Rants Archive Year One

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" Will there ever be a day in the United Sates when normal citizens like ourselves can have a say in where our tax dollars go? Sure, our elected representatives listen to our letters and calls, but it still hasn't stopped the flow of most of my taxt money going to the defense (military industrial complex) budget. Some day, I think we all should voluntarily take out that huge chunk of our tax dollar, give it to charities and tell the DOD to find their own damn revenue flow. "

04/08/02

"I can fix the situation in Israel/Palestine by saying one simple sentence to anyone that wants to hear a solution: All ultraorthodox Israelis need to leave the West Bank settlements now. If suicide bombings continue after this amazing good-will gesture, then I have a one-sentence solution for the Palestinians: All Muslim extremists must put down their arms or pay the consequences. Societies do not function well when extremist religious ideals rule. That is theocracy, and free and just humans shouldn't stand for any of it."

05/02/02

OK, so they found Chandra Levy's remains in the DC park where she jogged in. After scowering the park with dogs and cops, a dog walker found her. Why is this part of my rant? Well, while most people read about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, India and Pakistan have over 1 million troops in Kashmir. The nationalist leaders are beating their chests and clanging their swords. They both have nuclear weapons and act like they don't mind using them. Why do they fight over Kashmir? Mainly because of different religious views. I'm currently reading Howard Zinn's Peoples History of the United States, and one thing I've learned from that book so far is: There's no such thing as a people's war. It's all about the poorer citizens fighting over warped concepts that are fueled by the top 3% of the wealthy elite. India and Pakistan's poor should put aside their racist, nationalist leanings and fight for equality and freedom side by side. While poor people starve in both countries, Kashmir stands as a symbol of what is wrong with their current belief systems.
By the way, did you know that Helen Keller was a socialist?”

06/02/02

Volunteering is a good thing. No doubt about it. Taking time to give time has many rewards in one's life. One thing I respect about the Islamic faith is that you have to give large sums of your money away to people that need it. The ancient Hebrews used to forgive debts every fifty years. They also gave a share of all of their crops and flocks to the poor. Ammachi, a living Hindu saint, gives herself tirelessly to many charities. Catholic organizations help the needy, as well as many Christian groups. The Red Cross uses a cross as a symbol for a reason (it's a crescent in Muslim countries).

If religions have one thing in common, and there are many, it's that there are people within them that give of and beyond themselves. If they're all working for the common benefit of Homo Sapiens, then why is it so hard to solve differences among the various beliefs? Why is poverty still running rampant throughout the world? Maybe we should give even more of ourselves. Maybe we should completely change our lifestyles and attitudes towards our consumerist culture. The next time you buy an item you don't really need, think again. That's where we can start solving differences.

06/27/02
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$tephen Ra$pa, an actual Burningman employee, and the Dalai Lama have more in common than you would think. I just read that the Dalai Lama considers his enemies as a blessing on his path to enlightenment. $tephen sees enemies as part of the community, a group of people that should be included in the dialog. Right now, there's a war against terror. President Bush wants to have First Strike capabilities anywhere in the world. Here in San Francisco the war against terror has shut down CELLspace (well, large, rent paying events at least). What $tephen and the Dalai Lama seem to indicate is that this is a fortunate thing. In our constantly changing reality, humans have the ability to grow. Creating an alliance with the SFPD is a start. Loving your enemies is another. If only that was an easy thing to do. But who said the path to enlightenment is an easy road?

10/10/02

When election days roll around in November, I'm always shocked at the low voter turnout that ensues. Democracy is a strange concept for most Americans: you keep up with things that affect you, you make an effort to learn the issues and find out where the elected officials stand, and you vote your beliefs. Some people choose not to participate because they don't believe in a hierarchal system of government, but most just don't bother. I guess there are other things more important than being concerned about where your tax dollars go, like going to the mall and shopping. Your vote does count, because if the majority of the country actually cared, then maybe we could fix the system. Then again, maybe we need to find a whole new system than this one.

10/31/02

So we are one step closer to living in a security state based on fear. What can I say? Homeland Security, the big sister of the US Patriot Act, passed just before Thanksgiving, thus opening up many ways of abusing the average American's privacy. If you're brown, black, or left of center politically, you're first on the list of having your life tracked. Everything from what you buy (could purchasing Orwell's 1984 mean you're antiAmerican? Who knows while the Republicans are in charge.) to where you surf or call is now open to investigation. The irony that gets me is this: if the Republicans are in to little government, then why are they creating the BIGGEST federal department ever? I guess privatizing every government department, except BIG MILITARY, is the Republican platform. Don't know about you, but I don't feel safer.

12/01/02

The Federal Government's actions, policies, and attitude has created a laundry list of complaints from our fair state of California. Our outlook at education, the environment, and the military is a strong opposite to the Bush/Cheney machine back East in DC. From the looks of my research below, there might be a way to shake the oil-sodden Texas beast. Not only am I a student of history, I am also from South Carolina. Secession has always been a word that I knew, some would say, intimately. But secession based on racist, or xenophobic, values is not what I'm suggesting. California, a liberal state with strong standards for the people and the planet, needs to start throwing its weight around regarding states rights. It's already begun (Santa Cruz's middle finger to the DEA), and if we use our first-world tech and economy for progressive things, and not send all our tax dollars to fund Bush's oil wars, then the secession of California would be a prelude to a much better world.

01/03/03
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Just say no. No to plastic bags. Working in the Financial District, I eat out for lunch everyday. I'm one of the thousands of worker bees that hit the lunch spots. Many years ago, I started telling the people serving me "No bag, please." It almost always confuses or amuses them, even if I say it every week for 52 weeks straight. Imagine what would happen if all the worker bees started saying "No bag, please." Landfills would dwindle, forests would stand, and maybe we'd even start bringing our own containers and utensils (I already pack a fork, spoon, and chop sticks). Hell, we might even start taking time to make our own lunch. The next time you're putting that styrofoam container of food into a plastic bag, turn down the bag.

02/01/03

This month will be Part 2 of my Reuse Rants. I see a lot of everyday waste in the office where my day job is. There are only 40 of us, so if you multiply the waste by the building we work in, and then the block we work on, etc., then you can imagine how much waste is generated daily. One way I have personally cut back on waste is by stuffing a cloth hanky in my back pocket. I only use it to wipe my hands after washing, so it doesn't get crusty. Having my hanky for wiping water saves trees as well. On average, a person in my office will use about 3 paper towels per visit to the rest room. That's about 12 a day and 60 a week every week of the year. I think you get the picture here: using a cloth hanky cuts back on towels, saving trees and reducing landfill. So stuff one in you back pocket today and change the world.

03/01/03

As war machines roll across distant desserts towards foreign cities, I am thinking of home. America loves to back the soldiers in far away places, even if these operations cost billions of dollars to support. This war is called Iraqi Freedom. A valid cause, but low on my priorities list at the moment. Saddam Hussain is a tyrant, but George Bush and the Republican neoconservatives are guiltless capitalists. So I think of all the problems average Americans are dealing with on a daily basis, and how rebuilding an oil-rich country won't help solve our problems here in America. Health care continues to be too expensive for working people and their families. Business scandals haven't brought proper reforms. Unemployment is high, and budgets are being chopped on the state level. Students are protesting the war because teachers are getting pink-slipped. Instead of spending $80+ billion to free Iraq, why can't Bush's government free America first? This is why I oppose this senseless war. Bush and his crew don't give a damn about American freedoms, just cheap oil and finished business.

03/23/03

Where do I begin? I have had a hard time thinking of what to rant about this month. Maybe I've read too much in the past month and am officially OD'd on the news of the world. Maybe there's too much going on right now: US posturing against Syria, Iran, and North Korea; SARS ripping another hole in the global economy, Bush running for reelection in 2004 with a record $200 million war chest; state's tanking economies, San Francisco's tanking economy; Saddam is still MIA, so are the Iraqi WMD. One bright note is that it looks like moderates will now be running Palestine. Now if Israel stopped the settlements, bulldozing, and child killing, I'd have some hope for the peace process. I think I'm idealess this month because it's all too gloomy. I have recently read two fiction novels, and am currently reading about baseball history. Now, if all those homeless people disappeared like mayoral candidate Gavin Newsome wants, I will have officially escaped from this Orwellian reality.

04/24/03

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