Convenient Considerations

Taking a slight turn today, as I resolve to right a bit of recent complacency...

Yes, now that I am for all intents and purposes "married" (though owe it to the queer community to write a long treatise on the impossibility of such a reality -- and would I want this anyway? -- thanks to our heterosexist, "there is no separation between church and state" society...) and a mom (or co-mom, despite Idahoian laws which cannot even imagine this possible), I feel responsible to linger no longer in mere domestic bliss, but consider things at a slightly deeper level. While colorful photos of our celebration of love and of Henry in all his glory are probably more fun to see (Verdad, Victoria?), there are some "inconvenient truths" that warrant a moment of my attention.

This weekend I had the opportunity to see two noteworthy films which raised my ire and gave me the proverbial kick in the pants needed to "wake up!" The first, An Inconvenient Truth, is a marvelous documentary about Al Gore's commitment to and actions taken toward educating people around the world about global warming and its devastating impact. The film grounds itself in scientific research and fait de compli conclusions about the rise of CO2 gases and their "without a doubt" destruction of our environment as we know it today. Glacial melt, life-threatening drought, Katrina-like hurricanes...all caused by the greenhouse effect causing the earth's atmospheric temperatures to rise. The message is clear: If we all as a global community do not take action TODAY to decrease the amount of emissions and waste that are clogging the atmosphere, there may not be a clean, sustainable planet in the future for our children.

Action -- Al challenges each one of us not to relinquish responsibility because the problem is TOO BIG! On the contrary, he asks each person to act locally, to do his/her part in changing the sweeping tide of destruction. Ten things we all can do to assist in this cause:

1. Change lights to compact flourescent light bulbs
2. Drive less
3. Recycle more
4. Make sure your tire pressure is adequate
5. Use less hot water
6. Avoid buying items with a lot of packaging
7. Adjust your thermostat
8. Plant trees
9. Turn off electronics
10. Spread the word

How about it folks? We can all make a difference! Commit to at least 3 of these actions and feel good about creating a better place for everyone to live.

Wanna learn more about this movie and what you can do to make a difference? Go to www.climatecrisis.net


Film number two: Iraq for Sale - the most recent MoveOn.org film. This is a damning look at the profiteering taking place in the US war on Iraq. Haliburton takes the brunt of the criticism (and why shouldn't they?), but other US corporations are also indicted. The waste and dishonesty -- the pilfering of our tax dollars...I was soooo infuriated watching this film! There are horrific scenes about the Abu Ghraib prison tortures executed by civilian contractors; unbeliveable stories about Haliburton's civilian truck drivers leaving their families to "better themselves" by going overseas to work only to be ambushed (without any protection) and then dragged, mutilated and killed (Haliburton officials could only "offer their deepest condolences" to the families of these men, all the while continuing to earn millions of dollars in salary in their comfy chairs back home); disarming tales of soldiers being given contaminated water that was sold to the military as "treated," yet turned out not be... Yes, this film exposes the underbelly of war and corporate greed, Bush and his complicity and Cheney and Rumsfield as we know them best -- immoral, unethical liars and profiteers. More on this film, go to www.iraqforsale.org

The upside of the weekend was the few hours spent volunteering for MoveOn.org making calls to voters in Pennsylvania trying to persuade them to vote against Rick Santorum for Senate...hard to believe this guy has such a strong following -- just goes to show you that Government is not for the brightest bulbs in the box nor is Democracy really about "equality and justice for all," but you all knew that...

My two cents for tonight:
1. Get out and vote.
2. Get clear about your commitments to stop the destruction of the environment.
3. LOVE a lot, 'cuz we need a "force more powerful" to counteract the absolutely vulgar hatred and violence that exist in our world today.