Category Archives: Uncategorized

Christmas and Christianity declared “important”

Shamelessly stolen from The Crypt:

Congress to say Christmas is important. Sun and Moon declared good too

This is one straight from the headlines of the Onion. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has introduced a resolution (H.Res. 847) saying, and I am not making this up, that Christmas and Christians are important. The House is scheduled to vote on this groundbreaking resolution on Tuesday.

As someone with a Christian background, I can safely say this may be the silliest resolution ever introduced by, or voted upon, by Congress, although I am a little curious to see if anyone will vote against it.

Do we really need Congress to say Christmas and the Christian faith are important? Isn’t that pretty self evident by now? Don’t Christians already pretty much run everything in this country, except for the mainstream media, which is of course controlled by a Jewish-Illuminati-Bill Gates cabal? Don’t we already get Dec. 25 off? Wasn’t I forced to shell out $65 for a scrawny Christmas tree this weekend? Won’t I have to go to Pentagon City or some other godforsaken place and spend more money in the next couple weeks as part of this strange ritual? What about the terrible songs that get endlessly recycled year after stinking year? And the useless catalogs that clog my mailbox, despite my efforts to get off mailing lists? Where will the horror end?

So, in the war on Christmas, I must declare myself a warrior for the anti-Xmas side. Bill O’Reilly, please take note. You too, Mr. King.

Update – The House passed this bill today.
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Mayor of Salt Lake City to Bush, Congress, and Media: “We Won’t take it anymore!”

Address by Mayor Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson, December 3, 2007

Today, as we come together once again in this great city, we raise our voices in unison to say to President Bush, to Vice President Cheney, to other members of the Bush Administration (past and present), to a majority of Congress, including Utah’s entire congressional delegation, and to much of the mainstream media: “You have failed us miserably and we won’t take it anymore.”

While we had every reason to expect far more of you, you have been pompous, greedy, cruel, and incompetent as you have led this great nation to a moral, military, and national security abyss.” “You have breached trust with the American people in the most egregious ways. You have utterly failed in the performance of your jobs. You have undermined our Constitution, permitted the violation of the most fundamental treaty obligations, and betrayed the rule of law.

You have engaged in, or permitted, heinous human rights abuses of the sort never before countenanced in our nation’s history as a matter of official policy. You have sent American men and women to kill and be killed on the basis of lies, on the basis of shifting justifications, without competent leadership, and without even a coherent plan for this monumental blunder.
We are here to tell you: We won’t take it anymore! You have acted in direct contravention of values that we, as Americans who love our country, hold dear. You have deceived us in the most cynical, outrageous ways. You have undermined, or allowed the undermining of, our constitutional system of checks and balances among the three presumed co-equal branches of government. You have helped lead our nation to the brink of fascism, of a dictatorship contemptuous of our nation’s treaty obligations, federal statutory law, our Constitution, and the rule of law.
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KRCL partnering with Chevron????

I am urging everyone who supports community radio to express their opinion on the following:

I love our local “radio-free” community radio station, KRCL. The program hosts are great (and all volunteer), music just about all day, Democracy Now! is played daily. I’ve been fortunate, too, to be able to record psa’s in their studio for various events.

I was quite dismayed this morning to hear a psa about KRCL’s food drive on December 14th for the Utah Food Bank – in partnership with CHEVRON.

When you go to the page, KRCL Food Drive, their is no mention of Chevron, but the psa clearly connects its partnership with this corporation.

I’ve known for years about Chevron’s human rights abuses in various countries.

Read for yourself on Chevron’s corporate domination in the world and their human rights vilations:
Learn more and take actionChevron (CVX) in Nigeria: Claiming Rights and Resources
Democracy Now! archive of news stories on Chevron
NIGERIA: Chevron Paid Troops After Alleged Killing
Chevron On Iraqi Kickbacks: My Bad
Chevron’s Pipeline Is the Burmese Regime’s Lifeline

I have written a letter to KRCL (pasted below) urging them to not accept support from companies like Chevron. I am publicly urging readers to do the same. Here is the contact info for sending letters:

Staff Members

General
Donna Land Maldonado – General Manager – donnal at krcl.org
Amy Dwyer – Office Manager/Admin Assistant – amyd at krcl.org

Programming
Ryan Tronier – Program Director – ryant at krcl.org
Felix Gonzalez – Studio Technician – felix at krcl.org
Troy Williams – RadioActive Producer – troyw at krcl.org
Tino Arana – Operations – tinoa at krcl.org

Development & Fundraising
Charlie Seldin – Development Director – charlies at krcl.org
Sue Gerber – CD-of-the-Month (volunteer) – sueg at krcl.org

Underwriting
Shawn Jimerson – Underwriting Manager – shawn at krcl.org

KRCL 90.9 FM
Listeners Community Radio of Utah
1971 West North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
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My letter to KRCL:
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Call to Green Party Members: Support Needed for Presidential Candidates

Momentum is building for the 2008 Presidential Elections in the Green Party of the United States, looking towards the Annual National Meeting next July in Chicago. Candidates need support from Greens to be nominated. Below are the calls for support. I have signed on to both in support of all candidates seeking the GPUS nomination for candidate for President of the United States in 2008:

Please forward widely to Greens and Green lists.

Dear Greens,

I am writing to ask for your support for attaining “official” recognition for the candidates listed below.

In order to be acknowledged as a candidate by the National Committee candidates must demonstrate proof of support form 100 greens in at least 5 states. Supporters may sign a letter of support for more than one candidate so we are requesting your support to have all of the following candidates acknowledged as “official” green party candidates.

By signing this letter you are not indicating that you will vote for these candidates.

This list below includes all the candidates who have given me their permission to put their names on this message.

I have included Kat Swift and Jesse Johnson and am waiting to hear back from them, if they do not wish to be included I will remove their names prior to submitting this letter to the PSCS.

Please add your name and contact info to the list of supporters and return to:
rhannon at toast.net

I will then compile all the names together and forward this message to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee.

Thank you for you assistance in showing our support for the dedicated people who have stepped forward to represent us as our presidential candidates. This is due by Dec. 1 so please reply promptly.

Cynthia McKinney’s request for support is also forwarded at the end of this message.

Thank you!
Anita Rios
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To whom it may concern at the Presidential Campaign Support Committee,

We the Greens listed below wish to express our support for the following Green Party Presidential Candidates:
Jared Ball
Elaine Brown
Kent Mesplay
Kat Swift
Jesse Johnson

1)(sign your name, state Green Party of which you are a member, address, phone, email)
2)(sign your name, state Green Party of which you are a member, address, phone, email)
3)(sign your name, state Green Party of which you are a member, address, phone, email)

etc.
———————————————————————-
A Request from the Cynthia McKinneyPresidential Campaign

Hello:

As you may already be aware, the National Committee of the Green Party of the United adopted a “Policy for Recognition of Declared Candidates for the Green Party Nomination for President”. This Policy now governs which candidates seeking the Party’s nomination may access Party resources. It is anticipated that some state Parties may use this recognition as a criteria for access to the state nominating ballots, as well.

We face a December 1st deadline for complying with the standards for such recognition, which include a provision that we receive verifiable support from 100 Green Party members, including members from at least 5 state parties, no later than December 1, 2007;

To facilitate the documentation of our compliance with this provision, last night we posted to Ms. McKinney’s campaign website a form designed to accept pledges of such support.

You can find that form
here.

I am writing to ask you to do the following:

(1) go online and complete that form, pledging your support for national Party recognition of this campaign;

(2) consider making a financial contribution towards our Federal Matching Funds eligibility campaign while you are on our website;

(3) help this request to go viral by circulating it to Greens you know and Green Party lists you are subscribed to.

At this point we have about sixty hours left to meet this deadline. With your help we can do so.

Thank you,
— Hugh Esco
Power to the People Committee,
Cynthia McKinney for President

Tasers: A Form of Torture?

A man who posted a YouTube video of himself being tasered by a Utah Highway Patrol Officer has generated controversy according to an article in today’s Deseret News – mostly due to the comments that people have made in response to it.
(NOTE: I personally do not condone the violent commments made in response to the video clip but think it's important to reveal the torture methods being used by police in the United States.)

Here is more information on the use of tasers as torture in recent news:

Published on Sunday, November 25, 2007 by CBS News
UN: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture
“Stun Guns” Are Under Fire After Six Deaths This Week; Rallies Held Demanding They Be Banned
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Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange

Last year the Desert Greens held it first Buy Nothing Day Winter Coat Exchange. It was fun and proved to be very meaningful.

This year we held it in a different location.
The 2007 Second Annual Winter Coat Exchange was successful and larger than 2006!
We had about 400 coats donated (up from 100 last year), as well as hats, gloves, and scarves! I was so successful this year that we are considering expanding to two locations for next year.

2007 Event Videos and Photos
Scott Fife Provides Live Entertainment




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Students at Utah High School prevented from hanging Buy Nothing Day Banner

A local high school principal prevented a class of students from hanging a banner for Buy Nothing Day.  Below is a commentary on this by Salt Lake Tribune columnist Paul Rolly.  It appears that this principal values capitalism over the environment and conservation.

Paul Rolly: Red scare at Viewmont High School

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} The advanced placement environmental class at Viewmont High School in Bountiful seems to be succeeding at making some of the school’s best and brightest aware of the need for conservation.
    Just so long as they don’t become Commies.
    RyLee Stowell says she and her fellow A.P. students, as a class project, created banners promoting “Buy Nothing Day,” an environmental alternative to “Black Friday,” which falls on the day after Thanksgiving and is touted by merchants as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
    “Buy Nothing Day” encourages conservation rather than consumerism on that day.
    But Stowell says when the students wanted to hang the banner on a balcony overlooking the commons area – where dances, programs and other student activities are advertised – they were told that the anti-consumer message would offend sponsors that promote their goods and services throughout the school.
    Principal Scott Tennis, however, says the students were never censored. They were allowed to put their message on bulletin boards throughout the school and displayed their banner in the lunchroom.
    But he was concerned that the students were unclear about what the message was trying to convey – if it was anti-capitalism, pro-socialism, or what?

And So It Begins….

….the shopping season.

YIKES!!!

Tomorrow will be the 2nd annual Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange at Library Plaza in downtown Salt Lake. Black Friday is what the day after Thanksgiving is called. I am putting out the call to all readers and their families and friends to consider doing something different on this day. Something more community oriented and not so consumer-oriented. Check out the Buy Nothing Day Coat Exchange Page.

Be sure to check out my Gift Giving Page, which I will be updating throughout this season.

Cynthia McKinney Seeking Green Party Presidential Nomination

I had the great fortune of seeing Cynthia McKinney speak at the Annual National Meeting of the Green Party of the United States this past summer and then meeting her at the SOA Watch event last weekend.  She will be working with me and others here in Utah towards a visit in the spring of 2008.  Below are videos and photos of her appearance at the SOA Watch event last weekend.

Cynthia’s websites:
All Things Cynthia McKinney
McKinney for President 2008

Cynthia McKinney, who is seeking the Green Party of the United States Presidential Nomination, attended the School of the Americas Watch Event on Sunday, November 18, 2007. She was a featured speaker on the stage. She was also among those who led the funeral procession after the funeral service.

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School of the Americas Watch Event – My Experience

There is so much to tell it’s hard to know where to start. The good news is that five Latin American countries are now officially School of the Americas “dropouts” (they will not be sending any more of their military to the SOA for training). The bad news: It’s still open and operating. But it’s getting closer and closer to closing down. Only about 6 more U.S. representatives are needed to vote to close it.

My experience is best told through photos and videos. I have posted videos at
Green Party Peace Network.
You can also view my videos at Youtube – search for “deesdotes”.

Photos Tom and I took can be viewed at the SOAW page of the Green Party Peace Network.

Here are a few things for “taste” of what I experienced:
Father Roy Bourgeois, Founder of the SOA Watch

Funeral Procession