggers love it when people send in comments about particular posts. I approved a very nice comment yesterday from Alicia, who'd spent time on my blog and enjoyed it. Now I can't find the comment, because Blogger's dashboard doesn't say which post the comment goes with! A little thing...but I wish they'd find a fix.

Linking to blogs about homelessness, environmental justice and Western Mass. happenings

I'm eighteen months into writing this blog and one of the resources I hope my readers take advantage of is the extensive list of links that I've compiled and try to keep updated.

The biggest list is I keep is of blogs that write about homelessness-- in particular those written by homeless and formerly homeless people themselves, although they're not that easy to find. I could put in many more links to agencies that work to end homelessness, but most of them already have a voice; still, I've added a couple that are particularly well-done-- L.A.s Homeless Blog, for example.

Some homeless blogs come and go quickly, but many writers have made a long-term commitment to their blogs. Homeless Man Speaks describes life on the streets in just a few lines of dialogue a day. Oldtimer Speaks Out is dedicated to homeless and other veterans, and is currently deep into a tutorial about house-building by Habitat for Humanity. Michael at SLO Homeless speaks with thoughtfully and experience about the struggles homeless people face and how hard it can be sometimes to get housed people to understand.

Rare and valuable are those blogs that follow the people's movements for housing around the world. Squatter City posts about the resiliance and tragedy of squatter communities in Afghanistan, Brazil and elsewhere; Save Feral Human Habitat covers tent cities, homeless activism, and saving the Canadian environment.

Unlike blogs about homelessness, environmental blogs are easy to find and there are so many good ones that my link list is more representative and more about what I find and like than it is comprehensive. Native Harvest, the home of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, promotes indigenous autonomy as well as a catalogue of products including wild rice, organic coffee and native arts. It was founded by poet and warrior Winona LaDuke. Inhabitant is about "forward design for the world we inhabit."

Last but not least I like to collect Western Mass blogs or blogs by Western Mass. authors, even when they run in a different political gamut or aren't political at all. Grace the Dog tells odd little stories loosely about journalism and the media. Exploring Western Mass blends the past and the present with exquisite photographs of our region. Springfield Intruder takes a passionate and acerbic view of Springfield's neighborhoods and politics.

Do take the time to check out the variety of visions in the blogging world today.

Graphic from the International Alliance of Inhabitants

Two14 year olds charged in homeless beating death

Wilford Hamilton, 61 years old, was probably like most homeless people living on the streets of Pontiac, Michigan-- and the streets of every city in the country-- worried about his safety, but not expecting to be murdered. But on August 21, he was severely beaten by at least two youths and he died four days later at the Pontiac Regional Medical Center.

According to the Oakland County Press, Mr. Wilford was well-known for his friendliness and his signature beret. "Frenchie," as he was affectionately called, was also an artist. The graphic on this page is his self-portrait from the f/k/a blog, which also details other attacks made on homeless people by the same boys that week.

Last week the boys were charged with first degree murder in Mr. Wilford's deathnd are being tried as adults. They attended Jefferson Middle School in Pontiac.

Last year the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness counted 79,940 homeless people in Michigan.

The National Coalition for the Homeless has listed the number of documented (far more are undocumented) attacks on homeless people by the non-homeless from 1999-2006:
Total number of violent acts over 8 years: 614
Total number of deaths over 8 years: 189
Total number of non-lethal attacks over 8 years: 425
Number of cities where crimes occurred over 8 years: 200
Number of states where crimes occurred over 8 years: 44 states plus Puerto Rico
Age ranges of the accused/convicted: from 11 to 75 years of age
Age ranges of the victims: from 4 months old to 74 years of age
Gender of victims: Male: 359 Female: 48

What does it take to stand over a man and beat him to death?