marjorie says...
In the spirit of Maggie, here are my random notes at the moment:
- I think the youtube Hilary 1984 video is brilliant. Who knows if Barack is behind it?
- While those two sling mud, I am enjoying Bill Richardson’s latest endorsement of Medical Marijuana. I particularly like his admonishment “My God, let's be reasonable," to folks opposed to a Medical Marijuana bill. Really, in a land beset by alcoholism that results in awful domestic violence and vehicular homicide, you would think that such a benign drug would not be so contentious to people, particularly for medicinal purposes. And frankly, when it comes to marijuana as a recreational drug, we all know so, So many people who use it that it bothers me to think of the danger they put themselves in when they go to acquire it. They endanger their lives when they have to deal with those who peddle all manner of illicit things, which sometimes causes a confluence of bad things. And they endanger their lives by running the risk of being locked up. I think it’s asinine, in fact, that the purchase and use of such a benign drug leads to incarceration. But it does…by the droves in this country. Regardless of whether you use it or not, Marijuana should be legalized, regulated, and taxed. And kudos to Bill for coming out for its use medicinally.
- The United States Social Forum. This is going to be a really great moment for social justice community based organizations. There’s a large delegation of New Mexico organizations going, and they’re going together. That is kick-ass. Here is the short commercial that SWOP put together to do outreach. All of you should consider going. If you can’t go, consider supporting those who are going, especially the organizations that operate on a shoestring budget.
- Speaking of incarceration, did folks notice that the U.S. State Department has released their 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights? These are our government’s annual assessments of how countries do in the area of Human Rights. Funny, I don’t see us, aka The United States, on the list. Given that we have the largest prison population in the world (by leaps and bounds) it might be useful to examine our own human rights record first and foremost. This kind of gets at one of those fundamental truths that our parents are supposed to teach us: look at yourself before throwing stones. Or something like that. Our human rights record extends beyond how we treat foreign prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Or I should say, it extends deep within our own country. Through neglect of poverty, the criminalization of poor people, and the turning of a blind eye to entrenched racism we allow human rights violations to happen in this country on a daily basis. And our democracy has not proven itself up to the task of correcting these realities.
Ok, its not all politics and social justice on my mind.
- Arundahti Roy is writing a new novel. Yes, she’s way political but her one and only novel, The God of Small Things, is about the microcosm of life. And it’s so good that she won The Booker Prize for it. I'm looking forward to her next one. Anyhow, in this article she touched on her living arrangement with her husband. Apparently they live in separate houses. To explain this she says: "Living with my own contradictions is hard enough - forcing my political views on someone else, on their lifestyle and the choices they make is not something I want to do. It distorts a relationship beyond redemption. So, I decided to have my own place." I love that recognition, and I think it can be very true. I don’t know how to best order a domestic relationship. It beats me. But I certainly understand how the merging of separate lives, with separate passions and priorities, into one space…can distort a relationship beyond redemption.
- Speaking of domestic space, spring time has me wanting to open my bedroom window but I’m afraid that I will die from a juniper attack. When will it end? I’m feeling that springtime optimism…that is oh so sweet…but the allergy attacks are hindering me big time.
- Skiing is over for another year. I sort of want to cry about that but at the same time I feel pretty good about the season. I ski’ed a lot and saw real improvement. I rocked the bumps! And before you ask, yes, it does make me feel very bourgeois. So...now its time to pull out the camping gear...anyone want to backpack way out and lay be a stream?
- As the big 40 approaches, I've decided I will enter the decade at the same weight as I entered my 30s. No, its not a big stretch. And yes, this is something I can talk about on m-pyre! We have an obesity epidemic in this country folks. Think Food. Our food is killing us. But enough of that for now...this is the non-political section of random notes. Because jogging is so darned hard on my joints these days, I've decided to take up rollerblading. Not only is it great excercise, I've been told its a great off-season sport for improving ones skiing. So you do the math. lol. Anyone want to go zooming on blades with me? Yes, zooming. :-)
Alright, I think that is it.
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