community in the time of technology

I've been wondering for some time what my first post would be. Scanning the news of the day for atrocities against which I could rally, policy strategies and decisions over which I could rage in disbelief, anything of the abundance I feel is available to me right now to be furious about. I think I felt absolutely overwhelmed by my limitless choices. However, then I discovered (as I sometimes do) something that was a bit more inspiring to me that I wanted share. Something that provided a sense of soothing instead of boiling. That something was an article devoted to one of my favorite websites. A website started 10 years ago in San Francisco now spanning something like 19 cities on which an individual in Bangalore can find an abode in Chicago, where a person wanting a job with a soulful nonprofit can find a way to make a difference. The site offers just about anything for anyone and the great part is that it simply was started and exists today for the sole purpose of building a community of connection using this fantastic tool called the internet. Imagine that. Evidently, Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, repeatedly turns away buyout offers and refuses to include advertising on the site because he wants to remain true to his belief "in the community-building potential of the internet". I assume that EVERYONE knows about craigslist, and maybe they do, but it felt better to me today to pass on information that was about being successful while also being helpful and (gasp) ungreedy. It felt better to me because that's the kind of stuff, however great or small, that I want to focus on. By making what I believe in bigger, breathing oxygen into it, the fires burning in our world become smaller. At least for me. At least for the moment.

Picking Up The Slack *Updated*

My little blogging buddies are a bit busy with life and all of it's wonders right now, so I figure I'll do my best to rage against the machine for them.

This week has seen the system work, and for that, I can't be as angry at the world as usual. Darn!

The courts have upheld the Republic by letting painful family matters stay just that, painful family matters, not political ping-pong balls. Though the fall out from this will be felt in some form I'm sure. What form that is is totally up in the air. If I had my way, it would be one more thing that further erodes this falsehood that the Reds occupy the moral high ground alone and unchallenged.

I heard this great thing on NPR tonight as I was driving to my accountant to file my taxes (Godspeed war-mongers, here's a few bucks less to kill the poor with!). A Christian evangelist was talking about how back in the sane old days of our founders, religious leaders in our country begged the framers to stay out of the churches legislatively, and how now the current crop of Bible thumpers are begging the courts, legislators, etc. to allow the icons of Christianity to seep into the halls of our capitol and dictate our laws and freedoms.

The point this man made that I hadn't realized was that the church defines blasphemy as "to make secular that which is sacred". So, that would mean that every single Bible toting yahoo out there yelling about our Godless Government is once again violating the core tenants of their faith. Do these morons even go to church? Or they only good for photo-ops, yelling at distressed family members of brain-dead women and threatening sixteen-year-old girls getting an abortion because their church-going, redneck, family member raped them and got them pregnant?

I just wish we could go back to the good old days when people let the government do governmental stuff and the church do churchy stuff and never the twain did meet. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not in favor of a Godless world, but faith is a deeply personal process that isn't easily broadcast to a diverse populous. For that reason alone it makes sense to leave any tenants of a specific faith outside of the bodies that represent "the people". That means no more Ten Commandments in our courthouses, no more Bibles in our jury deliberation rooms. I mean, come on people, leave God alone. Doesn't anyone ever think that God needs a break from us screwing up our lives and then begging for absolution in the next breath. It's a full time job, and one that doesn't need any armchair quarterbacking from the unwashed.

Oh well, I guess until the mid-term elections I'm going to always be a bit pissy thinking about the Reds calling the shots. At least the whole Social Security thing has died a very public death. I guess there's always hope.

UPDATE- Well, I may have spoke too soon once again. Let's just hope the courts don't do anything stupid. For the record, I say that not because I favor one side or the other, I just think it would be a mistake for the courts to do anything different they what they've already done. We need some judicial consistency right now.

Welcome gigi

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome the first female member of the Deluded family... gigi. She's a highly educated mental health professional from Chicago, so don't even try to mess with her head ya'll. I don't expect her voice will be the last one of the fairer sex to be added. I figure vuduvgn won't be far behind this move to bring some harmony and wisdom to our testosterone fueled raging.

Anyway, in this place, and from this day forth, let us not be judged by our sex, but by our willingness to advance the cause of freedom (and by the number of links to really obscure articles about Norway).

As always, please feel free to leave your comments for our authors. Feedback is always welcomed when putting our hearts out there at great peril of getting trampled, or worse, ignored. Was what guilt inducing enough for ya?

Holy F**king S**t!!! - A Finx Cautionary Rant *Updated*

Okay, so this weekend I had intended to write an entry about all of the slimy and questionable abuses of the majority that the current Red regime is guilty of, and then this happens.

Where does it end? When do these people feel like they need to stop and leave us alone to live our lives according to our own beliefs and decision making processes. Not to mention that "Republicans" used to support states rights and the separation of powers. So what's happened to dissolve all of that? Why the sudden change in the way our legislative and judicial branches interact?

Because folks, this is a Christian Jihad. These people want to draft legislation, nominate judges, and enforce laws that support their narrow view of how you should live and die. Culture of life my ass. How about the newspapers ending their censorship and publishing photos of all of the dead babies caused by collateral damage during the Iraq war that all these "Christian soldiers" in Congress supported. The hypocrisy is so thick that if the citizens of this country can't see that this is the beginning of the end of the way our democracy has functioned for over 200 years, then they don't deserve the liberties that true Americans fought and died to protect.

Excuse the force and tenor of my words, but it is a dangerous time for us all in this country. The day when our liberties can be curtailed because the Reds feel they've found a great campaign issue, is the day that the thinly veiled premise that these people serve us, gets torn asunder because they feel they now feel they've established a strangle-hold on our Democracy.

This is not a banana Republic, this is not a rubberstamp form of democracy, this is not a one party state, this used to be the "United" "States" of America. Between their plans to rid themselves of filibuster blocks and their fervent support to re-sign the "Patriot" Act permanently into law, we are at risk of losing all hope of having a balanced system.

Make no mistake, they want a one party system, they want to allow corporations and Churches to decide what's good for your health and well being, they want to appoint judges to create what they think is a Christian paradise. They don't want anyone to get in their way. They are abusing our system, distorting it's liberties, to create a more controlled an enslaved public.

Think I'm crazy? So would I if I had read this five years ago. Take what you want from this, but do me the favor of doing some reading on these issues. I believe any thinking person will find some disturbing trends, no matter what your beliefs are.

UPDATE- After some further reading on this subject I've found this little tidbit (the actual wording of the law is here for review) that shows just how full of shit George W Bush is, and how dispassionate the new brand of "conseravtives" are. As long as you're not poor, you deserve life.
MORE

News clippings

Been a little too busy lately to post here, hopefully after the race this Sunday i'll have more time. I found a few things in the paper that I though were worth posting here.

If you think hunting with a gun is considered cheating, check out these brave souls.

"We don't believe anyone should be taking unilateral steps or make unilateral changes that increases tensions." -Whitehouse Spokesperson Scott McClellan.
You gotta be fucking kidding me. I think Scott forgot the critical "except of course, for us, the USA." Fuck you Scott.

Sweet God, it's good to hear some good news. Looks like the first step of allowing gay marriages in California has been taken. It's about time someone's rights were taken into account and people were given the freedoms they deserve.

I love the headline on this one "GOP stays firm on education cuts." No beating around the Bush, the GOP doesn't give a damn about your kids. Better get those vouchers warmed up, cause your public school kiddie ain't going to amount to much. It's funny that they are cutting programs, effectively making a generation of unskilled laborers. But because of NAFTA and GAT, all the jobs these people would have are being sent overseas because labor is cheaper. Well, they could always enlist into the military and fight the wars for the rich. And, if they make it back in one piece they will have some money to play with, they can either buy a new car or pay for two years of college. Doesn't seem like a winning situation for the poor, does it?

It's Not All Bad, Right?

In a nod to the subtitle of my old (and somewhat short-lived) blog, I'm using the above title to denote the fact that every once in a while, something good does happen on this troubled little planet of ours.

Take for example that yesterday my good friends Shelton and Carmalita Johnson became the proud parents of Miles Shelton Johnson, who apparently came out eyes wide open and didn't cry for a second. I'm telling you, this is one brave kid. If I were being born into this world all over again, I'd do the same thing I did the first time... put it off as long as I could.

I think this kid knows something. He's feeling good about things for some unknown reason. Maybe we've got ourselves a future President on our hands? Who knows. What I do know is that I think I'd like to learn from this kid in his one day of life on this planet. I want to be fearless like him and face the changes of this world with eyes wide open.

Good luck Miles, I'm right behind you little guy.

Santorum / Epic

NEWSFLASH: SANTORUM NOT PURE EVIL.
Looks like this fag-basher has a spot in his heart for the poor. He even criticized Bush's budget plan. Read about it here. (Sorry about the login.)

Yesterday instead of skiing I went for a bike ride. The Cool race is coming up in two weeks and I have needed to put some long days in. Yesterday ended up being 6 hours, 43 miles with 5880 of climbing.
I wasn't commited to such a long ride from the start, I gave myself the choice to do a big ride or a smaller ride. At one and a half hours I felt pretty good still, no sweating, no big ouputs of work and my legs didn't complain one bit, so I went for the big ride. From Nevada City, Round Mountain, South Yuba, Malakoff Diggins, Missouri Bar, South Yuba again, Round Mountain again, and back to Nevada City, all very beautiful.
The daffodils were blooming in Lake City, right in front of the metal daffodil sculpture. There was a great view of Grouse Ridge from near Malakoff Diggins.
I feel pretty rough today, but better than I should feel. Hopefully this has helped me. I've been overtraining a bit and am trying to mix it up so that I have time to recover. So far this year I have put in more miles than this time last year. I hope all this translates into good results at the races.

Technophobic at last

For years I've been on the cutting edge of this thing called technology. Every time there's some new fangled gadget or gizmo, I'm there within a month or so, snatching it up with eager hands. And over the years, I've noticed that the pace at which these little wonders are unleashed on the world is accelerating. Not to mention the fact that once you own one of them, the newer, better one isn't far behind. It's a pace that shows no sign of slowing. In fact, it seems that the whole approach to modern life these days is about the next thing being better than what you just bought. The endless void of the "ownership society".

I've recently had a first hand encounter with the annoying reality that technology, nay, tech companies, over-promise what they can do to simplify my life. In their world, I (the consumer), buy their product and happily accept whatever mishaps go along with buying something so new that their own engineers probably just finished testing it the day before it was released. But in my world, I have to spend all of my time, and a great deal of money, trying to keep said product from deleting all of my settings and info at slightest hint of a solar flare.

What's even better is that some products offer ways for you to "backup" your data on one of their servers so that when your device inevitably fails, you will be able to reset it with your data, safe and sound. What's not said though is how all of your data is ripe for the picking of any industrious hacker with a grudge and a whole lot of spare time. Take the recent ChoicePoint unpleasantness, or how about the Paris Hilton snafu? Do these things inspire confidence in consumers everywhere?

But for some reason we just keep buying. Even as the quality and service of the products we purchase goes into the crapper, we don't seem to mind. Even as we are increasingly restricted on how we are allowed to use things we bought with our hard earned money, we keep downloading.

As with may things in this country I ask "Where's the outrage?". You'd figure if people in the US are stereotyped as mindless consumers that don't care for politics because they're too busy buying stuff, they might finally revolt if the stuff they buy is nothing but half-baked shit, right? Where are the boycotts? Where are the slews of class action lawsuits meant to keep corporations in line? If lawmakers have their way, we will all be enslaved to corporate copyright laws, with no legal recourse if any version of "tort reform" passes or mandatory digital rights management goes into effect.

These wondrous gizmos are supposed to help capture and enrich our lives, not steal away our time and money, while leaving us open to theft from others. I love the idea of technology, I just don't care for the current implementation, in any form.

On a personal note, I have to single these folks out and say, don't buy the palmOne Treo 650 unless you want to receive the free ulcer that comes with it.

Who said avalanche?

Your fearless leader.

There was an avalanche up here last weekend. A lady died. What did I learn from that? Be careful, stay off those Northern to Eastern slopes that are greater than 30%. I almost lead us up one last night that was about 45%, but then I saw the breaks and slides higher up and thought better of it.
Last night was the monthly full moon snowshoe hike that I lead. Can you believe it? People are naive enough to follow me around in the woods, at night!
We started with six of us, including a 13 year old girl. We cruised up Bowman Lake road, off to Fuller Lake and out to an overlook where we could see Signal Peak, Hwy 80 and the valley around Spaulding Lake.

Here is a pic of a few of the folks that joined me last night. They include Dave, Erin and Adam.

Commuting / Communion

I'm exhausted.
Erin and I skied about 10 miles on Monday. I rode to work Tuesday and then rode about three hours that night. I rode to work again today. That was borderline "a chore." Coming up Red Dog Road was incredible strenuous today.
My commute to work goes along the Cascade Canal, a dirt double track that runs almost flat for 5 miles. At one point there is a great view of Nevada City, the hills West of that and then, about 90 miles across the valley to the snow covered mountains near Clearlake. A great view, a great way to start the day.

There is a great article in the new DirtRag about Wilderness. It's an arguement on how Congress did not intend to exclude bicycles, it's just they were not around when the Wilderness act was created. Check it out.
"Over the last decade, mountain bikers have become some of the nation's most sophisticated and savvy outdoors advocates, forming organizations that represent the interests of 45 million cyclists through more that 450 local advocacy organizations. Think of all of the energy currently harnessed to limit the impact of Wilderness on cycling if it could be used to fight for expanding Wilderness areas. The natural alliance between mountain bikers and groups like the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society would open up a whole new realm of lobbying for Wilderness support. It would be a new ball game and Team Wilderness would be stronger than ever."

And now for the Communion thing. Just when I was starting to like the Pope again... he was saying stuff like war is wrong, we need peace, etc. Good stuff man, good stuff. You go Pope! Then he went and said that gay marriage is evil.
I'm sure to not vote for him again.

George W Bush - A Worse Wimp Than His Dad

So, I'm not quite sure what to make of all this yet but some opinions are forming and I'd like to air them. I just read this article on the New York Times site about a friend of GW's recording his conversations prior to his election in 2000. What's so freakin amazing to me is that Bush comes off as a somewhat level headed guy about social issues. In one conversation he even says "I think it is bad for Republicans to be kicking gays."

So, how does he reconcile that with the current climate in our country. The Reds have gone crazy on this issue. They're trying to erase all evidence that gays even exist (one more link here). The times article even provides some interesting political background (that I had forgotten about) on the time that the these conversations took place.

The first of the taped conversations Mr. Wead disclosed took place in the summer of 1998, when Mr. Bush was running for his second term as Texas governor. At the time, Mr. Bush was considered a political moderate who worked well with Democrats and was widely admired by Texans of both parties.

So, what happened?

Well, as far as I can see, the answer is in who the Prez was talking to during those taped conversations. As a former Assemblies of God minister, Doug Wead had been a liaison to evangelical Protestants for the president's father, and was helping GW to form his bridge to the Christian right. I guess since that bridge proved so successful the first time around, in 2004 they just knocked the thing down and stayed cozy on the right bank.

My whole point is this: If you say you're not going to play politics by picking popular sides because to do that shows weakness (as he hinted time and time again to knock Kerry's endlessly changing positions), how does it look when you violate your own beliefs just to win an election. Not only has Bush let himself down by his choice to abandon the middle, but he's thrown this country into the dark ages just to cling to power. He easily folded under pressure from the radical Christians. What a wimp.

The Reds aren't the only faithful folks in the world George. Look around and you'll see a growing division that some part of you knew would be morally wrong. At least when your dad was called a wimp, it was because he was pulling out of a war in Iraq, not stubbornly letting Americans die for a country that doesn't even protect all of it citizens anymore.

Oh well, who am I kidding, he ain't reading this. Well the good news is at least everyone will forget about this in a couple days.

The "Reds" Are Coming- A Finx Rant

Remember back in the good old commie hatin' days of the latter twentieth century when the real tough guys in the US would light up a stogie and talk about "gettin' those damn Red bastards"? How we all had someone clear to hate and fear? It seemed those were the days of clarity. A time when you knew exactly who might come and try to steal your babies away to be converted into Godless socialist monsters. Eventually, it lead to commissions being formed to weed out the subversives in our midst that were looking to change the American way of life into something heinous, or worse... equal.

So, thank God for those soulless commies bastard giving us something good to fight and demean. I mean, we won, right? No one's worried about the Reds showing up on their doorstep one day and telling them what to think and do, or what God they can or can't worship, right? Right?

I guess I would have to say I see it differently. You see, to me the threats have become far more subversive than some duck and cover cartoon of fear mongering, and the real problems of those societies are still alive and well today. Besides, communisim was never the real issue, control was.

No clear ideology can be blamed for the world's ills anymore. So, one might hope that without superpowers duking it out, the world would be focused on finding some way to get along on this tiny planet with out killing each other. But, not everyone is content with that idea. They're the ones are who always had the black and white of "us versus them" (commie vs. freedom lover) to fall back on when the shit hit the fan. The complexities of today's global environment are still lost on them. So, when someone acted out and took a swipe at "us", and there was no clear "them" to go after, what did they do?

They made a new "them".

The "thems" of the 21st century are now becoming clearer: The Non-Reds. Ever since the 2004 elections, one group as had an interesting color to rally around. They are the conservative Christians, the "red staters", and they allegedlly have the majority of power in the US right now (if you ignore exit polling data and at least 48% of the country). So, it's easy for them to deicide who the new "thems" are.

The funny thing is, most times there's no rhyme or reason to who they pick. Most times it's whatever they have on their agenda for the week. Maybe you're gay, or Muslim, or maybe even just an anti-war Christian, it doesn't matter, you're now counted among the ranks of evil-doers such as Saddam and... um, you know, that guy with the beard and the kidney problem we can't seem to track down? Anyway, my point is that if you're not towing the party line, you're now one of "them", and will be treated as the villain that you are.

Just reflect on all of the stories that you've read about people's civil liberties being trampled because their "actions" (read: "beliefs") were deemed threatening. Or, how about detaining and torturing people for no other reason than suspicion of intent to perpetrate a crime that hasn't yet happened with no charges filed in any federal court?

What I'm driving at here is, don't these tactics sound familiar to you? Well, they should, because those very same "Reds" of old are now role models for the new American government and it policies, which I'd aptly title: the "Red" States of America!

What's even stranger to me is how in bed we are with China, one of our most influential trading partners. If we Americans and our leaders are such freedom lovers and pious Christians, why would we condone such a country, known to repeatedly violate its people's human rights and freedoms (like freedom of religion)? My only guess is that it's because they are worshiping the God of capitalism. How can you fear and loathe those "Reds", if you're one of them?

So, I propose we take a page from the good book of progressives everywhere (who brilliantly labeled Christian extremists like Pat Robertson as "Mullahs" to shine a light on their lack of grasping irony) and refer to those on the radical right as the "Reds". No one likes to have their ugly skeletons drug from their closets for all to see. It seems appropriate that we label "them" as they have labeled so many others who chose simply to disagree with whatever Dogma suited them at the time.

Jesus, that was quite a post! I think I almost wrote a novel. Let's keep the irony up kids, the "Reds" won't know what hit 'em. If you're not exhausted please read vuduvgn's post below, it's a good one!

The daughter of conservative Republican Alan Keyes referred to herself Monday as a "liberal queer" and urged support for gay and lesbian young people who have been deserted by their families.
Nice, huh. A little poison in the blood of the red house. Politics are great as long as they don't involve family, well, besides declaring your family members' lifestyle as a sin and accepting their eternal damnation. If you decided your family member was damned, then, would that mean that the love for yourself and or the love of your god is stronger than the love for your family member?


A little closer to home.

I saw this dude on tv, he's, a little younger than me, tall, thin, well groomed and highly energetic. He's convinced that gays are living a sinful life and need to change their ways. He says they are sinners and has been displaying signs that have a picture of two guys kissing with the red circle and strike through it.

It's odd, I felt sympathy for him. Certainly no sympathy for his cause, but for him, for his humanity. It's clear that he thinks he is doing right by him and his God. He thinks he is helping people and contributing to the greater good. But, he's not. He is creating more division, calling people out for being different than him and judging them. I find that terrible. It's confusing. One one side, I want to console him and educate him, on the other side, I wish him harm. Clearly the correct choice is education and offering of goodwill, but it just so frustrating when people act like this.

Placerville has declared itself discrimination-free and a hate-free zone. It's kinda scary, we were thinking of moving there. I'm glad we didn't. I get pretty darn fired up about that kind of intolerance and ignorance. Jeez, I thought just the ignorant fuckers I grew up with were like this, sadly they are everywhere.