Today is the shortest daylight day of the year.
Happy Winter Solstice!
Tonight was the regular weekly peace vigil in which I have been taking part for over 5 years. Each week we get our share of honks along with at least several anti-peace passersby who yell derogatory things at us (“Get a job!”, “Get a Life!”, “We Love Bush!”, etc.).
Tonight the temperatures were frigid, yet three of us bundled up (I mean, like we looked like Pillsbury Dough-People!). We had a small propane heater to warm up our hands. We each held signs for about 1/2 hour. Among us, by profession, were a Gulf War vet, a teacher, and a building manager.
A young woman (about 25) stopped her SUV in front of us and yelled, “You people should get jobs so that my parents’ taxes don’t pay for your welfare checks!”. It was obvious to us that she did not read our signs with messages of peace and because we were donned on bulky winter outerwear and were huddled around a propane heater holding signs, she thought we were homeless because we “looked the type”. Then we realized that she referred to her parent’s taxes, meaning that she does not have a job and is supported by her SUV owning parents.
What Bah-Humbug holiday spirit this young woman had. Not only did she have us pegged wrong because she wasn’t paying attention, she has no sensitivity towards those less fortunate than herself.
Some time ago, I posted about Dave Lippman (aka George Shrub, the sining CIA Agent) getting pulled over, his car searched and arrested for being a “known protestor”.
Today I have learned through my daily news perusal that The FBI will release the last of Its John Lennon Files. There are no surprises in those files, according to historians.
In one memo, then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover wrote to H.R. Haldeman, President Nixon’s chief of staff, that “Lennon had taken an interest in ‘extreme left-wing activities in Britain’ and is known to be a sympathizer of Trotskyist communists in England.”
(AP)
So if you are a “known protester” (as many of us are), feel good that you are being documented in official historical files.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Activism, fbi, government corruption, music, patriot act, peace, politics
Project for an Old American Century(POAC) has a link to an article on Think Progress about Rep. Virgil Goode’s (R-VA) letter to his constituents regarding Muslims. POAC’s introduction to the article:
Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA): ‘I Fear We Will Have Many More Muslims In The United States’. For a really creepy experience, read this article and replace the word “Muslim” with “Jew”.
That’s exactly what the U.S. is doing:
US Considers Naval Build-up as Warning to Iran.
The Bush administration is weighing options for a naval build-up in the Gulf as a show of force and a warning to Iran on its nuclear programme and its support for Shia militias in Iraq, it emerged yesterday.
Outgoing UN secretary general Kofi Annan said yesterday that military intervention in Iran would be “unwise and disastrous”, as the Security Council debated a resolution that would impose sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme. “I believe that the council, which is discussing the issue, will proceed cautiously and try and do whatever it can to get a negotiated settlement,” he said.
The latest draft resolution would order all countries to ban the supply of specified materials and technology that could contribute to Iran’s nuclear programmes.
Walmart will stop at nothing until it has its presence in every community.
After being denied a permit to build a big box store in a Utah community, it has now reapplied for a permit to build a “community” store.
I really wish that communities would examine the issues beyond revenue. It is getting more and more difficult for small business owners to survive, let alone starting a business. It would be nice to see communities promote and value buying local and building local – and providing resources to support locally owned business.
Cocolico is this week’s host of the Carnival of the Green. Some of the table of contents for this week’s carnival, the last one before Christmas:
Happy Holiday Reading!
In today’s Salt Lake Tribune:
Utah Transit Authority General Manager John Inglish promised plainly that a new quarter-cent sales tax provides the resources to complete all four new TRAX spurs and commuter rail.
“The bottom line is: This is a package deal,” Inglish assured a skittish cluster of politicians.
And all those rail lines, he pledged, will be running within seven to 10 years.
In today’s Deseret News:
Officials push mass transit to top of list
The Salt Lake County Council and county mayors on Tuesday laid the groundwork to build a network of rails over the next 10 years that will span the Salt Lake Valley, by endorsing a list of projects that will be funded through a quarter-cent sales-tax hike that voters approved in November.
The officials hanged priorities recommended in a list of 34 projects compiled by the Wasatch Front Regional Council and approved funding for four projects, three of which are mass transit.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 