Here is the link to my latest attempt at changing my neighbor's thinking...
http://thefreedailyobserver.com/doc/FDO%20Ed%20for%20web.pdf

What do you think?

DaveS

p.s. This should be a good link... I'll check. Yup this one works. Loads weird for me, but I'm having internet issues.

fixed it for you Dave
dan

Comes up 404.

More good local news about the people covering the news from a small public radio station that just hired a second full-time journalist. Yea! you go KDNK!

http://www.kdnk.org/article.cfm?mode=detail&id=1264117486153

DaveS

Well done, DaveS, a very eloquent and cogent editorial. Your publication is a gem throughout and I congratulate and thank you for all the trouble you have taken.

Parviz,

Thank you for the kind words.

I wish I could publish something like this everyday. There is certainly a lack of published information about these subjects, at least where I live.

I plan on dumping a couple of hundred around Aspen, which could use a good dose of reality. I think it's funny how many people live there and publicly preach about peace, love and the environment. Yet they are also the ones making big bucks off weapons sales, mineral extraction, and a sundry list of other hypocritical investments that pay.

If I were going to be stuck on an island for a long time with another human, and I were able to choose between a touchy-feely peace symbol wearing warmonger and some burly marine... I'd pick the marine, at least I'd know where he/she were coming from, the other sort of human is both dangerous and foul. I detest two-faced assholes more than just about anything.

Writing of assholes... NPR reporting from Haiti today, lets see if I can remember; the reporter was telling us about the water truck that arrived, and that it was the first FREE water that residents had access to since the earthquake.

The reporter, in typical corporate ass-speak , rushed right over the "free" water which make me wonder who would be charging for water? If it were the local peons I'm sure the reporter would have pointed-out the evil of their profiteering, and since he didn't, it makes me wonder, who's the jerk charging for H2O?

Why ?

DaveS

Yeah, I understand about how people take advantage of each other. It's sad that an island is having a hard time providing water to the citizens. Sad that there is always so many greedy people looking to benefit from tragic events.

DaveS

Hey Dave - the paper is excellent! I briefly considered moving to the North Fork five or six years ago and spent a little time in some of those towns sussing out some possibilities...Hotchkiss, Paonia; turned out not to be the right time for me.

I think I heard the same NPR story you are referring to this morning, and the reporter also said something like..."people are lining up calmly to get water and there is no rioting or disorer AS OF YET....."

I was so incensed by that last clause that I switched off the radio and said "assholes", even though I was at work. Like Dan (and others) have commented, when you are starving and dying of thirst you will take desperate measures. Similarly with the accounts of (alleged)looting in some places...is it really "looting" when you are just trying to survive and help your family and neighbors survive?

Another outstanding Chris Hedges' column:

http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20090601_war_is_sin/

Go Chris, Go Truthdig!

DaveS

Maxcrat-

You wouldn't believe how the place is changing. In just the past five years the number of folks has increased quite a bit... with them a few more problems, but also a few improvements.

The City Market (chain grocery) has improved the fare they offer... the number and variety of small organic farms is increasing... we even have farmers growing organic hops for New Belgium brewery.

There are now free concerts in paonia at the town park during the summer and what seems like a bigillion feral kids running hither and dither. Good fun. I wish I could stick the place in a bottle – two julys ago, during paonia's cherry days festival there was a carnival that I swear must have dropped out of some movie set. I've never seen such clean rides, so much fresh paint or so many healthy carnys... I was continually looking to see if maybe there weren't cameras rolling.

But on the flip side, there are a lot of poor folks struggling to make it, and with the new people moving here, the cost have begun to rise. Unfortunately I see our future going the direction of other nice places I've lived; they get too popular and many of the reasons people originally moved to the place no longer exist. Property values rise to a point where the people who made the place nice either can't afford the taxes, or become tired of the crowds and sell. Regardless, it will never be the same.

If you ever pass back thru, look me up. The beer at the micro-brewery in paonia, revolution brewing( http://www.revolution-brewing.com/ ), is like manna from heaven. I don't know what they do, but they do it better than anyone. Good stuff!

Peace

DaveS

After listening to Jake Diliberto of "Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan" give us his thoughts on Afghanistan (listen to link below), I've come to realize that Afghan tribal rights are equivalent to American states' rights. So I think it's ironic that most Americans, who favor our war in Afghanistan, tend to be right wingers, who also tend to be strong advocates for states' rights, but they'd rather see Afghanistan have a strong central government than a bunch of various tribal governments, which are nothing more than Afghanistan's version of our state governments. And so, I think this reinforces the notion that warmongering right wingers are such bigots that they view Afghans as not being human enough and thus not being worthy enough to be allowed tribal rights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh9K07rXgKU&feature=player_embedded

Here is a very sad, sad story... just damning about the true cost of war:

http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/01/26/13rd-of-women-in-us-military-raped/

I would propose the next army recruitment film should include at least one scene of a gang rape... but unfortunately that would probably boost the recruitment numbers.

Ain't it an odd world?

Here I sit watching a snowstorm slowly creep over the landscape, and despite my being a week behind on bills, the heat is still on, the electricity is on, the rent check bounced but once, and then cleared for the landlord... in other words, all is well in my little corner of earth.

Yet... yet, probably with-in ten miles of me there is someone hungry and/or cold; down in Haiti there is an incredible horror unfolding; numerous victims of Katrina and the Government's non-response are still trying to find a useless handhold on our sinking economy; there are wars enough to go around, weapons are selling like hot cakes while tent cities blossom in empty fields. Americans living on the streets despite thousands of empty homes – the soulless husk of zombie bank debt laughing at living humans reduced to living in walls of scrounged plastic and cardboard.

Why them and not me? Am I going to be next? Should I even care?

Over in aspen, windfall money from war profiteers fills the tip jars and pockets of peacenik bartenders and environmentalist ski instructors who hold their noses and do their jobs so they can slurp-up whatever crumbs fall from the wallets of their clients, never giving a second thought to all the blood covering those greenbacks. "Somebody is gonna do it, might as well be me."

And every night these same sycophants drown their sorrows with micro brews and snobby wine; bury their pride under a small pile of XTC or cocaine; smoke the demons out of their conscience with hydo weed and cuban cigars; Run Rabbit Run!

Why do we care? All of this is just history repeating. A broken record we can listen to or ignore and regardless of which we choose, we will continue to live our lives. And people will continue to suffer.

DaveS

Good article you wrote there Dave, food for thoughts. In true wordsmith fashion, always a pleasure reading your observations.

Juan,

That was a powerful poem in the poetry thread. Whoa!

As far as electing our leaders... there was a time I'd agree we got what we deserve. And not to dismiss the ignorance of the electorate, but I also question if the system hasn't been 'gamed'?

I can't help but think the election process is a forgone deal, that the ptb get who they want. America only having two parties has made this easier, as we're only given two choices, the third party candidates are for show ( just like the third world). We have a wonderful illusion of democracy, but not one in practice. Corporations have the power and will continue to have the power. Any revolution will likely be started, or at the very least supported at it's start by a corporation trying to destabilize competitor.

Times have changed so much, that instead of petitioning government to change policy, we might achieve our goals quicker by lobbying the corporations directly. Why even try keeping the fantasy of a people's government alive? At this point the government have become worse than nothing, because it gives us someone to focus our anger upon, rather than the cocksuckers who are really responsible.

For an example look at the french revolution... the banks partnered with the king to loot the treasury. The people tired of being stepped-on took their anger out on the monarchy and the business class mostly escaped unscathed. I maybe generalizing or possibly even making facts up, but this is how I recall those events. And I can see the same thing happening here.

What is heartbreaking for a person like me, who bought into the whole illusion of 'america', is that I can now see it always been smoke and mirrors, the wizard has always been a small, evil man hiding in the wings watching and laughing as people needlessly suffer and die in the name of peace and freedom. What rot.

Thanks for the nice words... a revolution IS interesting, in that chinese curse kinda way. We're living in the middle of one right now. Let's hope it remains a 'cold' revolution and doesn't go 'hot'... I'm in no hurry to get shot, tortured, hung or otherwise made to realize that my beliefs are not in line with the rulers...

DaveS

I can't seem to make the forum feedback forum show up in recent posts, so here is the link
http://lespeakeasy.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=523

David, DoS, I think you are dead right with your reference to consumer boycotts being a powerful measure to get corporations attention. Would people lose their jobs? Possible, but if you work for a bastard company you kind of asked for it. At the same time, companies who act ethically respectable will get more business in turn and they’ll be hiring.

Because most large corporations are so one-dimensional, profit ueber alles, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out how to best grab them by the balls. Question is, how can one get enough people to heed the call and follow the boycott action plan. Once we solve that, we would have another device to get the pendulum swinging the other way.

Juan,

Your words ring true... I have to admit that I've fallen in love; fallen in love with a quote rudolf posted from Shakespeare;