Category Archives: Civilization

Long ride on a big yellow bus

Some come slowly to the realization of where they are in their time. By that I am referring to having a sense of who you are and what you stand for, a sense people tend to have for others but not for themselves. This sense develops over a lifetime with age and experience.

The year was 1969 and I was sixteen. Outside of a prosaic life of school and idle summers at the lake, the world was experiencing Woodstock, love-ins, peace marches, and music the likes of which had never been heard before. But I watched 1969 go sailing by without me on the boat. And I cursed my time for being born too late.

school bus

For me, you are either on the bus or under the bus.

Read on

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Over Silver Glance and the Long Sky Cold

by Tony Smith

snowy view of sun on the mountains

Tony's snowy view of winter sun on the distant mountains.

This was written by Tony Smith while he was living next door to me in a one-room picker’s cabin in the Eastern Washington Cascades near Winthrop. It describes how 5-year old Tony first came to realize that winter can be long and hard. Yacolt is in SE Washington, and Bonneville is southeast of there. Silver Glance is a remote wilderness area a long way further east and south, in Utah. Tony passed away in about 2010. He was a fire lookout and philosopher. Perhaps reminding him of the Long Sky Cold, here is a picture of the view outside Tony’s window.

Over Silver Glance and the Long Sky Cold

by Tony Smith

Grampa said they’d better kill that hog
And take the heifer to Yacolt.
My grandmother said, “hum”, but she was looking south -
waiting for the light from Bonneville.

Read on

Posted in Arts, Civilization, Prosaic, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

On the edge

Along the rim rock,
The crickets,
Sing from the mud cracks.

Wandering footsteps,
At night,
Follow the music.

Close by,
At night,
The edge lies silent.

rimrock

On the edge.

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To impress the sky

I have breathed the clear air of the mountains.
Where mosses creep among the roots,
Where willows guard the pebbly rivulets,
Where each tiny grain is set with care.
Glistening tiaras to impress the sky.

I went on past many cirques,
Their walls of snow and spacious murals,
Shining down on azure lakes.
Sparkles dancing off their sides.
The blue sky amused with clouds of cotton.

I went on past jutting spires and melting tongues of ice.
Where the world lay below me distant and weary.
I sat by the shore of a tiny lake and dropped in a hook,
And pulled out one funny fish from the bottomless deep,
Would you believe – its flesh was the color of blood.

bottomless lake

Bottomless.

Posted in Arts, Prosaic, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Tristan and Isolde

Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland

Song Of Isolde – Lyrics by Eliza Gilkyson

Wake up, wake up Tristan,
Our bed of leaves and sand is cold,
I fell asleep here in your arms,
More than a thousand years ago.
———————–

The tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde has been told and retold many different ways. In my version of the story, the love potion and the poisoned wine remind us that love and fate are two faces of the same universal force.

This story began in England during the reign of King Arthur, when a prince by the name of Drust was born in Ireland. During his birth, his mother died, and so Drust became known as Tristan, from the word tristesse, meaning sorrow.

Read on

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If hurricanes were fun

If hurricanes were lots of fun,
And snow was dew and moon was sun,
I’d wish you happy gales today,
We’d shovel mist then sleep away.

If sun was moon and dew was snow,
We’d wake to find the world we know,
Where winter lingers for a while,
And you can thrill me with your smile.

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The Fuzzy Muse

Of all the ways to show sincere
Lending of an open ear,
None compare with quiet noises,
Shared with spirits of the toyses. Read on

Posted in Arts, Prosaic, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Quest for the Golden Hare

In 1979 Kit Williams created a jewel encrusted 18-carat golden hare, as the prize for whoever followed a riddle to its hidden location.

Read on

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Affordable Transportation

Cars. They’re cheap, efficient transportation, but damn the insurance is a pain and those flim-flam safety inspections make buying one a major ordeal.

A better idea for owning cars is this: Just buy a car every two weeks and use it 14 days temporary tags. No inspection, no insurance, no safety. Just drive it fourteen days and then throw it away and buy another. A disposo-mobile can be had in any major city for 100 bucks. So you can drive for $2600 a year. Just thought you ought to know about that.

Posted in Civilization, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Blinded by milk science

When I was a kid living in Tokyo, I almost started an international incident by asking for a glass of milk at a traditional Japanese dinner. Several of my hosts quickly left the table and were gone for a long time. You would have thought I asked for a glass of blood. Now I understand that most Japanese think cows milk is revolting. Read on

Posted in Health, Disease, Medicine, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Let’s start thinking ahead about post-war reconstruction. What will we do with our returning vets? My first answer is that, in America, we don’t “do” returning vets. But even if we did, we wouldn’t know what to do.

I say, let’s build a society that Americans can live in. Donate your old Winnebago to a homeless person and skip the European vacation this year. Stop being so selfish, all you yuppies, and take a break from counting your money for a change.

Here is a wandering account of a vet who almost waited too long to open his heart to the people who finally heard him. Read on

Posted in Liberty, Equality, Sorority, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Let them drink holy water

Peak Water?

With a Push From the U.N., Water Reveals Its Secrets – New York Times:

Using the tools of isotope hydrology, scientists can discover the age, origins, size, flow and fate of a water source. And that information, in turn, can guide sound water-use policy, letting water engineers better map underground aquifers, conserve supplies and control pollution. Read on

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Republicans should thank the Democrats

The Middle Class Republican

By John Gray. Originally on the web around 2004, this is an excent refresher that explains how Republicans don’t acknowledge the good things done by Democrats.

Gray describes a middle-class Republican who goes through his life benefiting from legislation passed by Democrats but then curses “big government” at the end of the day. The article lists the following protections enacted by Democrats, which every voter should consider before going to the dark side.

  • Water quality standards
  • Employer paid medical benefits
  • Food safety
  • Pollution controls
  • Public transportation subsidies
  • Unemployment insurance
  • Federally insured bank deposits
  • Car safety
  • Social Security
    and others

    These achievements were opposed by Republicans at the time.

  • Posted in Liberty, Equality, Sorority, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

    Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

    Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. What is it?

    • MCS – What is it? Who has it? This 1999 paper gives a definition of MCS. It was compiled by a large number of physicians, and published in a peer-reviewed journal (Archives of Environmental Health v.54, n.3 May/June, 99). Based on Health Department studies, MCS affects 16% of the general population, or put another way, 84% of the general population is clueless about those affected with MCS. Read on
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    Karl Rove Judgement Day

    Some may question the motives of Rove or call for his termination, but a better question is whether Rove should be tried for high treason, which has the death penalty. I say no, because the enemy of darkness is light.

    Evil has reared its head in the White House, and now the world can see the role of Rove in helping the idiot orchestrate war. The Prince of Darkness has apparently had control over Karl for some time. The war on terrorism has been successful at increasing the level of hatred in the world. Satan is cashing in. But why the calls to fire Karl? Karl belongs to Satan and the president is only his puppet (see White House maintains confidence).

    We all know the truth is bad, we just don’t want to hear the details. So what should we do? It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8,9).

    It’s like a pair of blinders has been removed and I’m suddenly seeing for myself what I’ve long known to be the case: just how sanitized a version of the war the American mainstream media are delivering, and how little of even this cleaned-up coverage we get.” – Arianna Huffington: Iraq: The War We Are Not Being Shown

    Satan will “go out to deceive the nations which are in the earth,” (Rev 20:8), and many will follow him.”

    How does Bush confront the truth? “If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.” – George W. Bush, Remarks to Reporters, July 18, 2005.

    Posted in Liberty, Equality, Sorority, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

    Madrid Agenda

    From Club de Madrid Series on Democracy and Terrorism. This group of dignitaries met during winter and spring of 2005, as guests of the King of Spain. The website has a place to download pdf files on the causes of Terrorism, and confronting Terrorism.

    The agenda of the Club de Madrid meetings was to remember and honour the victims of the terrorist attacks of March 11, 2004, the strength and courage of the citizens of Madrid, and through them, all victims of terrorism and those who confront its threat.

    Read on

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    America’s Second Revolution

    America is in the midst of a revolution right now. This isn’t an armed rebellion; there are no guns being used on Americans. Those who are aware of the New Revolution don’t call it that. Those who aren’t aware, … well, aren’t aware. The revolution will be over before they wake up.

    Part of the anonymity of the Second American Revolution is that the two sides and the issues cross traditional boundaries. There is no us and them. But by our actions, some of us are feeding the fires of this war.

    Read on

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    Bush flip-flops on 9/11 Commission

    A Republican Congressman told CNN on June 27 that the “evidence is clear” that Iraq was involved in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. Although his story is a contradiction to President Bush’s 911 commission, the Congressman told reporters, “you must have looked in the wrong places.”

    It isn’t clear where the Congressman got his information. But Bush’s 9/11 commission report said investigators found no evidence that any “contacts ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship.” Read full story at CNN.

    Read on

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    Honor Our Dead – Demand the Truth

    After Downing Street

    Honor them

    Young Republicans click here

    Let Them Eat War, by Arlie Hochschild. Why did the blue collar voters go for Bush?

    Posted in Liberty, Equality, Sorority, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

    Tribes

    Okanogan and Chelan Counties, Washington are places where native inhabitants still live amongst the conquering European tribes. The Okanogan tribal language N’tsilikcin has over a thousand speakers, while the Wenatchi tribes have only a few dozen who can still speak the "language of the Local People", Nx’amxcin.

    Posted in Natives, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

    Bush spray team agenda

    One of the Bush team’s new plans is to more than triple the amount of area that the BLM sprays with toxic herbicides. The new draft EIS on their new herbicide program proposes to spray nearly a MILLION ACRES per year. Now that’s management! Also they are adding four new herbicides to the approved list to help support the toxic chemical industry. Chemists RULE!

    Read on

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    Ritalin is amphetamine for children

    According to The Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse:

    “In clinical studies, [Ritalin] methylphenidate, like amphetamines, produce behavioral and psychological effects similar to cocaine. In simple terms, this means that the human body cannot tell the difference between cocaine, amphetamines, or Ritalin®.”

    Read on

    Posted in Health, Disease, Medicine, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

    Bush altered scientific documents

    The Bush administration altered critical portions of a scientific analysis of the environmental impact of cattle grazing on public lands before announcing Thursday that it would relax regulations limiting grazing on those lands, according to scientists involved in the study. Read the story.

    In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, author Erick Campbell said, “This is a whitewash- Read on

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    When Bush comes to shove

    TITLE V–FACILITY REALIGNMENT AND ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005
    This title may be cited as the `Forest Service Land Disposition and Facility
    Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005′, or the ‘Facility Dismemberment and Goverment Disembowelment act of 2005‘. Read on

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    Why the Right Hates the Truth

    “Why the Right Hates The Truth” was penned by Jonas Luster, author of Socialtext, in parody to another essay, “Why the Left Hates John Bolton”. Jonas’ post has apparently vanished from the web, or at least only this site and one other (wingnut) were found by a Google search for the essay. In the meantime, keep in mind why the Right loves John Bolton …

    … and then, I’ll **crush** their puny heads…

    … and then, I’ll **crush** their puny heads…

    Posted in Civilization, Liberty, Equality, Sorority | Leave a comment

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