As is my want, I watched Bill Moyers last night and caught an excellent interview between Mr. .Moyer and one John McWhorter. With all the watermelon White House lawns, the Whiskey Flat Days float crisis and the Attorney Generals recent "cowards"comment ~ I thought some of you might fine this interesting.

“”BILL MOYERS: That cartoon in the-
JOHN MCWHORTER: And so the chimpanzee cartoon.
BILL MOYERS: Yeah.
JOHN MCWHORTER: And so one might interpret the chimpanzee as Barack Obama being shot. And so the NAACP's most high-profile effort lately has been to protest that. And, okay. Now, you, Bill, and I, John, were smiling a little bit when we were going over the list of Macaca and Michael Richards and Don Imus. I think we both have to admit that once those things have fallen out of the news cycle and you look back on them a year or two later, it seems like it was kind of trivial.
You know, Seinfeld's Kramer had a meltdown on stage and used a bad word and that was all the news was for three weeks? How, how important was that in the grand scheme of how society operates, how America's going to really solve its problems? The chimp thing is going to be the same thing, you know? As we tape this today, it's still urgent. A month from now it's going to be, "Oh, yeah, that kerfuffle." I wish the NAACP would devote itself to community uplift because those are the things that are more important now.
In 1909 when the organization started I think we needed to deal with some bigotry and some racism. And that was the main issue. Black men were hanging from trees, and some women. That's what it was like then. That's what it was like in 1959. But this is 2009.
BILL MOYERS: The NAACP and Al Sharpton made a strong case that this was a racial slur, implying that Barack Obama is a monkey from the jungle. You know, I have to be honest and say I thought the cartoon was vulgar and violent. It was the violence in it. But I didn't think of it referring, alluding to Barack Obama. Does that mean I'm not sensitive enough to the caricatures of black people throughout the years?
JOHN MCWHORTER: Bill, no. Yeah, I saw it as violent, too. Like the blood, you know, I kind of felt that's a tacky cartoon. The idea that it was supposed to be Obama, I had to be taught that.
BILL MOYERS: Me too.
JOHN MCWHORTER: And, you know, if you didn't see that, my genuine question is, okay, Bill, you didn't see it. And you're probably representative of a lot of people. I don't see what problem that creates in terms of us living day by day in this society in 2009. It seems to me that whatever problem it created such as the infinitesimal chance that that cartoon might just teach some bozo to try to and not succeed in assassinating the president, in terms of degree, I think that we've got much larger problems.
And sometimes I think we have to learn not only from history 100 years ago but from history a few news cycles ago. The common wisdom, as you and I both know, not long ago was that Barack Obama couldn't win, that there was still enough racism out there that these people in diners talking about how they would never vote for a black man were going to tip the election. And, you know, they didn't. And they didn't even come close. We have to learn from that in thinking about what's out there, as it's often put. And what's most important, not what's out there. We all know what's out there. You can find it. Look for it and you'll find it. It might be next door to you. Does it matter? Does it matter in 2009? And I'm suggesting that these days it's not one of our larger problems. “”

Here is a link to the written transcript~ But I warn the English rules Nazi’s out there the first bit will likely upset you mightily~ but get past that to the meat of this mans most interesting and enlightening views. Food for thought.

Here you can watch~ it is a short segment but well worth your time.

Our Disinformed Electorate

December 12, 2008  by Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Brooks Jackson


“We saw more aggressive fact-checking by journalists in this election than ever before. Unfortunately, as a post-election Annenberg Public Policy Center poll confirms, millions of voters were bamboozled anyway.
More than half of U.S. adults (52 percent) said the claim that Sen. Barack Obama’s tax plan would raise taxes on most small businesses is truthful, when in fact only a small percentage would see any increase.
More than two in five (42.3 percent) found truth in the claim that Sen. John McCain planned to "cut more than 800 billion dollars in Medicare payments and cut benefits," even though McCain made clear he had no intent to cut benefits.”

Asking yourself why?

“One reason is obvious: Political ads run thousands of times and reach far more people than articles on FactCheck.org. On our best day, we were read by 462,678 visitors. By contrast, the Obama campaign aired two ads claiming that McCain planned to cut Medicare benefits a total of 17,614 times at a cost estimated to be more than $7 million – which is several times more than FactCheck.org's entire annual budget.

There are deeper reasons as well. We humans all have a basic disposition to embrace our side's arguments and reject or ignore those offered by an opponent. Our polling reflects that. After taking differences in age, race, gender and education into account, Republicans were still 4.4 times more likely than Democrats to believe that Obama would raise taxes on most small businesses, and Democrats were 3.2 times more likely than Republicans to believe that McCain would cut Medicare benefits. Simply put, partisanship trumps evidence.

This also helps explain why so many people accept the most preposterous claims circulated by chain e-mail messages and ignorant or irresponsible bloggers. Our poll found nearly one in five (19 percent) falsely think Obama is a Muslim, and even more (22 percent) find truth in the claim that he’s nearly half Arab. Republicans were 2.8 times more likely than Democrats to buy the Muslim claim, and just over twice as likely to swallow the half-Arab notion.

This is "group think" in action. We humans tend to marry, date, befriend and talk with people who already agree with us, and hence are less likely to say, "Wait a minute – that’s just not true."

Consultants also dupe us by exploiting our partisan preconceptions. People tend to believe Democrats are more likely than Republicans to raise taxes, so McCain was pushing on an open door when he repeatedly claimed Obama would raise taxes on ordinary voters, and not just the most affluent. By the same token, Obama found it easy to sell his bogus claim that McCain planned to cut Medicare benefits by 22 percent, because Republicans have a reputation as opponents of social programs.”


You all know I love FactCheck.org but perhaps you had thought their job over at elections end. It is not. Finish reading the rest of this excellent article http://www.factcheck.org/sp...>here
Please go on to explore the rest of the site and bookmark this site .It is non-partisan and will help educate us all.

Vegetable Cream Cheese Sandwich ala Sage

Makes at least  four sandwiches ~ this is not an exact science and leftover veggies can be incorporated into salad.

Slice paper thin:
red onion
Peeled cucumber, salted and excess moisture drained

Grate and allow to drain: can give a light squeeze to rid excess moisture
Carrots (1 to 2 depending on size)
Zucchini
Yellow  Squash

Blend in a small bowl:
½ to 1 package cream cheese, room temperature( depends on the number of sandwiches made& your love of cream cheese)
Thinly sliced black olives or  finely diced ( again drained well)

At the ready:
Butter lettuce or
Alfalfa sprouts
Homemade mayonnaise (store bought will do)
A good dense solid whole wheat bread ( use French bread with caution as this can be one messy sandwich)
Capers

Assembly:

Spread thinly some mayonnaise on one side of the bread, on the other spread ( I recommend with abandon) the cream cheese olive mixture. Scatter a few capers on the top. On this build up layers of the vegetables~ I usually lay the slices ,then the grated vegetables and then either the lettuce or the sprouts. Top with the other slice, cut into half and have some napkins at hand…

Now The Controversial Optional Ingredients: (at least at my house)

Depending on your tastes ,raw mushrooms, just the tips of broccoli flowerets and fresh tomato are good options. The tomato will make this quite messy, but when in season and ripe, why not?

Do you have a favorite sandwich?
 

When I first read this book in High School my view of American history was shattered, yet opened up. This was a pivotal book in my education and I sat down to watch this film with a jaundiced eye. How could they do justice to “my” book in two plus hours? While it is not a perfect representation~ they did indeed make a film worth seeing.

Several thoughts came to mind …
The Ghost Dance, one has to wonder at its power, persuasiveness and it is potential. Clearly, the U.S. Government feared it beyond rationality, beyond comprehension.
Lie after lie told to a people who deserved better~ all in the name of civilization while greed drove the real agenda.
The character of Charles Eastman~ a native child assimilated into American education who returns as a Doctor to his people~ encapsulates the matters of choice and happenstance, the tragedy that befell the Sioux Nation. To this day, they refuse to relinquish their claim to the Black Hills.

History does indeed repeat itself and the lack of cultural awareness is readily found today. The ability to acknowledge ones own viewpoint, see how that instructs ones interpretation or inability to interpret another culture is still a skill we could improve on.

I am still processing this film. However, the cinematography, the culture detail is astounding. Sorry for the second clips quality, but the visual of the Battle at Little Big Horn is one of films greatest. The opening shot is not for the squeamish.Language warning at the very end. See this production, but then read the book if you have not already.
 

 www.youtube.com/watch  Here is a 24 second clip from Edison of the Sioux performing the Ghost Dance in 1894.

A very cool mix of will.iam's song "Take Back the Planet" and his thoughtful acceptance speech for the 40th Annual N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards.

Here is a link to just the song.

Here is a link to the text.

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I watched a segment of Tavis Smiley last night and couldn’t help but see myself *edit~not nessecseialy in a good way* in these ideas and words. The book is available at Simon & Schuster  ,and here is a link to Tavis Smiley’s  PBS page.

Here is an excerpt:
Snark  by David Denby
“Definition~
What is snark? You recognize it when you see it -- a tone of teasing, snide, undermining abuse, nasty and knowing, that is spreading like pinkeye through the media and threatening to take over how Americans converse with each other and what they can count on as true. Snark attempts to steal someone's mojo, erase her cool, annihilate her effectiveness. In this sharp and witty polemic, New Yorker critic and bestselling author David Denby takes on the snarkers, naming the nine principles of snark -- the standard techniques its practitioners use to poison their arrows. Snarkers like to think they are deploying wit, but mostly they are exposing the seethe and snarl of an unhappy country, releasing bad feeling but little laughter.
In this highly entertaining essay, Denby traces the history of snark through the ages, starting with its invention as personal insult in the drinking clubs of ancient Athens, tracking its development all the way to the age of the Internet, where it has become the sole purpose and style of many media, political, and celebrity Web sites. Snark releases the anguish of the dispossessed, envious, and frightened; it flows when a dying class of the powerful struggles to keep the barbarians outside the gates, or, alternately, when those outsiders want to take over the halls of the powerful and expel the office-holders. Snark was behind the London-based magazine Private Eye, launched amid the dying embers of the British empire in 1961; it was also central to the career-hungry, New York-based magazine Spy. It has flourished over the years in the works of everyone from the startling Roman poet Juvenal to Alexander Pope to Tom Wolfe to a million commenters snarling at other people behind handles. Thanks to the grand dame of snark, it has a prominent place twice a week on the opinion page of the New York Times.
Denby has fun snarking the snarkers, expelling the bums and promoting the true wits, but he is also making a serious point: the Internet has put snark on steroids. In politics, snark means the lowest, most insinuating and insulting side can win. For the young, a savage piece of gossip could ruin a reputation and possibly a future career. And for all of us, snark just sucks the humor out of life. Denby defends the right of any of us to be cruel, but shows us how the real pros pull it off. Snark, he says, is for the amateurs.”
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the excerpt. 
Just another in my series of “Please Can’t We Be Nice About Disagreeing” posts. Be the change you want to see.


 

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As Monty Python was, want to intone “And now for something completely different…”

American Experience is bringing to a PBS station near you a multimedia new series,brought from vision to screen by both native and non-native people, thanks in part to a National Endowment to the Humanities grant.

We Shall Remain is a 5 part series beginning April 13th with We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower and ending on May 11th with We Shall Remain :Wounded Knee. This ambitious project covers 300 years of Native history, much more detailed and nuanced than any before. This is our history, seen from a native perspective.

Please go here to see some previews of each 90-minute episode.

They are as follows:
April 13th ~ After the Mayflower
April 20th ~ Tecumseh’s Vision (IMHO, a true hero, visionary and a great revolutionary)
April 27th ~ Trail of Tears
May 4th~ Geronimo
May 11th~ Wounded Knee
Each episode has its own unique style and to better understand ourselves they should not be missed.

 

Composed on the 17th of Dec, ~~

Kelsey~
Feb.9th 1988- Dec.17th 2004

In dreams we have been together~ I am not sure who cradles who
But it matters not, because your eyes shine bright into mine
Sweet memory of love and the thoughts we share
Begins to fill what I feared forever vacant, forever void
I recognize this for what it is~ peace and our undying connection

I think most Mothers (Fathers do also, I am sure) have a silent connection with their babies. Ours just lasted longer and by necessity ran deeper, clearer than most~ it was how I “talked” with you after all. How I knew that cry at 3 a.m. was different ~ a real need of yours versus “I am just making noise because I can” .Which you loved to do almost every night at 3a.m., you would laugh and giggle. It flowed like a conversation, and would stop immediately if you heard me up and about. It seemed that you listened to someone but perhaps as I lay listening to your secret talk I just imagined that…
The day you established my “job” without a doubt, stays clear and crisp as a winter’s morn in my mind. Your teacher had just shown you the wonderful whirligig, how just a light touch would unfurl its magic before you. We both cooed, begged and pleaded with you to “use your hand Kelsey”; you looked from your teacher to the toy and promptly reached for my thumb and brought my hand to the mechanism that would operate the magic. I laughed and laughed~ the teacher thought me mad, but I learned that day to say, “Use your own hand Kelsey”….for I was just your extension, your entrée into the world, gladly so.
The lessons you taught me, the magic beyond mere man made mechanisms that we shared~ share, even now~ are things I cannot fully express or explain with clumsy words. We experienced some amazing moments together, the day the whole bus sang in wordless joy when you came home. Your “blind” classmate, who climbed everything, never fell, rolled and caught a ball with skill. The keyboard master who played his fugues with a smile that outshone the sun, the girl child “that hit” but really just wanted to touch, to impart her energy to receptive flesh. You and they taught me to see beyond appearances, beyond both the possible and the impossible, to use my heart to see fully.

Thank You Son, with love and till soon ~ Kelsey’s Mom

P.S. ~ my heart and thoughts go out to those who have suffered loss of any kind~ but especially to the families, locally and nationally, who have lost their children in this month when it seems all the world celebrates.

Composed on the 9th of Feb.

As this is your birthday, your 21st year, we raise a toast to you
Spirit or atoms, never leave, they simply rearrange
Putting both Maxwell and Einstein aside, the heavens are poetic ether
Described as a dark brown liquid, I think of al-guhl, Arabic for “the spirit”
We pour a bit of you into our cups, on our lips it tastes just like a kiss, like a dream.

Your ritual drink, sealed forever with wax, will join the rest on the special shelf
Just like the place in me where you are, lovingly sealed safe within me.

It is so hard to believe you are 21, gone these five years. Moments go by, some fast, some slow, but you are never far from us. The memories are so very precious and they are mostly happy ones. The pain is just there, out of sight, just under my skin, the events of that day seared into me…strangely I would not change a second. I was in the holiest of places with you; completely present in this life’s most pivotal points~ birth and death. I am honored to have looked into your eyes, to have really seen you, one extraordinary human being.
Those whose lives you touched know these truths, our extended family of kith and kin, speak of you when they can. Some can not bear to think of you…I wish them only healing.  We that remember you, often cry holding each other all the closer ,I try to honor you by reminding myself and them what you wish for us. To laugh out loud, to act silly, to remember, to enjoy each taste, each sip, each breath, to be kind, to always and forever extend love. Never hate, for it is self defeating. I remember the endless love that you gave unconditionally, never judging others. In this, I often fail, perhaps because I judge myself so harshly. I remember your bravery in the face of such pain, and it gives me courage to face my own. I often fall short. On rare occasions I think you would be proud of me.

What is to come is, naturally unclear, rightfully unknowable, it is the Great Mystery, but if our strength of spirit is any indication~ we will met again. Till soon.
Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream.

I always pause and hold those others who know this experience in my thoughts, it is the one thing we all must face, our mortality, the mortality of those we hold dear. Each of us see death from our own unique viewpoint, we each reach differing conclusions, find different paths. I like to think I have worked through this enough to believe this to be true. Be brave, fear not. Live fully, love as much as one can, live as honestly as one can, then die well, in peace.
.
Namaste.
Ram Dass in Grist for the Mill offers my favorite translation :"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."

I awoke this morning to the horror that is occurring in Australia. Please send your thoughts and prayers to a suffering nation.

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For those of you using Google Earth~ they have issued a new version, download it here .They covered the Earth, did the skies, and now the worlds oceans.
Quoting from a New York Times article: "With only 5 percent of the ocean floor mapped in detail, and 1 percent of the oceans protected, Google executives and the marine scientists who helped build the digital oceans said they hoped the result would inspire the public to support more marine exploration and conservation."
There are many neat new features in the new version~ definitely worth the download.